Dark Side of Organisational Behavior - Essay Example

Dark Side of Organisational Behaviour Introduction In the book, “The Dark Side of Organizational Behaviour”, Griffin & O’Leary-Kelly (2004) observe that, over time theory and research on organisational behaviour has evolved from a relatively narrow and simplistic discipline to a broader and richer focus. Unlike in the past where the study of organisational behaviour mainly took into account concepts and behaviour that were functional in nature, the new wave of theory and research in this field have also directed focus towards behaviours that are less functional and have negative consequences or costs on the individual, members of the organisation and the organisation at large. This evolution has led to the emergence of a concept referred to as “the dark side of organisational behaviour”. Griffin & O’Leary-Kelly (2004) consider dark side of organisational behaviour to be “motivated behaviour by an employee or a group of employee that has negative consequences for the individual or groups of individuals within the organisation and the organisation itself.” (Griffin & O’Leary-Kelly 2004, p. 4). They further note that the dark side of organisational behaviour brings about negative outcomes which can be perceived as costs that can manifest themselves in different forms. In reference to the sentiments of Griffin & O’Leary-Kelly (2004), this paper seeks to critically examine the relative importance of the dark side of organisational behaviour. By drawing on relevant literature sources it provides a multilevel perspective on critical aspects of deviant or unacceptable employee behaviour and their implications for organisational effectiveness. Dark Side of Employee Behavior In order to effectively understand the relative importance of the dark side of organisational behaviour, it is perhaps crucial to explore some of the underlying factors that prompt such behaviours. Herbst (2014) argues that the dark sides of organisational behaviour particularly in relations to leadership are prompted by a combination of situational and behavioural factors. Situational factors touch on the organisational context in which employees or leaders operate in. Henle (2005) refers to these factors as ‘situation based behaviour’. In this regard, Griffin and O’Leary-Kelly (2004) note that some determinants of dark side organisational behaviour reside at the group or organisational level and are characterised by factors such as reward and control systems, norms and organisational culture. Henle (2005) adds that situational based behaviours are influenced by the workplace environment irrespective of their nature. On the other hand, behavioural factors touch on inherent or conditioned individual attributes. Griffin and Lopez (2005) identify an individual’s ethics, values and morals as some of the underlying factors that could prompt dark side organisational behaviour which are found at the level of an individual. Moreover, pathological factors such as depression, borderline personality disorders and extra-work phenomenon such as personal stress and family constrains are also instigating factors of dark side behaviour found within individual realm (Griffin and Lopez 2005). As previously observed by Griffin & O’Leary-Kelly (2004), the dark side of organisational behaviour brings about negative outcomes which can be perceived as costs. These costs manifest themselves in different forms and can occur at different levels. Some costs are real and measurable. For example, when an employee steals $10, 000 from an organisation, this dark behaviour can be directly felt and measured in the short-term. Other costs are subjective and in-direct. For example, when an employee reveals confidential company information to the public, it is difficult to directly measure the impact of such behaviour in the short-term. However, in the long-run such a behaviour can bring about adverse impact to the organisation. For instance, the reputation and influence of the organisation may suffer (Griffin & O’Leary-Kelly 2004). From a multilevel perspective, the relative importance of the dark side of organisational behaviour can also be perceived in terms of the negative outcomes or costs that it brings about to an individual or groups of individual in the organisation and the organisation itself. At the individual level, dark organisational behaviour may have negative outcomes or costs on one’s well-being, interaction with others and work performance (Griffin & O’Leary-Kelly 2004). For instance, bullying in the workplace, an organisational behaviour prompted by both situational and behavioural aspects can negatively impact on the physical and psychological wellbeing of the individual being bullied. Heugten (2010) notes that some of the negative physical and psychological associated with bullying include; insomnia, eating disorders, loss of confidence, low self-esteem, anger ,stress , depression and mood swings. Bullying in the work place can also interfere with the overall work performance, effectiveness and productivity of the person being bullied. Individual who are bullied tend to lose work morale and focus. They may also withdraw and lose trust in others. As a result of isolation and lack of trust in others, effective communication and co-operation with other member of the organisation may be impaired. The perpetrator may also lose their job as a result. At the group level, dark employee behaviour can impede on work morale, trust, effective team work and collaboration (Heugten 2010; Griffin & O’Leary-Kelly 2004). Besides having negative outcomes or costs on an individual or groups of individual in the organisation, the dark side of organisational behaviour may also impact on organisational effectiveness. The subsequent section of this paper discusses the implications that the dark sides of organisational behaviour have on organisational effectiveness. Implications for Organisational Effectiveness Organisational