Sheryl Gai Ramsay

Academic Adjustment and Learning Processes: a comparison of international and local students in first‐year university

This article examines the academic adjustment and learning processes of international and local first‐year students. Twenty first‐year local and international students participated in a semi‐structured interview study upon the completion of their first year in a Faculty of Commerce and Management. Students reported positive and negative critical incidents which helped or hindered their learning during the first year. In addition, students described their feelings, thoughts and behaviours in relation to these incidents. Critical incidents were coded, themes identified, and comparisons made across local and international student groups. The impact of particular teaching processes are considered, and implications for teaching and learning in the first year are discussed.

Workplace Bullying, Mobbing and General Harassment: A Review

Research into workplace bullying has continued to grow and mature since emerging from Scandinavian investigations into school bullying in the late 1970s. Research communities now exist well beyond Scandinavia, including Europe, the UK, Australia, Asia and the USA. While the terms ‘harassment’ and ‘mobbing’ are often used to describe bullying behaviour, ‘workplace bullying’ tends to be the most consistently used term throughout the research community. In the past two decades especially, researchers have made considerable advances in developing conceptual clarity, frameworks and theoretical explanations that help explain and address this very complex, but often oversimplified and misunderstood, phenomenon. Indeed, as a phenomenon, workplace bullying is now better understood with reasonably consistent research findings in relation to its prevalence; its negative effects on targets, bystanders and organizational effectiveness; and some of its likely antecedents. However, as highlighted in this review, many challenges remain, particularly in relation to its theoretical foundations and efficacy of prevention and management strategies. Drawing on Affective Events Theory, this review advances understanding through the development of a new conceptual model and analysis of its interrelated components, which explain the dynamic and complex nature of workplace bullying and emphasize current and future debates. Gaps in the literature and future research directions are discussed, including the vexing problem of developing an agreed definition of workplace bullying among the research community, the emergence of cyberbullying, the importance of bystanders in addressing the phenomenon and the use of both formal and informal approaches to prevention and intervention.

Managers in the firing line: Contributing factors to workplace bullying by staff – an interview study

Workplace bullying is a phenomenon that is attracting increasing interest from researchers throughout the Western world. To date, most of the research into workplace bullying has focused on managers and colleagues as the perpetrators of bullying in the workplace. By contrast, little is known about ‘upwards bullying’, where managers are the targets. We argue that in order to more fully understand workplace bullying as a whole, the phenomenon of upwards bullying requires research attention. In the present study, upwards bullying was explored in interviews conducted with 24 managers from public and private organizations, with the data coded and arranged thematically. Results indicate that potential contributing factors towards upwards bullying include the current work environment, change within organizations and power issues. We recommend that organizations identify the occurrence and processes of upwards bullying as important steps in developing comprehensive workplace bullying policies.

Work‐place bullying: A group processes framework

Work-place bullying is primarily conceptualized in the literature from an individual or interpersonal perspective with a focus on the victim. The impact of the broader organizational context on bullying has also been considered to a lesser extent. Only a small amount of research exists, however, regarding the group-level processes that impact on the incidence and maintenance of bullying behaviour. We adopt a group level perspective to theoretically discuss and explain the processes involved in the occurrence and maintenance of work-place bullying behaviours. Using Social Identity Theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1986) and Social Rules Theory (Argyle, Henderson, & Furnham, 1985), two conceptual frameworks are presented that consider work-place bullying at the intra-group and inter-group levels. Several propositions are put forward regarding the likelihood of bullying in work groups. Suggested directions for empirical research are addressed and practical implications are also discussed.

Supervisor relationships and perceptions of work—family conflict

Social capital theory (SCT) is used as a lens for operationalising the impact of one type of workplace relationship — the supervisor—subordinate relationship (measured using leader—member exchange ...

