TES STYLE ON

THE DARK SIDE OF LEADERSHIP:

THE EFFECTS OF SUBORDINATES VERBAL

COMMUNICATION STYLE AND FACIAL EXPRESSION ON

SUPERVISOR UNDERMINING

Master thesis, Msc Human Resource Management

University of Groningen, Faculty of Economics and Business

March 1, 2011

ANNY MEESTER

2

THE DARK SIDE OF LEADERSHIP:

THE EFFECTS OF SUBORDINATES VERBAL

COMMUNICATION STYLE AND FACIAL EXPRESSION ON

SUPERVISOR UNDERMINING

ABSTRACT

This research examines the joint influence of subordinates verbal communication style and facial expression, on supervisor undermining. The research outcomes show that a relationship between the subordinates aggressive verbal communication and supervisor undermining exists, as well as a relationship between an angry facial expression of the subordinate and supervisor undermining. However, no evidence has been found to support the joint, interactive influence of subordinates aggressive verbal communication style and facial expression on supervisor undermining. Taken together, this research demonstrates that subordinates behavior has an important influence on supervisors undermining behavior and therefore shapes this dark side of leadership. Organizations can make use of this knowledge by giving training to subordinates and supervisors about how to deal with aggressiveness.

Key words: Leadership, Supervisor undermining, Verbal communication, Non-verbal

3

Two sides of leadership exist, a dark and a bright side (Yueng, 2008). A lot of articles and books on leadership seem to be about the positive bright side of leadership (Clements & Washbush, 1999), for example, literature about effective leadership, transformational leadership, or positive leadership. Therefore the presumption exists that the dark side of leadership is ignored and neglected. When leaders use their charisma for personal gain and abusively turn against what is good for their followers, for example, this is called the dark side of leadership (Luthans, Peterson & Ibrayeva, 1998). In other words, the dark side of leadership reflects a leader s failure (Clements & Washbush, 1999; Burke, 2006) and is socially undesirable behavior (Judge, Piccolo & Kosalka, 2009).

The dark side of leadership should not be neglected, since this could lead to an incomplete understanding of leadership. This incomplete understanding of leadership is confusing, misleading, and limiting the development of good leaders (Burke, 2006). Another reason why the dark side of leadership should not be neglected is that it has been estimated that about 50 to 75 percent of leaders are not performing well (Burke, 2006). There are several characteristics of the dark side of leadership (for example arrogant, mistrustful, etc.), and research shows that a large percentage of leaders possess at least one of these characteristics (Yueng, 2008). Therefore, organizations should acknowledge that they could benefit from taking the dark side of leadership into account. As stated by Clements and Washbush (1999) it is possible to learn from leadership failures as much as from leadership success. Therefore, the central subject of this research will be the dark side of leadership. To be more specific, this research will be about several variables which are expected to influence supervisor undermining.

4

2007). Some examples of undermining are: intentionally making someone feel incompetent, withholding important or required information, giving the silent treatment, talking behind someone s back, and spreading rumors about a particular person (Duffy, Ganster, Shaw, Johnson & Pagon, 2006). For organizations, supervisor undermining is an important aspect because employees who experience undermining react negatively (Duffy et al., 2006; Duffy et al., 2002). For example, their attitude will change negatively, they will be more absent, and their behavioral outcomes will change negatively (Duffy et al., 2006; Duffy et al., 2002). These reactions to supervisor undermining cost U.S. corporations an estimated amount of $23.8 billion annually (Tepper, Duffy, Henle, & Schurer-Lambert, 2006;Tepper, 2007).

This research will examine the opposite side of this coin. Namely, how supervisor undermining is influenced by behavior of the subordinates. In other words, I will investigate antecedents of supervisor undermining, and I will adopt a subordinate-centered perspective in this regard. Previous researches focused mainly on the effects of the supervisors on the subordinates. For example, the article of Tepper (2007) was about abusive supervision towards subordinates and therefore regarded subordinates as victims of supervisor abuse. In this article, however, Tepper also mentions that there is not just downward victimization but also upward victimization. It could be assumed, therefore, that supervisors undermining behavior is, at least partially, a reaction to negative behaviors originating from subordinates.

