Building on recent work in occupational safety and climate, the authors examined 2 organizational foundation climates thought to be antecedents of specific safety climate and the relationships among these climates and occupational accidents. It is believed that both foundation climates (i.e., management-employee relations and organizational support) will predict safety climate, which will in turn mediate the relationship between occupational accidents and these 2 distal foundation climates. Using a sample of 9,429 transportation workers in 253 work groups, the authors tested the proposed relationships at the group level. Results supported all hypotheses. Overall it appears that different climates have direct and indirect effects on occupational accidents.

This study investigated whether managers from different generations considered certain leadership practices important for success in their organization, whether managers were skilled in those leadership practices, and the gap between perceived importance and skill ratings. Data were obtained between January 2008 and April 2009 from practicing American managers from three different generations: baby boomers (n ϭ 3,317), gen Xers (n ϭ 3,303), and millennials (n ϭ 429). Participants were asked which 8 of 16 leadership practices they considered most important for success in their organizations and participants were rated by their boss on their skill level for all 16 practices. Differences among generations in the endorsement of 10 of the 16 leadership practices existed, but an examination of their effect sizes showed small practical significance. The magnitude of the gaps between importance and skill ratings were similar among the generations, with the biggest gaps in leading employees, change management, and building and mending relationships. In summary, managers from different generations are more similar than they are different with regard to the leadership practices they think are important, and how skilled they are at those leadership practices. Gap results have implications that may help managers, organizations, consultants, and practitioners understand what managers of all generations need to focus on for development. In particular, they reveal that leadership development initiatives should focus on how to lead employees better, how to manage change, and how to build and mend relationships at work.

Purpose -Using "districts" nested within "regions", this multi-level analysis research aims to examine whether a climate of supervisory-support at a "district"-level (as measured by perceived supervisor support (PSS)), and "region"-level unemployment rates were related to "district"-level retention rates of blue-collar part-time employees (PTEs). Design/methodology/approach -Blue-collar PTE retention rates (from company records) and PSS levels (from a company-wide survey) of a large global service provider were gathered. "Regional" unemployment rates were collected via publicly-accessible government statistics. Findings -The study finds that PSS levels of blue-collar PTEs were related to retention rates. Additionally, through the nested relationship of the study, the "region"-level unemployment rate was also related to PTE retention levels.Research limitation/implications -Limitations of the study included generalization to other companies, inability to collect demographic data, sample size and sampling issues, and concerns about the measurement of retention. Practical implications -This study revealed that supervisory-support climate was important in PTE retention. This paper gives mechanisms that managers can use to improve PSS levels of employees. Additionally, since organizations exist in environments, results show that the external environment may affect organizational outcomes, no matter what occurs internally in the organization. Originality/value -This study is unique since it focused specifically on blue-collar PTEs, a much-needed group of people to research. The paper gave ways for managers to enhance their relationship with PTEs, thereby having special value for managers and those who study managerial development. Additionally, the study gave evidence that organizations exist in environments, and factors outside the organization may affect retention within organizations.

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If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -This research has the purpose of examining whether personality preferences and type from the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) are related to managerial derailment. Design/methodology/approach -This study is within the context of field research, using 6,124 managers undergoing leadership development processes. Survey methodology was used to assess a manager's self-ratings of MBTI type and preference, and observer ratings (peer, boss, direct report) of managerial derailment characteristics. Findings -Different MBTI preferences of managers are likely to display derailment characteristics as judged by observer perspectives. In an exploratory manner, the MBTI preferences and types are also examined in accordance with different managerial derailment clusters.Research limitations/implications -The MBTI's conceptual foundation and psychometrics may be viewed as a limitation, and other personality theories like "The Big Five" could be used. Limitations of the study also include the fact that managers going through a leadership development process may be different to managers in general, and derailment characteristics do not necessarily mean actual managerial derailment. Practical implications -Regardless of MBTI type or preference, managers can decrease their chances of managerial derailment through examining job fit, increasing self-awareness, and through other mechanisms mentioned in the paper. Originality/value -This study is unique, since MBTI preferences and types could signal whether managers display derailment characteristics to their co-workers. Additionally, this paper gives insight into how managers can prevent derailment, regardless of their MBTI type and preference, thereby having special value for managers and those who study managerial development.