No abstract

Organizational transitions may be difficult to implement if employees resist the change. ‘Participation’ and ‘education’ (Kotter and Schlesinger, 1979) are hypothesized to enhance commitment to change, however mechanisms for those effects are unclear. In a sample of employees from seven relocated organizations, a test of our model showed that the effects of justification (a form of education) on intent to remain are mediated by outcome and procedural fairness judgements. Voice (a form of participation) showed no effects on fairness judgments, perhaps because employees did not expect voice in relocation decisions. Supplementary analyses yielded no evidence for direct effects of voice and justification on intention to remain. The findings extend our understanding of fairness to transition settings.

The authors investigate whether narcissism levels are significantly higher in undergraduate business students than psychology students, whether business schools are reinforcing narcissism in the classroom, and whether narcissism is influencing student salary and career expectations. Data were collected from Millennial students (n = 536) and faculty at an AACSB-accredited comprehensive state university. Results indicate that the current generation of college students has significantly higher levels of narcissism than college students of the past, business students possess significantly higher levels of narcissism than psychology students, narcissism does not have a significant (positive or negative) relationship with business school classroom outcomes, and narcissists expect to have significantly more career success in terms of ease of finding a job, salary, and promotions. Considering the well-documented and profoundly negative implications of narcissism for workplace environments, this finding suggests a need for future research on the impact of increasing student narcissism in business students and on successful intervention strategies.

We investigate the relationships between narcissism, materialism, and environmental ethics in undergraduate business students. Data were collected from business students (n = 405) at an Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business-accredited business school at a comprehensive state university. Results indicate that narcissism has an indirect effect on business students' environmental ethics. Narcissism was significantly related to materialism, and materialism was significantly related to lower levels of environmental ethics. Considering increasing levels of narcissism among business students, we discuss the potential for future research and potential intervention strategies.

Major changes are occurring in many organizations on an almost constant basis. Managers motivated by profit and by ethics seek to apply methods that help employees adapt to change. One method is Kotter and Schlesinger's "education, " which includes giving explanations for a change to affected employees. This study looks at the efficacy of giving explanations from the perspective of a growing body of theory on fairness judgments. Employees from seven relocated organizations were surveyed. The study finds that, when employees are evaluating the fairness of change outcomes, they apparently expect explanations only when those outcomes are negative. However, employees apparently expect explanations as a means of evaluating decision procedures even when outcomes are favorable. The latter result is likely due to the long term, system-oriented nature of Thibaut and Walker's "procedural fairness" judgments.