5

subordinates, instead of the other way around (Tourish & Robson, 2006). In contrast, this research is about how supervisor undermining is influenced by subordinates communication style.

Communication can be distinguished into two different types, namely verbal and non-verbal communication. According toFichten, Tagalakis, Judd, Wright and Amsel (2001)both verbal and non-verbal communication cues influence another person s behavior. Hence, it can be assumed that both types of subordinate communicative behavior influence the supervisor s behavior. To communicate needs and establish understanding, people tend to rely heavily on verbal communication, in day-to-day interaction (Howson, 2009). Also in business context, verbal communication is very important for successful job performance (Gibson & Glenn, 1982; Gray, 2010; Winsor, Curtis & Stephens, 1997; Farr, 2000), for example, to communicate effectively with clients, customers, peers, and supervisors. Therefore, the first independent variable which I expect to influence supervisor undermining will be the verbal communication style of the subordinate.

6

expressions, the absence or presence of eye contact, gestures and bodily movement are some examples of non-verbal communication (Howson, 2009; De Meuse & Erffmeyer, 1994). A facial expression shows emotions that people have (Doop & Park, 2009), and such expressions may be very important during interactions between subordinate and supervisor, because they influence on person s judgment of the other. The second independent variable of this research will be therefore, the facial expression of the subordinate.

Taken together, the objective of this research is to the following research question:

How does the verbal communication style used by a subordinate influence supervisor undermining, and what role does the facial expression of the subordinate play in this relationship?

This paper offers a new perspective on the relationship between supervisors and subordinates by adopting a subordinate-centered perspective on supervisor undermining. Specifically this paper s purpose is to demonstrate a relationship between subordinate communication style and supervisor behavior. When a relationship between the subordinate to the supervisor exists, organizations may be able to influence subordinates behavior and maybe even partially prevent supervisor undermining. They also could give training to supervisors to prevent supervisor undermining.

HYPOTHESIS DEVELOPMENT

The Influence of Verbal Communication on Supervisor Undermining

7

verbal communication style of the subordinate influences the leadership style of the supervisor. This is also called upward communication (Ramsey, 1987). In this research, I examine the role of the subordinates aggressive versus neutral upward verbal communication style for supervisor undermining.

Aggression is behavior of an individual directed towards another individual with the intent to attack or harm this person (Anderson & Bushman, 2002; Inness, Barling & Lebanc, 2008). Infante and Wigley (1986) defined verbal aggression as: An exchange of messages between two individuals where at least one individual in the dyad attacks the self-concept of the other individual in order to hurt the other person psychologically (see also Atkin, Smith, Roberto, Fediuk & Wagner, 2002). These psychological attacks probably will evoke a reaction from the receiver. Penney and Spector (2005) state that aggressive communication at work can anger the receiver of the aggression and evoke defensiveness or retaliation aimed at the aggressor. One important defensive strategy, when faced with aggressive behavior, is counter-aggression (MacLaren, Best & Bigney, 2010). Therefore, it can be assumedthat when the subordinate communicates verbally aggressive towards the supervisor, the supervisor will react with defensiveness (aggressive) or with retaliation aimed at the subordinate. Stated differently, the supervisor is more likely to use undermining when the subordinate s verbal communication style is aggressive rather than neutral.

Hypothesis 1. The supervisor will use more undermining when the subordinate s verbal communication style is aggressive than when the subordinate s communication style is neutral.

The Influence of Non-Verbal Communication on Supervisor Undermining

8

earlier, this research will focus on the role of subordinates facial expression for supervisor undermining due to its influence on message interpretation and its influence on accurate judgment of another person during interaction (Honneycutt et al., 1983;Graham et al., 1991). The examined facial expressions in this research are again aggressive versus neutral.

