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1 – 10 of 37M. Afzalur Rahim, Jaffrey P. Katz, Zhenzhong Ma, Hakan Yılmaz, Hermann Lassleben, Md. Sahidur Rahman, Maria Gabriela Silva, Zainab Bibi, Leslie J. Shaw, Thomas E. Fernandez and Cathy Leung Miu Yee
This field study aims to investigate the interactive relationships of millennial employee’s gender, supervisor’s gender and country culture on the conflict-management strategies…
Abstract
Purpose
This field study aims to investigate the interactive relationships of millennial employee’s gender, supervisor’s gender and country culture on the conflict-management strategies (CMS) in ten countries (USA, China, Turkey, Germany, Bangladesh, Portugal, Pakistan, Italy, Thailand and Hong Kong).
Design/methodology/approach
This exploratory study extends past research by examining the interactive effects of gender × supervisor’s gender × country on the CMS within a single generation of workers, millennials. The Rahim Organizational Conflict Inventory–II, Form A was used to assess the use of the five CMS (integrating, obliging, dominating, avoiding and compromising). Data analysis found CMS used in the workplace are associated with the interaction of worker and supervisor genders and the national context of their work.
Findings
Data analysis (N = 2,801) was performed using the multivariate analysis of covariance with work experience as a covariate. The analysis provided support for the three-way interaction. This interaction suggests how one uses the CMS depends on self-gender, supervisor’s gender and the country where the parties live. Also, the covariate – work experience – was significantly associated with CMS.
Research limitations/implications
One of the limitations of this study is that the authors collected data from a collegiate sample of employed management students in ten countries. There are significant implications for leading global teams and training programs for mid-level millennials.
Practical implications
There are various conflict situations where one conflict strategy may be more appropriate than others. Organizations may have to change their policies for recruiting employees who are more effective in conflict management.
Social implications
Conflict management is not only important for managers but it is also important for all human beings. Individuals handle conflict every day and it would be really good if they could handle it effectively and improve their gains.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no study has tested a three-way interaction of variables on CMS. This study has a wealth of information on CMS for global managers.
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Afzalur Rahim, Ismail Civelek and Feng Helen Liang
This study aims to explore the relationship between social intelligence (SI) and problem-solving (PS) style of handling conflict.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the relationship between social intelligence (SI) and problem-solving (PS) style of handling conflict.
Design/methodology/approach
Data on SI and PS were collected with questionnaires from 406 faculty members, and the data were averaged by departments. This resulted in a sample of 43 departments, and all the data analyses were performed with this sample of 43. SI is defined as the ability to be aware of relevant social situations, to handle situational challenges effectively, to understand others’ concerns and feelings and to build and maintain positive relationships in social settings.
Findings
Data analyses with LISREL at the department level suggest that SI is positively associated with PS.
Research limitations/implications
Data were collected from only one public university in the USA, which might limit the generalizability of the results. The department chairs need to acquire the four components of SI to improve faculty members’ PS. This will hopefully lead to constructive management of many faculty–department chair conflicts.
Originality/value
One of the strengths of this study is that the measures of endogenous and exogenous variables were analyzed at the department level, not individual level. This study contributed to our understanding of the relationships of situational awareness, situational response, cognitive empathy and social skills with each other and to PS.
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M. Afzalur Rahim and Jeffrey P. Katz
Previous studies examining the relationship between gender and conflict-management strategies have generally reported weak or inconsistent results. This paper aims to study…
Abstract
Purpose
Previous studies examining the relationship between gender and conflict-management strategies have generally reported weak or inconsistent results. This paper aims to study extends past research by examining the main and interactive effects of gender on conflict-management strategies over time. The authors propose that conflict-management strategies commonly employed in the workplace are impacted by worker gender as predicted by face negotiation theory and vary over time based on the “generation” of the worker.
Design/methodology/approach
To test the study hypotheses, a field study was conducted to assess main and interactive effects of gender and generation on the five strategies for conflict management: Integrating, obliging, dominating, avoiding and compromising. Questionnaire data were collected over four decades (1980s-2010s) from employed students (N = 6,613). Data analysis was performed using a multivariate analysis of covariance.
Findings
The results suggest female employees consistently use more noncompeting strategies (integrating, obliging, avoiding and compromising) than male employees and male employees consistently use more competing strategy (dominating) than female employees. All the main and interaction effects were significant.
Research limitations/implications
While this study involved primarily students in the USA studying management at two major public universities, there may be implications for a more global population of workers. However, the results support the notion advanced by face negotiation theory that men will generally seek to save face while women will generally avoid conflict in consideration of others.
Practical implications
This study demonstrates that workers employ different conflict-management strategies over time and the use of certain strategies varies by gender. An implication of this study is the need to regularly reassess selection, training and evaluation processes for managers. In addition, supervisors should encourage employees to enhance the effective use of cooperative (integrating, obliging and compromising) strategies and focus on specific situations when uncooperative strategies (dominating and avoiding) may be needed.
Originality/value
By using face negotiation theory as the organizing framework to examine changes in conflict-management strategies over time, this study contributes in a substantial way to the understanding of how gender and generation interact to influence the selection and use of conflict-management strategies in the workplace.
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Afzalur Rahim and Dana M. Cosby
The purpose of this paper is to determine the relationships among workplace incivility, job burnout, turnover intentions, and job performance.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine the relationships among workplace incivility, job burnout, turnover intentions, and job performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used a dyad survey method to collect data. Structural equation modeling was employed to analyze the data.
