Organizational incivility in universities: factors and strategies

Objective: Since one of the global goals of education is to promote civility and respect, in addition to acquiring expertise and skills in science, students must also acquire the high virtues of morality and humanity. At the same time, there are significant types and cases of instances of improper behavior, the same issue that is known as incivility in the academic environment and has become a problem worthy of consideration in higher education. Therefore, the purpose of the current research was to identify the components, antecedents, consequences and strategies to reduce organizational incivility in universities.
Materials and methods: The method of this qualitative research was phenomenological type. The potential participants of the research were lecturers and academic experts who were knowledgeable about the research subject in the country. Sampling was done with a purposeful approach and by choosing critical cases. Theoretical saturation was used to determine the sample size and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 faculty members and academic experts. Data analysis was done through thematic analysis approach. In order to ensure the credibility of the interviews, re-study by the peer and the researcher was used.
Result and Discussion: The findings of the interviews showed that the components of organizational incivility included 4 global themes, the components of organizational incivility of students, the components of organizational incivility of faculty members, the components of organizational incivility of managers and the components of organizational incivility of employees. The antecedents of organizational incivility included 3 global themes, individual factors, internal organizational factors, and external organizational factors. The consequences of organizational incivility included 3 global themes, consequences related to individual and organizational health; attitudinal consequences (based on social exchange); and behavioral and withdrawal consequences. The strategies to reduce organizational incivility included 3 global themes, educational measures, motivational measures and organizational measures. The results of this research can help faculty members to prevent its destructive effects in the teaching and learning process by having sufficient knowledge of the components, antecedents and consequences of organizational incivility in universities.