Rachel L. Morrison

Negative relationships in the workplace: Associations with organisational commitment, cohesion, job satisfaction and intention to turnover

This study investigates the link between perceptions of negative workplace relationships and organisational outcomes. Respondents (n = 412) spanned a wide range of occupations, industries and nationalities. Data were collected using an Internet-based questionnaire. Results indicated that those with at least one negative relationship at work were significantly less satisfied, reported less organisational commitment, were part of less cohesive workgroups and were significantly more likely to be planning to leave their job.

The entrepreneurship-motherhood nexus

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to use boundaryless career theory as a perspective from which to explore understanding related to the interplay between life-stage and career transitions in women; and, specifically, the life-stage-related event of motherhood relative to the transition from corporate employment to self-employment. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative longitudinal research design was operationalized over a four-year period and data from both primary and secondary sources were collected in relation to four New Zealand case studies. Findings – The findings highlight how life-stage events such as motherhood can have a profound influence on both the perception and enactment of careers and career transitions. In total, two primary micro-processes were identified in relation to the career transitions of the female participants into self-employment and were labeled “traditional employment” (relating to role change; integrating work and life domains; opportunity seeking; and support) a...

It’s Not What You Say, It’s The Way That You Say It: The Mediating Effect of Upward Influencing Communications on the Relationship Between Leader-Member Exchange and Performance Ratings

The quality of relationships between supervisors and their subordinates has been found to be predictive of subordinate performance. A number of explanatory mechanisms have been proposed, and the frequency and nature of dyadic communication have been posited as contributory. To further explore this potential mechanism, the authors tested the hypothesis that upward influencing communications mediate the relationship between relationship quality, as measured by leader-member exchange (LMX), and supervisor ratings of subordinate performance. In a study involving 107 supervisors, LMX was positively associated with reported frequencies of upward influences delivered as rational argument and negatively associated with ingratiatory and assertive communications. LMX was also positively associated with performance ratings, but this relationship was fully mediated by the frequency of upward influencing tactics, with rational argument being positively predictive of performance ratings and assertiveness being negatively associated with ratings of performance.

I get by with a little help from my friends … at work

Abstract Having friends at work is almost universally considered to be a “good thing”. Friends are credited with enriching the work environment and providing support and sociability, yet relatively little is known about the effect upon day‐to‐day work practices. This paper examines the relationship between workplace friendships and the attitudes and behaviours affecting the functional work of those involved. A range of commonly held and often taken‐for‐granted aspects of organisational life, such as sharing information, completing tasks, and working within teams, are shown to be affected by differing degrees of friendships. Drawing upon qualitative data collected from 406 respondents, and using a structured methodology for handling a large qualitative dataset, themes are identified indicating both task and non‐task oriented effects of workplace friendships.

Becoming an entrepreneur: opportunities and identity transitions

Purpose This paper aims to report an empirically grounded theoretical framework within which to understand the role of entrepreneurial identity development in the discovery, development and exploitation of opportunity, and to elaborate on how these identity transitions both mobilise and constrain female entrepreneurs. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative case study-based research design was used in this study. Primary and secondary data were collected from eight female participants (all of whom can be categorised as “mumpreneurs”) and analysed to inform the theoretical framework that is the foundation of the paper. Findings The authors describe how identity conflict, role congruence and reciprocal identity creation play a critical role in venture creation as a form of entrepreneurship. Drawing on the constructs of identification, self-verification and identity enactment, the authors build a theoretical framework for understanding entrepreneurial identity transitions in relation to opportunity-seeking behaviours. Research limitations/implications The work is theoretical in character and based on a sample that, whilst rich in the provision of theoretical insight, is small in scope. Additionally, the sample is located in one geographical context (New Zealand) which likely has implications for the way in which the key constructs are perceived and enacted. Originality/value This paper is an attempt to integrate conceptualisations of entrepreneurial identity development with opportunity-related processes in the context of venture creation. A holistic focus on identity transitions and their relevance to perception and action in relation to opportunity (the root of entrepreneurial behaviour) is novel; at this point, it is exploratory in intention and tentative in reach.

The Influential Subordinate: An Oxymoron or a Daily Necessity?

Naomi was recruited to restructure the administrative systems within a company- Her new’ line manager provided Naomi with the company’s vision lor how this should be done and provided her view on the system that would bring about the desired efficiency gains- Naomi’s manager did not have a background in administration but had been in the company for many years and so knew everyone and was an experienced user of the old systems. Over a period of months Naomi and her manager got to know each other and Naomi also built up her knowledge of the company’s systems and a network of her own contacts. Naomi was keen to make a good impression on her new boss, she worked hard, and discussed her evolving ideas for the restructure with her manager. Unfortunately, Naomi’s manager seemed to reject most of Naomi’s reasoning and ideas- She discounted the evidence Naomi provided and asked Naomi to stick with the original vision, Naomi felt that her boss had not given her, or her ideas, proper regard. She was concerned that her manager was wedded to solutions that would be expensive and inefficient. Can Naomi influence her boss? What should she do? Who should she involve?

Maximizing the good and minimizing the bad: relationships in organizations

Like them or loathe them we cannot escape the people we work with. Working adults spend around a third of their waking lives at work, and much of this time interacting with colleagues either directly or virtually. Further, our colleagues can become key players in our social life, through romantic liaisons, family links, or guanxi relationships that bridge organizational boundaries. Our colleagues can provide us with social support and advice, but they can also be a source of negative behaviors such as bullying. Thus, while we may seek to establish relationships with our colleagues, these work relationships will vary greatly in how and why they develop as well as in the outcomes they produce. Workers will form strong bonds with some colleagues that are enjoyable and mutually beneficial, while with other colleagues they may form more neutral or even negative relationships, and may try to avoid interactions where possible.

The Organizational Chart’s ‘White Spaces’

Jo is the practice manager at a small accounting firm. She has been the cause of a great deal of trouble in the past few years. Several secretarial staffresigned primarily because of her bullying, political and self-interested behaviour.