Ruys and Stapel (2008) state an angry facial expression may stand for discomfort and dissatisfaction with a person or a situation. Further, according to Van Honk, Tuiten, De Haan, Van den Hout and Stam (2001) an angry facial expression may have a provoking and dangerous threat value. So, an individual who has an angry facial expression is likely to evoke hostile reactions from others (Zwaal, Prkachin, Husted, & Stones, 2003; Berkoviz, 1964). Emotional contagion could be a reason for others aggressive reactions towards a person s angry facial expression. Emotional contagion has been defined as the tendency to automatically mimic and synchronize expressions, vocalizations, postures, and movements with those of another person's and, consequently, to converge emotionally (Hatfield, Cacioppo, & Rapson, 1993; Henning-Thurau, Groth, Paul, & Gremler, 2006). Stated differently, emotional contagion is a process in which a person influences the emotions or behavior of another person through the conscious or unconscious induction of emotion states and behavioral attitudes (Barsade, 2002).The consequence of this facial feedback is that these persons also get infected with the others emotions (Walter & Bruch, 2008; Doherty, Orimoto, Singelis, Hatfield & Hebb, 1995). Thus, when a subordinate has an angry facial expression, the supervisor may catch the negative emotions of the subordinate and is also likely to become angry, and then he or she is, in turn, likely to react with hostility. In other words, the supervisor will use more undermining when the subordinate has an angry facial expression than when he or she has a neutral facial expression.

9

The Joint Influence of Verbal and Non-verbal Communication on Supervisor Undermining

For a clear communication process it takes both verbal and non-verbal communication (Porter, 1969a). According to Gabbot and Hogg (2001) both parties (sender and receiver) are likely to interpret and understand the message in a similar way if verbal and non-verbal messages are synchronized (e.g., both verbal communication and facial expression are angry rather than neutral). Accordingly, fewer misunderstandings will happen if verbal and non-verbal messages are synchronized. Sommers et al., (1989) similarly state that non-verbal communication needs the support of non-verbal communication. The purpose of non-verbal communication is to increase the likelihood of accurate reception of the verbal message (Gabbot & Hogg, 2001). In other words, non-verbal communication is likely to strengthen verbal communication in delivering the sender s message when both verbal and non-verbal communication are aligned.

10

one of the two communication channels signals subordinate aggression, the subordinate s hostility may be less obvious and, therefore, supervisor undermining is less likely.

To rephrase, the expectation is that when the subordinate has an aggressive verbal communication style and an angry facial expression, then he or she will evoke more supervisor undermining than when either the facial expression or verbal communication style (or both) are neutral.

Hypothesis 3. The supervisor will use most undermining when the subordinate has both an aggressive verbal communication style and an angry facial expression.

METHOD Participants and Design

Seventy-nine persons participated in this research, all of whom were students of the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. The participants received 7 euro for participation in this study. 63 percent of the participants were male and 37 percent were female. The average age of the respondents was 21 years (S.D. 1.94). The youngest participant was 18 and the oldest 27 years old.

A 2x2 factorial experimental scenario design was used. There were two conditions of verbal communication, aggressive and neutral language, and two conditions of non-verbal communication which consisted of an angry facial expression and a neutral facial expression. Accordingly, there were four scenario conditions in this study, and the participants were randomly assigned to one of these conditions. After reading a short scenario description, the participants (who were asked to play the supervisor role) were asked how they would react toward the subordinate depicted in the scenario. Eleven items, adapted from Duffy et al., (2002) and Kim, Rosen, and Lee (2009), were used to measure supervisor undermining (for example, Hurt her feelings , Put her down when she questions work procedures

11

seven-point Likert-scale anchored by 1 = "Strongly disagree" and 7 = "Strongly agree". Cronbach s alpha for this research was 0.90.

