Environment Congruence Research Articles

Beloved Place: A Latinx/A/O Cultural Center and Undergraduate Latino Men

ABSTRACT This study aimed to examine the role of a Latinx/a/o cultural center in the experience of undergraduate Latino men at a predominantly White institution. A qualitative case study approach was used to explore the relationship between a Latinx/a/o cultural center and six Latino undergraduate men. Each participant was interviewed three times using participant photo elicitation. Utilizing a conceptual framework of querencia, findings indicate a strong relationship between participants and the Latinx/a/o cultural center. Findings show participants experienced place-based political refuge, challenging machismo through emotional vulnerability, and environmental congruence through physical and cultural validation. The findings offer a unique understanding of the transactional relationship between a person (Latino men) and a place (Latinx/a/o Cultural Center) to become a beloved place.

Longitudinal effects of high-performance work practices on job performance via person–job fit

PurposeThis present three-wave longitudinal study aims to elucidate underlying mechanism in high-performance work practices (HPWPs) and job performance relationship by examining the role of person–job as a potential mediator.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 357 faculty members of universities in Punjab (India) using a well-structured questionnaire for four consecutive months. Hypotheses were tested using PLS-SEM software.FindingsThis study results substantiated HPWPs have a direct favorable impact on the person–job fit because their extensive engagement policies, such as employee empowerment and rewards, help employees to perceive their jobs as being a good fit. Furthermore, these practices fulfil employment expectations for employees, resulting in job fit and boosting the employee’s performance; highlighting person–job fit as potential mediator.Research limitations/implicationsGrounding on the person–environment congruence theory, this study shed light on the relationship between HPWPs and job performance via person–job fit in the Indian higher education sector. This develops a unique management philosophy and strategies for long-term sustainable growth of organizations to give proper concrete evidence for the significance of human resource management (HRM).Practical implicationsThis study findings persuade HR professionals in higher education institutions to actively engage in reconsidering and implementing their current HPWPs efficaciously to ensure that the employees are well-suited to their roles, i.e. increased person–job fit and perform at a higher level. Furthermore, considering the favorable impact of HPWPs on job fit and performance, it is pertinent to extensively use these practices in organizations all over the world especially across developing nations as a successful HRM solution.Originality/valueThis longitudinal study provides first-hand information on person–job fit intervening as a mediator in HPWPs and job performance relationship thereby contributing to the current corpus of HPWPs work. This fills the gap in HPWPs and job performance literature by identifying a novel concept of person–job fit that is mostly unexplored in developing countries like India.

The Impact of Avatar and Environment Congruence on Plausibility, Embodiment, Presence, and the Proteus Effect in Virtual Reality.

Many studies show the significance of the Proteus effect for serious virtual reality applications. The present study extends the existing knowledge by considering the relationship (congruence) between the self-embodiment (avatar) and the virtual environment. We investigated the impact of avatar and environment types and their congruence on avatar plausibility, sense of embodiment, spatial presence, and the Proteus effect. In a 2×2 between-subjects design, participants embodied either an avatar in sports- or business wear in a semantic congruent or incongruent environment while performing lightweight exercises in virtual reality. The avatar-environment congruence significantly affected the avatar's plausibility but not the sense of embodiment or spatial presence. However, a significant Proteus effect emerged only for participants who reported a high feeling of (virtual) body ownership, indicating that a strong sense of having and owning a virtual body is key to facilitating the Proteus effect. We discuss the results assuming current theories of bottom-up and top-down determinants of the Proteus effect and thus contribute to understanding its underlying mechanisms and determinants.

