Fatemeh Ghorbani; Ghasem Eslami; Hossein Afkhami Rohani
Abstract
1- INTRODUCTION
In the current era, where organizations face a globally competitive environment, the need for changes and innovative work is strongly felt in the workplace. Organizations should not insist on old methods that fail to respond to current organizational needs for survival in this ...
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1- INTRODUCTION
In the current era, where organizations face a globally competitive environment, the need for changes and innovative work is strongly felt in the workplace. Organizations should not insist on old methods that fail to respond to current organizational needs for survival in this competitive environment and should use new ones to perform their tasks. Paradoxical leadership is one of the new leadership styles that can affect the employees' creativity and is one of the challenges managers face in their work environment.
2- THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Paradoxical leadership is defined as "seemingly competing, yet related, behaviors to meet structural and follower demands simultaneously and over time." Employees' need for cognitive stability is defined as a person's willingness to give a decisive answer on a given issue and avoid confusion and ambiguity. Identification with the leader means the employees' values are the same as their leaders, are proud to cooperate with their leader, and are upset if their leader is criticized. Workload pressure refers to the extent to which employees have to work quickly and have a lot to do. Self-efficacy is a constructive ability representing the employees' cognitive, social, emotional, and behavioral skills to achieve various goals effectively. Employees with high creative self-efficacy deal with issues and problems more effectively due to their confidence in their abilities. Creativity means using the capabilities of the mind to create a new thought. Few Persian researchers have investigated the concept of paradox in leadership and organization management and its possible outcomes, such as creativity.
3- METHODOLOGY
This research is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive-analytical in terms of its nature and descriptive method. The data collection tool is a questionnaire, and the statistical population of the research is the employees of government organizations in Mashhad. To determine the sample size, ten questionnaires were considered for each item, and after removing the incomplete questionnaires, the required data were collected from 384 people by stratified random method. The appropriateness of the data was determined by checking its validity and reliability. Then, the structural equation modeling technique was used to test the research hypotheses.
4- RESULTS & DISCUSSION
All hypotheses were tested and confirmed, including the positive impact of Paradoxical leadership on identifying with the leader and creative self-efficacy, creative self-efficacy on employee creativity, and identifying with the leader on employee creativity. The mediating roles of creative self-efficacy and identifying with the leader were also proven, and the positive moderation of work pressure and the negative moderation of employees' need for cognitive stability were also confirmed.
5- CONCLUSIONS & SUGGESTIONS
Considering the significant impacts that creativity may have on the improvement of organizational processes, one of the most important points that should be considered is the development of a security culture in the workplace. To create this environment, managers can take actions, such as encouraging cooperation and interaction between employees, creating a safe space for expressing creative ideas, holding training courses to strengthen creativity, positive evaluation, and providing rewards for creative performance, etc. Considering that contradictory leadership can be effective on creative self-efficacy and identification with the leader, managers should be able to create a balance between conflicting behaviors and have sufficient expertise in achieving goals. Considering the positive relationship between paradoxical leadership and identification with the leader, organizations should prioritize strong relationships between leaders and employees by providing opportunities for employees to get to know their leaders and feel connected to them. Finally, it is suggested that the managers find out about the employees' need for cognitive closure and treat the employees accordingly.
ghasem eslami; maryam Rahimnia; Marzieyh Adibzadeh
Abstract
1- INTRODUCTION
In modern communities, the importance of women’s participation is to such an extent that achieving development is unexpected without their presence. Women play a remarkable role in the success of organizations due to a set of personality and innate characteristics, including ...
