Workplace Hazing: Toward an Organizational Science of a Cryptic Group Practice

2021 ◽  
pp. 105960112199289
Author(s):  
Benjamin J. Thomas ◽  
Aldo Cimino ◽  
Patricia Meglich
Keyword(s):  
Social Practice ◽  
Theoretical Work ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Cumulative Impact ◽  
New Employee ◽  
Functional Consequences ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Organizational Science ◽  
American Employees ◽  
Testable Model

The purpose of this paper is to establish a foundation for studying and managing new employee hazing in workgroups. Available empirical evidence indicates 25–75% of American employees encounter workplace hazing, but very little empirical research exists on this phenomenon. Workers are changing jobs more frequently than ever, which increases the cumulative impact and importance of new employee experiences, including hazing, a complex group-based phenomenon. Because hazing is a relatively universal social practice without a strongly established literature in the organizational sciences, we draw from multiple disciplines in reviewing and modeling the practice. The current research offers three major contributions: (a) a relatively exhaustive review of relevant empirical and theoretical work on hazing, (b) an initial, testable model for understanding workplace hazing as a multi-level phenomenon, including individual and group-level antecedents and outcomes, and (c) an outline of the need and support for considering both the dysfunctional and functional consequences of hazing, given the variety of forms it takes and reactions it evokes. Finally, we present actionable guidance for researchers seeking to study workplace hazing and discuss the organizational implications of our work for practitioners.

scholarly journals Isolated individuals and groups show opposite preferences toward humidity

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariano Calvo Martín ◽  
Stamatios C. Nicolis ◽  
Isaac Planas-Sitjà ◽  
Jean-Christophe de Biseau ◽  
Jean-Louis Deneubourg
Keyword(s):  
Relative Humidity ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Selection Of

AbstractCockroaches, like most social arthropods, are led to choose collectively among different alternative resting places. These decisions are modulated by different factors, such as environmental conditions (temperature, relative humidity) and sociality (groups size, nature of communications). The aim of this study is to establish the interplay between environmental conditions and the modulation of the interactions between individuals within a group leading to an inversion of preferences. We show that the preferences of isolated cockroaches and groups of 16 individuals, on the selection of the relative humidity of a shelter are inversed and shed light on the mechanisms involved. We suggest that the relative humidity has a multi-level influence on cockroaches, manifested as an attractant effect at the individual level and as a negative effect at the group level, modulating the interactions.

Multi-level selection, social signaling, and the evolution of human suffering gestures: The example of pain behaviors

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob M. Vigil ◽  
Eric Kruger
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social System ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Human Suffering ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Group Coordination ◽  
Pain Expression ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Social Signaling ◽  
Cohesive Framework

AbstractPain suffering has been naturally selected to be experienced and expressed within a wider social system. The communication of pain improves group coordination and decision-making about engaging in resource dependent and potentially risky endeavors. Recent findings warrant the development of a cohesive framework for understanding the reciprocal nature of pain expression and individual and group-level outcomes that can generate novel predictions on the heuristical expression of human suffering in naturalistic and clinical settings.

More on group selection and human behavior

1996 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 782-787 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Sloan Wilson ◽  
Elliott Sober
Keyword(s):  
Human Behavior ◽  
Group Selection ◽  
Relative Fitness ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Selection Theory ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Predictive Theory

AbstractThe six commentaries raise five issues about multi-level selection theory that we attempt to address: (1) replicators without vehicles, (2) group selection and movement between groups, (3) absolute versus relative fitness, (4) group-level psychological adaptions, and (5) multi-level selection as a predictive theory.

scholarly journals Within-Group Agreement (rWG): Two Theoretical Parameters and their Estimators

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-64
Author(s):  
Daniel A. Newman ◽  
Hock-Peng Sin
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Climate ◽  
Theoretical Basis ◽  
Theoretical Work ◽  
Leadership Team ◽  
True Score ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Individual Perceptions ◽  
Team Motivation ◽  
Group Agreement ◽  
Level Property