Procedure

A scenario experiment was used to gather the information to test the hypotheses. The research was conducted in the laboratory of the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) of the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. A condition for participation in this research was that the participants were able to read Dutch. To collect the data, participants were seated in separate cubicle rooms with a personal computer. They were asked to read an overall cover story adapted from Kim et al., (2009). In short, participants were told that they should picture themselves as a middle manager of a company in a situation interacting with a specific subordinate about the introduction of a new manufacturing process. The whole cover story can be found in appendix A. Depending on the respective experimental condition (which were randomly assigned), the hypothetical subordinate s verbal and facial communication toward the supervisor was depicted as more or less aggressive.

Manipulations

Participants who were assigned to an aggressive subordinate verbal communication style, read that the subordinate angrily stated the following: It is ridiculous to go ahead with the fiberglass manufacturing process. What the heck are you people thinking? You are exposing our tenured employees to toxic by-products needlessly. We should work to reduce the toxin levels before even considering the manufacture of the materials. If this does not work, we better get busy and find a new material. Today, I am ashamed to be a part of this organization! This manipulation was adapted from Kim et al., (2009).

12

manufacturing process. I am afraid that several of our tenured employees may suffer from the toxic by-products. In my humble opinion, we should work to reduce the toxin levels before authorizing the manufacture of the materials. If this does not work, we should find a new material.

Besides the verbal reaction, subordinates non-verbal communication style was manipulated by showing a picture to participants of a woman s facial expression (a trained actor who posed as the subordinate ) with a neutral facial expression or the same woman with an aggressive facial expression. These images ware adopted from the AR face database (Martinez & Benavente, 1998)

Control Variables

Graham et al., (1991) state that males and females differ in nonverbal communication. Females appear to be better decoders and pay more attention to facial cues than males do (Graham et al., 1991). So, it could affect the dependent variable if the participants are male or female, therefore gender will be a control variable in this research.

13

Neuroticism will be the third control variable. Neuroticism is the tendency to have a negative view and focus on negative aspects (Judge, Bono, Erez & Locke, 2005). So, neuroticism refers to negative emotionality, like typically feeling anxious, nervous, sad and tense (Ulu & Tezer, 2010). If the supervisor possesses a high level of neuroticism, he or she experiences greater anger, frustration, and impulsiveness, as compared to supervisors who possess low neuroticism (Tepper, 2007). As a consequence, the neuroticism of a supervisor is related to his or her use of abusive behavior (Tepper, 2007). So, the amount of neuroticism the supervisor possesses may influence supervisor undermining. During the research I measured neuroticism using twelve items and using a seven-point Likert-scale from 1 = "Strongly disagree" and 7 = "Strongly agree". The twelve items were adopted from Costa and McCrae (1992). A sample item is: When I am under a great pressure, I sometimes feel I go underneath . Cronbach s alpha for neuroticism is 0.78.

RESULTS

Table 1 shows that there is a main effect of subordinates verbal communication style on supervisor undermining (F = 6.89, p < 0.05). It also shows that there is a significant main effect of subordinates facial expression on supervisor undermining (F = 4.32, p < 0.05). By contrast, I did not find a significant interaction effect of verbal communication and facial expression on supervisor undermining. Therefore Hypothesis 3 had to be rejected.

--- Insert Table 1 about here ---

14

--- Insert Figure 1 about here ---

To further examine Hypothesis 2, I depicted the main effect of non-verbal communication of the subordinate on supervisor undermining in Figure 2. As shown supervisor undermining was more pronounced when the subordinate exhibited an angry facial expression (M = 2.27, SD = 0.93) than when the subordinate exhibited a neutral facial expression (M =1.91, SD = 0.78). Hypothesis 2 wastherefore also confirmed.