Findings
Results showed that job burnout mediated the relationship between workplace incivility and turnover intention and that workplace incivility was negatively associated with job performance. In other words, participants experiencing higher levels of incivility reported greater levels of job burnout and subsequent increased turnover intention and lower levels of job performance.
Originality/value
The authors can find no other research that examines the relationship between workplace incivility and job performance.
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The International Journal of Organizational Analysis (IJOA) would not exist without the hard work and dedication of its founder and editor for twelve years, Dr. M. Afzalur Rahim…
Abstract
The International Journal of Organizational Analysis (IJOA) would not exist without the hard work and dedication of its founder and editor for twelve years, Dr. M. Afzalur Rahim. The journal is the result of the hard work and dedication of Dr. Rahim. Dr. Rahim is responsible for its development and growth as an outlet for quality articles in a wide range of areas including organizational theory, strategic management, organizational behavior, and human resource management. Dr. Rahim has worked very hard to make the title of this journal be reflected in the articles published in IJOA. Thanks to Dr. Rahim's hard work, many articles in IJOA are published by authors outside of the USA and deal with international samples.
M. Afzalur Rahim, David Antonioni and Clement Psenicka
This study tested a structural equations model of the five French and Raven bases of supervisory power (coercive, reward, legitimate, expert, and referent), styles of handling…
Abstract
This study tested a structural equations model of the five French and Raven bases of supervisory power (coercive, reward, legitimate, expert, and referent), styles of handling conflict with supervisor (problem solving and bargaining), and job performance. Employees (N = 1,116) completed questionnaires on power and conflict styles, and their job performance was evaluated by their respective supervisors (N = 398). The data were aggregated for the subordinates associated with a given manager (N = 398) to make sure that independent observation assumption is not violated. The LISREL 8 analysis of data indicates that legitimate power influenced referent power positively and coercive power negatively, and reward and legitimate powers positively influenced expert power, which in turn, positively influenced referent power. Referent power, in turn, positively influenced problem solving (i.e., using more integrating and less avoiding styles) and negatively influenced bargaining (i.e., using more dominating and less obliging styles) conflict‐management styles, and finally, problem solving style, but not bargaining style, positively influenced job performance.
M. Afzalur Rahim and Clement Psenicka
This study investigated the relationships of emotional intelligence—empathy and social skills—of supervisors to the effectiveness of their leader role. Questionnaire data on…
Abstract
This study investigated the relationships of emotional intelligence—empathy and social skills—of supervisors to the effectiveness of their leader role. Questionnaire data on emotional intelligence were collected in four countries (U.S., Greece, China, and Bangladesh, N = 1,184 dyads) from employed MBA students (observers), but the data on the effectiveness of leader role were collected from the colleagues of MBA students who had the same supervisor. Responses from each dyad were matched. Data analysis showed that empathy was a mediator of the relationship between social skills and the effectiveness of leader role in the U.S., Greece, and Bangladesh, but not in China. Implications for management, directions for future research, and limitations of the study are discussed.
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M. Afzalur Rahim, Gabriel F. Buntzman and Douglas White
This study explored the relationships of the stages of moral development [pre‐conventional (i.e., low stage), conventionals (ie., middle stage), and post‐conventionals (i.e., high…
Abstract
This study explored the relationships of the stages of moral development [pre‐conventional (i.e., low stage), conventionals (ie., middle stage), and post‐conventionals (i.e., high stage)] to the styles of handling interpersonal conflict [integrating (i.e., problem solving), obliging (i.e., accommodating), dominating (i.e., competing), avoiding, and compromising] in organizations. A field study with a collegiate sample of employed business students (N = 443) shows that the post‐conventionals used more integrating and less dominating and avoiding styles than conventionals. The conventionals used more integrating and less dominating and avoiding styles than pre‐conventionals. The conventionals used more compromising style than post‐conventionals, but post‐conventionals used more compromising style than pre‐conventionals. There were no differences in obliging style across the three stages of moral development. Implications of the study for management, directions for future research, and limitations were discussed.
The management of organizational conflict involves the diagnosis of and intervention in affective and substantive conflicts at the interpersonal, intragroup, and intergroup levels…
Abstract
The management of organizational conflict involves the diagnosis of and intervention in affective and substantive conflicts at the interpersonal, intragroup, and intergroup levels and the styles (strategies) used to handle these conflicts. A diagnosis should indicate whether there is need for an intervention and the type of intervention needed. In general, an intervention is designed (a) to attain and maintain a moderate amount of substantive conflict in nonroutine tasks at various levels, (b) to reduce affective conflict at all levels, and (c) to enable the organizational members to select and use the appropriate styles of handling conflict so that various situations can be effectively dealt with. Organizational learning and effectiveness can be enhanced through an appropriate diagnosis of and process and structural interventions in conflict.
M. Afzalur Rahim, Nace R. Magner and Debra L. Shapiro
In a study consisting of 202 currently‐employed undergraduate students, we examined relationships between employees' perceptions of organizational justice and the styles they use…
Abstract
In a study consisting of 202 currently‐employed undergraduate students, we examined relationships between employees' perceptions of organizational justice and the styles they use for managing conflict with their supervisors. Regression analysis of questionnaire data indicated that distributive, procedural, and interactional justice were generally positively related to the use of more cooperative conflict management styles (i.e., integrating, obliging, and compromising). Two 2‐way interaction effects were observed as well, such that higher interactional justice was related to greater use of the integrating style primarily when distributive justice was low and procedural justice was high. Additionally, distributive justice was positively related to use of the avoiding style. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.