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1- INTRODUCTION
In modern communities, the importance of women’s participation is to such an extent that achieving development is unexpected without their presence. Women play a remarkable role in the success of organizations due to a set of personality and innate characteristics, including a broad vision of the future, high administrative discipline, and their ability to motivate their colleagues and communicate with them as the life of an organization depends on the accurate performance of its personnel. Another critical factor in the success of organizations is the existence of employees who go beyond their job descriptions to help their colleagues. Though studies have shown that women are more likely than men to be involved in helping behaviors others argue that helping behaviors bring about challenges like the risk of emotional exhaustion or the reduced power of the helpful party to complete their official duties. Nonetheless, investigations have shown that employees who achieve success in their work may have more cognitive resources to participate in social behaviors and perform their occupational duties in a better way. Thus, job success can be considered an effective factor in helping behaviors and performance at work. However, some studies have shown that women experience lower levels of energy and enthusiasm at work. One of the most basic causes of that situation is the unfair interference of biological differences between men and women in occupational fields in addition to stereotypical attitudes and prejudices. an important consideration that should not be overlooked is that the feelings of security, justice, self-sufficiency, and autonomy matter a lot for women and increase their efficiency at work. Consequently, female employees’ mental security is a matter that requires urgent attention. On the other hand, knowledge is one of the main resources that each organization can utilize to achieve and maintain a competitive advantage, and the role played by women should not be overlooked in that regard. Though managers expect their employees to freely share their knowledge, it should not be forgotten that knowledge hiding is a common phenomenon, as well, and can significantly harm relationships in workplaces. Based on the above discussion, the present study contributed to the literature on organizational behavior and human resources in the field of women. First, it referred to the role of mental security as it could create a positive atmosphere and reduce the negative consequence of knowledge hiding, with a remarkable role in enhancing the efficiency of individuals and their colleagues at work. Another contribution of the present study concerned the role of female employees’ attitudes in professional relationships.
2- THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Knowledge hiding refers to a conscious attempt by people to hide or prevent expressing knowledge that has been requested by someone else. Mental security indicates the feeling that people can present and utilize their abilities without any fear of losing their faces or positions or experiencing other negative consequences. The relationship between knowledge hiding and mental security can be illustrated using Bem’s Self-perception theory. The theory argues that people are involved in a process of self-attribution after carrying out a certain behavior and contemplating the action and the conditions leading to it. Scholars believe this can be attributed to the area of hidden knowledge in which the lack of mental security or similar conditions (for the individuals themselves or other people) extensively specifies the conditions under which hidden behaviors occur.
Success is defined as a psychological condition where people experience both feelings of liveliness and learning in their workplaces. Liveliness and joy can be considered the energy coming from job attachment, while learning is the result of acquiring new skills and knowledge. In other words, when employees are provided with working conditions having certain resources like communication and knowledge resources or social structure characteristics like information sharing and an atmosphere of respect, they are likely to experience job success.
The existence of mental security reduces employees’ likely concerns and allows them to concentrate on their duties. Moreover, it drives them toward active participation in communicative acts and the collection of feedback from others and boosts dynamic social interactions among employees. Thus, it can be claimed that mental security is a prerequisite for employees’ success at work.
Helping behaviors are defined as voluntary assistance offered to colleagues to fulfill one’s goals or prevent the emergence of problems, while job performance can be considered the intended values of an organization that people carry out within a specified period. Employees who experience job success are more likely to develop in their jobs, have more enthusiasm toward their positions, and, at the same time, improve their relationships with their colleagues. Thus, they are expected to show more helping behaviors. In this way, job success makes employees keep away from egocentrism and help others out of altruism. Job success is accompanied by feelings of liveliness and learning, which in turn result in improved performance. Thus, job success is a significant factor influencing the emergence of helping behaviors and the improvement of individual performance.
Organizational pessimism is a negative reflection of one’s attitudes and beliefs toward an organization. People who have pessimistic views toward their organizations are more likely to hide their knowledge due to risky or uncertain conditions so that they may preserve their sense of mental security.
3- METHODOLOGY
The present research was an applied study in terms of purpose, and in terms of method, it was a survey. The variables were investigated using the statistics standardized in the previous studies. Moreover, the validity of the constructs of the utilized questionnaires was evaluated using the confirmatory factor analysis in AMOS, and the significance of the items relevant to the intended constructs was confirmed. The level of analysis in the study was individual. The statistical population was comprised of all female employees in the public offices of Mashhad, Iran, out of whom 386 questionnaires were collected. The data were analyzed using various statistical procedures, including Pearson’s correlation coefficient to calculate the zero-order correlation coefficients and Structural Equation Modeling to investigate the fit of the structural equation model with the collected data.
