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Interest in business ethics has soared over the past ten to 15 years. Lacking in the literature are normative approaches that provide guidelines for managers to evaluate their behavior in order to determine whether that behavior is in fact ethical. This paper makes a contribution to normative research, by offering a graded task approach to applying certain principles based on the philosophy of ethics (referred to as universal moral principles). These principles include utilitarianism, the categorical imperative, rights, and justice. First, some arguments against the use of universal moral principles are discussed, and rebutted. Next, the principles themselves are explained. Finally, a worksheet is presented. This worksheet offers a step‐by‐step approach to applying each of the principles.

Seeks to extend the traditional understanding of productivity by more closely coupling task and behavioral elements of work within the bounds of 1890s mass production principles and 1990s lean production principles. Comparisons are made between common batch and queue manufacturing methods and the typical behaviors exhibited by people in the workplace which are known to be deficient in their ability to establish trust and gain commitment. A new model for leadership and organizational behavior based upon the philosophy and practice of lean production is presented, and contains concrete symbols rooted in behavioral science, philosophy, economics, and industrial engineering. The practice of lean behaviors is shown to be an essential element for producing healthy work environments that can lead to economic growth, as well as help businesses sustain efforts to become lean producers. The principal focus is on how individuals can consistently behave in ways that create value, with the goal of eliminating waste in both intra‐ and interpersonal relationships. Also included are guidelines to facilitate the selection and development of people that possess basic capabilities for eliminating waste in their thoughts and actions.

We review the literature to determine how discretion, defined as the freedom to make decisions, moderates the relationship between leader personality and organizational performance. Discretion increases with level in organizations so that top executives have the most discretion and the greatest opportunity to impact organizational performance. We describe how personality drives executive actions and decision making, which then impacts organizational performance; the more discretion a leader has, the more leeway there is for his or her personality to operate. Finally, using research and contemporary business examples, we illustrate the dynamics linking personality, discretionary freedom, and destructive leadership in and of organizations.

The purpose of this study is to provide insights into the effect of servant leadership on turnover intentions. The authors investigate the mediating effects of perceived organizational support (POS), job embeddedness and job satisfaction on the relationship between servant leadership and turnover intentions. In doing so, the authors seek to make the following contributions. First, the authors seek to provide additional empirical evidence for servant leadership as an effective organizational theory. Additionally, the authors seek to establish POS, embeddedness and job satisfaction as underlying mechanisms that transmit the positive effects of servant leadership.

The data were collected from a paper and pencil survey questionnaire provided to employees of different organizations in a metropolitan area in the southeastern United States. The sample consisted of 150 participants; complete (listwise) data were available for 115 participants.

The study shows that POS and embeddedness are mediating mechanisms through which servant leadership is related to employee turnover intentions. The authors found POS and job embeddedness to be significant mediating constructs which help explain the nature of the relationship between servant leadership and turnover intentions.

By investigating these constructs in the present framework, we help to provide answers to the questions of how and why servant leadership affects employee outcomes. These answers are an important step towards more fully understanding the complex ways by which followers respond to servant leadership.

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether self‐defeating behaviors are correlated with leader derailment, and to compare self‐defeating behaviors to the previously identified derailment theme “Problems with Interpersonal Relationships”.

Deans at AACSB International‐accredited business schools were surveyed about “Problems with Interpersonal Relationships” and self‐defeating behaviors (SDBs) that one to two of their derailed direct reports may have portrayed. SDBs were analyzed for their strength of association with derailment and compared to the derailment theme “Problems with Interpersonal Relationships.”

Results indicated that SDBs are multi‐dimensional and those behaviors that involve interaction with others were significantly associated with leader derailment. Further, the results suggest that SDBs were significantly more indicative of derailment than were “Problems with Interpersonal Relationships”.

The small sample size may limit the ability to generalize the results of the study. Further, the lack of a comparison group of non‐derailed leaders does not rule out the possibility that they may also exhibit SDBs.

As the baby‐boomer generation leaves the workforce over the coming years, the demand for competent leadership will increase dramatically. Companies need to understand the underlying causes of derailment and take appropriate steps to minimize its impact.

Previous research on self‐defeating behaviors has focused on an individual's potential to derail. This study is unique in that it links SDBs to practicing leaders and relies on supervisor ratings (rather than self‐reports) of SDBs.

