Paula C. Morrow

Concept Redundancy in Organizational Research: The Case of Work Commitment

A facet design describing the theoretical and empirical interrelationships among five forms of work commitment (Protestant work ethic, career salience, job involvement/work as a central life interest, organizational commitment, and union commitment) is presented. The analysis reveals that these concepts are partially redundant and insufficiently distinct to warrent continued separation. Suggestions for advancing the study of work commitment are rendered.

A multidisciplinary model of voluntary employee turnover

Abstract This paper proposes a model of employee turnover based upon the existing literature from psychological, sociological, and economic perspectives. Voluntary turnover is posited to have three major classes of determinants: characteristics of the individual employee, work-related factors, and the states of certain economic variables. The model proposes that economic factors serve to control the degree to which individual and work-related factors can explain variation in turnover. It is hypothesized that individual and work-related variables will be more predictive of turnover under prosperous economic conditions than when the economy is strained. The model also proposes four classes of consequences of turnover: individual, organizational-social, organizational-economic, and societal. Recommendations for future turnover research are discussed.

Work Commitment and Job Satisfaction over Three Career Stages.

Abstract Four measures of work commitment (job involvement, organizational commitment, work ethic endorsement, and intention to remain), five job satisfaction facets, and six personal characteristics were examined under three career stage operationalizations: age, organizational tenure, and positional tenure. Results from a sample of 2200 public agency employees indicated that the selection of a career stage operationalization influences findings related to organizational commitment and intention to remain while job involvement, work ethic endorsement, job satisfaction, and personal characteristics are relatively unaffected by the operationalization chosen. Age was observed to explain more variation in the variables studied, when compared to the tenure measures. However, the overall levels of explained variation are low. Additional research designed to validate the concept of career stage is advocated.

Work commitment among salaried professionals

Abstract Professional commitment is identified as a form of work commitment and defined as the relative strength of identification with and involvement in ones profession. Its reliability and validity are evaluated vis-a-vis job involvement and organizational commitment in a sample of professional and scientific employees working for a major university. The concept and measure are recommended for further Study.

Turnover and organizational performance: A comparative analysis of the effects of voluntary, involuntary, and reduction-in-force turnover

Data were collected from 31 regional subunits of a national financial services company to examine differential effects of 3 types of turnover (voluntary, involuntary, and reduction-in-force) on measures of organizational subunit performance. Although each form of turnover exhibited adverse effects on subunit performance when examined separately, partial correlation results revealed greater and more pervasive adverse effects for reduction-in-force turnover (i.e., downsizing) in comparison with the effects of voluntary and involuntary turnover. The results confirm the negative effects of downsizing, suggesting the need to move beyond the traditional voluntary-involuntary classification scheme used in turnover research.

Professionalism as a Form of Work Commitment.

Abstract A modified version of R. H. Halls (1968, American Sociological Review 33 , 92–104) multidimensional measure of professionalism was used to evaluate the concept of professionalism as a form of work commitment. Based on a sample of 325 accountants in public practice, professionalism was examined vis-a-vis three forms of work commitment (i.e., job involvement, organizational commitment, and work ethic endorsement) and four professional behaviors. Results indicate that the measure requires some refinement but is nonredundant with other forms of work commitment. The future role of professionalism is discussed.

ATTITUDINAL AND BEHAVIORAL CORRELATES OF COMPUTER ANXIETY

108 male and 65 female undergraduate students participated in a survey designed to examine 10 potential correlates of computer anxiety. Analysis indicated that self-reported behavioral correlates, particularly those directly associated with computer use, accounted for more of the variance in computer anxiety than personality or attitudinally-based correlates.

Objective and subjective underemployment relationships to job satisfaction

Abstract This study discusses objective and subjective forms of underemployment and empirically examines their relationship to job satisfaction using 256 nonacademic university employees. Subjective measures of underemployment were found to demonstrate moderate to strong negative relationships with satisfaction while objective measures were unrelated to satisfaction. Suggestions for reducing subjective underemployment are offered.

The measurement of TQM principles and work-related outcomes

Building on the work of Dean and Bowen (1994), this paper proposes measures of the extent to which three TQM principles (i.e. customer focus, continuous improvement, and teamwork) have become an integral part of an organizations culture. The measures are also used to examine the relationship between the implementation of TQM principles and work-related outcomes, to include job satisfaction, communication, and perceptions of the work environment. Results derived from a survey of 2249 employees of a large midwestern organization indicated that reasonably reliable and distinct measures were developed and that the adoption of TQM principles was associated with more favorable work-related outcomes. Further research to verify the psychometric properties of these measures and to determine whether TQM principles impact on ‘harder’ measures of organizational performance is recommended.

Job attitudes among full- and part-time employees

Abstract Many researchers have speculated that full- and part-time workers differ in ways that influence job attitudes. Empirical findings related to this contention have been mixed and conflicting. In view of this research and in the absence of strong theoretical justification, it was hypothesized that employment status is unrelated to facets of job satisfaction, work commitment, and perceptions of organizational climate. Results from a sample of 350 hospital employees support this contention. In addition, shift assignment was observed to be unrelated to job attitudes. The findings suggest that employment status may not be a useful predictor of work-related attitudes and that future investigation of potential differences between full- and part-time workers should include a wider variety of factors.