Organizational Commitment Study Notes

Module 3: Organizational Commitment

  • Date: 9/18/2025

  • Instructor: Dr. Nsair

Integrative Model of Organizational Behavior

  • Organizational Mechanisms:

    • Organizational Culture

    • Organizational Structure

  • Individual Mechanisms:

    • Job Satisfaction

    • Stress

    • Motivation

  • Group Mechanisms:

    • Leadership: Styles & Behaviors

    • Leadership: Power & Negotiation

    • Teams: Processes & Communication

    • Trust, Justice, & Ethics

    • Teams: Characteristics & Diversity

    • Learning & Decision Making

  • Individual Characteristics:

    • Ability

    • Personality & Cultural Values

Organizational Commitment

  • Definition: Organizational commitment is the desire on the part of an employee to remain a member of an organization.

    • Components of Commitment:

    1. Want

    2. Need

    3. Ought – Feeling of obligation

  • Indicators of Lack of Commitment:

    • Withdrawal: Actions taken by employees showcasing lack of commitment to the organization.

Three Types of Organizational Commitment

  • Types and Examples:

    • Affective Commitment (Emotion-Based):

    • Emotional attachment and involvement with the organization.

    • Example: “Some of my best friends work in my office; I’d miss them if I left.”

    • Example: “I really like the atmosphere at my current job; it’s fun and relaxed.”

    • Continuance Commitment (Cost-Based):

    • Awareness of the costs associated with leaving the organization.

    • Example: “My salary and benefits get us a nice house in our town; the cost of living is higher in this new area.”

    • Example: “Quitting my job would bring with it major personal sacrifice.”

    • Normative Commitment (Obligation-Based):

    • Feeling of obligation to remain with the organization.

    • Example: “I have an obligation to stay with my company.”

    • Example: “I wouldn’t quit my job because I owe the company too much.”

Employee Withdrawal

  • Figure 3-1: Organizational Commitment and Employee Withdrawal

  • Consideration: Would wanting 100% organizational commitment lead to employee burnout?

Assessments of Commitment Types

Affective Commitment

  • Assessment: Average score: 20

    • Source: N.J. Allen and J.P. Meyer, “The Measurement and Antecedents…”

Continuance Commitment

  • Assessment:

    1. Quitting would bring major personal sacrifice.

    2. I don’t have enough employment options to consider leaving.

    3. It’s difficult to leave due to no alternative employment.

    4. My current job is more a product of circumstance than preference.

    5. Leaving would cause significant personal disruption.

    6. I couldn’t quit even if I wanted to.

  • Average score: 19

  • Source: Meyer, J. P., & Allen, N. J. 1997.

Normative Commitment

  • Assessment:

    1. I have an obligation to stay.

    2. I owe the company for what it has given me.

    3. Leaving would fill me with guilt.

    4. It wouldn’t feel right to quit.

    5. Staying is simply something that I ought to do.

  • Average score: 16

  • Source: Meyer, J. P., & Allen, N. J. 1997.

Employee Performance and Commitment Quadrants

  • Four Types of Employees: (Based on Task Performance and Organizational Commitment)

    • Stars: High Task Performance and High Org Commitment

    • Citizens: Low Task Performance and High Org Commitment

    • Lone Wolves: High Task Performance and Low Org Commitment

    • Apathetics: Low Task Performance and Low Org Commitment

Withdrawal Behaviors

  • Common employee reactions to negative work events:

    • Neglect: Reduced interest and effort in work

    • Exit: Leaving or restricting their membership

    • Voice: Constructive response to improve the situation

    • Loyalty: Passive support while hoping for improvement

Psychological and Physical Withdrawal

  • Definition: Withdrawal includes behaviors that employees engage in to avoid a work situation.

  • Debate Prompt: Should managers monitor internet usage for cyberloafing?

Factors Affecting Organizational Commitment

  • Key Factors:

    • Diversity of the workforce

    • Changing employee-employer relationships

    • Perceived organizational support

Final Insight

  • Commitment Types:

    • Affective Commitment

    • Continuance Commitment

    • Normative Commitment

  • Overall Organizational Commitment includes understanding psychological and physical withdrawal behaviors exhibited by employees.