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Unternehmensführung

Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad - IIMA

2011

Andreas K. ©
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INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT ROHTAK

HRM-1 ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR I

ORGANIZATIONAL CYNICISM


ABSTRACT:

According to Oxford Dictionary, cynicism is defined as, “an inclination to believe that people are motivated purely by self-interest; scepticism”. This behaviour exhibited in an organizational context is termed as organizational cynicism.

Organizational cynicism is also defined as a negative attitude toward one’s employing organization, comprising three dimensions:


1.      A belief that the organization lacks integrity.

2.      Negative affect toward the organization

3.      Tendencies to disparaging and critical behaviors toward the organization that are consistent with these beliefs and affect.

In short, organizational cynicism is the negative intent formed in the employee’s beliefs with reference to and exhibited on the organization.

There are five main types of organizational cynicism.

1.      Personality or trait cynicism:-

 This is largely an employee’s character related aspect. It is an innate behaviour of the employee and is an inherent trait, where the negative perception is exhibited toward the society at large.


2.      Management cynicism:-

Management cynicism forms when the employee perceives that he is being treated unfairly by the management. Be it overburdening of work, violation of organizational justice or anything that the employee feels that there is a conflict of interest between him and the management gives rise to management cynicism.


3.      Change cynicism:-

Sometimes repeated failure occurs when an organization wants to change something in the organization. This leads the employee to form a pessimistic view on any other future changes that are to be effected in the workplace. This is change cynicism.


4.      Peer cynicism:-

This arises due to the negative influences of the peers in the group and affects the employee too to form a pessimistic view and be cynical.   

                  

5.      Customer/Client cynicism:-

This cynicism leads to a trait where the employee tends to blame the client for all the problems in the organization. The effects of these are reduced customer interactions and as well as a reduction in “organizational citizenship”

Knowing about what is organizational cynicism few questions will start linger in our mind like why organizational cynicism is prevalent in organizations, the impact it has on the performance of the employees and the organization as a whole and how an organization responds by bringing out solutions to minimize the effects of organizational cynicism.

CONTEXT:

Why does organizational cynicism exist?

Employees most of the time are encouraged to think of and presented an idealized picture of an organization, its values, beliefs etc. The reality is far from this. At an initial stage when the employee comes into contact with the organization and the beliefs and the perceptions of the employee about the organization does not concur with what he experiences and is exposed to in the organization, the employee responds by exhibiting a negative attitude toward the organization.

This conflict of beliefs is called as a ‘reality shock’.

There are two main dimensions to this attitude:-

1.      A tendency to criticise and display negative behaviour towards the organization.

2.      A belief that the organization lacks integrity, i.e; integrity comprises all the value systems such as transparency, honesty etc.

Researchers have suggested that organizational cynicism is necessary for an employee to perform better in an organization. The employee passes through three stages while having a ‘reality shock’.

1.      He comes into contact with the organization with positive beliefs and intent. This is referred to as the idealism stage.

2.      He then experiences the reality shock where he forms the cynical attitude and this is directed at the organization and in fact may as well be directed towards the various elements in the organization such as clients and also as well to the society at large. This is the cynicism stage.

3.      He realizes the true picture of ‘what-is-what’ and at this point he forms a psychological barrier which helps him in dealing with the stress and also by helping him obtain the necessary skills required to handle the organizational demand. This stage is referred to as the informed cynicism stage.

In the modern business environment changes in location, leadership and even work domains happens too frequently. Despite the importance of adaption and changes for a company’s survival, the failure rate of organizational changes remains alarmingly high. These changes often breed cynicism towards the management of the company.

Also information available negatively affects the behavior of an employee towards the organization. If more information is available to the people, there is a lot more for the employees to be cynical about as there are more opinions irrespective of the fact that they are right or wrong. Also under communicating with the employees, a fear of revealing truth to the employees might lead to anxiety, anger and resentful.

Predictors of cynicism:

The first predictor of cynicism, incongruence is defined as the lack of fit between employees' personal values and organizational values. Also cynicism toward the organization may result from workers' perceptions of a lack of congruence between their own personal values and those of the organization.

The second predictor is job autonomy, defined as the
degree
or level of
freedom
and
discretion
allowed to an
employee
over his or her job. Self-theory postulates that traits and competencies, i.e. the skills, abilities, talents, and knowledge possessed by the individual, are major defining characteristics of the self.

Based on Job Characteristics model developed by J.Richard Heckman and Greg Oldham,the individual level employees who have more job autonomy show more positive affect, internal motivation, and self-confidence, more creativity, less mental strain as compared with those who have little job autonomy.

