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Energy Reports 2 (2016) 28–34

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Energy Reports

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On the path to sustainability: Key issues on Nigeria’s sustainable energy development Norbert Edomah Pan Atlantic University, KM52, Lekki-Epe Expressway, Ibeju Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria

a r t i c l e i n f o

Article history: Received 2 November 2015 Accepted 25 January 2016

Keywords: Energy policy Energy barriers Sustainable energy Energy security Nigeria

a b s t r a c t

In the face of scarcity of energy resources and rising energy prices due primarily to a world of increasing demand, energy security concerns becomes more crucial both for private and public sector alike. At the same time, energy policies have been shifting and policy changes have become hard to predict because of radical changes in energy supply. This paper analyzes the barriers to sustainable energy development in Nigeria which are: (1) cost and pricing barriers, (2) legal and regulatory barriers, (3) market performance barriers. It concludes by highlighting some key policies that can help address some of the identified barriers in order to ensure a secured sustainable energy future for Nigeria.

© 2016 The Author. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license

(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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1. Introduction

Energy infrastructures materializes through the services it provides us (Shove et al., in press). This simply implies that more energy infrastructure will be required as we embrace more energy intensive practices which then puts pressure on the provision of more services that are energy dependent. Increasing levels of associated costs of providing new energy infrastructure, as well as the complexities associated with making such provisions, makes it imperative that people, organizations, agencies, and governments thread along the path of sustainability transition in energy use (Verbong and Geels, 2010).

Fossil markets are important and will continue to be important. However, we, and particularly the developed world, have gotten addicted to fossil fuels. This is not sustainable for two fairly obvious reasons:

• Fossil fuels are a finite resource and is reserve based. Reserves will necessarily deplete and run out (Höök, 2009).

• Burning fossil fuels increases carbon-dioxide emission which is a major contributor to the climate change crises today (Schock et al., 2007).

In many developing countries, the big challenge is energy ac- cess (Kerrigan, 2001). Increasing pressure from both international agencies and the people of most developing countries to improve on energy infrastructure provisions seems to distract the govern- ments in seeking sustainable energy pathways as they plan such

E-mail address: nedomah@pau.edu.ng.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2016.01.004 2352-4847/© 2016 The Author. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access artic 0/).

provisions (IEA, 2012). As such, many countries end up with inap- propriate energy infrastructure mix to satisfy the growing demand for energy.

The energy history and profile of a country is a major factor to consider in assessing their current and future journey towards a sustainable energy path, particularly for developing countries. This is crucial as most countries with fossil fuel resources will necessarily focus on using their available resources to satisfying their energy need and alleviating themselves from energy poverty (OECD/IEA, 2010). The following sections delves into the Nigerian energy profile, the various barriers to developing sustainable energy, as well as some policy directions to address the barriers towards a sustainable energy path.

2. Methodology

Research involves investigating new and innovative aspects of any branch of knowledge. It also involves defining and redefining problems, formulating hypotheses, suggesting solution approaches, and deducing new conclusions. It involves a search for knowledge through an objective and systematic method so as to find solutions to problems or developing a theory (Rajasekar et al., 2006).

Research employs the use of some tools to collect data, which is then analyzed in order to have a better understanding of the problem and help proffer possible solutions or solution approaches. One of such tool is exploratory research tools. Exploratory research tools is used to gather preliminary data which helps to define a problem within a suggested hypothesis. Exploratory research mostly relies on secondary data which could

e under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.

 

 

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take the form of quantitative approach – such as reviewing works in published literature or manual – or qualitative approach – such as informal discussions with target participants. Exploratory research can take other formal approaches such as: case studies, in-depth interviews, pilot studies, or focus groups (Kothari, 2004).

