Individual adaptability to changes at work refers to an individual’s response to new demands or ill-defined problems created by uncertainty, complexity, mergers, and any rapid change in the work situation. Today, one of the key factors for an individual’s success is said to be adaptability. In the past two decades there has been increasing interest in the research on individual adaptability, and this is one of the first academic volumes to look at this important topic. Specific contexts examined include work-family conflict, retirement, career management and intercultural interaction at the workplace. The book will provide a comprehensive and integrated analysis of the conceptual, assessment and contextual issues that will help identify the current trends and emerging themes in adaptability research.
Table of Contents:
Part I: Conceptualizing and Assessing Individual Adaptability 1. Adapting to Rapid Changes at Work: Definitions, Measures and Research N.Schmitt, D.Chan 2. The Motivational Underpinnings of Adaptability G.Chen, B.M. Firth 3. Proactivity and Adaptability J.Zhu,M.Frese, W.Li 4. Conceptualizing and Assessing Interpersonal Adaptability: Towards a Functional Framework T. Oliver, F.Lieves 5. Organizational Adaptability R.E.Ployhart, S.F.Turner Part II: Contexts of Individual Adaptability 6. Career Adaptability: Theory and Measurement F.T.L.Leong, C.Ott-Holland 7. The Role of Adaptability in Work-Family Conflict and Coping D.A. Major,M.L.Litano8. Retirement and Adaptability M.Wang,L.T.Penn 9. Adaptability and Intercultural Interaction in the Work Context: A Cultural Tuning Perspective K.Leung, G.H.-L. Cheng Part III: Concluding Observations 10. Emerging Themes in Adaptability Research D.Chan
About the Author :
David Chan is currently Lee Kuan Yew Fellow, Professor of Psychology and Director of the Behavioural Sciences Institute at Singapore Management University, and Adjunct Principal Scientist at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) in Singapore. He received his PhD in industrial and organizational psychology from Michigan State University, USA. David’s research includes areas in research methods and data analysis, personnel selection, adaptation to changes and subjective well-being. He is the author of a textbook, Personnel Selection, with Neal Schmitt from Sage (1998). He has served as Editor or board member on several journals. He has received numerous scholarly awards including the Distinguished Early Career Contributions Award and William Owens Scholarly Achievement Award from SIOP. David is a Fellow of APA, APS, SIOP and IAAP.
Review :
"Adaptability throughout the life span is an increasingly important topic, tackled thoughtfully by the psychologists contributing to this interesting book." --Denise M Rousseau. Organizational and Public Policy. Carnegie Mellon University
"The chapters in this volume collectively provide a comprehensive review of the extant theory and research related to individual adaptability at work, particularly addressing important issues of construct definition, dimensionality, measurement, and relation to larger frameworks of both work performance and individual differences. Perhaps even more importantly, Chan and the chapter authors have clearly identified many of the unresolved and emerging research questions that will guide the next generation of theory development and empirical studies which will place adaptability at the center of scholarly understanding of effective individual, team, and organizational performance." --James L. Farr, Professor Emeritus of I-O Psychology, Pennsylvania State University
"Adaptability throughout the life span is an increasingly important topic, tackled thoughtfully by the psychologists contributing to this interesting book." --Denise M Rousseau. Organizational and Public Policy. Carnegie Mellon University
"The chapters in this volume collectively provide a comprehensive review of the extant theory and research related to individual adaptability at work, particularly addressing important issues of construct definition, dimensionality, measurement, and relation to larger frameworks of both work performance and individual differences. Perhaps even more importantly, Chan and the chapter authors have clearly identified many of the unresolved and emerging research questions that will guide the next generation of theory development and empirical studies which will place adaptability at the center of scholarly understanding of effective individual, team, and organizational performance." --James L. Farr, Professor Emeritus of I-O Psychology, Pennsylvania State University
"David Chan has edited the definitive volume on adaptation in the workplace. This superb book presents both the research findings of how people and organizations adapt to change and how those findings can be applied in the workplace. The book explores in depth theories of adaptation, as well as several approaches to the measurement of adaptation. People wanting to understand adaptation, as well as aid it in changing work environments, must read this excellent book. The work is particularly helpful in pointing to new research directions and methods for studying adaptation at work." –Ed Diener, Joseph R. Smiley Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Psychology, University of Illinois, USA
"The world of work is changing rapidly, and adaptability to change is becoming a key driver of success in the workplace. David Chan has assembled a distinguished team of authors to examine what adaptability means, how it can be measured, how it can be developed and what its implications are for both organizations and individual employees. This is a valuable work on an increasingly important topic" --Kevin Murphy, Colorado State University