Evidence suggests people who feel such negative emotions are more likely than others to engage in deviant behavior at work. Once such kind of behavior starts it sets a stage for serious escalation of negative behavior.

The third predictor is self-esteem.
Smith and Mackie define it by saying "The self-concept is what we think about the self; self-esteem is the positive or negative evaluations of the self, as in how we feel about it."It is purposed that incongruence and lack of autonym are a threat to the self.

Self esteem is the central part of employee attitude.Being compelled to comply with organizational practices which the employee fails to identify with may engender feelings of powerlessness, disappointment and frustration, and may lead to the process of self-defence. Therefore it is suggested that self-esteem may not only be predictive of cynicism, but it may also mediate the job autonomy - cynicism relationships and incongruence cynicism.


CRITIQUE:

Impact of Organizational Cynicism on individuals and organizations.

The effect of cynicism can be disastrous, particularly if the cynic is a manager. He/she can lead the workplace to an environment which is dominated by a feeling of temporariness. This can lead to lack of cooperation in organization results in further insincerity and even cause anger from management.

The nature of the employment relationship is changing fundamentally. Organizations and employees have to find ways to respond to the new realities in the workplace such that work continues to provide meaning and organizational success. Whereas the workplace of twenty years ago was a place where employees offered loyalty, trust, and commitment in exchange for job security, training, promotion, and support from their employer, in the contemporary workplace they are expected to work longer hours, accept greater responsibility, be more flexible and to tolerate continual change and ambiguity.

 Cynicism toward the organization reflects the belief that the organization lacks integrity, and that official motives for actions and decisions cannot be trusted. Though work has many positive sides, such as income or social contacts, it may also have less favorable sides. At times, you may feel annoyed at certain things, experience stress or a lack of support, or you may be required to meet contradictory demands.

In reality exit, voice, loyalty, neglect, and cynicism are different constructs because they have different measurement characteristics, such as personality traits or job characteristics, and in turn they would predict particular outcomes, such as commitment to the organization or to the job. People tend to respond differently to aspects of work experienced as less favorable. People might likely respond in the following manner.

Exit will be negatively related to affective organizational commitment, in-role behavior; Exit will not be related to helping behavior, job involvement, and service orientation.

Items measuring Exit:

1.      Consider the possibility to change jobs

2.      Intend to change employers

3.      Actively look for a job elsewhere within the same   industry

4.      Look for job advertisements in the newspapers to which you could apply.

5.      Intend to change your field of work

Voice is conceptualized as pro-social voice, i.e. the expression of work-related ideas, information, or opinions, based on cooperative motives, intending to improve the work .  It will be positively related to affective organizational commitment, helping behavior, in-role behavior, job involvement, service orientation, and negatively related to stress.

1.      Try to work out solutions the organization might benefit from

2.      Come up with suggestions how to prevent these circumstances

3.      Try to work out a solution to the benefit of everyone

4.      Discuss the problem with your superior and try to work out a solution

Loyalty is described as passively but optimistically waiting for conditions to improve, giving public and private support to the organization, waiting and hoping for improvement, or practicing good work. As it seems, loyalty implies putting one's faith in the hands of the organization.

It will be positively related to affective organizational commitment, helping behavior, in-role behavior, and Organizational based self-esteem, and negatively related to stress. Loyalty will not be related to job involvement and service orientation.

Items measuring Loyalty:

1.      Trust the decision-making process of the organization without your interference

2.      Trust the organization to solve the problem without your help

3.      Remain confident that the situation will be taken care of, without you actively contributing to the decision-making process

5.      Optimistically wait for better times

Neglect response is associated with negative expressions of discontent primarily targeted at the organization. It will be related to affective organizational commitment, helping behavior, in-role behavior, job involvement, service orientation, and Organizational based self-esteem, and will be positively related to stress.

Items measuring Neglect:

1.      Giving excuse of sickness as you don’t like work

2.      Come in late because you do not feel like working

3.      Put less effort into your work than may be expected of you

4.      Every now and then do not put enough effort into your work

5.      Miss out on meetings because you do not feel like attending them

Organizational cynicism reflects the belief that the organization lacks integrity, and that official motives for actions and decisions cannot be trusted, It will be negatively related to affective organizational commitment and Organizational based self-esteem, and will be positively related to stress. Organizational cynicism will not be related to helping behavior, in-role behavior, job involvement, and service orientation.

