Diversity: source of bullying

The study had explored the root cause of bullying and attempt to find out the relation of diversity with bullying. It also attempts to find out the association of bullying and different forms of conflict.

International Journal of Management (IJM) Volume 11, Issue 2, February 2020, pp 114–121, Article ID: IJM_11_02_012 Available online at http://www.iaeme.com/ijm/issues.asp?JType=IJM&VType=11&IType=2 Journal Impact Factor (2020): 10.1471 (Calculated by GISI) www.jifactor.com ISSN Print: 0976-6502 and ISSN Online: 0976-6510 © IAEME Publication Scopus Indexed DIVERSITY: SOURCE OF BULLYING Dr Priyanka Indoria Institute of Innovation in Technology & Management, Janakpuri, New Delhi, India ABSTRACT The study had explored the root cause of bullying and attempt to find out the relation of diversity with bullying It also attempts to find out the association of bullying and different forms of conflict Two staged random sampling is used Data collected from 270 respondents suggest that there is bullying with respect to gender and religion which further gives rise to conflict and reduces the performance of the organization Diversity brings changes that may or may not be welcomed and as a result of which people try to bully others majorly on the basis of gender and religion as a primary and secondary dimension of diversity This study will help the organization to understand the reason for bullying with respect to diversity and suggest different measures for managing diversity so as to marginalize bullying from organization and society Keywords: Diversity, Bullying and Conflict Cite this Article: Dr Priyanka Indoria, Diversity: Source of Bullying, International Journal of Management (IJM), 11 (2), 2020, pp 114–121 http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/issues.asp?JType=IJM&VType=11&IType=2 INTRODUCTION Currently, one of the major challenges faced by organizations is diversity management With globalization, the workplaces had become more diverse and its management is a big task for HR managers Diversity has a different impact on the performance of the organization depending upon the situation Diversity shows two faces as far as its impact is considered The positive effects give a competitive edge to the organization however its negative effects are more severe and cannot be ignored Since diversity brings changes, these changes bring bullying silently Bullying is one of the major issues faced by organizations implicitly Various organizations are dealing with it without knowing its root cause Therefore, this paper attempt to find out the root cause of bullying According to Helge Hoel (2003), bullying arise majorly because of three reasons Firstly, people want to safeguard their self-esteem and in order to maintain it; they tend to undermine the talent of others Deficiency of social competence makes people bully others to maintain their position in society Lastly, the biggest reason for bullying is the imbalance in power (Indoria, 2017) Because of this people tend to withhold the information, extensive monitoring, ignorance of a good idea or viewpoint and even shouting publically on the http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/index.asp 114 editor@iaeme.com Dr Priyanka Indoria employees are the components of bullying People from different background possess different/unique information which they may or may not share with others In order to get a competitive edge in this competitive world, every information is important and needed to be shared at the right time and right place in the organization Withholding information so that others don‟t get the benefit out of it is like refraining someone from his/her future growth The victim feels emotionally injured and this further leads to different forms of conflict that are more severe for the organization Hence, this study attempt to find out the root cause of bullying, its association with diversity and its outcomes LITERATURE REVIEW The present workplace is facing the biggest challenge which has emerged because of globalization Diversity is defined as a variation or a change from the set standards According to Cox (1993) “Diversity is the representation in one social system of people with distinctly different group affiliation of cultural significance” Diversity exhibits a dual impact on the performance of the organization Although it has many positive impacts, the adverse impact of diversity needs more attention of the policy makers, organization and even government Some of the positive impacts of diversity are better problem solving, improved innovation, better decision making, and increased knowledge pool Some of the negative impacts of diversity