Work and Occupations

 

Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Click here to sign up for SAGE Journal Email Alerts today!

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (4)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Hodson, R.
Right arrow Articles by Lopez, S. H.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?
Work and Occupations, Vol. 33, No. 4, 382-416 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0730888406292885

Chaos and the Abuse of Power

Workplace Bullying in Organizational and Interactional Context

Randy Hodson

Ohio State University

Vincent J. Roscigno

Ohio State University

Steven H. Lopez

Ohio State University

Bullying is a significant workplace problem—a fact highlighted by a growing body of social science literature. Its causes, however, have received little systematic attention beyond analyses of the personality attributes of bullies. This article explores the roles of relational power and organizational chaos in the emergence of workplace bullying. The analysis of content-coded organizational ethnographies integrates quantitative and qualitative techniques and draws heavily from the ethnographies themselves. Results suggest that the interplay of relational powerlessness and organizational chaos gives rise to bullying. In contrast, where there is a disjuncture between organizational and relational factors, the extent of bullying is determined by underlying, context-specific aspects of power. These results suggest a need for organizations not only to protect the weak, but also to eliminate chaos—chaos that creates openings for the abuse of power.

Key Words: workplace bullying • organizations • ethnography • qualitative comparative analysis (QCA)


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?