Jonathan H. Westover

Job Satisfaction in The Public Service

Abstract What satisfies a public servant? Is it the money? Or is it something else, like an interesting and autonomous job, or serving the public interest? Utilizing non-panel longitudinal data from the International Social Survey Program on Work Orientations across different countries for 1997 and 2005, this article examines the effects of a selection of antecedents that are commonly related to job satisfaction. The respondents from different countries were found to share similarities in terms of what satisfies them in their jobs. The emphasis placed on these factors was however found to vary for some countries.

Enhancing long‐term worker productivity and performance: The connection of key work domains to job satisfaction and organizational commitment

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to explore key work domains that impact worker job satisfaction and organizational commitment, which in turn impact long‐term worker productivity and performance.Design/methodology/approach – The paper utilizes factor analysis, ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis, and basic descriptive statistics (Pearson Correlations, standard deviations, means) to explore the relationship between job satisfaction and organizational commitment and 17 unique work domains.Findings – Survey data confirm 17 statistically valid and reliable work domains that are relevant to understanding worker job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Additionally, OLS regression results produce highly explanatory models of worker motivation and job satisfaction.Research limitations/implications – The main limitation of the research is the lack of generalizability of the findings – that it represents data from just one organization, not a sampling of organizations. While the statis...

A CROSS-NATIONAL ANALYSIS OF JOB QUALITY CHARACTERISTICS AND PERCEIVED JOB SATISFACTION IN A CHANGING WORLD ECONOMY : IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATORS MANAGING A MULTICULTURAL WORKFORCE

Staffing is one of the many challenges facing all employers today, and with the shift in the global production market and an increasingly global economy, the challenge of finding and keeping the right people for the right job becomes even greater, as organizations not only compete for a diminishing domestic workforce, but a workforce that is increasingly global in nature. This becomes an ever-increasing challenge for organizations as they fight to stay competitive in a global market and learn to effectively manage an increasingly multicultural workforce. This research uses non-panel longitudinal data from the International Social Survey Program (Work Orientations I and II 1989, and 1997) to conduct a comparative analysis of job quality and job satisfaction, in order to examine the impact of various job characteristics and dimensions of job quality on job satisfaction over time and across countries. Finally, I will provide a discussion of policy implications important to public HR administrators who wish to attract top-notch workers and more effectively manage an increasingly multicultural workforce.

Comparative welfare state impacts on work quality and job satisfaction: A cross‐national analysis

Purpose - The vast cross-disciplinary literature exploring work quality and job satisfaction has linked worker experiences to many individual, organizational, and social outcomes, yet this research has largely failed to shed much light on why cross-national differences in worker satisfaction and its determinants persist over time. The purpose of this paper to: empirically test (using various bivariate descriptive procedures and comparative OLS regression) significant, cross-national differences in job satisfaction and its determinants; and explore the reasons for these cross-national differences, moving beyond the research of social psychologists and organizational behavior researchers, to also include import macro cross-national factors that directly influence these differences. Design/methodology/approach - In this research, the author applies and extends Handels Post and Neo-Fordist framework for understanding job characteristics and job satisfaction, using non-panel longitudinal data from the International Social Survey Program (Work Orientations I, II, and III:, 1989, 1997, 2005 – survey questions on job characteristics and job quality) and various welfare state country-contextual variables. Findings - OLS regression results of job satisfaction by country show that for countries with relative higher levels of welfare state safety net provisions, intrinsic work characteristics provide greater overall predictability in overall perceived job satisfaction. Once more, extrinsic work characteristics generally have greater salience and predictability in overall perceived job satisfaction in countries relatively lower levels of welfare state safety net provisions. Furthermore, the results clearly show that regardless of country level of welfare state safety net provisions, intrinsic work characteristics add the most overall predictability to perceived job satisfaction of workers within the study countries. Finally, an often accepted job satisfaction model, commonly considered to be widely generalizable across a wide variety of cross-cultural and cross-national contexts, actually appears to have a lack of applicability across countries. Originality/value - What are the key country-level contextual and global-macro variables driving these country differences in job characteristics and perceived worker satisfaction? Prior research could not answer this question. However, this research is the first and only empirical inquiry to look at the relationship between macro welfare state country-contextual factors and job satisfaction. Like many work attitudes, job satisfaction is a dynamic construct that changes in response to personal and environmental conditions. Finally, monitoring job satisfaction over time and in different contexts allows one to better examine and understand the salient factors that affect job satisfaction.

Teaching Hybrid Courses across Disciplines: Effectively Combining Traditional Learning and e-Learning Pedagogies

This paper examines the role and effectiveness of hybrid course offerings within the higher education context. Providing a review of the growing body of academic literature on the effectiveness and learning outcomes of the hybrid model, this paper also provides a look at two distinct hybrid courses; one lower-division college algebra course and one upper-division human resource management course. The strengths and weaknesses of these hybrid courses are assessed and discussed alongside a brief proposal for continued academic research examining hybrid course best practices.

The job satisfaction‐gender paradox revisited

Purpose – Using Westovers job satisfaction model (based on Kallebergs 1977 findings and Handels 2005 study) the purpose of this paper is to re‐examine the job satisfaction‐gender paradox by analyzing cross‐national gender differences in job satisfaction, specifically as these changes relate to differences in the characteristics that men and women experience in the workplace.Design/methodology/approach – This research uses non‐panel longitudinal data from the International Social Survey Program (work orientations I, II, and III: 1989, 1997, 2005 – survey questions on job characteristics and job quality) to examine cross‐national gender differences in job satisfaction and its determinants.Findings – Descriptive statistics and regression analysis show that there is little consistent difference in mean job satisfaction and intrinsic job characteristics scores between men and women across the participating countries in the three ways of data.Research limitations/implications – The main limitations of this r...