When measuring group-level psychological properties (e.g., organizational climate, leadership, team motivation), researchers typically aggregate individual perceptions to represent the group. L. R. James provided the groundbreaking insight that, in order to justify aggregating individual perceptions to represent a group-level property, one must first establish that there exist shared perceptions—or shared psychological meaning—within the group. Here we label and describe two distinct theoretical parameters that can both be used to define within-group agreement: (a) [Formula: see text] (i.e., a parameter that defines within-group agreement as Individual True-Score Consensus), which arises from the theoretical work of L. R. James and colleagues in the 1970s, and (b) [Formula: see text] (i.e., a parameter that treats within-group agreement as a Group True-Score Reliability Analog), which forms the theoretical basis for the [Formula: see text] index. We extend the work of L. R. James by offering a systematic comparison of different estimators of the two within-group agreement parameters ([Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]). Recommendations are provided for estimating within-group agreement, to continue the legacy of justified measurement of group-level psychological properties.

Do employees share knowledge when encountering abusive supervision?

2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 154-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei-Li Wu ◽  
Yi-Chih Lee
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Psychological Capital ◽  
Abusive Supervision ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Destructive Leadership ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Group Trust ◽  
Level Group

Purpose – Despite the prevalence of destructive leadership in today’s workplace, the authors know little about its influence on knowledge sharing among employees. Using the conservation of resources (COR) theory, the authors examine how abusive supervision influences psychological capital and affects knowledge sharing. Further, the authors take a context variable (group trust) to explore its cross-level influence on the above causal relationship. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – This study conducts multi-level analyses of knowledge sharing. Abusive supervision and psychological capital are the determinants of knowledge sharing at the individual level. Group trust is considered a group-level variable with cross-level influences. The final sample for an empirical test conducted using hierarchical linear modeling includes 449 group members of 55 working groups. Findings – Empirical results show that abusive supervision is negatively related to knowledge sharing. The results also indicate that psychological capital mediates the relationship between abusive supervision and knowledge sharing. At the group level, group trust has a direct cross-level impact on employees’ knowledge sharing and mitigates the relationship between abusive supervision and psychological capital. Originality/value – Applying the COR theory, this is the first research to discuss how destructive leadership (i.e. abusive supervision) influences knowledge sharing. Based on the multi-level perspective, the authors also examine how group trust can have a cross-level impact on knowledge sharing and the relationship between abusive supervision and psychological capital.

scholarly journals Understanding resistance to digital surveillance: Towards a multi-disciplinary, multi-actor framework

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 213-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron K Martin ◽  
Rosamunde E Van Brakel ◽  
Daniel J Bernhard
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
National Identity ◽  
Theoretical Work ◽  
Surveillance Studies ◽  
Resistance Literature ◽  
Governmental Agencies ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Digital Surveillance ◽  
Multi Level

Despite being central to the dynamics of surveillance, the concept of resistance remains underdeveloped within the surveillance studies corpus. We review theoretical work on surveillance before summarising the main treatments of resistance from within surveillance studies. We find that the majority of resistance literature in surveillance studies is focussed on resistance relations between the surveyor and the surveilled, and neglects other relevant actors. To expand the list of relevant actors, we look to what other disciplines have to say about the who and the how of resistance. Using these lessons, we then elaborate a multi-actor framework to better understand complex resistance relationships. Beyond the surveyor and the surveilled, surveillance authorities, commercial enterprises, international governmental and non-governmental agencies, and the surveillance technologies themselves form a complex resistance nexus, capable of resisting and being resisted in a diversity of ways. Further, we conclude that these distinctive roles produce unique methods, directions and opportunities for resistance.  The roles of these additional actors will be demonstrated through a discussion of the United Kingdom National Identity Scheme, where we believe they are presently engaged in a series of multi-level, multi-actor resistance relationships at various stages of the scheme’s development.

scholarly journals ESL Teacher-Candidates’ Beliefs About Language

2011 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas Fleming ◽  
Francis Bangou ◽  
Osnat Fellus
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Training ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Social Practice ◽  
Professional Training ◽  
Theoretical Work ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Prior Beliefs ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Qualitative Research Study ◽  
Bachelor Of Education

