Charmine E. J. Härtel

Diversity and Emotion: The New Frontiers in Organizational Behavior Research

This article provides a review of recent developments in two topical areas of research in contemporary organizational behavior: diversity and emotions. In the section called “Diversity,” we trace the history of diversity research, explore the definitions and paradigms used in treatments of diversity, and signal new areas of interest. We conclude that organizational behavior in the 21st century is evolving to embrace a more eclectic and holistic view of humans at work. In the section called “Emotions,” we turn our attention to recent developments in the study of emotions in organizations. We identify four major topics: mood theory, emotional labor, affective events theory (AET), and emotional intelligence, and argue that developments in the four domains have significant implications for organizational research, and the progression of the study of organizational behavior. As with the study of diversity, the topic of emotions in the workplace is shaping up as one of the principal areas of development in management thought and practice for the next decade. Finally, we discuss in our conclusion how these two areas are being conceptually integrated, and the implications for management scholarship and research in the contemporary world.

Workgroup emotional intelligence: Scale development and relationship to team process effectiveness and goal focus.

Over the last decade, ambitious claims have been made in the management literature about the contribution of emotional intelligence to success and performance. Writers in this genre have predicted that individuals with high emotional intelligence perform better in all aspects of management. This paper outlines the development of a new emotional intelligence measure, the Workgroup Emotional Intelligence Profile, Version 3 (WEIP-3), which was designed specifically to profile the emotional intelligence of individuals in work teams. We applied the scale in a study of the link between emotional intelligence and two measures of team performance: team process effectiveness and team goal focus. The results suggest that the average level of emotional intelligence of team members, as measured by the WEIP-3, is reflected in the initial performance of teams. In our study, low emotional intelligence teams initially performed at a lower level than the high emotional intelligence teams. Over time, however, teams with low average emotional intelligence raised their performance to match that of teams with high emotional intelligence.

How leaders influence the impact of affective events on team climate and performance in R&D teams

Abstract Recently, a variety of leading scholars have issued urgent calls for research into the emotional dimensions of work, arguing that progress in the understanding of organizational behavior is being hampered by a failure to consider the bounded emotionality aspects of human behavior in addition to the bounded rationality aspects. We report on findings from a longitudinal study of research and development (R&D) teams that sheds light on the emotional dimensions of teamwork and knowledge work, with particular attention to the role of team leadership. The paper contributes to the evaluation of the role of emotions and the value of Affective Events Theory (AET) in studies of leadership by (a) identifying the obstacles to innovation and performance in R&D teams, (b) testing the relations between negative events, team affective climate, and team performance, and (c) by identifying the role of team leadership in response to negative events in R&D teams. Practical and scholarly implications for leadership of teams are discussed.

The Influence of Team Emotional Intelligence Climate on Conflict and Team Members' Reactions to Conflict:

The authors seek to advance research on conflict and emotions by integrating features of conflict, reactions to conflict, and team emotional intelligence climate. They tested hypothesized links between variables with data collected from 528 employees in 97 organizational teams. Results revealed that teams with less-well-defined emotional intelligence climates were associated with increased task and relationship conflict and increased conflict intensity. In addition, team emotional intelligence climate, especially conflict management norms, moderated the link between task conflict and destructive reactions to conflict. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Intercultural service encounters: an exploratory study of customer experiences

Intercultural contact occurs on a daily basis across all facets of life, and is reflective of Australia’s multicultural society. This trend is observed in many Western industrialised nations and has contributed to a growing body of research and literature in the field of managing cultural diversity. While much of this research is focused on the internal context of the workplace, relatively little attention has been given to the impact of culture on the service provider and customer interface. In an effort to shed some light on the service experiences of culturally diverse customers, a series of exploratory interviews were conducted. The findings suggest that on the basis of service provider behaviors (both verbal and nonverbal), culturally diverse customers perceive they are the recipients of inequitable service and consequently experience low levels of satisfaction.

