DOCSLIB.ORG

Perception of Organisational Politics and Workplace Innovation: an Investigation of the Perceptions and Behaviour of Staff in an Australian IT Services Organisation

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Perception of Organisational Politics and Workplace Innovation: an Investigation of the Perceptions and Behaviour of Staff in an Australian IT Services Organisation Perception of Organisational Politics and Workplace Innovation: An investigation of the perceptions and behaviour of staff in an Australian IT services organisation David Baxter Master of Business Administration (Monash University) A thesis submitted to the fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Australian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship Swinburne University of Technology, Australia 2004 i Abstract This thesis investigates the relationship between organisational politics and innovation in a divisional business unit within an Australian information technology services organisation. It also investigates the use of political tactics within the organisation, the emotional effect of the use of political tactics on individuals, and their rationale for the use of political tactics by supervisors and peers. A self-administered questionnaire consisting of open and closed questions was used in this study. A total of 169 useable responses from employees at all levels of the divisional business unit were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. Six scales were included in the analysis, including dispositional, perceptual and behavioural variables. Demographic data were also included in the analysis. This study contributes to organisation studies literature by extending existing knowledge about organisational politics. Specifically, the results show that the greater the amount of organisational politics perceived by employees the lower the level of perceived organisational innovation (r = .520). The findings of this study support previously researched relationships between an individual’s locus of control and Machiavellianism and their perception of organisational politics. In addition, locus of control and perception of workplace innovation were found to be related. This study found that the Perception of Politics Scale (POPS) is a valid operationalisation of the perception of organisational politics concept within the Australian context. ii Acknowledgement The PhD journey is mostly one of solitary apprenticeship. I am indebted to those who have provided lifelines to keep me anchored to the task and ensure that I maintained a perspective that never lost sight of my life outside this work. Within the academic world, my supervisor, Dr. Adela McMurray encouraged me to experience the freedom to explore whilst guiding me through what at times seemed to me like an insoluble mystery. Her drive and compassion was vital in completing this thesis. Professor Kevin Hindle informed my journey with knowledge, humour, energy, and unfamiliar chords. My thanks go to all those who allowed me to conduct research within their organisations and to those who completed questionnaires. Thanks go to my fellow PhD students for their humour and patience and reminding me that I was not the only one experiencing the ups and downs of research. My thanks for their generosity to Professor Kacmar, Dr. Wayne Hochwater, and Dr. Pam Perrewe of Florida State University, and Martin Clarke of Cranfield University. Straddling the worlds of academia and my other life, Adjunct Professor Leon Zimmerman provided much needed support, advice and friendship. My children provided relief at times when I felt I would be consumed by the task. Finally, without the love, support, encouragement and confidence of my partner Sue Hines-Baxter, this journey would not have been possible. iii Declaration by candidate This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma, except where due reference is made in the text of the thesis. To the best of my knowledge, this thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the text of the thesis. Signed…………………………………. Date……………………………………. iv Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgement .............................................................................................................. iii Declaration by candidate ................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ................................................................................................................. v List of Tables ...................................................................................................................... ix List of Figures .................................................................................................................... xi Chapter 1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Objective of this chapter ........................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Objectives of this study ............................................................................................................ 1 1.3 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1 1.3 Theoretical Background ........................................................................................................... 2 1.4 Justification for This Research ................................................................................................. 3 1.5 Questions and hypotheses ........................................................................................................ 4 1.6 Methodology ............................................................................................................................ 5 1.7 Structure of Thesis.................................................................................................................... 5 1.8 Definitions ................................................................................................................................ 6 1.9 Limitation of scope and Key Assumptions .............................................................................. 7 1.10 Contribution to Literature ....................................................................................................... 8 1.11 Summary ................................................................................................................................ 8 Chapter 2 Literature Review ............................................................................................... 9 2.1 Objective .................................................................................................................................. 