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Shifting Trajectories in Globalization, Labor, and the Transformation of Work
Shifting Trajectories in Globalization, Labor, and the Transformation of Work By
Jonathan Westover
Shifting Trajectories in Globalization, Labor, and the Transformation of Work By Jonathan Westover This book first published 2018 Cambridge Scholars Publishing Lady Stephenson Library, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2PA, UK British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright © 2018 by Jonathan Westover All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN (10): 1-5275-1403-X ISBN (13): 978-1-5275-1403-4
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CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION TO SHIFTING TRAJECTORIES IN GLOBALIZATION, LABOR, AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF WORK
Imagine yourself in the following common scenario: It is dark outside. The alarm rings and awakens you from your peaceful slumber. Though you long for the extra sleep that your body so desperately needs, you know that it is time to get up and get started with your day. You roll out of bed, get ready, grab a quick bite to eat and are out the door. By 7 or 8 a.m., you are in the office, ready to tackle any challenge the workday has to throw at you. You spend a few minutes chatting with co-workers and checking your business emails, but then you find yourself in the first of many meetings that will occupy your precious time during the day. You emerge from your meetings with some frustrations from your encounters with management, while also feeling the weight of looming deadlines. You return to your cubicle, where you will stay for the remainder of the day, working on a variety of predetermined tasks handed down from those on up the organizational hierarchy. There is too little time and too much to do, and by 7 pm you decide it is time to pack it up and go home. While battling traffic during your evening commute, you continue to make business calls and even sneak a peek at some business emails on your cell phone from time to time. Around 8 p.m., it is dark outside. You finally pull in the driveway; you are home from work—until the next morning, when you will do it all over again.
The above scenario is just one common way one’s workday could play out. Of course everyone’s individual scenario will be different and unique, each with its own particular set of conditions and characteristics. You can find yourself in a management position, or you could even be a lower entrylevel employee. Or you could not have a white collar office job, but rather work in the production or agricultural industries, with a completely different set of workplace conditions and characteristics. Once more, maybe you are a labor worker in a third-world nation, which brings with it an entirely different set of conditions. How will these conditions impact you? What impact do these workplace conditions and job characteristics have on your
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family, your local community, and society as a whole? And most importantly, do you think that your experience in the workplace, whatever it may be, is the same as it was for similar workers even a few decades ago and what will the conditions of your job be in the coming decades? Most able-body individuals spend at least one-half or more of their waking hours in the workplace, in one form or another. Additionally, many researchers have suggested an increasing importance in the role that our work plays in our everyday lives, with the landscape of work in the U.S. and across the world changing dramatically over the past 30+ years in response to economic shifts, technological advances, and an increasingly global economy. As work plays an increasingly significant role in our lives, it is important to understand how these changing global processes impact labor markets, our experiences in the workplace, and the changing nature of the workplace itself. Over the past several decades, literally thousands of studies have examined the relationship between workplace conditions and other important organizational variables and outcomes. Furthermore, research suggests that there are differences in the job quality characteristics and perceived experience of workers cross-nationally (both individual in-depth case studies examining work in a particular country, as well as some empirical studies). The question is, why? What are the global processes and country-level contextual characteristics driving these differences in the nature of work, in response to a more interconnected globalized world? Additionally, how do the work conditions and job quality of those in underdeveloped nations compare to those in the newly developed and fully developed nations within the global economic system? Relatively little research has been done specifically examining crossnational differences in work quality and the nature of the transformation of work over the past few decades, and virtually no prior research has specifically examined globalization processes and country-level contextual effects on differences in workers’ experience in the workplace. This book represents a collection of cross-disciplinary research that provides an important background of knowledge in better understanding how this complicated mess that is “globalization” is indeed changing labor dynamics and transforming our day-to-day experiences in the workplace. This work provides a comprehensive introduction to shifting trajectories in globalization, labor, and the transformation of work and explores the wide sweeping impacts for the modern workplace, presenting a wide range of cross-disciplinary research in an organized, clear, and accessible manner. It will be informative to management academics and instructors, while also instructing organizational managers, leaders, and human resource
Introduction to Shifting Trajectories in Globalization, Labor, and the Transformation of Work
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development professionals of all types seeking effective organizational change leadership to drive firm effectiveness in an increasingly competitive global economy.
Overview of the Format of the Book In today’s shifting global economy and the emergence of the technology and service-oriented knowledge organization, requiring enhanced levels of organizational flexibility and innovation, how do we maximize the human capital potential of workers to enhance their ability to perform and add value in a hyper-intensive competitive global marketplace? What are the methods and strategies for effectively motivating employees and increasing the job satisfaction of workers? What are the important drivers of worker satisfaction? What are the important individual, organizational, and social outcomes of various job satisfaction levels? What are the individual, organizational, and societal differences in job satisfaction levels and its determinants? These are just some of the pressing questions facing the organizations of today. This edited work is a compilation of cutting-edge cross-disciplinary global, labor, and workplace research that examines various aspects of how a shift towards an increaslingly globalized economy has impacted labor markets and led to a fundamental transformation of the nature of work. It is divided into four parts: (1) Workplace Engagement and Motivation, (2 Examining Job Satisfaction, (3) Understanding the Comparativ e International Context, (4) Global Comparative Research, and (5) Teaching and Learning.
P ART ONE WORKPLACE ENGAGEMENT AND MOTIVATION
CHAPTER TWO EXPLORING COMPARATIVE EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT: SIX CASE STUDIES OF HIGH-PERFORMING ORGANIZATIONS
Abstract In an increasingly hypercompetitive and interconnected globalized world and with much of the business world trying to pinpoint reasons for strategic corporate success, the topic of employee engagement is frequently discussed and debated. Employee engagement has repeatedly been shown to directly impact a variety of individual, organizational, and societal outcomes, including employee motivation, satisfaction, and overall performance levels. With the results of a 2013 Gallup Poll on worldwid e workforce engagement showing that only 13% of the world’s workforce is actively engaged in their work and while the idea of employee disengagement is widespread across industries and companies, there are companies that are taking proactive measures to boost employee engagement. This research uses a case vignette methodology and utilizes the Gallup Q12 (survey questions that identify key drivers of worker engagement) as a framework for understanding comparative workplace engagement, examining Google, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Bain & Co., and Boston Consulting Group (six of the companies that are repeatedly listed as the best places to work according to “Forbes,” “Fortune,” “Wall Street Journal,” and “Glassdoor”). This research seeks to find recurring employee engagement trends among these companies (including elements of institutionalized organizational culture, policy, and practice). Conclusions and practical recommendations are provided to help organizational leaders further engage their employees and drive higher levels of individual and organizational performance.
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Exploring Comparative Employee Engagement In a global talent economy, one of the most recurring topics of discussion is employee engagement. All around the world, companies face the ever-complex problem of how to motivate and engage employees in the workplace. In a 2013 Gallup poll, 68.5% of employees reported being either passively or actively disengaged in their current job. While this is the lowest number of disengaged employees since 2000, it is still alarmingly high given the signs of economic recovery after the great recession. It is estimated that disengagement among employees translates to between $450 and $550 billion in lost revenue annually (Gallup 2013). Companies that ignore aspects of employee engagement are potentially losing revenue and facing diminished profit margins because of costs associated with employee turnover, recruiting, and lost productivity from disengaged workers. While media coverage often focuses on the failings of companies, some companies (many of which are market leaders in their respective industries) are changing the way leadership approaches employee engagement. In an effort to objectively measure the engagement level of the global workforce, Gallup developed what is referred to as the Q12 survey, which is designed to measure various aspects of daily work life that translate to employee engagement (covering such topics as workplace relationships, career development, resources, communication, and talent utilization). With the topics of this survey in mind, we examined six highly engaged work environments and created six case study vignettes on those companies (each consistently rank among the leading “Best Places to Work”) to identify recurring trends related to topics covered in the Q12 survey. We examin ed Twitter, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Bain & Co., and Boston Consulting Group and extrapolated themes and practical application of how employee engagement can be enhanced in a variety of business settings. The takeaways from the six case vignettes, along with the followin g literature overview, demonstrate that companies that address the various aspects of the Gallup Q12 survey tend to perform better, not just in the competition for top talent in the workforce, but financially as well.
Historical Evolution of the Employee Engagement Concept Researchers have been unable to come to a consensus definition of employee engagement. The term was coined by Kahn (1990, 692): “employee engagement: the harnessing of an organization’s members ’ selves to their work roles. In engagement, people employ and express
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themselves physically, cognitively, and emotionally during role performances.” As awareness and understanding of the importance of employee engagement has grown, more and more companies have started to actively monitor their employee engagement levels. In a 2013 Harvard Business Review study, it was found that a highly engaged workforce not only increases productivity and efficiency, but significantly reduces costs from things like employee turnover. Furthermore, there is a significant difference in performance between employees who are engaged and unengaged. Bhuvanaiah and Raya (2014, 61) define employee engagement as “energy utilized in accomplishing purpose.” When an employee becomes engaged, (s)he gains intrinsic motivation, which helps an employee to feel energized to perform tasks. The authors (2014, 61) also state, “…the most frequent dimension used for defining employee engagement is emotional, psychological investment of employee and the right kind of role provided to him or her.” David MacLeod (n.d.) argues that engagement can be defined through three distinct parts: attitude, behavior, and outcome; the attitude of feeling pride and loyalty towards one’s job and employer, the behavior of going above and beyond on a particular task, and outcomes that result in an increase in productivity and innovation and a decrease in conflicts, accidents, sick leaves, and turnover rates. Furthermore, companies with engaged employees produce an environment with trust and respect. Finally, an employee’s emotional commitment is vital, leading to the employee sincerely caring about the company and the work they do. It is also important to understand how to improve employee engagement. Companies have developed many techniques, of which the following are only a few. One recent study demonstrated the importance of communication, mainly face-to-face, as one of the largest driving forces for increasing employee engagement. Face-to-face communication is especially important because it has the greatest potential for resolving ambiguity and uncertainty (Mishra et al. 2014). The authors explain, “The front-line supervisor was a key to employees’ organizational engagement. When employees perceive greater support from their supervisors, the employees respond” (Mishra et al. 2014). Furthermore, when the front-lin e supervisor has consistent face-to-face communication with employees, it helps employees believe they are contributing to the company’s goal because they feel they have a voice and are being heard. Another technique is giving an employee the ability to express “ideas, feelings, and opinions” in order to produce a direct influence on employee engagement (Yoerger et al. 2015). Moreover, Yoerger et al. (2015, 6) also
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argue that “employees who contribute their thoughts and ideas in meetings with organizational leaders will also have a desire to engage in their work more fully (i.e., employee engagement).” While it may not be surprising to some, the statistics regarding workplace satisfaction and engagement have become a great area of concern for both employees and management. The high level of disengaged employees is starting to have a profound impact not only on profits but also on the well-being of those employees who feel disengaged and unhappy in their current jobs. Companies facing low levels of engagement and satisfaction are struggling to attract talent as well as losing out on profits because of the lack of employee productivity in the workplace. With all the distressing signals, companies are desperate for answers on how to fix the problem. Shriar (2014) has some suggestions about how to fix the employee engagement problem. Shriar says that employees appreciate employers who allow them to take on projects that suit their interest and utilize their talents. He also suggests having a customer-oriented culture within the office, which helps in aligning the vision of all the departments of a company and unifying them under a single goal, to meet the needs of the customer. This also helps employees see how their role contributes to the bottom line. Additionally, he suggests that organizational leaders promote crossfunctional relationships within the company, thus helping to foster collaboration among different functions and departments. It is also important that employees be encouraged to connect with others in their field, such as human resources or finance, to help them broaden their knowledge and skill base, which can translate into added value for the company. Finally, he emphasizes the importance of getting leadership to not only recognize the engagement problem, but to act on it. As companies invest in their culture and employees, they will start to see the dividends in increased productivity and profits (Shriar 2014).
A Look into the Top Companies: Six Case Vignettes We analyzed six companies (Google, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Bain & Co., and Boston Consulting Group) that are continually rated as best places to work by top business publications, including Glassdoor, Forbes, Fortune, and The Wall Street Journal, and appear on multiple 2014 “Top 10 Places to Work” lists. We wrote a short case vignette for each company, comparing its culture, policies, and practices to the research we found to the Gallup Q12 items. Additionally, the appendix contains case questions for each vignette, for use in a school or corporate training setting.
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Case Vignette 1: Facebook Facebook is a social media site that allows users, i.e., customers, to connect with friends and keep up with various aspects of social life via social networking (Reuters 2014). Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg and four of his Harvard classmates in early 2004. In the first decade of its existence it has become one of the most iconic tech companies in Silicon Valley and averages over 400 million visitors a month (Carlson 2010). When it comes to employee engagement, Facebook has put practices into place that model some of the aspects that are covered in the Gallup Q12 questions. Like many tech companies, the culture at Facebook is aimed at promoting creativity and developing new ideas to create new products and improve existing products. In this aspect, Facebook takes great care to recruit people who are passionate about the work they do and does its best to match employees’ passions with their job descriptions. In Facebook boot camp, which individuals in all engineering positions go through, the employees decide which team they would like to be on, thus giving them the autonomy to choose the job they are most passionate about and thus most likely to devote their discretionary effort to. Much autonomy is given to engineers and developers in the way in which they carry out their work (Bort 2014; Keating 2012). The company career page states “We don’t have rules, we have values” (Facebook 2015). Facebook requires all engineers, no matter what level they are entering at, to go through Facebook boot camp, which is a sort of cultural baptism into Facebook (Swift 2012). This practice can help in regards to one of the Q12 questions regarding employees’ knowledge of what is expected of them at work. New engineers are educated on every aspect of Facebook culture and code, which helps in aligning vision and purpose within an ever-expanding engineering team (Facebook 2015; Keating 2012). Each engineer leaves Facebook boot camp knowing what is expected of them regarding the type of code that is written and the quality of product they are trying to deliver. There are many amenities on the Facebook campus, such as a free cafeteria and snacks. Facebook also offers a generous benefits package that covers a wide variety of needs employees may have outside of the workplace. Facebook recently announced that it includes egg freezing as part of its benefits package to aid female employees who wish to have children in the future but do not want to put their careers on hold to do so (Werntz 2014). Employee medical, dental, and vision premiums are covered at 100% and those for dependents of employees at around 80%. Facebook also offers a variety of other benefits such as gym membership and a laundry
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stipend. Whatever the company can do to help employees with those concerns outside of work so that the employee can be focused at work, Facebook will do its best to see that it is done. As mentioned before, there are different engineering teams that work together at Facebook to create products that connect the world. Teams are small, which lends to a more collaborative environment. Facebook takes measures to ensure it stays away from a hierarchal nature that typically exists in the workforce. Opinions and suggestions at every level are taken into consideration, which helps in making sure each employee feels heard and valued within the organization (Keating 2012). As explained in the previous examples, much of Facebook’s culture is based around ensuring each of the Q12 questions are answered with a positive response from its employees. Although many may argue that these perks are burdensome to companies, Facebook might beg to differ, with a 63% year-over-year revenue gain in 2013 (Ratner 2014).
Case Vignette 2: Google Google was founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Over the short period since its founding, it has rapidly grown to be a Fortune 500 company and has been consistently rated as a top five company to work for. Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. It thrives on employee satisfaction and engagement. Google does many things that stimulate engagement and performance in its employees, many of which relate to the Q12 questions. Google Cares for Employee Well-being The countless benefits and perks provided to its employees shows that Google wants the employees to be healthy and happy. Google provides all meals and snacks along with activities and nap pods to its employees (ChatterJee 2012). Google also encourages active movements from every person through ergonomically comfortable desks that cycle up and down, allowing employees to stand every once in a while (ChatterJee 2013). A sample of the other standard perks and benefits can be found in the list below. The idea is that the less an employee has to worry about their home and personal life, the more he or she can focus on work. • • •
Valet parking Dental facilities Free washer and dryers
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Free food Nap pods $500 take-out meal fund for new parents 18–22 weeks of paid leave for new parents 5 years and up to $150,000 reimbursements for higher education Unlimited sick leave Community service opportunities
“You are Noticed” Culture Google also values employee input. Every Friday, Google holds a meeting with drinks and food at which employees can make suggestions to the management and executive groups (Crowley 2013). These employees also receive hefty bonuses as recognition for great performance. Sometimes they get up to 10% bonuses for their performance (Blodget 2010). Google also provides many activities for employees not only to relieve stress but also to build relationships among coworkers. These relationships help employees feel like they belong in such a large company. Personal Learning and Growth Being one of the top companies in the world enables Google to hire the best of the best. This in turn creates an environment that demands quality and performance, thus creating an environment where employees push themselves to grow and develop in order to progress in the company. Being a Part of Something Bigger Employees are given a chance to learn, grow, and feel like what they are doing is important through the projects they work on. For example, each employee has the opportunity to work on “interesting projects that are changing the world,” giving them a purpose to fuel all their hard work (glassdoor.com n.d.). They are also allowed to use 20% of their paid time to work on any project they would like, even a personal project (Loosvelt 2013). This allows them to use/develop their imagination and creativity, which is very important for Google employees. All of these elements give Google employees the tools to succeed. Good health, strong voice, and a meaningful purpose are all important tools that any human needs to make a difference and do their job in a company that makes a difference in the world.