Extant research has shown that workplace ostracism (WO) elicits counterproductive work behaviors, such as employee silence (ES), culminating in reduced job performance. However, lesser is known about the factors that buffer against this underlying linkage. With an emphasis on conservation of resource (COR) theory and social identity theory, this study investigates the hitherto unexplored moderating roles of moral identification (MI) and organizational identification (OI) in the relationship between WO and ES.

The study employed a time-lagged design to collect multi-source data from 250 employees working in the service sector organizations in Pakistan. Data are analyzed in SMARTPLS (v 3.3.3) to assess the measurement model and the structural model.

Results reveal that WO is positively correlated with ES and negatively correlated with job performance. At the same time, ES mediates the negative relationship between WO and job performance. In addition, MI and OI buffer against the positive connection between WO and ES. The positive association between WO and ES is less pronounced at high levels of MI and OI and vice versa.

The findings indicate that there is potential value in developing MI and OI, for which several interventions are discussed.

This study is one of the few efforts to outstretch the boundary conditions of ES. Moreover, this is the first study to investigate the role of identity-based perspective in the relationship between WO and ES.

There is evidence that attachment style and clinical outcomes are related within Therapeutic Communities (TCs). This paper aims to examine any possible relationships between self-reported adult attachment style, therapy programme engagement and measures of psychological distress and dissociation on admission and discharge within a residential TC.

Ex-clients of the TC were contacted by post and invited to take part in this service evaluation. Additional data were sourced from a database of routinely collected outcome measures. Of 281 ex-clients, the final sample in this study was N = 32.

When attachment style is conceptualised dimensionally, participants identified most strongly with a fearful attachment style, and least with a preoccupied or secure style. A range of attachment styles were reported. A significant association was apparent between self-reported secure attachment and reduced levels of psychological distress upon discharge from the TC. The potential for changes in client attachment patterns following TC membership is discussed.

The small sample size and correlational nature of this study means that results should be interpreted cautiously. Nevertheless, results are of clinical relevance for inpatient or residential therapy programmes (including TCs). Such programmes should routinely assess client attachment style to ensure appropriate interventions and adaptions are implemented.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, to date, this is the first known study to report on the relationship between self-reported adult attachment style and psychological outcomes specifically for women with self-defeating behaviours within a TC.

We explore the antecedents of workplace ostracism and delineate possible organizational interventions to deter ostracism. Under the lens of evolutionary psychology we argue that individuals deemed capable of contributing to social and organizational goals become valued group members while those who threaten group stability and viability risk being shunned or ostracized. Specifically, we review empirical evidence and present the results of a pilot study suggesting that those who are perceived to violate injunctive and descriptive norms, as well as threaten one’s self-concept are at increased risk for ostracism. In terms of intervention, we propose mindfulness techniques and organizational support as a route to deter employees’ inclinations to ostracize coworkers. Thus, a primary goal of this chapter is to explicate a framework for identifying the predictors and deterrents of workplace ostracism in order to generate additional research on this important topic.

This paper aims to examine two underexplored topics in organizations, i.e. vulnerable narcissists in organizational settings and possible effects of territorial infringements among vulnerable narcissistic employees. The movie, Office Space, illustrates prototypical employee behavior mixed with comedically maladaptive personalities in a modern organizational context. However, the arson committed by character, Milton Waddams, suggests that some employees, especially those with disordered personalities, might violently respond to perceived territorial infringements.

This conceptual paper combines personality factors with territorial behavior to examine employee reactions to perceived injustices. Theoretical and practical implications are offered, as well as future research directions.

The argument presented suggests that the vulnerable narcissists may initiate destructive behavior in organizations with ego threats like territorial infringements. While anger is a natural defensive reaction, vulnerable narcissists are more likely to behave aggressively toward perceived territorial infringements due to their general negative affect.

Employees may react to infringement over seemingly subjective things; thus, managers must understand the nature of ownership by addressing territorial claims. Managers must remain cognizant that some disordered personalities are prone toward fulfilling threats, including organizational sabotage, deviance and white-collar crime. Environmental conditions can also compound the negative behavior of personalities like vulnerable narcissists in the workplace.

This conceptual paper adds to the organizational behavior literature and contributes to the fields of psychology and territoriality by exploring vulnerable narcissists in organizational settings and by considering the magnitude of defensive behavior toward perceived infringements.

Presents an overview of the basic theory and practice of Rational‐Emotive Therapy (RET). Discusses the goals and values of RET, including its view of the three main irrational ideas which underpin emotional disturbance. Outlines RET in action through a case example. Concludes that, while RET focuses on the individual, its emphasis on striving for well‐being and fulfilment usually entails social and organisational dividends.