The relationship between organizational culture, organizational silence and job performance in hotels: the case of Kuşadasi

PurposeThis study aims to measure the effect of organizational culture perceptions of hotel employees on their organizational silence behavior and job performance, as well as the effect of their organizational silence behavior on their job performance.Design/methodology/approachA correlational survey model was used in this research and a questionnaire was distributed to collect the data from 389 sampled employees working in four- and five-star hotels in the Kusadasi region in Turkey.FindingsIt was found that organizational culture was not significantly related to organizational silence but that organizational culture and its dimensions were significantly related to job performance. It was also revealed that while organizational silence was not significantly related to job performance, its dimensions were significantly related to job performance.Practical implicationsThe results of this study provide insight into organizational culture as an important factor in increasing job performance. The study also revealed how organizational silence behavior and its dimensions affect job performance. In this sense, accommodation establishments will be able to acquire new perspectives in terms of improving job performance.Originality/valueThis paper is deemed important, as it examined these three terms in one model in the field of tourism management. It is thought that it will contribute to the literature by closing the gap in the tourism literature while leading the way for future studies.

SILENCE IN THE TOWER: ANALYSING THE REASONS OF AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS AVOIDING VOLUNTARY REPORTING

Defined in the organizational behavior literature as employee avoidance of expressing their feelings, thoughts and ideas, the concept of organizational silence refers to the failure to submit reports voluntarily in the context of aviation safety. Due to various factors, aviation employees may avoid reporting. However, managers need voluntary reports from their employees to prevent future accidents. The primary purpose of this study is to find out why air traffic controllers, one of the most critical safety components of flight operation, fail to do voluntary reporting. In addition, whether controllers are involved in real-life voluntary reporting and whether the factors that prevent voluntary reporting vary by demographic variables. The data collected from 212 controllers were subjected to Confirmatory Factor Analysis by using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 24 program and the reasons for their failure to do voluntary reporting were identified. Furthermore, the study concluded that approximately 27% of controllers did not submit voluntary reporting on unsafe situations or safety-enhancing recommendations they had seen.

Breaking the Sound of Silence: Explication in the Use of Strategic Silence in Crisis Communication

Crises present organizations with the “rhetorical exigency” to enact control. Silence is not an option. This study, as the first empirical examination of Le et al’s (2019) seminal study on silence in crisis communication, examines, first, if silence can be strategically used as a bona fide strategy; second, under what circumstances should silence be broken; and third, when silence is broken, how it affects (a) organizational reputation, (b) societal risk perception, and (c) the publics’ crisis information sharing intention. An online experiment was conducted using a nationally representative sample in the United States. Participants were recruited in 2019 via a Qualtrics panel. The stimuli used in this study consisted of two components: (1) an explanation about a fictitious company; and (2) two types of silence breaking (forced vs. planned) embedded in each stimulus accordingly after the same crisis incident. Four hypothesis were conceptualized. They were all supported. Collectively, they showed that the effect of silence-breaking type on crisis information sharing intention was mediated by societal risk perception, which is conditioned by participants’ level of perceived organizational reputation. Silence, or failure to fill the information vacuum, has not been an option to consider thus far as it suggests the organization is “not in control.” However, this study suggests the types of silence organizations can adopt and the modes the organizational silence can be broken. It provides a new lens for organizations to engage in business communication.

Trauma Exposure and Depression among Frontline Health Professionals During COVID-19 Outbreak in China: The Role of Intrusive Rumination and Organizational Silence

Background: Healthcare professionals are a population exposed to especially high riskand stress during the COVID-19 outbreak. Several studies have demonstrated that healthcare professionals exposed to COVID-19 reported various affective disorders such as depressive symptoms, anxiety, insomnia, and distress. However, the mechanism underlying the association between trauma exposure and depressive symptom among frontline hospital staff has yet to be investigated. This study aims to assess the prevalence of depressive symptoms among frontline healthcare professionals in Shenzhen, China, particularly examining its association with trauma exposure, intrusive rumination and organizational silence.Methods: Data of the study came from a time-lagged panel questionnaire survey with three waves of measurement from February, 2020 to May, 2020 at an infectious diseases hospital of Shenzhen which accommodated all the confirmed cases of COVID-19 patients. Using clustersampling design, a total of 134 frontline healthcare professionals directly involved inproviding diagnosis, treatment and nursing services for COVID-19 patients completed three wave web survey. A moderated mediation model was performed to examine the complex interplay among the major study variables.Results: Trauma exposure was significantly related with depression of frontline healthcare professionals. Intrusive rumination mediated the effect of trauma exposure on depressive symptom, and organization silence moderated the relationship between intrusive rumination and depressive symptoms. Intrusive rumination showed stronger effect on depressive while organization silences was at a lower level.Conclusions: This research demonstrates the pivotal role that intrusive rumination and organizational silence play in predicting the depressive symptoms among the frontline healthcare professionals coping with COVID-19.