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Case Vignette 3: Twitter Twitter’s mission is to give everyone the power to create and share ideas and information instantly, without barriers. Twitter is microblogging , sending out daily short-burst messages. It’s about discovering interesting people around the world (Gil 2012). Twitter’s foundation for success starts with its management and leadership teams of the company. CEO Dick Costolo personally runs management training sessions at least once a quarter. He believes in moving away from computers and slides to instruct; rather, he uses stories, personal leadership ideas, and role-playing to instruct and lead the managers to success (Kruse 2012). This allows every employee to know exactly what is expected of them and to learn and grow directly from a trickle-down effect started by Costolo. Costolo believes in and stresses in his management training sessions, “the importance of defining what success looks like in each role, setting the direction, and just as critically, giving feedback in an open, authentic and fearless way” (Kruse 2012). Unfiltered, direct feedback helps employees grow and further apply themselves. Twice a year, there is an official performance review process, and quarterly learning labs are taught to help employees learn to both give and receive feedback. Employees also participate in another twice-a-year survey of approximately fifteen questions. In this survey, employees answer open-ended questions that allow input for direction and improvement of the company. For continuing development of its employees, Twitter developed five core skills towards which all employees work: communication , development, direction, change, and collaboration (Kruse 2012). Having defined skills to work towards allows Twitter employees to know what is most important to the progress and development of the company. The mindset of Twitter as a whole is “your work will be immediat ely felt by millions of people around the globe” (Glassdoor 2014). This mindset helps employees to stay motivated and to feel as though they are making an immediate difference in doing what they do best—their job. Twitter reports the employees as saying “the most important benefit we [Twitter] offer is the work itself—the chance to solve interesting problems while having a positive impact on the world” (Glassdoor 2014). Twitter was started only eight years ago and has had tremendous growth. Twitter hires employees with the brightest minds, and 50% of the company is comprised of engineers to further their global connecting mindset (Twitter 2014). Employees have been known to talk about all the “smart people” they work with and have been known to say “I joined Twitter, and I joined a family” (Glassdoor 2014). The company places people into work groups
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that allow the brightest minds to collaborate on something they are passionate about, while at the same time developing close, lasting friendships. Twitter’s overarching goal is to create and share ideas instantly on a global scale. The company has created a successful culture to accomplish that goal. They have the right people and the right tools needed to accomplish this goal.
Case Vignette 4: Boston Consulting Group Boston Consulting Group (BCG)’s mission is to seek to be agents of change—for their clients, their people, and society broadly. BCG is a private consulting firm for branding and marketing, corporate finance, globalization, business strategy, leadership development, and informatio n technology (Glassdoor 2014). BCG’s foundation for success starts with its employees. CEO Rich Lesser said, “Attracting top talent and maintaining an environment in which employees can rapidly develop have been key to our success and our ability to deliver enormous value to clients” (Yahoo! Finance 2012). BCG does this by offering great benefits and training to its employees. BCG pays 100% of employees’ health-care premiums, offers fully paid sabbaticals, and is hailed for having “gay-friendly benefits” and a “gay-friendly policy.” BCG is also one of the top employers for annual pay for salaried employees (Yahoo! Finance 2012). BCG is known for having a high workload, high success, and high impact. A lot is demanded of the employees. To help accommodate this demand, one employee said, “Training and growth opportunities [are] available to even the youngest employee—impossible to surpass this experience for a first job, and I feel like it will pay dividends for the rest of my career” (vault.com 2014). Because the employees are the center of its success, BCG emphasizes work–life balance. If an employee seems to be overworked because of workload or just working too much by choice, the company issues “red-zone” reports to flag employees who have put in too many hours on projects. BCG keeps a close eye on employee engagement to ensure workers don’t burn out (Breslin 2013). One of the greatest successes of BCG’s employees comes from their dedication to leadership training. Barber (2012) talks about the leadership development: BCG believes there is always room for improvement and provides employees every tool imaginable to see their potential realized. Employees have access to workshops, online training tools, mentoring and
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This allows employees to always be developing their skills while having people check on their progress often. Employees have a sense of ownership in the company. BCG strives to have a sharp focus and a positive culture. One employee (Glassdoor 2014) said: There’s just a true sense of partnership that permeates the whole place. It’s about the team, and ‘we succeed together.’ It just feels like a very supportive place to work. It’s not perfect, but I think everybody understands that if something is not going well, they can raise their hands.
The goals and company culture at BCG drive this company to success. The company is always open for suggestions of improvement. The company has a “feedback-heavy culture” (vault.com 2014) to keep everyone as positive and productive as possible. Working at BCG prepares employees and provides them opportunities for growth in the world.
Case Vignette 5: LinkedIn LinkedIn is a social networking company that provides employmen t networking opportunities for those involved. It was founded by Reid Hoffman in 2002 and has since grown to be a networking powerhouse. On top of this, LinkedIn is also considered one of the best companies to work for according to the Forbes rankings. Because of this, we have decided to look further into what this company does to get the employees involved and excited about work. Benefits LinkedIn has found a balance between “‘big company’ benefits and ‘small company’ mobility” (Glassdoor n.d.). They do this by providing all of the larger company benefits like full-insurance coverage, retirement plans (401K), and stock purchase, while at the same time allowing employees the freedom of mobility and flexible schedule. They also provide benefits such as free food, nice offices, traveling opportunities, and many other perks (Glassdoor n.d.).
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Leadership Style The leadership style pushes the value of putting the customer and employees first. In fact, in their very culture they stress the importance of transforming three things: yourself, your company, and your communit y (Glassdoor n.d.). LinkedIn management style strives to bring out the best in its customers and employees. LinkedIn tries to match a person’s strengths with an activity that fits them and aims to match its leadership style with its business strategy. What LinkedIn does inside the business is the same thing it does for the community. Opportunity There is always a chance to learn in this company. It has a culture of continuous learning. In fact, one employee even said he was “a little intimidated at first, how much learning was constantly taking place” (Glassdoor n.d.). However, this quickly subsided to a feeling of growth and satisfaction, which many employees reportedly love about LinkedIn. Sense of Fulfillment Employees at LinkedIn see the impact that they have on society through numbers and reviews. They are motivated in “executing on a bold vision like creating economic opportunity for 3.3 billion people around the world” (Meister n.d.). In fact, “40% of LinkedIn users make over 100 grand a year” (Baer 2012). Providing users with an opportunity to provide for themselves and others is a great service to the community. Because of this, employees can sleep easy knowing that their company and job is making the world a better place. However, LinkedIn isn’t satisfied with just that. LinkedIn also does a great job in giving its employees opportunities to make a difference in the community. For example, “One Friday each month, LinkedIn’s employees participate ‘InDay.’ InDay’s purpose is to give back to the community through employee volunteerism and resources” (Forman-Ort iz 2013). Each of these Fridays allows the different departments a chance to meet and interact with each other for a common cause. On top of this, LinkedIn provides employees Transformation Grants (LinkedIn n.d.), which fund community service activities that they decide to do. A sense of fulfillment, opportunities, management style, and benefits are all important tools LinkedIn uses to build a successful and well-cultured company.
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Case Vignette 6: Bain & Co. Bain & Co. is a management-consulting firm headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Consultants at Bain work with clients in a variety of different aspects of business such as operations, technology, and organization. Founded by former employees of the Boston Consulting Group, their list of clients has grown to include a majority of Global 500 members (Bain & Company n.d.). In a 2012 glassdoor.com survey, Bain & Co. was ranked as the best place to work in the U.S., beating out 65,000 other companies considered for the award. Among the possible reasons for the high satisfaction rating is the amount of time and resources Bain & Co. dedicated to their recruiting and talent selection. The interview process at Bain is known to be among the most intense in the business world (Ahmed 2013). With such great efforts put into the selection process, it could be suggested that Bain & Co. has a better understanding of the current talent pool and is better able to select those who will fit within the high-paced culture of Bain & Co. As one observes the workforce of Bain & Co., it is evident that a high level of engagement exists among their employees. Many employees comment on how they enjoy the fast-paced and challenging work (Ahmed 2013). This certainly is a positive sign of employee engagement, especially among those that thrive off challenging work and utilizing their skill set to produce their best work. Given the vast amount of experience employees of Bain & Co. gain across numerous industries, employees are also able to develop vast skill sets and gain industry knowledge that few are privy to (Bain n.d.). Another aspect of employee engagement for which Bain & Co. is known for is the focus on employee success. Bain & Co. emphasizes collaborative teamwork among its employees, which no doubt helps to foster a culture of kinship and support. Many Bain employees have commented on how supportive the environment is in which they work, referring to their coworkers as “Bainees” (Bain n.d). As strong culture of camaraderie prevails, there is a positive correlation in satisfaction of workplace relationships. Bain & Co. invests heavily in employee training and development, and many employees attribute their success to the training they receive. One could assume that this type of culture helps employees feel that Bain & Co. is invested in employee development and values employee growth on a personal and professional level. In regards to benefits provided to employees, Bain & Co. had a rating of 4.7 out of 5 on glassdoor.com. Some of the perks outside of the traditional insurance coverage included generous contributions to employee retirement funds as well as maternity/ paternity leave and adoption assistance. They
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also offer three weeks of vacation during the calendar year as well as tuition assistance (Glassdoor 2015). Overall, the benefits package offered by Bain & Co. is regarded as very generous. In conclusion, Bain & Co. seems to have created a culture of consistency and has invested heavily in creating a culture of values that drive quality performance. This culture and environment of challenging, fast-paced work attracts some of the brightest from around the world looking for that unique environment. Bain & Co. remains a staple among Fortune 500 companies and continues to make a global impact in helping businesses drive growth. It is their commitment to employee development and teamwork that makes their success possible.
Conclusions and Recommendations Following our analysis of six top places to work, we found repeated engagement themes present in the each organization’s structure, culture, policies, and practices, including: Each company has a focused belief that what they are doing makes a difference in the world and that they make a real difference every day. This flows into the employees’ work, which helps employees feel like they are doing something important and that they are valued. Each company has put things into place so that while employees are at work, they can focus on work. Some examples of these elements include free food, valet parking, dry cleaning, nap pods, health centers, and massage therapists. Each company always has its focus on the employees. They focus on employee growth and direct, unfiltered feedback. This allows the employees to know what they need to work on to improve. These companies have a strong focus on communication and knowing each employee, which allows managers to know where and how to help employees. An example of this comes from Twitter CEO, Dick Costolo, who personally ran quarterly training meetings with all managers. This flattens the corporate ladder. Each company provides a way for individual employees to provide feedback and ideas on the direction of the company. This increases employee buy-in and dedication. Doing this also helps employees to feel like they have a direct say in what the company does and allows them to feel heard. Each of the companies examined in this paper has been able to create an environment where employees are able to grow personally and contribute to the growth of their organizations. With these takeaways, we recommen d four simple steps to increase employee engagement in any company:
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1. Have a mission statement focused on the positive difference the organization is making in the world. Help the employees feel the connection between their personal job and the mission of the company. 2. Put things in place so that while at work the employees can focus on work and not be stressed about outside personal matters. 3. Always keep the main focus on the growth of the employees through direct face-to-face feedback. 4. Come up with a way for employees to provide feedback and suggestions on the direction of the company.
References Ahmed, Maria. 2013. “Inside View: Bain and Company.” Business Because. Accessed December 2, 2014. www.businessbecause.com/news/inside-view-top-jobs/1866/insideview-bain-jobs-russ-hagey. Baer, Drake. 2014. “40% Of LinkedIn Users Earn More Than $100,000 A Year.” Business Insider. Accessed January 6, 2015. www.businessinsider.com/linkedin-user-wealth-2014-12. Bain and Company. n.d. “About Bain.” Bain and Company. Accessed January 15, 2015. www.bain.com/about/index.aspx. Barber, Tiffany. 2012. “Best Practices from Best Companies, Part 2 of 3: Leadership Development.” Best Practices from Best Companies, Part 2 of 3: Leadership Development. Accessed December 9, 2014. www.greatplacetowork.com/publications-and-events/blogs-andnews/763-best-practices-from-the-2012-best-companies-part-2-of-3leadership-development. Bhuvanaiah, Tejaswi, and R. P. Raya. 2014. “Employee Engagement: Key to Organizational Success.” SCMS Journal of Indian Management 11 (4): 61—71. EBSCOhost. Blodget, Henry. 2010. “Google Gives All Employees Surprise $1,000 Cash Bonus and 10% Raise.” Business Insider. Accessed October 28, 2014. www.businessinsider.com/google-bonus-and-raise-2010-11. Bort, Julie. 2014. “The 25 Most Enjoyable Companies to Work For.” Business Insider. Accessed December 5, 2014. www.businessinsider.com/25-best-corporate-cultures-2014-8?op=1. Breslin, Meg McSherry. 2013. “Part of Boston Consulting Group’s Success Comes from Looking Out for Its Workers.” Workforce Magazine. Accessed December 9, 2014.
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www.workforce.com/art icles/part-of-boston-consulting-group-ssuccess-comes-from-looking-out-for-its-workers. Carlson, Nicholas. 2010. “At Last—The Full Story Of How Facebook Was Founded.” Business Insider. Accessed October 28, 2014. www.businessinsider.com/how-facebook-was-founded-2010-3?op=1. ChatterJee, Surojit. 2012. “Top 5 Reasons Why Google Is the Best Company to Work For.” International Business Times. Accessed October 28, 2014. www.ibtimes.com/top-5-reasons-why-google-best company-work-553844. Crowley, Mark. 2013 “Not A Happy Accident: How Google Deliberately Designs Workplace Satisfaction.” Fast Company. Accessed October 21, 2014. www.fastcompany.com/3007268/where-are-they-now/n o t happy-accident-how-google-deliberately-designs-workplacesatisfaction. “Facebook Careers.” n.d. Facebook. Accessed January 8, 2015. www.facebook.com/careers. Forman-Ortiz, Lexie. 2013. “Top 10 Socially Responsible Companies | SmartRecruiters Blog.” SmartRecruiters Blog. Accessed January 6, 2015. www.smartrecruiters.com/blog/top-10-corporate-social-responsibilityinitiatives. Gallup Organization. 2013. “State of Global Workforce.” Accessed September 15, 2014. www.gallup.com/services/178517/state-global-workplace.aspx. Gil, Paul. 2012. “What’s Twitter and What Does Tweeting Mean?” Net for Beginners. Accessed October 28, 2014. http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/internet101/f/What-Exactly-IsTwitter.htm. Glassdoor. n.d. “Bain and Company Employee Benefits and Perks.” Glassdoor. Accessed January 15, 2015. www.glassdoor.com/Benefits/Bain-and-Company-US-BenefitsEI_IE3752.0,16_IL.17,19_ IN1.htm. —. n.d. “Google Reviews.” Retrieved October 20, 2014. www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Google-Reviews-E9079.ht m. —. n.d. “LinkedIn Reviews.” Retrieved October 28, 2014. www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/LinkedIn-Rev iews-E34865.htm. —. n.d. “Twitter Reviews.” Retrieved October 28, 2014. www.glassdoor.com/Overview/Working-at-Twitter-EI_IE100569.11, 18.htm.
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—. 2014. “Working at Boston Consulting Group.” Accessed December 9, 2014. www.glassdoor.com/Overview/Working-at-Boston-Consultin g Group-EI_IE3879.11,34.htm. Harvard Business Review Analytic Services. 2013. “The Impact of Employee Engagement on Performance.” Harvard Business Review. Accessed March 1, 2015. https://hbr.org/resources/pdfs/comm/achievers/hbr_achievers_report_s ep13.pdf. Kahn, William A. 1990. “Psychological Conditions of Personal Engagement and Disengagement at Work.” Academy Of Management Journal 33 (4): 692—724. EBSCOhost Keating, Caitlin. 2012. “Inside Facebook.” Fortune Inside Facebook Comments. Accessed January 8, 2015. http://fortune.com/2012/05/16/inside-facebook-2. Kruse, Kevin. 2012. “4 Ways Twitter Keeps Its Workforce Inspired and Engaged.” Forbes. Accessed October 28, 2014. www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2012/10/23/twitter-emp loyeeengagement. LinkedIn. n.d. Careers and Employment. Retrieved January 6, 2015. www.linkedin.com/co mpany/linked in/careers. Loosvelt, Derek. 2013. “Why Google’s a Great Place to Work and You r Company Isn’t.” Vault.com. Accessed October 28, 2014. www.vault.com/blog/salary-and-benefits/why-googles-a-great-placeto-work-and-your-company-isnt. McLeod, David. n.d. “What Is Employee Engagement - Engage for Success.” Engage for Success. Accessed October 14, 2014. www.engageforsuccess.org/about/what-is-employee-engagement. Meister, Jeanne. n.d. “10 Leadership Lessons From Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn.” Forbes. Accessed January 6, 2015. www.forbes.com/sites/jeannemeister/2012/09/10/10-leadershiplessons-from-jeff-weiner-ceo-of-linked in. Mishra, Karen, Lois Boynton, and Aneil Mishra. 2014. “Driving Employee Engagement: The Expanded Role of Internal Communications.” Journal of Business Communication 51 (2): 183—202. EBSCOhost. Reuters. n.d. “Profile: Facebook Inc (FB.O).” Company Profile for Facebook Inc. Accessed October 28, 2014. http://in.reuters.com/finance/stocks/companyProfile?symbol=FB.O. Ratner, Jonathan. 2014. “Facebook Inc Stock Is Soaring: Here’s Why.” . Financial Post. Accessed January 10, 2015. http:/business.financialpost.com/fp-tech-desk/facebook-inc-sharesthursday-2014.
