Developing and Validating a Quantitative Measure of Organizational Courage

PurposeTo present the Organizational Courage Assessment (OCA) and explore its construct validity.Design/Methodology/ApproachThe OCA assesses the frequency that members (1) observe potential acts of courage in their organization and (2) fear performing those acts of courage—which defines four types of organizations: bureaucratic organizations (little fear with few acts of courage), fearful organizations (much fear with few acts of courage), courageous organizations (many acts despite much fear), and quantum organizations (many acts with little fear).FindingsOur study validated OCA’s two-factor solution (internal validity) and statistically supported our research model that linked courage assessments to perceptions of an organization’s environment, structures, roles, cultures, climates, performance, and satisfaction (external validity).ImplicationsWhile acting courageously works in the short term (and seems, at first, to be ideal), it nevertheless requires members to live with fear on an ongoing basis. Members acting without fear, however, might be the most effective approach in the long term. The OCA can thus be used as a diagnostic tool for assessing organizations (and its subunits) as bureaucratic, fearful, or courageous and then conducting change programs to reduce fear while empowering the membership—thereby creating quantum organizations for long-term success.Originality/ValueThis is the first known study to develop a quantitative assessment of organizational courage. Rather than relying on time-consuming interviews or questionable anecdotal information, it is now possible to proceed with a great variety of research studies (and change programs) with a valid—and useful—instrument.

[1]  D. Campbell.  Recommendations for APA test standards regarding construct, trait, or discriminant validity. , 1960 .

[2]  Jonathan Haidt,et al.  Flourishing: Positive psychology and the life well-lived. , 2003 .

[3]  S. Pugh,et al.  Service with a smile: Emotional contagion in the service encounter. , 2001 .

[4]  R. MacCallum,et al.  THE APPLICATION OF EXPLORATORY FACTOR ANALYSIS IN APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY: A CRITICAL REVIEW AND ANALYSIS , 1986 .

[5]  R. Eisenberger,et al.  Perceived organizational support. , 1986 .

[6]  Douglas N. Jackson,et al.  Problems in Human Assessment , 1978 .

[7]  E. Shelp.  Courage: a neglected virtue in the patient-physician relationship. , 1984, Social science & medicine.

[8]  Margaret Henry,et al.  Toward a Theory of , 2005 .

[9]  Alan L. Wilkins.  The creation of company cultures: The role of stories and human resource systems , 1984 .

[10]  Joyce L. Shields,et al.  Transforming Organizations , 1999, Inf. Knowl. Syst. Manag..

[11]  J. Drife.  Climate of fear , 2005, BMJ : British Medical Journal.

[12]  Charmine E. J. Härtel,et al.  Book Review , 2002 .

[13]  Jennifer A. Chatman,et al.  PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE: A PROFILE COMPARISON APPROACH TO ASSESSING PERSON-ORGANIZATION FIT , 1991 .

[14]  Cooper R. Woodard.  Hardiness and the Concept of Courage. , 2004 .

[15]  Jacob Cohen.  Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences , 1969, The SAGE Encyclopedia of Research Design.

[16]  Lorne Olfman,et al.  Organizational Memory , 1998, Proceedings of the Thirty-First Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.

[17]  N. Ashkanasy,et al.  Climate of fear in organisational settings : construct definition, measurement and a test of theory , 2003 .

[18]  M. Aiken,et al.  Relationship of centralization to other structural properties. , 1967 .

[19]  Jonathan Haidt,et al.  Elevation and the positive psychology of morality. , 2003 .

[20]  R. Boyatzis,et al.  Primal leadership : realizing the power of emotional intelligence , 2002 .

[21]  P. Lachenbruch.  Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences (2nd ed.) , 1989 .

[22]  L. Cronbach,et al.  Construct validity in psychological tests. , 1955, Psychological bulletin.

[23]  Pn Khandwalla,et al.  Some top management styles, their context and performance,” Organization and Administrative Science, Vol. , pp. 21 , 1977 .

[24]  J. Loevinger.  Objective Tests as Instruments of Psychological Theory , 1957 .

[25]  Mita Bhattacharya,et al.  Determinants of Innovation , 2004 .

[26]  J. Cacioppo,et al.  Emotional Contagion , 1993 .

[27]  J. Seltzer,et al.  Supervisory Leadership and Subordinate Burnout , 1988 .

[28]  Rod Napier,et al.  The Courage to Act: 5 Factors of Courage to Transform Business , 2003 .

[29]  C. Nemeth,et al.  Modelling courage: The role of dissent in fostering independence. , 1988 .

[30]  Sigal G. Barsade,et al.  Mood and Emotions in Small Groups and Work Teams , 2001 .

[31]  M. Pava.  Research in Ethical Issues in Organizations , 1999 .

[32]  L. Festinger,et al.  Research Methods in the Behavioral Sciences. , 1954 .

[33]  S. Scott,et al.  DETERMINANTS OF INNOVATIVE BEHAVIOR: A PATH MODEL OF INDIVIDUAL INNOVATION IN THE WORKPLACE , 1994 .

[34]  Francis J. Gouillart,et al.  Transforming the Organization , 1995 .

[35]  J. Nunnally.  Psychometric Theory (2nd ed), New York: McGraw-Hill. , 1978 .

[36]  J. Cummings,et al.  Perceived organizational support, discretionary treatment, and job satisfaction. , 1997, The Journal of applied psychology.

[37]  Richard J. Klimoski,et al.  Emotions in the workplace : understanding the structure and role of emotions in organizational behavior , 2002 .

[38]  N. Raizman.  A climate of fear Michael Crichton State Of Fear , 2005, The Lancet.

[39]  S. Robinson.  Trust and Breach of the Psychological Contract , 1996 .

[40]  Aneil K. Mishra,et al.  Toward a theory of organizational culture and effectiveness. , 1995 .

[41]  Sanjay T. Menon,et al.  Employee Empowerment: An Integrative Psychological Approach , 2001 .