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Like wolves in a pack: Predatory alliances of bullies in nursing

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2015

Marie Hutchinson ,
Margaret H Vickers ,
Debra Jackson  and
Lesley Wilkes
Marie Hutchinson
Affiliation:
NFORCE Research Group, College of Law and Business, University of Western Sydney, Sydney NSW, Australia
Margaret H Vickers
Affiliation:
School of Management, College of Business, University of Western Sydney, Sydney NSW, Australia
Debra Jackson
Affiliation:
School of Nursing, College of Health and Science, University of Western Sydney, Sydney NSW, Australia
Lesley Wilkes
Affiliation:
School of Nursing, College of Health and Science, University of Western Sydney, Sydney NSW, Australia
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Abstract

The findings from the first, qualitative stage of a larger sequential mixed method study of bullying in the Australian nursing workplace are reported. Interviews with twenty-six nurses, recruited from two health care organizations, were analysed using the constant comparative method. Participants described informal organizational networks as the mechanism through which predatory, cooperative, and planned group bullying acts were promulgated. These predatory alliances enabled the co-option of legitimate organizational systems, the concealment of bullying, and the protection and promotion of perpetrators. By identifying the manner in which workplace bullying can be embedded within informal organizational networks, this research has important implications for further research in this field.

Keywords

bullyingmobbingpredatory alliancesorganizational networksnursing
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 12 , Issue 3 , November 2006 , pp. 235 - 250
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2006

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