Organizational-professional Conflict Research Articles

Secondary School Athletic Trainers' Experiences Managing Workplace Organizational- Professional Conflict.

Athletic trainers (ATs) face organizational-professional conflict (OPC), often surrounding return-to-sport decisions. To prioritize patient safety and establish a healthy work environment, OPC must be mitigated, yet little research has determined how ATs manage conflicts with stakeholders. To explore ATs' experiences with OPC in the secondary school setting. Qualitative study. Telephone interviews. 16 ATs (9 females, 7 males; age = 43±11 years; years certified = 17±9; years in their current positions = 9±6). We digitally recorded telephone interviews and had them professionally transcribed. Data saturation guided recruitment efforts, and was met. To ensure rigor and trustworthiness of the data, we completed basic member checks along with multiple analyst triangulation. We analyzed the qualitative data using an interpretive phenomenological approach. Four themes emerged: effective communication, professional relationships, stakeholder education and professional experience. Participants used effective communication described as frequent, open, and direct, during interactions with stakeholders to manage OPC. OPC was reduced when ATs built professional relationships with stakeholders centered on trust and respect. Participants used stakeholder education as a primary strategy for managing OPC by educating stakeholders about prognosis and return-to-sport timelines post-injury and providing rationale for decisions made. Additionally, years of experience served as a mitigating factor of conflict, in that as ATs gained experience and confidence, they perceived less OPC. Participants suggested various interpersonal relationship development strategies that can be implemented to manage OPC, especially when starting a new position or building rapport with stakeholders. Specifically, educating various stakeholders on reasons for clinical decisions via effective communication and developing strong professional relationships built on mutual respect assisted in avoiding OPC. Since professional experience appears to alleviate conflict, OPC management strategies should be taught during professional preparation and used early during transition to autonomous practice.

Organizational-Professional Conflict in the Collegiate and Secondary School Practice Settings: A Sequential, Mixed-Methods Study.

Athletic trainers (ATs) are employed in various settings, which may use 1 of 3 organizational infrastructure models: (1) the sport/athletic model, (2) the medical model, and (3) the academic model. These different settings and organizational infrastructure models may result in varying levels of organizational-professional conflict (OPC). However, how OPC may differ across infrastructure models and practice settings is not known. To examine the prevalence of OPC among ATs in various organizational infrastructures and explore ATs' perceptions of OPC, including its precipitating and mitigating factors. Sequential explanatory mixed-methods study with equal emphasis on quantitative and qualitative components. Collegiate and secondary school institutions. Five hundred ninety-four ATs from collegiate and secondary schools. We conducted a national cross-sectional survey using a validated scale to assess OPC. We then followed the quantitative survey with individual interviews. Trustworthiness was established with multiple-analyst triangulation and peer debriefing. Athletic trainers experienced low to moderate degrees of OPC with no differences across practice settings or infrastructure models. Poor communication, others' unfamiliarity with the AT's scope of practice, and lack of medical knowledge were precipitating factors for OPC. Organizational relationships founded on trust and respect for one another; administrative support in that ATs were listened to, decisions were endorsed, and appropriate resources provided; and autonomy given to the AT were key components to preventing OPC. Most ATs experienced primarily low to moderate OPC. However, OPC continues to permeate professional practice to some extent in collegiate and secondary school settings, regardless of the infrastructure model used. The findings of this study highlight the role of administrative support that allows for autonomous AT practice as well as effective communication that is direct, open, and professional to decrease OPC.

Effects of Organizational–Professional Conflict and Auditor Burnout on Dysfunctional Audit Behaviour

Abstract Auditors are expected to provide a good quality in auditing performance. However, in practice, some conditions may impair the auditors’ professional behaviour. The conflict between professional and organizational values that may occur during the auditing process may become a dilemma for the auditor as a professional. This condition eventually can make the auditor to have a dysfunctional behaviour in performing audit. Some studies showed that the phenomenon of dysfunctional audit behaviour is also correlated to the job burnout the auditor experiences in performing the audit fieldwork. This study, in turn, examined the effects of organizational – professional conflict (OPC) and auditor burnout on dysfunctional audit behaviour. It was hypothesized that both OPC and auditor burnout have the positive effects on dysfunctional audit behaviour. Data collection in this study was performed by distributing the questionnaires through the survey method sent to the respondents, i.e. 79 auditors working in public accounting firm using the convenience sampling technique. The results of this study indicated that job burnout, as hypothesized, had positive effect on dysfunctional audit behaviour; while the OPC had no effect on dysfunctional audit behaviour.