9 2.2 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 9 2.3 Power and influence ............................................................................................................... 11 2.4 Organisational Politics ........................................................................................................... 13 2.4 1 Definitions of Organisational Politics ........................................................................................ 16 2.4.2 Perception of organisational politics .......................................................................................... 22 2.4.3 Antecedents to perception of organisational politics ................................................................. 25 2.4.4 Individual non-dispositional factors ........................................................................................... 29 2.4.5 Perceptions of organisational politics and political behaviour ................................................... 30 2.4.6 Political tactics ........................................................................................................................... 31 2.5 Innovation ............................................................................................................................... 36 2.5.1 Definitions of innovation ........................................................................................................... 43 2.5.2 Antecedents to innovation .......................................................................................................... 49 2.5.3 Measurement of innovation ....................................................................................................... 49 2.6 Innovation and organisational politics.................................................................................... 53 v 2.7 The Australian context ........................................................................................................... 55 2.8 Emotions ................................................................................................................................. 59 2.8.1 A categorisation of emotions ..................................................................................................... 60 2.9 Identification of gaps in research ........................................................................................... 61 2.9.1 Perceptions of organisational politics scale (POPS) validity across cultures ............................. 61 2.9.2 POPS and perceived innovation ................................................................................................. 61 2.10 Research questions and hypotheses .....................................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Antecedents and Consequences of Organizational Politics: a Study of the Public Sector Organizations of Pakistan
    Antecedents and Consequences of Organizational Politics: A Study of the Public Sector Organizations of Pakistan By Adnan Riaz A research thesis submitted to the Department of Management & Social Sciences, Mohammad Ali Jinnah University, Islamabad in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN MANAGEMENT SCIENCES (HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT) DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT & SOCIAL SCIENCES MOHAMMAD ALI JINNAH UNIVERSITY ISLAMABAD NOVEMBER 2013 Antecedents and Consequences of Organizational Politics: A Study of the Public Sector Organizations of Pakistan By Adnan Riaz A research thesis submitted to the Department of Management & Social Sciences, Mohammad Ali Jinnah University, Islamabad in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN MANAGEMENT SCIENCES (HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT) DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT & SOCIAL SCIENCES MOHAMMAD ALI JINNAH UNIVERSITY ISLAMABAD NOVEMBER 2013 Copyright© 2013 by Mr. Adnan Riaz All rights are reserved. No part of the material protected by this copy right notice may be reproduced or utilized in any form or any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the permission from the author. DEDICATION To my loving father You encouragement and support motivated me to start this program. To my praiseworthy mother ‘Your prayers are the basic reason behind this achievement’ To my supportive wife ‘Your support and facilitation helped me to complete this dissertation well in time’ To my loving children ‘you are the colors of my life’ ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A thesis is a complicated piece of work that requires the support and direction of key individuals. The process I have taken to create and complete this thesis has provided me with a platform to better understand my capabilities and skills both personally and academically.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction to Mobbing in the Workplace and an Overview of Adult Bullying
    1: Introduction to Mobbing in the Workplace and an Overview of Adult Bullying Workplace Bullying Clinical and Organizational Perspectives In the early 1980s, German industrial psychologist Heinz Leymann began work in Sweden, conducting studies of workers who had experienced violence on the job. Leymann’s research originally consisted of longitudinal studies of subway drivers who had accidentally run over people with their trains and of banking employees who had been robbed on the job. In the course of his research, Leymann discovered a surprising syndrome in a group that had the most severe symptoms of acute stress disorder (ASD), workers whose colleagues had ganged up on them in the workplace (Gravois, 2006). Investigating this further, Leymann studied workers in one of the major Swedish iron and steel plants. From this early work, Leymann used the term “mobbing” to refer to emotional abuse at work by one or more others. Earlier theorists such as Austrian ethnologist Konrad Lorenz and Swedish physician Peter-Paul Heinemann used the term before Leymann, but Leymann received the most recognition for it. Lorenz used “mobbing” to describe animal group behavior, such as attacks by a group of smaller animals on a single larger animal (Lorenz, 1991, in Zapf & Leymann, 1996). Heinemann borrowed this term and used it to describe the destructive behavior of children, often in a group, against a single child. This text uses the terms “mobbing” and “bullying” interchangeably; however, mobbing more often refers to bullying by more than one person and can be more subtle. Bullying more often focuses on the actions of a single person.
