Psychological Reporfs, 1998,82,843-850. O Psychological Reports 1998

ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND CLIMATE CORRELATES OF JOB SATISFACTION '

JOCELYN J. JOHNSON AND CHERITA L. MdNTYE

Summary.-Data were collected from 8,126 employees in a large government ser- vice agency using an anonymous survey measuring 19 ddferent aspects of organization- a l culture and dimate. Correlation indicated pos~tive and significant associauons for the measure of Job Satisfaction on the survey with all remaining measures. The mea- sures of culture most strongly relaced to scores on Job Satisfaction were Empower- ment and Involvement, and Recognition. Measures of climate most strongly associared with scores on Job Satisfaction were Communication, followed by Goals, Creativity and Innovation, and Decision-making. Resulcs are discussed in terms of their practical and meaningful relevance to organizational effectiveness.

The current paradigm of organizational effectiveness in both the public and private sectors is driven by yality of customer service. Comprehensive models of organizational effectiveness include customers' perceptions of ser- vice, e.g., customer satisfaction, and employees' perceptions of organizational culture and climate, in addition to more traditional personnel, productivity, market, and financial indices. Relationships among these indicators are ana- lyzed to assist organizations in establishing priorities for human resource management and business practices.

Positive relationships have been found among sound management prac- tices, employees' job satisfaction, customers' satisfaction and loyalty, and or- ganizational productivity, profitabhty and growth (Burke, 1995; Hallowell, Schlesu-tger, & Zornitsky, 1996; Heskett, Jones, Loveman, Sasser, & Schlesin- ger. 1994, Schneider & Bowen, 1993). For example, Schneider and Bowen (1993) found that positive experiences of customers are associated with qual- ity work environments for employees and employees' well-being. They con- tended that sound human resource management practices in organizations, e.g., goal-setting, good communication, are crucial to the dehvery of supe- rior customer service. In other studies, Burke (1995) and Heskett, Sasser, and Hart (1990) provided evidence that supports positive U s among em- ployees' satisfaction, customers' satisfaction, and organizational productivity and profitability.

The need for organizations to identdy specific factors associated with employees' job satisfaction then becomes mperative. The present study ex- plores the nature and strength of the relat~onships between perceptions of

'Address en uiries to J. J. Johnson, General Services Administration, Office of Human Re- sources, ~ a z i n ~ r o n , DC 20405.

844 J. J. JOHNSON & C. L. McINTYE

various facets of organizational culture and climate and reported job satisfac- tion for a sample of government employees. Results of the current study provide focus for efforts at organizational intervention and assist in identrfy- ing practices in human resource management that will enhance job satisfac- tion and ultimately result in improved service to customers and positive re- sults for business.

Sample The sample consisted of 8,126 full-time employees within a large gov-

ernment service agency. At the time of the study, over 15,000 full-time em- ployees constituted the workforce, 58% men and 42% women. The agency provides public buildings, supply, and telecommunications services to the federal government. Supervisors at all levels of management, i.e., senior ex- ecutives and division, office, and branch directors, constituted 20% of the sample; the remaining 80% were in diverse nonsupervisory occupations, in- cludmg contract and realty specialists, telecommunications and computer professionals, program and policy analysts, protective service officers, custo- dlans, and support staff. Employees who worked at headquarters in Washing- ton, DC and 11 nationwide regional offices were well represented in the sam- ple, as were those employed in public buildings, supply, telecommunica- tions, human resources, and various administrative and policy areas.

Survey The Qu&ty Culture and Organizational Clunate Survey is administered

annually to all full-time employees in the agency. Its primary purpose is to identlfy strengths, opportunities for improvement, and trends in relation to the specific areas measured. The survey contains 86 culture and b a t e items and 4 demographic items. A 7-point scale anchored by 1 ="strongly dsagree" and 7 ="strongly agree" is tied to the 86 items; a "don't know" response choice is also included for those items.

The Quality Culture part of the survey measures the extent to which employees perceive that quality improvement principles and practices are implemented in the organization for which they work, i.e., division, office, or branch, the extent to which quality management perspectives and meth- ods are integrated into the way business is conducted. This part of the sur- vey consists of 40 items comprising nine sections derived from the criteria of the President's Quality Award and the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. A sample survey item from each of the nine sections is provided in Table 1.

The Organizational C h a t e part of the survey measures various aspects of the work environment purported to support the implementation of qual-

JOB SATISFACTION: CULTURE, CLIMATE

TABLE 1 SAMPLE ITEMS FOR QUALITY CULTURE

Quality Culture Section Sample Item

Top Management Support for Quality Top management shows commitment to quality im- provement goals.

Strategic Planning for Quality Em loyee articipation plays an im orrant role in tklc deveibpment of the agency's gtrategic Plan.

Customer Focus The quality of services provided to customers is formally measured.

Quality Training A strategy for ualiry-related training based on em- ployees' neels exists for my organization.

Recognition Mana ers recognize activities directly related to qua!ity improvement.

Empowerment and Involvement Effective actions have been taken ro increase h e authority of employees to make job-related deci. slons.

