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The purpose of this paper is to describe the potential value of affirmation as a way that leaders might be able to reduce employee cynicism in organizations.

A brief overview of cynicism and possible value of affirmation as a method to reduce cynicism is followed by suggestions for ways that leaders may be able to reduce cynicism through affirmation. Six strategies for reducing cynicism were summarized. These strategies were organized using AFFIRM as an acrostic.

Leaders may be able to reduce employee cynicism through actions intended to affirm employees. Specifically, it is suggested that leaders can affirm employees through acknowledgement and appreciation, feedback, focus, involvement, respect, and maintaining employee well-being.

This paper framed the strategies for reducing cynicism using AFFIRM as an acrostic for the six strategies. Organizing the recommended strategies of acknowledgement/appreciation, feedback, focus, involvement, respect, and maintaining employee well-being using this methodology may be a beneficial tool for leaders looking for ways to reduce employee cynicism in organizations.

The competitive success of organizations is heavily dependent on the quality of leadership within those organizations. Among the growing list of skills required for effective leadership is the need for leaders to promote the deployment of effective teams in the workplace. There are numerous strategies and methods that have been utilized to prepare future leaders to meet the challenge of developing and promoting high performance teams in the workplace. This idea brief summarizes one approach developed by faculty for a new course in a graduate management/leadership program titled, “Leading and Developing High Performance Teams.” The approach summarized in this article includes a hypothetical/fictional mini-case that was developed specifically for the purpose of meeting course objectives related to the identification of issues/challenges related to virtual teams, as well as diversity in teams. The mini-case is followed by some proposed questions that will accompany the case. A sample of acceptable responses is also provided.

Through comparative analysis with other social science disciplines, gaps are identified in the performance gaming literature of public administration as it compares to other social science disciplines in order to understand directions for future research in this space.

This study involves a systematic review of the performance gaming literature, focusing on important drivers of performance gaming. Using Google Scholar, Web of Science, and ProQuest Central, the systematic review covers years ranging from 1990 through 2019 and revealed empirical studies that were deemed relevant based on whether an article was (1) an empirical study and (2) performance gaming or cheating behavior was the outcome variable. Out of the 81 articles surmised from the search, 51 were regarded as relevant by meeting these criteria.

The main finding is that public administration has primarily focused on drivers that are embedded in the performance system. The other social sciences (psychology and economics, in particular) focus mainly on individual factors, mostly cognitive in nature. Public administration has also looked at organizational drivers, though this is a burgeoning area. Scholars in public administration may benefit from the other social sciences by determining how individual drivers work within the context of public organizations and how these shape organizational behavior.

Per my knowledge, the paper is the first to systematically compare the performance gaming literature of public administration to other social science disciplines. The paper provides a direction for this burgeoning area of research.

This paper aims to enhance the understanding of organizational change (OC) and the main critical factors to change.

A single case study was conducted in a large company with operations in Brazil by means of 21 in-depth interviews. A qualitative perspective was applied to scrutinize the data collected.

Main critical factors, such as commitment and trust, represent pieces of a puzzle that, when put together in a constructive way, draw a path to successful implementation of a change initiative. On the one hand, a country crisis poses as an obstacle to build change initiative credibility. On the other hand, an economic downturn may represent a retention mechanism. This study allowed the authors to draw a diagram with four groups of people based on their engagement with the organization change initiatives and on their seniority. In brief, the company is in a vicious circle. It is prisoner of a negative loop that causes a destructive effect in the change process, and it does not allow them to think out of the box and explore creative alternatives to face the company challenges.

The research presents a few limitations regarding the chosen method and, also, country and company scenario where the research took place.

The results have implications for human resources development (HRD) scholars and practitioners in the planning and implementation of OC-related initiatives.

This paper contributes to OC literature and practitioners by showing the importance of credibility in change initiatives to achieve their successful implementation. This study also supports the strong relationship among main critical factors to change. Finally, the company is locked in a negative loop that stifles the successive attempts to successfully implement the change initiatives.