BOOK REVIEWS 439

Hackman JR, Oldham GR. (1980). V/ork redesign. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Locke EA, Latham GP. (1984). Goal-setting: A motivational technique that works. Engle-
wood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Mintzberg H. (1973). The nature of managerial work. New York: Harper.
Sayles LR. (1979). Leadership: What effective managers really do . . . and how they do it.
New York: McGraw-Hill.
LEE J. KONCZAK
Staff Development Officer
State of Missouri
Department of Mental Health
Bellefontaine Habilitation Center
St. Louis, Missouri

MATTESON, MICHAEL T. and IVANCEVICH, JOHN M. Controlling

work stress: Effective human resource and management strategies.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1987. Pp. xx -i- 378. $25.95
Controlling Work Stress is a well-wdtten book that uses vivid examples
throughout to cladfy the authors' main points. It is targeted to fill the void
between the "academic" and the "popular psychology" literature. Its practi-
tioner odentation builds on the academic research literature, and the authors
believe it will be useful for practitioners, consultants, and academics who
are interested in organizational stress. Matteson and Ivancevich indicate
areas related to stress management where further research is needed.
The book contains 15 chapters and 5 appendices and is is organized
into three sections, each containing 5 chapters: Part I, "Understanding Work
Stress; Part II, "Basic Guidelines for Managing Work Stress"; and Part III,
"Special Programs for Managing Work Stress." The introductions to the
sections are useful as they help the reader know the purpose and organi-
zation of the chapters contained in each section. The book is stmctured
so that it is possible to utilize information contained in Parts II, III, or the
appendices without having to read Part I. Skipping Part I, however, would
appear to be appropdate only for readers who already have a good knowl-
edge of the stress literature. The appendices contain an extensive listing
of a vadety of resources available to practitioners or consultants who are
interested or involved in stress management programs.
Chapter I provides convincing examples of the costs associated with
dysfunctional stress. In this chapter, Matteson and Ivancevich define the
term stress "as an adaptive response, moderated by individual differences,
that is, a consequence of any action, situation, or event that places special
demands upon a person." Developing an awareness of stress and minimiz-
ing distress becomes a main objective of the book. Chapters 2 and 3 cover
"Job-Related Stress" and "Sources of Work Stress." The authors present
an "Organizational Stress Framework," which involves the relationships
440 PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY

among stressors, stress, coping, outcomes, individual differences, and con-

sequences. Managers are encouraged to utilize the model to understand
the stress process and to develop strategies to reduce work stress.
Chapter 4 gives a detailed presentation of the psysiological and psycho-
logical outcomes of stress, and chapter 5 covers "Individual Differences in
Coping with Stress." Matteson and Ivancevich emphasize that managers
need to know and consider individual differences to be effective in helping
employees with work stress. The authors defer discussing Type A behavior
until a later chapter, which is unfortunate from this reader's perspective.
A discussion of Type A behavior would have highlighted an important
individual difference that affects one's ability to cope with stress.
The opinion that there is no one best approach to measure work stress
is emphasized in chapter 6. The concurrent use of both biomedical and
behavioral science techniques is recommended. Matteson and Ivancevich
provide an in-depth review of measurement scales and instmments. Unfor-
tunately, this chapter will be difficult for the practitioner to comprehend.
Chapter 7 contains suggestions for managers to improve the individual-
organizational interaction in order to attain a good person-environment
fit. Organizational management strategies to reduce dysfunctional stress
are discussed in chapter 8, and individual strategies in chapter 9. The
suggestions offered by Matteson and Ivancevich are quite extensive and
should be of assistance for managers desiring to reduce dysfunctional stress
of both their employees as well as themselves. A typographical error was
found on page 172 when "informational support" was listed twice as a type
of social support. The fourth type of social support should have been listed
as "instmmental support" (House, 1981, p. 23).
Part II concludes with a chapter that examines the legal aspects asso-
ciated with job-related stress. The authors discuss landmark legal cases
from several states but fail to provide a comprehensive table showing the
differences in the handling of job-related stress claims across all 50 states.
Such a table would have been helpful for managers who have to exam-
ine individual state laws and court mlings. However, five strategies for
reducing legal liabilities are suggested.
Chapter 11 emphasizes the importance of stress management training. It
draws an analogy between machinery maintenance for mechanical equip-
ment and stress management training for human resources. The authors
define stress management training as "the systematic acquisition of knowl-
edge, skills, or attitudes that result in improved awareness of, and ability
to cope with, stress." They encourage the use of organizational and person
analyses in assessing training needs, but they neglect to include the task
analysis (Goldstein, 1986) in the needs assessment. This reader believes
that the task can contribute directly to the level and type of stress expe-
rienced, and the task analysis needs to be included in the training needs
 BOOK REVIEWS 441

assessment. Despite this shortcoming, the authors do review a vadety

of training techniques and give examples of training programs for stress
management. Particularly noteworthy is their descdption of an appropd-
ate training evaluation design, which should be very helpful to practition-
ers who are not familiar with evaluation methodology involving a control
group.
A full chapter 12 is finally devoted to Type A behavior. This included
the history, measurement, and review of pdor studies involving Type A be-
havior. Managers are encouraged to try to reduce the Type A components
of hostility/anger and time urgency. Bumout is the topic of chapter 13,
with the following definition offered: "Bumout is a psychological process,
brought about by unrelieved work stress, that results in emotional exhaus-
tion, depersonalization, and feelings of decreased accomplishment." Items
are suggested for reducing and preventing bumout.
Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) are covered in chapter 14. The
authors believe that EAPs can identify and help those suffedng from dys-
functional stress. Suggestions are offered to assist in the establishment
of effective EAPs. However, it is emphasized that it is better to remove
stressors than to depend on strategies that focus on the outcomes of stress.
Unfortunately, the last chapter, "Healthy Organizations" does not fit in
well with the other chapters. While "stress management is a vital part of
wellness," Matteson and Ivancevich fail to connect the wellness programs
they review to stress management. The result is a disjointed last chapter.
Furthermore, the book does not have a conclusion to help the reader pull
together the array of topics that have been covered.
Despite the weak ending, the book has a lot to offer. MBA students may
benefit greatly from the use of this book as a pdmary or supplemental text.
This will be especially tme for part-time MBAs who are already working
in management positions. The book will be particularly valuable for active
managers and consultants who desire to reduce dysfunctional work-related
stress and to improve cognitive and behavioral coping strategies used by
employees. It is worth noting that most of the organizational strategies
suggested in the book will require top management support. However, it
is likely that middle managers will have opportunities to use many of the
individual coping strategies presented.

REFERENCES
Goldstein IL. (1986). Training in organizations (2nd ed.). Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole.
House JS. (1981). Work stress and social support. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
STEPHEN J. HAVLOVIC
Assistant Professor of Business Administration
University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh
Oshkosh, Wisconsin