Yoav Vardi

The Effects of Organizational and Ethical Climates on Misconduct at Work

Questionnaire data obtained from 97 supervisory and nonsupervisory employees representing the Production, Production Services, Marketing, and Administration departments of an Israeli metal production plant were used to test the relationship between selected personal and organizational attributes and work related misbehavior. Following Vardi and Wieners (1996) framework, Organizational Misbehavior (OMB) was defined as intentional acts that violate formal core organizational rules. We found that there was a significant negative relationship between Organizational Climate and OMB, and between the Organizational Climate dimensions (Warmth and Support, and Reward), and OMB. Also, the activities of misbehavior reported by both managers and employees were negatively related to the Rules, Instrumental and Caring dimensions of Ethical Climates as defined by Victor and Cullen (1988).

Misbehavior in organizations : theory, research, and management

Contents: E.A. Fleishman, J.N. Cleveland, Series Foreword. Preface. Part I: Organizational Misbehavior. Organizational Behavior and Misbehavior. A General Framework for OMB Analysis. Part II: OMB Manifestations and Antecedents. Individual-Level Manifestations of OMB. Production and Political Manifestations. Property Manifestations. Individual-Level Antecedents of OMB. Position and Group-Level Antecedents. Organization-Level Antecedents. Part III: Implications for Research and Management. Managerial Ethics: An OMB Perspective. Measurement Dilemmas in OMB Research. A Model of OMB Management. Appendices.

The Value Content of Organizational Mission as a Factor in the Commitment of Members

In a quasi-experimental design, organizational mission was examined as an influence on individual behavior of members. Workers in an organization with a high value-content-mission exhibited higher normative commitment than workers in a control (neutral mission) organization. No differences were found, however, in instrumental commitment. This finding supports the distinction between normative and instrumental processes in a motivational analysis.

A Fresh Look at the Dark Side of Contemporary Careers: Toward a Realistic Discourse

In this paper we propose that careers be considered as both offering promise and the source of potential disillusionment. While the changing nature of careers and of career management requires a comprehensive perspective to highlight the characteristics and nature of careers in their entirety, most published work predominantly addresses the positive aspects of careers, leaving their darker dynamics almost untouched. We argue that while career scholars tend to clothe such concerns in euphemistic terms, contemporary career experiences may often be quite dark and include a number of undesired consequences. By linking selected career constructs and notions of organizational dark sides, we aim to advance a more balanced framework, offering a career perspective that consists of opportunities versus threats, truth versus untruth and positive versus negative aspects, all of which are inevitably embedded in careers. Thus, we call for career conceptualization and research to be less normatively biased and prescriptive and to be more grounded in reality.

Psychological Empowerment as a Criterion for Adjustment to a New Job

Interview data from 120 professionals and managers, collected by telephone after they experienced a job change, were matched with personality test scores from an employment testing center. Four dimensions of psychological empowerment (self-determination, meaning, competence, and impact) were tested as criteria, and four personality traits (achievement, endurance, locus of control, and self-esteem), measured prior to the job change, were used as predictors. In a multiple regression analysis the personality traits accounted for 26% of the variance in overall empowerment, and locus of control emerged as an important antecedent. Additional analyses pointed to perceived managerial support, sex, and rank as possible moderators. Ideas for further research and theoretical extension are discussed.

Work Satisfaction and Absenteeism among Social Workers The Role of Altruistic Values

This study partially tests the argument that in occupations where internalized altruistic values dominate performance considerations, employee dissatisfaction at work may not necessarily lead to withdrawal behavior. The Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) was used to measure satisfaction with both intrinsic and extrinsic facets of work in a sample of 139 social workers. Data on duration and frequency of absence were obtained from personnel files. The absence of a relationship between satisfaction and absenteeism supported the research hypothesis. Avenues for further investigation on professional commitment are suggested.

Spirituality and organizational misbehavior

Alongside the emerging interest in workplace spirituality, there is an ever-growing interest in the antecedents, manifestations, and consequences of organizational misbehavior (OMB). In this study, we hypothesized that spirituality can mitigate the intention to misbehave at work and thus moderate the relationship between multilevel workplace antecedents and a measure of OMB. Special attention is given to job design, organization justice perceptions, and fulfillment of the psychological contract with the organization. Our findings show that while organizational spirituality (OS) is negatively correlated with OMB, individual spirituality (IS) serves as a moderator variable – but in a direction opposite to our predictions: highly spiritual people engage in more OMB in negative circumstances. We discuss some implications for managing human resources in work organizations.

USING THE THEORY OF REASONED ACTION TO PREDICT ORGANIZATIONAL MISBEHAVIOR

A review of literature on organizational behavior and management on predicting work behavior indicated that most reported studies emphasize positive work outcomes, e.g., attachment, performance, and satisfaction, while job related misbehaviors have received relatively less systematic research attention. Yet, forms of employee misconduct in organizations are pervasive and quite costly for both individuals and organizations. We selected two conceptual frameworks for the present investigation: Vardi and Wieners model of organizational misbehavior and Fishbein and Ajzens Theory of Reasoned Action. The latter views individual behavior as intentional, a function of rationally based attitudes toward the behavior, and internalized normative pressures concerning such behavior. The former model posits that different (normative and instrumental) internal forces lead to the intention to engage in job-related misbehavior. In this paper we report a scenario based quasi-experimental study especially designed to test the utility of the Theory of Reasoned Action in predicting employee intentions to engage in self-benefitting (Type S), organization-benefitting (Type O), or damaging (Type D) organizational misbehavior. Results support the Theory of Reasoned Action in predicting negative workplace behaviors. Both attitude and subjective norm are useful in explaining organizational misbehavior. We discuss some theoretical and methodological implications for the study of misbehavior intentions in organizations.

Organisational career management in Israel

This study explores some important aspects of organisational career management (OCM) in Israel. Overall, our data, obtained from 136 large firms, represented by their human resource managers (HRMs), reflect a fairly paternalistic approach to career management; careers are mostly managed by the organisation. Specifically, we also found that: 1. For making promotion decisions HRMs tend to rely on particularistic criteria and evaluations programs; 2. For managing promotion HRMs rely on internal HR development programs; and 3. Because upward mobility opportunities are limited, many opt for external labour markets to acquire managerial talent. Implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.

Personal and Positional Antecedents of Organizational Misbehaviour

There seems to be a new realization among scholars that intentional acts of misbehaviour are a prevalent aspect of organizational behaviour and therefore merit scientific scrutiny (Bamberger and Sonnenstuhl, 1998; Griffin, O’Leary-Kelly and Collins, 1998; Sackett and DeVore, 2001). Not only are these acts common among members of organizations but their costs for employers and society at large are enormous (Bennett and Robinson, 2000; Murphy, 1993). Our chapter supports this view by presenting a general framework and empirical evidence that some personal and positional variables may be regarded as antecedents of various forms of organizational misbehaviour. We argue that one of the important factors conducive to misbehaviour in the workplace is the actual opportunity to engage in it. Such an opportunity may be related to specific characteristics of the job and of its surroundings. That is to say, the level of control, or alternatively the level of autonomy inherent in the job, creates a structure of opportunity that facilitates not only desirable and normative behaviours, but also various forms of misbehaviour. Most of the research on the effect of job autonomy on employees has, not surprisingly, focused on positive work outcomes such as performance and satisfaction (Breaugh, 1985; Hackman and Oldham, 1980). We have identified only a few studies whose focus was on negative outcomes (Allen and Greenberg, 1980; Dwyer and Fox, 2000; Wortman and Breham, 1975).