Correlational Methods - Essay Example

Researches on Job Performance and Satisfaction The relationship among three factors ly, personality, job performance and job satisfaction, was determined in the graduate school research conducted by Skibba (2002) of University of Wisconsin-Stout. The study was conducted among the employees of Central Wisconsin Firefighters from which a total of thirty-one employees participated. Aside from setting the parameter of including only those who either presently or formerly held a firefighter status, it was not clear how the sampling of subjects was done.

Four different assessment tools were used to measure the personality and job satisfaction: Cattell’s 16 PF, the Job Descriptive Index, the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding, and the Positive and Negative Affectivity Scale. On the other hand, the recent performance evaluation of each subject provided by the deputy chiefs was used to measure job performance. The scores obtained from each of the variables were correlated with one another. It was found that among the personality factors emotional stability and liveliness are positively correlated with job performance.

Moreover, the subjects were found to be generally satisfied with their job, which is correlated to the good performance manifested in the subjects’ evaluation. In another graduate research paper conducted by Nimalathasan (2010), the relationship of job satisfaction and work performance among the employees of fourteen branches of people’s bank in Jaffna peninsula. The sample size consisting o f sixty subjects was computed by getting thirty percent of the total population. Stratified random sampling was employed in selecting the participants; however, the specific steps on how it was done were not explained in the research.

A questionnaire in the form of Likert scale covers factors that measure the two variables mentioned. The scores for each variable were analyzed through simple correlation in order to determine the relationship between the two. Among the factors accounting for job satisfaction, only working condition and job performance yielded a high positive correlation while the rest of the factors such as promotion, pay and the work itself yielded a moderate correlation with performance. Nevertheless, the researcher concluded that overall, there is a positive correlation between job satisfaction and performance at work.

The study of Taris & Schreurs (2009) tested the related concept of happy-productive worker hypothesis. Job satisfaction was measured through questionnaire administered to employees of 81 homecare organizations from which 56,963 participated. On the other hand, job performance was based on client survey obtained from 106,637 respondents. The two variables were correlated using regression analysis, partly confirming the said hypothesis. It was found that emotional exhaustion is negatively correlated with organizational performance.

Tsai & Chuang (2009) focused on job satisfaction in terms of communication and its relation to job performance. Data was obtained through questionnaires employed to a sample of 1,260 individuals representing the top 500 service industries in Taiwan. It was not clear, however, whether all employees were initially requested to participate in the study; thus the manner of selecting the participants was not explained. Descriptive statistics were obtained and the values were correlated. Results show that communication satisfaction is positively related to job performance.

Validity & Significance Among the researches gathered, it appears that the study of Taris & Schreurs (2009) yielded the most meaningful and valid results. First, the sample size was large enough to represent the population. Second, it was explained clearly how the subjects were selected and the inclusion and exclusion criteria were laid out beforehand. In these grounds, the study of Skibba (2002) appears to be the weakest and most questionable. The sample is too small and it was not clear how the participants were chosen.

Moreover, the type of data analysis was justified in the study of Taris & Schreurs (2009) and the exact figures were shown for the readers to analyze them. References Nimalathasan, B. (2010). Job satisfaction and employees’ work performance: A case study of people’s bank in Jaffna Peninsula, Sri Lanka. Retrieved on April 3, 2011 from http://www.mnmk.ro/documents/2010special/5SriLankaBrabeteFFF.pdf. Skibba, J. (2002). Personality and job satisfaction: An investigation of Central Wisconsin Firefighters.

Retrieved on April 3, 2011 from http://www2.uwstout.edu/content/lib/thesis/2002/2002skibbaj.pdf. Taris, T. & Schreurs, P. (2009). Well-being and organizational performance: An organizational-level test of the happy-productive worker hypothesis. Work & Stress, 23(2). Tsai, M. & Chuang, S. (2009). An integrated process model of communication satisfaction and organizational outcomes. Social Behavior and Personality,37(6).