Dwayne Devonish

The Effect of Organizational Justice on Contextual Performance, Counterproductive Work Behaviors, and Task Performance: Investigating the moderating role of ability-based emotional intelligence

This study tested the direct effects of three dimensions of organizational justice – distributive justice, procedural justice, and interactional justice – on contextual performance, counterproductive work behaviors, and task performance. The study also examined the moderating effects of an ability measure of emotional intelligence (EI) on the justice–performance relationship. Based on the data from 211 employees across nine organizations from the private and public sectors in a developing country in the Caribbean, the results revealed that all three justice dimensions had significant effects on task performance, contextual performance, and counterproductive work behaviors in the expected direction. Composite EI and its four subdimensions (appraisal and expression of emotion in the self, appraisal and recognition of emotion in others, regulation of emotion, and use of emotion) moderated the relationship between procedural justice and contextual performance, but failed to moderate other justice–performance relationships.

Perceptions of auditor independence in Barbados

– The study investigates the perceptions of auditor independence (PAI) between auditors and users in Barbados., – A self‐administered questionnaire was adapted and modified from Beattie et al.s study in the UK the sample included 66 auditors and 148 users. Factors relating to the size and closeness of Barbadian society, lengthy tenure and being a sole audit practitioner, small audit firm, provision of non‐audit services (NAS) among others, were investigated., – Economic dependence of auditor on the client, the provision of NAS, high competition, small firm size, being a sole practitioner, lengthy tenure and the size and closeness of Barbadian society were found to negatively affect PAI. Auditor independence was perceived to be enhanced by the existence of audit committees, rotation of audit partners, risks to auditor arising from poor quality, regulatory rights and requirements surrounding auditor change and an auditors right to attend and be heard at the companys annual general meetings., – Owing to the relatively small sample size and small emerging market, these findings should be interpreted with caution., – This research serves to inform audit related policies and regulation on the potential threats to auditor independence., – This paper contributes to the limited body of research on auditor independence in small developing countries.

Workplace bullying, employee performance and behaviors

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine whether two factors of affective psychological well-being, job satisfaction, and work-related depression, play a role in mediating the relationship between workplace bullying as a social stressor at work and three forms of employee performance or behaviors: task performance, individual-targeted citizenship behavior (OCB-I), and interpersonal counterproductive work behavior (CWB-P). Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopted a cross-sectional survey research design which captured a sample of 262 employees across a number of organizations in a small developing country in the Caribbean region. Findings – The findings revealed that job satisfaction alone partially mediated the relationship between workplace bullying and task performance, whereas work-related depression alone partially mediated the relationship between workplace bullying and OCB-I. Both job satisfaction and work-related depression partially mediated the relationship between workplace bully...

Explaining entrepreneurial intentions in the Caribbean

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to highlight the need for Caribbean scholarship to advance and test social psychological models that speak to current entrepreneurial realities on the ground which have implications for theory, education, practice and public policy. It tests a revised entrepreneurial intentions‐based model by examining the impact of several socio‐cognitive predictors.Design/methodology/approach – Using a structural equation modelling approach, a revised model of entrepreneurial intentions is tested based on a survey of 376 university students from a Caribbean university.Findings – The chi square difference results reveal that when compared with the proposed (revised) model, a previous model advanced by Krueger is found to be the most suitable model in explaining entrepreneurial intentions.Research limitations/implications – The cross‐sectional design of the study does not permit causal statements to be made regarding the variables examined. There is a call for longitudinal research to...

The Relationship Between Ability-Based Emotional Intelligence and Contextual Performance and Counterproductive Work Behaviors: A Test of the Mediating Effects of Job Satisfaction

This article investigated the mediating role of job satisfaction between four ability-based emotional intelligence (EI) dimensions and contextual performance and counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs), and controlled for Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, and Agreeableness. Based on data collected from 222 employees, results supported the hypothesized partial mediation model. Job satisfaction partially mediated the relationship between (a) the ability-based EI dimension, regulation of emotion, and contextual performance, and CWB-I and CWB-O; (b) the ability-based EI dimension, selfemotion appraisal, and CWB-I and CWB-O; (c) the ability-based EI dimension, use of emotion and contextual performance; and (d) between Agreeableness, Emotional Stability, and Conscientiousness and contextual performance and CWBs. Implications, limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Job demands, health, and absenteeism: does bullying make things worse?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine workplace bullying as a potential moderator (or exacerbator) in the relationship between job demands and physical, mental and behavioral strain. Design/methodology/approach – Survey data from a cross-section of 262 employees were collected using a range of measures and hierarchical moderated regressions were performed to examine the interactive effects of job demands and workplace bullying on physical exhaustion, depression, and medically certified and uncertified absenteeism. Findings – The results revealed that workplace bullying significantly exacerbated the effects of job demands on physical exhaustion, depression, and uncertified absenteeism. Research limitations/implications – The study utilized a cross-sectional self-report survey research design which does not permit causal inferences to be made. Longitudinal research is needed to further investigate these relationships reported here. Practical implications – Managers should seek to minimize workpl...

