Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment - Research Proposal Example

Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment Abstract This research paper investigates the link between various aspects of work values, job satisfaction and organizational commitment in the white-collar employees working in MNCs in China. Results from the structural model show that work related values of job satisfaction that in turn impacts on employee commitment to the company. The impacts of various job satisfaction aspects vary according to the autonomy and job security forecasting organization commitment that is stronger than pay satisfaction or appraisal. The findings in the research underscore the importance of further research in understanding of employee commitment and job satisfaction in emerging economies. Keywords: work values, job satisfaction, organizational commitment Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment Introduction Over the past few years, organizational commitment has been acclaimed as an important concept owing to its significance and contribution towards organizational efficiency. Additionally, it has been extensively and variably studied in the field of organizational behavior. Various studies have been done over the years to get a deep understanding of the nature and results of organizational commitment. Evidence has shown that organizational commitment is closely related to job satisfaction, work related attitudes, turnover as well as reduced organizational performance (Stride, Wall and Catley, 2008). In spite of numerous research being devoted towards organizational commitment, most of it has been conducted in developed countries and less research has been done on organizational commitment in non- Western countries. In nations where culture is different, the indicators of organizational commitment may vary as expected by management (Stride, Wall and Catley, 2008). This study considers China since it is culturally different from countries in the West. Cultural differences may result to complications and misunderstandings. In fact, there are lower organizational levels in the foreign subsidiaries in China that can be understood as a result of understanding of how to manage the work force in China (Chen and Francesco, 2003). A comprehensive understanding of the work values in China is important for entities to avoid such problems. This study tests how work values relate organizational commitments and jobs satisfaction. This relationship is tested through observing a sample of white-collar employees working in foreign companies. Literature Review Job satisfaction Job satisfaction is understood to be an emotional response to the job with regards to specific aspects including pay, supervision or global satisfaction. As discussed above, one of the most important factors that determine employee satisfaction with reference to specific aspects is the pay (Lambert, 2002). Several studies have found that there is a positive relationship between job satisfaction and pay level. Furthermore, job satisfaction has been linked to various factors in the work place including high levels of workers motivation, improved job performance, positive work values, lower rates of absenteeism and lower rates of employee turnover. There are benefits accruing to society at large so the concept of job satisfaction can be expressed in terms of social and financial responsibility. Job satisfaction can be defined in a number of ways. First, it is defined as the degree to which the work environment meets the values and needs of the employees (Lambert, 2004 and Tewksbury and Higgins, 2006). Lambert (2002) further explains it as the degree to which an individual likes their job. In a study conducted by Lambert (2002), correctional employee satisfaction was evaluated as a fulfillment from work, supervision, pay and promotion. The other common measure indicates that job satisfaction can be analyzed from five perspectives including autonomy, skill variety, task identity, feedback and task significance. Models that analyze job characteristics and their connection to job motivation have been used in various occupations and work environments. There are researchers that rely on individuals’ response to evaluate job satisfaction while others use complex measures of job satisfaction from various perspectives of the job (Silverthorne, 2005). Analyzing various aspects helps in the organization helps in the identification of various issues within companies. For instance, workers may indicate that they are satisfied with their pay however, may not be happy with other aspects including how they are supervised and the work environment. Organizational Commitment Organizational commitment has become a common topic in the field of organization behavior in the modern times. There is no clear definition of the concept as it has been defined and evaluated in various ways. However, the concept has been evaluated and defined in different ways. The different definitions agree on the common point that organizational commitment is viewed to be a connection between employee and the organization. Organizational commitment is explained as the relative strength of an employee’s involvement and identification with a given entity. It can be characterized by three factors including the desire to retain membership with the entity, the willingness to use a considerable effort for the benefit of the entity and the acceptance and strong belief in the entity’s values and goals. Much interest on organizational commitment is based on the principle that organizationally committed employees are likely to demonstrate higher job performance and other desirable actions. A study was conducted to analyze the previous circumstances and the results of organizational commitment (Nicholson, 2009). It was found out that the background was important and connected to organizational commitment in both samples. These previous circumstances were classified into three groups including work experience, personal traits and job characteristics. With regards to the outcomes it was discovered that commitment was positively and strongly linked to the intention to remain in the entity for both samples (Nicholson, 2009). Moreover, there was found to be an inverse relationship between employee turnover and organizational commitment in one sample. Organizational commitment takes different forms. The first one talks about the nature of organizational commitment while the second one entails the efforts to tell apart among companies to which a worker is committed (Nicholson, 2009). The study states that organizational commitment is the total of the affective component that refers to the workers’ emotional attachment and the continuance element that refers the organizational commitment based on the costs the employee links with leaving the entity. In other terms, continuance commitment is when the employee feels that they need to stay in an organization while affective commitment is when the employee wishes to stay in a company. Research Methodology The data used in the research paper was collected in 2006. The target population was white-collar employees working in seven different automobile companies in Shanghai. All these companies are Multinational Corporations that have been in business in the Chinese market for more than a decade and employees more than five hundred Chinese workers (Yu and Egri, 2005). For the Chinese people, positive relationships, trust and connections are important and managers were requested to carry out the study. The questionnaire addressed a number of issues including employees’ work values, their organizational commitment and job satisfaction. A total of 201 questionnaires and ten of them were excluded owing to incomplete information. The sample was mad e up of 56. 