Quality Improvement Teamwork Employees participate on quality improvement reams.

Measurement and Analysis Data on internal work processes are used to im- Drove how work is done.

Q u d t y Assurance ~ ; a l i ? assu,rance systems are continuously evalu- ate and improved.

ity management principles and practices. This part of the survey contains 46 items comprising 10 sections that characterize organizational effectiveness. Table 2 provides a sample survey item from each of the 10 sections.

TABLE 2 SMPLE ITEMS FOR ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE

Organizational Climate Sample Item Section

Leadership My manager lets employees know dearly what is expected of them.

Decision Making My ideas and opinions are asked for when important decisions are made.

Communication I am kept fully informed about major Issues 3ffecting my job. Goals Our organization makes use of a formal goal.serting process. Creativiry and Innovation Employees are encouraged to seek new md better work methods. Teamwork A spirit of cooperation and teamwork exists in my work area. Training I have received training chat has helped me to perform my job. Job Satisfaction Overall, I am satisfied with my job. Environment Work space is acceptable (that is, functional, not cramped, etc.). Labor Management Top management is working with the union to improve parcner-

ing.

Procedure

An independent contractor administered the Quality Culture And Or - ganizational Climate Survey to a l l full-time employees. Completion of the

846 J. J. JOHNSON & C. L. McINTYE

survey was voluntary and anonymous. Of the 15,229 surveys distributed, 8,126 were returned for a response rate of 53%.

Mean scores and standard deviations for the agenqwide sample were calculated for each of the 19 sections of the survey. Mean scores for each section can range from 1.0 to 7.0, with higher scores indicating more favor- able perceptions among respondents. Pearson correlations were also comput- ed to estimate the nature and strength of the relationships between scores on the measure of Job Satisfaction (within the Organizational C h a t e part of the survey) and scores on the remaining 18 sections of the survey. The "don't know" responses, blanks, and mismarks were omitted from all calcu- lations; as such, sample sizes in the analyses ranged from 5,529 to 8,055. The frequency of "don't know" responses was highest on the measure of Labor Management and lowest on the measure of Environment. Coefficients alpha of reliability for the survey's 19 sections ranged from .86 to .96, providing very good evidence for the internal consistency reliabhty of the survey.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Table 3 provides a mean score and standard deviation for each of the

nine sections of the Quahty Culture part of the survey, as well as a Pearson correlation of scores on each of the nine sections with scores on Job Satis-

TABLE 3 MU\N SCORES A N D STANDARD DEWATIONS FOR QUALITY

CULTURE AND CORRELATIONS WITH JOB SATISFACTION

Quality Culture Section 1M SD r

Empowerment and Involvement 4.5 Recognition 4.1 Measurement and Analysis 4.4 Qual~ty Assurance 4.3 Top Management Support for Quality 4.5 Quality Training 4.3 Strategic Planning €or Quality 4.7 Customer Focus 4.9 Quality I~nprovernent Teamwork 4.4

*All correlations significantly diHerent from zero ( p < ,001).

faction. Table 4 provides the same information for each of the 10 sections of the Organizational Climate part of the survey.

All correlations in Tables 3 and 4 are positive, significant ( p < .001), and moderate to high. Scores on Job Satisfaction are most strongly related to scores on the Empowerment and Involvement (.65) and Recognition (.63) measures of Quality Culture, and scores on the Communication (.69), Goals (.67), Creativity and Lnnovation (.67), and Decision-makmg (.66) measures of Organizational Climate.

JOB SATISFACTION: CULTURE, CLIMATE

TABLE 4 MUN SCORES AND STANDARD DEVIATIONS FOR ORGAN~L~TIONAL

CLIMATE A N D CORREUTIONS WITH JOB SATISFACTION

Organizational Climate Section M SD r

Communication 4.6 1.8 .69* Creativity and Innovation 4.8 1.9 .67* Goals 4.4 1.9 .67* Decision-making 5.2 1.8 .66* Training 4.9 1.9 .62* Teamwork 5.2 1.8 .58* Labor Management 4.6 1.9 .57* Environment 5.2 1.5 .54* Job Satisfaction 5.2 1.7 1 .OO

*All correlations sigluficandy different from zero ( p < ,001).

Table 5 shows Pearson correlations for scores on Quality Culture items most strongly related to scores on Job Satisfaction and the section in which the items are included. Table 6 provides the same information for the Orga- nizational C h a t e items on the survey.

TABLE 5 ITEMS OF QUALITY CULTURE MOST HIGHLY CORRELATED WITH SCORES ON JOB S A T I S F A ~ I O N

Quality Culture Section Sunlev Item r

Empowermenr and Involvement Effective methods are used co encourage employee involvement in quality improvement. .63 *

Empowerment and Involvement Managers provide an environment that supports emdovee involvement .62*

Empowerment and Involvement Effective actions have been raken co increase the authority of employees ro make job-related de- cisions. .60*

Recogniuon Managers recognize employee contribuuons in a fair and equitable manner. .59*

Recognition Mana ers recognize activities directly related to quJ i ty improvement. .59

"All correlations significantly different from zero ( p < ,001).