--- Insert Figure 2 about here ---

DISCUSSION Findings

The purpose of this research was to explore the effects of subordinates verbal communication style and facial expression on supervisor undermining. A scenario experiment was used to gather the information to test the hypotheses. Results demonstrated a positive relationship between aggressive verbal communication style of the subordinate and supervisor undermining. This finding shows that, when the subordinate communicates verbally aggressive supervisors are more likely to react with hostility and use undermining. This is inline with recent arguments that verbal provocations by one individual often evoke a corresponding hostile response from other individuals (Winstok, 2010; see also Kassing & Infante, 1999). Furthermore, I found support for a positive relationship between an angry facial expression of the subordinate and supervisor undermining. This result corresponds with findings by Patriotta and Spedal (2009), who state that an aggressive facial expression might evoke uncertainty, instability, conflict, and disagreement.

15

undermining. A reason for this result could be that the present manipulation of subordinate behavior was too obvious. As indicated before I expected that an angry facial expression strengthens the aggressive verbal communication style of the subordinate and the aggressive nature of the subordinate becomes more clear to the supervisor if both verbal communication style and facial expression are aggressive. It seems that both manipulations of aggressive behavior were so strong and obvious that additional clarity was not needed. In other words, either an aggressive verbal communication style or an angry facial expression of the subordinate apparently were sufficient to trigger supervisor undermining. Aggression expressions are often suppressed and hidden in a real world situation (particular toward powerful others). Hence in a real world situation, there is the possibility that the hypothesized interaction could be found (i.e., supervisor undermining could be stronger when the aggressive verbal communication style and the angry facial expression of the subordinate, both are present). Clearly, this is an issue that warrants further inquiry.

Theoretical implications

This research contributes to knowledge about the influence of the subordinate behavior on the supervisor s behavior. A newly gained insight during this research is that a subordinate s verbal and non-verbal behaviors have an important influence on the supervisor s undermining behavior. Hence, this research advances a subordinate-centered perspective on the origins of supervisor undermining.In the most theories, the focus seems to be on the supervisors perspective, for example the articles of Duffy et al., (2006); Duffy et al., (2002) and Tepper (2007). The subordinate perspective is neglected and therefore this kind of perspective is a theoretical contribution.

16

supervisor has been acknowledged and therefore the possibility exist that the subordinate also influences the supervisor in several other ways.

Practical implications

The present findings demonstrate that an aggressive verbal communication style and an angry facial expression of the subordinate can evoke supervisor undermining. To resolve this problem in practice, organizations could provide training to both subordinates and supervisors, for example, on how to deal with aggressive events at work. Ramsey (1987) states that individuals who are aware of the distinctions between passive, assertive, and aggressive communication styles can deal better with an aggressive co-worker or supervisor. They are also better in expressing themselves in ways which clearly state their own desires, rights, and feelings while avoiding personal attacks (Ramsey, 1987).

17

reappraise their negative emotions instead of suppress them. The organizations could do this by, for example, giving the employees training about reappraisal and suppression. Subjects which could be treated during this training are for example, the difference between reappraisal and suppression, why it is better for the employees to reappraise, which forms of reappraisal exist, and how the employees could achieve reappraisal. By conducting such training, organizations may, on the one hand, help subordinates to avoid behaviors that can evoke supervisor undermining and, on the other hand, help supervisors to refrain from reacting aggressively toward behaviors that could otherwise provoke undermining behavior.

Limitations

There are some limitations in this research. Firstly, only students answered the enquiry and they are not working in the field. So, that is a weak point in this survey. It is possible that persons who have some experience in the field of leadership would act and react different. Persons who work in the field may for example already have been in this situation and know how they reacted than. With the students it still is a guess about how they would react. They have a lack of experience in the field.

18

Thirdly, the scenario and questions were written in Dutch, so only persons who were able to read Dutch were able to participate in this research. Therefore the generizability of this research was limited to a Dutch reading target group.