are conflict majorly, information conflict, emotional conflict and task conflict; cultural resistance and low group cohesion One of the most severe repercussions of diversity is „Bullying‟ (Indoria, 2017) This is actually a connecting medium between diversity and different forms of conflict According to Leymann (1996) workplace bullying is hostile and unethical communication directed in a systematic way towards an individual on a frequent basis and over a longer period Lutgen-Sandvik (2007) defined “workplace bullying as the continual aggression (verbal and non- verbal), that includes social isolation, personal comments, and various other agonizing messages and unreceptive collaborations” It is an interpersonal behavior that is unwelcome and unsolicited (Indoria, 2017; Jagatic, 2011) This study has considered three aspects of bullying: work-related bullying which includes withholding information, unrealistic deadlines, unmanageable workload, etc Second is person-related bullying which includes unnecessary humiliation related to work, repetitive reminders of errors, etc and the third aspect is physical intimidating bullying which includes being shouted at, physical abuse, etc (Agarwal, 2017) According to Indoria (2017) there is a paradigm shift in the organizational culture to the bullying culture Since a large number of employees are working in an organization, as an opportunity arises everyone wants to grab it, resulting in competition This makes one winner among all Success is achieved at the cost of others lose As a result of this, people start harming others for the sake of their own success This gives rise to bullying It has become a vicious circle where people who are bullied, tend to bully others An intervention from management and government is required so as to bring down bullying from the organization and ultimately from the society The study tries to find out the factors of diversity that contribute towards bullying According to Rosener (1991), there are two dimensions of diversity primary and secondary Primary dimensions are those which are god gifted and secondary dimensions are those which are inherited from society Since this study is done in the Indian context, both gender (primary dimension of diversity) and religion (secondary dimension of diversity) are the most debated topics; hence these two dimensions of diversity are used This study would help the organization to find out if bullying exists on the basis of diversity with respect to gender and religion in the organization http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/index.asp 115 editor@iaeme.com Diversity: Source of Bullying OBJECTIVES    To study the association of diversity with bullying To identify the causes of bullying To explore the major forms of conflict emerge because of diversity RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Due to the sensitive nature of the topic „bullying‟, the questionnaire is borrowed from the study of Aggarwal (2017), where the author had clearly defined the items of bullying A survey was conducted in the healthcare industry where six multi-specialty hospitals were chosen for the study A two-staged random sampling is done where the first stage is that the respondents should have an experience of above months and the second stage is it should be a multispecialty hospital The sample size is 270 Of the respondents 54.2% were males and 44.7% were females; 26.4% of the respondents are Hindu, 23.4% of the respondents are Muslims, 23.8% of the respondents are Christians and 25.3% of the respondents are Sikhs; 48% were having work experience of more than six months and less than one year, 38.8% had an experience of more than one year and less than five years and 12.1% had an experience of more than five years ANOVA test used to investigate the factors supposed to influence the dependent variable (independent variable gender and religion) Cronbach's Alpha is 0.81 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 5.1 Pervasiveness of Bullying The results of the study exhibited that when gender (primary dimension of diversity) is taken as one of the independent variables (shown in table 1) many factors found insignificant Religion, humiliation, spreading rumors, being targeted, repeated reminders of errors, ignored opinion, false allegation and excessive sarcasm are the few factors whose p-value is less than 0.05 This simply means that these factors are contributing majorly towards bullying with respect to gender Table ANOVA TABLE (Gender is independent variable) ANOVA Between Groups Within Groups Total Between Groups Experience Within Groups Total Someone withholding Between information which affect Groups your performance