| Workplace Violence in Public Schools: Risk Factors, Consequences, and Intervention Strategies |
| | Sinclair, Robert R. | U. of Tulsa | robert-sinclair@utulsa.edu | 918-631-2835 |
| | Croll, Lee W. | U. of Tulsa | lee-croll@utulsa.edu | (918) 631-5039 |
| | Martin, James E. | Wayne State U. | aa0955@wayne.edu | (313) 577-4485 |
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Violence in public schools is the subject of increasing media attention but relatively little empirical research. Consequently, research is needed to (1) identify risk factors for public school violence and (2) understand the consequences of violence. Drawing from traditional organizational stress research, we present a conceptual model of the relationship between violent events and their consequences. Violent events are hypothesized to influence employees' appraisals of workplace safety. These appraisals are hypothesized to influence motivational consequences such as job satisfaction and turnover. We also show how conceptualizing intervention strategies as intervening variables permits this model to be used as a framework for strategic responses to workplace violence issues. Using a survey data from over 3,000 public school teachers in a large Midwestern city, we examined occupational and demographic risk factors for violence and the role of employee voice, and security measures as two possible intervening variables. A series of analyses of variance indicated gender, age, work setting, and occupational differences in exposure to violence. Further, a path analysis provided support for our basic model of the relationship between violence and outcomes of violence and suggested several linkages between employee voice, security measures, and various components of the model. Future research needs and practice implications are discussed.
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| | Keywords: Workplace Violence; Job Stress; Employee Morale |
| The Effects of Event Appraisal and Coping on Outcomes of Sexual Harassment |
| | Jacques, Paul | State U. of New York, Binghamton | bg18132@binghamton.edu | 607-777-2549 |
| | Sivasubramaniam, Nagaraj | State U. of New York, Binghamton | sivasub@binghamton.edu | 607-777-4396 |
| | Murry, William D. | State U. of New York, Binghamton | murry@binghamton.edu | 607-723-4636 |
| | Sexual harassment has attracted a number of research efforts that have examined a milieu of victim consequences resulting from harassing behaviors. We propose a model that extends the research through the inclusion of the mediating effects of the victim's appraisal of their sexual harassment experience on individual level work outcomes. We also examined the moderating effects of victim coping on these outcomes with results generally supporting these models. Our results show that the primary appraisal process indeed mediates the hypothesized relationship with individual outcomes. Furthermore, victim coping behaviors differentially impacted attitudes toward work. Implications of these findings are analyzed for future research consideration. |
| | Keywords: Sexual Harassment; Coping; Event Appraisal |
| Subordinates as Targets of Noncontingent Punishment: A Victimology Perspective |
| | Bommer, William H. | Georgia State U. | wbommer@gsu.edu | 404-651-3185 |
| | Aquino, Karl F. | Georgia State U. | mgtkfa@langate.gsu.edu | 404-651-3400 |
| | This research examines the delivery of noncontingent punishment by supervisors as per-ceived by subordinates. A victimology approach was taken to examine whether subordinate charac-teristics could predict the reported occurrence of this form of supervisory treatment. It was hy-pothesized that employees who are poor performers, hold cynical attitudes toward organizational change, and who exhibit low levels of sportsmanship would report being more frequent targets of noncontingent punishment. It was also predicted that low status employees would report being more frequent targets than high status employees. The hypotheses were tested in two studies: one cross-sectional, the other longitudinal. Study 1 supported the predicted effects of the subordinate characteristics, but failed to support the predicted effect of hierarchical status. The study also showed that sportsmanship partially mediates the relation between cynicism and noncontingent punishment. The significant findings from Study 1 were cross-validated longitudinally in Study 2. The results corroborated the direct effects from Study 1, but the mediating effect was not replicated. |
| | Keywords: Citizenship; Punishment; Cynicism |
| Attributional Style, Negative Affect, Self-Control, and Personal History as Predictors of Workplace Aggression |
| | Douglas, Scott C. | Florida State U. | scd8935@garnet.acns.fsu.edu | (850)-644-2038 |
| | Martinko , Mark J. | Florida State U. | mmartin@cob.fsu.edu | (850)-644-7846 |
| | This study investigates proposed relationships between individuals'
proclivities to commit acts of workplace aggression and individual
level factors. Using regression analysis, we test hypotheses relating
proclivity to commit workplace aggression to levels of negative affect,
self-control, exposure to aggressive cultures, and attributional styles.
The results provide evidence suggesting that proclivity to commit acts
of workplace aggression are related to individuals' levels of negative
affect and self-control. On the other hand, attributional styles and
exposure to aggressive cultures were not found to be significantly related
to the proclivity to commit acts of workplace aggression. |
| | Keywords: Workplace; Aggression; Violence |