The Cognitive and Affective Components of Organisational Identification: The Role of Perceived Support Values and Charismatic Leadership

This study set out to investigate how the strength of organisational identification is related to organisational support values and charismatic leadership. The perception of organisational support values by an individual employee is a contextual factor which determines whether (a) organisational attributes similar to the self‐concept become salient leading to cognitive identification, and (b) an affective tie between the individual employee and the work organisation is developed. Charismatic leadership, on the other hand, builds a group identity among followers primarily by emotion‐arousing leadership behavior, and therefore was hypothesised to relate more strongly to affective, rather than cognitive, identification. Two hundred employees from a public organisation filled in a number of questionnaire measures of organisational support values, charismatic leadership, and organisational identification. The findings showed that support values predicted both cognitive and affective identification, whereas charismatic leadership was a predictor of affective identification. There was also a significant interaction effect of organisational support values and charismatic leadership on affective identification; in the condition of low support value orientation, charismatic leadership was shown to be positively associated with affective identification. These findings indicate that organisational values are basic elements of self‐implicating processes in organisational contexts, and their practical implications are discussed.     

Self-Reflection Counselling as an Instrument in Organisational Learning

Self reflection is an important factor in the relationship between individual and organisational development, but until recently, it has gone unnoticed. Reviewing the significance of self reflection through analysis of three vital areas of organisational development—leadership, women-in-management, and organisational survival—it is argued that there is a vital case to be made for the development of counselling strategies aimed at encouraging and assisting self-reflective practice among organisational participants. Reflecting upon the authors' own practice among managers, a number of strategies and potential strategies for reaching people in the work-place are outlined.     

Careers in Recession?

Purely individualistic approaches to careers are contrasted with organisational human resource strategies related to career management. It is argued that individual and organisational interests can be reconciled by means of repeated negotiations of the psychological career contract, and that such negotiations constitute the organisational career. However, many organisations cannot currently offer a broad range of career contracts because they are of one particular strategic type; others cannot reliably offer one at all, since they are in the process of shifting from one strategic type to another; while others again are in reactor strategic mode as a result of recession. It is concluded that it is difficult but not impossible for the individual to discover an organisation where satisfactory negotiations can be enjoyed.     

Are organisational politics responsible for turnover intention in French Firefighters?

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of different facets of perceived organisational politics and workplace attitudes onto turnover intention in the French Fire and Rescue service.MethodologyAn electronic survey was administered to fire department employees (n = 255) to investigate the effects of different forms of perceived organisational politics (POP) onto turnover intention, and test for mediation by affective organisational commitment and job satisfaction with structural equation modelling (Lisrel 8.80).FindingsBoth pay-and-promotion and general perceived organisational politics indirectly predicted turnover intention in French firefighters, although the total effect of pay-and-promotion politics was greater than general politics. Affective organisational commitment and job satisfaction mediated the effect of perceived organisational politics onto turnover intention.Practical implicationsPublic organisations, which have recently undergone reorganisations, should monitor perceptions of organisational politics to better understand the association with attitudes (such as affective organisational commitment and job satisfaction), as well as to predict turnover intention.Originality/valueThe study goes expands on the identification of various turnover intention's antecedents to contribute to consider understanding of its reasons, such as perceived organisational politics, where pay-and-promotion politics appears to be more salient factor than general politics. Affective organisational commitment and job satisfaction mediate the effects of POP onto turnover intention with nuanced effects. We also generated support for the order of factors in the model, where job satisfaction is a first-order predictor of turnover intention and organisational commitment second-order one. The POP Scale (Kacmar & Ferris, 1991) was validated in French.     

