Identification and Development of Items Comprising Organizational Citizenship Behaviors Among Pharmacy Faculty

Organizational culture and the individuals' discretionary behaviors at work: a cross-cultural analysis

Stating "how things are done here," organizations are defining their culture. Organizational Culture (OC) is the set of values, norms, goals, and expectations shared by all members of an organization that aids in improving their commitment and performance. On the organizational level, it impacts behavior, productivity, and long-term survival by influencing organizational capability. Due to employee behavior being a competitive differential, this study examines how specific OCs influence individual behavior. In particular, how the different cultures in the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) affect employees' main dimensions of Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB). A descriptive-confirmative ex post facto research was conducted by surveying 513 employees from over 150 organizations worldwide. The Kruskal-Wallis H-test was used to validate our model. The general hypothesis was confirmed, showing that the predominant organizational culture type affects the level and the kind of OCBs individuals demonstrate. It is possible to provide organizations with a breakdown of their employees' OCBs based on their OC type and which changes they can make to their organization's culture to increase the employees' OCB and, consequently, the efficiency of their organization.

Communication in Pharmacy Higher Education to Improve Work-life and Mitigate Burnout

Objective. To identify the content, style, timing, tone, and initiation of communication that best connotes "reassurance of worth" from peers and supervisors in pharmacy academia.Methods. This study employed semi-structured interviews to acquire in-depth information from pharmacy faculty through a purposive sampling process. Academicians who had published in the area of work-life and/or were deemed likely to make substantial contributions to the interview were asked to participate. Participants represented a cross section of pharmacy faculty in terms of discipline, institution, and demographic characteristics. An interview guide was constructed based on motivating language theory and provisions of social relationships theory. Interviews were conducted via Zoom and transcribed verbatim. Themes were gleaned using open coding, then audited and checked.Results. Data saturation occurred after eight interviews. Two primary themes emerged: guidance, particularly related to professional development and tenure; and reassurance of worth through invited participation, praise, and/or rewards. Interviewees highlighted the importance of empathetic yet practical language among peers, and supervisor-initiated, meaning-making language rather than generic platitudes.Conclusion. Empathetic, personal language that provides guidance and reassurance of worth can enhance pharmacy faculty contributions and mitigate burnout. Invitations to collaborate are seen by faculty as collegial and engaging. This study demonstrated the usefulness of motivating language theory and social provisions in guiding communications among pharmacy academicians.

Pharmacy-faculty work-life balance and career satisfaction: Comparison of national survey results from 2012 and 2018

Background

Changes in demographics and composition of pharmacy faculty, along with faculty perceived stress, work-life balance and career satisfaction have yet to be fully documented.

Objective

To compare recent results from a national survey of work-life balance and career satisfaction of United States (U.S.) pharmacy faculty with results obtained from a similar survey from 2012.

Methods

A 46-item anonymous survey administered via Qualtrics (Provo, UT) was sent to members of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) in 2018. Information regarding demographics, stress, work-life balance, career satisfaction and intent to leave academia was collected. Although not part of the previous survey, participant information related to bullying and abuse in the pharmacy academic work was also gathered. While actual p-values are reported for all comparisons, a more conservative p-value of 0.01 was chosen a priori to indicate significance as multiple comparisons were made.

Results

A total of 1090 pharmacy faculty completed the survey, comparable to the number obtained in 2012 (n = 811). Overall response rates were similar for both years. The majority of pharmacy faculty in 2018 were female, white, married or with partner, worked in a pharmacy practice department and for a public institution. Notable differences between surveys included an increase in females, more associate professors and an increase in non-white faculty in 2018, relative to 2012. Stress, as measured by mean Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) scores was also significantly higher in 2018 (16.0 ± 6.6 vs. 13.5 ± 6.7, p < 0.01) relative to 2012. Faculty from 2018 were significantly less likely to report an intention to remain in academia (61.8% vs 86.3%, p < 0.01), relative to 2012. A sizable number of pharmacy faculty surveyed in 2018 also reported observing or experiencing hostility in the workplace, which included either bullying or verbal or physical abuse.

Conclusions

The makeup of pharmacy educators has evolved quickly over the last several years to comprise more female and associate professors who work within a pharmacy practice department. Also noteworthy is the significant increase in self-reported stress over the six-year timeframe. The direct implications of these findings are unknown but suggest that pharmacy academia is maturing in rank and changing to reflect the current pharmacy workforce (i.e., more females and additional clinical practice roles). Increases in responsibility likely accompany these maturing roles and may, along with other factors, contribute to the observed changes in the reported stress levels among faculty. Further research is called for regarding the reported hostility in pharmacy academic workplace and dovetails with concurrent work being done on citizenship and organizational citizenship behavior among pharmacy faculty. Findings of the study may aid pharmacy school administrators and stakeholders with plans to recruit, develop and retain faculty.

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Pharmacy faculty report frequent hostility and bullying in their workplace.

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Composition of pharmacy faculty is rapidly changing to include more females working in pharmacy practice departments.

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Pharmacy faculty report increased stress levels relative to a previous survey from 2012.