This paper uses exploratory research tools for data collection from already published statistical reports to analyze the Nigerian energy profile with specific focus on: historical energy production and consumption trends; trends in fossil fuel use for electricity generation; and issues around energy resource vulnerability, with the view of understanding the link to the current barriers towards achieving a sustainable energy future. Data from different sources such as the US Energy Information Administration, British Petroleum Statistical Review on World Energy, among other documents were used for the analysis of the Nigerian sustainable energy barriers.

3. Nigeria’s energy profile

This section delves into different aspects of the Nigerian energy profile. It covers the aspects of the steady growth in energy production and consumption since the 1970s; the increased use of fossil fuels for electricity generation from the limited primary energy sources; and the increased vulnerability of the limited energy resources.

3.1. Energy production and consumption since the 1970s

Since the 1970s, there has been tremendous growth in energy exploration and production in Nigeria with crude oil being the most explored. However, the fastest growing energy resource with regard to production is natural gas. Fig. 1 shows a graph of the historical energy production in Nigeria as released by the United States Energy Information Administration (EIA). The graph highlights the heavy reliance on fossil fuels for satisfying the Nigerian energy requirements (EIA, 2015) with hydropower being the largest renewable energy source.

Fig. 2 shows a graph of the growth in consumption of the various constituents of crude oil. This is a clear indication of the over- reliance on fossil fuels (particularly crude oil) for secondary energy provision. Some sectors such as: transport, electricity generation, and residential use, are major contributors to the uncontrolled growth and heavy dependence on crude oil and their constituent by-products.

Since energy sources from fossil fuels are reserve based, continuous exploration, production, and use is bound to cause a downward movement of the amount of the available reserves. Inasmuch as Nigeria’s exploration activities has led to the discovery of new energy fields (thus, increasing the reserves) it is imperative that continuous excessive exploration, production and use is not sustainable. As such, there is need to look out for alternatives. Fig. 3 shows Nigeria’s crude oil production and reserves as released by the British Petroleum Statistical Review of World Energy. Fig. 4 shows the Nigeria’s oil and gas fields.

3.2. Increased use of fossil fuels for electricity generation

The chart in Fig. 5 shows the increased dependence on fossil fuels for electricity generation. This trend, however, still continues. Policy direction by the Nigerian government points towards encouraging the use of gas fired power plants due to the availability of natural gas and the high natural gas reserves. This will only cause a shift from the use of biofuels and waste to natural gas for electricity generation as shown in Fig. 6.

3.3. Increased vulnerability of energy resources

Vulnerability is a very important issue within the Nigerian energy resource context. There have been varying degrees of susceptibility to the various effects of activities in the Nigerian energy extractive industry. This includes crude oil and natural gas pipeline vandalism, gas flaring, unrest among youth groups in the energy producing regions, among other interconnected factors (Osuoka, 2005). Fig. 7 gives a breakdown of the number of incidences of pipeline vandalism in Nigeria between 2002 and 2011, while Fig. 8 provides a breakdown of the world’s top gas flaring nations of which Nigeria is a part.

Following careful consideration of the various aspects of the Nigerian energy profile, the following sections delves into the key barriers that pose a threat to the effective development of a sustainable energy pathway for Nigeria.

4. Key barriers to Nigeria’s sustainable energy development

Sustainability and saving energy is important as we need to safeguard the future both for our planet and for the upcoming generation. To move on the path to sustainability, we can either go for energy supplies that has no carbon release, or find ways to use less energy. Energy sustainability barriers has evolved in various ways. Some of them come in the forms of attitudinal, legal, regulatory, market, and/or financial barriers (Beck and Martinot, 2004). This section describes the three major barriers affecting the transition to sustainable low-carbon energy system in Nigeria.

4.1. Cost and pricing barriers

Cost and pricing barriers within the Nigerian context manifest in the following ways: I. High initial capital cost: Required investment cost for new

energy infrastructure, as well as infrastructure upgrades can be quite high as most investors are faced with one of two challenges: a. Highly dilapidated existing energy infrastructure—in which

case cost of revamp and upgrade tend towards the high side. b. Unavailable infrastructure—which makes the initial cost of

investment high. At this stage, the cost of planning, design, routing, siting location(s), etc. add up to the high initial cost.

