Mimetic desire and mirror neurons: the consciousness of workplace bullying
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Received December 11, 2018;Accepted February 6, 2019;Published February 21, 2019
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Author(s)Link to ORCID Index: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5272-5877Link to ORCID Index: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8353-542XLink to ORCID Index: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5770-9075
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DOIhttp://dx.doi.org/10.21511/ppm.17(1).2019.10
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Article InfoVolume 17 2019, Issue #1, pp. 103-116
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Cited by1 articlesJournal title: Theory, Culture & SocietyArticle title: From Scapegoating to the Culture of Cruelty: (Mis)Managing Mimetic Desire and Violence in Late ModernityDOI: 10.1177/02632764241239594Volume: 41 / Issue: 6 / First page: 37 / Year: 2024Contributors: Domonkos Sik
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Workplace bullying is important to business and government, because it has a real impact on unfortunate casualties’ wellbeing and organizations’ benefits. Studies into the causes and outcomes of workplace bullying with a focus on the key psychodynamic factors underlying harassment and the subsequent results are rare. This paper applies Rene Girard’s mimetic desire theory to clarify the elements and non-cognizant components associated with “interdividual” connections prompting aggression for the victim by the harasser. The disclosure of mirror neurons affirms that mimetic desire grows unwittingly through a mediator of the mimetic brain. Mimetic desire theory helps to recognize and understand that the destructive patterns of behavior and emotional responses to situations leading to moral harassment is a direct consequence of the mimetic rivalry between the bully and the victim. The unconscious mechanism is then brought up to the consciousness. The bully and the victim can avoid becoming entrapped within dysfunctional and toxic relationships such as bullying. The use of the mimetic desire concepts also enables human resources managers, bystanders, and practitioners to better deal with protagonists. This can help minimize or eliminate workplace bullying.
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JEL Classification (Paper profile tab)M14, M54, Z1, Z22
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References81
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Tables3
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Figures3
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- Figure 1. The “blind box” (adapted from Faulx (2007))
- Figure 2. Triangle of the mimetic desire
- Figure 3. The relationship between distance and rivalry in external or internal mediation
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- Table 1. Theories of WPB: the four Antecedent-Bullying Relationship theories
- Table 2. Theories of WPB: the four Bullying-Outcome Relationship theories
- Table 3. Theories of WPB: the three Bullying Antecedent Outcome Relationship theories
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Investigating the impact of workplace bullying on employees’ morale, performance and turnover intentions in five-star Egyptian hotel operations
Ashraf Tag-Eldeen , Mona Barakat , Hesham Dar doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.21511/tt.1(1).2017.01In today’s competitive business environment, human resources are one of the most critical assets particularly for service-focused organizations. Consequently, employees’ morale has become invaluable for maintaining outstanding organizational performance and retaining employees. One of the most important factors which may affect employees’ satisfaction is workplace bullying from employers and colleagues at large. It is considered a negative and unethical issue which may degrade, humiliate and create a risk to a healthy working environment. Therefore, the main objective of this research is to investigate the extent to which workplace bullying may affect the organizational outcomes of a sample of five-star hotels in Egypt. Two questionnaires were distributed among the subjects of the sample; bell desk staff, kitchen stewards and head departments. The results of this research confirmed that there is a correlation between workplace bullying, employees’ morale and turnover intentions but, showed no correlation between workplace bullying and employees’ work performance.