Global shifts: Changing job quality and job satisfaction determinants in socialist and post‐socialist Hungary

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to extend Handels intrinsic and extrinsic framework for understanding job characteristics and job satisfaction to the worker experience in socialist and post-socialist Hungary. Design/methodology/approach - Non-panel longitudinal data from the International Social Survey Program (work orientations I and II: 1989 and 1997 – survey questions on job characteristics and job quality) are used to examine the changing job quality and job satisfaction determinants in socialist and post-socialist Hungary. Findings - Descriptive statistics and regression analysis show that there are many significant changes in the intrinsic and extrinsic job characteristics and perceived job satisfaction of Hungarian workers from 1989 to 1997. Research limitations/implications - The main limitations of this research are that the key variables are subjective single-item indicators; the non-panel longitudinal nature of the data means the direction of causality among the variables examined cannot be tested specifically; and some variables of interest and other important control variables cannot be included in the analysis, as data were not available for both waves of the survey. Practical implications - Since worker job satisfaction impacts firm performance and various measures of worker well-being, firms (regardless of economic sector or private/public status) need to be cognizant of these differences and unique challenges facing Hungarian workers and work to tailor management philosophy and policy to create a unique work atmosphere that will benefit the interests of both the employer and the employee. Originality/value - The main contribution of this paper is the analysis of changes in intrinsic and extrinsic job characteristics in Hungary, in light of the sweeping political and economic changes that accompanied the transition from a socialist state to a post-socialist regime.

The international political economy of worker satisfaction: a cross-national HLM analysis

Purpose - – There is a growing body of comparative research examining country differences in job satisfaction and its determinants. However, existing research cannot explain similarities in job satisfaction levels across very different countries, nor can it explain the differences between seemingly similar countries. Moreover, there has been no significant research conducted to date that has examined the country-level contextual conditions that are poised to impact worker satisfaction and its determinants. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach - – In this research, the author address this existing gap in the academic literature on job satisfaction by using non-panel longitudinal data from the International Social Survey Program (Work Orientations I, II, and III: 1989, 1997, and 2005) to examine cross-national differences in job satisfaction and its determinants. The author compare and combine previous international political economy theoretical work and hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to examine global macro-level variables and their impact on worker satisfaction cross-nationally. Findings - – Study results demonstrate that both intrinsic and extrinsic work characteristics strongly impact worker job satisfaction. Furthermore, country by country regression and HLM results suggest that there are important country differences in both the perceived importance of various work characteristics and workers’ self-report experiences with both intrinsic and extrinsic work characteristics. Research limitations/implications - – To get a clearer picture in the HLM analysis as to the full impact of these various country-contextual impacts on differences in perceived job characteristics and worker satisfaction, future research needs to examine a greater number and wider variety of countries, while exploring other theoretically relevant country-level variables that may help to explore country-level differences from these various cross-national theoretical frameworks. Additionally, a more diverse and greater number of participating countries would also potentially help in achieving levels of significance in the level-2 covariates in the HLM models. Practical implications - – Due to the fact the worker job satisfaction impacts firm performance and various measures of worker well-being, firms (regardless of economic sector or private/public status) need to be cognizant of these differences and unique challenges and work to tailor management philosophy and policy to create a unique work atmosphere that will benefit the interests of both the employer and the employee, as well as society at large. Originality/value - – While the nature of work has changed dramatically in the post-war era in response to economic shifts and an increasingly global economy, particularly over the past two decades, this paper examines the previously unexamined country-level contextual and global macro-historical variables driving differences in work quality and perceived worker satisfaction.

Enacting Change Through Borrowed Legitimacy: An Institutional Perspective

Purpose – This paper aims to offer borrowed legitimacy through coalitions as an explanation for how an organization might successfully deviate from social norms to enact change, yet still gain sufficient cognitive and sociopolitical legitimacy for survival. This paper explains that borrowing legitimacy through a coalition allows an illegitimate organization to impose an alternative future despite institutional pressures for its convergence to social norms, rules and expectations. Design/methodology/approach – To explore the ability of an organization that lacks legitimacy to borrow legitimacy through a coalition, the authors use a case study and content analysis of interviews, news articles and other publicly available secondary data to examine an environmentalist organization, Sea Shepherds, who openly seek legitimacy and resources, and are engaged in enacting change while using a unique or alternative form. Findings – The case study here shows how a coalition with another organization that already has l...

Experientially educating future consultants: benefits, challenges, and constructs

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss experiential education as a way to develop future consultants in human resource management and marketing with the goal of developing consulting competence. Design/methodology/approach – This is a conceptual paper that proposes, outlines, and discusses a model, containing 11 dimensions of consulting competence. Findings – The conceptual model includes 11 building blocks: foreign language competence, non-verbal competence, perception of cultural distance, cultural self-awareness, knowledge, skills, motivation, effectiveness, appropriateness, contextual interaction patterns, and affinity. Considerations for each of these elements are introduced and discussed. Practical implications – This model and the explanation of its components should guide management and marketing educators in their efforts to build and develop experiential education programs of excellence. Originality/value – The model proposed and outline in this paper will assist institutions of highe...