Mark van Vuuren

Commitment with or without a stick of paid work: Comparison of paid and unpaid workers in a nonprofit organization

The aim of this study is to investigate whether nonpaid volunteers have other reasons to be a member of an organization than paid workers. Volunteers are assumed to be hard to manage, because there is no “stick of a paid contract” to keep them in line. Therefore, we studied different dimensions (i.e., affective, normative, and continuance) of organizational commitment of volunteers and paid workers in a nonprofit organization. Further, we assessed whether the predictive power of the congruence between organizational and individual values for commitment differs between paid and unpaid workers. As expected, volunteers showed a significantly higher level of affective commitment to the organization, and lower levels of continuance commitment. Surprisingly, volunteers also showed a higher level of normative commitment than paid workers. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Son, you’re smoking on Facebook! College students’ disclosures on social networking sites as indicators of real-life risk behaviors

Health risk behavior in student populations is an issue of major concern, and students’ risk levels are difficult to determine. In this study, we explore the extent to which information disclosed publicly on Facebook provides reliable indications of five real-life health behaviors. Questionnaire data and Facebook contents (2928 items) on alcohol use, smoking, illicit drug use, (un)healthy nutrition, and participation in sports of 71 respondents were collected and analyzed. The study shows that one can analyze Facebook profiles to reliably associate profile owners’ smoking and sport behavior. It also shows that regarding alcohol use, some Facebook profile elements are indicative of real-life drinking. We discuss and suggest improved methods of coding disclosed public data, which may lead to reliable indications of peoples’ real-life behavior

Speaking of dominance, status differences, and identification: Making sense of a merger

This study focuses on the perceptions of faculty members involved in a merger between two South African universities that were historically a ‘white’ and a ‘black’ institution. Combining a sensemaking approach and insights from social identity theory, the study aimed for a better understanding of the dynamics that underlie the processes of identification in organizational settings. Analysis of the transcripts of interviews and a focus group showed the importance of status differences, dominance, and several foci of identification. Surprisingly, employees from both merging partners claimed to be the dominated group in the merger and faculty members described their post-merger identification in terms of their profession rather than their membership of the organization. These findings draw attention to the dynamic relationship between salient categories of identification.

Contributions of self and organisational efficacy expectations to commitment: A fourfold typology

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to investigate the main and combined effects of self‐efficacy and organisational efficacy on three dimensions of organisational commitment. A fourfold typology of employees is proposed and tested.Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire was sent to employees of a chemical plant. Data were analyzed using dichotomisation and moderated multiple regression.Findings – Both organisational efficacy and, to a lesser extent, self‐efficacy contribute to affective, normative and continuance commitment. The results concerning the fourfold typology are promising when reviewing the median split technique, but a hierarchical multiple regression test of interaction between self‐efficacy and organisational efficacy does not fulfil this promise.Research limitations/implications – As the self‐efficacy hypotheses especially did not meet expectations, the authors suggest another way of assessing self‐efficacy in organisational contexts.Practical implications – The results stress the ...

Shared fate and social comparison: Identity work in the context of a stigmatized occupation

Purpose: People working in mines face the challenge to construct a positive self-image as society views their occupation as dirty and dangerous. The question was how these dirty workers used different normalizing strategies when specific contexts made a range of categories salient. Methodology: We used data from 32 semi-structured interviews with employees of South African gold mines, in which the participants told about the ways they dealt with taint. Findings: Miners were aware of stigmas. On the one hand, there was an awareness of the groups shared fate, in line with normalizing strategies found in other stigmatized occupations. On the other hand, we found several examples of social comparison within the group that challenged the expected strong group culture, i.e., supervisors distancing themselves from subordinates and men disparaging female miners. Practical and research implications: The nuances in our findings show the complexities of the ways people in stigmatized occupations deal with taint. Originality/value: In contrast to previous research, the miners did not only stress the group as a unity. It seems that the opposite processes of shared fate and downward comparison can emerge both, depending on self-categorization dynamics

A Buberian Approach to the Co-construction of Relationships Between Professional Caregivers and Residents in Nursing Homes

This article demonstrates the value of a Buberian approach to relationships between professional caregivers and residents in nursing homes. Extant research on relationships between professional caregivers and residents typically distinguishes between task-centered and person-centered communication yet tends to privilege either the perspective of professionals or residents. To address this issue, we develop an approach that addresses the co-construction of I-It and I-Thou relationships, based on Martin Bubers social existentialist philosophy. In turn, we show the merit of this approach by using it to analyze interactional data from an observational study on morning care in Dutch nursing homes. As these examples illustrate, our analytical perspective is useful because it highlights how different caregiver-resident relationships are co-created and unfold over time. Thus, by revealing how these relationships are worked out in everyday interactions through subtle shifts between task-centered and person-centered communicative practices, this article offers important insights for improving the quality of care in nursing homes.

