The study aimed to investigate whether employees' ethnic culture affects their organizational aggression toward their managers. The authors compared aggression toward managers in two samples of Israeli employees—Jews who are low collectivists and Arabs who are high collectivists. The study's sample was composed of 160 employees in 19 community centers—80 Israeli Jews and 80 Israeli Arabs. Results indicate that ethnic group is the major predictor of employees' aggressive behavior, whereas gender predicts aggression within each ethnic group. Furthermore, a significant distinction in the use of direct and indirect aggression was found between the two ethnic groups. Theories of power distance, cultural communication patterns, and comparative analysis of emotion expressions offer possible explanations for these results.
Archer, J. (2004). Sex differences in aggression in real-world settings: A meta-analytic review. Review of General Psychology, 8, 291-322.
2.
Archer, J., & Coyne, S.M. (2005). An integrated review of indirect, relational and social aggression. Personality and social Psychology Review , 9(3), 212-230.
3.
Barnum, C., & Wolnianski, N. (1989). Taking cues from body language . Management Review, 78(6), 59-60.
4.
Baron, R.A., & Neuman, J.H. (1998). Workplace aggression: The iceberg beneath the tip of workplace violence: Evidence on its forms, frequency and targets. Public Administration Quarterly, 21(4), 446-464.
5.
Baron, R.A., & Richardson, D.R. (1994). Human aggression. New York: Plenum.
6.
Bergeron, N., & Schneider, B.H. (2005). Explaining cross-national differences in peer-directed aggression: A quantitative synthesis. Aggressive Behavior, 31, 116-137.
7.
Billings, D.K. (1989). Individualism and group orientation. In D. M. Keats, K. Munroe , & L. Mann (Eds.), Heterogeneity in cross-cultural psychology (pp. 92-103). Lisse, the Netherlands: Swets & Zeitlinger.
8.
Björkqvist, K., Lagerspez, K.M.J., & Kaukiainen, A. (1992). Do girls manipulate and boys fight? Development trends in direct and indirect aggression. Aggressive Behavior, 18, 117-127.
9.
Blum-Kulka, S. (1982). Learning how to say what you mean in a second language: A study of the speech act performance of learners of Hebrew as a second language. Applied Linguistics, 3(1), 29-59.
10.
Blum-Kulka, S., & House, J. (1989). Investigating cross-cultural pragmatics: An introductory overview. In S. Blum-Kulka, H. Juliane, & G. Kasper (Eds.), Cross-cultural pragmatics: Requests and apologies (pp. 1-29). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
11.
Boyacigiller, N.A., & Adler, N.J. (1991). The parochial dinosaur: Organizational science in a global context. Academy of Management Review, 16(2), 262-290.
12.
Braverman, M. (1999). Preventing workplace violence: A guide for employee and practitioners. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
13.
Coombs, W.T., & Holladay, S. (2004). Understanding the aggressive workplace development of the workplace aggression tolerance questionnaire. Communication Studies, 55(3), 481-497.
14.
Fitness, J. (2000). Anger in the workplace: An emotion script approach to anger episodes between workers and their superiors, co-workers and subordinates . Journal of Organizational Behavior, 21, 147-162.
15.
Gerstner, C.R., & Day, D.V. (1997). Meta-analytic review of leader-member exchange theory: Correlates and construct issues. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, 827-844.
16.
Greenberg, L., & Barling, J. (1999). Predicting employee aggression against coworkers, subordinates & supervisors: The roles of person behaviors and perceived workplace factors. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 20, 897-913.
17.
Hall, E.T. (1976). Beyond culture. Garden City, NY: Anchor/Doubleday.
18.
Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture's consequences: International differences in work-related values. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
19.
Hofstede, G., & Bond, M.H. (1988). Confucius and economic growth: New trends in culture's consequences. Organizational Dynamics, 16(4), 4-21.
20.
Hui, C.H. & Triandis, H.C. (1986). Individualism-collectivism: A study of cross-cultural researchers. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 17, 225-248.
21.
Kashima, Y., Yamaguchi, S., Choi, S., Uichol, K., Gelfand, M.J., & Yuki, M. (1995). Culture, gender and self: A perspective from individualism-collectivism research. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(5), 925-937.
22.
Katriel, T. (1999). Speaking style as cultural style: Speaking Dugri, doing Musayra, In T. Katriel (Ed.), Key words: Patterns of culture and communication in Israel (pp. 206-225). Haifa, Israel: Haifa University Press and Zmora Bitan [in Hebrew].
23.
Knight, G., Gutherie, P.I., Page, K.M., & Fabes, R.A. (2002). Emotional arousal and gender differences in aggression: A meta-analysis. Aggressive Behavior, 28, 366-393.
24.
Lagerspetz, K., Björkqvist, K., & Peltonen, T. (1988). Is indirect aggression typical of females? Gender differences in aggressiveness in 11-to-12-year-old children. Aggressive Behavior, 14, 403-414.
25.
Liden, R.C., Sparrowe, R.T., & Wayne, S.J. (1997). Leader-member exchange theory: The past and potential for the future. Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management, 15, 47-119.
26.
Neuman, J.H., & Baron, R.A. (1997). Aggression in the workplace. In R. A. Giacalone & J. Greenberg (Eds.), Antisocial behavior in organizations (pp. 37-67). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
27.
Noesjirwan, J. (1978). A rule-based analysis of cultural differences in social behavior: Indonesia and Australia. International Journal of Psychology, 13, 305-316.
28.
Sagy, S., Orr, E., Bar-on, D., & Awwad, E. (2001). Individualism and collectivism in two conflicted societies: Comparing Israeli-Jewish and Palestinian-Arab high school students . Youth & Society, 33, 3-30.
29.
Schaffer, B.S., & Riordan, C.M. (2003). A review of cross-cultural methodologies for organizational research: A best practices approach. Organization Research Methods, 6, 169-215.
Sivan, E. (1995). The enclaved culture. Chicago : Chicago University Press.
32.
Skarlicki, D., & Folger, R. (1997). Retaliation in the workplace: The roles of distributive, procedural, and interactional justice. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, 434-443.
33.
Tiedens, L.Z., Ellsworth, P.C., & Mesquita, B. (2000). Stereotypes about sentiments and status: Emotional expectations for high and low status group members. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 26(5), 560-575.
34.
Triandis, H.C. (1995). Individualism and collectivism. Boulder, CO: Westview.
35.
Triandis, H.C. (1998). Vertical and horizontal individualism and collectivism: Theory and research application for international comparative management. In J. L. C. Cheng & R. B. Peterson (Eds.), Advances in international comparative management (pp. 7-35). Stamford, CT: JAI .
36.
Triandis, H.C., McCusker, C., & Hui, C.H. (1990). Multimethod probes of individualism and collectivism . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59(5), 1006-1020.
37.
Trompenaars, F., & Hampden-Turner, C. (1997). Riding the eaves of culture: Understanding cultural diversity in business (2nd ed.). London: Nicholas Brealey .