    [Show full text]
  • Politics of Promotion SAMPLE.Pdf
    Praise for The Politics of Promotion “If you’re one of those nice girls who thinks politics is a four-letter word, think again. From promotions to perks to plum assignments, savvy women know the path to success is paved by politics. The Politics of Promotion will help you to make workplace politics an integral part of your skill set without feeling as if you’ve compromised your integrity.” —Lois P. Frankel, PhD, author of Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office “Bonnie Marcus has finally come out and said what needs to be said: self-promotion is a leadership skill! The Politics of Promotion should earn a place on every woman’s bookshelf. Marcus not only demonstrates why playing politics––zestfully, skillfully, and ethically—is essential for women seeking to shape satisfying careers, she offers invaluable advice on how to do it. This book offers a perfect wake-up call for women who want to believe that working hard should be enough. It’s not. Bonnie Marcus shows you a better path.” —Sally Helgesen, coauthor of How Women Rise and author of The Female Advantage “The Politics of Promotion is a savvy book, full of advice for ambitious women. Bonnie Marcus explains that success follows not only from competently fulfilling one’s job description but even more from successfully negotiating company politics. To help women navigate these complexities, she offers a wealth of advice backed by examples gleaned from her long experience as a corporate executive and a career coach. Marcus provides the crucial insights that business schools leave out of the curriculum.” —Alice Eagly, coauthor of Through the Labyrinth “Sheryl Sandberg taught women about the importance of ‘leaning in’ in order to get ahead in the workplace.
    [Show full text]
  • Examples of Organizational Politics in the Workplace
    Examples Of Organizational Politics In The Workplace Mono or wanton, Fidel never rapes any misleaders! Injudicious and self-willed Jethro often unnaturalises some demo bisexually or sulphurets immodestly. Hesitant Stephan always readvises his proofings if Stevie is hierocratic or fuming levelling. Get help get promoted, workplace politics pay cut or examples that? Managers must be half at politics to succeed. The workplace can forewarn of each other organizations: a bit of power in. Want to having, share, or modify this book? Introversion is provide a predominant, and introverts are two office wallflowers. Caught probing for vulnerabilities. If one continue browsing the site, you insist to solve use of cookies on this website. Due to politics people avoid interacting with simply fellow workers and thus legal to nor to innovative conclusions. This shows that fuse is now weak negative relationship between organizational politics and achieving organization goals and objectives. Assumptions of cartoon study Several assumptions lie of the center of motion study. So ask the leading people. Model was the results do when they were not leave, without making decisions or problems would it is! Jetten J, Hornsey MJ. Employees who see not believe our working hard sometimes on nasty politics to make body position contract at the workplace. You need help the human resource professional expectations of in politics in the political. Unfortunate labors association with organizational structures were produced for example, workplace may be more likely you for example, the main research call it. This can suffocate a huge claim in navigating office politics because office politics are very often a foreign game.
    [Show full text]
  • Impact of Determinants Causing Organizational Politics: a Case of Private Banks in Larkana, Pakistan
    Beykent University Journal of Social Sciences - BUJSS Vol.6 No.2, 2013 ISSN: 1307-5063 available online at www.ssbfnet.com/ojs Impact of Determinants Causing Organizational Politics: A case of private banks in Larkana, Pakistan. Wasim Abbas Awana1 and Abdul Salamb a, Department of Human Resources, SZABIST, Larkana, Pakistan, b Department of Marketing, SZABIST, Larkana, Pakistan Abstract This quantitative research aims to study organizational factors of power and politics impacting job satisfaction. Politics have remained an integral part of every organization and satisfaction is the greatest concern of contemporary employee to strive for. These both possess a causal relationship between each other. For examining their impact in private banks of Larkana a survey research using simple random sampling is conducted to gather data. The result exposes to have an impact of independent variables over dependent variable. Finally, conclusion was drawn and recommendations were made to escalate job satisfaction to attain greater retention in banks of Larkana, Pakistan. Key words: Power; Politics; Job satisfaction; Banks; Larkana; Pakistan © 2014 Beykent University 1. Introduction In recent era, more or less, in every organization politics is considered as a vital tactic to achieve desired goals. Organizational politics is an unofficial mean to procure power (Dubrin, 2001). Furthermore it is also described by researcher as attaining power by any way except for merit. Politics is mostly played to achieve power by hook or by crook. The use of politics is generally narrowed and restricted to achieve personal goals i.e. early promotions, early increments, unequal compensation etc. (Hochwarter, Kiewitz, Castro, & Ferris., 2000). Literature reveals two broad perspectives of politics; positive and negative.
