select an article from the Journal of Organizational Behavior. You can find this journal through the Ashworth Library in ProQuest. The link is located in the Course Introduction on the Library page.
You will write a 500-750 word review of the article. Your article needs to discuss or investigate one or more aspects of organizational behavior as it relates to your Final Project topic; it does not need to be comprehensive. The article should be one written within the last decade, unless you have prior approval from your professor.
In your article review, complete the following tasks.
At the top of the page, cite the article’s source using APA style.
Then, answer these four questions, in one paragraph each:
What did you learn?
What surprised you?
What do you want to learn more about?
How might you apply what you learned to your Final Project in this course?
Note: If you cannot find a relevant article in Journal of Organizational Behavior, these other journals are also acceptable. Before selecting an alternative journal, please contact your instructor for approval.
Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology
Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies
Organizational Psychology Review
What Surprised Me
What surprised me most was the distinction the authors drew between a high-quality LMX relationship and overall team cohesion in a remote environment. The research indicated that while a leader might have a strong, high-quality relationship with an individual remote employee, this does not automatically translate into a cohesive and collaborative team dynamic. The article revealed that leaders must make separate, concerted efforts to foster a collective sense of identity among team members. This involves intentionally creating shared goals, celebrating collective wins, and using digital platforms for team-wide interactions, not just dyadic ones. This finding challenges the conventional assumption that building individual relationships will organically lead to a strong team. In a remote context where serendipitous social interactions are absent, the need for a deliberate strategy to build a shared team culture becomes a critical and surprising prerequisite for success.
What I Want to Learn More About
The article briefly touched upon the potential for digital tools to both enhance and hinder engagement, depending on their use. This is an area I would like to explore in much greater depth. I am curious about the specific types of digital communication tools and their psychological impacts. For instance, how does a constant stream of instant messages on a platform like Slack, which a leader might use to check in on a follower, affect that follower’s sense of autonomy and risk of digital burnout? Conversely, what is the optimal frequency and format of video calls to maintain the relational quality of LMX without overwhelming employees? I would also want to learn about the most effective, research-backed strategies for creating "equitable information flows" and what systems or policies an organization can implement to ensure no remote employee is unintentionally left out of critical conversations or updates.
Sample Answer
Mahbub, A., Hill, C., & Maugh-Funderburk, C. (2025). Reimagining Leader-Member Exchange in Remote Work Environments: The Role of Digital Communication in Shaping Trust, Engagement, and Team Cohesion. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 43(4), 565–589.
What I Learned
From this article, I learned that the traditional Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) theory, which posits that leaders develop unique, high-quality relationships with certain followers to improve outcomes, is not only still relevant in the context of remote work but also requires a fundamental re-evaluation. The study's key finding is that the quality of these leader-follower relationships in a virtual setting is heavily contingent on deliberate and intentional digital communication strategies. I learned that trust, engagement, and relational equity do not simply emerge from informal, day-to-day interactions in a shared office space. Instead, they must be actively cultivated through a leader's empathetic behavior, clear and frequent digital check-ins, and the creation of systems that ensure information flows equitably to all team members, regardless of their physical location or proximity to the leader. This highlights that leading a remote team is not a passive task of merely managing output, but an active, human-centered practice focused on building and maintaining a strong relational foundation.