The occurrence of bullying in global organizations: A model and issues associated with social/emotional contagion

Workplace bullying in global organizations occurs for several reasons, including growing diversity, increased dispersion of employees in geographic locations, lack of experience of managers with new environments, and varying requirements. To gain insight into the bullying phenomenon, one must examine the characteristics of the bully, the target of bullying activities (e.g., the victim or the bullied), observers of the bullying (e.g., bystanders), and resulting changes in the organizational culture because of the bullying. One additional element to be assessed is the means by which bullying activities are embodied in an organization's culture (i.e., social/emotional contagion). This paper proposes a model of bullying in global organizations and examines the potential of social/emotional contagion developing in global organizations' cultures.