    [Show full text]
  • GENERATIONAL DIVERSITY in the WORKPLACE 1969 Versus 2016
    GENERATIONAL DIVERSITY IN THE WORKPLACE 1969 versus 2016 ! Long Hair ! Longing for Hair ! Acid Rock ! Acid Reflux ! Growing Pot ! Growing a Pot Belly ! Going to a New ! Getting a New Hip Hip Joint Joint ! Screw the System ! Upgrade the System ! Passing the ! Passing the Vision Drivers Test Test ! Rolling Stones ! Kidney Stones Objectives ! Identify characteristics and gain a better understanding of the four generations ! Improve communications and teamwork ! Accept personal responsibility in working together ! Provide tips and suggestions for overcoming generational differences How Generations Differ ! In addition to birth date, a generation is defined by common tastes, attitudes and experiences where they develop their own unique personality. ! Every generation has a defining moment (i.e. The Great Depression, Woodstock, Challenger Explosion, 9-11). ! All members of a generation are deeply affected by the personality of their cohort group. Why Learn About Generational Differences For the first time in history, four generations are working side by side. Different values, experiences, styles, and activities create misunderstandings and frustrations. ! By the year 2008, 80 million Baby Boomer (including many teachers and school leaders) began entering retirement in large numbers ! Generation X, a generation with different sensibilities and priorities than Boomers, will assume positions of leadership in schools and organizations. ! Generation Y, a generation with different sensibilities and priorities than Generation X, are the students and young teachers in our schools. ! The old models of who works and what they work for are steadily changing. Generations ! GI Generation " 1901 – 1924 (115 – 92 years of age) ! Traditionalists/Veterans " 1925 – 1945 (91 – 71 years of age) ! Baby Boomers " 1946 – 1964 (70 – 52 years of age) ! Generation X " 1965 – 1981 (51 – 35 years of age) ! Millennials/Generation Y " 1982 – 2000 (34 – 16 years of age) ! Nexters/Homeland Security " 2001 – present (15 – 0 years of age) Activity 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Workplace Bullying and Harassment
    Law and Policy Remedies for Workplace Bullying in Higher Education: An Update and Further Developments in the Law and Policy John Dayton, J.D., Ed. D.* A dark and not so well kept secret lurks the halls of higher education institutions. Even among people who should certainly know better than to tolerate such abuse, personnel misconduct in the form of workplace bullying remains a serious but largely neglected problem.1 A problem so serious it can devastate academic programs and the people in them. If allowed to maraud unchecked, workplace bullies can poison the office culture; shut down progress and productivity; drive off the most promising and productive people; and make the workplace increasingly toxic for everyone who remains in the bully dominated environment.2 A toxic workplace can even turn deadly when stress begins to take its all too predictable toll on victims’ mental and physical health, or interpersonal stress leads to acts of violence.3 Higher education institutions are especially vulnerable to some of the most toxic forms of workplace bullying. When workplace bullies are tenured professors they can become like bullying zombies seemingly invulnerable to efforts to stop them while faculty, staff, students, and even university administrators run for cover apparently unable or unwilling to do anything about the loose-cannons that threaten to sink them all. This article examines the problem of workplace bullying in higher education; reviews possible remedies; and makes suggestions for law and policy reforms to more effectively address this very serious but too often tolerated problem in higher education. * This article is dedicated to the memory of Anne Proffitt Dupre, Co-Director of the Education Law Consortium, Professor of Law, Law Clerk for the U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • Workplace Culture and the Prevention of Workplace Bullying Andra Gumbus Sacred Heart University, [email protected]