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Shriar, J. 2014. “13 Scary Statistics on Employee Engagement.” Switch and Shift. Accessed January 15, 2015. http://switchandshift.com/13-scarystatistics-on-employee-engagement. Swift, Mike. 2012. “A Look inside Facebook’s ‘Bootcamp’ for New Employees.” The Star. Accessed January 8, 2015. www.thestar.com/business/2012/04/18/a_look_inside_facebooks_boot camp_for_new_employees.html. Twitter. 2014. “About Twitter, Inc. | About.” Twitter. Retrieved October 29, 2014. https://about.twitter.com/company. Vault. n.d. The Boston Consulting Group. Retrieved November 1, 2014. http://vault.com. Werntz, Kathryn. 2014. “Business Benefits: From Facebook’s Egg Freezin g to Virgin Unlimited Holidays.” The Guardian. Accessed January 8, 2015. www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2014/oct/21/facebookapple-egg-freezing-virgin-unlimited-holidays-business-benefits. Yahoo! Finance. 2012. “The Boston Consulting Group Ranks No. 2 Among Fortune’s Best Companies to Work For... Again.” Yahoo Finance. Accessed December 9, 2014. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/boston-consulting-group-ranks-no170800395.ht ml. Yoerger, Michael, John Crowe, and Joseph A. Allen. 2015. “Participate or Else!: The Effect of Participation in Decision-making in Meetings on Employee Engagement.” Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research 67 (1): 65—80. EBSCOhost.
Appendix: Questions for Case Vignettes Facebook Case Questions: 1. Is the culture at Facebook only conducive to one particular type of employee or worker? If so, what type of employee would prefer the culture promoted at Facebook? 2. Facebook tries to instill a culture of values rather than rules. Can this philosophy apply to other industries other than the technology sector? 3. What role do workplace amenities such as free meals and game rooms play in employee engagement? Do they help workplace satisfaction? Why or why not?
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Google Case Questions: 1. How does Google show its employees it cares? 2. What is something you can think of that Google can do to get the employees engaged that has not been mentioned in this article? 3. Which of these areas listed do you think is most helpful in getting the employees engaged? Twitter Case Questions: 1. Twitter has grown at a rapid rate since starting in 2006. What are some of the things the company has done to facilitate and feed this growth? 2. What does it do for a company when the CEO has direct contact and training with frontline managers? 3. Why is it important to feel that your work makes a difference? 4. How does “unfiltered, direct feedback” help companies and employees grow? What are some ways to give good, useful feedback? Boston Consulting Group Case Questions: 1. Why is it so important for BCG to attract top talent? What strategies do they employ to attract that top talent? 2. What are some other ideas BCG could use to alleviate some of the high pressure stress on their employees, while still maintaining their high output performance? 3. With the younger generations coming to be the new leaders at BCG, will the company have to change its culture to fit the new style of the upcoming generations? Why or why not? LinkedIn Case Questions: 1. Why do you think LinkedIn gives the benefits they do rather than just a high salary? 2. What area could LinkedIn focus on to increase employee engagement and satisfaction? Within this area, give a few suggestions on how they could improve. 3. Have you noticed any of these traits in companies you (or someone close to you) have worked for? If so, how did you feel that affected you and your satisfaction/motivation?
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Bain & Co. Case Questions: 1. How does a company like Bain & Co. maintain consistency in its culture while being a global company? 2. What role does talent selection play in the employee engagement? Is it the most important aspect of their high engagement? 3. What challenges may face Bain & Co. as the new generation of millennials enters the workforce? Contributors to this chapter include: Dr. Jonathan H. Westover, Aaron Barrus, Sean Costello, and Garret Beaman. Originally published: Westover, Jonathan H., Aaron Barrus, Sean Costello, and Garret Beaman. 2016. "Exploring Comparative Employee Engagement: Six Case Studies of High-performing Organizations." M anagement Education: An International Journal 16 (1): 1-12. doi:10.18848/2327-8005/CGP/v16i01/1-12.
CHAPTER THREE MOTIVATION AND INFLUENCE WITHIN A RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION: A LOOK AT THE LDS CHURCH
Abstract Social psychologists, sociologists, and organizational behaviorists have studied the science of understanding how people motivate and influence each other’s attitudes and behaviors for decades. This large multidisciplinary body of research has produced a number of models, heuristics, and theories and has had a powerful influence on many industries. For example, marketing, public relations, politics, counseling, therapy, sales, management, and leadership, all draw heavily upon principles of motivation and influence. This presentation will explore the relationships between attitude and behavior in a religious context by first providing a brief overview of the affecting (attitude) domain in Bloom's taxonomy of learning (Bloom et al. 1964), cognitive dissonance theory (Festinger 1956), and aspects of reciprocity, authority, consistency, friendship/liking, and social validation (Kelman 1958; Deutsch and Gerard 1955). We will then apply these models, heuristics, and theories to specific examples of secular organizations in industry (such as Nike), followed by a brief discussion of the ethical considerations of utilizing such approaches of motivation and influence within various organizational settings. Finally, we will provide application to a religious context, exploring how principles of motivation and influence have been applied, whether intentionally or not, within the contexts of religion (specifically the LDS Church). We will explore the mechanisms that can be/have been institutionalized that take advantage of the models, heuristics, and theories of motivation and influence. Brief conclusions and suggestions for future research will also be discussed.
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Introduction Secular institutions and academics have been analyzing and developing methods for influencing people for decades—both for the purposes of helping others, in the case of counseling and therapy, and for financial and practical gain in areas like marketing, negotiation, and law. Influence has also been part of religion for thousands of years as leaders endeavor to influence followers to align their beliefs, attitudes, and behavior with doctrine and moral codes. While the principles of influence identified by social scientists are relatively young in comparison to religious practices, corollaries between them can be made. This paper describes a few principles from the academic literature on influence and identifies examples of their application in both secular situations and within the LDS Church 1 . Principles discussed include teaching attitudes, cognitive dissonance, and strengthening attitudes.
Influence, Religion, and Ethics Any discussion on influence must begin with a consideration of the ethics involved. Influence is a delicate enterprise, particularly when it involves one party receiving gain, as in the case of marketing, negotiation, and sales. Even more care needs to be taken when the other party may be potentially harmed via the influence. All forms of influence can be seen as a manipulation of the will of others. The challenge any manager or leader faces is where to draw the line. When is influence appropriate? While an extended discussion of the ethics of influence is beyond the scope of this paper, it is our view that both the process and the results matter. In general terms, for influence to be ethical and moral, the process of influence must be respectful and appropriate and the influence must benefit those involved. While the use of influence principles predates social science by thousands of years, one could look upon its use within a religious context with suspicion. Some may even cast the use of influence to manipulate the behavior and attitudes of others for the purposes of religion as sinister. After all, many of these methods take advantage of inherent mental processes found in all of us. Influential practices may have a powerful impact on a person unless one makes a conscious effort to resist. The opportunity for
1
As a point of disclosure, each author is an active and participating member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the LDS Church). The LDS Church was chosen as the religious institution for application due to the author’s lifetime experience within this particular faith community.
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abuse is obvious. Take for example, this perspective as emphasized in the following passage from LDS scripture: That the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness. That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man…. We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion…. No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile— Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy; –– Doctrine and Covenants 121: 35-37, 39, 4143.
It is our perspective that inborn heuristics associated with influence are a reality of the human condition. Thus, accepting that God created humans, we must assume that He also created the modality and methods by which we can be influenced. In fact, our ability to be influenced by multip le sources is a central tenant of LDS doctrine. Consider these passages: For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father. –– M osiah 3:19, Book of M ormon Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great M ediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself. –– 2 Nephi 2:27, Book of M ormon
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Chapter Three And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. –– Josh. 24:15, Old Testament, King James Bible Therefore, cheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are free to act for yourselves—to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, reconcile yourselves to the will of God, and not to the will of the devil and the flesh; –– 2 Nephi 10:23-24, Book of M ormon And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them; And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; –– Abraham 3:25-26, Pearl of Great Price … nevertheless there was a space granted unto man in which he might repent; therefore this life became a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God; –– Alma 12:24, Book of M ormon
These passages emphasize the importance of being persuaded by both good and evil in this life. In fact, the ability to choose between influences is fundamental to the purpose of life in LDS doctrine. So, from a LDS perspective, the question is not so much whether or not it is appropriate to influence others, but whether or not it is done morally and ethically.
Teaching an Attitude Attitudes are an evaluation of something in our environment. We either like or dislike someone, something, some place, some event, or some idea. The connection between attitudes and behavior can be complex. It is fair to say that all conscious behavior is preceded by a thought--some sort of mental activity. However, the relationship is not one-to-one. Not all thoughts lead to behavior and behavior is not directly tied to all thoughts one holds. As a result, several mediators for the relationship between attitudes and behaviors have been identified. Attitudes that are expressed quickly and confidently predict behavior better than those that are not (Glasman and Albarracín 2006) as does a strong intention to perform the behavior. In addition, the connection between an attitude and behavior are stronger when the social, affective, and/or cognitive environment for the attitude and behavior are the same; when the attitude is specific; and when the individual is low self-monitoring (Ajzen 1991).
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Principle. Can an attitude be taught? In 1949, Benjamin S. Bloo m explored this question by describing the stages involved in internalizin g values and attitudes. They are receiving, valuing, organizing, and internalizing (Krathwohl, Bloom, and Masia 1964). In 1974, Robert Gagné (1974) continued to address the issue when he developed a pedagogy for teaching an attitude. His process involves presenting the student with an appealing and credible role model who demonstrates behavior consistent with the desired attitude and then receives reinforcement. When the student exhibits similar behavior, her behavior is also reinforced. In this process, individuals learn attitudes by internalizing the attitudes of those they admire. Finally, Albert Bandura (1977) conducted experiments that demonstrate that people can learn attitudes by observing others. In one classic experiment, children that observed an adult acting aggressively towards an inflatable doll exhibited similar behaviors when left alone. Secular Application. Anecdotally, it is easy to see how attitudes are passed from parents to children through admiration and observation. It is also the approach taken to teach attitudes in some forms of psychological therapy and counseling (Tucker-Ladd 1996). Perhaps more interesting is how the marketing and sales industry generate revenue using principles for teaching attitudes. Understanding and shaping consumer attitudes is a multibillion dollar effort. This process begins by clearly identifying a narrow target segment of the consumer market. Within this population, a “love group” is identified that are strong supporters of the product. Using a process called laddering, the love group’s attitudes and values are analyzed by stepping through how the product’s features lead to functional, higher order, and emotional benefits for the consumer. Next, a position statement is defined that clearly connects the target population to an influential emotional appeal. Finally, the role models exhibiting behavior consistent with the desired consumer attitude illustrate the position statement (Tybout and Calder 2010). For example, while Nike shoes are generally considered to be of high quality, Nike does not typically spend advertising time or space describing the quality of their leather, their durability, or even comfort . Instead they show a professional athlete wearing the shoes, doing something inspiring. This athlete feeds into the consumer’s emotional interests by demonstrating dynamic athleticism in an intense context. Their goal is to influence the consumer’s attitudes about the product. “After all,” the consumer may think, “if these shoes are good for Michael Jordan, they must be good for me.” Frequent exposure to these commercials further reinforces the attitude. And so, shoes get purchased. LDS Application. Teaching attitudes through role models is also an important approach found in the LDS Church. For example, scriptures often
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contain powerful and inspiring stories of role models illustrating the consequences of attitude-based behaviors. These role models often endure hardship and make sacrifices to live Church standards or comply with practices, principles and ideals. Consider Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who risk an execution by a fiery furnace rather than deny their beliefs and bow down to a pagan idol (Daniel 1). Captain Moroni marched under the Title of Liberty to gain military support “in memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children” (Alma 46:12–13). Nephi, being large of stature, sacrifices his family’s gold and inheritance to follow the Lord’s will (1 Nephi 4:31). Joseph endures decades of hardship at the hands of his brothers and employers and is cast into prison so that he might fulfill the Lord’s greater purpose (Genesis 3750). In addition, LDS leaders often draw upon stories from the Church’s pioneer heritage of ancestors sacrificing everything to build the kingdom of the Lord. While the printing of the Book of Mormon predates Bloom and Gagné by more than a hundred years, it echoes Bloom and Gagné’s prescribed methods for teaching attitudes. Nephi states that he “did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning” (1 Nephi 19:6), and encourages his brothers to “feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do” (2 Nephi 32:3). And Moroni encourages readers to “remember how merciful the Lord hath been..., and ponder it in [their] hearts” (Moroni 10:3). It is clear that Church officials intend for scripture stories to have an impact on the members’ attitudes and behavior. A quick search of the LDS Church’s General Conference archives for the words “read scriptures” will produce dozens of articles with titles like “Coming unto Christ by Searching the Scriptures”, “Blessings Resulting from Reading the Book of Mormon”, and “Value of the Holy Scriptures”. Members of the LDS faith are encouraged to read their scriptures daily, ponder their meaning, and apply them to their personal lives. And, it turns out that frequently reading scripture does appear to have an effect on attitude. Franzen (2013) found that the frequency of reading scripture was a strong predictor of attitudes related to moral and political issues. By reading and pondering the scriptures, individuals are influenced by its role models and internalize values and attitudes that embody religious principles.
Cognitive Dissonance Principle. In 1956, Leon Festinger coined the phrase cognitive dissonance to describe the mental or emotional discomfort people
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experience when simultaneously holding two or more incongruous thoughts or feelings (1962). People experiencing cognitive dissonance feel a motivational drive to resolve the conflict and alleviate their feelings of discomfort. People resolve feelings of cognitive dissonance in a variety of ways including changing one’s attitude, adding new thinking that bridges and resolves the conflicting ideas, or reducing the importance of one attitude or idea to limit its relevance. Secular Application. Consider this familiar scenario in which you may have experienced cognitive dissonance: While driving you see someone with a cardboard sign asking for money on a street corner. You may hold the attitude that you are a good person, and that good people are charitable and help those in need. Suppose though, that rather than offer assistance, you drive on, leaving the begging individual behind. In this situation, you may be confronted with feelings of discomfort as you try to resolve this difference between your attitude and your behavior. You might resolve this discomfort by thinking that the person asking for money is not really as bad off as it appears; recalling news reports of faux beggars that bring in large incomes; feeling like the person should do some work for the money rather than beg; etc. These thoughts may allow resolution for and escape from the uncomfortable feelings of cognitive dissonance. Festinger’s landmark cognitive dissonance research investigated a group of people in the 1950s that believed the world would end on a specific date and a UFO would rescue them. Group members had made large sacrifices including separating themselves from family, friends, employment, money, possessions, and education. Festinger anticipated that group members would experience cognitive dissonance when, after making such significant sacrifices, the world did not in fact end and no UFO appeared. He was curious to see how members of the group would respond to experiences that so obviously contradicted their beliefs. One might expect that obvious failure in the face of such personal sacrifice would lead members to abandon the group. However, that did not happen. The lack of world destruction was explained away as an act of God in consequence of the group’s virtue. Rather than defect, group members increased their commitment and began vigorously proselyting and group membership swelled. In trying to understand this outcome, it is important to understand the attitudes at conflict and how they were resolved. In essence, group members had two choices when faced with the incongruity between their attitudes and the reality they experienced. Either they could accept that they had been fools and sacrificed family and funds for nothing, or they could preserve their self-image by increasing their faith and commitment, insisting on the validity of their cause.
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LDS Application. The lesson is that when people invest a great deal of effort and resources into something, they value their role in it and are more likely to remain committed in the face of opposition; they may even increase their commitment. This principle appears to also be active in the LDS Church as members are asked to make large commitments of time, effort, and resources. For example, most adult members hold an unpaid calling in the Church that may require from 3 to 20 hours a week or more. Most callings fulfill a responsibility upon which other members depend. In addition, members are asked to attend 3 hours of church meetings weekly and church socials; visit and teach other members in their homes and attend the temple monthly; and attend local and general conferences twice yearly. Youth are involved in programs that meet weekly and frequently on weekends, and are encouraged to attend daily seminary lessons during high school. Young adults often give 18 months to 2 years of self-funded fulltime missionary service and older members are encouraged to do the same for 6 months to 3 years or more. Every member is asked to support the missionary program by working with missionaries and sharing church messages with friends. In addition to time and effort, church members are also asked to make significant financial contributions including 10% of all their income, as well as generous donations to help feed, clothe, and educate others and support the missionary program and other Church initiatives. Members are also asked to store 1 years’ worth of food and keep an adequate savings account in case of an emergency. In addition, members are encouraged to perform a variety of activities at home. These include daily reading, pondering, and memorizing scriptures and church manuals individually, with spouses, and as a family; praying multiple times during the day individually, with spouses, as a family, and before meals; meditating upon spiritual matters; holding religious family activities weekly; monthly refraining from eating or drinking for 24 hours; and regularly reading patriarchal blessings, writing in journals, holding family councils, and spouse meetings; and spending quality time with spouses and with children as a family. In addition, members are encouraged to pursue advanced education, be self-reliant, freely give service to others, engage in positive recreation, develop talents, work hard, and show gratitude. Also, members are asked to forgo activities like drinking alcohol, taking drugs, smoking, gambling, watching rated R movies, premarital sex, dressing immodestly, using crude language, dating before the age of 16, listening to inappropriate music, and shopping or recreating on Sunday (For the Strength of Youth). The connection between sacrifice and faith is clear in Church doctrine. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught: “A religion that does not require the
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sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation; for, from the first existence of man, the faith necessary unto the enjoyment of life and salvation never could be obtained without the sacrifice of all earthly things.” The purpose of asking such commitments of Church members is to provide opportunities for them to align their behavior with church principles. Over time, consistently and voluntarily bending one’s behavior in these ways has the effect of shaping members’ values and attitudes. In addition, President Hinckley suggests that the core to convert retention and member reactivation programs included giving each person “a friend, a responsibility, and nurturing with ‘the good word of God’” (“Converts and Young Men,” Ensign, May 1997, 47). It would appear then that actively giving members responsibilities is an important part of securing commitment to the Church and its doctrines. After making such large commitments, it would be easy to imagine the cognitive dissonance a Church member might experience by behaving in ways or adopting attitudes that are inconsistent with Church principles. This dissonance would serve as a barrier to noncompliance.