II. Difficulty of fuel price risk assessment: Risk assessment of fuel prices and inability to make a fairly accurate forecast (with some acceptable tolerance levels) are major factors contributing to the initial high cost of investment. They come in two forms: a. Inconsistency in supply—caused by activities of vandals of fuel

(oil and gas) pipelines and associated infrastructure. b. Fluctuations of oil prices—which are functions of other

external forces such as crude oil price benchmarking set by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Other external market forces that affects fuel prices include: market demand and supply, market abuse—in which case some players in the market tend to do things or carry out actions that are against the traditional market principles in order to get more business to their favor (Abrams, 2000).

III. Transmission Cost. High cost of transmission of generated energy is affected by two main factors: a. Insufficient transmission infrastructure.—The current Nigerian

electrical transmission infrastructure was last upgraded in the 1980s. With respect to capacity, it is unable to transmit electrical power above 6000 MW (megawatts) consistently. This poses a challenge as any investor in the Nigerian electrical power sector must think of how the generated power will be evacuated. Some possible solution to this is embedded generation.

 

 

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Fig. 1. Energy production in Nigeria. Source: US Energy Information Administration.

Fig. 2. Nigerian consumption of crude oil products. Source: US Energy Information Administration.

b. Dilapidated distribution infrastructure: The current distribu- tion infrastructure are in shambles. The associated cost of revamping and upgrading the distribution network to allow for additional electrical power capacity seem overwhelm- ing to the distribution companies. Reducing energy theft in the distribution network is also another big challenge. All of these should be well factored into the initial cost of any project.

IV. Environmental externalities. Externalities in the forms of public safety, pollution, etc. are some of the effects of the bilateral transactions between buyers and sellers in energy

business which oftentimes have some external implications on third party agents (Zilberman, 1999). The effects of these externalities serve as a justification for political influence on the activities of those in the energy market. Some environmental considerations mitigating against the embrace of sustainable energy pathways include (Western Australia Sustainable Energy Association, 2010): a. Visual and noise amenity (in the case of solar Photo-Voltaic

and wind power generation) b. Height restrictions (in the case of wind power generation) c. Birds/bats concerns (in the case of wind power generation)

 

 

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Fig. 3. Crude oil production and reserves in Nigeria.

Fig. 4. Nigeria’s oil and gas fields. Source: http://www.platts.com/news-feature/2014/oil/africa-geopolitics/nigeria-oil-gas-fields.

d. Reflection/flicker issues (in the case of solar Photo-Voltaic and wind power generation)

e. Drilling operational issues (in the case of geothermal) f. Heritage restrictions.

4.2. Legal and regulatory barriers

Legal and regulatory barriers to sustainable energy develop- ment in Nigeria mostly present themselves in the form of policy

uncertainty and inconsistencies. This include:

a. Inconsistent standards and compliance requirements. This appears in the forms of lake of adequate standards, codes, net metering guidelines, and utility interconnection standards.

b. Lack of cost reflectivity in electricity tariff. c. Policy uncertainty regarding renewable energy buyback scheme

and future feed-in tariff. d. Policy uncertainty on technical requirements for residential

feed-in, as well as residential feed-in tariff.

 

 

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Fig. 5. Nigeria’s electricity generation by fuel. Source: US Energy Information Administration.

Fig. 6. Nigeria’s share of total primary energy supply, 2011. Source: US Energy Information Administration.

e. Policy uncertainty regarding commercial feed-in tariff.

Considering that the biggest opportunity lies in the effective utilization of the limited available energy, other notable areas where there seem to be some clear policy deficits mitigating against the sustainable development of energy systems include:

a. Lack of clear national energy efficiency standards where clear energy efficiency targets are defined.

b. No clear air emission regulation.

c. Lack of clear national climate change policy. d. No clear national standards for electrical appliances. e. Inadequate implementation of the national building codes.

