Abusive Supervision In Government

In Abusive Supervision in Government Agencies, Caillier uses both quantitative and qualitative survey data, a mixed-method approach, to argue that certain organizational norms and subordinate factors either increase or decrease the presence of abusive supervision in agencies and that when employees experience abusive supervision, their well-being and work attitudes are adversely affected. In addition, a mixed-method approach is used to contend that problems concerning the abusive supervision process are pervasive in agencies. More specifically, many targets of abuse supervision fail to report the incident, and for those who do, agencies seldom do anything to stop abusive supervisors and the overwhelming majority of targets experience some form of retaliation for reporting the abuse. The author also uses qualitative data to argue that many agencies still do not have a robust workplace aggression policy. The author concludes by identifying future directions for research concerning abusive supervision.

Despite the numerous studies on the trickle-down model of abusive supervision, knowledge regarding what disrupts the flow is limited. I draw upon cognitive-affective system theory to understand the active role a junior leader plays in the transfer of leadership from senior leaders to junior leaders in an organization. I suggest that a junior leader's cognitive-affective units play a significant role in their decision to continue the flow of abusive supervision or choosing more empowering leadership behaviors. First, I suggest that proactive coping mediates the relationship between abusive senior leader behavior and dual outcome variables: abusive junior leader behavior or empowering junior leader behavior. Second, I suggest that junior leader emotional intelligence strengthens the relationship between abusive senior leader behavior and junior leader proactive coping. Third, I suggest that junior leader learning goal orientation will strengthen the relationship between abusive senior leader behavior and junior leader proactive coping. I further hypothesize that junior leader proactive coping will mediate the indirect effect of the interaction relationships of emotional intelligence and abusive senior leader behavior, as well as, the interaction relationships of learning goal orientation and abusive senior leader behavior on our dual outcome variables. I test my hypotheses, in a quantitative survey design of 178 supervisors in one organization with three layers of leadership that are part of the federal government organic industrial base. Results, theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Abusive supervision refers to an employee's perceptions of negative interactions with one's supervisor that are threatening in a non-physical way. Abusive supervision has been shown to have a negative impact on the individual as well as the organization. However, there is little known about how the social context in which abuse might occur can influence the relationship between abusive supervision and outcome variables. This study proposed to look at how group-level perceptions of supervisor behaviors moderate the relationship between individual level perceptions of abuse and individual level experiences of strain such as physical and psychological health, emotion exhaustion and job satisfaction. Group-level perceptions were predicted to act as a buffer and reduce the negative impact of abusive supervision on individual level outcomes. Groups where there may be a lack of/ low group-level perceptions of abusive supervision, the relationship between abusive supervision and individual level outcomes was expected to be stronger. Data were collected from 43 groups of employees with a final N of 172. Hierarchical Linear Modeling and regression analyses were conducted and the results revealed that there was not enough variability between groups for the moderation effects to be significant. Individual level abusive supervision significantly predicted the individual level outcomes, except in the case of job satisfaction. Since the cross-level analyses using HLM were not significant, moderation analyses were conducted using OLS regression. The moderation analyses were significant only in the case of physical health symptoms and the results were not in the expected direction. Potential explanations for the results and future directions are discussed.

This edited volume in the SIOP Frontiers series is one of the first to look at the psychological factors behind politics and power in organizations. Noted contributors from schools of management, psychology, sociology and political science look at the theory, research, methodology and ethical issues related to organizational politics and climates. The book is divided into three parts: Part 1 looks at the historical evolution of the field; Part 2 integrates organizational politics with important organizational behavior constructs and/or areas of inquiry, for example in the chapter by Lisa Leslie and Michele Gelfand which discusses the implications of cross-cultural politics on expatriates and within cross-national mergers; and Part 3 focuses on individual differences and organizational politics, focusing on the nature of political relationships.

Workplace deviance costs organizations billions of dollars annually (Bennett & Robinson, 2000) and is responsible for approximately 20% of all business failures (Coffin, 2003). This research examined the potential importance of supervisor abuse, emotional exhaustion, and agreeableness in explaining interpersonal deviance at work. I propose a conceptual model based on the conservation of resources theory and the job demands-resources model asserting that abusive supervision has a direct and an indirect effect on interpersonal deviance through emotional exhaustion; furthermore, this relationship is conditional, such that subordinates high rather than low in agreeableness are more inclined to engage in interpersonal deviance. Data were collected from 347 professional employees who occupied staff roles in a public sector organization. Results indicated that the relationship between reported abusive supervision and interpersonal deviance was fully mediated by emotional exhaustion. Furthermore, this relationship was moderated by employee agreeableness, such that employees who are low in agreeableness were more likely to report engaging in interpersonal deviance.

This volume is a readily accessible compilation of current, original scholarly research in the area of power and influence in organizations. It offers a rich exploration of emerging trends and new perspectives.

This global encyclopedic work serves as a comprehensive collection of global scholarship regarding the vast fields of public administration, public policy, governance, and management. Written and edited by leading international scholars and practitioners, this exhaustive resource covers all areas of the above fields and their numerous subfields of study. In keeping with the multidisciplinary spirit of these fields and subfields, the entries make use of various theoretical, empirical, analytical, practical, and methodological bases of knowledge. Expanded and updated, the second edition includes over a thousand of new entries representing the most current research in public administration, public policy, governance, nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations, and management covering such important sub-areas as: 1. organization theory, behavior, change and development; 2. administrative theory and practice; 3. Bureaucracy; 4. public budgeting and financial management; 5. public economy and public management 6. public personnel administration and labor-management relations; 7. crisis and emergency management; 8. institutional theory and public administration; 9. law and regulations; 10. ethics and accountability; 11. public governance and private governance; 12. Nonprofit management and nongovernmental organizations; 13. Social, health, and environmental policy areas; 14. pandemic and crisis management; 15. administrative and governance reforms; 16. comparative public administration and governance; 17. globalization and international issues; 18. performance management; 19. geographical areas of the world with country-focused entries like Japan, China, Latin America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Russia and Eastern Europe, North America; and 20. a lot more. Relevant to professionals, experts, scholars, general readers, researchers, policy makers and manger, and students worldwide, this work will serve as the most viable global reference source for those looking for an introduction and advance knowledge to the field.

This book fills the need for a communication-based, public sector framed book. The authors combine just enough basic theory about communication with specific skill development in areas of immediate interest to those who work in the public sector. It also features a strong "practice" orientation, with plentiful boxed applications (Insights from the Field, Skill Development boxes, Case Studies). It concludes with an especially useful summary chapter that describes the ten essential skills for successful communication.