1.      Express your confidence in the sincerity of your organization

2.      Express the feeling that you are not taken seriously by the organization

3.      Withhold suggestions for improvements, because you think nothing is   going to change anyway

4.      Talk to your colleagues about your management's incompetence

5.      Raise your shoulders at what management requires you to do

Cynicism leads to a generalized mistrust of authority, to disparagement of management communications and directions, and ultimately to denigration of the leadership and mission of the enterprise. This is directly counter to the requirements for several key aspects of effective organization development actions.

As explained by Professors Thomas G. Cummings and Christopher G. Worley (Cummings and Worley, 1993), it's vital that the organization development agent establish an effective and trusting relationship with relevant change agents in the organization.


CONCLUSION:

           

The question how cynicism can be prevented or contained has no easy answer.


Alignment between words and deeds is indispensable to create an atmosphere in which cynicism is unlikely to prosper. Management has an important function as a whole model, to set the standards for the rest of the organization by walking its talk. Having a mandate to manage depends on establishing managerial competence and organizational coherence, and on the inclusion of employees in decision making and recognition of their skills and contribution to the organization.

The difficult task of satisfying multiple stakeholders who frequently have contradictory demands raises the crucial question if and how organizational success and worker dignity and engagement can be combined at all. Some researchers state that workers want to work effectively and to be productive.

When they are allowed the opportunity to do so by coherent organizational practices and by the solicitation of employee involvement, organizations prosper and dignity at work is maximized.


Managers in organizations need to play a more active and vital role in preventing cynicism. Administrators must adopt an open-door policy. This will provide employees the opportunity to freely express their views to managers and administrators without being reprimanded. By learning more about the causes of cynicism, managers can address certain issues that have a tendency to trigger such unwanted behaviors.


2.      Managers need to be more understanding when dealing with all employees. Thus, emotional intelligence trainings for all managers can be effective. For success in the modern workforce, which is mostly practiced in an increasingly stressful and emotionally taxing environment characterized by high competition, constant transformation and looming uncertainty, emotional intelligence skills provide an advantage

3.      Management can influence the level of cynicism by ensuring that all successful changes are clearly publicized. No matter how small the change, if it is in the direction intended by management, it should be communicated.

4.      Organizations must learn to manage values with care to avoid disillusionment and organizational cynicism among employees and recruit people who have lower general cynicism.

5.      Organizational trainings should become the norm in many organizations where managers discuss specific attitudes that affect the organization’s culture while emphasizing both the short-term and long-term implications of organizational cynicism.

For individual managers, the practical implications begin with the recognition that employee cynicism is an important attitude with significant consequences. Organizational cynicism is associated with many other concepts such as job satisfaction and organizational commitment; managers should deepen the perception of organizational justice that can be realized without spending much effort and resources.

In organizations with a high sense of justice, motivation and internal loyalty, employees are more likely to be more loyal to their work and organizations.


Organizational commitment is an attitude reflecting the nature and quality of the linkage between an employee and an organization. It is an individual's identification with a particular organization and its goals to maintain membership in order to attain these goals.

It also refers to an employee’s willingness to exert extra effort within the organization .It is a feeling of dedication, willingness to go the extra mile, and an intention to stay with the organization for a long period of time. It reflects the work attitudes of employees toward the organizations in which they work.


The model states that there are five core job characteristics (skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback) which impact three critical psychological states (experienced meaningfulness, experienced responsibility for outcomes, and knowledge of the actual results), in turn influencing work outcomes (job satisfaction, absenteeism, work motivation, etc.). Managers can also consider other methods of increasing motivation among the employee by implementing Job Rotation, Job sharing and Flexible Timing.


In order for an organization to be competitive, it becomes imperative for its human resources to focus on creativity, innovativeness, unity, and efficacy. Thus, distractions of organizational cynicism can be disastrous for an organization and the culprits should be reprimanded. Needless to say, stress can be the root cause of organizational cynicism and stress can come in many different forms and from many different internal and external factors.


As described by Mr.J.Stacy Adams in Equity theory or organizational Justice, Individuals compare their job inputs and outputs with those of others and then respond to eliminate inequalities.


REFERENCE:

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6.      Organizational cynicism: bases and consequences – By Abraham R.

7.      Organizational Behaviour by Timothy A judge, Neharika Vohra and Stephen P.Robbins

8.      Interview by Alana Rafidi, Australian School of business.

9.      European Journal of Business and Management ISSN 2222-1905 (Paper) ISSN 2222-2839 (Online) Vol.5, No.12, 2013

     


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