Organizational Cynicism Although previous researchers had examined employee cynicism toward organizational change, James Dean, Pamela Brandes, and Ravi Dharwadkar retooled the concept for a broader understanding of organizational cynicism. They defined organizational cynicism. The belief that an organization lacks integrity coupled with negative affect toward the organization, which leads to critical and disparaging behavior. as "a negative attitude toward one's employing organization, comprising three dimensions: 

(1) a belief that the organization lacks integrity; 

(2) negative affect toward the organization; and 

(3) tendencies to disparaging and critical behaviors toward the organization that are consistent with these beliefs and affect." 

Under this definition, organizational cynicism lies at the intersection of three different phenomena: belief, affect, and behaviors