'**it Rolls Downhill' and Other Attributions for Why Adult Bullying Happens in Organizations From the Human Resource Professional's Perspective

摘要

Although communication researchers have begun to investigate bullying from the human resource (HR) professional's perspective, attention has not focused on the attributions HR professionals make concerning why bullying happens in contemporary organizations. Understanding what HR professionals believe causes bullying is important because these attributions are likely guiding HR professionals' interpretations of the situation and the actors involved, as well as their communications and actions in bullying situations. Using in-depth interviewing and grounded theory data analysis techniques, this article uncovered 5 causes of bullying from the HR perspective: aggressive management styles, deficient communication skills, the organizational culture, contemporary issues, and personality clashes. These findings are discussed along with implications, limitations, and future research.