4- RESULTS & DISCUSSION
As a prerequisite for the utilization of latent variables in structural equation modeling is the existence of a correlation between variables, Pearson’s correlation analysis was carried out. The obtained coefficients indicated that the pairwise relationship between all variables was significant at p<0.01. Moreover, the factor loadings of the items of the questionnaire were calculated using the confirmatory factor analysis in AMOS. As all factor loadings were significant in the fit model of confirmatory factor analysis, no item was eliminated from the analysis stage. Furthermore, all fit indicators were investigated, and it was shown that they enjoyed convenient fit. The hypotheses were investigated using p-value and t-value, and it was shown that, for all hypotheses in the study, the values obtained for the first and second indicators were below 0.05 and beyond the range of ±1.96, respectively. The moderating role of organizational pessimism was investigated using the adjusted regression analysis, and the hypothesized moderating impact was confirmed.
5- CONCLUSIONS & SUGGESTIONS
The present study aimed to investigate causal relationships between knowledge hiding, mental security, job success, and employees’ pessimism toward their organizations, and the data were collected from female employees in public offices in Mashhad, Iran. As predicted by the first hypothesis, it was shown that knowledge hiding negatively affects the mental security of female employees. In this way, it could be argued that hiding prevented organizational development due to its negative impacts on mental security. Concerning the second hypothesis, it was shown that knowledge hiding reduces job success. To reduce knowledge hiding, managers of human resources are suggested to establish contexts like work groups so that employees can both express their views and get familiar with what they should and should do at work. The third finding of the study showed that mental security had a significant impact on employees’ job success. Thus, it could be argued that as the positive resources created at the workplace increase, employees are more likely to actualize their capabilities toward effective behaviors. Concerning the fourth and fifth hypotheses, the effect of job success on job performance and organizational citizenship behavior was confirmed. Testing the mediating variables showed that mental security mediated the relationship between knowledge hiding and job success. Moreover, the mediating role of job success in the relationship between knowledge hiding and job performance and helping behaviors was confirmed. Ultimately, the moderating role of organizational pessimism was confirmed. The results showed that increasing organizational pessimism exacerbated the negative impacts of knowledge hiding on mental security. As employees’ pessimistic views indicate that justice and honesty are missing according to them (or may reduce in the future), managers need to ensure their employees that such basic principles will never be violated and take steps toward the expansion of justice and equity in their organizations.
Habibo Allah Doaei; ghasem eslami; Mohammad Gholami
Abstract
INTRODUCTIONOver the centuries, spreading gossip and rumors has been a common act among all cultures and some measures have been taken to put an end to these acts. these two important social phenomena have found their way into organizations and workplaces. the researches have shown that most of the ...