effectiveness is a very vague and multidimensional that lacks a specific or standard definition. However, it is often considered to be the ability of an organisation to realise the objectives that it has set out (Dressler, 2004). Moore (2007) defines organisational effectiveness as the ability of an organisation to efficiently use its limited resources in order to achieve the goals that it has set out. Conversely, Richard, Devinney, Yip & Johnson (2009) argue that organisational effectiveness is synonymous with efficient organisational operations and organisational performance. Based on these definitions, it is plausible to argue that organisational effectiveness touches on the ability an organisation to efficiently achieve the goals that it has set out. Griffin & O’Leary-Kelly (2004) argue that there are a wide array of dark side behaviors that can significantly impact on the ability of organisations to efficiently achieve their goals (organisational effectiveness). This section will particularly focus on examining two dark side behaviours namely; workplace violence and workplace deviance and their implications for organisational effectiveness. Firstly, workplace violence can have significant impact on organisational effectiveness. According to LeBlanc and Kelloway (2002), workplace violence is an act of actually assaulting or threatening to assault an individual in the workplace. Chappell and Di Martino (2006) note that work place violence occurs in a wide variety of forms which include ‘physical, psychological, bullyng, mobbing and all forms of harassment such as sexual harassments’. Chappell and Di Martino (2006) argue that the implications of violence at work places were overlooked in the past. However, in the recent past experts have began to evaluate and value the massive cost such violence. On that note, Schat and Kelloway (2003) identify that there is an increase in empirical literature which associate work place violence with wide range negative personal and organisational implications. At the organisational level, Budd, Arvey and Lawless (1996) observe that workplace violence is associated with negative work attitudes and job dissatisfaction. Similarly, Quine (2001) and Sherman (2008) also observe that workplace violence has negative impacts on job satisfaction and contribute to ‘higher levels of turnover intensions’ among employees. Coles et al. 2007 also note that workplace violence reduces morale of employees towards their job thereby reducing the level of their work performance. Moreoever, LeBlanc and Kelloway (2002) point out that the negative impacts of work place violence spill over to the commitment of employees. Through review of early works on studies of organisational performance such as Hall et al (1970), employee commitment is defined as the process through which individual and organisational goals become integrated. Several researches that have been conducted in relation to organisational performance show that dynamics of organisational effectiveness can be tagged to a lot of positive attributes of employee commitment. For instance, a study conducted by Foote and Li- ping (2008) concluded that effective employee commitment enhances achievement of desired organisational goals. Additionally, a study of conducted by Bayman and Husein (2007) established that workplace violence encourages employee absenteeism from work. The International Labuor Organization (ILO) 2003 report that higher rates of absenteeism and reduction of production time results in loss of productivity, production plants being underutilized and as a result organisations are faced with possibility of decline in the economies of scale. In a nutshell, it is observable that dark side of organisational behaviour such as work place violence negatively affect the level employee commitment and productivity and by so doing they endanger the effectiveness of organisations. Secondly, workplace deviance can also bring about adverse impacts to the organisation. Colbert et al (2004) describe workplace deviance as intentional behaviours that are destructive to organisational norms thereby injures the welfare of the organisation and that of its members or sometimes both. According to Appelbaum et al (2007) deviant behaviour have negative impact the effectiveness of organisation. For this reason, management of negative deviant behaviour is increasingly becoming crucial in organisations globally. Some of the negative deviant behaviours include employee duty negligence such as failure to follow instructions from managers, engaging in theft cases, slowing down work process intentionally and being disrespectful to co-workers (Galperin 2002). Griffin & O’Leary-Kelly (2004) particularly note that, workplace deviance behaviours such as absenteeism, tardiness, destruction or theft of organisational property and violation of laws and regulations have significant financial implications on the organisation. For example, destruction or theft of organisational property may cause an organisation to incur additional costs that could have otherwise been directed towards other useful ventures. Moreover, violation of laws and regulations may cause an organisation to spend significant effort and time in investigations and follow-up which could have otherwise been used in other profitable undertakings (Griffin & O’Leary-Kelly 2004). However, some scholars argue that in some cases deviant behaviours can impact positively on organisational performance or effectiveness. For instance, Spreitzer and Sonenshein (2003) describe positive deviant behaviour as international behaviors that deviate from organisational norms in a more reputable way. Ideally, positive deviant behaviours create the basic foundation on which human excellence thrive to unlock potential, enhance possibilities and drive human and organisational welfare in a more positive direction. For example, employee strikes or go-slows have been known to compel employers to improve the outcomes of their