Looking on the Bright Side: The Positive Role of Organisational Politics in the Relationship between Employee Engagement and Performance at Work

Scholars have largely focused on the negative consequences of organisational politics for employees' performance. In contrast, we maintain that organisational politics has positive aspects and moderates the relationship between employee engagement and behaviors at work such as knowledge sharing, creativity, proactivity, and adaptivity. Using data from 253 high‐tech employees and their supervisors in Israel, our findings demonstrate that perceptions of organisational politics strengthen the relationship between employee engagement and these behaviors. When engaged employees perceive their workplace to be political, they are more proactive, creative, and adaptive, and more likely to share their knowledge with their peers. These findings confirm the challenge/opportunity stressor theory regarding perceptions of organisational politics and suggest that whether politics is viewed as positive or negative depends on the employees' point of view. For those who are engaged and more actively involved in their jobs, politics can be regarded as a challenge and even an opportunity for obtaining more resources to improve their performance. Implications for the development of theory and practice in this area are discussed.     

The Role of Error Management Culture for Firm and Individual Innovativeness

To innovate at work is risky as every new endeavour is also error‐prone. Therefore, the way errors are managed in organisations may be related to organisations' innovativeness. We studied error management culture as one important and often overlooked organisational culture factor hypothesised to be related to organisational and individual innovativeness. Error management culture implies that a firm accepts that people make errors and uses “organizational practices related to communicating about errors, to sharing error knowledge, to helping in error situations, and to quickly detecting and handling errors” to deal with errors (Van Dyck, Frese, Baer, & Sonnentag, 2005 , p. 1229). Our sample consists of 30 companies with N = 227 employees. To decrease the problem of common method variance, we split the samples within each company into two subsamples: one subsample was used for the measurement of error management culture and the other one for the measure of organisational innovativeness. A multilevel structural equation modelling (MSEM) analysis showed error management culture to be related to organisational and individual innovativeness. Organisational innovativeness was a mediator for the relationship between error management culture and individual innovativeness. A potential implication is that organisations wanting to increase their innovativeness may need to examine their error management culture.     

Issues in the organisation of counselling: Learning from NMGC

Relatively little attention has been paid in the literature to organisational factors that influence the effectiveness of counselling. The history of the National Marriage Guidance Council (NMGC) is used as a case-study to illustrate some of the basic organisational dilemmas and conflicts experienced in counselling agencies. Three areas of organisational dynamics are discussed: the social and cultural environment of the agency, organisational structure and ideology, and the life-span of the organisation. The implications of these factors for work with clients are explored.     

Organisational Resilience in Acquisition Integration—Organisational Antecedents and Contingency Effects of Flexibility and Redundancy

Resilience has received increasing attention in organisational research; however, it has remained understudied in the context of acquisitions. This is surprising given acquisitions involve challenging events that would benefit from a consideration of organisational resilience. We outline how flexibility and redundancy, as dimensions of organisational resilience, influence acquisition outcomes. We find flexibility can lower negative impacts of competitor retaliation and employee resistance during acquisition integration, but this depends on a decentralised approach to managing integration. Additionally, it appears developing organisational resilience depends on acquisition experience.     

Work Motivation and Performance: A Social Identity Perspective

Work motivation and performance were analysed from the perspective of social identity theory and self-categorisation theory. Central in this analysis is the relation of organisational identification with the motivation to exert effort on behalf of the collective. A theoretical analysis as well as a review of empirical studies of the relationship of organisational identification with motivation and performance leads to the conclusion that identification is positively related to work motivation, task performance, and contextual performance to the extent that (a) social identity is salient, and (b) high performance is perceived to be in the group's or organisation's interest.     

Attachments in the workplace: How attachment security in the workplace benefits the organisation

In four studies, we tested if workplace secure attachment entails organisational benefits, given that such relationships are associated with increased positive relationship emotions. In Study 1, employees rated the extent to which colleagues, supervisors, and other individuals fulfil the attachment functions. In Study 2, employees listed up to 10 individuals before completing the same rating task as Study 1. In the remaining studies, employees rated their attachment security with their supervisors (Study 3) or colleagues (Study 4), and completed measures of positive relationship emotions with these individuals, proactive behaviour, organisational allure, and organisational deviance. We found that supervisors and colleagues fulfil attachment functions (Studies 1–2), and that workplace attachment security confers organisational allure and proactive behaviour due to its association with positive relationships emotions. However, workplace attachment security directly lowers organisational deviance (Studies 3–4). Thus, supportive and trusting work environments may encourage workplace relationships that could bestow organisational benefits.     

