Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-1-2005
Abstract
In this qualitative research paper, social/ethnic identity (Tajfel & Turner, 1979; Berry, 1993) and relative deprivation theories (Dion, 2001) and their application to organizational identity are used to look at “self-limiting” behaviors – conscious or unconscious acts of non- cooperation and/or lower work effort (Metayer, 2003). The intent is to identify how management practice can be improved by better understanding the derivation and reasons for these behaviors in one type of non-dominant culture workplace – organizations where African Americans constitute the majority of the employee base. Among the major findings of this segment of the research is that while managers and supervisors of African American managed organizations are aware of self-limiting behaviors, they believe that (a) some, not all, self-limiting behaviors are part of the contextual fabric of their organizations and (b) there are concurrently “self-affirming” aspects embedded in many self- limiting behaviors. Another finding is that some managers and supervisors self-limit – they themselves dis-identify/disassociate with the workplace domain. Taken together, these findings reveal a strong ambivalence among African American managers/supervisors about the motivations for and consequences of self-limiting behaviors. As understood from the perspectives of these executives, this ambivalence has potentially powerful implications for practice.
Keywords
organizational behavior, Self-management (Psychology), ethnic identity, non-dominant culture organizations. organizational identity, production deviance, self-limiting behaviors, self-management failure
Rights
© The Author(s). Kelvin Smith Library provides access for non-commercial, personal, or research use only. All other use, including but not limited to commercial or scholarly reproductions, redistribution, publication or transmission, whether by electronic means or otherwise, without prior written permission is strictly prohibited.
Department/Center
Design & Innovation
Recommended Citation
Hudson, Monika L., "A Qualitative Study of Employee Self-Limiting Behaviors in Non-Dominant Culture Organizations" (2005). Student Scholarship. 59.
https://commons.case.edu/studentworks/59