Alienation Matters: Validity and Utility of Etzioni's Theory of Commitment in Explaining Prosocial Organizational Behavior

Abstract

In this study assumptions of Etzioni's (1975) theory of control and commitment are tested. Psychometric evidence is provided for the reliability and validity of the Organizational Commitment Scale (Penley & Gould, 1988), operationalizing Etzioni's typology of so-called calculative, alienative, and moral commitment. In a sample of 172 hospital workers, these 3 dimensions were found to be empirically distinct. Structural equation modeling was used to confirm differential effects of distributive and procedural justice perceptions on calculative, alienative, and moral commitment, supporting the notion that different forms of attachment develop partly in response to organizational compliance systems. When investigating simultaneous effects on supervisor-rated prosocial behavior, only alienation had a significant (negative) impact. Findings indicate acceptable validity and utility of a commitment model grounded in social theory for explaining organizational behavior.

Humanization, Rationalization or Subjectification of Work? Employee-Oriented Flexibility Between I-Deals and Ideology in the Neoliberal Era

“…Similar to theories of subjectification and governmentality, these latter concepts express a form of "metaalienation", whereby individuals are removed from their genuine societal interests and psychological needs, to the point of fully identifying with their instrumental subservient existence as means for ends that are external to and, eventually, detrimental to their personal wellbeing and socio-moral personality development (cf. Hornung, 2010). Despite conceptual and conative differences, very similar conclusions can be drawn from social character theory (e.g., Foster, 2017) and other attempts to critically describe, analyze, explain, and predict the psychological effects of the ideological regimes governing politically and economically developed and "advanced" democratic Western societies (e.g., Glynos, 2011;Lemke, 2002;Munro, 2012), in contrast to previous phases or present variations of capitalism and alternative configurations of (essentially comparable) political-economic systems.…”

“…Third, employee-oriented i-deals emphasize and reflect principles of procedural justice, such as transparent, consistent, considered, and unbiased processes, rather than distributive justice, which more narrowly focuses on the outcome of an equitable allocation of resources (e.g., Hornung, 2010;Hornung, Doenz, & Glaser, 2016). Lastly, i-deals are relational rather than transactional.…”

“…Neoliberalism is the globally dominant, largely unchallenged, and increasingly taken for granted political-economic doctrine, which (either explicitly or de facto) prioritizes economic interests of a wealthy social elite over the welfare of the majority of employees and citizens, the environment, and the development of public institutions and civil societies (Harvey, 2005;LaMothe, 2016;Larner, 2000). Genuinely employee-oriented i-deals thus pursue goals related to the humanization rather than the rationalization of work; supplement rather than substitute socially responsible HR practices, are implemented in an egalitarian rather than in an elitist or meritocratic way, are based on individual needs rather than contributions, on procedural rather than distributive justice, emphasizing relational rather than transactional logics of resource exchange (e.g., Hornung, 2010;. Future conceptual work should continue, elaborate, and extend the presented steps of theory building by integrating additional models, principles, and concepts of critical organizational research.…”

Return on investment of a LEED platinum hospital: the influence of healthcare facility environments on healthcare employees and organizational effectiveness

“…In addition, rigorous research that studies the effects of facility design interventions on healthcare employees is growing but small [6-9, 11, 12, 14-18, 33] . Established concentrations of research on healthcare employee engagement and perceived health and well-being exist [34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47] . This study contributes by quantifying the influence of employees' perceptions of indoor facility environments on employee engagement and their own health and well-being, and providing evidence on human resource outcomes for healthcare employees related to organizational effectiveness.…”

Örgütsel Muhalefete Etki Eden Başlatıcı ve Aracı Değişkenler

“…Örgütsel bağlılık; bireyin örgüt çıkarlarını kendi çıkarlarından üstün görmesi olarak tanımlanabilir (Baysal ve Paksoy, 1999). Etzioni'nin teorisine göre; çalışan üzerinde uygulanan güç türüne tepki olarak bağlılık gelişmektedir (Hornung, 2010). Etzioni, örgüt çalışanlarına uygulanan güç türlerini zorlayıcı (fiziksel cezalar), ödüllendirici (maddi ödüller, para dağıtılması) ve normatif (prestij, itibar, sevgi ve kabul edilme, kuralları benimseme) güç olarak ayırmıştır (Etzioni, 1969).…”