Strategies to Retain Employees in the IT Industry: The Case In India

Although the Information Technology (IT) sector accounts for the highest contribution to Gross Development Product in India, it has high employee turnover. This turnover is a waste of investment and detracts from organizations’ knowledge and experience pools. Person organization (PO) fit theories posit that when people are hired by and for organizations (not just individual jobs), they are less likely to quit. This study examines the benefits provided by IT firms to retain their employees and how these benefits’ effectiveness vary by designation and firm. It does so by employing the ‘work environment congruence’ approach to PO fit. Moreover, it proposes how to build a strategic model of the mix of benefits for retaining staff at different position levels (designations) in the firm. Findings show that preferred benefits differ by designation. For all factors except location, organization does not play an important role in retention, but designation impacts it in all the factors. Keywords: Retention strategies, Retaining employees, Information technology, Indian IT industry.

Pengaruh Person Organization Fit terhadap Employee Outcomes dengan Job Satisfaction sebagai Variabel Intervening

This study examines the factors that influence employee outcomes, using the dimensions of person organization fit, namely the values congruence, personality congruence, work environment congruence, and job satisfaction as an intervening variable. This research belongs to the category of conclusive research that seeks a causal relationship between person organization fit and employee outcomes through job satisfaction. There are 7 hypotheses proposed to prove the direct or indirect effect between the independent and dependent variable through the intervening variable. Data was collected using a survey method with data collection tools in questionnaires distributed to administrative employees at private universities in Surabaya as many as 104 respondents. After the data is collected, then it is processed and analyzed using SEM-PLS 3.0. Based on the results of the analysis and discussion of the relationship between the factor of person-organization fit and employee outcomes (EO) which in this study is proxied by organizational commitment (organizational commitment), the integrative conclusion of this study is that person organization fit (PO fit) can affect employees outcome either directly or through job satisfaction as an intervening variable

Zero-Risk Interpretation in the Level of Preventive Action Method Implementation for Health and Safety in Construction Sites.

Risk assessment is a legal obligation for all companies in most countries worldwide. It aims to control the quality of working conditions and avoid externalizing the consequences of accidents and resulting costs to society. This work discusses the need for an adequate interpretation of the zero-risk concept from a technical-preventive perspective to assess occupational risks in construction sites. A critical analysis of several risk assessment methodologies was carried out, focusing on the evaluation criteria of little or no-risk situations. The verification of the results was made through a case study. The perception of health and safety risks by workers is very different from that of the evaluators. Often, when workers identify a situation as low-risk or even zero-risk, the evaluator assesses the same context as maximum risk. Given the workers’ and the evaluators’ responses, the Preventive Action Method establishes a new parameter, the Environment Congruence. This parameter is based on the perception of the preventive environment and gives more importance to the evaluators’ decision. When preventive action is optimal, the risk is low in all preventive observation settings. In conclusion, this study justifies the non-nullity of the risk and the difficulty of assessing zero-risk in construction sites. Therefore, evaluations with qualitative and quantitative non-risk approaches should be discarded.

Character Strengths: Person-Environment Fit and Relationships With Job and Life Satisfaction.

Several studies demonstrated the relevance of character strengths in the workplace. For example, it has been shown that they positively relate to performance and are strong predictors of job satisfaction. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that occupational groups differ in their average levels of character strengths. However, little is known about the effects of the congruence between a person’s strengths profile with the average profile within an occupational group (environmental congruence) on well-being. In a nationally representative sample (N = 870) of employed adults, we analyzed data on character strengths (t1), and measures of job and life satisfaction at three different time points (t1–t3; separated by 1 year). We studied (1) whether employees in different occupational groups differ with regard to their levels and configurations of character strengths, (2) how levels and configurations of character strengths relate to concurrent and predictive job and life satisfaction, and (3) whether a fit between strengths of a person and the environment goes along with current and future job and life satisfaction. Results confirmed previous findings that small, but meaningful, differences in character strengths among employees in different occupational groups can be found and that character strengths positively relate to current and prospective job and life satisfaction. Furthermore, results suggested that a better person–environment fit goes along with higher job and life satisfaction. These results suggest character strengths and could play an important role in vocational and career counseling.