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INTRODUCTIONOver the centuries, spreading gossip and rumors has been a common act among all cultures and some measures have been taken to put an end to these acts. these two important social phenomena have found their way into organizations and workplaces. the researches have shown that most of the employees spread gossip, eavesdrop on others’ conversations, or at least, express their assessments about people who are absent. the existing evidence indicates that spreading gossip and rumor affects the employees’ behavior. however, the researchers are not interested in investigating spreading gossips and rumors and their impact on employees' behavior and job attitude. human resource managers can monitor the spread of gossips and rumors and take proper measures to reduce their negative influences by having a better understanding of their affecting factors. taking into account that employees behave in different ways and every behavior in the workplace cannot be monitored, this research focuses on employees’ cynicism and some outcomes. it seems that in the new millennium the employees are more subject to cynicism than before because today's corporate environments are riffed with mistrust, scandals, and opportunistic behaviors. according to previous research, employees' cynicism is accompanied by negative consequences such as reduced level of performance, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment, and increased turnover intention. the current research accordingly aims at investigating the impact of spreading organizational rumors and gossip on employees' job attitudes and performance through cynicism in public organizations of mashhad city. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKIn general, gossip is described as a conversation between two or more people about absent people stated that gossip is a dynamic process the impact of which gossip depends on the gossip triad i.e., the interaction between the gossiper, listener/respondent, and the target. rumor is also defined as the person-to-person circulation of stories, information, and unfounded news, which is based on common opinions and obtains credit through its repetition and dissemination. the rumor's veracity cannot be confirmed however it is not necessarily untrue. the association between gossip and rumor with cynicism is considered because of the following reasons: a) cynicism provides the best food for the gossipers, bystanders, and people who like making and spreading rumors; b) gossip and making rumors require a social setting as a tool for transmitting the information; c) some people, based on the theory of social information, may receive valuable information through gossips and rumors and act based accordingly. besides, it appears that cynicism has a negative relationship with job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and performance, and a positive relationship with intent to leave the organization. the employees, who have high organizational cynicism, less trust the organization because they believe that the organization does not consider their interests. in addition, a deep emotional bond with the organization is necessary to build commitment and, thus, it can be argued that high levels of organizational cynicism are associated with low levels of organizational commitment. additionally, these cynical people have negative attitudes toward their job (e.g., lower job satisfaction) and organization (e.g., lower organizational commitment) resulting in organizational turnover. finally, cynical employees who are disappointed with the performance of the organization probably do not find any relationship between their own performance and the reward they receive and, thus, consider themselves as a tool for the organization to fulfill only its goals. this perceived instrumental attitude can lead to decreased efforts and performance. METHODOLOGYThe current study was an applied and analytical survey. the statistical population of this study was comprised of employees working in public organizations of mashhad city 480 of which questionnaires were surveyed by distributing a questionnaire designed based on 5-point likert-type scales. the face and content validity of the questionnaire were examined and approved by evaluating the opinions of management experts. the construct validity of the questionnaire was approved by conducting a confirmatory factor analysis. the questionnaire's reliability was assessed using cronbach's alpha coefficient, all of which were above 0.7. research results indicated the significance of all the factor loadings. to analyze the obtained data, a structural equation modeling was employed in amos software. RESULTS & DISCUSSIONResearch results revealed a positive significant relationship between organizational cynicism, non-workplace gossip, and rumors. these results are consistent with that of kuo et al. (2015) and hornuvo (2017). besides, research results demonstrated the stronger impact of workplace gossip on organizational cynicism than on non-workplace gossip. in accordance with the obtained results, it can be stated that the employees might show less tendency to notice this type of gossip and may not show earnest response to its sources. also, given the fact that the non-workplace gossip is pertinent to personal life, the employees may not associate the pressure regarding this gossip with their colleagues or the organization. on the other hand, workplace gossip has more impact on the employees' perception and behavior in the workplace, since it is pertinent to the employees' job, colleagues, and customers. in addition, results indicated a positive and significant impact for the variable of spreading rumors on cynicism. this effect was stronger than the other two variables i.e., the workplace and non-workplace gossip. consistent with the relevant literature, it can be argued that spreading rumors could involve a large number of people and, therefore, might have a greater impact on cynicism. regarding the four final hypotheses, cynicism had negative impacts on job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and performance, and a positive and significant impact on turnover intention. these results are also consistent with that of sungur et al. (2019) and wilkerson et al. (2008). CONCLUSIONS & SUGGESTIONSIn general, it can be stated that cynicism in public organizations may decrease the motivation to render services and subsequently reduce the efficiency of these organizations. considering the fact that the iranian society welcomes gossip and rumors and is prone to cynicism, the same culture is unfortunately transferred into the organizations and may result in decreased job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and performance, and increased turnover intention. therefore, people's satisfaction with the public sector may be reduced. the managers of public organizations should accordingly pay special attention to the understudy variables. taking into account the results, we recommend future researchers examine the proposed model moderated by organizational or national culture and compare the results with that of the current study.