Gender differences in anticipated pay negotiation strategies and outcomes

Business students were asked to indicate their pay expectations and anticipated negotiation strategies for a specific management trainee job. They also indicated expectations for their and the recruiters target and resistance points for the negotiation process. Men, compared to women, indicated higher pay expectations, a higher likelihood of active negotiation, less likelihood of using traditional self-promotion strategies, and more opportunity for legitimate negotiations. Significant correlations were found between pay expectations and negotiation strategies. Intervention strategies for changing womens pay outcome and negotiation expectations are discussed, as well as the need for a better understanding of effective negotiation behaviors.

Towards a Multicultural World: Identifying Work Systems, Practices and Employee Attitudes that Embrace Diversity

The research program described focuses on identifying the role of organisational culture, as reflected in workplace systems and practices, and employee and group attitudes in the outcomes of interactions among dissimilar parties. A systematic, theory-testing approach underlies the program, which aims to both develop and validate the diversity openness construct. The Perceived Dissimilarity-Openness Moderator Model developed from the research asserts that the affective, cognitive and behavioural consequences of diversity depend in part upon the perception of difference and subsequent quality and magnitude of the response to the perceived dissimilarity. When individuals or social systems (groups or organisations) are diversity-closed, outcomes are predicted to be less positive than when they are diversity-open.

The effect of emotions in cross‐cultural expatriate experiences

With increased recognition of the existence of emotions in everyday interpersonal interactions, the need for emotions in cross-cultural interactions has become more obvious. Emotions play an important role in cross-cultural expatriate interactions as these experiences are essentially social encounters. Yet, little research addresses the emotions felt and the emotional demands involved in the cross-cultural interaction. Research on expatriate experiences centres solely on the cross-cultural training, sensitivity, and adaptability of expatriates. What fails to be addressed, however, is the emotional aspect of this interaction. In this paper, we examine the cross-cultural expatriate experience, integrating both the cultural and emotional aspects of the interaction. In doing so, we aim to advance understanding of the expatriate experience and the potential reasons underlying expatriate success and failure.

Cross-cultural effectiveness of Western expatriate-Thai client interactions: lessons learned for IHRM research and theory

Expatriates who perform poorly in their overseas assignments cost multinational enterprises billions of dollars, damage firm reputation, disrupt relationships with local nationals, and often exact a cost on expatriates’ psychological well‐being. International human resource management, which assumes the crucial responsibility of managing expatriates, should therefore be able to identify the competencies underlying effective expatriate performance, and evaluate crosscultural competence and overall effectiveness. Little research, however, is available on the role of culture in determining cross‐cultural effectiveness in expatriate‐client interactions. Moreover, it is rarely acknowledged that the customer impacts upon the effectiveness of such interactions. This paper provides a theoretical explication of the relationships between the factors of intercultural effectiveness, sociobiographical characteristics, and perceived task and contextual performance of individual managers operating in an intercultural environment. Qualitative research is conducted which, in general, demonstrates the importance of examining intercultural effectiveness from the respective cultural perspectives of the expatriate and the host country client. The findings elucidate the factors contributing to the intercultural effectiveness of Western expatriate managers operating in intercultural teams in Thailand.

Cultural diversity and leadership: A conceptual model of leader intervention in conflict events in culturally heterogeneous workgroups

Purpose – To provide a new way of conceptualizing the leaders role in managing conflict for increased task and social outcomes in culturally heterogeneous workgroups (CHWs).Design/methodology/approach – The objectives of the paper can be met by hypothesizing the proposed relationships and testing them quantitatively using multiple regression.Findings – Finds that the effect of conflict in CHWs depends, in part, on the way the parties concerned manage it, and in particular the group leader.Research limitations/implications – The major limitation of the current research is that it is theoretical. Future research will now need to test the propositions put forward in this paper.Practical implications – The paper conceptually identified some skills and behaviors that are pertinent to effective leadership in culturally heterogeneous workgroups.Originality/value – The model presented in the paper and the research emanating from it should assist in training leaders for these workgroups.