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Organizational cynicism at the United States Naval Academy: an exploratory study

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / Organizational cynicism is an attitude, characterized by frustration and negatively valenced beliefs, resulting primarily from unmet expectations, which is capable of being directed towards an organization in general and/or more specific facets of the organizational environment (Brockway, Carlson, Jones, & Bryant, 2002). This thesis presents an exploratory study into the causes of organizational cynicism at the United States Naval Academy. The study is based on focus groups involving 30 first class midshipmen (i.e., seniors). Gaps in expectations versus students' reality emerged as a cause of organizational cynicism. Themes such as (1) constraints on decision-making discretion, (2) disappointment in peers' actions, (3) organizational inconsistencies, and (4) emphasis on outside interests versus midshipmen's interests emerged as the strongest precursors to the development of cynicism. The effects of organizational cynicism were reported as (1) lack of organizational commitment and citizenship and (2) deficiencies in decision-making and risk taking skills. / Lieutenant, United States Navy

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:nps.edu/oai:calhoun.nps.edu:10945/1530
Date06 1900
CreatorsPitre, Leighton J.
ContributorsBacho, Roderick, Hocevar, Susan, Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.), Graduate School of Business and Public Policy
PublisherMonterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School
Source SetsNaval Postgraduate School
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis
Formatxiv, 53 p., application/pdf
RightsThis publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. As such, it is in the public domain, and under the provisions of Title 17, United States Code, Section 105, may not be copyrighted.

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