Should I Stay or Should I Go?: The Joint Effects of Valuation Specialists’ Knowledge Domain and Employer Type on Perceptions of Organizational-Professional Conflict

Despite specialists’ role in producing fair value measurements, they often encounter tensions that give rise to conflict between the specialists and both their organizational and professional demands. This study surveyed 222 highly qualified specialists to examine how differences in specialists’ domain knowledge and their employer type influence perceptions of a particular type of conflict—organizational-professional conflict (OPC). First, we find that specialists who primarily value financial instruments and are employed by non-professional services firms (e.g., banks) report significantly higher OPC levels, lower job satisfaction, and higher turnover intentions. Next, we find that prior experience in an organization like one’s current employer mitigates your perceived OPC level. Lastly, we find that specialists who have a dual role in working with auditors and management report higher OPC levels when they spend more of their time assisting auditors in evaluating fair value measurements’ reasonableness.

Effects of Professional Skepticism, Organizational-Professional Conflicts and Performance Evaluation Toward Audit Judgment Through Auditor Dysfunctional Behavior

The role of internal auditor is still very much needed in helping to ensure governance in developing countries such as Indonesia. Fraud actions such as corruption, manipulation of financial statements and embezzlement of funds which have occurred in Indonesian government are still alarming, so that internal auditor becomes public spotlight. Weak supervision is suspected to be a major factor in corruption cases. The internal auditor as the Government Internal Supervisory Apparatus (APIP) has a role as supervisor, assistant and protector of management, as well as being an independent advisor to the government which should be able to prevent fraud which could harm the country. This study aimed to empirically prove the correlation of professional skepticism, organizational-professional conflict and performance evaluation toward Audit Judgment with auditor dysfunctional behavior as a moderating variable. This research was conducted on the auditor of the Government's Internal Supervisory Apparatus who worked in the Financial Supervisory Agency and Development Representative of East Java Province and the Inspectorate of East Java Province. Sampling was done by purposive sampling method. Questionnaires which were successfully collected were 81 questionnaires. The results showed that Professional Skepticism, Organizational Professional Conflict and Performance Evaluation had an effect on audit judgment, but auditor dysfunctional behavior could not moderate the influence of professional skepticism, professional organizational conflict and performance evaluation of audit judgment. Keywords: Professional Skepticism, Organizational-Professional Conflict, Performance Evaluation, Audit Judgment, and Auditor Dysfunctional Behavior. DOI : 10.7176/RJFA/10-8-16 Publication date : April 30 th 2019

Factors Related to Internal Auditors' Organizational-Professional Conflict

SYNOPSISDue to the unique nature of their position, internal auditors often experience organizational-professional conflict (OPC). It is important to understand the nature of OPC and its implications for various stakeholders. Using a large data-set of survey responses from chief audit executives, we examine the effect of factors unique in internal audit settings on chief audit executives' OPC. We find that perceptions of job autonomy, tenure with the organization, reporting to the audit committee, and using the internal audit function as a management training ground are significantly related to internal auditors' OPC. We also find that OPC is negatively related to respondents' identification with the organization but not with their professional identification. Our findings have implications for organizational policies related to internal auditing and to external stakeholders.

An examination of internal auditor turnover intentions

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that are associated with internal auditors’ professional turnover intentions.Design/methodology/approachThe study analyzes data from responses to the Institute of Internal Auditors’ (IIA) (2015) Common Body of Knowledge global survey and uses a multivariate approach to identify factors that influence internal auditor turnover intentions.FindingsResults show that internal auditor turnover intentions are negatively associated with an academic background in accounting, possessing internal audit professional certification, and having access to more training opportunities. Turnover intentions are positively associated with organizational-professional conflict, restricted access to documents and personnel, and the existence of a program of using the internal audit function as management training ground. Differences by IIA global region highlight the diversity in the turnover challenges that face the professional globally.Originality/valueResults from this study are important because they bring attention to issues that potentially lead to internal auditors leaving the profession. This can help the profession and organizations take measures to motivate internal auditors to remain in the profession and alleviate the current staffing challenges faced by the profession.

