FAIMA Business & Management Journal - volume 8, issue 2, June 2020

FAIMA Vol 8 - Issue 1 [March 2020]

CONTENT

The Effect of Tacit Agreements..................................................................... 3

Dana Deselnicu

Flexibility in Making Decisions for Projects.................................................. 5

Aleksandar Alexakhin, Ivan Zaytsev

Academic Stress Among Teachers.............................................................. 16

Loredana Dascălu, Iuliana Grecu, Gheorghe Solomon

New Technologies for Relationship Management..................................... 30

Alexandru Emciuc, Bogdan Ţigănoaia, Andrei Niculescu

Decision Making Based on Affectations Degree........................................ 40

Valentina Voicu, Maria Mihăilescu, Lidia Mihalcea, Andreea Barbu

The State of Research on Integrated Management Systems..................... 50

Elena Niculae, Sorin Ionescu

Digital Economy and E-Marketing Advices for Small Businesses.............. 59

Cristian Popescu, Cristina Simion, Mirona Popescu, Răzvan Dobrescu

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EDITORIAL

The Effect of Tacit Agreements

In the pursuit of understanding the employment relationship between the organization and its employees, the Psychological contract is one of the most influential concepts in management and human resources research in the last fifty years.

Following the publication of Denise Rousseau’s 1989 article on the subject, which became very influential, there has been an exponential growth in publications on the topic in the last fifteen years, giving the impression of a relatively new concept. The introduction of the concept can however be traced to the 1960s, when Chris Argyris (1960) used the term for the first time. He defined it as „an exchange of tangible, specific and primarily economic resources agreed by the two parties that permitted the fulfillment of each party’s needs”.

Widely used definitions of the psychological contract are „individual beliefs, shaped by the organization, regarding terms of an exchange agreement between the individuals and their organization’s” (Rousseau, 1995), and also „beliefs concerning the mutual obligations that exist between themselves and the employer” (Rousseau, 2001). As demonstrated by further research, these obligations come from the belief that a promise was made, either by the firm or by the employee, explicitly or implicitly, and that its fulfillment by one party depends on the fulfillment by the other. Hence, the psychological contract comprises an individual’s perception of the mutual obligations that exist in the exchange with his/her employer.

Factors that shape the formation of the psychological contract are contained in a so-called individual’s schema of the employment relationship (Rousseau, 2001). This schema is developed at relatively young ages, when individuals develop and nurture values about employment, reciprocity, hard work, and these values are influenced by family, school, peer group and interactions with working individuals (Morrison & Robinson, 2004). Another influence factor is the national and organizational culture, which shapes the assumptions about what they should give and receive in an employment relationship.

Psychological contracts were proven to be efficient self-regulating mechanisms, which can motivate employees to perform according to the conditions of an existing agreement with others. Shanteau and Harrison (1991) found that people are reluctant to break an existing agreement, unless the incentives for doing so are significant (such as a greatly increased salary offered by another employer). Even in this situation, a lot of employees choose to stay with the employer to whom they had committed. Consequently, psychological contracts have been proven to regulate behavior through different mechanisms: as a personal goal the individual assumes, as one’s self-image as a promise-keeper, because of the concern for the losses the other party would suffer, through social pressure and concern for reputation, and mainly by reinforcement through incentives.

An important aspect in psychological contracts is trust, as the basis for the social exchange between the employer and employee. If the employees perceive that their company did not keep its promises and obligations initially stated or vice versa, a breach in the psychological contract occurs. Among the main negative responses that employees or employers are likely to display are mistrust, reduced loyalty, commitment and involvement. These feelings will lead to a negative work environment, with a subsequent negative impact on performance.

However, if the organization knows and respects the contracts of the employees, the risk and imminence of breach will be reduced, organizational commitment will be increased and the company’s objectives and results will be achieved accordingly.

Dana Corina Deselnicu

Assistant Editor