The Moderating Effect of Self-efficacy on Job Insecurity and Organisational Commitment Among Nigerian Public Servants

The study examined the moderating role of self-efficacy in the relationship between perceived job insecurity and organisational commitment of survivors of retrenchment among Nigerian public workers. Using a cross-sectional survey, data was collected from 186 survivors. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed that organisational commitment was inversely related to job insecurity and positively related to the interaction factor for self-efficacy and job insecurity. However, the relationship between job insecurity and organisational commitment was moderated by self-efficacy such that as perceived job insecurity increased, survivors with moderate to high levels of self-efficacy showed greater levels of organisational commitment than those with low self-efficacy. The findings of this study suggest that as perceived job insecurity increased survivors' organisational commitment decreased. The theoretical and practical implications of the present findings and suggestions for enhancing the self-efficacy of survivors were discussed.     

Biosecurity and Open-Source Biology: The Promise and Peril of Distributed Synthetic Biological Technologies

In this article, we raise ethical concerns about the potential misuse of open-source biology (OSB): biological research and development that progresses through an organisational model of radical openness, deskilling, and innovation. We compare this organisational structure to that of the open-source software model, and detail salient ethical implications of this model. We demonstrate that OSB, in virtue of its commitment to openness, may be resistant to governance attempts.     

Perceived ethical leadership: Its moderating influence on employees’ organisational commitment and organisational citizenship behaviours

This study investigated the extent to which employees’ perception of ethical leadership moderated their organisational commitment and organisational citizenship behaviour. A non-probability purposive sample (N = 839; females = 32%) of employees in a railway organisation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) participated in the study. They completed the following measures: the Organisational Commitment Scale (OCS), the Organisational Citizenship Behaviour Questionnaire (OCBQ) and the Ethical Leadership Scale (ELS). Stepwise hierarchical regression analysis was utilised to determine the influence of employees’ perceptions of the relationships between their self-reported organisational commitment and organisational citizenship behaviour. The results indicated employee perceptions of the integrity, fairness and honesty aspects of ethical leadership to explain their affective, continuance and normative aspects of organisational commitment and organisational citizenship behaviour. The results also showed that employee perceptions of high ethical leadership influenced their willingness to engage in positive organisational commitment such as psychological attachment, work continuance, normative commitment and also their organisational citizen behaviours such as altruism, conscientiousness, courtesy and civic virtue. By implication, leaders with high ethical conduct have the potential to positively stimulate the commitment of employees towards supporting the organisational values and mission.     

Career-related dispositional factors in relation to retention within the retail sector: An exploratory study

The study aimed to explore the extent to which employees’ organisational commitment and career adaptability predicted employee retention factors in the South African retail sector; taking employee demographics into account. A sample of 224 early to mid-career permanent retail employees participated in the study (single?=?51.3%; female?=?53.1%; mixed-race?=?50.9%). The participants responded to surveys on their organisational commitment, career adaptability, and retention factors. A stepwise regression analysis was computed to predict employee retention factors from their organisational commitment and career adaptability. Results suggested the organisational commitment and career adaptability to explain 16% of the variance in employee retention factors. Of the organisation commitment factors, affective commitment was the most predictive of employee retention; followed by normative commitment. The career adaptability factor of curiosity predicted work-life balance. Talent retention in the retail sector appears to be explained by organisational commitment factors relatively more so than by career adaptability factors.     