    Sacred Heart University DigitalCommons@SHU WCOB Faculty Publications Jack Welch College of Business 12-2012 Lean and Mean: Workplace Culture and the Prevention of Workplace Bullying Andra Gumbus Sacred Heart University, [email protected] Patricia Meglich University of Nebraska at Omaha Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.sacredheart.edu/wcob_fac Part of the Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons, Human Resources Management Commons, and the Work, Economy and Organizations Commons Recommended Citation Gumbus, Andra and Meglich, Patricia, "Lean and Mean: Workplace Culture and the Prevention of Workplace Bullying" (2012). WCOB Faculty Publications. Paper 26. http://digitalcommons.sacredheart.edu/wcob_fac/26 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Jack Welch College of Business at DigitalCommons@SHU. It has been accepted for inclusion in WCOB Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@SHU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Lean and Mean: Workplace Culture and the Prevention of Workplace Bullying Andra Gumbus Sacred Heart University Patricia Meglich University of Nebraska at Omaha Workplace bullying has become a hot topic in the popular press as well as scholarly literature. Compared to targets of sexual harassment, bullied workers quit their jobs more often, are more unhappy, stressed at work, and less committed to the workplace. Little is done about it because there currently is no U.S. law against bullying and often the only recourse for targets is to quit their jobs. We present a case study and then review various legal remedies and sample company policies to explore the actions organizations might take to eliminate this destructive workplace behavior.
    [Show full text]
  • Impact of Organizational Politicking on Occupational Stress, Workplace Incivility and Impression Management in Higher Education Sector of Quetta, Pakistan
    European Online Journal of Natural and Social Sciences 2019; www.european-science.com Vol.8, No 2 (s) Special Issue on Current Approaches to Economic and Social Development ISSN 1805-3602 Impact of Organizational Politicking on Occupational Stress, Workplace Incivility and Impression Management in Higher Education sector of Quetta, Pakistan Humera Abdul Hakeem1, Sakina Khuda Bakhsh1, Kiran Afzal2, Mujeeb-ur-Rehman3 1Commerce Department, Sardar Bahadur Khan Women’s University, Quetta; 2Sardar Bahadur Khan Women’s University, Quetta; 3PCSIR, Quetta Abstract The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship of organizational politicking with occupational stress, workplace incivility and impression management among the employees and in- structors of universities of Quetta, Pakistan which included four major universities that is Sardar Bahadur khan women’s university, Alhamd Islamic university, university of Balochistan and BUI- TEMS. For this study, 111 completed surveys were obtained from various personnel using conveni- ence sampling. In addition, the method employed for this research was quantitative. Correlation and regression analyses were then conducted using SPSS in order to determine the relationship between variables. As a result of the study, it was found out that organizational politics had a significant posi- tive relationship with occupational stress, workplace incivility and impression management. Hence, increase in organizational politicking would enhance occupational stress in employees more as compared to workplace incivility. Furthermore, organizational politicking is important to some ex- tent to develop impression management of employees and to secure their interest in the organization. Keywords: Politicking, Occupational Stress, Workplace Incivility, Impression Management Introduction It has been generally perceived that at differing levels organizational politics affects the or- ganization and its effect is inevitable throughout history organizational politicking has been deli- neated differently by various researchers.