Strengthening an Attitude by Expressing it Principle. Attitude strength is measured by how quickly it comes to mind (Fazio 1990; Fazio 1995; Krosnick and Petty 1995). Attitudes, and their attending behaviors, can be strengthened by asking people to think about, talk about, or discuss them with others (Downing, Judd, and Brauer 1992; Tesser, Martin, and Mendolia 1995). Secular Application. Using social media, corporations hope to strengthen consumer attitudes by encouraging them to think about and express company related attitudes. For example, in Facebook one can “like” specific products and that message is efficiently broadcast to all their friends and acquaintances. Social games, like Foursquare, allow consumers to announce their patronage to all their friends and reinforce it by giving them accomplishment awards like being the “Mayor”. In addition, trends in gamification marketing provide consumers with opportunities to interact with a brand as they earn points and awards for activities like sharing with friends, making purchases, watching promotional materials, etc. LDS Application. Multiple programs within the LDS Church provide members with the opportunity to express their Church related attitudes. As mentioned above, members are encouraged to ponder and meditate on their spiritual feelings, doctrines, and experiences; as well as write their feelings and record their experiences in a journal. On full-time missions, members actively seek out opportunities to share their beliefs with others and every
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member is encouraged to share their beliefs with non-member friends. Each month, a Sunday meeting is set apart for members to publicly share their beliefs with other members of the congregation and members are encouraged to share beliefs and attitudes during Sunday school lessons. The Church youth curriculum was recently redesigned to put an emphasis “on youth sharing insights and experiences.” Members are also encouraged to share their testimonies frequently within their own homes. Finally, recently the Church has placed an emphasis on sharing one’s beliefs via social media including Facebook and Twitter, as well as Mormon.org. All of these opportunities provide members with the opportunity to express their beliefs, and in doing so; strengthen the power of their attitudes.
Conclusion This paper outlined several principles of influence described in the social sciences and provided examples of each in both secular and religious contexts. The topics covered in this paper are by no means an exhaustive list of methods to influence others. Future research could easily be written including descriptions and examples of other methods including reciprocity, authority, consistency, friendship/liking, and social validation. Additionally, future research can examine the empirical grounding of these theories and application of each within a religious context, as well as explore the implications of each. As discussed in the ethics section above, influence is central to the human condition and an important aspect of religion. The key factor when considering the appropriateness of employing influence in a given situation, with a given method, is whether or not doing so would benefit the individual and whether or not the process of influence is respectful and considerate.
References Ajzen, I. 1991. “The Theory of Planned Behavior.” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. 50:179–211. Bandura, A., and McClelland, D. C. 1977. Social Learning Theory. New York: General Learning Corporation. Downing, J. W., C. M. Judd, and M. Brauer. 1992. “Effects of Repeated Expressions on Attitude Extremity.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 63:17–29. Fazio, R. H. 1990. “The MODE Model as an Integrative Framework.” Advances in Experimental Social Psychology. 23:75–109.
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—. 1995. “Attitudes as Object-Evaluation Associations: Determinants, Consequences, and Correlates of Attitude Accessibility.” Attitude Strength: Antecedents and Consequences, 247–282. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum. Festinger, L. 1962. A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance. Palo Alto: Stanford University Press. Franzen, A. B. 2013. “Reading the Bible in America: The Moral and Political Attitude Effect.” Review of Religious Research, 55:393-411. Gagné, R. M. 1965. The Conditions of Learning and Theory of Instruction. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston. Glasman, L. R., and D. Albarracín. 2006. “Forming Attitudes that Predict Future Behavior: A Meta-Analysis of the Attitude-Behavior Relation.” Psychological Bulletin. 132:778–822. Krathwohl, D. R. 2002. “A Revision of Bloom's Taxonomy: An Overview.” Theory Into Practice. 41:212-218. Krathwohl, D.R., B.S. Bloom, and B. B. Masia. 1964. Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: Handbook II: Affective Domain. New York: David McKay Co. Krosnick, J. A., and R. E. Petty. 1995. “Attitude Strength: An Overview.” Attitude Strength: Antecedents and Consequences, 1–24. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum. Tesser, A., L. Martin, and M. Mendolia. (Eds.). 1995. The Impact of Thought on Attitude Extremity and Attitude-Behavior Consistency. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum. Tucker-Ladd, C. E. 1996. “Methods for Changing Our Thoughts, Attitudes, Self-concept, Motivation, Values, and Expectations.” Psychological Self-Help, 1337-1481. http://www.psychologicalselfhelp.org/ Tybout, A. M. and B. J. Calder. 2010. Kellogg on Marketing. Hoboken: Wiley & Sons. Contributors to this chapter include: Dr. Jared R. Chapman and Dr. Jonathan H. Westover Originally published: Chapman, Jared R., and Jonathan H. Westover. 2015. "M otivation and Influence within a Religious Organization: A Look at the LDS Church." Organizational Cultures: An International Journal 14 (1): 17-24. doi:10.18848/2327-8013/CGP/v14i01/59258.
P ART TWO EXAMINING JOB SATISFACTION
CHAPTER FOUR THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN LINKING JOB QUALITY CHARACTERISTICS TO WORKER SATISFACTION
Abstract As work plays such an increasingly important role in our everyday lives, it is important to understand the changing nature of workplace characteristics that impact us so much. Particularly, job satisfaction, along with its many individual, organizational, and societal correlates can be directly impacted by the nature of the workplace. This chapter examines the theoretical and empirical developments in the literature linking job quality characteristics and worker satisfaction. Additionally, suggestions for continued future research directions are also discussed.
Introduction As work plays an increasingly important role in our everyday lives, it is important to understand workplace characteristics that impact our lives and how these characteristics impact a worker’s overall job satisfaction. The following sections provide a review of the research linking various key job quality characteristics to job satisfaction.
Hackman and Oldham’s Job Characteristics Model Smith, Kendall, and Hulin (1969) were among the first researchers to explore job satisfaction and its determinants, using the Job Descriptive Index, and found that a worker’s satisfaction is closely related to various work factors, including pay, promotions, co-workers, and supervision. In 1976, organizational behavior researchers J. Richard Hackman and Greg Oldman published a seminal article entitled, “Motivation through the Design of Work: Test of a Theory,” which played a central role in
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developing a job characteristics approach to understanding worker motivation and job satisfaction. In this article, they outlined five core job dimensions, including the following: 1. Skill Variety: the extent to which a job requires an individual to perform a variety of tasks that require him or her to use different skills and abilities. 2. Task Identify: the extent to which the job requires an individual to perform a whole or completely identifiable piece of work. 3. Task Significance: the extent to which the job affects the lives of other people within or outside the organization. 4. Autonomy: the extent to which the job enables an individual to experience freedom, independence, and discretion in completing the job. 5. Feedback: the extent to which an individual receives direct and clear information about how effectively he or she is performing the job. Since this article’s publication in the mid-1970’s empirical research has overwhelmingly demonstrated a strong relationship between these job characteristics and job satisfaction (see Morgeson and Humphrey 2006; Fried and Ferris 2006).
Developments Since Hackman and Oldham’s Job Characteristics Model Following the development and subsequent extensive empirical testing of Hackman and Oldman’s Job Characteristics Model and the five core job dimensions, there has been an extensive expansion of this area of study in the workplace literature. This workplace literature, which spans many academic disciplines, examines the linkage between job satisfaction and a variety of other both intrinsic and extrinsic workplace characteristics and workplace conditions, such as job security, pay, worker autonomy, interesting work, etc. (see Handel 2005; Munoz de Bustillo Llorente 2005; Chiu and Chen 2005; Lee, McCabe, and Graham 1983; Voydanoff 1980; Kalleberg 1977). These studies have consistently found an important degree of correlation and statistically significant predictability with the relationship between the various characteristics of one’s workplace and job satisfaction (see Fried and Ferris 2006; Gazioglu and Tansel 2006; Morrison et al. 2005; Menguc and Bhuiam 2004; Wright and Kim 2004; Huang and De Vliert 2003; Yoon and Thye 2002; Davey, Obst, and Sheehan 2001; Judge, Bono, and Locke 2000). Specifically, indicators of job satisfaction and job quality
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include such commonly examined job characteristics variables as pay, job security, job variety, job involvement, job identity, job significance, job feedback, opportunity for advancement, career-development opportunities, perceived skill utilization, adequacy of resources, interesting work, selfactualization opportunity, job autonomy, organizational commitmen t , stress, work load, physical effort, danger, management-employee relations, coworker relations, unemployment rate, and overwork (Handel 2005; Morrison et al. 2005; Munoz de Bustillo Llorente and Macias 2005; Chiu and Chen 2005; Carlson and Mellor 2004; Menguc and Bhuiam 2004; Wright and Kim 2004; Van den berg and Feil 2003; Hodson 2002; Davey, Obst, and Sheehan 2001; Kalleberg 1977). In summary, researchers have extensively explored job satisfaction and its determents using first Hackman and Oldman’s Job Characteristics Model, and have since expanded to examine the linkage between job satisfaction and a variety of other both intrinsic and extrinsic workplace characteristics and workplace conditions, such as job security, pay, worker autonomy, interesting work, etc. (see Handel, 2005; Munoz de Bustillo Llorente, 2005; Chiu and Chen, 2005; Lee, McCabe, and Graham, 1983; Voydanoff, 1980; Kalleberg, 1977).
Common Structural and Demographic Controls Additionally, the structural conditions of a given organization and one’s individual demographic characteristics also affect job quality and worker satisfaction. Control variables often used in these studies include variables such as organizational support, organizational control, organizational red tape, leader support, self-efficacy education, occupational prestige, job experience, job tenure, annual hours, organization size, industrial composition, employee training availability, career stage, occupational level, marital status, race, ethnicity, and age (Gazioglu and Tansel 2006; DeHart-Davis and Pandey 2005; Chiu and Chen 2005; Munoz de Bustillo Llorente and Macias 2005; Sloan 2004; Menguc and Bhuiam 2004; Yoon and Thye 2002; Davey, Obst, and Sheehan 2001; Hamermesh 1999; Beaty 1990; Sims and Szilagyi 1976). Furthermore, it is helpful when comparing job quality across countries to include cultural values such as collectivis m, power-distance, a “doing-orientation,” and determinism in the analysis (Huang and De Vliert 2003; Kirkman and Shapiro 2001) to help account for any possible cross-cultural response biases and control for cultural differences in perceived attitudes. In addition to providing a basis for understanding what variables are useful to examine, this literature also reveals that data collection methods in
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this line of research vary from quantitative to qualitative, and mixed methods approaches, often utilizing secondary and archival data. Furthermore, the method by which various researchers operationalize job satisfaction and its indicators varies, from a single-item survey question (Handel 2005; Munoz de Bustillo Llorente and Macias 2005; DeHart-Davis and Pandey 2005; Marchand, Demers, and Durand 2005; Sloan 2004; Hodson 2002; Hamermesh 1999; Kirkman and Shapiro In Press), to mult iitem scales (Chiu and Chen 2005; Marchand, Demers, and Durand 2005; Carlson and Mellor 2004; Kirkman and Shapiro 2001).
Summary of the Job Satisfaction Research Over the last several decades, much work has been done to link key work quality characteristics to job satisfaction. As work plays an increasingly important role of our everyday lives, researchers have increasingly performed studies to understand workplace characteristics that impact our lives and how these characteristics impact a worker’s overall job satisfaction. Researchers have extensively explored job satisfaction and its determents using first Hackman and Oldman’s Job Characteristics Model, and have since expanded to examine the linkage between job satisfaction and a variety of other both intrinsic and extrinsic workplace characteristics and workplace conditions, such as job security, pay, worker autonomy, interesting work, etc. (see Handel, 2005; Munoz de Bustillo Llorente, 2005; Chiu and Chen, 2005; Lee, McCabe, and Graham, 1983; Voydanoff, 1980; Kalleber,g 1977). These researchers have also refined the methodologies used to operationalize job satisfaction and its indicators, from a single-item survey question, to multi-item scales, and have suggested a wide range of demographic, economic, and other social structural controls to include in statistical analysis (see Gazioglu and Tansel, 2006; DeHart-Davis and Pandey, 2005; Chiu and Chen, 2005; Munoz de Bustillo Llorente and Macias, 2005).
What is Missing in this Research? As was demonstrated in the review of a wide range of academic literature that examines job satisfaction, researchers have thoroughly examined the role of various workplace characteristics in driving worker satisfaction. However, the vast majority of this research only examines job quality, job satisfaction, and the outcomes of job satisfaction in one country or region at a time. The research that has looked at differences around the world has primarily examined job satisfaction from a cross-cultural
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perspective. Virtually no research has examined country differences in job quality and job satisfaction from a macro cross-national/global perceptive (including such important country-specific contextual variables as various social variables, human capital variables, various national-level economic variables, and political variables). Furthermore, no research has examin ed the macro-sociological reasons behind the cross-national differences in significant job quality determinants of job satisfaction and the crossnational differences in levels of job satisfaction and how that has changed over the past few decades. Moreover, much research has been conducted that shows either the general improvement or decline in the quality of workplace conditions and job quality characteristics and job satisfaction, but few studies have looked at such changes in job quality over time from the perspective of the workers. Those studies that have been conducted (Handel 2005) usually examine the U.S. workplace and fail to look at global trends and differences crossnationally. Two recent studies have looked cross-nationally at indicators of job satisfaction (Munoz de Bustillo Llorente 2005; Sousa-Pouza and SousaPouza 2000), but in the case of the first study, the authors fail to see the value in self-perceived scoring indicators in addressing something that is inherently self-perceived—namely job satisfaction—and relies more on objective workplace measures (namely unemployment rate, index of overwork, level of income, salary behavior, increase in salaries, and distribution of income). In the case of the second study, the authors conducted analysis without the benefit of many important control variables (only control for gender and makes comparisons across countries). Thus, there is a need to combine the approaches of these two studies (capitalizing on the use of both self-perceived job quality indicators and objective workplace and national indicators, combined with the use of important cross-national control variables) while building on Handel’s (2005) framework to conduct cross-national comparisons. Additionally, in makin g these cross-national comparisons, the job satisfaction and organizational/workplace literature would be greatly benefited by examining country differences in job quality characteristics and job satisfaction from a macro cross-national/global perceptive, while examinin g the macro-sociological reasons behind the cross-national differences in significant work quality determinants of job satisfaction, the cross-national differences in levels of job satisfaction, and how those satisfaction levels have changed over final few decades of the 20th century and the first part of the turn of the century.
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References Beaty, David. 1990. “Re-Examining the Link between Job Characteristics and Job Satisfaction.” Journal of Social Psychology, Vol. 130(1), p. 131132. Carlson, Jessica H, and Steven Mellor. 2004. “Gender-Related Effects in the Job-Design-Job-Satisfaction Relationship: An International Approach.” Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 51(3-4): 237-247. Chiu, Su-Fen and Hsiao-Lan Chen. 2005. “Relationship between Job Characteristics and Organizational Citizenship Behavior: The Mediational Role of Job Satisfaction.” Social Behavior and Personality, 33(6):523-539. Davey, J., Obst, P., & Sheehan, M. 2001. “Demographic and Workplace Characteristics which add to the Prediction of Stress and Job Satisfaction within the Police Workplace.” Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, Vol. 16(1), p. 29-39. Diener, E., Diener, M., and Diener, C. 1995. “Factors Predicting the Subjective Well-Being of Nations.” Journal of Personality Social Psychology, 69:851-864. Fried, Yitzhak and Ferris, Gerald R. 2006. “The Validity of the Job Characteristics Model: A Review and Meta-Analysis.” Personnel Psychology, Vol. 40(2), p. 287-322. Gazioglu, S., & Tansel, A. 2006. “Job Satisfaction in Britain: Individual and Job Related Factors.” Applied Economics, Vol. 38(10), 1163-1171. Hackman, J. R., & Oldham, G. R. 1976. Motivation through the Design of Work: Test of a Theory.” Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, Vol. 16, 250-279. Hamermesh D. S., 1999. “The Changing Distribution of Job Satisfaction,” NBER Working Paper 7332, Cambridge, Mass. Handel, Michael J. 2005. “Trends in Perceived Job Quality, 1989 to 1998.” Work and Occupations, 32(1): 66-94. Hodson, Randy. 2002. “Demography or Respect?: Work Group Demography versus Organizational Dynamics as Determinants of Meaning and Satisfaction at Work.” The British Journal of Sociology, 53(2): 291-317. Huang, X., & De Vliert, E. 2003. “Where Intrinsic Job Satisfaction Fails to Work: National Moderators of Intrinsic Motivation. Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 24(2), 159-179. Judge, T., Bono, J., & Locke, E. 2000. “Personality and Job Satisfaction: The Mediating Role of Job Characteristics.” Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 85(2), p. 237-249.
