| Definitions of Organizational Politics: Diversity Among Researchers and Differences of Researchers With Managers |
| | Srivastava, Abhishek | U. of Maryland | asrivast@rhsmith.umd.edu | 301-405-2162 |
| | Sims, Henry P. | U. of Maryland | hsims@rhsmith.umd.edu | (301) 299-4740 |
| | Scholars have recognized the importance of 'consensus' among researchers and 'vocabulary sharing' of researchers with
managers for knowledge development in organizational science. In this study, we analyzed 34 definitions each of researchers
and managers to address the above issues. We found 5 clusters among researchers indicating the divergence among researchers
on the definition of organizational politics. There are no significant differences between researchers and managers on any dimension,
as indicated by logistic regression. We also followed this analysis by another method using human raters to assess 'desirability' of
politics. The dominant view among researchers and managers is remarkably the same and favors a 'neutral' evaluation of politics
for an organization. |
| | Keywords: politics; definitions; consensus |
| I Am Outta Here: Organizational Politics vs. Personality Predicting Turnover |
| | Witt, Lawrence Alan | U. of New Orleans | lwitt@uno.edu | (504-280-6960 |
| | Organizational politics refers to behaviors that are designed to promote self-interest and that are taken without regard to
organizational goals (Mintzberg, 1983). Perceptions of politics are related to organizational commitment and turnover
intentions (e.g., Cropanzano, Howes, Grandey, & Toth, 1997). However, research employing the Five-Factor Model of
personality suggests that personality may be an influence on withdrawal behavior (e.g., Barrick & Bretz, 1996). This
study tested the hypothesis that previous perceptions of politics would contribute variance to the prediction of
turnover over-and-above the variance contributed by personality and previous expressions of organizational commitment.
Data were collected from 399 customer service workers. Three possible confounding variables -- organizational tenure,
salary, and gender -- were gathered from organizational archives and included in subsequent analyses as control variables.
Eleven months later, turnover data were gathered from archives; 226 (57%) employees had remained.
Results indicated that only politics (r = -.19, p < .01) and extroversion scores (r = -.10, p < .05) predicted turnover. Logistic
regression analyses were conducted to determine if organizational politics or extroversion contributed unique variance. The
final model was 61% successful in predicting turnover. Separate models adding politics and extroversion as the final variable
in the model indicated that both contributed unique variance.
These findings confirm previous work demonstrating an extroversion-turnover link (Cortina, Doherty, Schmitt, & Kaufman, 1992)
and extend the politics literature indicating the politics perceptions predict actual turnover - an outcome not to be lost on managers.
|
| | Keywords: turnover; organizational politics; personality |
| Performance Improvement Efforts in Response to Negative Feedback: The Roles of Source Power and Recipient Self-Esteem |
| | Fedor, Donald B. | Georgia Institute of Technology | donald.fedor@mgt.gatech.edu | 404-894-4925 |
| | Davis, Walter D. | Georgia Institute of Technology | walter.davis@mgt.gatech.edu | 404-894-4085 |
| | Maslyn, John M. | Vanderbilt U. | maslynjm@ctrvax.vanderbilt.edu | (615)-343-0791 |
| | Mathieson, Kieran | Oakland U. | mathieso@oakland.edu | 248-370-3507 |
| | This study investigates the roles of the dimensions of supervisor power and recipient self-esteem as predictors of performance improvement efforts following the receipt of negative feedback. The study employs two methods, recall and scenario, at different points in time. The participants were full-time employees of an insurance company and an academic institution. The results point to the importance of differentiating the types of power held by the supervisor and the moderating role of self-esteem. More specifically, expert and referent power were consistent predictors across both methods. Further, the effects of referent power were moderated by self-esteem (in both the recall and scenario methods) in relation to performance improvement. In addition, reward power was negatively related to performance improvement in the recall method. These results and their implications are discussed. |
| | Keywords: Feedback; Power; Performance |
| Employees' Reactions to Organizational Politics in the Public Sector: Confronting a Quiet Enemy? |
| | Vigoda, Eran A. | U. of Haifa | eranv@poli.haifa.ac.il | (972) 4-824-0019 |
| | Organizational politics (OP) is a prominent topic in contemporary management literature. While some studies have tried to focus on the nature and connotation of OP, few empirical attempts have tested its relationship with employees' behavioral intentions. Moreover,hardly any study has examined OP in the public sector, which is a natural habitat of politics and power relations. The goal of this study was to
examine the relationship between employees intentions of exit, voice,loyalty, and neglect (EVLN), and actual organizational politics as well as
perceptions of organizational politics in the Israeli public sector.
Participants were 303 employees in two local municipalities who completed
a two phase questionnaire. Findings revealed that OP was directly and
consistently related to intentions of neglect and, to a lesser extent, to
intentions of exit. In addition, employees' job congruence was a good moderator of the relationships between OP and intentions of voice and loyalty. |
| | Keywords: Organizational politics; Public sector; Behavior intentions |
| The Effect of Employees'Influence Tactics on Perceptions of Organizational Politics: A Longitudinal Study |
| | Vigoda, Eran A. | U. of Haifa | eranv@poli.haifa.ac.il | (972) 4-824-0019 |
| | Cohen, Aaron | U. of Haifa | acohen@poli.haifa.ac.il | (972) 48240019 |
| | This study examines the effect of employees' influence tactics together with organizational and personal
constructs on perception of organizational politics. Influence tactics, which represent actual organizational
politics (OP), are argued to be an important predictor of perceptions of political scale (POPS).
The research tests whether the relationship between influence tactics and POPS is direct or mediated by
met expectations (ME) and person-organization fit (POF). 343 employees and managers in two major
Israeli public organizations were surveyed. To allow conclusions on causality among research variables
the study applied a longitudinal design where influence tactics were measured at time 1 and POPS,
ME and POF were measured six months later. ME and POF were found to mediate the relationship
between influence tactics and POPS. Several recommendations are made for new directions of inquiry
into organizational politics. |
| | Keywords: influence tactics; organizational politics; perceptions of politics |