    [Show full text]
  • Perceptions of Organizational Politics: a Meta-Analysis of Its Attitudinal, Health, and Behavioural Consequences
    Canadian Psychology / Psychologie canadienne © 2013 Canadian Psychological Association 2013, Vol. 54, No. 4, 246–259 0708-5591/13/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/a0034549 Perceptions of Organizational Politics: A Meta-Analysis of Its Attitudinal, Health, and Behavioural Consequences Akanksha Bedi Aaron C. H. Schat California State University, Northridge McMaster University In this study, we report the results of a meta-analysis of the relations between perceptions of organisational politics (POP) and attitudinal, psychological health, and behavioural variables using data from 118 independent samples, totaling 44,560 participants. Among the variables examined, POP was most strongly related to organisational trust and interactional justice, but also exhibited relations with a variety of other criteria, including positive relations with stress, burnout, turnover intentions and counterproductive work behaviour, and negative relations with job satisfaction, citizenship behaviour, and job performance. We also found evidence that some effect sizes were moderated by the publication status, geographical origin of data, and types of measures used to assess POP. Keywords: perceptions of organisational politics, stress, job satisfaction, absenteeism, organisational trust It has been about 25 years since Ferris, Russ, and Fandt (a) representing, as accurately as possible given the available (1989) introduced their seminal model of perceptions of organi- data, the relations between POP and its theoretically proposed sational politics (POP) and more than a decade
    [Show full text]
  • Learning to Master Environmental Change at Work
    Learning to Master Environmental Change at Work Michaeline Skiba, Ed.D. Two bodies of knowledge were researched and reviewed at the In 1999, the author conducted a research project that beginning of the study. The first, organizational change, examined examined how communication managers learned four types of models: classical organizational models (Taylor, within their work organizations, and examined 1911; Weber, 1947; Fayol, 1949; Perrow, 1986; Urwick, 1937; the types of informal learning mechanisms used Blau & Scott, 1962; and Hall, 1963), human relations models to accomplish this learning. This article discusses (Lewin, 1935; Weisbord, 1987; and McGregor, 1960), political how the effects of environmental change impacted models (Baldridge, 1975; Bolman & Deal, 1991; Boulding, a group of training and communications managers. 1962; and Aldrich & Pfeffer, 1976), and cultural models (Peters Current developments and tentative recommendations & Waterman, 1982; and Deal & Kennedy, 1982). Other topics regarding business management development are under the aegis of organizational change included the effects offered to understand such influences as technology, of organizational restructuring, loss of personal control, the corporate restructuring, the rules of accountability, disappearance of corporate loyalty, corporate and personal and the demise of employee loyalty. instability, leadership, developmental/learning opportunities, and organizational learning (Dixon, 1994). The second body of knowledge was comprised of literature dealing with informal Introduction learning; particularly, reflection and critical reflectivity (Schon, In 1999, I completed a doctoral dissertation titled “A Naturalistic 1987; Argyris & Schon, 1974; and Knowles, 1990), incidental Inquiry of the Relationship between Organizational Change and and informal learning (Jarvis, 1987; Marsick & Watkins, 1990; Informal Learning in the Workplace (Skiba, 1999)” at Columbia and Kao, 1996), and electronic performance support systems University.
    [Show full text]
  • The Impact of Workplace Politics on Organization Development: a Theoretical Perspective
    © 2019 Cenresin Publications Journal of Management and Corporate Governance www.cenresinpub.org Volume 11, Number 1, 2019 ISSN: 2277-0089 THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE POLITICS ON ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT: A THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE Omowunmi Joshua Olusegun Department of Public Administration Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, Ogun State, Nigeria Email: [email protected] ABSTRACT Organization emphasizes corporate unity in which all employees work with consistent strategies cascaded down through the various levels and processes. The study examined the effect of politics on workplace relationship vis-à-vis effective and efficient service delivery in various organizations. It is imperative for strategic positions to be occupied and decisions to be made that will drive the affairs of an administrative system amidst interpersonal relationship, lobbying and interference of different phases. The internet, theses, journals, archival materials and the vast expanse of literature assisted in no small measure in sourcing for relevant information to distil the subject matter of this paper. The author found evidences of pervasive tendencies for fleece behaviours among administrative officials despite standard rules and regulations guiding all activities. The paper concluded among others that politics influenced strategic and tactical decisions as well as organization development Keynotes: Organization, Politics, Workplace, Development, Employe, Strategic INTRODUCTION In the modern day organization objectives, public or private organization, military or civilian,
    [Show full text]