Organizational-professional conflict of I/O psychologists, job satisfaction and work engagement

organizational-professional conflict occurs among employees in situations when organizational expectations and demands are opposed to the professional principles and standards. The results of studies have shown that this conflict negatively affects employees' attitude towards the job and affective-motivational state of fulfilment with work role. The purpose of this research was to examine exposure to organizational-professional conflict among I/O psychologists in Serbia, to find out whether there is a correlation between the exposure to organizational-professional conflict, job satisfaction and work engagement, and to determine the main factors of exposure to organizational-professional conflict. Our sample consisted of 96 I/O psychologists. Results have shown that there was significant high negative correlation between the exposure to organizational-professional conflict and job satisfaction, as well as significant moderate negative correlation between the exposure to organizational-professional conflict and work engagement. The highest correlations were with social dimensions of job satisfaction. The exposure to organizational-professional conflict was lower among I/O psychologists with longer work experience and those at higher positions in organizational hierarchy. The exposure to organizational-professional conflict was higher among I/O psychologists who were working in privately owned companies and among those who were fixed-term employees. There was no significant correlation between the exposure to organizational-professional conflict and the size of the organization or business field. Our study showed that organizational-professional conflict should be considered as an important theoretical and research topic, as well as a relevant professional and career issue.

Professionalism, rewards, job satisfaction and organizational commitment amongst accounting professionals in Uganda

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which the constructs of professionalism (Hall, 1968), rewards (Bartol, 1979) and job satisfaction (Stamps and Piedmonte, 1986; Hampton and Hampton, 2004) can be used as valid predictors of organizational commitment (Porter et al., 1974) in an emerging economy context. Design/methodology/approach – Using pre-existing scales for these constructs, the authors collected data from 277 ICPAU licensees’ and carried out a factor analysis to examine their validity. Given the relevance of the organizational-professional conflict (OPC) debate to performance in public and private sector organizations, the authors use ANOVA to assess whether there are significant differences between CPAs in the private and public sectors. We also develop a structural equation model to assess the extent to which organizational commitment can be explained by professionalism, rewards and job satisfaction. Findings – The findings show that the four scales can be used as valid measures in an emerging market environment, albeit with some modifications. The correlations between the study variables are significant (p<0.01) but weak. There are also no significant differences between the scores of private and public sector Certified Public Accountant (CPAs) on professionalism, rewards and organizational commitment. However, there is significantly lower job satisfaction amongst CPAs employed in the public sector. The authors also find that job satisfaction is the best predictor of organizational commitment. Professionalism and rewards are weak predictors of organizational commitment. The fitted model shows that there is a weak fit between organizational commitment and professionalism, rewards and job satisfaction (GFI=0.86, RMSEA=0.086). Originality/value – The authors modify the extant measurement scales for use in emerging market conditions and show that with some adjustment, they are robust measures of the study variables. The paper also extends the organizational commitment (OC) debate to emerging market conditions and shows that rewards on their own are not enough to ensure organizational commitment amongst professionals. It is important to improve job satisfaction through more enriching work experience.

An investigation of ethical climate in a Singaporean accounting firm

PurposeThe primary objective of this study is to examine the moderating influence of professional commitment (PC) on the associations among ethical climate, organizational‐professional conflict (OPC) and organizational commitment (OC) among public accountants. It aims to replicate recent findings on the relationships among ethical climate, OPC and OC. It also aims to extend prior research by investigating the association between ethical climate and both functional specialization and organizational rank in an accounting firm.Design/methodology/approachThe authors surveyed all professional employees in the Singapore office of an international accounting firm.FindingsSignificant associations were found between ethical climate, OPC and OC. Participants' degree of affective commitment to their profession moderated the relationship between the public interest (benevolent/cosmopolitan) climate and perceived conflict and OC. Specifically, professionally committed employees reported less conflict and greater commitment when they felt the firm placed more emphasis on the public interest. These relationships were not present for employees with lower levels of professional commitment. It was also found that taxation specialists perceived the least emphasis in the firm on serving the public interest.Originality/valueNo prior study has documented the moderating influence of affective professional commitment on the association between ethical climate and accountants' OPC or OC. This finding has important implications, suggesting that accounting firms' ability to retain professionally committed employees will depend in part on the degree to which the firm upholds professional ideals such as serving the public interest. The fact that tax specialists perceived less emphasis on serving the public interest than other functional areas implies that tax practices may be overemphasizing client advocacy at the expense of public service.

