The effect of organizational trauma on ethical behavior and conscientiousness in employees: moderating role of organizational culture

Background & Purpose:

The severe psychological shocks and traumas that the employees of an organization experience as a result of different factors can have many unpleasant outcomes for employees and the organization. This study analyzed the effect of organizational trauma on moral behavior and work conscience of employees through the mediating role of organizational culture.

This is an applied descriptive-correlational study, in which the statistical population includes 386 employees working at the University of Kashan. Cochran’s formula of sample size was used along with the stratified random sampling method to selected 186 employees as the statistical sample. The data collection tool was a questionnaire, and data analysis was performed through the path analysis method and the one-sample t-test in SPSS and AMOS.

The means of organizational trauma, moral behavior, work conscience, and organizational culture were above average in the University of Kashan. Moreover, organizational trauma had negative, significant effects on moral behavior and work conscience of employees, whereas organizational culture had positive, significant effects on their moral behavior and work conscience.

Organizational trauma can have devastating effects on moral behavior and work conscience of employees; however, a rich and positive organizational culture can moderate and mitigate these devastating effects.