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Lee, Raymond, McCabe, Dennis J., and Graham, William K. 1983. “Multivariate Relationships between Job Characteristics and Job Satisfaction in the Public Sector: A Triple Cross-Validation Study.” Multivariate Behavioral Research, Vol. 18(1): 47-63. Menguc, B., & Bhuian, S. 2004. “Research Note: Career Stage Effects on Job Characteristic-Job Satisfaction Relationships among Guest Worker Salespersons.” Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Vol. 24(3), 215-227. Morgeson, F. P. and Humphrey, S. E. 2006. “The Work Design Questionnaire (WDG): Developing a Comprehensive Measure for Assessing Job Design and the Nature of Work.” Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 91(6), p. 1321-339. Morrison, D., Cordery, J., Girardi, A., & Payne, R. 2005. “Job Design, Opportunities for Skill Utilization, and Intrinsic Job Satisfaction.” European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, Vol. 14(1), p. 59-79. Sims Jr., Henry P., and Szilagyi, Andrew D. 1976. “Job Characteristic Relationships: Individual and Structural Moderators.” Organizational Behavior & Human Performance, Vol. 17(2), p. 211-230. Smith, P.C., Kendall, L. M., and Hulin, C. L. 1969. The Measurement of Satisfaction in Work and Retirement. Stokie: Rand McNally. Voydanoff, Patricia. 1980. “Perceived Job Characteristics and Job Satisfaction among Men and Women.” Psychology of Women Quarterly, Vol. 5(2): 177-186. Wright, B., & Kim, S. 2004. “Participation’s Influence on Job Satisfaction: The Importance of Job Characteristics.” Review of Public Personnel Administration, Vol. 24(1), p. 18-40. Yoon, Jeongkoo and Thye, Shane R. 2002. “A Dual Process Model of Organizational Commitment: Job Satisfaction and Organizational Support.” Work and Occupations, Vol. 29(1), p. 97-125. Originally published: Westover, Jonathan H. 2010. "Theoretical and Empirical Developments in Linking Job Quality Characteristics to Worker Satisfaction." The International Journal of Environmental, Cultural, Economic, and Social Sustainability: Annual Review 6 (2): 203
CHAPTER FIVE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JOB SATISFACTION AND OTHER IMPORTANT INDIVIDUAL, ORGANIZATIONAL, AND SOCIAL OUTCOMES
Abstract As work continues to be a very important part of our everyday lives, and as the nature of work has been changing the past several decades due in large part to an increasingly global economy, researchers across academic disciplines have continued to closely examine job satisfaction and its relationship to a variety of important individual, organizational, and social outcomes. This chapter summarizes the empirical and theoretical research advancements in these areas over the past several decades and suggests considerations for continued future examination of job satisfaction and its outcomes.
Introduction As job quality characteristics and overall worker satisfaction is a key component to this research, it is necessary to provide an overview of the job quality and worker satisfaction literature and explore why these are important issues to further study and examine. In what follows, I will start by first explaining why it is still important and necessary to examine work quality characteristics and job satisfaction. Next, I will review the existing workplace and organizations literature exploring the linkages between job satisfaction and other important individual, workplace, and social outcomes. Finally, I will discuss what is currently missing in this body of research and suggest areas for continued emphasis in future research.
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Why Examining Work Quality and Job Satisfaction is Still Important Simply stated, job satisfaction is an “affective or emotional response towards various aspects of one’s job (Kreitner and Kinicki 2008, p. 170). Researchers across a wide spectrum of academic disciplines have performed extensive research over the past three or four decades examining job satisfaction and its many contributing factors. Though this research has produced sometimes conflicting findings and the overall explanatory power of job satisfaction has been widely debated over that time, the question remains, why is it still important to study job quality characteristics and job satisfaction? Gazioglu and Tansel (2006) note that in recent years there has been a resurgence of interest among academic researchers and practitioners alike in the analysis of various job satisfaction variables and correlates. The question is, why? The bottom line is that work continues to be a very important part of our everyday lives, possibly even more so than at any other time in recent history. In fact, many individuals spend one-half or more of their waking hours in the workplace. Additionally, the landscape of work in the U.S. and across the world has changed dramatically over the past 15-20 years in response to economic shifts and an increasingly global economy. Jamison, et al. provides a nice summary of this perspective: “Today, work, with its attendant management hierarchies and educational requirements, organizational mergers, and company buyouts, layoffs, and downsizing, contingent work and job insecurity, is undergoing a radical transformation that threatens the structure of the job as we have come to know. The work environment in which we today spend so much of our daily lives is thus likely to present an entirely new range of work environment [conditions]” (2004:43).
Therefore, as work makes up such a dominant portion of our lives, and as the nature of work has been changing in recent decades, it is important to understand how workplace characteristics impact our lives and how these characteristics impact a worker’s overall job satisfaction. Thus, it is important to thoroughly revisit job satisfaction. The following section will provide an overview of the significant organizational outcomes related to job satisfaction.
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Review of the Research Linking Job Satisfaction to Other Important Outcomes Over the past several decades, literally thousands of studies have examined the relationship between job satisfaction and other important organizational variables and outcomes. For example, it has been generally accepted in the workplace literature that satisfied workers are more productive and perform at a higher level (Souza-Poza and Souza-Poza 2000). It has further been demonstrated that low job satisfaction can lead to higher absenteeism and turnover (Vroom 1964). Rogers et al. (1994) and Fosam et al. (1998) have further demonstrated that there is a relationship in service industries between employee and customer satisfaction. Additionally, a wide body of work and health research has shown the link between job satisfaction and worker health (see Karasek 1979; Totterdell et al. 2006; Tsutsumi 2005). Finally, Argyle (1989) and Judge and Watanabe (1993) have shown that job satisfaction is an important predictor of overall well-being. Table 1 on the following page briefly summarizes the main correlates to job satisfaction, each of which have broad implications for individual workers, firms, and the larger society. Each will be explored and described in further detail in the following pages.
Job Satisfaction and Life Satisfaction Workplace researchers across disciplines have extensively examined the linkage between job satisfaction and overall life satisfaction (see Lindfors et al., 2007; Moser and Schuler, 2004; Rode, 2004; Iverson and Maguire, 2000; Rain, Lane, and Steiner, 1991; Rice, 1985; Schmitt and Pulakos, 1985; Rice, Near, and Hunt, 1980). Rice, Near, and Hunt (1980) conducted one of the first meta-analyses of studies examining this relationship and investigated 23 job satisfaction/life satisfaction studies that found that in 90% of the cases examined, there was a statistically significant positive relationship between the two constructs, with the other 10% demonstrating a statistically insignificant slight negative relationship. Additionally, researchers have shown through cross-lag correlation, regression, and path analysis that this causal relationship primarily flows in one direction, with job satisfaction causing life satisfaction (Rice, 1985; Schmitt and Pulakos, 1985; Social Indicators Research, 1984). Furthermore, Rice et al. (1985) found that the strength of the job satisfaction-life satisfaction relationship is positively related to job importance (see also Moser and Schuler, 2004).
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Table 1: Important Outcomes of Job Satisfaction Direction of Variable Related with Job Satisfaction Relationship Life Satisfaction
Positive
Job Performance
Positive
Worker Motivation
Positive
Job Involvement
Positive
Organizational Commitment
Positive
Organizational Citizenship Behavior
Positive
Employee Tardiness
Negative
Employee Absenteeism
Negative
Withdrawal Cognitions
Negative
Employee Turnover
Negative
Worker Health
Positive
Perceived Stress
Negative
After nearly a decade of academic work further exploring this relationship, Rain, Lane, and Steiner (1991) then assessed the body of research to that point and discussed new theoretical and methodological developments needed, primarily focusing on the need for more rigorous statistical analysis and the inclusion of important organizational (e.g. sector, organization size) and demographic control variables (e.g. gender, age, level of education) in performing additional research on the relationship between job satisfaction and life satisfaction. Iverson and Maguire (2000) performed one of many studies over the following ten years that took up the challenge of Rain et al. (1991) to include more empirical rigor in their analysis. While confirming the findings of numerous previous studies to show a strong unidirectional relationship between job satisfaction and life satisfaction, they also addressed a gap in the research and set forth to examine the relationship between job and life satisfaction in geographically remote settings (e.g. a remote coal-mining community in Queensland Australia), with findings consistent with other studies conducted with samples in larger metropolitan areas.
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Rode (2004) challenged the several decades worth of research findings indicating a positive relationship between job satisfaction and life satisfaction and argued that previous studies had still ignored several important variables that may confound the relationship (personality variables and non-work satisfaction and environmental variables). Additionally, Rode argued that previous studies had been conducted predominately utilizing cross-sectional data. Using a U.S. nationally representative longitudinal data set, he found that personality variables (such as level of introversion/extroversion) in particular played an important role in both job satisfaction and life satisfaction, additionally confirming the positive relationship between the two variables. Most recently, Lindfors et al. (2007) found a statistically significant positive relationship between job satisfaction and life satisfaction and further showed that while there is no statistically significant gender difference in these well-being indicators, their determinants did differ by gender. In summary, researchers have extensively examined the linkage between job satisfaction and overall life satisfaction (see Lindfors et al., 2007; Moser and Schuler, 2004; Rode, 2004; Iverson and Maguire, 2000; Rain, Lane, and Steiner, 1991; Rice, 1985; Schmitt and Pulakos, 1985; Rice, Near, and Hunt, 1980). They have consistently found a statistically significant positive relationship between the job satisfaction and overall life satisfaction (Rice, Near, and Hunt, 1980). Additionally, researchers have found that the relationship primarily flows in one direction, with job satisfaction causing life satisfaction (Rice, 1985; Schmitt and Pulakos, 1985). Finally, it has been found that while there is no statistically significant gender difference in these well-being indicators, their determinants do differ by gender (Lindfors et al., 2007).
Job Satisfaction and Job Performance The relationship between job satisfaction and job performance has been a hotly debated issue in the workplace literature. Many researchers have found a strong positive relationship between the two variables, while others have found no significant relationship. However, in recent years, new studies have begun to provide a mounting body of empirical evidence for a statistically significant relationship between these aspects of work. For example, Judge et al. (2001) recently used a mixed-methods approach to explore the job satisfaction/performance relationship and found a significant positive correlation between the two, though they were unable to determine the direction of causality. These researchers also conducted a meta-analysis
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of data from 312 samples and found that the relationship between job satisfaction and performance is more complicated than uni-directional causality. Building on this work, Schleicher et al. (2004) affirmed the significant moderate positive relationship between the two variables and found that each influences the other through other personal characteristics (e.g. personality, gender, level of education) and workplace factors (e.g. dangerous nature of work, relationship with co-workers and management). Furthermore, Harter et al. (2002) conducted a meta-analysis of 7,939 business units and found a significant positive relationship between business-unit-level employee satisfaction and business-unit-level outcomes of customer satisfaction, productivity, and profit. Furthermore, they suggest that the strength of the relationship between job satisfaction and various measures of performance is understated due to the difficulty in obtaining adequate measures of actual individual performance. In summary, researchers have extensively examined the linkage between job satisfaction and job performance. Though this relationship has been hotly debated over the past few decades, there is a mounting body of empirical evidence for a statistically significant relationship between these aspects of work (Schleicher et al., 2004; Harter et al., 2002; Judge et al., 2001). However, the relationship between job satisfaction and performance is more complicated than uni-directional causality suggested by earlier work looking at correlations between the two constructs (Judge et al., 2001), with mutually reinforcing causality between the two (i.e. greater job satisfaction can lead to better job performance and better job performance can lead to higher levels of job satisfaction). Finally, researchers cite the difficulty in obtaining adequate measures of actual individual performance as one of the primary reasons for not being to more clearly untangle causality in this relationship (Harter et al., 2002).
Job Satisfaction and Worker Motivation and Job Involvement As with worker performance, researchers have thoroughly examined the linkage between job satisfaction, worker motivation and job involvement (see Locke and Latham, 2006; House and Wigdor, 2006; Eskildsen, Kristensen, and Westlund, 2004; Igalens and Roussel, 2000; Tietjen and Myers, 1998; Lawler, 1973; Lawler and Hall, 1970). Motivati on Looking at some of the more recent research done examining this relationship, Igalens and Roussel (2000) used structural equation modelin g
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to examine the relationship between worker motivation and job satisfaction in France and found a statistically significant and positive relationship between the two variables. Kinicki et al. (2002) recently conducted a metaanalysis of nine different job satisfaction/motivation studies and found a statistically significant positive relationship between the two variables. Additionally, Eskildsen, Kristensen, and Westlund (2004) explored this relationship with a sample of 9,623 workers from Nordic countries and found a significant positive relationship between job satisfaction and employee motivation for all in the sample. Furthermore, they found no difference in worker motivation and job satisfaction between males and females. Finally, after the decades of research that has examined the job satisfaction/motivation relationship, Locke and Latham (2006) suggest that “it is now possible to offer a coherent, data-based theory of work motivation and job satisfaction” (p. 240). They combine aspects of goal setting, expectancy, social cognitive, attribution, job characteristics, equity, and turnover-commitment theories to create a new model they call the “high performance cycle.” They describe this model as follows: It begins with organizational members being faced with high challenges or difficult goals. If high challenge is accompanied by high expectancy of success or self-efficacy, high performance results, given that there is: commitment to the goals, feedback, adequate ability, and low situational constraints. High performance is achieved through four mechanisms, direction of attention and action, effort, persistence, and the development of task strategies and plans. High performance, if rewarding, leads to job satisfaction, which in turn facilitates commitment to the organization and its goals (p. 240). Job Involvement Kreitner and Kinicki (2008) define job involvement as “the extent to which an individual is personally involved with his or her work role” (p. 173). Lawler and Hall (1970) were among the first to examine the job involvement/job satisfaction relationship and administered questionnaires to nearly 300 scientists working in research and development laboratories to examine the relationship between job involvement and job satisfaction and found that the two variables are significantly related. Additionally, they found that job involvement, like satisfaction, also has a significant relationship to certain job characteristics, such as employee-management relations, opportunities for advancement, task variety, and level of autonomy. After two and a half decades of academic inquiry, Brown (1996) conducted a meta-analysis of 87 different studies to examine the job
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satisfaction/job involvement relationship and found that job involvement has a moderate positive relationship with job satisfaction. In summary, researchers have extensively examined the linkage between job satisfaction and motivation and job satisfaction and job involvement (see Locke and Latham, 2006; House and Wigdor, 2006; Eskildsen, Kristensen, and Westlund, 2004; Igalens and Roussel, 2000; Tietjen and Myers, 1998; Lawler, 1973; Lawler and Hall, 1970). Researchers have consistently found a statistically significant positive relationship between job satisfaction and motivation, with no difference in worker motivation and job satisfaction between males and females (see Eskildsen et al., 2004; Kinicki et al., 2002). Researchers have also consistently found that job involvement has a moderate positive relationship with job satisfaction and that job involvement, like satisfaction, also has a significant relationship to certain job characteristics (Brown, 1996).
Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment and Organizational Citizenship Behavior Building off of the early work on worker motivation, over the past few decades organizational researchers and theorists have thoroughly explored the linkage between job satisfaction and organizational commitment and organizational citizenship behavior (see Okpara, 2007; Chang and Chang, 2007; Boles et al., 2007; Markovits, Davis, and Van Dick, 2007; Fulford, 2005; Feather and Rauter, 2004; Yoon and Thye, 2002). Organizational Commitment Many U.S. studies have examined the linkage between job satisfaction and organizational commitment. For example, Fulford (2005) recently found that managers can have a positive impact on employees' organizational commitment by treating employees fairly and that job satisfaction mediates the relationship between organizational justice and organizational commitment. Additionally, using a U.S. sample, Boles et al. (2007) found that various factors of job satisfaction are more strongly related to organizational commitment. These research findings also indicate that these relationships are not the same for male and females. For examp le, aspects of satisfaction, such as pay and promotion, are more important to men than to women, while women find that satisfaction with co-workers is more closely related to organizational commitment than it is for men. In addition to the many studies done in the U.S. examining this relationship, many other researchers have examined this relationship around
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the globe. Yoon and Thye (2002) conducted a study with a sample drawn from two large Korean organizations and found that overall job satisfaction and perceptions of organizational support are key emotional and cognitive processes that mobilize commitment in the workplace. Okpara (2007) investigated the effect of cultural values on job satisfaction and organizational commitment in Nigeria and found that cultural factors (such as collectivism, power-distance, a “doing-orientation,” and determinis m) are positively and significantly related to job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Furthermore, Chang and Chang (2007) conducted a study on job satisfaction and organizational commitment in Southern Taiwan and found that job satisfaction has positive effects on organizational commitment. Finally, Markovits, Davis, and Van Dick (2007) conducted a study of both private and public sector employees in Greece and found that affective organizational commitment was the most influential with respect to levels of intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction. Organizational Citizenship Behavior Kreitner and Kinicki (2008) define organizational citizenship behavior as “employee behaviors that are beyond the call of duty” (p. 174). Organ (1990) provides some examples, including, “such gestures as constructive statements about the department, expression of personal interest in the work of others, suggestions for improvement, training new people, respect for the spirit as well as the letter of housekeeping rules, care for organizational property, and punctuality and attendance well beyond standard or enforceable levels” (p. 46). Hoffman et al. (2007) conducted a meta-analysis of 21 studies that looked at the relationship between job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behavior and found a moderately positive, significant relationship between the two variables. In summary, researchers have extensively examined the linkage between job satisfaction and organizational commitment and organizational citizenship behavior (see Okpara, 2007; Chang and Chang, 2007; Boles et al., 2007; Markovits, Davis, and Van Dick, 2007; Fulford, 2005; Feather and Rauter, 2004; Yoon and Thye, 2002). Researchers have found that managers can have a positive impact on employees' organizational commitment (Fulford, 2005) and that various aspects of job satisfaction are more strongly related to organizational commitment (Boles et al.; 2007). Additionally, researchers have found that this relationship is not the same for male and females (Boles et al., 2007) and that job satisfaction and organizational commitment was the most influential with respect to levels of intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction (Markovits et al., 2007). Additionally, with regards to organizational citizenship behavior,
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researchers have consistently found a moderately positive, significant relationship between the two variables (Hoffman et al., 2007).