The Practice of HRM and SHRM in the Barbados Hotel Sector

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the relationship between the number of human resource management (HRM) practices adopted and organizational demographics among hotels in Barbados, as well as determining the extent to which strategic human management (SHRM) is practiced. A quantitative survey was administered to 46 hotels out of a population of 75 hotels. The findings revealed that more than half the sampled hotels adopted more than 14 HRM practices; that hotel size (by employee level), hotel room prices and age of hotel were significantly related to the number of HRM practices adopted. All hotels engaged in strategic planning and the majority had a HR strategy formally endorsed and actively supported by the hotels top management and that HRM strategies are integrated with business strategies and HR strategies are deliberately integrated with each other. These findings suggest that there is widespread adoption and a growing level of interest in HRM, as well as considerable importance being attached to strategic HR issues.

The interaction between supportive and unsupportive manager behaviors on employee work attitudes

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to use social exchange theory (SET) to examine a model where supportive and unsupportive manager behaviors (SMB and UMB) interact to predict employees’ engagement, job satisfaction and turnover intention. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional online survey collected data from 252 UK-based employees of a global data management company. Findings Factor analysis confirmed manager behaviors to consist of two constructs: supportive and unsupportive behaviors. Structural equation modeling indicated SMB predicted job satisfaction and turnover intentions, but not engagement. Job satisfaction, but not engagement, mediated the SMB-turnover intention relationship. UMB only predicted job dissatisfaction. Neither job satisfaction nor engagement mediated the UMB-turnover intention relationship. UMB undermined the positive relationship between SMB and turnover intention. Practical implications The behaviors assessed can be integrated into various stages of a manager’s development process to serve as guidelines of good practice. Crucially, findings suggest managers can exhibit both supportive and unsupportive behaviors, and that consistency in behaviors is important. The study also provides evidence that supportive managers can help reduce turnover intention through job satisfaction. Originality/value SET was used as a framework for SMB, UMB and engagement. To the authors’ knowledge this is the first study to examine the interaction between SMB and UMB.

Psychometric Properties and Factorial Structure of the State Trait Anxiety Inventory-Trait Version (STAI-T) in Caribbean University Students

The study investigated the psychometric properties of the State Trait Anxiety Inventory—Trait Scale (STAI-T: Spielberger, 1983) in a Caribbean university student sample. Participants were 415 undergraduate students (75% female) who completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Trait Version (STAI-T; Spielberger, 1983), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II; Beck, Steer, & Brown, 1996), the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS; Zung, 1965), the Ego Resiliecy-89 (ER-89; Block, 1989), and the Perceived Stress Scale-Ten Item Version (PSS-10; Cohen et al., 1983). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to examine the construct validity of the trait anxiety scale in terms of factor structure, convergent, discriminant, and nomological validities. CFA results revealed that a two-factor solution (trait anxiety absent and trait anxiety present) provided significantly better fit than the one-factor model of trait anxiety. There was clear evidence of convergent validity, discriminant validity, and nomological validity of the scale. Results support the psychometric adequacy of the STAI-T for use with Caribbean university students.

Worker participation in Barbados: contemporary practice and prospects

This paper explores the impact of several factors on current participation practice and the willingness of employers to introduce participation at work. Data were obtained from a cross-section of 93 organisations, obtained from a stratified sample of 200 organisations from various industries in Barbados. Organisational size, industrial origin and union presence were not significant determinants of current participation practice. However, a cost reduction strategy was negatively associated with current participation governing management of people. Innovation-based strategies were positively related to willingness to introduce participation regarding the management of people. Perceived participation outcomes such as job satisfaction, increased joint benefits and reduced absenteeism were associated with current participation regarding the management of people as well as willingness to extend participation in the same area.