4.3. Market performance barriers

Beck (Beck and Martinot, 2004) highlight some market performance barriers as: • Lack of access to credit and proper financing options.

 

 

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Fig. 7. Cases of pipeline vandalism in Nigeria. Source: US Energy Information Administration.

Fig. 8. World’s top gas flaring nations. Source: US Energy Information Administration.

• Perceived technology performance and risk—as related to renewables.

• Lack of technical/commercial skills and information.

Some other key barriers with respect to market performance that still impedes against the smooth transition to a sustainable energy pathway include:

• Government subsidies on fossil fuel leading to market price distortions.

• Market failure to value the benefits of energy from non-fossil fuels (renewables).

• Market failure to effectively internalize all conventional energy costs (including the risks of supply disruption, pollution, etc.).

 

 

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Table 1 Summary of some key policies and barriers that can be addressed.

Policy Main advantages Barriers that could be addressed

Power sector restructuring policies

– Competitive wholesale power market. – May increase or reduce barriers of high cost and unfavorable pricing rules. – Privatization and commercialization of utilities. – Difficulty of fuel price risk assessment – Unbundling of generation, transmission and distribution.

– Provides greater incentive for self-generation

– Competitive retail power market – Help reduce barriers of subsidies. – Self-generation by end users.

Distributed generation policies

– Net metering – Unfavorable pricing rules – Real time pricing – Interconnection requirements – Capacity credit – Transaction cost – Interconnection regulations

Rural electrification policies

– Rural electrification policy and energy service concession

– Lack of skills and information – Lack of access to credit – High cost

5. Recommendations

There is need for all stakeholders (policy makers, energy industry executives, etc.) to work together in order to expedite the development of sustainable energy systems. Table 1 presents a summary of some key policies and barriers they are likely to help address. Some areas of focus and possible collaboration by the various stakeholders include:

a. Defining a predictable and coherent energy policy. b. Implementing stable regulatory and legal framework to support

long term investment. c. Encouraging public and private initiative that enable innovation

and foster research.

6. Conclusions

That Nigeria is quite vulnerable with respect to her energy re- sources is quite real. This is reflected in all of the different issues such as pipeline vandalism, increased fossil fuel consumption, in- creasing demand, and increased scarce resource constraints. There is need for a policy focus that helps to cub some of the identi- fied barriers towards a sustainable energy pathway. These policies should be able to help address issues of economic, social, and envi- ronmental dimensions of sustainable energy, while ensuring that the technical aspects for the actual implementation and operation are addressed. Education also plays a vital role in enabling energy consumers embrace practices that are energy efficient and actions that will lead to a secured sustainable energy future.

References

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34 (3), 365–383. Available at: http://www.martinot.info/Beck_Martinot_AP. pdf.

EIA, 2015. Country Analysis Brief: Nigeria. US Energy Information Administration. Höök, M., 2009. Depletion and decline curve analysis in crude oil production (Li-

centiate thesis), Global Energy Systems, Available at: http://www.diva-portal. org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2:338111.

IEA, 2012. Energy Technology Perspectives 2012 Pathways to a Clean Energy System. Internationaal Energy Agency.

Kerrigan, K., 2001. Benefits of and challenges to energy access in the 21st century. Small Bus. Entrep. Counc. 16 (703), 140–147. Available at: http://projects.coe. uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Social_Constructivism.

Kothari, C., 2004. Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques. New Age International Publishers.

OECD/IEA, 2010. Energy Poverty: How to make modern energy access universal? Special early excerpt of the World Energy Outlook 2010 for the UN General Assembly on the Millenium Development Gioal. p. 52. Available at: http:// www.iea.org/IEAnews/4710/Poverty_jones.pdf.