Faculty Members' Opinions of What Defines a "Star" in Academic Pharmacy

Objective. This study sought to identify attributes or performance aspects, most notably those defining what constitutes a "star" faculty in academic pharmacy, and to describe differences in perceptions of the strength of these aspects across faculty varying by discipline, academic rank, experience, type of institution employed, and supervisory experience.Methods. An electronic survey was distributed via email link to a census sample of 3378 members within the2018 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) list-servs. Performance aspects were derived from key literature enumerating academic responsibilities and behaviors. Reminders were employed to maximize survey responses. Frequency distributions and Kruskal-Wallis tests were conducted to describe the data.Results. Responses from 463 persons identified the importance of quality rather than quantity of teaching; publishing in refereed journals, and demonstrating collegiality to be among the more salient aspects defining a star faculty member. There were differences in perceptions of what constitutes a star mostly by institution type employed and among pharmacy practice respondents vs those from other disciplines. Respondents from private institutions indicated that their deans and chairs were less likely to recognize and attempt to retain star faculty. However, responses were generally in the same direction and congruent, even between those with vs without supervisory responsibility.Conclusion. This study highlighted the importance of demonstrating collegiality along with high-quality teaching and productivity as qualities warranting star status in academic pharmacy. Given the importance of faculty stars, academic pharmacy organizations, particularly private institutions, should make an effort to recognize and retain them.

Pharmacy Faculty Burnout: Cause for Concern that Requires Our Support and Use of Best Evidence

Recent attention has been afforded to the concept of burnout and other quality of worklife issues among pharmacy faculty, underscoring the importance of organizational culture, citizenship, collegiality, and support. Support comes from the larger academic institution, the college/school, and individual colleagues. Evidence points to reassurance of worth, guidance, and positive affirmation as being among the most salient factors in mitigating burnout of faculty, who are caught in the midst of increasing demands and higher administrative burdens. A supportive culture that reassures worth of individual faculty is not a unidimensional typology, but rather, is one that permeates through all components of a multifaceted and strong culture that encourages citizenship. There is a growing body of research and evidence on faculty burnout and related factors. This commentary calls for the use of such evidence in guiding policies, creating mentoring programs, and carrying out daily activities in much the same manner that scholars use the best available evidence in their own specific lines of inquiry in teaching and research.

How CEO Deans in Academic Pharmacy Describe and Manage High-performing and Low-performing Faculty

Objectives:

Gather Chief Executive Officer (CEO) deans’ perspectives on: distinguishing a “star” faculty versus one that is “productive”; faculty who are “deadweight” to the organization; the role of organizational fit in defining starsand deadweight faculty; current efforts to recruit and retain star faculty; and the actions taken in regard to deadweight faculty.

Methods:

A focus group panel of CEO deans was convened at the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) 2019 Interim Meeting. A semi-structured interview based on an organizational behavior framework was used to guide discussion in the focus group. Content analysis with axial coding was used to uncover themes from the data.

Results:

Panelists indicated productivity to be a given, but that star faculty are the ones who exhibit extraordinary citizenship and leverage their talents and networks to make the program and their peers more effective. They identified nascent activities with the need to strengthen those in regard to recognizing star faculty. The panelists explicitly distinguished between deadweight, or unproductive faculty versus those who are more deleterious, even while the former might actually present a more challenging human resources management situation.

Conclusions:

The research corroborated the growing recognition of the importance of faculty comportment with behaviors that extend beyond performance metrics, alone. The findings can serve as a platform for additional studies that guide decision making for organizational effectiveness in academic pharmacy.

Revisiting Faculty Citizenship

This commentary describes the significance of faculty citizenship in the broader context of institutional culture and defines faculty citizenship for use across all aspects of faculty roles in the Academy. The definition includes two key components (engagement and collegiality) that can be used to measure citizenship behaviors. Continued discussion and study of faculty citizenship will further the Academy's understanding and use of the concept.

Perceptions of organizational culture and organizational citizenship by faculty in U.S. colleges and schools of pharmacy

OBJECTIVES

(1) Describe perceptions of organizational culture and prevalence of organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) among faculty at United States (U.S.) colleges/schools of pharmacy; (2) determine which aspects of those phenomena are strongest and which are most problematic; (3) evaluate the psychometric properties of measures for organizational culture and OCBs in academic pharmacy; and (4) identify any relationships between organizational culture and organizational citizenship among academic pharmacy faculty.

METHODS

A random sample of 600 U.S. academic pharmacists acquired from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy were distributed an email survey through the use of Qualtrics technology. The procedures closely resembled the Total Design Method advocated to maximize survey response, including use of a pre-notification letter, reminders, and a nominal financial inducement. In addition to demographic questions, the survey employed multiple-item measures of organizational culture and OCBs described previously in the literature and derived from Delphi consensus-building procedures. The analysis plan incorporated use of factor and item analyses to evaluate psychometric properties of the measure and elicit the inherent domains comprising these phenomena, along with descriptive statistics to describe facets of organizational culture and OCBs that were most prevalent.

RESULTS

A total of 177 responses were delivered. Factor analysis of organizational culture revealed a five-factor solution emphasizing achievement orientation, professionalism, stability, supportiveness, and reflectiveness. OCB domains were along the possibility of faculty being virtuous, disrespectful, sportsmanlike, and benevolent/malevolent. Even while multi-faceted and avoiding a simple typological descriptor, academic pharmacy cultures were reportedly healthy. Sportsmanship, while still somewhat commonly observed, was seen less frequently than other behaviors. The measures demonstrated logical, cogent factor structures and excellent internal consistency reliability.

CONCLUSIONS

Psychometrically well-performing measures were used to assess the multi-faceted organizational culture of academic pharmacy programs and the organizational citizenship behaviors of its constituent faculty. The results can be used to measure these phenomena at individual organizations for benchmarking and to inform future inquiries that can assist with development of strategies that impact academic worklife and outcomes.