The impact of organizational democracy on the organizational cynicism analysis: The case of government educational organizations in Afghanistan

In this study, the impact of organizational democracy on organizational cynicism in government educational institutions in Afghanistan was analyzed, using the example of Bamiyan Province. The selection of Bamiyan Province as the study area was influenced by the ease of communication with educational institutions in the province and the feasibility of data collection. The study focused on teachers working in state educational institutions in Bamiyan Province as the target population in the spring semester of 2023. A total of 500 participants were randomly selected from this population and surveys were distributed to them for the implementation of the study. In total, 341 teachers completed the surveys, but 41 incomplete surveys were identified among the responses. The dataset used for analysis comprised data from 300 teachers with complete and accurate responses. This sample was utilized in the analysis phase of the study, based on a quantitative research design. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 28.00 and AMOS 26.00 software, employing independent t-tests, one-way ANOVA, correlation analysis, and structural equation modeling. The research findings indicated that there was no significant relationship between teachers' perceptions of organizational democracy and demographic variables in Bamiyan Province. The t-test analysis by gender showed no significant difference between affective and cognitive cynicism dimensions, while a significant difference was found in the behavioral cynicism dimension between males and females (P = 0.038). No significant differences were found among sub-dimensions based on marital status. One-way ANOVA results for the "Affective Cynicism" dimension revealed significant differences among age groups, particularly between the 20-25, 26-30, 31-35, and above 36 age groups. Regarding income levels, significant differences were observed only between specific groups: the "1000-5000 AFN" income group and the "6000-10000 AFN" and "11000-15000 AFN" income groups. Structural equation modeling results indicated that organizational democracy, particularly the sub-dimensions of "Transparency" and "Justice," had significant effects on behavioral, cognitive, and affective cynicism. The effect of the "Transparency" sub-dimension on behavioral cynicism was calculated with P = 0.029, for cognitive cynicism with P = 0.027, and for affective cynicism with P = 0.021. The effect of the "Justice" sub-dimension on behavioral cynicism was determined with P = 0.027, for cognitive cynicism with P = 0.030, and for affective cynicism with P = 0.033. These findings indicate that improving the sub-dimensions of "Transparency" and "Justice" can be useful in preventing organizational cynicism. Keywords: Afghanistan, Bamiyan, Educational institutions, Organizational democracy, Organizational cynicism