Within Groups Total Being humiliated and Between ridiculed in connection with Groups your work Within Groups Total Being ordered to work Between below your level of Groups competence Within Groups Total Sum of Squares 12.405 df Mean F Sig Square 12.405 16.895 002 Religion http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/index.asp 116 337.036 268 349.441 269 1.797 1.258 126.632 268 128.430 269 092 473 60.560 60.652 1.437 268 269 226 62.271 63.707 63.219 268 269 000 63.219 268 269 1.797 092 1.437 3.804 052 408 623 6.182 012 232 63.219 000 editor@iaeme.com Dr Priyanka Indoria Having key areas of responsibility removed Between Groups Within Groups Total Spreading of gossips and Between rumors about you Groups Within Groups Total Between Groups Being ignored or excluded Within Groups Total Having insulting and Between offensive Groups remarks made about your Within Groups attitude Total Being shouted at or being Between the target of spontaneous Groups anger Within Groups Total Intimidating behavior such Between as finger pointing, invasion Groups of personal space, shoving, Within Groups blocking your ways Total Hints or signals from others Between that you should quit your Groups job Within Groups Total Repeated reminders of your Between errors and mistakes Groups Within Groups Total Being ignored or facing Between hostile Groups reaction Within Groups Total Persistent criticism of your Between errors and mistakes Groups Within Groups Total Between Groups Having your opinion Within Groups ignored Total Practical jokes carried out Between by people you not get Groups along with or made fun of Within Groups your personal Total characteristics Being given task with Between unreasonable deadline Groups Within Groups Total Having allegation made Between against you Groups Within Groups Total Excessive monitoring of Between your work Groups Within Groups Total Pressure not to claim Between something you are entitled Groups http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/index.asp 117 092 092 60.560 60.652 1.437 268 269 226 62.271 63.707 63.219 268 269 000 63.219 092 268 269 000 60.560 60.652 1.437 268 269 226 62.271 63.707 63.219 268 269 000 63.219 092 268 269 000 60.560 60.652 1.437 268 269 226 62.271 63.707 63.219 268 269 000 63.219 092 268 269 000 60.560 60.652 1.437 268 269 226 1.437 62.271 268 232 63.707 63.219 269 63.219 000 63.219 268 269 000 092 092 60.560 60.652 1.437 268 269 226 62.271 63.707 63.219 268 269 000 63.219 092 268 269 1.437 408 523 6.182 014 408 530 6.182 034 408 723 6.182 012 408 523 6.182 014 408 423 6.182 014 408 623 232 63.219 092 1.437 232 63.219 092 1.437 232 63.219 092 1.437 232 63.219 000 092 editor@iaeme.com Diversity: Source of Bullying to Being the subject of excessive teasing and sarcasm Being exposed to unmanageable workload Threats of violence or physical abuse or actual abuse Within Groups Total Between Groups Within Groups Total Between Groups Within Groups Total Between Groups Within Groups Total 60.560 60.652 1.437 268 269 226 62.271 63.707 63.219 268 269 000 63.219 092 268 269 000 60.560 60.652 268 269 226 1.437 6.182 014 408 523 232 63.219 092 Similarly, table exhibits that the p-value for all the variables is less than 0.05 Hence it can be noted that all these variables are contributing towards bullying with respect to religion Isolation, intimidation, overloaded with work with unrealistic time limits, sarcasm, and gender these are the major contributing factor which is playing a mediating role in enhancing bullying with respect to religion Table ANOVA Table (Religion is independent variable) Between Groups Within Groups Total Someone withholding Between Groups information which Within Groups affect Total your performance Being humiliated and Between Groups ridiculed in Within Groups connection with your Total work Being ordered to Between Groups work below your Within Groups level of Total competence Having key areas of Between Groups responsibility Within Groups removed Total Spreading of gossips Between Groups and rumors about you Within Groups Experience Total Between Groups Within Groups Total Having insulting and Between Groups offensive remarks Within Groups made Total about your attitude Being shouted at or Between Groups being Within Groups the target of Total spontaneous anger Intimidating behavior Between Groups such as finger Within Groups pointing, invasion of personal space, Total shoving, blocking Being ignored or excluded http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/index.asp Sum of Squares 5.187 123.243 128.430 3.364 57.288 60.652 df 266 269 266 269 2.543 61.164 63.707 Mean F Square 1.729 3.732 463 Sig .012 1.121 215 5.206 002 266 269 848 230 3.687 013 6.264 