Job Satisfaction and Employee Tardiness, Absenteeism, Withdrawal Cognitions, and Turnover Workplace researchers across disciplines have extensively examined the linkage between job satisfaction and such negative employee outcomes as tardiness, absenteeism, withdrawal cognitions, and turnover (see Clark, Peters, and Tomlinson 2005; Johns 2002; Bardsley and Rhodes 1996; Dwyer and Ganster 1991; Leigh and Lust 1988; Adler and Golan 1981; Ronan 1970). Tardiness and Absenteeism Ronan (1970) was one of the first to examine the relationship between job satisfaction and employee tardiness. Using two different data sets with samples of U.S. workers, he intercorrelated and factor analyzed 32 job satisfaction measures with employee tardiness and found a negative relationship between these variables. Adler and Golan (1981) later explored the same question and found that job satisfaction was a significant predictor of lateness. Leigh and Lust (1988) and Dwyer and Ganster (1991) also found that job satisfaction had a negative and significant effect on employee tardiness and absenteeism. Furthermore, Hacket (1989) synthesized three separate meta-analyses that included a total of 74 studies of job satisfaction and absenteeism and found a statistically negative relationship between the two variables. In addition, Bardsley and Rhodes (1996) conducted a study based on a sample of U.S. factory workers and found a negative job satisfaction/lateness relationship and suggested that a proportion of lateness behavior represents a response to an aversive work environment, also related to job satisfaction. Clark, Peters, and Tomlinson (2005) used a sample of both male and female workers from the “1992 Employment in Britain” survey and modeled lateness as a function of incentives, the monitoring of, and sanctions for, lateness within the workplace, job satisfaction and attitudes to work. They found that lateness is higher for males, private sector workers, and in service industries. Finally, Harrison, Newman, and Roth (2006) used a combination of meta-analytic correlations and structural equation modeling to demonstrate that overall positive job attitude (job satisfaction) strongly predicts behavioral outcomes such as employee performance, lateness, absence, and turnover.
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Withdrawal Cognitions and Turnover Kreitner and Kinicki (2008) define withdrawal cognitions as one’s “overall thoughts and feelings about quitting a job” (p. 174). Hom and Kinicki (2001) conducted a study of managers, salespersons, and auto mechanics and found that job dissatisfaction resulted in employees being more likely to consider quitting. Additionally, closely linked to withdrawal cognitions is actual turnover. Griffith et al. (2000) conducted a metaanalysis of 67 job satisfaction/turnover studies and found a significant moderate negative relationship between job satisfaction and employee turnover. In summary, researchers have extensively examined the linkage between job satisfaction and such negative employee outcomes as tardiness, absenteeism, withdrawal cognitions, and turnover (see Clark, Peters, and Tomlinson 2005; Johns 2002; Bardsley and Rhodes 1996; Dwyer and Ganster 1991; Leigh and Lust 1988; Adler and Golan 1981; Ronan 1970). Researchers have consistently found that job satisfaction has a negative and significant effect on employee tardiness and absenteeism (Dwyer and Ganster, 1991; Leigh and Lust, 1988; Ronan, 1970) and that lateness is higher for males, private sector workers, and in service industries (Clark et al., 2005). Additionally, researchers have consistently found that job dissatisfaction results in employees being more likely to consider quitting (Hom and Kinicki, 2001) and that there is a significant moderate negative relationship between job satisfaction and employee turnover (Griffith et al., 2000).
Job Satisfaction and Perceived Stress and Worker Health Furthermore, researchers have examined the linkage between job satisfaction and various aspects of worker health (see Podsakoff et al. 2007; Totterdell et al. 2006; Tsutsumi 2005; Stacciarini and Tróccoli 2004; Steinhardt et al. 2003; Williams et al. 2000; Cooper, Rout, and Faragher 1989; Hesketh and Shouksmith 1986; Karasek 1979). The examination of worker health and job satisfaction received a big push first during the 1980’s. For example, Cooper, Rout, and Faragher (1989) conducted a study of health practitioners in England and found that job stress is associated with high levels of job dissatisfaction and negative mental wellbeing. Additionally, Williams et al. (2000) found that job stress was negatively related to job satisfaction and perceptions of good physical and mental health. Similarly, Steinhardt et al. (2003) found that lower job stress results in higher job satisfaction. With more of a comparative
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international perspective, Stacciarini and Tróccoli (2004) conducted a study among Brazilian nurses and found that occupational stress was directly inversely related to perceived job satisfaction. Finally, Podsakoff et al. (2007) conducted a meta-analysis of 32 studies and found that perceived stress has a strong negative relationship with job satisfaction. In summary, researchers have extensively examined the linkage between job satisfaction and perceived stress and worker health (see Podsakoff et al. 2007; Totterdell et al. 2006; Tsutsumi 2005; Stacciarini and Tróccoli 2004; Steinhardt et al. 2003; Williams et al. 2000; Cooper, Rout, and Faragher 1989; Hesketh and Shouksmith 1986; Karasek 1979). Researchers have consistently found that job stress is associated with high levels of job dissatisfaction and negative mental wellbeing (Cooper et al., 1989). Additionally, job stress has been consistently negatively related to job satisfaction and perceptions of good physical and mental health (Williams et al., 2000).
Summary of the Job Satisfaction Research Over the past several decades, literally thousands of studies have examined the relationship between job satisfaction and other important organizational variables. Researchers have extensively examined the linkage between job satisfaction and overall life satisfaction (see Lindfors et al., 2007; Moser and Schuler, 2004; Rode, 2004; Iverson and Maguire, 2000; Rain, Lane, and Steiner, 1991; Rice, 1985; Schmitt and Pulakos, 1985; Rice, Near, and Hunt, 1980) and have consistently found a statistically significant positive relationship between the job satisfaction and overall life satisfaction. Additionally, while the relationship between job satisfaction and job performance has been debated over the past few decades, there is a mounting body of empirical evidence for a statistically significant relationship between these aspects of work (Schleicher et al., 2004; Harter et al., 2002; Judge et al., 2001). Furthermore, as with worker performance, researchers have thoroughly examined the linkage between job satisfaction and worker motivation and job involvement (see Locke and Latham, 2006; House and Wigdor, 2006; Eskildsen, Kristensen, and Westlund, 2004; Igalens and Roussel, 2000; Tietjen and Myers, 1998; Lawler, 1973; Lawler and Hall, 1970) and have consistently found a statistically significant positive relationship between job satisfaction and motivation and that job involvement has a moderate positive relationship with job satisfaction. Studies have examined the relationship between job satisfaction and other important organizational variables as well. Building off of the early
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work on worker motivation, over the past few decades organizational researchers and theorists have thoroughly explored the linkage between job satisfaction and organizational commitment and organizational citizenship behavior (see Okpara, 2007; Chang and Chang, 2007; Boles et al., 2007; Markovits, Davis, and Van Dick, 2007; Fulford, 2005; Feather and Rauter, 2004; Yoon and Thye, 2002) and have consistently found that job satisfaction is strongly related to organizational commitment and that there is a moderately positive, significant relationship between job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behavior. Additionally, there has been extensive study in the workplace literature examining the linkage between job satisfaction and such negative employee outcomes as tardiness, absenteeism, withdrawal cognitions, and turnover (see Clark, Peters, and Tomlinson, 2005; Johns, 2002; Bardsley and Rhodes, 1996; Dwyer and Ganster, 1991; Leigh and Lust, 1988; Adler and Golan, 1981; Ronan, 1970) and researchers have consistently found that job satisfaction has a significant negative effect on employee tardiness and absenteeism, that job dissatisfaction results in employees being more likely to consider quitting, and that lateness is higher for males, private sector workers, and in service industries. Finally, researchers have examined the linkage between job satisfaction and various aspects of worker health (see Podsakoff et al., 2007; Totterdell et al., 2006; Tsutsumi, 2005; Stacciarini and Tróccoli, 2004; Steinhardt et al., 2003; Williams et al. 2000; Cooper, Rout, and Faragher, 1989; Hesketh and Shouksmith, 1986; Karasek, 1979) and consistently found that job stress is associated with high levels of job dissatisfaction and negative mental wellbeing and job stress has been consistently negatively related to job satisfaction and perceptions of good physical and mental health.
What is Missing in this Research? As was demonstrated in the review of a wide range of academic literature that examines job satisfaction, researchers have thoroughly examined job satisfaction and important organizational, individual, and social correlates. However, the vast majority of this research only examin es job quality, job satisfaction, and the outcomes of job satisfaction in one country or region at a time. The research that has looked at differences around the world has primarily examined job satisfaction from a crosscultural perspective. Virtually no research has examined country differences in job quality and job satisfaction from a macro cross-national/global perceptive (including such important country-specific contextual variables as various social variables, human capital variables, various national-level
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economic variables, and political variables). Furthermore, no research has examined the macro-sociological reasons behind the cross-national differences in significant job quality determinants of job satisfaction and the cross-national differences in levels of job satisfaction and how that has changed over the past few decades. Moreover, much research has been conducted that shows either the general improvement or decline in the quality of workplace conditions, job quality characteristics, and job satisfaction, but few studies have looked at such changes in job quality over time from the perspective of the workers. Those studies that have been conducted (Handel 2005) generally solely examine the U.S. workplace and fail to look at global trends and differences cross-nationally. Two recent studies have looked cross-nationally at indicators of job satisfaction (Munoz de Bustillo Llorente 2005; SousaPouza and Sousa-Pouza 2000), but in the case of the first study, the authors fail to see the value in self-perceived scoring indicators in addressing something that is inherently self-perceived—namely job satisfaction—and relies more on objective workplace measures (namely unemployment rate, index of overwork, level of income, salary behavior, increase in salaries, and distribution of income). In the case of the second study, the authors conducted analysis without the benefit of many important control variables (only control for gender and makes comparisons across countries). Thus, there is a need to combine the approaches of these two studies (capitalizing on the use of both self-perceived job quality indicators and objective workplace and national indicators, combined with the use of important cross-national control variables) while building on Handel’s (2005) framework to conduct cross-national comparisons. Additionally, in makin g these cross-national comparisons, the job satisfaction and organizational/workplace literature would be greatly benefited by examining country differences in job quality characteristics and job satisfaction from a macro cross-national/global perceptive, while examinin g the macro-sociological reasons behind the cross-national differences in significant work quality determinants of job satisfaction, the cross-national differences in levels of job satisfaction, and how those satisfaction levels have changed over final few decades of the 20th century and the first part of the turn of the century.
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Kinicki, A. J., McKee-Ryan, F. M., Schriesheim, C. A., and Carson, K. P. 2002. “Assessing the Construct Validty of the Job Descriptive Index: A Review and Meta-Analysis.” Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 87(1), p. 14-32. Kreitner, Robert and Kinicki, Angelo. 2008. Organizational Behavior 8th Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill. Lawler, Edward E. 1973. Motivation in Work Organizations. Monterery CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing. Lawler, Edward E. and Hall, Douglas T. 1970. “Relationship of Job Characteristics to Job Involvement, Satisfaction, and Intrinsic Motivation.” Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 54(4), p. 305-312. Leigh, J., & Lust, J. 1988. “Determinants of Employee Tardiness.” Work and Occupations, Vol. 15(1), p. 78-95. Lindfors, P., Meretoja, O., Töyry, S., Luukkonen, R., Elovainio, M., & Leino, T. 2007 “Job Satisfaction, Work Ability and Life Satisfaction Among Finnish Anaesthesiologists. Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica, Vol. 51(7), p. 815-822. Locke, Edwin A. and Latham, Gary P. 2006. “Work Motivation and Satsifaction: Light at the End of the Tunnel.” Psychological Science, Vol. 1(4): p, 240-246. Markovits, Yannis, Davis, Anne J., and Van Dick, Rolf. 2007. “Organizational Commitment Profiles and Job Satisfaction among Greek Private and Public Sector Employees.” International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, Vol. 7(1): p. 77-99. Moser, K., & Schuler, H. 2004. “Is Involvement a Suppressor of the Job Satisfaction—Life Satisfaction Relationship?” Journal of Applied Social Psychology, Vol. 34(11), p. 2377-2388. Okpara, J. 2007. “The Effect of Culture on Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment: A Study of Information System Managers in Nigeria.” Journal of African Business, Vol. 8(1), p. 113-130. Organ, D. W. 1990. “The Motivational Basis of Organizational Citizenship Behavior,” in Research in Organizational Behavior, eds B. M. Staw and L. L. Cummings. Greenwhich: JAI Press. Podsakoff, Nathan P., LePine, Jeffrey A., and LePine, Marcie A. 2007. “Differential Challenge Stressor-Hindrance Stressor Relationships with Job Attitudes, Turnover Intentions, Turnover, and Withdrawal Behavior: A Meta-Analysis.” Journal of Applied Psychology. Vol 92(2), p. 438-454. Rain, J., Lane, I., & Steiner, D. 1991. “A Current Look at the Job Satisfaction/Life Satisfaction Relationship: Review and Future Considerations.” Human Relations, Vol. 44(3), p. 287-307.
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“Relationships between job satisfaction and life satisfaction: Test of a causal model.” 1984. Social Indicators Research. Rice, R., Near, J., & Hunt, R. 1980. “The Job-Satisfaction/ Life-Satisfactio n Relationship: A Review of Empirical Research.” Basic & Applied Social Psychology, Vol. 1(1), p. 37-64. Rice, R., McFarlin, D., Hunt, R., & Near, J. 1985. Job Importance as a Moderator of the Relationship Between Job Satisfaction and Life Satisfaction.” Basic & Applied Social Psychology, Vol. 6(4), p. 297-316. Rode, J. 2004. “Job Satisfaction and Life Satisfaction Revisited: A Longitudinal Test of an Integrated Model. Human Relations, Vol. 57(9), p. 1205-1230. Ronan, W. 1970. “Individual and Situational Variables Relating to Job Satisfaction.” Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 54(1), p. 1-31. Schleicher, D. J., Watt, J. D., Greguras, G. J. 2004. “Reexamining the Job Satisfaction-Performance Relationship: The Complexity of Attitudes.” Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 89(1): p. 165-77. Schmitt, N., & Pulakos, E. 1985. “Predicting Job Satisfaction from Life Satisfaction: Is There a General Satisfaction Factor?” International Journal of Psychology, Vol. 20(1), p. 155-167. Sousa-Pouza A., Sousa-Pouza A. 2000. Well-Being at Work: A CrossNational Analysis of the Levels and Determinants of job satisfaction,” Journal of Socio-Economics, vol. 29, pp. 517-538. Stacciarini, Jeanne-Marie R., and Tróccoli, Bartholomeu Torres. 2004. "Occupational Stress and Constructive Thinking: Health and Job Satisfaction." Journal of Advanced Nursing, Vol. 46(5): p. 480-487. Steinhardt, Mary A., Dolbier, Christyn L., Gottlieb, Nell H., and McCalister, Katherine T. 2003. "The Relationship Between Hardiness, Supervisor Support, Group Cohesion, and Job Stress as Predictors of Job Satisfaction." American Journal of Health Promotion, Vol. 17(6): p. 382-389. Tietjen, Mark A. and Myers, Robert M. 1998. “Motivation and Job Satisfaction.” Management Decision, Vol. 36(4), p. 226-231. Totterdell, Peter, Wood, Stephen, and Toby, Wall. 2006. “An IntraIndividual Test of the Demands-Control Model: A Weekly Diary Study of Psychological Strain in Portfolio Workers.” Journal of Occupational & Organizational Psychology, 79(1):63-84. Tsutsumi, Akizumi. 2005. “Psychosocial Factors and Health: Communit y and Workplace Study.” Journal Of Epidemiology, 15(3):65-91. Vroom, V., 1964. Work and Motivation. Wiley, New York. Williams, Eric S., Konrad, Thomas R., Scheckler, William E., Pathman, Donald E., Linzer, Mark, McMurray, Julia, Gerrity, Martha, and
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Schwartz, Mark. 2000. "The Effects of Job Satisfaction and Perceived Stress on the Physical and Mental Health and Withraw Intentions of Physicians." Academy of Management Proceedings : C1-C6. Yoon, Jeongkoo and Thye, Shane R. 2002. “A Dual Process Model of Organizational Commitment: Job Satisfaction and Organizational Support.” Work and Occupations, Vol. 29(1), p. 97-125. Originally published: Westover, Jonathan H. 2011. "The Relationship between Job Satisfaction and Other Important Individual, Organizational, and Social Outcomes." The International Journal of Science in Society 2 (1): 63-76. doi:10.18848/1836-6236/CGP/v02i01/51517.
