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Human Relations, Vol. 52, No. 8, 1029-1053 (1999)
DOI: 10.1177/001872679905200803

Resistance and Cooperation: A Response to Conflict Over Job Performance

Deborah B. Balser

487 SSB, School of Business Administration, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri 63121-4499 busdbals{at}admiral.umsl.edu

Robert N. Stern

387 Ives Hall, School of Industrial & Labor Relations, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853 rnsl{at}cornell.edu

Research literature on job performance from both management oriented and industrial relations/sociology of work models is synthesized to produce a more comprehensive understanding of how supervisors manage employee performance problems. Two assumptions are derived from the synthesis: (1) employees are active in accepting and resisting definitions of performance issues made by supervisor; (2) informal interactions regarding the interpretation of performance issues are pivotal in understanding how performance problems are resolved. In a study of university library supervisors we focus on the informal exchanges and characterize them as negotiations over the definition of job performance. We report results from a qualitative study of supervisors' interactions with employees identified as having performance problems. Three types of interactions in informal negotiations are found. We label the supervisors' interpretations of their interactions with employees as conformist, confrontational, or rebellious, designating how supervisors enact their role as agents of the organization.

Key Words: supervision • workplace conflict • job performance • resistance • cooperation


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