Machiavellian’s Motivesin

Organizational Citizenship Behavior

byJennifer Becker

Dan O’Hair

August, 2007Journal of Applied Communication Research

Vol.35

Machiavellianism

Psychology of Communications

Who is Niccolo Machiavelli?

Born May 3, 1469Died June 21, 1527High level Italian

diplomat Most famous as

author of The Prince

The Prince

Written in 1513Published in 1532

Describes the method by which a prince (a ruler) can maintain control of his realm.

Most famous principles ‘the end justifies the means’ ‘unethical behavior is acceptable, maybe

even necessary, if it helps maintain or protect political power’

Some argue that this is not exactly what Machiavelli meant.

The Dark Triad

Narcissists are driven by one motive: dreams of glory.  Narcissists flourish when they are facing a difficult challenge, they shine when performance under stress counts the most.  However they have little capacity for empathy and the more impaired a person’s ability to consider others, the less healthy their narcissism.

For the Machiavellian the ends justify the means, no matter what human pain he may cause.  They tend to be cynically calculating and arrogant, readily behaving in ways that undermine trust and cooperation.

The hallmarks of the Psychopath’s behavior are deceit and reckless disregard for others.  The Psychopath also lacks empathy and are completely indifferent to the emotional pain others may suffer because of his actions.

Machiavellian’s Construct Development

First Introduced 1970 by Christie and Geis

Construct came from research centering on persons of power in organizations and authoritarian personality

MACH IV was originally created to measure the political personality of leaders in organizations.

Who is a Machiavelli?

1. Willingness and ability to manipulate others for their own purposes (Christie & Geis, 1970)

2. Act without regard to ethical norms

3. Skillfully exercise strategies to exploit situations and people for their personal benefit (Fehr, Samsom & Paulhus, 1992; Grams & Rogers, 1990; O’Hair & Cody, 1987)

4. Low ideological commitment- focus on task completion rather than long-range ideological goals

What motivates a Machiavelli?

1. Machs are motivated by self-interest as opposed to relational or other interests. They tend to take a cool, detached approach to their interpersonal interactions.

2. Motivated by extrinsic goals (McHoskey, 1999)

3. Machs thrive in unstructured environments: they are able to exploit situations innovatively to their advantage

Machs’ Organization Citizenship Behavior

Motivated by impression management

Unlikely to be motivated by pro-social values

Unlikely to be motivated by organizational concerns

Selective in engaging OCB: target specific individuals or groups

OCB Behavior

‘Going above and beyond’ (Katz & Kahn, 1978)

Cooperative, helpful, goodwill, altruism (Smith, Organ & Near, 1983)

Adapts readily, innovate, transforms working environment for the betterment everyone and the organization (Williams & Anderson, 1991)

Members who feel bound to the organization and perceive that they personally benefit from the organization are more likely to reciprocate their goodwill in the form of OCB (Organ, 1988)

Characteristics of High Machs

Resistant to social influence Hides personal convictions

well Changes position in

argument readily Resistant to confessing Highly convincing when

telling the truth Suspicious of others motives Situationally analytical Does not assume reciprocity Able to change strategy with

situation Says things others want to

hear

Sensitive to information about others

Exploitive, but not viciously so

Exploits more if others can’t retaliate

Not acceptable to appeals for compliance, cooperation, or attitude change

Never obviously manipulative

Prefers fluid environment Preferred by peers as

leader Preferred by peers as work

partner

Characteristics of Low Machs

Vulnerable to others’ opinion

Wears conviction on sleeve Clings to convictions Confesses fairly readily Less convincing when

telling the truth Accepts others’ motives as

face value Makes gross assumptions

about content Assumes reciprocity

Believes others “ought to” act in certain ways

Becomes locked into single course of action

Tells it like it is Sensitive to others’ effort May appear unreasonable

in negotiations Reluctant to exploit Reacts in socially desirable

ways Often obviously

determined Seek stable environment

Machiavellians

Christie and Geis Main difference was that High Machs, compared to

Low Machs, relate to others in a manner that characteristically devoid of emotions.

The End of Machs

Machs behave in ways that potentially damage their relationships, and while they may succeed in short-term interactions, they seem to fare poorly in long-term relationships.

Extreme Machs remain in one organization (or one position within the organization) only as long as they are able to exploit and manipulate others.

The End of Machs

If organizations raise the bar for OCB behavior, encouraging OCB that is oriented toward the good of not just oneself, but of others as well– Machs may not survive.

The Mach IV Scale

or

Video (1.35 min)