In this project we used a dual approach to explore the relation between
managers' support for self-determination and subordinates' selfreported
perceptions, affects, and satisfactions. First, the interpersonal
orientations of managers from three branches (Locations 1, 2, and 3)
were assessed at three points in time and were correlated with the selfreports
of their subordinates at those same three times. Second, an intervention
that focused on training the managers to support their subordinates'
self-determination was conducted in Location 1 between the first
and second assessments of managers and subordinates, and in Locations
2 and 3 between the second and third assessments, Changes in managers'
orientations and subordinates' self-reports were calculated to evaluate
the intervention. We will now describe the design and time line of the
primary assessments and interventions, which are shown in Figure 1.
At the three points in time (January of Year 2, May of Year 2, and
February of Year 3), the managers completed the Problems at Work
questionnaire, which assessed their tendency to support the self-determination
versus to control the behavior of their subordinates. The subordinates
(i.e., the technicians) completed the Work Climate Survey,
which assessed their reactions to their immediate workplace and to the
corporation and its top management. Correlations between variables
from these two questionnaires (which are described later) were calculated
for each of the three points in time, using work teams as the unit
of analysis. The work teams were reasonably stable over the period of
the study, with a low turnover rate, although the people who completed