Mediating effect of ethical climate on the relationship of personality types and employees mindfulness

Globalization and technological advancement bring changes to the organization as well as to the behaviors of the employees. As a result, this descriptive-correlational study examined the effect of perceived ethical climate on individual differences – personality types and psychological state – mindfulness among employees. Purposive sampling was utilized to include 203 participants from different higher institutions who agreed to answer a questionnaire in google forms that were distributed through their emails. Results revealed respondents’ personality types have high levels of agreeableness, conscientiousness, and open-mindedness with moderate level of extraversion and low level of negative emotionality. Individual and organizational mindfulness of the participants were considerably very high. The participants perceived their organizations to have high level of consideration on rules, standard operating procedures and law and professional codes with moderate regard personal morality. More importantly, results of structural equation modeling established the claim that ethical climate increases the significant association of personality types to employees’ mindfulness. With the evident association of personality types and mindfulness, trainings should be provided to enhance employees’ personality and deal with possible differences. The significant mediating effect of ethical climate encourage organizational leaders to establish a work environment that uplifts employee’s morale to increase mindfulness.

Organizational Mindfulness Assessment and Its Impact on Rational Decision Making

Ever since its appearance in the organizational research literature, the importance of organizational mindfulness has consistently increased. For this reason, this study has the following two research objectives: first, to explore the positive effect of organizational mindfulness (OM) on the rationality of the decision-making process and second, to propose a framework to assess the extent of its presence in organizations. For the first objective, exploratory partial least square structure modeling (PLS-SEM) was conducted, while for the second goal, an evaluation framework based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was developed. Surveying 117 decision-making leaders in the field, organizational mindfulness and its constitutive processes that include resistance to simplify interpretations, preoccupation with failure, sensitivity of operations and commitment to resiliency with deference to expertise, were empirically studied. A significant positive effect of these dimensions and OM as a whole on the rationality of the decision-making process was statistically shown. For this reason, it is important to assess the extent of the presence of organizational mindfulness in organizations. The use of this AHP-based OM evaluation framework is demonstrated for the case of the complex health sector in Colombia.

Supply chain resilience in mindful humanitarian aid organizations: the role of big data analytics

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand the nomological network of associations between collective mindfulness and big data analytics in fostering resilient humanitarian relief supply chains.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conceptualize a research model grounded in literature and test the hypotheses using survey data collected from informants at humanitarian aid organizations in Africa and Europe.FindingsThe findings demonstrate that organizational mindfulness is key to enabling resilient humanitarian relief supply chains, as opposed to just big data analytics.Originality/valueThis is the first study to examine organizational mindfulness and big data analytics in the context of humanitarian relief supply chains.

Individual and organizational mindfulness: a social exchange-based approach

Purpose Understanding multiple dimensions of problem or opportunity and the context in an evolving environment is an essential task for leaders. The allied expectation is to be aware of gaps in knowledge, and areas of organizational ignorance, which can prove detrimental for the organization. In this paper, we propose a framework based on social exchange theory directed towards developing organizational mindfulness. Design/methodology/approach This paper is a reflective note based on workshops conducted for senior managers of a Fortune Global 500 petrochemical company having more than 10,000 employees. The workshop was carried out in modular mode, with one module conducted in virtual mode and the second module in physical mode. The time gap between each module was two months. Findings Purposive questioning, engaged in both as a social exchange as well as to solicit information from multiple stakeholders which may otherwise would have been ignored, develops broader and more detailed analysis of problems and extensive individual and organizational mindfulness. Practical implications This paper offers a methodology for managers to explore and develop solutions for complex problems. The methodology also provides identification of areas requiring organizational re-learning. Originality/value This paper contributes to the literature on problem solving by providing a methodology to develop individual and organizational mindfulness. The structured format of the approach ensures this can be formalized and taught to decision makers, without being limited by their prior background.

Mindfulness and School Leadership

Organizational mindfulness refers to an organization’s collective disposition toward learning and supports its ongoing quest for effective and reliable performance. Descended from Buddhist thought, mindfulness draws attention to a leader’s awareness of the moment and subsequent decision-making and is informed by in-the-moment observation and attentiveness. This Eastern perspective suggests that as leaders work to craft informed responses to the demands before them, mindfulness places them in a position to maximize learning in real-time and respond to challenges from a place of equanimity. Complemented by the Eastern perspective, Western perspectives concerning organizational mindfulness have focused on the development of practices designed to increase highly reliable leadership performance. In this conception, mindful leadership is focused on potential threats to organizational performance and leadership effort is oriented toward eliminating or minimizing negative impact. Furthermore, mindful leaders seek robust and complex interpretations of organizational threat, embracing a heightened sensitivity to the link between organizational processes and outcome. Finally, Western notions of mindful leadership suggest that resiliency, a tenacious commitment to learning from failure, and deference to expertise rather than formal authority are hallmarks of mindful practice. In this way, mindful leaders orient their work toward organizational and cultural change evident in a collective attention that orients the work of its members. To do so requires that a leader’s attention be oriented toward deeply developed explanations of activities within the organizational school setting, including opportunities for formative, substantive data use and on-the-ground real time orientation to communal learning. In turn, mindful practice sets the stage for school leaders to engage the school community in becoming active partners in communal knowledge creation with the intent of improving classroom practice, student learning, and well-being.