How do ESL teacher-candidates grapple with beliefs about language during their professional training? In this article, we present the findings of a qualitative research study conducted in a large eastern Canadian university Bachelor of Education program. As Johnson (2010) has recently noted, despite extensive research and theoretical work that stresses the importance of functional conceptualizations of language based on social practice, much ESL teacher training still revolves around the skills needed to transmit antiquated notions centered on descriptions of phonology, morphology, syntax, and grammar. This study identifies five key factors that influenced how the teacher candidates in this study thought of language: prior beliefs, interaction with peers, the course textbook, lectures, and the teaching practicum. We found that our participants demonstrated willingness to consider language as social practice and argue that this tendency can be strengthened in particular through the integration of teacher-training course content as it pertains to functional conceptions of language with the practicum experience.

Methodology of mapping in integrative molecular biology

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S2) ◽  
pp. 2224-2224
Author(s):  
F. Iris
Keyword(s):  
Systems Biology ◽  
Interaction Networks ◽  
Psychiatric Illnesses ◽  
Reverse Engineer ◽  
Bayesian Procedures ◽  
Functional Consequences ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Biological Entities ◽  
Analytical Approaches

Psychiatric illnesses remain of unclear etiopathogenesis and a variety of them can coexist, partly mimicking each other while contributing to and distorting symptomatic expressions. To understand the processes involved, it is necessary to unravel signalling pathways, complex interaction networks and metabolic alterations involving a plethora of anatomical components. Hence, whatever the nature of the alterations convincingly detected, these must be associated with their most-likely cellular contexts to then have a chance to reverse engineer the events that could have given rise to the observed alterations and predict their most plausible functional consequences. This requires the utilisation of analytical approaches collectively known as “Systems Biology”.Systems biology explores how parts of biological entities function and interact to give rise to the behaviour of the system as a whole. But having said that, what can we actually do?Two broad approaches to systems biology currently exist: the frequently followed mathematical (Bayesian) procedures and the more rarely encountered heuristic approaches.Heuristic modelling plays the role of an architect (defines the nature, the structure, the functionalities and the contextual constrains of a process) while mathematical modelling plays the role of an engineer (reveals the dynamics and robustness of this process while defining the set of parameters sufficient to give rise to similar or very different phenotypes).This talk will explain, through concrete examples, the approaches whereby one can harness heuristic frameworks to produce multi-level models of complex neurobiological processes that can then be independently tested and biologically validated or refuted.

scholarly journals Four types of gender bias affecting women surgeons and their cumulative impact

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 236-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrina Hutchison
Keyword(s):  
Gender Bias ◽  
Role Models ◽  
Parental Leave ◽  
Theoretical Work ◽  
Epistemic Injustice ◽  
Pay Gap ◽  
Cumulative Impact ◽  
Women Surgeons ◽  
Implicit Biases ◽  
The Impact

Women are under-represented in surgery, especially in leadership and academic roles, and face a gender pay gap. There has been little work on the role of implicit biases in women’s under-representation in surgery. Nor has the impact of epistemic injustice, whereby stereotyping influences knowledge or credibility judgements, been explored. This article reports findings of a qualitative in-depth interview study with women surgeons that investigates gender biases in surgery, including subtle types of bias. The study was conducted with 46 women surgeons and trainees of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. Maximum variance sampling strategies ensured a comprehensive set of perspectives. Data were analysed using iterative thematic analysis to document and classify forms of gender bias experienced by the participants, including implicit bias and epistemic injustice. It found four types of bias affecting women surgeons: (1) workplace factors such as access to parental leave and role models; (2) epistemic injustices—unfair assessments of women surgeons’ credibility by patients and colleagues; (3) stereotyped expectations that they will carry out more of surgery’s carework, such as meeting the emotional needs of patients and (4) objectification. Implicit biases arose in each category. Given that many of the biases identified in this study are small, are harmless on their own and are not necessarily under anyone’s conscious control, important questions arise regarding how they cause harm and how to address them. I draw on theoretical work on cumulative harm to answer these questions.

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