employees. Moreover, Galperin (2002) observe that although positive deviant organizational behaviour gear organisations towards realization of economic and financial objectives, they are constituted by behaviours that are not authorised by organizations. They include such behaviours as defiance of dysfunctional directives, criticizing incompetent seniors and innovative behaviours (Galperin 2002). For example, in innovative work environment many employees tend to employ unconventional methods in order to attain organisational goals. The impact of deviant behaviour in the workplace is very substantial and can either devastate or positively impact on organisational effectiveness. For instance, Henle et al (2005) note that the impact of employee theft devastates the economy of US as it is estimated to result in loss of fifty billion US dollars annually. Furthermore, reports indicate stress related complications among victims of deviant work place behaviour. These effects eventually reduce the rate of production and cause a loss in work time (Henle et al 2005). Conclusion The findings of this paper show that dark side of organisational behaviour brings about negative outcomes which can be perceived as costs that manifest themselves in different forms. From a multilevel perspective, the relative importance of the dark side of organisational behaviour can also be perceived in terms of the negative outcomes or costs that it brings about to an individual or groups of individual in the organisation and the organisation itself. At the individual level, dark organisational behaviour may have negative outcomes or costs on one’s well-being, interaction with others and work performance. At the group level, dark employee behaviour can impede on work morale, trust, effective team work and collaboration. At the organizational level, dark behaviours are associated with negative work attitudes, job dissatisfaction, high employee turnover, loss of employee morale, minimised productivity, financial losses and many other aspects endanger the effectiveness of organisations. References Appelbaum, S.H, Deguire, K.J & Lay, M. 2005, ‘‘The relationship of ethical climate to deviant workplace behavior’’, Corporate Governance, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 43-56. Bayman, P.A & Hussain, T., 2007, ‘Receptionists’ perceptions of violence in general Practice’, Occupational Medicine vol. 57, pp. 492–498. Budd, J.W, Arvery, R.D. & Lawless, P. 1996, “Correlates and Consequences of Workplace Violence,” Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, vol 1, no. 2, pp. 197–210. Chappell, D. & Di Martino, V. 2006,Violence at Work, International Labour Office, Geneva. Colbert, A.E., Mount, M.K., Harter, J, K, Witt, L.A & Barrick, M.R 2004, ‘Interactive effects of personality and perceptions of the work situation on workplace deviance’, Journal of Applied Psychology, vol. 89 pp 599-609. Dressler, S., 2004, Strategy, organisational effectiveness and performance management: From basics to best practices, Universal, Florida. Foote, D.A & Li- ping, T.T 2008, “Job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behavior: Does team commitment make a difference in self- directed teams? ” Journal of management Decision, vol. 46, no. 6, pp. 933-947 Galperin, B.L., 2002, Determinants of deviance in the workplace: an empirical examination in Canada and Mexico unpublished doctoral dissertation, Concordia University, Montreal. Griffin R.W & Lopez, Y.P. 2005, “Bad Behavior in Organizations: A Review and Typology for Future Research,’ Journal of Management , Vol. 31, no. 6, pp. 988-1005. Griffin, R.W. & O’Leary-Kelly, A. 2004, The Dark Side of Organizational Behaviour, John Wiley & Sons, New York. Hall, D.,Schneider, T.B & Nygren, H.T. 1970, ‘Personal factors in organizational identification’, Administrative Science Quarterly vol 15, pp. 176-190. Henle, C.A. 2005, ‘‘Predicting workplace deviance from the interaction between organisational justice and personality’’, Journal of Managerial Issues, vol. 17, no. 2, p. 247. Herbst, T. 2014, The Dark Side of Leadership: A psycho- spiritual approach towards understanding the origin of personality dysfunctions, derailment and restoration, Author House, Bloomington Indiana. Heugten, K.V., 2010, “Bullying of Social Workers: Outcomes of a Grounded Study into Impacts and Interventions”. British Journal of Social Work vol 40, pp. 638-655. International Labour Organisation 2003, Draft guidelines on safety and health in shipbreaking, report for the Interregional Tripartite Meeting of Experts on Safety and Health in Shipbreaking for Selected Asian Countries 20-27 May, Available online at LeBlanc, M.M & Kelloway, E.K 2002, ‘Predictors and outcomes of workplace violence and aggression’ Journal of Applied Psychology, vol 87, pp. 444-453. Moore, E. M., 2007, The impact of leadership style on organizational effectiveness: Leadership in action United Way of America, Proquest, New York. Richard, P., Devinney, T., Yip, G., & Johnson, G., 2009, ‘Measuring organizational performance: Towards methodological best practice’, Journal of Management vol 35,pp.718 – 804 Schat, A.C. & Kelloway, K, 2003, ‘Reducing the Adverse Consequences of Workplace Aggression and Violence: The Buffering Effects of Organizational’, Support Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, Vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 110 –122 Sherman, M. F, Gershon, R.R, Samar, S.M, Pearson, J.M, Canton, A.N. & Damsk, M.R, 2008, ‘Safety factors predictive of job satisfaction and job retention among home healthcare aides’, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, vol. 50, no.12, pp1430–1441. Spreitzer, G. & Sonenshein, S., 2003, “Positive Deviance and Extraordinary Organizing,” in K. S. Cameron, J. Dutton and R. E. Quinn (Eds.), Positive Organizational Scholarship, Berrett Koehler Publishers, San Francisco. Quine, L., 2001, ‘Workplace bullying in nurses’, Journal of Health Psychology vol 6, pp 73–84. Read More