Future research

During this research the empathy of the participant also was important. According to Carrol and Russell (1997) videos and films have advantages (for example, voice tone, motion, words, context) over still photographs. So, for future research it would be an idea to hire an actor, who is asked to react aggressively towards this situation or to react neutrally. Then these reactions could be filmed and incorporated in the scenario. The research would become more realistic to the participants when using an actor. As a consequence the reactions of the participants will also be closer to the reality.

This research shows that subordinates behavior influences the behavior of supervisors. In this research, negative behavior of the subordinate was manipulated; in future research, scholars could extend this focus to also examine the influence of positive subordinate behavior on supervisor behavior. Henning-Thurau et al., (2006) demonstrated, for example, that employee smiles might be contagious toward customers. Hence, the influence of subordinates positivebehavior (e.g., a smile) on supervisor behavior could be of interest. The atmosphere within the organization could change in a positive way and maybe the organization could even influence the atmosphere when knowing the influence of positive behavior of the subordinate.

19

organization and behavior within the organizations. When knowing which forms non-verbal communication have an influence on the supervisor behavior, these forms can be influenced by the organization in a positive way.

20

REFERENCES

Anderson, C.A., & Bushman, B.J. 2002. Human aggression. Annual Review of Psychology, 53(1): 27-51.

Atkin, C.K., Smith, S.W., Roberto, A.J., Fediuk, T., & Wagner, T. 2002. Correlates of verbally aggressive communication in adolescents. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 30(3): 251-268.

Bamberger, P.A., & Bacharach, S.B. 2006. Abusive supervision and subordinate problem drinking: Taking resistance, stress and subordinate personality into account. Human Relations, 59(6): 723-752

Barsade, S.G. 2002. The ripple effect: Emotional contagion and its influence on group behavior. Administrative Science Quarterly, 47: 644-675

Berkoviz, L. 1964. Aggressive cues in aggressive behavior and hostility catharsis.

Psychological Review, 71(2): 104-122.

Burke, R.J. 2006. Why leaders fail: Exploring the darkside. International Journal of

Manpower, 27(1): 91-100.

Cappella, J.N., & Greene, J.O. 1982. A Discrepancy-Arousal Explanation of Mutual Influence in Expressive Behavior for Adult and Infant-Adult Interaction. Communication

Monographs, 49: 89-114.

Carrol, J.M., & Russell, J.A. 1997. Facial expressions in Hollywood s portrayal of emotion.

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72(1): 164-176.

Clements, C., & Washbush, J.B. 1999. The two faces of leadership: Considering the dark side of leader-follower dynamics. Journal of Workplace Learning, 11(5): 170-175.

21

Crowe, B.J., Bochner, S., & Clark, A.W. 1972. The effects of subordinates' behavior on managerial style. Human Relations, 25(3): 215-237.

De Meuse, K.P., & Erffmeyer, R.C. 1994. The relative importance of verbal and non-verbal communication in a sales situation: An exploratory study. The Journal of Marketing

Management, 4(1): 11-17.

Doherty, R.W., Orimoto, L., Singelis, T.M., Hatfield, E., & Hebb, J. 1995. Emotional Contagion: Gender and Occupational Differences. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 19(3): 355-371

Doop, M.L., & Park, S. 2009. Facial expression and face orientation processing in schizophrenia. Psychiatry Research, 170: 103 107.

Duffy, M. K., Ganster, D., & Pagon, M. 2002. Social undermining in the workplace. Academy

of Management Journal, 45(2): 331-351.

Duffy, M. K., Ganster, D., Shaw, J.D., Johnson J.L., & Pagon, M. 2006. The social context of undermining behavior at work. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision

Processes, 101: 105-126.

Farr, J.V. 2000. Develop your oral communication skills. Journal of Management in

Engineering, 16(6): 6.

Fichten, C.S., Tagalakis, V., Judd, D., Wright, J., & Amsel, R. 2001. Verbal and nonverbal communication cues in daily conversation and dating. The Journal of Social

Psychology, 132(6): 751-769.