A review of entitlement Implications for workplace research

Interest in employee entitlement perceptions is increasing in academia and in organizations. Entitlement has a long history of being conceptualized as a personality trait in psychology closely aligned with narcissism. Research on workplace entitlement has generally revealed links with negative workplace behaviors, indicating costly outcomes for individuals, teams, and organizations. Our aim in this article is to review the literature on workplace entitlement perceptions, identifying how the construct has changed definition over time, and indicating related constructs that impact on research within industrial and organizational psychology. This review progresses research in this field by examining the nomological network around entitlement and resolving current inconsistencies in the construct definition of entitlement in the workplace, and establishing a set of firm future research directions for entitlement research.

Playing with power: Examinations of types of power used by staff members in workplace bullying – a qualitative interview study

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the use of power in cases of upwards bullying by examining the bases of power that staff members use, and how these bases create power imbalances. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative, semi-structured interviews were conducted with six managers from several organisations. After completion of each interview, verbatim transcripts were created and examined using NVivo, allowing in-depth thematic analysis. The broad coding schema, developed through a review of the literature, was refined as analysis progressed. Findings Three major themes emerged: a loss of legitimate power, coercive power, and structural power. The findings suggest a “power cycle” exists in upwards bullying episodes, which is presented diagrammatically. Discussion focusses on the processes that commence with a decrease or loss of a manager’s legitimate power, associated with a lack of organisational support, and staff members’ perceptions of illegitimacy. Managers indicated vulnerability to inappropriate behaviours by staff members, and the potential for greater power imbalances to build due to these behaviours triggering a feedback mechanism, with managers experiencing a further loss of legitimate power. Originality/value The study recommends that research into the perspectives of staff members (such as alleged perpetrators) can further strengthen our understanding of the use of power in workplace bullying, and in upwards bullying in particular. Given the applicability of the outcomes of this research to our understanding of workplace bullying, such theory development can also foster practical approaches to addressing workplace bullying within organisations. Understanding the nature of power within workplace bullying processes can inform organisational strategies to disrupt the cycle of inappropriate behaviours, upwards and otherwise.

Qualitative Inquiry as Transformation and Agency

This chapter discusses an action research project into the lived experience of the workplace mobbing phenomenon. The action research methodology is based on the exemplarian model (Coenen & Khonraad, 2003) from the Netherlands Group. This model requires positive outcomes for those immersed in the problem to reduce the adversity of their circumstances. The findings challenge the psychological perspective of the existing bullying literature that tends to focus on individual behaviour. This research, undertaken over a three year period with 212 participants, identified the dysfunctional nature of public sector bureaucracies and the power gained through gossip and rumour as some of the key emergent themes to explain the workplace mobbing problem. In addition, resistance, conscientisation, and agency were identified as the key to transformation for those targeted.

Bosses Get Bullied Too: Exploring Upwards Bullying to Learn More About Workplace Bullying

Upwards bullying is a phenomenon that has received less attention than other forms of bullying (i.e. horizontal and downwards bullying). In part historical, and also driven by the higher number of people experiencing horizontal and downwards bullying, the limited acknowledgement of upwards bullying does not diminish the effect that bullying by subordinates can have on managers and supervisors. Research clearly demonstrates that upwards bullying affects managers/supervisors in a similar way to other targets. Indeed, it may in fact be complicated by the perceptions of others (e.g. fellow managers who believe that “you should be able to manage it”) that can lead to further feelings of shame and helplessness that targets often experience. Such perceptions by others and managers themselves can lead to ignoring the processes of bullying and the development of associated power imbalances between perpetrator and target, as well as the emotional toll that bullying can take on a target. Indeed, upwards bullying research is informing the field regarding how power imbalances can be created especially by highlighting the role that alternative forms of power (e.g. referent, network) can be used tacitly or intentionally to support bullying behaviour. Importantly, it also points to how the system designed to support targets can be used as a weapon against a manager or colleague, thereby undermining the justice process within workplaces. In addition to ongoing research into all facets of upwards bullying in the workplace, further research into how the grievance system can be strengthened is called for.