Narrative Reflection as a Means to Explore Team Effectiveness

The aim of this article is to explore how teams make sense of their effectiveness over time by telling their team story. We selected five team stories from health care teams perceived by the organization as effective. We analyzed their stories using three-level narrative analysis, which addresses the temporal, social, and normative complexities of narrating effective teamwork. Two story types were identified: developing effectiveness stories, which represent stories about a transition from ineffective to effective, and continuous improvement stories, which represent relatively consistent high performance. This distinction seems to indicate differences in the way teams engage in and profit from narrative reflection, and how they relate to the organizational context. Our findings showed that narrative reflection provides insights into incongruence between teamwork elements, invites members to exchange perspectives, and reveals lessons learned for future recycling. Future research could explore how composite stories might provide insights for other teams to reflect on.

Coworkers’ Perspectives on Mentoring Relationships

Research into workplace mentoring is primarily focused on the experiences and perceptions of individuals involved in the relationship, while there is scarcely any research focusing on the impact of mentoring relationships on their social environment. This exploratory research aims to give insight into how coworkers’ perceptions and experiences of informal mentoring relationships in their workgroup are related to their perceptions of workgroup functioning. The results of 21 semistructured interviews show that coworkers believe that mentoring relationships affect their workgroup’s functioning by influencing both their workgroup’s performance and climate. Coworkers applied an instrumental perspective and described how they think that mentoring relationships both improve and hinder their workgroup’s performance as they influence the individual functioning of mentor and protégé, the workgroup’s efficiency, and organizational outcomes. Furthermore, coworkers applied a relational perspective and described how mentoring relationships may influence their workgroup’s climate in primarily negative ways as they may be perceived as a subgroup, cause feelings of distrust and envy, and are associated with power issues. The results of this study emphasize the importance of studying mentoring relationships in their broader organizational context and set the groundwork for future research on mentoring relationships in workgroups.

Identifying competence characteristics for excellent communication professionals: A work field perspective

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to clarify which knowledge, skills and behaviors are used to describe excellent performance in professional communication. As the demand for talented communication professionals increases, organizations and educators need an empirically defined set of performance criteria to guide the development of (potentially) excellent communication professionals (ECPs). This research aimed to render a competence profile which could assist in the development of recruitment, training and development to develop relevant programs for high-potential communication practitioners. Design/methodology/approach This mixed-method research was approached in two phases: first, a series of focus groups (n=16) were held to explore work field perspectives resulting in a concept profile, and second, a series of expert panels (n=30) following the Delphi method were conducted to determine the extent of agreement with the findings. Findings Participants clarified that excellent performance is characterized by competences which transcend normative technical skills or practical communication knowledge. The five domains, 16 item “SEEDS” competence profile describes that ECPs are distinguished by their compounded ability to be strategic, empathic, expressive, and decisive and to see patterns and interrelationships. Research limitations/implications Although a broad range of relevant professionals were involved in both phases, the study could be considered limited in size and scope. Research was conducted in one national setting therefore further research would be necessary to confirm generalizability of the results to other cultural contexts. Originality/value Although many competence frameworks exist which describe normative performance in this profession, specific criteria which illustrate excellent performance have not yet been identified. This competence profile clarifies characteristics which typify excellent performance in professional communication and can be helpful to educators and employers who wish to identify and create suitable training programs for ECPs.

Recognising Opportunities : A Case Study on Fostering a Culture of Innovation Through Individual and Collective Ownership

Every innovation in organisations starts with recognising the opportunity to improve one’s way of working. Feeling psychological ownership for such innovative work behaviours can be identified for individuals (i.e. ‘this task is mine’) and collectives (i.e. ‘this task is ours’). Our question was how teams can be encouraged to pay attention to opportunity sources. We designed a team intervention which was aimed at fostering a culture of opportunity recognition and active promotion of individual and collective ownership. In this chapter, we summarise the project, explore the enablers and barriers for innovative work behaviour and ownership, and translate its outcomes into suggestions for multi-cultural teams. Five teams from three organisations took part in the intervention. We assessed the impact of the intervention through observations, interviews and a survey to see what was learned, how this was applied in daily activities, and to what extent these activities led to valuable results for the organisation. Overall, the majority of the participants experienced individual and collective ownership for opportunity recognition during and after the intervention. We learned that several factors can enable or impede employees to develop attitudes of ownership, including organisational characteristics like culture and leadership. Developing individual and collective ownership calls for access to at least one of the identified three routes to ownership. Interventions like these can help to let ownership to emerge. Knowing that the enablers and barriers show that more structural organisational aspects enable or impede ownership, we summarise how organisations can foster ownership-encouraging circumstances.