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This exploratory study describes an empirical comparison of organization citizenship behavior (OCB) between samples from the United States and Romania. The economic and work environment distance between the U.S. and Romania was theorized to result in a dissimilar structure and strength of good citizenship behaviors and differential contributions of OCB to productivity. Data from Romania produced a unique factor structure with lower factor scores than those of the comparable organization in the United States. The citizenship behaviors in both countries were positively related to productivity, but links were stronger in the U.S. There were significant differences in the individual citizenship behaviors and productivity between the U.S. and Romania. National and organizational cultures appear to be significant determinants of OCB. The results are interpreted with respect to the stage of development, histories, and economies of the two countries.

The study examines the relationships between the dimensions of psychological empowerment and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). The purpose is to identify specific dimensions of psychological empowerment that are linked to above average or “beyond the expected” citizenship behaviors.

A theoretical basis for a linkage between the four dimensions of psychological empowerment and dimensions of OCB was developed. Using a sample of 137 participants, these theoretical relationships were tested with hierarchical linear multiple regressions.

There are differential relationships between the dimensions of psychological empowerment and the dimensions of OCB. The OCB dimensions of contentiousness, altruism and obedience are linked to the psychological empowerment dimension of meaning: conscientiousness is also linked to competency.

The study sample was single industry and single organization to avoid interindustry and interorganizational contamination, and the results may lack generalizability. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the study hypotheses in other industries and occupations.

The study sample was single industry and single organization to avoid interindustry and interorganizational contamination, and the results may lack generalizability. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the study hypotheses in other industries and occupations.

This paper reports the first known study of the relationships between Spreitzer's psychological empowerment dimensions and OCB. The value is the identification of manipulable relationships that can explain actual empowerment and provide pragmatic guidance for managers to increase empowerment and thus hopefully organizational effectiveness.

A study was conducted using two school districts in a state school system as example organisations to illustrate the formative effect of socialisation on climate. Interviews were conducted with superintendents and principals, while teachers completed questionnaires and documents were inspected. The results clearly illustrate a relationship between the socialisation practices of the two organisations and their climates. The subtle signals sent out by managers were largely responsible for the socialisation processes and it is suggested that managers from all organisations can create the same effects.

A model for assessing organizational climate has been developed, based on socialization theory. Information was collected on the extent of socialization and its intensity. Results from groups within two different organizations – enlisted Air Force personnel and school district teachers – were collected and analysed. The model shows promise for revealing organizational characteristics and monitoring change processes.

As the world becomes a global labour market, attention must be directed to integrating persons of different cultures and values into the work environment of the host country. Nursing is a profession that involves significant socialization during the training process, and different cultural values. Nursing is also a profession subject to burnout, resulting in decreased personnel effectiveness. Examines the work environment of Philippine nurses in their native country and a comparison sample of American nurses in the USA. Identifies several significant differences. Burnout was also assessed in both countries, with results indicating significant differences. Discusses results with respect to the different social‐work environments, national value systems, integration of Philippine nurses into US hospitals, and management for reduced burnout. Although this study used nurses from the Philippines and the USA as subjects, the methods are applicable across other cultures. The results of the study indicate several areas for beneficial future research.

Typical organizations comprise members whose behaviors range from the minimum possible to maintain membership, to those discretionarily engaging in job-related behaviors above that expected or required. These discretionary behaviors are beyond the job description and often are not recognized by the formal reward system. Possibly, individuals with high emotional intelligence are more prone to engage in discretionary behaviors. The relationship between the dimensions of emotional intelligence and discretionary citizenship behaviors has not previously been explored. Using samples of nursing and business university professors, this study investigates the relationship between discretionary behaviors of educators and the four branch model of emotional intelligence. Discretionary behaviors comprised a set of traditional organizational citizenship dimensions, and those behaviors beyond the expected unique to higher education. Salovey and Mayer's four branch model was used to assess emotional intelligence. Data were analyzed with correlation analysis and multiple regressions. The regression results indicate that managing emotion (the ability to manage one's emotions and emotional relationships) had the greatest number of significant positive relationships with discretionary behaviors in both samples. Perceiving emotions and understanding emotions produced negative relationships with sportsmanship in the nursing sample. The nursing sample produced more relationships between emotional intelligence and discretionary behaviors than the business faculty sample. Overall results support the idea that emotional intelligence is linked to discretionary citizenship behavior. The study results provide evidence to support the organizational value of emotional intelligence. Also, the results provide ideas for fruitful further research which may hold promise for increasing organizational effectiveness and efficiency.

The concepts of organisational effectiveness, climate and culture are popular subjects in the literature, yet there is no consensus agreement even on their definitions. Climate and culture are sometimes used synonymously, and effectiveness is defined by a number of criteria. To compound the difficulty of examining these important constructs, they are dynamic, and they interact with each other. From an interactionist perspective, a model is developed depicting the relationships between effectiveness, climate and culture, with an emphasis on the contribution of climate and culture to organisational effectiveness. A preliminary validation study which uses an effective and an ineffective organisation with very different climates and cultures is reported.

Yahya Altınkurt holds Ph.D. from Anadolu University, Turkey. He is assistant professor at Dumlupınar University Faculty of Education in Kütahya. Dr. Altınkurt's research focuses on strategic planning, organizational justice, organizational citizenship, and leadership in schools. His most recent books include Assessment of Researches of School Administration (2008, Anadolu University Publishing coauthored with E. Ağaoğlu, M. Ceylan, E. Kesim, and T. Madden). Dr. Altınkurt's research has appeared in various journals including Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, Education and Science, Educational Administration: Theory and Practice, International Journal of Human Sciences, Academic Sight.

Organizational environment where the organizational behavior takes place and the task roles employees need to perform have become increasingly complex in today's organizations. To respond to this complexity, modern organizations need willing, flexible, and proactive employees who go beyond narrow task requirements and who approach work proactively by showing personal initiative (Crant, 2000; Ohly, Sonnentag, & Pluntke, 2006; Parker, 2000; Sonnentag, 2003). In an era where the responsibility and decision making have shifted downward through transformational leadership and shared decision-making, employees have started taking part in both decision making and implementation process without constant close supervision (Frese & Fay, 2001; Sonnentag, 2003). They are expected to demonstrate discretionary behaviors that may go beyond their formally identified job descriptions to carry out the current expectations and comprehensive and complex tasks. Discretionary behavior refers to the employee behavior that is not directly or explicitly recognized by the formal reward system, and in the aggregate promotes the efficient and effective functioning of the organization (Organ, Podsakoff, & MacKenzie, 2006; Van Dyne, Cummings, & McLean Parks, 1995). Employee discretionary behaviors contribute to maintenance and enhancement of the social and psychological organizational context which supports task performance and organizational effectiveness (McBain, 2004; Organ, 1997). As Den Hartog and Belschak (2007) stated, employee discretionary behaviors are crucial for organizations to be able to stay competitive in today's global economy.