Osuoka, A., 2005. Gas flaring in Nigeria: a human rights, environmental, and economic monstrosity. Environmental Rights Actions/Friends of the earth. pp. 1–34.

Rajasekar, S., Philominathan, P., Chinnathambi, V., 2006. Research methodology. Reg. Anesth. Pain Med. 36, 23. Available at: http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/ 0601009.

Schock, R.N., et al. 2007. Energy Supply. Climate Change 2007: Mitigation. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. p. 72.

Shove, E., Watson, M., Spurling, N., 2015. Conceptualizing connections: Energy demand, infrastructures and social practices. Eur. J. Soc. Theory 1–14. (in press). Available at: http://est.sagepub.com/cgi/doi/10.1177/1368431015579964.

Verbong, G.P.J., Geels, F.W., 2010. Exploring sustainability transitions in the elec- tricity sector with socio-technical pathways. Technol. Forecast. Soc. Change 77 (8), 1214–1221. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2010.04.008.

Western Australia Sustainable Energy Association, 2010. Regulatory Barriers To Sustainable Energy in Urban Contexts in South-West Western Australia. The stirling City Centre Alliance.

Zilberman, D., 1999. Externalities, market failure, and government policy. Policy 1–16.

 

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Copyright © eContent Management Pty Ltd. Contemporary Nurse (2013) 45(2): 264–268.

In countries around the world, academics are working in complex environments with mul- tiple and competing demands, a situation that is impacting on workplace satisfaction, staff morale and motivation. The performance-driven cul- ture in academia is highly competitive, with the requirement to develop and strengthen one’s research profile, publish in high quality jour- nals and undertake funded research in addition to teach, supervise higher degree students and actively engage with community stakeholders (Cleary, Horsfall, & Jackson, 2011; Fitzmaurice, 2008; McDermid, Peters, Jackson, & Daly, 2012).

Many universities have policy documents to inform faculty workload and such documents often incorporate consideration of scholarly activities (e.g., publications, research), commit- tee work, student advisement, and teaching and related activities (Cohen, Hickey, & Upchurch, 2009). Typically, workloads are high for academ- ics and some mistakenly equate high workloads with greater productivity (Soliman & Soliman, 1997). To successfully negotiate the teaching, research, governance, and engagement aspects of the academic role, academics can find it helpful to

Promoting integrity in the workplace: A priority for all academic health professionals

Michelle cleary, Garry Walter*,+, Jan horsfall! and debra Jackson#

Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore; *Chair of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia; +Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, Northern Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, NSW, Australia; !Independent Research Advisor, Sydney, NSW, Australia; #Faculty of Health, University of Technology, Sydney, NSW, Australia

AbstrAct: The performance-driven culture of universities challenges faculty to meet workplace expectations. In this paper, we draw on the literature to identify key aspects of, and requirements for, promoting integrity in the academic workplace. Integrity is a crucial personal characteristic that can exert a powerful influence in any setting. Any threat to integrity in the workplace can result in a toxic and corrupt environment that may be deleterious to faculty and students. Such an environment can act to prevent faculty from speaking up about ethical issues or workplace concerns, which can result in failure to identify areas for improvement, continuation of suboptimal practices, and problematic professional relationships. The aim of this paper, therefore, is to present an overview of the concept of integrity in the academic work- force and to discuss some of the issues and dimensions, in the hope of creating greater awareness. This is essential if health professional faculties are to recruit and retain staff and create optimal working environments conducive to facilitating high quality outcomes.

Keywords: academia, integrity, bullying, workforce, workplace culture

form collaborative relationships with colleagues, rather than work in isolation (Cleary et al., 2011). However, the success of such collaborations is dependent on collegial trust, and the nature of the professional networks and types of working rela- tionships that can be developed.

