Ch. 10: Employee Satisfaction and Commitment

Job satisfaction

The attitude employees have toward their jobs

Organizational commitment

The extent to which an employee identifies with and is involved with an organization

Affective commitment

The extent to which an employee wants to remain with an organization and cares about the organization

Continuance commitment

The extent to which employees believe they must remain with an organization due to the time, expense, and effort they have already put into the organization

Normative commitment

The extent to which employees feel an obligation to remain with an organization

Internal locus of control

The belief that an individual is iin control of their own outcomes in the workplace, attributing success to their own efforts, abilities, and choices

Social information processing theory

States that employees model their levels of satisfaction and motivation from other employees

Social learning theory

States that employees model their levels of satisfaction and motivation from other employees

Equity theory

Explains how employees are motivated by their perception of fairness in the workplace, specifically by comparing their inputs to outcomes against those of others

Organizatioanl justice

The study of how employees’ perceptions of fairness influence their attitudes and behaviors within an organization

Distributive justice

The perceived fairness of the decisions made in an organization

Procedural justice

The perceived fairness of the methods used by an organization to make decisions

Interactional justice

The perceived fairness of the interpersonal treatment that employees receive in an organization

Informational justice

The extent to which a supervisor is open and transparent in sharing information

Interpersonal justice

The extent to which a supervisor adequately treats an employee

Job rotation

Employees are periodically moved between different jobs or departments within the same organization to enhance their skills, knowledge, and motivation

Job enlargement

A system in which employees are given more tasks to perform at the same time

Job enrichment

A system in which employees are given more responsibility over the tasks and decisions related to their job

Job characteristics theory

Explains how job design affects employee motivation and satisfaction through five core job characteristics

Job diagnostic survey (JDS)

A measure of the extent to which a job provides opportunities for growth, autonomy, and meaning

Self-directed teams

See quality circles

Quality circles

Employee groups that meet to propose changes that will improve productivity and the quality of work life

Faces scale

A measure of job satisfaction in which raters place a mark under a facial expression that is most similar to the way they feel about their jobs

Job descriptive index (JDI)

A measure of job satisfaction that yields scores on five dimensions

Minnesota satisfaction questionnaire (MSQ)

A measure of job satisfaction that yields scores on 20 dimensions

Job in general (JIG) scale

A measure of the overall level of job satisfaction

Organizational commitment scale (OCS)

A nine-item survey that taps three aspects of organizational commitment

Well pay

A method of absenteeism control in which employees are paid for their unused sick leave

Financial bonus

A method of absenteeism control in which employees who meet an attendance standard are given a cash reward

Games

An absenteeism control method in which games such as poker and bingo are used to reward employee attendance

Paid time off program (PTO)

An attendance policy in which all paid vacations, sick days, holidays, and so forth are combined

Person/organization fit

The extent to which an employee’s personality, values, attitudes, philosophy, and skills match those of the organization

Embeddedness

The extent to which employees have links to their jobs and community, the importance of these links, and the ease with which they can be broken and replaced at another job

Organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs)

Voluntary, employee-initiated actions that go beyond their formal job duties to help the organization function smoothly