Positive Organizational Scholarship: What does it Achieve?

Abstract

Positive Organizational Scholarship (POS) is a relatively new development in organization studies, having formally begun with a 2003 edited collection of the same name (Cameron, et al., 2003b). Since that time, it has attracted considerable attention (e.g., George, 2004; Caza and Roberts, 2006;Fineman, 2006;Caza, 2008). The theoretical basis and scope of POS have been addressed quite recently (Dutton and Glynn, 2007;Dutton and Sonenshein, 2007), so this chapter only summarizes these issues, in favor of concentrating on the research and practice of POS. After discussing the domain and precursors of POS, primary attention is given to what POS has accomplished to date. These accomplishments have two facets, as POS involves a research perspective and an approach to managing organizations. This chapter considers the accomplishments of POS in both areas.

Social Red Bull: Exploring Energy Relationships in a School District Leadership Team

“…This association suggests that creating opportunities for leaders to find joy and enthusiasm in their work may well also enable them to energize others. This finding is related to core work on Positive Organizational Scholarship (POS) (Caza & Cameron, 2008), which suggests that factors such as vitality, optimism, and positive states, e.g., energy, are important and can potentially impact the outcomes of both individuals and organizations. A POS perspective stands in contrast with much of the organizational work that often concentrates on more negative aspects of organizations and interactions.…”

“…In contrast, individuals with greater job satisfaction are typically more motivated (Federici & Skaalvik, 2012), perceive a greater sense of professional accomplishment, and demonstrate greater work commitment (Sutter, 1996). In addition, researchers suggest that job satisfaction is positively associated with greater energy toward work (Quinn & Dutton, 2005) and an increased level of work engagement (Caza & Cameron, 2008;Cole, Bruch, & Vogel, 2012;Welbourne, 2014;Welbourne, Andrews, & Andrews, 2005). Moreover, individuals reporting higher job satisfaction tend to actively engage with others in exchanging knowledge as well as proactively seeking out others for information in enhancing job performance (Su, Huang, & Contractor, 2009).…”

“…Work in this area often occurs within the larger field of positive organizational scholarship (Caza & Cameron, 2008) and suggests that energy relations may influence not only shaping of positive relationships across an organization (Cross et al, 2007), but may also positively impact an individual's task performance (Amabile, Barsade, Mueller, & Staw, 2005). In addition, pro-social expressive ties, such as energy, have been shown to facilitate the transfer of uniquely held and useful resources and knowledge between individuals (Levin, Kurtzbereg, Phillips, & Lount, 2010).…”

Responsible Leadership as Virtuous Leadership

“…This pattern of behavior quickly destroys normal organizational functioning. Similarly, following the letter of the law in accounting practices, environmental pollution standards, or performance appraisal systems often leads to the opposite of the intended outcome-e.g., recalcitrance, rigidity, resistance, and rebellion (Caza and Cameron 2008).…”

The contribution of work characteristics and risk propensity in explaining pro-social rule breaking among teachers in Wakiso District, Uganda

“…These weaknesses allow some of the firms to place too much pressure on employees, subjecting them to long-term discomfort, which can be detrimental to their health, and having them justify their worth if they are to still remain in employment. As a means of survival in such an environment, the employees may have to demonstrate more proactive behaviours (Caza & Cameron, 2008), one of which may be pro-social rule breaking as it has been discovered that such a behaviour has at times achieved positive results in such terms as improved performance or introducing notable changes that appeal to the employers (Youli, Xixi & Xi, 2014).…”