The Impacts of Organizational Justice and Centralization on Employee Theft: an Empirical Investigation of University of Mersin School of Tourism and Hotel Management Students' Perceptions

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the levels and dimensions of employee theft and to find out the impacts of justice and centraliza­tion as organizational determinants of employee theft in hotels. The data collected from 160 hospitality and tourism management students reveal that employee theft does not really prevail in the hotel industry. Six dimensions of employee theft are determined. These are pilferage, industry-wide theft, stealing from customers, benefiting from company products and materials, honesty and notifying theft. Interactional justice (other dimensions are distributive and procedural) exerted lessening effects on pilferage and industry-wide theft. Participation in decision making, one of the dimensions of centralization, increased employee pilferage and stealing from customers. The other dimensions of centralization, authority hierarchy, increased employee honesty and the rate of notifying theft as was expected. Suggestions for researchers and the industry managers are provided so that they benefit from the study and its results.

Keywords

• hotel business,theft,organizational justice,centralization,organizations,employee theft

Örgütsel Adalet ve Yönetimde Merkezileşmenin Çalışan Hırsızlığına Etkileri: Mersin Üniversitesi Turizm İşletmeciliği ve Otelcilik Yüksekokulu Öğrenci Algılamaları Üzerine Bir Araştırma

Öz

Bu çalışmanın amacı, otel işletmelerinde çalışan hırsızlığının düzeyini ve boyutlarını belirlemek ve örgütsel etmenlerden yönetimde merke­zileşme ve örgütsel adaletin çalışan hırsızlığı üzerindeki etkilerini ortaya çıkarmaktır. Turizm işletmeciliği eğitimi alan 160 öğrencinin anket sorularına verdiği cevaplarla toplanan verilerle yapılan analizler, otel sektöründe çalışan hırsızlığının fazla görülmediğini göstermektedir. Bu araştırmada, çalışan hırsızlığının Aşırma, Sektörel Düzeyde Hırsızlık, Müşteriye Yapılan Sahtecilik, Kullanma, Dürüstlük ve Hırsızlığı Bildirme boyutlarında gerçekleştiği saptanmıştır. Adalet unsurlarından biri olan etkileşimsel adalet, Aşırma ve Sektörel Düzeyde Hırsızlık üzerinde azaltıcı etkiye sahip olmuştur. İki boyuttan oluşan yönetimde merkezileşmenin, kararlara katılım boyutundaki artış, Aşırma ve Müşteriye Yapılan Sahtecilik eylemlerinde artışlara neden olmuştur. Yönetimde merkezileşmenin otoritenin dağıtılması boyutu, beklenil­diği gibi Dürüstlük ve Hırsızlığı Bildirme eylemlerinde olumlu etkilere yol açmıştır. Araştırmacılara ve sektör yöneticilerine bu çalışma ve bulgularından nasıl faydalanabilecekleri yönünde tavsiyelerde bulunulmuştur.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• otel işletmeleri,hırsızlık,örgütsel adalet,merkezileştirme,örgütler,çalışan hırsızlığı

Kaynakça

1. Adams, J.S.(1965). Inequity in Social Exchange. İçinde L.Berkowitz (ed.), Advances in Experimental Social Pychology, 2: 267-299. New York: Academic Press
2. Altunay, A. (1999). Otel İşletmelerinde Örgüt Kültürü Falez Otel'de Örgüt Kültürü Araştırması, Yayımlanmamış Yüksek Lisans Tezi. Eskişehir: Anadolu Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilim­ler Enstitüsü
3. Ambrose, M.L. ve Rosse, J.G. (2003). Procedural Justice and Per­sonality Testing, Group and Organization Management, 28 (4): 502-526
4. Analoui, F. (1995). Workplace Sabotage: Its Styles, Motives and Management, The Journal of Management Development, 14 (7): 48 -55
5. Bernardin, J. ve Cooke, D.K. (1993). Validity of an Honesty Test in Predicting Theft Among Convenience Store Employe­es, Academy of Management Journal, 36 (5): 1097-1108
6. Brockner, J. Ackerman, G., Greenberg, J., Gelfand, M. J., Frances­co, A. M., Chen, Z. X., Leung, K., Bierbrauer, G., Gomez, C, Kirkman, B. L. ve Shapiro, D. (2001). Culture and Procedural Justice: The Influence of Power Distance on Reactions to Voice, Journal of Experimental Social Psycho­logy, 37: 300-315
7. Charash, Y. C. ve Spector, P. E. (2001). The Role of Justice in Or­ganizations: A Meta-Analysis, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 86 (2): 278-321
8. Clinard, M.B. ve Quinney, R. (1973). Criminal Behavior Systems. New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston

9. Creative Organizational Design (2005). The Applicant Review. Kitchener, Ontario: Creative Organizational Design (http: llwww.creativeorgdesign.com)
10. Cropanzano, R., Byrne, Z. S., Bobocel, D. R., ve Rupp, D.E. (2001). Moral Virtues, Fairness Heuristics, Social En­tities, and Other Denizens of Organizational Justice, Jour­nal of Vocational Behavior, 58 (5): 164-209
11. DeConinck, J. B. ve Stilwell, C. D. (2004). Incorporating Organi­zational Justice, Role States, Pay Satisfaction and Supervi­sor Satisfaction in a Model of Turnover Intentions, Journal of Business Research, 57:225-231
12. Ditton, J. (1977). Part-time crime: an ethnography of fiddling and pil­ferage. London: Macmillan
13. Erdoğan, B., Kraimer, L.M. ve Liden, R.C. (2001). Procedural Justice as a Two-Dimensional Construct, The Journal of Applied Behavior Science, 37 (2): 205-222
14. Ghiselli, R. ve Ismail, J.A. (1998). Employee Theft and Efficacy of Certain Control Procedures in Commercial Food Service Operations, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, 22 (2): 174-187
15. Greenberg, J. (1990a). Employee Theft as a Reaction to Under­payment Inequity: The Hidden Cost of Pay Cuts, Journal of Applied Psychology, 35 (5): 561-568
16. Greenberg, J. (1990b). Organizational Justice: Yesterday, Today, and Tororrow, Journal of Management, 16 (2): 399- 432
17. Greenberg, J. (1993). Stealing in the Name of Justice: Informati­onal and Interpersonal Moderators of Theft Reactions to Underpayment Inequity, Organizational Behavior and Hu­man Decision Processes, 54: 81-103
18. Greenberg, J. ve Scott, K. S. (1996). Why do Workers Bite the Hands That Feed Them? Employee Theft as a Social Exchange Process, Research in Organizational Behavior, 18:111-156
19. Greenberg, L. ve Barling, J. (1996). Employee theft. İçinde Trends in Organizational Behavior, Volume 3. eds C.L.Cooper ve D.M.Rousseau (Published as a supplement to the Journal of Organizational Behavior Volume 17): 49-71
20. Greenberg, J. (1997). The Steal Motive: Managing the Social Determinants of Employee Theft. İçinde R. Giacalone ve J.Greenberg (Eds.), Antisocial Behavior in Organizations, 85-108. Sage Publications
21. Greenberg, J. (2001). Setting the Justice Agenda: Seven Unas-wered Questions About What, Why, and How, Journal of Vocational Behavior, 58: 210-219
22. Greenberg, J. (2002). Who Stole the Money, and When? Indivi­dual and Situational Determinants of Employee Theft, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 89: 985-1003
23. Goldman, B. M. (2003). The Application of Referent Cognitions Theary to Legal-Claiming by Terminated Workers: The role of Organizational Justice and Anger, Journal of Mana­gement, 29 (5): 705-728 Hollinger, R.C. ve Clark, J.P (1983). Theft by Employees. Lexington. MA.: Lexington Books
24. Hollinger, R.C. (1989). Dishonesty in the Workplace: A Manager's Guide to Preventing Employee Theft. Park Ridge. İL: London House Press
25. Kray, L. J.ve Lind, E. A. (2002). The Injustices of Others: Social Reports and the Integration of Others' Experiences in Or­ganizational Justice Judgmnets, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 89: 906-924
26. Lin, B. ve Patel, J. (1999). Theft Problems in Motels: A Survey, In­ternational Journal of Hospitality Management, 18: 83-85
27. Lind, E. A.,Greenberg, J., Scott, K. S. ve Welchans, T. D. (2000). The Winding Road From Employee to Complainant Situatio­nal and Psychological Determinants of Wrongful- Termi­nation, Administrative Science Quarterly, 45 (3): 557-590
28. Lind, E.A. ve Tyler, T.R. (1998). The Social Psychology of Procedural Justice. New York: Plenum