Anecdotally, many academics with high research and publication output work in excess of prescribed hours, with little incentive apart from keeping their job or developing and maintaining a ‘track record’. This appears to be possible or manageable in early career stages, and some view this as desirable in order to establish the necessary profile and reputation. However, in the longer term this may not be sus- tainable. Further, with the current global recession, financial imperatives determine priorities (Rolfe, 2012), and money and kudos-earning demands are in conflict with the intentions and activities that are associated with and surround good teaching, rel- evant research, and authentic team work.

What is integrity? Academic integrity is defined as ‘a commitment, even in the face of adversity, to five fundamental values: honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility.

 

 

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that the preservation of moral integrity comprises six stages: (1) vulnerability; (2) getting through the day; (3) coping with moral distress; (4) alien- ation from self; (5) coping with lost ideals; and (6) integration of a new professional self-concept (Kelly, 1998, p. 1134). Stage three – coping with moral distress – occurs as a result of falling short of one’s moral convictions and standards of what it means to be a good nurse, in which nurses ques- tion their knowledge, and the kind of nurse that they are and are becoming. This struggle to main- tain integrity can lead to moral distress, which has been associated with departures from the specific work place and from the profession altogether. In Kelly’s (1998) nurse study, this led eventually to a revision of personal and/or professional identity.

In university settings, it is becoming more diffi- cult for staff to thrive professionally and personally in a manner that does not compromise values and commitments as both nurses and human beings (Rolfe, 2012). Indeed, staff can feel that they are unable to speak up or raise issues of concern, and this has implications for the quality of service that can be provided (Jackson & Raftos, 1997). Faculty may be required to make tough decisions, and the consequences of ‘being aware of “what should be done” and not having the power or the resources to act on this awareness may lead to a “troubled conscience”’ (Lützén et al., 2006, pp. 187–188). When ethical breaches are trivialized, wrong- doings denied, and principles abandoned because of fear or the requirement of self-preservation, many individuals experience moral distress (Deady & McCarthy, 2010). With time, this negative behavior can become entrenched and normalized.

Thus, integrity can readily become con- strained or compromised. Integrity exacts personal resources, such as the courage to stand up and hold the ethical line in situations where others with greater power and authority are not doing so them- selves. At times, this is demanded of the self against a wall of silence, lack of peer and organizational support, concerns about retribution, and lack of job alternatives. Taking the line of least resistance, conforming to group/crowd norms, fear, and awareness of limited job opportunities often sup- port inaction, even in the face of another person’s attempts to enact or promote moral integrity.

From these values flow principles of behavior that enable academic communities to translate ideals to action’ (Center for Academic Integrity, n.d.). As a concept, integrity encompasses ethical principles, such as autonomy, fidelity, privacy, and personal beliefs and values (Mcfall, 1987; Widang & Fridlund, 2003). Acting in accordance with one’s general ethical principles is also in keeping with so- called ‘moral integrity’ (Widang & Fridlund, 2003). Moral integrity requires one to distinguish right from wrong, and be prepared to speak up and act for right and against wrong, even under non-conducive circumstances. It is part of the ‘new professionalism’, encompassing personal virtues, being advocated for health professionals, and there is no reason why this should also not be applied to those in academia (Robertson & Walter, 2011).

Integrity relates closely to ‘good governance’, which addresses the ‘values, principles and norms’ of an organization’s daily operations and the requirement for a workplace to have integrity, standards, guidance and monitoring (Evans, 2012, p. 97). The way we behave towards colleagues is an important aspect of maintaining integrity, but despite the existence of comprehensive and well- intentioned protocols, the literature is replete with evidence of diverse breaches of ethical codes. In both the academic workplace and healthcare set- ting, employees are required to commit to acting with integrity through, as a condition of employ- ment, acceptance of institutional Codes of Ethics, Conduct and other codes designed to uphold work- place propriety such as policies regarding discrimi- nation, conflict of interest, open disclosure and anti-corruption (e.g., NSW Health, 2012). While such codes tend to focus on professional conduct related to teaching, research and professional activ- ity, they also require staff to uphold standards of behaviour associated with respect and collegiality.