Product design matters, but is it enough? Consumers’ responses to product design and environment congruence

Purpose This study aims to investigate the combined effects of product design and environment congruence on consumers’ aesthetic, affective and behavioral responses. Design/methodology/approach Two lab experiments with a 2 (high-level design cues vs low-level design cues) × 2 (congruent environment vs non-congruent environment) between-subjects design were conducted to test the hypotheses. The experimental stimuli (product: digital camera; environment: product display in a retail environment) were presented in a 3D simulation environment using a large TV (Experiment 1) and a stereoscopic virtual reality headset. Findings The results support the notion that product design cues elicit more positive aesthetic and affective responses. Environment congruence, on the other hand, plays a moderating role; product design cues elicit more favorable consumer responses in a congruent environment. In contrast, no such effect was found in a non-congruent environment. Practical implications Creating a congruent environment is only effective for well-designed products. In contrast, for products with low-level design elements, the congruence of promotional environment is not instrumental and may not elicit more favorable responses. Hence, such products can simply be presented in a generic display, especially considering the significant costs associated with designing, building and setting up a congruent display. Originality/value Despite the empirical findings supporting the significant role of product design and environment congruence on consumers’ perceptual and behavioral responses, there is a paucity of research on the combined effect of these two factors. The present investigation is an attempt to fill this gap and challenges the generalizations made in previous research suggesting that a product’s environment must be aligned with the design elements embedded in the product.

Öğretmen Adaylarına Yönelik Sınıf Ortamı Algıları Ölçeğinin Geliştirilmesi

Bu arastirmanin amaci, ogretmen adaylarinin psikososyal ogrenme ortamina iliskin algilarini degerlendirmek icin bir sinif ortami algilari olcegi gelistirmektir. Bu calismada oncelikle psikososyal ogrenme ortami araclari ile ilgili kapsamli bir alanyazin taramasi yapilmistir. Olcek, yapilandirmacilik, cevre uyum kurami ile Fraser ve meslektaslarinin calismalarina uygun olarak gelistirilmistir. Ogretmen Adaylarinin Sinif Ortami Algilari Olcegi'nin pilot formu, Moos’un (1974) iliski, kisisel gelisim ile sistem bakim ve sistem degisimi boyutlarina uygun olarak 60 maddeyi icermistir. 2016-2017 ogretim yili bahar doneminde, acimlayici faktor analizi (AFA) icin 520 ogretmen adayi ve 2017-2018 egitim-ogretim yili guz doneminde, dogrulayici faktor analizi (DFA) icin 280 ikinci sinif ogretmen adayi calismaya katilmistir. AFA, Temel Eksen Faktorler Analizi ve promax rotasyon teknigi kullanilarak gerceklestirilmistir. Olcegin faktor yapisi DFA ile dogrulanmistir. Modifikasyonlardan sonra, kabul edilebilir model uyum indeksleri elde edilmistir. Faktorlerin guvenirlik katsayisi .72 ve .85 arasinda degismektedir. Son olarak, gecerligi ve guvenirligi calisilarak olcegin, 38 maddeden olusan, 5'li likert tipinde Memnuniyet, Isbirligi, Katilim, Gorev Yonelimi, Ogrenci Bagliligi ve Zorluk olmak uzere alti alt-olcekten olustugu belirlenmistir.

Identifying With How We Are, Fitting With What We Do: Personality and Dangerousness at Work as Moderators of Identification and Person-Organization Fit Effects.

Using a sample drawn from a Brazilian electric company exposing employees to both dangerous and non-dangerous working conditions, the current study provides evidence on the differential underlying mechanisms guiding the relationships of organizational identification and person-organization-fit (P-O fit) with job performance. We suggest that despite their relatedness in current literature, organizational identification operates as a largely self-centered process and P-O fit as a predominantly context-dependent one, leading to distinct work-related processes deriving from each construct. Our findings suggest that P-O fit serves as a pathway through which job identification induces job performance. In this mediating path, personality and in particular neuroticism, hinders the effects of identification, whereas job dangerousness, a contextual factor, undermines work-related effects of perceived environmental congruence (P-O fit). Discussing these results, we provide novel insights on the distinct mechanisms driving organizational identification, P-O fit and their contingencies.