Pick Your Battles: OPC or PPC? The Adverse Consequences of Bureaucratization

Recent research suggests that most professionals are happy to comply with bureaucratic and commercial constraints: the long-standing organizational-professional conflict (OPC) seems to have vanished. Suddaby, Gendron and Lam (2009) propose a tentative explanation for this evolution: professionals socialized in a bureaucratic setting no longer perceive a conflict between professional and bureaucratic/commercial logics. In this paper, we assess and enrich this explanation via a case study in a French business tax law firm. We find empirical support for Suddaby et al.’s (2009) explanation: when our case firm bureaucratized its work processes, its lawyers were more likely to experience an OPC if their early socialization occurred in a professional rather than a bureaucratic environment. Lawyers who do not experience an OPC appear to struggle with a novel, professional-professional, conflict (PPC): they report resentment towards colleagues who, within their profession, operate in a different field of expertise. Our study thus suggests that professionals who, because of their early bureaucratic socialization, do not feel an OPC grapple instead with a PPC.

Ethical climate, organizational‐professional conflict and organizational commitment

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to focus on the effects of the ethical climate in Chinese certified public accounting (CPA) firms on auditors' perceptions of organizational‐professional conflict (OPC) and affective organizational commitment (OC). We also test for differences in the perceived ethical climates of local and international CPA firms.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on a survey of 167 professional auditors (seniors and managers) employed by local and international CPA firms operating in the People's Republic of China.FindingsCertain dimensions of the perceived ethical climate are significantly related to OPC, and to affective OC. As anticipated, there was also a strong negative relationship between OPC and OC. There was no clear pattern of differences in the perceived ethical climates in local and international CPA firms. Impression management was highly correlated with OPC, OC, and three of four ethical climate dimensions, suggesting that Chinese auditors bias their reports of these variables in a socially desirable fashion.Originality/valueTo our knowledge, this is the first study to address the relationship between ethical climate and OPC, and the first to examine OPC and OC among auditors in Mainland China. The findings support our contention that the perceived ethical climate is a key determinant of OPC, suggesting that future research on OPC should place more emphasis on organizational characteristics. In addition, the apparent tendency of auditors to bias their reports of OPC, OC, and ethical climate stresses the importance of controlling for social desirability response bias in surveys of professional accountants.

Organizational‐professional conflict and cultural differences among auditors in emerging markets

PurposeThis paper seeks to investigate the relationships between organizational‐professional conflict (OPC), organizational commitment (OC), professional commitment (PC), job satisfaction (JS), and job resignation intention (JR) in the Jordanian and Kuwaiti auditing firms. In addition, the paper examines the impacts of demographic and nationality variables on the previous variables.Design/methodology/approachData were collected through a survey questionnaire for a sample of 308 auditors from Jordan and Kuwait.FindingsThe study finds that there is a significant impact of OC and PC on OPC and negative correlation between OC and PC. Additionally, the results show a negative correlation between OPC and JS and positive correlation between JS and OC. The nationality variable that dichotomizes Jordan and Kuwait sub samples has a significant effect on OPC and JR.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample is limited to auditing firms that have five or more auditors. Thus, the results are not generalizable to all audit firms working in these two countries.Practical implicationsOPC in large audit firms is more than that in small audit firms and the OC in large audit firms is less than that in small audit firms. This finding suggests that large auditing firms would do well when managing these factors.Originality/valuePrior research is not extensive in this area, specifically that which compares the attitudes of the auditors in Jordan and Kuwait.

Analisis Variabel-variabel Anteseden dan Konsekuensi Organizational Professional Conflict Akuntan di KAP dan Industri

The objective of this research is to examine antecedents of accountants perceived organizational-professional conflict (OPC) and its consequences. Affective, continuance, dan professional commitments are hypothesized to be antecedents of OPC, while job satisfaction, job-related tensions, and turnover intentions are the consequences of OPC. The sampling method is convenience sampling. The respondents are accountants working in public accounting firms and industry. Data were collected by mail survey and personal contact. There were 278 respondents participated in this research. Data analysis used Structural Equation Modeling. The results of this study show that affective, continuance, and professional commitments are antecedents of OPC and they have significant negative effect on OPC. OPC has significant negative effects on job satisfaction, positive on job-related tensions and turnover intentions.