56.955 63.219 266 269 2.088 10.751 214 000 3.364 57.288 60.652 2.543 61.164 266 269 266 1.121 215 5.206 002 848 230 3.687 003 63.707 6.264 56.955 63.219 3.364 57.288 60.652 269 266 269 266 269 2.088 10.751 214 000 1.121 215 5.206 002 2.543 61.164 63.707 266 269 848 230 3.687 015 6.264 56.955 63.219 266 269 2.088 214 7.751 000 118 editor@iaeme.com Dr Priyanka Indoria your ways Hints or signals from Between Groups others that you should Within Groups quit your job Total Repeated reminders of Between Groups your errors and Within Groups mistakes Total Being ignored or Between Groups facing hostile reaction Within Groups Total Persistent criticism of Between Groups your errors and Within Groups mistakes Total Having your opinion Between Groups ignored Within Groups Total Practical jokes carried Between Groups out by people you Within Groups not get along with or made fun of your Total personal characteristics Being given task with Between Groups unreasonable deadline Within Groups Total Having allegation Between Groups made against you Within Groups Total Excessive monitoring Between Groups of your work Within Groups Total Pressure not to claim Between Groups something you are Within Groups entitled to Total Being the subject of Between Groups excessive teasing and Within Groups sarcasm Total Being exposed to Between Groups unmanageable Within Groups workload Total Threats of violence or Between Groups physical abuse or Within Groups actual abuse Total Between Groups Gender Within Groups Total 3.364 57.288 60.652 2.543 61.164 63.707 6.264 56.955 63.219 3.364 57.288 60.652 2.543 61.164 63.707 6.264 56.955 63.219 266 269 266 269 266 269 266 269 266 269 266 269 1.121 215 5.206 001 848 230 3.687 013 2.088 214 9.762 000 1.121 215 6.316 002 848 230 3.687 016 2.088 214 9.751 000 3.364 57.288 60.652 2.543 61.164 63.707 6.264 56.955 63.219 3.364 57.288 60.652 2.543 61.164 63.707 6.264 56.955 63.219 3.364 57.288 60.652 6.264 56.955 63.219 266 269 266 269 266 269 266 269 266 269 266 269 266 269 266 269 1.121 215 7.347 000 848 230 3.687 013 2.088 11.751 214 000 1.121 215 5.206 002 848 230 3.687 010 2.088 214 9.751 000 1.121 215 5.206 002 2.088 11.751 214 000 CONCLUSION This study contributes towards workplace bullying by studying its root cause, association with diversity and its impact on the performance of the organization The major findings of the study emphasize a number of important avenues for future research that will help to understand the role of diversity in creating a bullying culture 6.1 Theoretical Framework It is evident that there is a high level of bullying with respect to religion and gender It is also evident that a person who is bullied in a way tend to bully others just for the sake of sadistic pleasure According to Butler (2019), the power distance score for India shows a high level of power inequality, therefore people tend to (desire to) come in power by any means Bullying http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/index.asp 119 editor@iaeme.com Diversity: Source of Bullying is one of the easiest ways to achieve their targets because they are aware of the fact that bullying makes the victim stressed and ultimately the performance of the victim will be reduced and therefore, he will be removed from the cat race for winning power Figure Theoretical Framework The figure above illustrates that diversity is the root cause of bullying In this study gender and religion are found to be the root cause of bullying Both are playing a moderating role in making bullying more severe Since diversity has introduced variations or differences, it has become very difficult for human resource management to manage such a wide range of diversified workforce Presently the Government of India is making various policies for women empowerment and gender equality However, directly or indirectly certain evidences clearly show gender biases among the individuals On an average females are found to be more introvert, reserve and less openminded as compared to that of males This glass ceiling could be taken as the drawback of Indian society They are not given work according to their competency, skills, and knowledge Intentionally or unintentionally very few opportunities come their way Hence, it is evident that females are more likely to be victimized of bullying The second mediating variable is „religion‟ which is even more fatal According to a myth, certain religions confine women from excelling in their professional careers Some people take this myth very seriously and believe women are made to household work only As a result of which, in the name of religion females are restricted to show their full competency and capabilities in their professional