DOES PRODUCT CONTEXT COMPLEXITY MATTER IN (IN)CONGRUENT SHOP ENVIRONMENTS? THE INFLUENCE OF PROCESSING FLUENCY ON PRODUCT EVALUATION

DOES PRODUCT CONTEXT COMPLEXITY MATTER IN (IN)CONGRUENT SHOP ENVIRONMENTS? THE INFLUENCE OF PROCESSING FLUENCY ON PRODUCT EVALUATION

The effects of feedback environment and value congruence on organizational change commitment and resistance to organizational change: On the PMI of the financial industry

본 연구의 목적은 피드백 환경과 가치일치가 조직변화저항 및 조직변화몰입에 주는 영향을 실증적으로 규명하여 M&A(인수·합병) 이후 발생하는 인적·문화적 통합문제를 PMI(합병 후 통합)과정에서 효과적으로 다룰 수 있음을 밝히는 것이다. 이를 위해 변화관리관점에서 조직 환경으로서 피드백 환경과 매개역할로 가치일치를 상정하고 조직변화요인에 주는 관계를 확인하고자 했다. 국내 금융사 중 M&A를 경험한 조직구성원 262명을 대상으로 자료를 수집하여 각 측정변인에 대한 타당도 및 적합도를 확인하고 구조방정식 모형과 매개효과 분석을 실시하였다. 분석 결과, 구조 및 경로 모형이 모두 적합한 것으로 나타났다. 첫째, 피드백 환경은 조직변화저항과 조직변화몰입에 모두 영향을 주는 것으로 확인되었다. 둘째, 매개효과 분석에서 가치일치는 피드백 환경과 조직변화저항 및 조직변화몰입 간 관계를 매개하는 것으로 나타났다. 이를 토대로 조직 및 구성원의 변화관리에 대한 학문적 함의를 확인하고, PMI과정에서의 실무적 시사점을 찾을 수 있다.

The Ecological Coherence of Temperature and Salinity Tolerance Interaction and Pigmentation in a Non-marine Vibrio Isolated from Salar de Atacama.

The occurrence of microorganisms from the Vibrio genus in saline lakes from northern Chile had been evidenced using Numerical Taxonomy decades before and, more recently, by phylogenetic analyses of environmental samples and isolates. Most of the knowledge about this genus came from marine isolates and showed temperature and salinity to be integral agents in shaping the niche of the Vibrio populations. The stress tolerance phenotypes of Vibrio sp. Teb5a1 isolated from Salar de Atacama was investigated. It was able to grow without NaCl and tolerated up to 100 g/L of the salt. Furthermore, it grew between 17° and 49°C (optimum 30°C) in the absence of NaCl, and the range was expanded into cold temperature (4–49°C) in the presence of the salt. Other additional adaptive strategies were observed in response to the osmotic stress: pigment production, identified as the known antibacterial prodigiosin, swimming and swarming motility and synthesis of a polar flagellum. It is possible to infer that environmental congruence might explain the cellular phenotypes observed in Vibrio sp. considering that coupling between temperature and salinity tolerance, the production of antibacterial agents at higher temperatures, flagellation and motility increase the chance of Vibrio sp. to survive in salty environments with high daily temperature swings and UV radiation.

Incorporating user values into housing design through indirect user participation using MEC-QFD model

This study aims to incorporate user values into housing design. Incorporating user values is essential for developing quality housing. Data was gathered in three stages using the Means-End Chain and Quality Function Deployment models. To identify the factors that create values, the MEC model was conducted using soft laddering interviews with 15 apartment occupants in Bushehr, Iran. Next, weight assessments were done for value creators. With data from the first phase, a hard laddering questionnaire survey of MEC was created and distributed among 150 respondents. Nine architects developed design strategies in a focus group discussion to establish the House of Quality of QFD based on responses. The developed strategies involved four main categories including Building Organizational Emphasis, Interior Design Emphasis, Exterior Design Emphasis, and Indoor Environmental Emphasis. The combination of MEC and QFD facilitates indirect user participation and fulfills person environment congruence.

