Analysis of Journal article - Research Paper Example

The authors’ central argument is that behaviors relating to identity are likely to be manifested in the workplace under circumstances where the identities are psychologically essential and where the identities are activated by certain forces like role occupancy. The authors’ hypotheses were tested through an analysis of data obtained form 278 employees and supervisors from a nonprofit organization involved in helping vulnerable children together with their families. Additional information on employee behavior was obtained from organizational records.

The authors were mainly concerned with two types of role identities; helping identity and industrious work identity both of which are essential to organizational behavior. In the study, the authors defined helping identity as the degree to which workers perceive helping as a central part of their sense of belonging. Industrious work identity was defined as the degree to which workers perceive discipline, consistency and reliability in adhering to the organization’s routine as a central part of their sense of self.

The authors’ findings indicated that industrious work identity and helping identity were positively linked to other related role behaviors. Interestingly, the association between the stated organizational behaviors was observed when there was high occupancy in the employee’s role. A positive association between industrious work identity and related role behaviors was observed only under circumstances where there was consistency in the appraisals from co-workers and the stated identity. On the other hand, there was no relationship between the industrious identity appraisal from co-workers and related role behaviors.

The authors’ findings illustrate the need to establish a theory that links the idealized and situated self with the understanding of the relations between identity relations and organizational performance. The authors’ model can be applied in many contemporary organizational settings in order to understand the impact of different employee behaviors on organizational performance both at the individual worker’s and at the team level. Application to real organization Stephen Farmer and Linn Van Dyne’s article; the idealized self of the situated self as predictors of employee work behaviors presents a scientific tool for integrating situated self and idealized self individual elements in enhancing the understanding role identities in the work place.

With regard to organizational behavior, role identities which refer to self-definitions founded on occupancy of certain roles are practically applicable in organizations due to their influence on performance behaviors like creativity and volunteering behaviors which are essential in the workplace (Farmer and Van Dyne, 2010). Additionally, the work-related role identities can be cultivated and reinforced within the organization in a manner that strengthens positive behaviors. The role identities are also crucial due to the fact that ratification of identity can be created by the individual and shaped by the prevailing situation within the organization.

As people strive to create meaning by creating identities, individual roles are defined hence creating an association between role identities and performance related behaviors. The theoretical framework developed in the study can be applied in understanding the behaviors that act as