CHAPTER SIX INDIVIDUAL FACTORS IMPACTING WORKER ORIENTATIONS AND PERCEPTIONS IN THE WORKPLACE: A CONTINUED EXAMINATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INDIVIDUAL-LEVEL RELIGIOUS, RACIAL/E THNIC, AND FAMILY BACKGROUNDS WITH WORKER JOB SATISFACTION
Abstract Workers’ perceptions of their jobs and work environments are not only affected by societal level factors, but also shaped by individual-lev el cognitive cultural schemata. Among other individual-level characteristics, how do individual-level religious, racial/ethnic, and family backgrounds affect workers’ job satisfactions? Furthermore, does the existing job/work literature satisfactorily consider these individual-level cultural backgrounds? Finally, how should future theoretical and empirical models take into account these individual-level factors? This chapter will address these questions and provide an overview of the historical and future directions of academic inquiry into individual factors (specifically religious, racial/ethnic, and family backgrounds) that impact worker job satisfaction.
Introduction While the cross-disciplinary research surrounding work quality and job satisfaction often focuses on organizational and societal-level factors, individual demographic characteristics also affect workers’ perceptions of their jobs and work environments. Control variables often used in these work quality and job satisfaction studies include such organizational
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variables as organizational support, organizational control, organizational red tape, leader support, organization size, industrial composition, and selfefficacy education. Other individual-level characteristics often controlled for include occupational prestige, job experience, job tenure, annual hours, employee training availability, career stage, and occupational level. Once more, other important individual-level factors impacting job satisfaction includes marital status, race/ethnicity, and age (Gazioglu and Tansel, 2006; DeHart-Davis and Pandey, 2005; Chiu and Chen, 2005; Munoz de Bustillo Llorente and Macias, 2005; Sloan, 2004; Menguc and Bhuiam, 2004; Yoon and Thye, 2002; Davey, Obst, and Sheehan, 2001; Hamermesh, 1999; Beaty, 1990; Sims and Szilagyi, 1976). Finally, it is helpful when comparing job quality across countries to include cultural values such as collectivism, power-distance, a “doing-orientation,” and determinism in the analysis (Huang and De Vliert, 2003; Kirkman and Shapiro, 2001) to help account for any possible cross-cultural response biases and control for cultural differences in perceived attitudes.
Individual-Level Factors Impacting Job Satisfaction: Religion, Family Background, and Race/Ethnicity As noted above, though there is a large range of common control variables (organization, structural, cultural, and individual-level) utilized in job satisfaction studies, three individual-level characteristics related to job satisfaction that warrant further examination include religion , race/ethnicity, and family background. Each will be explored in turn below.
Religion-Job Satisfaction Link Religion is actually one factor that is typically not controlled for in job satisfaction and work attitudes studies. While some efforts have been made over the last few decades to understand the linkage between religion and job satisfaction, as Martison and Wilkening (1983) aptly state: Research considering whether differences in work-related attitudes are attributable to religion has been infrequent…. the effects of religion on feelings about one’s labor have not been examined empirically despite religion’s theoretical importance as an antecedent of social integration and its empirical relationship to feelings of well-being. Whether differences in work-related attitudes stemming from religion actually exist has remained largely an unaddressed empirical question in the recent sociological literature (p. 348).
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However, progress in this regard has occurred, though still limited in nature, over the past couple of decades. As Roundy (2009) states, “organizational researchers have begun to examine the influence of religio n and spirituality on work outcomes. For instance, recent studies have examined the relationship between religious (and spiritual) belief and job satisfaction” (p. 24; see also King and Williamson, 2005; Bandsuch and Cavanagh, 2005; Milliman et al., 2003; Davidson and Caddell, 1994). The earliest rigorous empirical study of the link between religion and job satisfaction was conducted by Martison and Wilkening (1983), who utilized data from the Wisconsin Survey Research Laboratory to look at stratified random sample of employed Wisconsinites (N=323). They found that religion does have a positive, significant effect on intrinsic, but not extrinsic, job satisfaction. They also found that Catholics were statistically more intrinsically satisfied than those with no religious preference or of a non-Christian faith. Following the lead of Martison and Wilkening, Blau et al. (1986) conducted a study of personnel who work in ten New York State prisons, examining how job satisfaction is influenced by individual characteristics. Among those individual factors examined was the role that one’s religio n plays in one’s overall job satisfaction (as well as marital status and race). Contrary to the findings of some other studies that found a negative relationship between one’s level of religiosity and overall job satisfaction, they found for this population that religion failed to function as the hypothesized support system that would increase one’s overall life and work satisfaction. They also found that marital status was positively related to stress and negatively related to job satisfaction. Finally, they found that black workers were more satisfied than white workers. Just a couple of years later, Chusmir and Koberg (1988) conducted a study of 222 managerial and non-managerial workers that examined the relationship of specific religions and degree of religious beliefs to job satisfaction, as well as other various job-related attitudes and values such as motivational needs, work ethic, and organizational commitment. They found no significant correlations between work-related altitudes and specific religious affiliation or degree of religious conviction. However, they did find that Protestant workers scored higher in Protestant Work Ethic than did non-Protestants and persons with no religious affiliation had higher need for power than Protestants, Catholics or affiliates of Eastern religions. Most recently, Headey et al. (2008) utilized longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Survey (SOEP) to examine the relationship between satisfaction and religious practice. They found that individuals who
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become more religious over time record long term gains in life satisfaction, while those who become less religious record long term losses. Additionally, closely related to the linkage between religion and job satisfaction, the relationship between ethical climate types and job satisfaction is currently under-researched. Elçi, and Alpkan (2008) conducted a study of 1174 respondents in 62 different telecommunicatio n firms in Turkey that investigates the effects of nine ethical climate types (self-interest, company profit, efficiency, friendship, team interest, social responsibility, personal morality, company rules and procedures, and lastly laws and professional codes) on employee work satisfaction. Using Victo r and Cullen’s (1988) ethical climate typology, they confirmed the existence of nine different ethical climate types and found that the self-interest climate type appears to negatively influence work satisfaction, whereas team interest, social responsibility and law and professional codes climate types are found to have positive impacts.
Race/Ethnicity-Job Satisfaction Link Race and ethnicity is nearly always utilized as a control variable in all job satisfaction and work quality studies. However, the categories used for these studies vary widely. Many U.S. studies merely differentiate between black, white, and other respondents (see Wilson and Butler, 1978), while others use a wider variety of race/ethnic categories (see Costen et al., 2006). Additionally, while most studies merely control for race/ethnicity (Munoz de Bustillo Llorente and Macias, 2005; Sloan, 2004; Menguc and Bhuiam, 2004; Yoon and Thye, 2002; Davey, Obst, and Sheehan, 2001; Hamermes h , 1999), relatively few specifically examine the reasons behind reported differences among race/ethnic groups and job satisfaction (though the empirical findings with regard to race/ethnic differences are inconsistent at best). Some studies find a strong difference in job satisfaction and its determinants based on race/ethnicity, while others find no statistically significant difference. Furthermore, when statistically significant differences are reported, there is little consistency as to which racial group is better off. (e.g. Blau et al., 1986, found that black workers were more satisfied than white workers, while Tuch and Martin, 1991, found that blacks had statistically significant lower job satisfaction, and Glymour et al., 2004, found that black physicians did not differ significantly from white physicians). That said, as Jones et al. (2009), state, “One aspect of the potential role of employee engagement that merits greater investigation is the changing nature of the demographic makeup of the workplace” (p. 2). Additionally, as the authors argue, race is a salient component of how U.S.
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workers view their experiences in the workplace (Jones et al., 2009). Thus, the link between race/ethnicity and job satisfaction warrants closer examination. Early on in the development of the job satisfaction literature, Tuch and Martin (1991) recognized that previous research on job satisfaction had largely ignored possible race differences in its determinants and conducted a study to examine two explanations of a race/job satisfaction relationship. The first explanation was a structural perspective focusing on objective job rewards, which implies that characteristics of jobs, firms, and industries affect all workers’ satisfaction similarly, regardless of race. The second explanation looked at the role of worker orientations, which implies that race leads to distinctive job needs and values that then contributes to black/white differences in the sources of satisfaction. Utilizing national survey data, they found strong support for the structural model, where similarities outweigh differences in the predictors of job satisfaction across races. They concluded that blacks’ lower workplace satisfaction is a function of their lower scores on the factors that tend to promote satisfaction, not of racial differences in the process that determines satisfaction. After nearly a decade and a half of mostly white versus black differentiation in job satisfaction studies, Glymour et al. (2004) went beyond comparing whites and blacks and used a sample of 2,217 (57 black, 134 Hispanic, 400 Asian or Pacific Islander, and 1,626 white) physicians from the Physicians’ Worklife Survey (PWS) to examine race and ethnicity differences in job satisfaction. They found that Hispanic physicians reported significantly higher job (p=0.05) satisfaction compared to white physicians, while Asian or Pacific Islander physicians averaged lower job satisfaction compared to white physicians. Finally, Black physicians did not differ significantly fro m white physicians. To add an international flavor (while studies examining the race/ethnicjob satisfaction link are not as common in international research), AbuBader (2005) conducted a job satisfaction survey of Arab and Jewish social workers in Israel (N=218). They found that overall Jews reported higher levels of job satisfaction than their Arab co-workers. Furthermore, they found that for Jews, the most predictive factors for job satisfaction were relations with supervisors and level of autonomy, while for Arabs, the relations with supervisors and promotional opportunities were the most predictive factors. Additionally, Hanson and Lang (2008) utilized data from the National Educational Longitudinal Survey to examine factors impacting job satisfaction among scientists, focusing on differences based on race
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(specifically comparing white Americans and Asian Americans). They found that white scientists have higher overall job satisfaction than Asian American scientists. Additionally, there are race differences favoring whites on external sources of job satisfaction (e.g. pay and fringe benefits). Additionally, they found that Asian American and white male scientists have similar levels of satisfaction, while white women scientists have higher levels of internal job satisfaction than do Asian American women scientists. Finally, most recently, Jones et al. (2009) utilized data from a Gallu p Organization nationwide telephone survey of United States employees to ascertain perceptions of workplace discrimination and its effects on employee outcomes (with a racially diverse sample of 1,252 individuals— 492 White; 302 Black; 310 Latino; 104 Asian; 44 “No Response”). They found that Black and Latino respondents reported significantly higher levels of perceived discrimination than did White respondents and that this perceived discrimination had a significant negative impact on worker satisfaction.
Family Background-Job Satisfaction Link There is a wide range of literature addressing the interface between family background dynamics and the workplace. Early on in the development of the field, Kanter (1977) stated that “family situations can define work orientations, motivations, abilities, emotional energy, and the demands people bring to the workplace” (1977: 56-57). However, while marital status is nearly always utilized as a control variable in all job satisfaction and work quality studies, as well as sometimes number of children, other aspects of work-family conflict and other dynamics are not as common outside of the field of family research (if for no other reason than issues related to data collection and availability of such family-oriented variables in the workplace) (see Bilgic, 1998; Hammermesh, 1999; SouzaPoza and Souza-Poza, 2000; Hodson, 2002). Additionally, while marit al status is by far the most common individual-level family factor included is the workplace literature, empirical results are very inconsistent, with some studies finding a strong difference in job satisfaction and its determinants based on marital status, while others find no statistically significant difference. Furthermore, when statistically significant differences are reported, there is little consistency as to which marital status is better off in terms of job satisfaction levels (see Blau et al. 1986; Hodson, 2002). Dyer (1956) was among the first to look at the role that the family played in worker satisfaction. He conducted interviews with 87 families to see how the attitudes of different family members impacted the worker’s job
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satisfaction. He found that household “bread winners” are more likely to be dissatisfied with their work if other family members are not satisfied with the nature or prestige level of the job. Building on the early work of Dyer and others, the area of work-family studies has grown enormously over the past few decades. With the rapid development of the field, more and more researchers have been examinin g the interface between family background and dynamics and the workplace. Wiley (1987) found that family interfering with work was negatively related to job satisfaction in a sample of employed graduate students. Additionally, Burke (1988) surveyed police officers and found that a higher level of work interfering with family also resulted in decreased job satisfaction. More recently, Grandey et al. (2005) supported previous empirical findings that family interfering with work and work-family conflict is negatively related to job satisfaction. Once more, a positive link between job satisfaction and life satisfaction has been established by many researchers (see Tait et al., 1989; Judge and Watanabe, 1993), and Adams et al. (1996) and others have found that familial social support is positively related to life satisfaction, which again in turn positively impacts job satisfaction. However, not all studies have consistently shown that family characteristics are significant predictors of job satisfaction. For examp le, Roxburgh (1999) used a large random sampling of the Toronto metropolitan area to examine the influence of parenthood and social support on job satisfaction. He found that co-worker support is more important for men’s job satisfaction than partner support, while partner support is highly significant for women’s job satisfaction. And more recently, Sahibzada et al. (2005) utilized data from the Families and Work Institute’s 1997 archival data set (in conjunction with the National Study of the Changing Workforce) to determine whether work-family role combinations (such as work/elder care, work/child care, work/elder care/child care) and workfamily culture significantly impacted job satisfaction. They found that relationship between availability of workplace supports and job satisfaction varied depending on the type of work-family role combinations and levels of work-family culture.
Brief Critique of Job Satisfaction/Work Literature in Addressing these Issues The biggest challenge facing the job satisfaction literature with regards to the linkage between job satisfaction and the three main individual-lev el characteristics discussed above is that of inconsistent findings across empirical studies, as well as simply an inadequate examination of these
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important constructs as they impact worker satisfaction (particularly in the case of the religion-work linkage). This is due in large part to the vast interdisciplinary nature of these areas of research, where there is not yet theoretical or empirical consensus to provide consistency in operationalization of the variables across studies (whether that be race/ethnic categories, measures of religiosity or religious categories provided, or other family background factors). Additionally, nearly all studies that provide a more in-depth examination of the connection between race/ethnicity, religion, family background, and work look narrowly at a small sub-population (whether it be a particular organization or group of organizations in a city or region, isolating one type of occupation or worker, etc.), which make the findings harder to generalize across context. Future research needs to continue to examine each of these aspects in a more consistent and statistically rigorous way, across larger contexts, thus enabling greater levels of generalizability of study findings.
References Abu-Bader, S. H. 2005. “Gender, Ethnicity, and Job Satisfaction Among Social Workers in Israel.” Administration in Social Work, Vol. 29(3), p. 7-21. Adams, G.A., King, L.A., & King, D.W. 1996. “Relationships of Job and Family Involvement, Family Social Support, and Work-Family Conflict with Job and Life Satisfaction.” Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 81(4), p.411-420. Bandsuch, M.R. and Cavanagh, G. F. 2005. “Integrating Spirituality into the Workplace: Theory and Practice.” Journal of Management, Spirituality, and Religion, Vol. 2: 199-233. Beaty, David. 1990. “Re-Examin ing the Link between Job Characteristics and Job Satisfaction.” Journal of Social Psychology, Vol. 130(1), p. 131-132. Blau, J. R., Light, S. C., and Chamlin, M. 1986. “Individual and Contextual Effects on Stress and Job Satisfaction.” Work and Occupations, Vol. 13(1), p. 131-156. Burke, R.J. 1988. “Some Antecedents and Consequences of Work-Family Conflict.” Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, Vol. 3, p. 287302. Byrne, B. M., and Campbell, T. L. 1999. “Cross-Cultural Comparisons and the Presumptions of Equivalent Measurement and Theoretical Structure: A Look Beneath the Surface.” Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 30:555-574.
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Carlson, Jessica H, and Steven Mellor. 2004. “Gender-Related Effects in the Job Design-Job-Satisfaction Relationship: An International Approach.” Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 51(3-4): 237-247. Cheung, G. W., and Rensvold, R. B. 2000. “Assessing Extreme and Acquiescence Response Sets in Cross-Cultural Research Using Structural Equations Modeling.” Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 31:160-186. Chiu, Su-Fen and Hsiao-Lan Chen. 2005. “Relationship between Job Characteristics and Organizational Citizenship Behavior: The Mediational Role of Job Satisfaction.” Social Behavior and Personality, 33(6):523-539. Chusmir, L. H. and Koberg, C. S. 1988. “Religion and attitudes toward work: A New Look at an Old Question.” Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 9 (3), p. 251-262. Clark, A. E. and Oswald, A. J. 1996. “Satisfaction and Comparison Income.” Journal of Public Economics, 104:359-381. Costen, W., Salazar, J., and Antun, J. 2006. “Who’s Happy? The Relationship between Race/Ethnicity and Job Satisfaction in the Lodging Industry.” International Journal of Diversity in Organisations, Communities, and Nations, Vol. 6(2), p. 15-22. Dyer, W. G. 1956. “A Comparison of Families of High and Low Job Satisfaction.” Marriage and Family Living, Vol. 18(1), p. 58-60. Davey, J., Obst, P., & Sheehan, M. 2001. “Demographic and Workplace Characteristics which add to the Prediction of Stress and Job Satisfaction within the Police Workplace.” Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, Vol. 16(1), p. 29-39. Davidson, J. C., and Caddell, D. P. 1994. “Religion and the meaning of Work.” Journal of the Scientific Study of Religion, Vol. 33, p. 135-147. DeHart-Davis, Leisha and Sanjay K. Pandey. 2005. “Red Tape and Public Employees: Does Perceived Rule Dysfunction Alienate Managers?” Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 15(1):133-148. Diener, E., Diener, M., and Diener, C. 1995. “Factors Predicting the Subjective Well Being of Nations.” Journal of Personality Social Psychology, 69:851-864. Elçi, M. and Alpkan, L. 2008. “The Impact of Perceived Organizational Ethical Climate on Work Satisfaction.” Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 84(3), p. 297-311. Fischer, Ronald. 2004. “Standardization to Account for Cross-Cultural Response Bias: A Classification of Score Adjustment Procedures and Review of Research in JCCP.” Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 35(3):263-282.
