Department of Strategy & Policy

A short report from Zheng Yan on his Research Findings presented in the conference.

Zheng Yan picture taken at Registration Booth at San Diego

I proposed a model of neutralization depicting an individual’s thought process in my paper. The model basically suggests that the performance of a deviant act by and individual involves a rationalization cognitive process by the individual which helps the person reduce any guilt associated with the deviant action. This process may be moderated by legislation and external factors, and factors such as personality and external attribution tendencies affect the individual’s decision to commit the act as well. Organisational and environmental factors such as corporate governance, power and control also play a part in the process.

Other interesting presentations in the session include a study on the relationships between dysfunctional dispositions (i.e., ‘moving against’, or ‘away from people’), the potential to derail, and turnover (The Relationship between ‘Dark Side’ Dispositions, Derailment Potential, and Turnover by Adelman et. al.). Results show that derailment potential partially mediates the positive relationship between the ‘moving against people’ dispositional characteristics and both voluntary and involuntary turnover. It appears that personality plays a significant role in the performance of derailment behaviours; individuals who display more of the ‘moving against’ tendencies are more likely to engage in derailment behaviours. Another study by Moore et. al. (A Longitudinal Examination of Workgroup Civility and Satisfaction) examined longitudinal workgroup-level survey data and explored the relationship between civility and satisfaction over time. The longitudinal nature of the data in this study may establish evidence for a stronger causal link for civility driving satisfaction. This is relevant in the context of organisational interventions as it provides a behavioural construct (civility), which can be targeted as intervention focus, in order to increase satisfaction.