Academy of Managemenl journal

* Academy of Managemenl journal 1994, Vol. 37, No. 1. IBO-192.

AN EXAMINATION OF THE COGNITIVE PROCESSES USED TO HANDLE EMPLOYEE JOB PROBLEMS

J. C. WOFFORD University of Texas at Arlington

This study examined the cognitive processes involved in handling job problems in two business organizations. Two situational characteris- tics, discrepancy between a goal and performance and the frequency of a problem’s occurrence, and two individual characteristics—cognitive complexity and the accessibility of “script tracks” in memory (concep- tual structures)—were found to he associated with these cognitive pro- cesses. |ob complexity moderated the relationship of cognitive com- plexity with promotability.

The cognitive processes organization members use in dealing with their task environments have become an important area for theoretical and re- search analysis. The understanding of cognitive structures and processes has contributed to several management areas. For example, in the study of lead- ership, cognitive constructs studied include attribution (Mitchell & Wood, 1980), cognitive complexity (Hunt, 1991), leadership prototypes, and sche- mata (Lord & Maher, 1991), In decision making, cognitive constructs include heuristics [Kahneman & Tversky, 1987), judgment and choice (Child, 1972), and scanning (Daft, Sormunen, & Parks. 1988). The cognitive processes may provide a useful supplement to the situational approacb in areas such as leadership and job design in which inconsistent research results hamper managerial applications. Academics can inform managers that situations influence the effectiveness of various job characteristics and leadership styles, but we cannot confidently prescribe courses of action for their par- ticular situations. The joint effects of moderators appear to be obscuring the picture [cf. Johns, Xie, & Fang, 1992; Yukl, 1989). More consistent results may be obtained by examining the mediating effects of cognitive processes and the specific moderators for relationships involving these processes.

The present study examines some antecedents and consequences of the cognitive processes employees use in handling their job problems. Job prob- lems are the issues, decisions, and tasks that employees handle in tbeir work. Situational characteristics and individual characteristics of employees affect the cognitive processes used to handle problems. This study focused

Thanks to David Harrison and Vicki Goodwin for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of this article. I also thank Brian Cornforth and Paula Daly, for their help in conducting the research, and the two anonymous reviewers, for their helpful insights and suggestions.

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on three characteristics of individuals—length of job tenure, cognitive com- plexity, and the accessibility of “script tracks” in memory—and on two situational characteristics: goal-performance discrepancy and the frequency of a problem’s occurrence. The study also explored the relationship of an individual’s promotability u^ith the number of script tracks and with cogni- tive complexity (see Figure 1). The present study examines individual re- lationships presented in Figure 1 ratber than tbe overall model.

Schemata are knowledge structures in memory tbat people use to un- derstand environments, handle job problems, and acbieve goals. The types of schemata are scripts, plans, categories, implicit theories, prototypes, and heuristics (Lord & Maber, 1991). A script is a cognitive memory structure consisting of the objects, events, roles, conditions, sentiments, and outcomes that occur in a sequential pattern in familiar tasks and situations (Abelson, 1981; Gioia & Poole, 1984; Lord & Kernan, 1987). Scripts often incorporate multiple tracks to goal attainment (Abelson, 1981). For example, for an ex- perienced personal computer user, a track for printing a spreadsheet file probably follows a scripted process that includes the following steps: switching on tbe computer and printer, executing the spreadsheet program, loading tbe file, printing the file, and exiting tbe program. Another track for

FIGURE 1 A Cognitive Processes Model for Handling Job Problems

Individual Characteristics

Cognitive Complexity

Job Tenure

Acce.ssibilily of Script Tracks

Situational Characteristics

Frequency of Occurrence of Job Problems

Goal-Performance Discrepancy

Cognitive Processes

Strategy Processes

Script Track Processes

Promotability

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accomplishing this goal might involve switching on the computer and printer, executing a word processing package, loading the spreadsheet file, printing the file, and exiting the package. Both sequences involved the same script but use different tracks of that script,

A person who is experienced in playing computer games, but unfamiliar with personal computers, may find that script actions used to play a game, such as pushing switches and using arrow keys, can also be used in oper- ating a computer. When individuals confront an unfamiliar task and draw upon salient action components from other scripts, they are engaged in strategy processing. By bringing together memory components into a hehav- ior chain, strategy processing may lead to the development of a script or a script track (Poole. Gray, & Gioia, 1990).

Script and strategy processes for understanding managerial issues have been examined in conceptual (e.g., Ashforth & Fried, 1988; Gioia & Poole, 1984; Lord & Kernan, 1987) and laboratory analyses (e.g., Foti & Lord, 1987; Wofford & Goodwin, 1990). These processes have rarely heen studied in field settings. However, although she did not interpret her data in cognitive processes terms, Gersick’s (1988, 1989) field studies on hahitual routines in task-performing groups suggest that group members have script structures that cause different groups to exhibit similar patterns of behavior.

The type of cognitive process a person uses depends on the knowledge structure in memory and on situational demands. Individual characteristics affect the number and complexity of scripts in memory as well as their accessibility. As employees handle problems that occur frequently, they acquire more script tracks. If individuals are cognitively complex, they try out and store in memory more approaches for handling their problems than do noncomplex individuals.