5 percent males, 50 percent and 75 percent had a graduate or undergraduate education (Yu and Egri, 2005). Generally, the sample can be explained as being relatively young and highly educated. These are the common character traits for the work force in most MNCs since they can communicate in English. The measures were based on scales that had been used in the Asian context before. Organizational commitment was evaluated through Likert- type items ranging from ‘strongly disagree’. Higher scores demonstrate high levels of employee commitment to the company. Individualism and money ethic levels were measures with higher scores showing high levels of money ethics and individualism. Individuals’ willingness to take risks was determined using the same criteria. Different aspects of job security, pay satisfaction and performance appraisal were measured using the Likert- type items. Results The results of the survey indicated that there was a positive relationship between performance appraisal, autonomy and individualism as well as autonomy and employee willingness to take risks. In other terms, the findings show that the higher level of individualism of, the more the performance appraisals and value autonomy, and higher levels of the motivation to take risks hence they desire autonomy more. Generally, the findings in the study reveal that workers’ work values are important predictors of various aspects of job satisfaction that considerably affects their organizational commitment. The R2 measure indicated that job satisfaction variables and employees’ work variables made up 69.98 % variance in the sample’s organization commitment, 61.65 % to performance and appraisal while willingness to take risks accounted for 12. 06%. Other variables with respect to pay satisfaction, money ethic and the willingness to take risk accounted for 1.77% and 0.72 % respectively. Discussion The research looks at the impact of employees work values on organizational commitment and job stability among white-collar Chinese employees working in MNCs (Francesco and Chen, 2004). First, the research provides practical evidence that work values mainly willingness to take risks and the level of individualism have a considerable influence on job satisfaction. However, there was no proof that money ethic and the workers’ willingness to take risks could impact on job satisfaction, pay security and performance appraisal. One of the best explanations could be linked to social desirability factors. The second explanation could be probably because motivated and highly educated workers. The findings could have been different for a different sample. Second, in line with the expectations, the findings shows the level of various aspects of job satisfaction considerably affect organization commitment to their jobs. The observed findings show that there is a major positive connection between individual aspects of job satisfaction (performance appraisal, job security, pay satisfaction and autonomy) and workers organizational commitment. Therefore, it is line with past studies on job satisfaction that a greater level of employee satisfaction promotes efficient organizational commitment that is also the case for international firms doing business in China (Francesco and Chen, 2004). Thirdly, the study found no direct connection between work values and organizational commitment. However, their impacts seem to be interceded by several satisfaction variables. Specifically, the impacts of willingness to take risks and individualism seem to be mediated by performance appraisal and autonomy (Francesco and Chen, 2004). In other terms, whereas work values do not have direct impact on organizational commitment, instead while work values do not have a direct impact on factors that affect job satisfaction thus influencing organizational commitment. It can be concluded that work values are key indicators of organizational commitment. Finally, the study gives evidence concerning the relative significance of the different determinants influencing organizational commitment in Chinese companies. Since the enactment of the open- door policy, there have been widespread changes in the personal lives and economic values in the Chinese population. On the contrary, the culture in China is highly group oriented and the findings show that the impact of autonomy on organizational commitment among white-collar employees is stronger that of satisfaction resulting from pay (Francesco and Chen, 2004). It can therefore be concluded that in the new era white collar Chinese workers pay more attention to personal influence and power rather than a high pay. Limitations of the Study There are several limitations associated with the study. First, the sample size is not representative enough of employees from the Chinese population. Secondly, the study has not analyzed all the work values and how they relate to organizational commitment and job satisfaction. In conclusion, the study shows that there is a relationship between work values, employee satisfaction and organizational commitment. The study focused on white-collar employees in MNCs in China. This sample could representative of the characteristics of the employees from non- West countries. The findings in the study are important for managers operating MNCs in foreign markets. References Chen, Z. X., & Francesco, A. M. (2003). The relationship between the three components of commitment and employee performance in China. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 62(3): 490-510. Lambert, E. G. Hogan, N. L., &Barton, S. M. (2002). The impact of work-family conflict on correctional staff job satisfaction: An exploratory study. American Journal of Criminal Justice 27(1), 35-52. Francesco, A. M., & Chen, Z. X. (2004). Collectivism in action: Its moderating effects on the relationship between organizational commitment and employee performance in China. Group & Organization Management, 29(4): 425-441. Nicholson, W. M. (2009). Leadership practices, organizational commitment, and turnover intentions: A correlation study in a call center. ProQuest. Silverthorne, C. P. (2005). Organizational Psychology in Cross Cultural Perspective. NYU Press. Stride, C., Wall, T. D., & Catley, N. (2008). Measures of job satisfaction, organizational commitment, mental health and job related well-being: Benchmarking manual. John Wiley & Sons. Tewksbury, R. A., & Higgins, G. E. (2006). Examining the effect of emotional dissonance on work stress and satisfaction with supervisors among correctional Staff. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 17(3), 290-301.  Yu, B. B., & Egri, C. P. (2005). Human resource management practices and affective organizational commitment: A comparison of Chinese employees in a state-owned enterprise and a joint-venture. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resource, 43(3): 332-360. Read More