29. Masterson, S. S. Lewis, K., Goldman, B. M. ve Taylor, M. S. (2000). Integrating Justice and Social Exchange: The Differing Effects of Fair Procedures and Treatment on Work Relati­onships, Academy of Management Journal, 43: 738-748
30. Mitchell, R. T., Daniels, D., Hopper, H., Falvy, J. G. ve Ferris, G. R. (1996). Perceived Correlates of Illegal Behavior in Organizations, Journal of Business Ethics, 15 (4): 439-455
31. Murphy, K. (1993). Honesty in the Workplace. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole
32. Mustaine, E. E. ve Tewksbury, R. (2002). Workplace Theft: An Analysis of Student- Employee Offerders and Job Attri­butes, American Journal of Criminal Justice, 27 (1): 111-127
33. NCS and National Food Service Security Council. (1999). Fourth Annual Survey of Restaurant and Fast Food Employees. Ro-semont, IL: National Computer Systems, Inc. and Natio­nal Food Service Security Council
34. Niehoff, B.P. ve Paul, R.J. (2000). Causes of Employee Theft and Strategies That HR Managers can Use for Prevention, Hu­man Resource Management, 39 (1): 51-64
35. Oliphant, B.J.ve Oliphant, G.C. (2001). Using a Behavior-Based Method to Identify and Reduce Employee Theft, Inter­national Journal of Retail and Distribution Management, 29 (10): 442-451
36. Ployhart, R. E. ve Ryan, A. M. (1997). Toward an Explanation of Applicant Reactions: An Examination of Organizational Justice and Attribution Frameworks, Organizational Baha-vior and Human Decision Processes, 72 (3): 308-335
37. Schaefer, A.G., Trigilio, J., Negus, J. ve Ro, C.S. (2000). Ethics Education in the Workplace an Effective Tool to Combat Employee Theft, Journal of Business Ethics, 26 (2): 89-100
38. Schminke, M., Cropanzano, R. ve Rupp, D. E. (2002). Organiza­tion Structure and Fairness Perceptions: The Moderating Effects of Organizational Level, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 89: 881-905
39. Synder, N.H., Broome, O.W. ve Zimmerman, K. (1989). Using Internal Controls to Reduce Employee Theft in Small Businesses, Journal of Small Business Management, 27 (3): 48-55
40. Synder, N.H. ve Blair, K.E. (1989). Dealing With Employee Theft, Business Horizons, (May-June): 27-34
41. Synder, N.H., Blair, K.E. ve Arndt,T. (1990). Breaking the Bad Habits Behind Time Theft, Business, 40 (4): 31-33
42. Thoms, P., Wolper, P., Scott, K.S., ve Jones, D. (2001). The Re­lationship Between Immediate Turnover and Employee Theft in the Restaurant Industry, Journal of Business and Psychology,15 (4): 561-577
43. Tremblay, M., Sire, B. ve Balkin, D. B. (2000). The Role of Orga­nizational Justice in Pay and Employee Benefit Satisfacti­on, and its Effects on Work Attitudes, Group and Organiza­tion Management, 25 (3): 269-290
44. Trevino, L. K. (1992). The Social Effects of Punishment in Orga­nizations: A Justice Perspective, Academy of Management Review, 17(4): 647-676
45. Uysal-Irak, D. (2004). Örgütsel Adalet: Ortaya Çıkışı, Kuramsal Yaklaşımlar ve Bugünkü Durumu, Türk Psikoloji Yazıları, 7 (13): 25-43
46. Vansandt, C. V. (2003). The Relationship Between Ethical Work Climate and Moral Awareness, Business and Society, 42 (1): 144-152
47. Weber, J., Kurke, L.B. ve Pentico, D.W. (2003). Why do Emplo­yees Steal? Business and Society, 42 (3): 359-380
48. Ylipaavalniemi, J., Kivimaki, M., Elovainio, M., Virtanen, M., Keltikangas- Jarvinen, L. ve Vahtera, J. (2005). Psychosocial Work Characteristics and Incidence of Newly Diagnosed Depresion: A Prospective Cohort Study of Three Different Models, Social Science and Medicine, 61 (1): 111-122