Document Type : Research Article

Authors

• mohsen arefnezhad ¹
• Nazanin Bazgir ²

¹ Associate Professor, Department of Management, Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran

² MSc., Business Administration, Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran.

Abstract

Purpose: Since the most important capital of any organization is its human capital, which affects the rest of the organization's capital, any negligence or inattention in this regard will pave the way for the emergence of destructive behaviors such as organizational apathy and will make it difficult to achieve organizational goals. Organizational apathy is a gradual process that appears in individuals. Individuals with this particular characteristic do not pay attention to the future because there is no difference between the present, future, and past in their eyes. Therefore, identifying the factors that cause organizational apathy plays an important role in the organization's performance. Given the importance of this issue, the present study was conducted to identify the factors contributing to Perceived Organizational Apathy at Lorestan University using the fuzzy mapping method.
Design/ methodology/ approach: Given that the present study was conducted with the aim of solving the problem raised, it is a mixed quantitative-qualitative study in terms of its applied purpose, a descriptive survey in terms of its nature and method, and a typology. It is applied research in purpose and survey research in data collection method. The statistical population of the present study comprises experts and scholars in the field of study, consisting of employees of Lorestan University and professors in the field of management, who were selected using the snowball sampling method and based on the principle of theoretical saturation, for a total of 15. During interviews with the sample members, no new information emerged after the 15th interview that could be added to the previous information, so the interviews were stopped after 15 participants to achieve theoretical saturation of the data. The data collection tool in the qualitative part is an interview, and in the quantitative part, a fuzzy cognitive mapping questionnaire. In the qualitative part, data were collected from the opinions of 15 experts and analyzed using MaxQDA software and content analysis. Then, in the quantitative part, considering that the research method is fuzzy cognitive mapping and the data collection tool is a questionnaire, the data were provided to the same sample as before in the form of a paired comparison questionnaire, and the obtained data were analyzed using the steps of the fuzzy cognitive mapping method. To examine the validity and reliability of the data collection tool in the qualitative part, content analysis and theoretical validity, as well as intra- and inter-coder reliability, were used. Also, the validity and reliability of the data collection tool in the quantitative part were content validity and test-retest reliability.
Research Findings: The findings of the research consisted of two qualitative and quantitative parts, in which the qualitative part identified the factors that cause organizational apathy, and the quantitative part determined the priority of these factors. The quantitative part of the research included prioritizing the factors contributing to organizational apathy at Lorestan University. Among them, the lack of independence in work with the ability to be influenced (13.86) and the ability to influence (15.86) and the central index (29.72) were identified as the most important factors; emphasis on order and its imposition on the university body and following the instructions that regulate due to the dominance of the bureaucratic atmosphere in the university and the compulsion to follow a series of limited rules and laws and the lack of authority and independence of employees in performing their duties; ultimately leads to a lack of creativity and innovation in carrying out employees' affairs and their apathy. After that, excessive mental preoccupation with the environment outside of work was identified as the second factor causing organizational apathy, with the ability to be influenced (14.63), the ability to influence (14.88), and the central index (29.51). Failure to meet the basic and basic needs of employees (the basic needs of Maslow's hierarchy) by managers and the organization will cause employees to change their thoughts from the growth and development of organizational goals to how to meet personal needs, and all of the employees' thoughts and minds will be focused on this area, which will ultimately cause employees to become indifferent to work and the organization if these problems and needs are not resolved and continue to not only continue but also increase. Organizational injustice was identified as the third factor, with the ability to be influenced (14.7), the ability to influence (14.72), and the central index (29.42).
Limitations & Consequences: One limitation of the research is its statistical population, which was staff and professors of Lorestan University; caution should be exercised when generalizing the results.
Practical Consequences: The results of this research can serve as a valuable reference for identifying and removing obstacles that hinder optimal employee performance and, consequently, the organization's success. Clarifying this harmful phenomenon for the organization's decision-makers helps them take steps to prevent or minimize it.
Innovation or value of the Article: The fundamental difference between this study's findings and those of previous studies is that it identified the factors causing organizational apathy using the FCM approach, a first in previous studies.
Paper Type: Original Paper
 

Keywords

• Perceived Organizational Apathy
• Organizational Numbness
• Fuzzy Mapping