Learning from praxis

Purpose – This paper uses a number of current examples from a variety of industries both regional and global, to explore the relationship between business longevity, environment, and adaptiveness to argue that only adaptive responses contingent on a proper classification of external circumstance will result in productive efficacy for the business. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – There is compelling evidence that businesses have limited life spans. Management and economic theories of creative destruction, argue that this is salutary for markets and economies. Yet as a counterpoint there are significant benefits to business longevity. Such longevity, however, is predicated on the business's dimensionalised understanding of its task and contextual environment and its deployment of an adaptive response contingent on such understanding. Findings – It is mandatory in prevailing times that adaptive responses ensure that the overall business has external fit and alignment with its environment and internal congruence and consistency between organisational subsystems and their internal subenvironments. Originality/value – The calculus of limited and unpredictable business life spans is justified by theories of creative destruction and hypercompetition. Yet there are intrinsic and extrinsic advantages to business longevity. A causative flow is proffered that predicates business longevity on its ability to; first, classify its prevailing environment, and thereafter deploy contingent adaptive responses for productive efficacy.

Socialization Mechanisms and Goal Congruence

Goal congruence is the desired outcome of an effective management control system. Empirical research, though, often assumes the existence of goal congruence and instead attempts to establish relations between control and firm (or employee) performance. In a research setting where the firm does not rely on performance measures to motivate and direct employee behavior, we examine how socialization mechanisms (i.e., the beliefs system, mentoring, and peer pressure) influence employees’ perceptions of their work environment and goal congruence. We use survey data from 354 employees to estimate a structural equation model that provides evidence on the relations between socialization mechanisms, the perception of secure and stable work conditions, and goal congruence. We find that all three socialization practices are positively correlated with one another and thus work as a package of socialization controls. Our results show that a working environment employees believe offers them security and long-term stability is important to ensuring that their goals are aligned with the firm’s. Moreover, the extent to which top management communicates core values, supervisors engage in mentoring, and peers encourage and monitor one another, are important management controls since they help create a secure and stable work environment.

Environmental Congruence and Work-Related Stress in Acute Care Hospital Medical/Surgical Units: A Descriptive, Correlational Study

To describe the degree to which Environmental Congruence (EC) is present in sampled units and considered important/desirable by staff RNs; staff RNs' reported level of work-related stress (WRS); the perceived contribution of the physical environment to WRS; and the relationship between existing levels of EC and WRS. Few studies have focused on how the physical environment might contribute to nurses' WRS and chronic nursing shortages. The construct of EC can be used, within a Person Environment (PE)-Fit framework, to assess the fit among nurses, nursing work, the physical work environment, and WRS. EC was measured using investigator-developed, literature/criterion-based survey instruments. Staff RNs reported WRS variables by using two single-item self-report measures. The final convenience sample consisted of 471 staff RNs from 39 medical/surgical units from 12 hospitals in the upper Midwest. Data were collected over a 7-month period. The mean level of existing EC in the sample was roughly 70% percent of highest capacity and that of important/desired EC in the sample was 93%. Staff RNs' mean level of WRS was 6.7; the mean contribution of the physical environment to WRS was 5.8. Moderate negative correlations were found between EC and WRS (r = -.41, p < .05), and between physical environment contribution to WRS and EC (r = -.55, p <.001). Staff RNs in the sampled units wanted a significantly higher level of EC. They rated their WRS moderately high and the contribution of the physical environment to it as moderate. A moderately negative relationship was found between EC and WRS. EC may be a useful construct in research that attempts to improve hospital nursing work environments.