Results in Tables 3 through 6 indicate that enlployees who report high- er scores on Job Satisfaction also tend to report that they recelve fair recog- nition for job performance, valuable job-related feedback, a n d assistance with career development. They also tend to report that they are empowered co make job-related decisions, kept informed about issues affecting their jobs, encouraged to express new and creative ideas, and involved in decision-mak- ing and goal-setting.

The present study showed that scores on all 19 aspects of Quality Cul- ture and Organizational C h a t e measured were significantly and positively correlated with scores on the measure of Job Satisfaction. This finding sup-

84 8 J. J. JOHNSON & C. L. McINTYE

ports research that has shown that job satisfaction is a construct comprised of attitudes about several facets of the job experience (Spector, 1997). For example, previous research has shown that organizational variables such as supervisor support, training, teamwork, participative decision-making, cus- tomer focus, rewards and recognition, and goal-alignment are positively and significantly correlated with job satisfaction (e.g., Babin & Boles, 1996; Burke, 1995; Hallowell, et al., 1996; Knoop, 1995). These results were also found in the present study.

TABLE 6 ITEMS OF ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE MOST HIGHLY CORRELATED WITH SCORES ON JOB SATISFACTION

Organizational Clunate Section

Survey Item r

Communication I am iven feedback which helps me to improve my job perlformance. .65"

Creativity and Innovation Employees are encouraged to express new ideas. .64* Leadership My manager provides assistance for my career develop-

ment. .64* Communication I am kepr fully informed about major issues affecting my

job. .63 * Communication The information that I receive through Formal channels

helps me to do my job effectively. .63 * Crearivitv and Innovation Creativitv is activelv encouraged in our work grouo. .63 * "AU correlations significantly dfierenr from zero ( p < ,001)

Several variables have been associated with job satisfaction. Since down- sized organizations work with limited resources, organizational factors hav- ing the most influence on employees' satisfaction and well-being must be giv- - en priority. Organizational interventions can then be designed around these priority areas. Scores on measures of Empowerment and Involvement, Rec- ognition, Communication, Goals, Creativity and Innovation, and Decision- making were most strongly associated with scores on the Job Satisfaction measure in this study. These aspects of culture and climate are therefore pri- orities for improvement. It must also be noted that, since all of the variables in this study were significantly and positively intercorrelated, interventions designed around the areas of priority identified d llkely positively affect the remaining aspects of culture and climate that were measured.

The results of this study have implications for enhancing employees' job satisfaction and improving organizational effectiveness. A review of the con- tent of the various aspects of culture and clunate, as well as the specific survey items that were most strongly associated with the measure of Job Sat- isfaction, indicates that employees should be provided with more autonomy and authority to make job-related decisions, and with more opportunities for participation and involvement in organizational planning, goal-setting, and decision-making.

JOB SATISFACTION: CULTURE., CLIMATE 849

Organizational interventions should be designed as practices to fachtate improved communication throughout the organization. Research has shown that organizational constraints such as poor communication practices and lack of information employees need to perform well contribute to low job satisfaction (Peters & O'Comor, 1980).

In addtion, supervisors and nonsupervisors need to work together to agree on clear, rational, and attainable goals directly related to quality of cus- tomer service and business results. They should be recognized for expressing and implementing creative and innovative ideas and work methods that they believe d improve service to customers and reduce costs. Moreover, em- ployees should be held accountable for and consistently rewarded for achiev- ing performance goals. Research has shown a positive relationship between job performance and job satisfaction; these two variables are more strongly correlated when organizations tie rewards to good job performance (Jacobs & Soloman, 1977).

Over-all, the fiidmgs of the present study support research that has shown characteristics of the job related to autonomy and responsibhty, in- volvement and participation, recognition for contributions, and open communication affect job satisfaction (Hackman & Oldham, 1980; Spector, 1997). Organizational practices that maximize job satisfaction w d Uely en- hance employees' service to customers, and their commitment and &gness to contribute to the organization's business success.

It is important to consider that organizational practices critical to cus- tomer service and job satisfaction llkely vary by organization. Schneider and Bowen (1993) indcated that human resource management practices should be tailored to the particular organization and its markets. Organizational dd- ferences with respect to characteristics such as public versus private sector, demographic composition, type of industry, size of organization, and hierar- chical structure k e l y affect the outcomes of research in employee and customer satisfaction (e.g., Burke, 1996). Studies that control for these char- acteristics may yield empirical results that can be generahzed to similar organizations. Research is needed to assess if and how these characteristics affect the outcomes of research performed in the areas of organizational be- havior and development.

Researchers should also test the vddity and r&abhty of comprehensive models of organizational effectiveness. Causal models testing M t s among job and customer satisfaction, and business outcomes such as profitabhty, market share, and performance and productivity are needed. Results of these studes would assist human resource practitioners, consultants, and organiza- tional change agents in their efforts to improve organizational effectiveness.

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850 J. J. JOHNSON & C. L. McINTYE

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Accepted March 9, 1998.