How can moral strength in the academic workplace be supported and facilitated? Moral strength is about using ‘courage to act and the ability to provide arguments with the inten- tion to justify these actions’ (Lützén, Dahlqvist, Eriksson, & Norberg, 2006, p. 194). Moral strength contains elements of integrity and, while literature in this area is scant for nurse academ- ics, a study of newly graduated nurses suggests

 

 

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professional staff may participate in or be recipients of these intimidatory interpersonal processes. According to the literature, outspoken women in particular are commonly targeted as they are often prepared to speak up about unjust matters – their competence and success is perceived to be a threat by those engaging in the bullying behav- iours (Khoo, 2010). Therefore, targets of bullying must weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of reporting inappropriate behavior directed at them. They may become cast as ‘whistleblowers’, and this status can provide further rationalisation to extend the bullying. There is abundant literature that attests to the negative consequences of bully- ing and/or whistleblowing (Jackson et al., 2010a, 2010b). Irrespective of whether destructive behav- iours are deemed to be merely unprofessional, or are identified as bullying or mobbing activities, the on-going experience of being targeted will invari- ably lead to harmful effects on the well-being, health and/or careers of victims (Vie et al., 2011), In some milieu, the very people who stand by silently and passively hoping that they will not get in the firing line may be harmed as well (McKay, Arnold, Fratzl, & Thomas, 2008).

Workplace culture Even though bullying is perpetrated by an individ- ual or mediated through a network (e.g., in the case of mobbing), it develops as a result of the interplay between people and flourishes with passive or active support that relate to a range of organisational and cultural factors within the work setting (Bond, Tuckey, & Dollard, 2010). Factors that facilitate bullying include competitiveness, autocratic man- agers, rigid rule-bound hierarchal organizations, and environments with poor – or top-down – communication practices, often without formal policies or a culture of policy non-adherence. It is worth emphasising that the existence of formal policies per se cannot mitigate against bullying or other organisational transgressions – managers and other key personnel need to have the moral for- titude to respond appropriately and assertively to breaches when they occur (Jackson, Hutchinson, Peters, Luck, & Saltman, 2012). Currently, the pervasive university focus on performance-driven output within a corporate culture, along with the drive for profit, contributes to the creation of an

Behaviours of concern in the academic Workplace

Bullying acts involve unwanted and persistent psy- chological or physical abuse directed at one person, generally across a timeframe of six or more months (Wheeler, Halbesleben, & Shanine, 2010). Bullying is a serious workplace issue that may not initially be recognised for what it is, as the processes drawn upon can be subtle and insidious and take place in private (Cleary, Hunt, & Horsfall, 2010; Cleary, Hunt, Walter, & Robertson, 2009). Therefore, bullying behaviours can be difficult to identify and tackle, particularly if individual acts are viewed in isolation. Commonly over time, these negative behaviours can become more open and direct, with legitimate and worthy workplace activities and pro- cesses sometimes becoming corrupted and appro- priated as further instruments of oppression and violation (Hutchinson, Vickers, Jackson, & Wilkes, 2006a, 2006b; Vie, Glasø, & Einarsen, 2011).

Behaviours under the rubric of bullying can also take the form of ‘mobbing’. This involves a group dynamic in which a lead or dominant bully initiates and coordinates harassment through the bully’s various networks within an organisation that tolerates such transgressions (Wheeler et al., 2010). The behaviour can also be subtle and may involve the use of various strategies that may seem innocuous when viewed in isolation.