Gabbot, M., & Hogg, G. 2001. The role of non-verbal communication in service encounters: A conceptual framework. Journal of Marketing Management, 17: 5-26.

22

Graham, G. H., Unruh, J., & Jennings, P. 1991. The impact of nonverbal communication in organizations: A survey of perceptions. The Journal of Business Communication,

28(l): 47-62.

Gray, F.E. 2010. Specific oral communication skills desired in new accountancy graduates.

Business Communication Quarterly, 73(1): 40-67.

Hatfield, E., Cacioppo, J.T., & Rapson, R.L. 1993. Emotional contagion. Current directions

in Psychological Science, 2(3): 96-99

Henning-Thurau, T., Groth, M., Paul, M., & Gremler, D.D. 2006. Are all smiles created equal? How emotional contagion and emotional labor affect service relationships.

Journal of Marketing, 70: 58-73

Honneycutt, J.M., Knapp, M.L., & Powers, W.G. 1983. On knowing others and predicting what they say. The Western Journal of Speech Communication, 47: 157-174

Howell, J.M., & Shammir, B. 2005. The role of followers charismatic leadership process: Relationships and their consequences. Academy of Management Review, 30(1): 96- 112

Howson, A. 2009. The sociology of non-verbal communication. Research Starters

Sociology, 1-6.

Infante, D.A., & Wigley, C.J. 1986. Verbal aggressiveness: An interpersonal model and measure. Communication Monographs, 53: 61-69.

Inness, M., Barling, J., & Lebanc, M.M. 2008. Psychosocial predictors of supervisor-, peer-, subordinate-, and service-provider-targeted aggression. Journal of Applied

Psychology, 93(6): 1401 1411.

Judge, T.A., Bono, J.E., Erez, A., & Locke, E.A. 2005. Core self-evaluations and job and life satisfaction: The role of self-concordance and goal attainment. Journal of applied

23

Judge, T.A., Piccolo, R.F., & Kosalka, T. 2009. The bright and dark sides of leader traits: A review and theoretical extension of the leader trait paradigm. The Leadership

Quarterly, 20: 855 875

Kassing, J.W., & Infante, D.A. 1999. Aggressive communication in the coach-athlete relationship. Communication Research Reports, 16(2): 110-120.

Kim, T., Rosen, B., & Lee, D. 2009. South Korean managerial reactions to voicing discontent: The effects of employee attitude and employee communication style.

Journal of Organizational Behavior, 30: 1001-1018.

Larson, J., & Kleiner, B.H. 2004. How to read nonverbal communication in organisations.

Management Research News, 27(4/5): 17-22

Larson, A.J., & Sachau, D.A. 2008. Effects of incentives and big five personality dimensions on internet panellists ratings. International Journal of Market Research, 51(5): 687-706

Luthans, F., Peterson, S.J. & Ibrayeva, E. 1998. The potential for the dark side of leadership in post communist countries. Journal of World Business, 33(2): 185-201

MacLaren, V.V., Best, L.A., & Bigney, E.E. 2010. Aggression hostility predicts direction of defensive responses to human threat scenarios. Personality and Individual

Differences, 49: 142-147.

Martinez, A.M., & Benavente, R. 1998. The AR Face Database. CVC Technical Report #24 Memedovic, S., Grisham, J.R., Denson, T.F., & Moulds, M.L. 2010. The effects of trait

reappraisal and suppression on anger and blood pressure in response to provocation.

Journal of Research in Personality, 44: 540 543

24

Penney, L. M., & Spector, P. E. 2005. Job stress, incivility, and counterproductive work behavior (CWB): The moderating role of negative affectivity. Journal of

Organizational Behavior, 26(7): 777 796.