life Moreover, after the attack of 9/11 Muslims are seen as an uncivilized part of society Resulting unnecessary and excessive monitoring which refrain them from showing their competency at full throttle However, Sikhs and Christian being a minority in Indian society feel as if they are humiliated for their dressing sense, their opinions and suggestion are ignored and are given unrealistic tasks and time limits This further leads to conflict Conflict in its severe form; generate three different forms of conflict The most hazardous is emotional conflict The majority of the respondents agree to the fact that bullying cause emotional harm to them which further leads to stress, absenteeism and further gives rise to informational conflict People from different background and culture possess unique information which he may or may not share it with others either because of competition or trust or comfort They sometimes withhold the information, or share it late or even sometimes they interpret the information in the wrong way This further hampers the performance of the http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/index.asp 120 editor@iaeme.com Dr Priyanka Indoria individual and leads to task conflict This reduces the productivity and performance of the individual Diversity brings resistance to change acceptance and intolerance in ambiguous situations It has a direct negative impact on the productivity and performance of the individual and organization India is one of the most diversified countries in the world It shows unity in diversity This study also revealed that there is a need of the hour to stand together for accepting diversity so as to eliminate the negative effects of diversity and enhance and spread the positivity associated with diversity Individuals need to develop emotional intelligence to work with different favorable or unfavorable emotions in order to marginalize the negative effects of diversity: „Bullying’ Organizations need to carry out certain diversity acceptance training programs to reduce bullying and making certain policies to stop bullying and create an environment of equality LIMITATION Since this study is confined to the Delhi-NCR region the future studies can this research in different parts of India The sample size is only 270 so results may show more clear results when the sample size is large Moreover, the issue is so sensitive the respondents even gives a cold heart to answer the questionnaire REFERENCES [1] Agarwal, A R, Workplace bullying among Indian Managers: prevalence, source and bystanders' reaction International journal of Indian culture and business management, pp 58-81 2017 [2] Butler, P, India Business Etiquette and Culture Retrieved from International Business Center, 2019 [3] Cox, T, Cultural diversity in Organization: Theory research and Practices San Francisco: Berrett- Koehler Publisher, 1993 [4] Helge Hoel, D Z, Bullying and Emotional Abuse in the Workplace: International perspectives in research and practice Taylor and Francis, 2003 [5] Indoria, P, Transformation of organizational Cultural Paradigm to bullying culture and the role of diversity IOSR Journal of Business and Management, pp 50-55 2017 [6] Indoria, P, Transformation of Organizational cultural paradigm to bullying culture and the role of diversity IOSR Journal of Business and Management, pp 50-55 2017 [7] Jagatic, L K, North American perspective of hostile behaviour and bullying at work Bullying and Harassment in the workplace: Development in Theory, Research and pracice, pp 31-61 2011 [8] Leymann, H, The content and development of mobbing at work European journal of Work and Organizational psychology vol no 2, pp 165-184 1996 [9] Lutgen-Sandvik, Burned in Bullying in American Workplace: Prevalence, perception, degree and impact Journal of Management Studies vol 44, no6, pp 837-862 2007 [10] Rosener, L a, Workforce America! Managing Employee Diversity as a vital resource United States: Irwin Publication, 1991 http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/index.asp 121 editor@iaeme.com ... editor@iaeme.com Diversity: Source of Bullying is one of the easiest ways to achieve their targets because they are aware of the fact that bullying makes the victim stressed and ultimately the performance of. .. association of diversity with bullying To identify the causes of bullying To explore the major forms of conflict emerge because of diversity RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Due to the sensitive nature of the... 63.219 000 092 editor@iaeme.com Diversity: Source of Bullying to Being the subject of excessive teasing and sarcasm Being exposed to unmanageable workload Threats of violence or physical abuse