Towards developing a measure of disorganization

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to test the hypothesized concave relationship between disorganization and individual financial performance using UK Workplace Employment Relations Study (WERS) datasets. Given there are no prior studies measuring disorganization we start with using scale items from currently validated scales, WERS, and try to determine the extent to which the current scales are applicable for measuring disorganization and subsequently highlight the limitations of current measures.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based on the UK Workplace Employment Relations study (WERS) datasets of 2011 which is the largest publicly accessible dataset available. The datasets used were the financial performance survey (FPS) data and the management survey (MS) data with 545 unique records. Polynomial Regression was used to test the hypotheses. An aggregated index for disorganization (IV) was developed, and a production function was used to determine the individual financial performance per worker (DV).

Findings

A significant linear relationship between disorganization and individual financial performance was discovered. However, this relationship was linear and did not exhibit the theorized concave relationship. The findings further indicated the need for more refined measures of disorganization and limitations of the current measures.

Originality/value

While the study is exploratory in nature, this is the first study to date which attempts to measure disorganization in an applied setting. Thus, the work presented here is foundational to any future empirical studies on the topic. The limitations uncovered are of particular importance.

Citation

Herath, D.B. (2021), "Towards developing a measure of disorganization", Evidence-based HRM, Vol. 9 No. 2, pp. 139-159. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBHRM-09-2019-0083