Satisfaction and psychological well-being as antecedents of organisational commitment

Satisfaction and psychological well-being as antecedents of organisational commitment. The role of organisational commitment in public administration and its repercussions on the institution are examined in this study. It reports part of a larger research project that studies job satisfaction, life satisfaction, and psychological well-being as antecedents of organisational commitment. Data were collected from 697 public-sector employees, using questionnaires. Results showed that job satisfaction, life satisfaction, and psychological well-being were strong predictors of organisational commitment. Higher levels of job satisfaction, life satisfaction, and psychological well-being were associated with more favourable perceptions of organisational commitment. Furthermore, this study highlights the impact of dynamic work on the employee's commitment.     

Perceived corporate ethical values and organisational justice in relation to employee commitment at a manufacturing company

This study investigated the relationship between employees’ perceptions of their organisation’s corporate ethical values and justice and their level of commitment. The study participants were 201 employees of a manufacturing company in the Democratic Republic of Congo (female = 32%%, general employees = 68%, mean years of service = 13 years; SD = 0.85 years). They completed measures on corporate ethical values, organisational justice, and organisational commitment. Findings following hierarchical regression indicated that employees’ perceptions of corporate ethical values and organisational justice significantly influence their affective and continuance organisational commitment. A work environment where a code of conduct is upheld and employees are treated fairly would encourage employees to extend their membership of the employing organisation.     

Setting the Foundations for Theoretical Progress toward Understanding the Role of Values in Organisational Behaviour: Commentary on “Values at Work: The Impact of Personal Values in Organisations” by Arieli,Sagiv, and Roccas

Arieli, Sagiv, and Roccas’s lead article provides a timely and important review of the role of individual values and their role in organisations. At the same time as identifying several key areas of progress, the review identifies significant gaps. In this commentary, we focus on additional gaps that merit attention. In particular, we highlight a need for greater theoretical clarity in the literature about the concrete ways in which values are instantiated in different organisational contexts, roles, and cultural settings. We argue that the growing importance of values in studies of organisational contexts would be well-served by more precision in how they are conceptualised and operationalised in studies of organisational behaviour.     

A preliminary typology of organisational response to allegations of workplace bullying: see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil

Organisational representative response is an important factor to consider when counselling employees who have experienced bullying and are considering approaching their organisation for assistance. The author argues that not all responses are supportive and that some responses can further harm an employee. The author presents a review of representative responses, developed from bullying cases the author saw as a counsellor or trainer. The author reviews three organisational representative responses to allegations of bulling: (1) the behaviour is acceptable; (2) the behaviour is inappropriately equally attributed to both parties as a personality conflict; and (3) the behaviour is harmful and inappropriate. The author concludes that counsellors must review potential organisational representative responses with employees and recommends mandatory training for organisational representatives.     

Development and validation of the organisational cooperation questionnaire

IntroductionCooperation is an essential framework for the functioning of organisations and society. The limitations of current measures of organisational cooperation led us to construct the measure herein presented.ObjectiveThe paper aims to describe the development and psychometric validation of an organisational cooperation measure based on how the cooperating members view and experience the cooperation process.MethodBased on relevant literature, the items were built and submitted to a panel of experts and fine-tuning procedures. The instrument (31 items) was applied to 1354 employees in local authorities. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were performed (2 sub-samples), as well as validation procedures through Pearson correlation with the Knowledge Management Questionnaire.ResultsResults showed good statistical indicators of a 22-items three-factor structure: principles of cooperative relationship; formal regulation of cooperation; and cooperation focused on organisational mission. The factors are interpreted theoretically and present high internal consistency. The validation process suggests the suitability of the instrument for the population studied.ConclusionThis instrument can be used as a starting point for organisational intervention when cooperation-intensive processes are relevant. It can be useful to characterize the existing cooperation in organisations and to foster cooperation in organisations, especially in the intended dimensions. Future studies can apply the instrument to various sectors of activity. It will also be worth studying cooperation in its relationship with other organisational variables, namely those concerning cooperation-intensive processes.