Moderation of the relation between person–environment congruence and academic success: Environmental constraint, personal flexibility and method

The relation of interest–major congruence to indicators of college success was examined as it was moderated by environmental constraint, individual flexibility, and congruence definition in an initial sample of 88,813 undergraduates (38,787 men and 50,026 women) from 42 different colleges and universities in 16 states. College achievement (GPA after 1 semester and 2 years), persistence (enrollment status after 1 year and after 2 years) and major persistence in year 3 were used as criteria of college success. The significance of congruence (i.e., Euclidean distance and profile correlation) and its moderators above that of measures of academic achievement (i.e., ACT scores) and gender were examined for each of the college outcome criteria using hierarchical modeling. Results indicated that both the environmental constraint of the major and the interest flexibility of the individual moderated the congruence–outcome relation for both types of congruence indices. There was a greater relation between congruence and college outcomes for those majors that had more homogeneity and were more differentiated (i.e., were more constrained) than for majors where this was not true. There was a stronger relation between congruence and college outcomes for those individuals with lower overall profile levels (i.e., low flexibility) than those with high. Findings point to the importance of interest–major congruence in the college outcome process, but also highlight the complexity of the congruence–outcome relation.

Phylogeny, genomics, and symbiosis ofPhotobacterium

Photobacterium comprises several species in Vibrionaceae, a large family of Gram-negative, facultatively aerobic, bacteria that commonly associate with marine animals. Members of the genus are widely distributed in the marine environment and occur in seawater, surfaces, and intestines of marine animals, marine sediments and saline lake water, and light organs of fish. Seven Photobacterium species are luminous via the activity of the lux genes, luxCDABEG. Much recent progress has been made on the phylogeny, genomics, and symbiosis of Photobacterium. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrates a robust separation between Photobacterium and its close relatives, Aliivibrio and Vibrio, and reveals the presence of two well-supported clades. Clade 1 contains luminous and symbiotic species and one species with no luminous members, and Clade 2 contains mostly nonluminous species. The genomes of Photobacterium are similar in size, structure, and organization to other members of Vibrionaceae, with two chromosomes of unequal size and multiple rrn operons. Many species of marine fish form bioluminescent symbioses with three Photobacterium species: Photobacterium kishitanii, Photobacterium leiognathi, and Photobacterium mandapamensis. These associations are highly, but not strictly species specific, and they do not exhibit symbiont-host codivergence. Environmental congruence instead of host selection might explain the patterns of symbiont-host affiliation observed from nature.

Means End Chain, Person Environment Congruence and Mass Housing Design

Meeting human needs is considered as fundamental to sustainable human settlement. However, in micro level developments particularly in respect of a housing unit, for example, an operational definition of sustainability which will be useful in its practical implementation, has yet to be developed. To address this, the author posits that theories on the relationship between the environment and the person can be taken as a conceptual frame of reference. One of them is the theory of Person-Environment Congruence (PEC). This theory conceptualizes “congruence” as the favourable outcome of the person-environment relationship. Achieving PEC is considered as the most important criteria that supports the concept of housing sustainability. In the context of housing, the author considers that PEC is achieved when the dwelling place can offer its inhabitants a place which meets their basic needs. In order to operationalize this concept in terms of housing unit design, the author propagates the use of the Means-End Chain (MEC) research model to explore the relationship between a person and his or her environment. The combination of the two concepts facilitates the identification of those housing attributes emphasized in the home-making process, together with the users' perceptual orientation towards those attributes. To experiment with the application of the MEC research model in respect of exploring the concept of PEC, a case study was conducted on 15 renovated and personalized houses in a mass housing scheme in Malaysia. The traditional MEC methods were maintained with some modifications to accommodate the various housing characteristics. The results suggest that the MEC research model is able to link the relevant housing unit attributes to user values, and it is potentially applicable in the design of a housing unit. The results also indicated that user participation is essential in home making process, in order to achieve and maintain sustainability.