Stress at Work : A Study of Organizational-Professional Conflict and Unmet Expectations

This study examines how certain conditions of work affect human service workers’ job stress. We propose and assess a model of organizational-professional conflict to determine how professional and bureaucratic conditions of work influence service providers’ expectations and in turn their job stress. The model was tested using data from a survey of 514 human service providers in Alberta, Canada. The findings suggest that whether service providers’ expectations are met is critical in explaining job stress. Professional conditions of work relating to working relationships and client interactions are key to fulfilling service providers’ expectations, whereas bureaucratic conditions of work that reflect role conflict and excessive role demands are particularly stressful. An unexpected finding is that bureaucratization of procedures that may limit service workers’ control over their work does not contribute significantly to their job stress.

Big 5 Auditors' Professional and Organizational Identification: Consistency or Conflict?

In response to a variety of challenges, accounting firms are reorganizing and reengineering their core audit services to capitalize on technology advances and to deliver more value-added services to their clients. Critics, however, have voiced concern that the changes underway undermine auditors' professionalism. Accordingly, this study examines auditors' sense of professional identity. Specifically, we provide (1) a comprehensive model of the relation between auditors' professional and organizational identities, including their potential conflict; and (2) the antecedents and consequences of auditors' professional and organizational identification, including how organizational-professional conflict relates to turnover. We find relatively high levels of professional identification and organizational identification, and a relatively low level of organizational-professional conflict among our study's 252 Big 5 auditors. Professional identification is positively related to organizational identification, but it is organizational identification and its antecedents that play the central role in the empirical model. Organizational identification decreases both organizational-professional conflict and turnover. The results have implications for both practitioners and researchers.

Ethical Pressure, Organizational-Professional Conflict, and Related Work Outcomes among Management Accountants

This study examines the effects of ethical pressure on management accountants' perceptions of organizational-professional conflict, and related work outcomes. It was hypothesized that organizational pressure to engage in unethical behavior would increase perceived organizational-professional conflict, and that this perceived conflict would reduce organizational commitment and job satisfaction, and increase the likelihood of employee turnover. A survey was mailed to a random sample of Certified Management Accountants to assess perceptions of the relevant variables. The results of a structural equations model indicated that, as hypothesized, ethical pressure was associated with higher levels of perceived organizational-professional conflict. Also as hypothesized, higher levels of conflict were associated with lower levels of organizational commitment and job satisfaction. Finally, lower levels of commitment and satisfaction were associated with higher turnover intentions.

Putting Meta-Analysis to Work: Accountants' Organizational-Professional Conflict

Commentators on empirical research in business ethics have recommended that use should be made of meta-analysis – the quantitative analysis of a group of research studies. This paper elaborates upon those recommendations by conducting, as a "case study" for further reflection, a meta-analysis of studies of accountants' organizational-professional conflict (OPC) previously published in accounting and psychology journals. Of five variables capable of analysis, only the population correlation coefficient between OPC and organizational tenure is identified. It was not possible to find the population correlation coefficient of the other four variables, for which several possible reasons are suggested. The paper then shows how meta-analysis can make a valuable contribution, even when the substantive findings are limited, by providing guidance for future research and a safeguard against the drawing of unjustified conclusions, to which the more usual narrative reviews of literature are prone.

Accountants' Organizational–Professional Conflict: A Meta-Analysis

Research on accountants' organizational-professional conflict (OPC) has increased in the last decade. In this study, meta-analyses were used to summarize the relationships between accountants' OPC and five work environment variables. In one metaanalysis, the variance due to sampling error accounted for all of the variance between the sample correlations that had been corrected for measurement error, and hence the population correlation coefficient could be observed. In the remaining four meta-analyses, a large proportion of the variance between the corrected sample correlations was not attributable to the sampling error variance. In those cases, it was not possible to carry out full moderator analyses to identify population correlation coefficients.

Professional/Organizational Commitment and Job Satisfaction for Employed Lawyers

This paper presents the results of a two part field study designed to examine issues of organizational-professional conflict (OPC) amongst employed layers (corporate counsel). The study adopts the Johnson (1972) collegiate/oligarchic typology, and hypothesises that the unexpectedly low OPC found by Aranya and Ferris (1984) amongst employed accountants is a function of the nature of the profession. It replicates the Aranya and Ferris study using subjects from a collegiate profession where, arguably, external reference groups and traditions are more powerful. Using standard multi-variate analysis, the study suggests that for this sample, OPC is no more of an issue than in the Aranya and Ferris study. There was, however, evidence of career factors impacting strongly upon organizational commitment, suggesting that previous ideas on the nature of the link between professionals and their employers are an oversimplification. The theoretical and practical iplications of these findings are discussed.