Podsakoff, P.M. 1982. Determinants of a supervisor's use of rewards and punishments: A literature review and suggestions for further research. Organizational Behavior and

Human Performance, 49: 58-83

Porter, G. W. 1969a. Non-verbal communications: What it is . part 1 of 3 parts.

Training and Development Journal, 23(6): 3-8.

Ramsey, R.D. 1987. How to teach supervisor-subordinate relationships in a basic business communication class. Journal of Business Communication, 24(2): 35-46.

Ruys, K.I., & Stapel, D.A. 2008. Emotion elicitor or emotion messenger: Subliminal priming reveals two faces of facial expressions. Association for Psychological Science, 9(6): 593-600.

Shiota, M.N., & Levenson, R.W. 2009. Effects of aging on experimentally instructed detached reappraisal, positive reappraisal, and emotional behavior suppression.

Psychology and Aging, 24(4): 890-900

Sliter, M., Jex, S., Wolford, K. & McInnerney, J. 2010. How rude! Emotional labor as a mediator between customer incivility and employee outcomes. Journal of

Occupational Health Psychology, 15(4): 468 481

Sommers, M.S., Greeno, D.W., & Boag, D. 1989. The role of non-verbal communication in service provision and representation. Service Industries Journal, 9(4): 162-173.

Tepper, B.J. 2007. Abusive supervision in work organizations: Review, synthesis, and research agenda. Journal of Management, 33(3): 261-289.

25

Tepper, B.J., Duffy, M.K., & Shaw, J.D. 2001. Personality moderators of the relationship between abusive supervision and subordinates resistance. Journal of Applied

Psychology, 86(5): 974- 983

Tepper, B.J., Moss, S.E., Lockhart, D.E. & Carr, J.C. 2007. Abusive supervision, upward maintenance communication, and subordinates psychological distress. Academy of

Management Journal, 50(5): 1169-1180

Tourish, D. & Robson, T. 2006. Sensemaking and the distortion of critical upward communication in organizations. Journal of Management Studies, 43(4): 711-730. Ulu, I.P. & Tezer, E. 2010. Adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism, adult attachment, and

big five personality traits. Journal of Psychology, 144(4): 327-340

Van Honk, J., Tuiten, A., De Haan, E., Van den Hout, M., & Stam, H. 2001. Attentional biases for angry faces: Relationships to trait anger and anxiety. Cognition and

Emotion, 15(3): 279-297.

Walter, F. & Bruch, H. 2008. The positive group affect spiral: A dynamic model of the emergence of positive affective similarity in work groups. Journal of Organizational

Behavior, 29(2): 239-261

Winsor, J.L., Curtis, D.B., & Stephens, R.D. 1997. National preferences in business and communication education a survey update. Journal of the Association for

Communication Administration, 3: 170-179.

Winstok, Z. 2010. The effects of social and situational factors on the intended response to aggression among adolescents. The Journal of Social Psychology, 150(1): 57 76. Yueng, R. 2008. The dark side of leadership. Careers and lifestyle leadership, 141: 54- 55. Zwaal, C., Prkachin, K.M., Husted, J., & Stones, M. 2003. Components of hostility and

26

TABLE 1

Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) Variable F-value Gender _0.08

Interaction Verbal Communication and Facial Expression

0.01

Dependent variable: Supervisor Undermining * p < 0.05

FIGURE 1 Relationship between

Subordinate Verbal Communication Style and Supervisor Undermining

M = 2.41 SD = 0.80 M = 1.91 SD = 0.78 0 0,5 1 1,5 2 2,5 3 3,5 Neutral Aggressive

Verbal Communication Style

27

FIGURE 2

Relationship between Subordinate Facial Expression and Supervisor Undermining

M = 2,27 SD = 0,93 M = 1.91 SD = 0.78 0 0,5 1 1,5 2 2,5 3 3,5 Neutral Angry

Face Expression Subordinate

28

APPENDIX A

Scenario adapted from Kim, et al., (2009) Overall Cover Story.