Khoo (2010) describes academic mobbing as comprising sophisticated malevolent behaviours in which academics ‘gang up’ on a target to undermine her/him via any mechanism available; such methods may include humiliation, trumped-up accusations, and pervasive and persistent but unpredictable ver- sions of harassment (p. 61). These behaviours may be interpreted as attempts to compensate for the lead bully’s unconscious fears and weaknesses and chan- nelling of hostility in ways that unite perpetrators against a common enemy. The targeted person – often a high achiever with strong moral principles and potentially among the organization’s best assets – is thus alienated (Khoo, 2010). Pressure may be applied in various ways, such as through innuendo, the spreading of rumours and lies, or by use of a range of exclusionary strategies.

Academia is identified as one of the common sites for such politely conducted, non-violent mob- bing. In the university, students, academics and

 

 

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undesirable practices as the negative and damaging behaviours become normalized.

Academic communities in which productive research alliances can be formed and where staff are able to work collegially within teaching and research teams are essential for the achievement of high level teaching, scholarship and research output, consistent with current academic per- formance targets (Cleary et al., 2011; Jackson, 2008). Good working environments are not magically manufactured, and an environment of mutual respect certainly requires time, good will, effort, and moral courage from leaders at all levels (Carmeli & Gittell, 2009; Fuimano, 2005).

conclusion As universities become more corporatized, faculties within academic settings are being asked to operate in ways that can potentially challenge and threaten personal integrity. Collegial work place relation- ships do not necessarily avoid challenging others or guarantee ‘success’ in every performance and outcome measure, but in the spirit of academia we must have a preparedness not only to ‘listen, share and learn’ (Rolfe, 2012, p. 736) with others, but to do so with integrity and in respectful ways.

acknoWledgement We would like to thank Sandra Mackey for her contribution to an earlier draft of this paper.

conflict of interest The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

disclosures None for any author.

references Bond, S. A., Tuckey, M. R., & Dollard, M. F. (2010).

Psychosocial safety climate, workplace bullying, and symptoms of posttraumatic stress. Organization Development Journal, 28(1), 37–56.

Carmeli, A., & Gittell, J. H. (2009). High-quality rela- tionships, psychological safety, and learning from fail- ures in work organizations. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 30(6), 709–729.

Center for Academic Integrity. (n.d.). Center for academic integrity: Fundamental values project. Retrieved from http://www.academicintegrity.org/icai/resources-2.php

overworking, exploitative, individualistic and hyper-competitive environment.

It follows that it is incumbent on university lead- ers and managers to encourage and support rela- tionship building and constructive communication flow to ensure inclusivity and a milieu that is char- acterised by dignity and respect. The organizational climate is crucial to workers’ sense of physical and psychological safety. Hence, policies, procedures and decision-making must be seen to be practicable, enforceable and equitable. For instance, when anti- bullying policies and procedures are introduced, they should ideally be accompanied by employee awareness-raising and education, and occurrences of bullying must then be acted upon in constructive protocol-following ways. It has been shown that when academics perceive organisational decision- making to be timely, thorough, transparent and fair, they are more likely to behave with professional integrity themselves (Martinson, Crain, De Vries, & Anderson, 2010). In other words, an ethical culture promotes and supports the moral integrity of individuals. Furthermore, staff who are content in the workplace are usually more productive and innovative in ways that benefit organisations and clients. These staff are more likely to have a com- mitment to their profession and plan and pursue a career trajectory (Shirey, 2009).

All academics have a role to play in identifying and bringing to attention inappropriate behav- iours, in all spheres of academic life (Walter & Bloch, 2001). Academics also have a role in sup- porting those who are willing to actively challenge violations of integrity when others are not. If these processes which are dependent on individual aca- demics, social structures, supportive managers and proactive administrators do not occur, then departmental and institutional reputations will be compromised. As well, there will be financial costs through lower productivity, absenteeism, high staff turnover, and compensation pay-outs, along with the inestimable losses associated with poor staff morale (Bond et al., 2010). Employees who remain in these negative environments may be those with less alternative employment opportuni- ties, and over time they may become demoralised, work below their peak ability, and be less commit- ted to good teaching practices and to students. Furthermore, they may themselves begin to adopt

 

 

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