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Gazioglu, S., & Tansel, A. 2006. “Job Satisfaction in Britain: Individual and Job Related Factors.” Applied Economics, Vol. 38(10), 1163-1171. Glymour, M. M., Saha, S., and Bigby, J. A. 2004. “Physician Race and Ethnicity, Professional Satisfaction, and Work-Related Stress: Results from the Physician Worklife Study.” Journal of the National Medical Assoication, Vol. 96(1), p. 1283-1294. Grandey, A. A., Cordeiro, B. L. and Crouter, A. C. 2005. “A Longitudinal and Multi Source Test of the Work–Family Conflict and Job Satisfaction Relationship.” Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, Vol.78, p. 305–323. Hamermesh D. S., 1999. “The Changing Distribution of Job Satisfaction,” NBER Working Paper 7332, Cambridge, Mass. Hanson, S. L. and Fang, F. 2008. “Gender, Race, and Job Satisfaction in Science Occupations: A Look at the Model Minority” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Sheraton Boston and the Boston Marriott Copley Place, Boston, MA. Headey, B., Schupp, J., Tucci, I., and Wagner, G. G. 2008. “Authentic Happiness Theory Supported by Impact of Religion on Life Satisfaction: A Longitudinal Analysis with Data for Germany.” IZA Discussion Paper No. 3915. Hodson, R. 1996. Dignity in the Workplace Under Participativ e Management: Alienation and Freedom Revisited. American Sociological Review, 61, 719-738. Huang, X., & De Vliert, E. 2003. “Where Intrinsic Job Satisfaction Fails to Work: National Moderators of Intrinsic Motivation. Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 24(2), 159-179. Jones, J., Ni, R., Wilson, J., and David, C. 2009. “Comparative Effects of Race/Ethnicity and Employee Engagement on Withdrawal Behavior.” Journal of Managerial Issues. Kanter, R.M. 1977. Work and Family Life in the United States: A Critical Review of Agenda for Research and Policy. New York: Russell Sage Foundation. King, J. E. and Williamson, I. O. 2005. “Workplace Religious Expression , Religiosity, and Job Satisfaction: Clarifying a Relationship.” Journal of Management, Spirituality, and Religion, Vol 2, p. 173-198. Martinson, O. B. and Wilkening, E. A. 1983. “Religion, Work Specialization, and Job Satisfaction: Interactive Effects.” Review of Religious Research, Vol. 24(4), p. 347-356. Menguc, B., & Bhuian, S. 2004. “Research Note: Career Stage Effects on Job Characteristic-Job Satisfaction Relationships among Guest Worker
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Salespersons.” Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Vol. 24(3), 215-227. Milliman, J., Czaplewski, J., and Ferguson, J. “Workplace Spirituality and Employee Work Attitude.” Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 16: p. 426-447. Roundy, P. T. 2009. “Work and Religion: Artificial Dichotomy or Competing Interests?” International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, Vol. 3(1), p. 24-30. Roxburgh, S. 1999. “Exploring the Work and Family Relationship.” Journal of Family Issues, Vol. 20(6), p. 771-788. Sahibzada, K., Hammer, L., Neal, M., and Kuang, D. 2005. “The Moderating Effects of Work-Family Role Combinations and WorkFamily Organizational Culture on the Relationship Between Family Friendly Workplace Supports and Job Satisfaction.” Journal of Family Issues, Vol. 26(6), p. 820-839. Sims Jr., Henry P., and Szilagyi, Andrew D. 1976. “Job Characteristic Relationships: Individual and Structural Moderators.” Organizational Behavior & Human Performance, Vol. 17(2), p. 211-230. Sousa-Pouza A., Sousa-Pouza A. 2000. Well-Being at Work: A CrossNational Analysis of the Levels and Determinants of job satisfaction,” Journal of Socio-Economics, vol. 29, pp. 517-538. Tuch, S., and Martin, J. 1991. “Race in the Workplace: Black/Whit e Differences in the Sources of Job Satisfaction.” Sociological Quarterly, Vol. 32(1), p. 103-116. Wilson, K., and Butler, J. 1978. “Race and Job Satisfaction in the Military.” Sociological Quarterly, Vol. 19(4), p. 626-638. Wiley, D.L. 1987. “The Relationship between Work-Nonwork Role Conflict and Job Related Outcomes: Some Unanticipated Findings.” Journal of Management, Vol. 13, p.467-472. Yoon, Jeongkoo and Thye, Shane R. 2002. “A Dual Process Model of Organizational Commitment: Job Satisfaction and Organizational Support.” Work and Occupations, Vol. 29(1), p. 97-125. Originally published: Westover, Jonathan H. 2010. "Individual Factors Impacting Worker Orientations and Perceptions in the Workplace: A Continued Examination of the Relationship between Individual-Level Religious, Racial/Ethnic, and Family Backgrounds with Worker Job Satisfaction." The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences: Annual Review 5 (1): 437-444. doi:10.18848/1833-1882/CGP/v05i01/53065.
CHAPTER SEVEN “GENDERED” PERCEPTIONS: JOB SATISFACTION AND GENDER DIFFERENCES IN THE WORKPLACE
Abstract There is a large cross-disciplinary research literature on gender and work, and it continues to grow. An ongoing point of debate is how are work satisfaction perceptions likely to be “gendered”? What factors seem to lie behind these gendered perceptions? For example, how do gender-specific expectations and stereotypes, gender segregation in work and occupations, the gender wage gap, and, importantly, gender-based inequity in the work of social reproduction bear on gender differences in work satisfaction, according to the literature? This chapter will address these questions and provide an overview of the historical and future directions of academic inquiry into “gendered” differences in the workplace that drive worker job satisfaction.
Introduction For years researchers have been examining such gender-work issues as the gender earnings gap and other areas of gender segregation and inequality in the workplace (see Clark and Oswald, 1996; Clark, 1997; Sloane and Williams, 2000; Sousa-Poza and Sousa-Poza, 2000). Only recently has there been an interest in estimating the gender gap in job satisfaction (Clark, 1997; Sousa-Poza and Sousa-Poza, 2000; Sloane and Williams, 2000; Donohue and Heywood, 2004) not just in the U.S., but also in many other countries across Europe and North America, as well as in Kenya (Mulinge and Mueller, 1998), China (Loscocco and Bose, 1998), and Kuwait (Metle, 2001). Additionally, research within specific occupations has found women to be more satisfied than their male counterparts as clergy (McDuff, 2001), scientists (Dhawan, 2000), attorneys (Hull, 1999), and doctors (Bashaw, 1999).
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In what follows, I will provide a brief overview of a variety of gender differences in the workplace, followed by a detailed discussion of the relationship between various aspects of gender and work linked to differences in job satisfaction. Finally, I will briefly discuss future directions for research in this field.
Overview of Gender Differences in the Workplace Researchers have long examined the gender earnings gap and findings clearly show that women are paid less than men (Clark and Oswald, 1996; Clark, 1997; Sloane and Williams, 2000; Sousa-Poza and Sousa-Poza, 2000). Additionally, over the last 20 years in the U.S., there has been an increase in the proportion of women in occupations traditionally dominated by men (Reskin and Roos, 1987; Fields and Wolff, 1991; Jacobs, 1992), especially in management professions (Burris and Wharton, 1982; Sokoloff, 1987). However, women remain a minority in many of the higher-ranking , higher-salaried, and more powerful positions in professional and managerial occupations (Fox and Hesse-Biber, 1984; Kaufman, 1989). Furthermore, when women are employed in these occupations, they tend to be located in lower-level specialties and positions, and they often receive lower salaries compared to their male peers (Berch, 1982; Burris and Wharton, 1982; Reskin and Phipps, 1988; Sokoloff, 1987). Though more women continue to enter the workforce in fields traditionally dominated by men (Reskin and Roos, 1987), most professional women are concentrated in a small number of occupations dominated by women (Fox and Hesse-Biber, 1984; Grimm, 1978; Kaufman, 1989; Sokoloff, 1987). Additionally, researchers have consistently found that female dominated jobs tend to pay less (Kidd and Goninon, 2000; Johnson and Solon, 1996; Millward and Woodland, 1995). Furthermore, even in women-dominated occupations, men tend to progress faster in the occupational hierarchy (Grimm, 1978), be disproportionately located in toplevel supervisory or administrative positions (Fox and Hesse-Biber, 1984; Grimm, 1978; Grimm and Stern, 1974; Kaufman, 1989), and receive higher salaries (Cassidy 1987). As Anker (1997) aptly states, “Occupational segregation by sex occurs everywhere, causing labour market rigidity and economic inefficiency, wasting human resources, preventing change, disadvantaging women, and perpetuating gender inequalities” (p. 315). In addition to the above-mentioned challenges and workplace conditions facing women in the labor force, in recent years more and more researchers have been examining such issues as gender and work-family factors, gender and higher work expectations, and gender and access to job mentoring. For
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example, Glass (1988) utilized data from the National Longitudinal Survey (1970-1980) to examine the impact of work conditions and family factors on a young woman’s likelihood to quit or change jobs and found that employment conditions and family factors such as pregnancy or child care do impact a young women’s decisions to change jobs or exit the labor force. Furthermore, women consistently report that higher levels of work effort are required from them as compared to their male co-workers (see Gorman and Kmec, 2007; Kaufman, 1989; Sokoloff, 1987). For example, Gorman and Kmec (2007) analyzed data from the 1997 Skills Survey of the Employed British Workforce (U.K.) and the 1997 National Study of the Changing Workforce (U.S.) to examine gender differences in required work in the two nations. They found that neither differences in job characteristics nor differences in family obligations explain the difference between women and men in self-reported work effort. They suggest that the gender difference in reported work effort is likely related to stricter performance standards imposed on women, even when women and men hold the same jobs. In addition, many researchers have reported gender differences in access to various workplace opportunities and benefits (see Burris and Wharton, 1982; Sokoloff, 1987; Fox and Hesse-Biber, 1984; Kaufman, 1989). For example, Mobley et al. (1994) used data from a 1989 cross-sectional survey of 1132 Georgia lawyers to examine gender difference in the effect of mentoring on lawyers’ employment situations and job satisfaction. They found that female lawyers are more likely than males to have mentors, but this is due to gender differences in type of law practice and position in those practices. Furthermore, they found that there is no significant gender difference in mentoring among associate-level lawyers. Finally, they found that having a mentor significantly increases both male and female lawyers’ job satisfaction equally. Finally, Bóo et al. (2009) utilized data from a recent household survey from Honduras to examine the gender preferences between part-time and full-time work. They find no preference for part-time work among women , but rather find that both women and men tend to prefer fulltime work. Additionally, they find “that partnered women with children, poor women or women working in the informal sector are more likely to prefer full-t ime work than single women, partnered women without children, non-poor women or women working in the formal sector” (p. 3).
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What is the Relationship between Gender and Job Satisfaction? Many empirical studies have found that women tend to enjoy significantly higher levels of job satisfaction (see Roxburgh, 1996; Clark, 1997; Sousa-Poza and Sousa-Poza, 2000; Bender et al., 2005). However, as Sousa-Poza and Sousa-Poza and others point out, this seems to be a paradox, as female workers are often in relatively lower level jobs, receive less pay, have less job mobility, lower chances for employer provided training, lower adjusted probabilities of receiving pensions and health insurance, experience more workplace discrimination, and experience more stress in the workplace than their male counterparts (Bielby and Baron, 1986; Heywood, 1989; Blau and Kahn, 1992; Lynch, 1992; Loprest, 1992; Roxburgh, 1996; Sousa-Poza and Sousa-Poza, 2000). For example, Kim (2005) examined the gender difference in job satisfaction among 5,128 public employees in the Seoul Metropolitan Government and found that women did experience higher levels of job satisfaction, despite the fact that women’s jobs are often worse off in terms of pay, autonomy, and promotional opportunity. Citing Chui (1998), Kim provides the followin g three-fold explanation for these results: There are several ways to explain why women are more satisfied than men. Chiu (1998) proposed three explanations. The explanation most commonly used is that women have lower expectations than men do because they compare themselves to other women, whereas men compare themselves to other men. Women expect less from work, and so they are satisfied with less. Second, women may be socialized not to express their discontent. Third, women and men may value different characteristics in a job. Hodson (1989) was among the first to fully examine gender differences in job satisfaction. Utilizing data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study of Schooling and Attainments, he looked specifically at gender differences in job satisfaction among full-time employees in 1975 (N=5,573). He found few differences between men and women in the determinants of job satisfaction when considering job characteristics, family responsibilities, and personal expectations. Furthermore, he states, “Little support is found for theories that men and women: (1) focus on different aspects of work in arriving at a given level of job satisfaction; (2) differentially condition their job satisfaction according to the extent of their family responsibilities; and (3) employ different personal expectations in evaluating their jobs” (p. 385). Rather, he argued that women tend to have higher level of job satisfaction than men due to using different comparison groups. Additionally, he argued
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that men may be more willing to verbalize dissatisfaction with work because of different socialization.
Gendered Work Values and Job Satisfaction Despite Hodsons early findings, continued research efforts have shown that the job characteristics valued by women and men differ (see Bokemeier and William, 1987; Hodson, 1989l Clark, 1997; Williams, 2000; Konrad et al., 2000; Donohue and Heywood, 2004). Clark (1997) demonstrated that women are significantly less likely to identify earnings as the most important aspect of a job. Furthermore, he showed that those workers who identify earnings as the most important aspect have lower overall job satisfaction, while on the other hand, he found that women are significantly more likely to identify social relations at work as the most important aspect of a job and that this identification correlates with higher job satisfaction. Konrad et al. (2000) performed a meta-analysis of 31 studies in the field of organizational behavior examining the relative preference by gender of job attributes. They conclude that men consider earnings and responsibility to be more important than do women. On the other hand, they conclude that women consider good co-workers, a good supervisor, and the significance of the task to be more important than men do. Additionally, Sloane and Williams (2000) and Donohue and Heywood (2004) found that higher earnings add more to the job satisfaction of men than to that of women and that increased usual hours of work are often associated with lower job satisfaction of women but not of men. Bokemeier and William (1987) utilized data from the National Opinion Research Center General Social Surveys, 1974-1982, and found that women receive significantly fewer job rewards than men, have significantly different job conditions, and possess slightly different work values. Finally , Bender et al. (2005) conducted a study in the U.S. to further examine the “the paradox of the contented female worker,” and had findings consistent with previous studies that women report higher job satisfaction than men and higher job satisfaction in workplaces dominated by women workers. More importantly, they found that women value job flexibility much more than men.
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Gender Segregation, Composition of Work, and Job Satisfaction Over the past several decades, many researchers have argued that employees’ job satisfaction levels are associated with the gender segregation and gender composition of their work group, due to attitudes being influenced by their perceptions of workplace contextual factors (see Brass, 1981; Cappelli and Scherer, 1991; Locke, 1976; Salancik and Pfeffer, 1977, 1978; Tsui and O’Reilly, 1989). Many studies suggest that men and women make occupation and workplace choices based on different preferences over job attributes. Tsui et al. (1992) found that the job satisfaction of male workers decreased with the proportion of females in their work group, and Sloane and Williams (2000) found that the job satisfaction of UK women was significantly lower in male dominated workplace. Additionally, Clark (1997) found that the gender satisfaction gap increased with the extent of females in the workplace. Furthermore, many studies have found that the gender composition of an employee’s work group impacts individual worker job satisfaction within that group (O’Reilly et al., 1989; Smith, 1992; Tsui, Egan and O’Reilly , 1992; Fields and Blum, 1997). For example, Fields and Blum (1997) analyzed a random sample of more than 1600 U.S. workers to examine the relationship between the gender composition of an employee’s work group and the employee’s job satisfaction. They found that “an employee’s job satisfaction is related to the gender composition of the employee’s work group, and that the relationship of these variables does not differ between male and female employees. Both men and women working in genderbalanced groups have higher levels of job satisfaction than those who work in homogeneous groups” (p. 181).
Individual Dispositional Factors, Gender-Perceptions, and Social Relations Many researchers have found that individual dispositional factors and gendered perceptions based on social composition factors plays a role in reported gender differences in job satisfaction (Dormann and Zapf, 2001; Wharton and Baron, 1991). Furthermore, a growing number of researchers suggest that workplace social relations have an important impact on job satisfaction for two primary reasons: (1) they shape workers’ expectations for rewards (e.g., Hodson, 1985; Loscocco and Spitze, 1991; Crosby, 1982; Wharton and Baron, 1991) and (2) they affect satisfaction directly (e.g., Marks, 1994; Wharton and Baron, 1987, 1991). Additionally,
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organizational demographers extend these arguments, however, with their suggestion that satisfying and dissatisfying workplace social relations may have demographic sources (Tsui et al., 1992; Ely, 1994; Wagner et al., 1984: O’Reilly et al., 1989). Wharton et al. (2000) further explored the impacts of social context on job satisfaction using hierarchical linear modeling to analyze data on classified employees working in 18 departments in a university. They found that satisfaction levels were lower in more heterogeneous departments (based on both sex and race). Finally, Lundquist (2008) used data from the Pentagon’s 1999 Survey of Active Duty Personnel (SADP) to examine the intersection of racial and gender disparities in work satisfaction among military personnel and found that Black males and females, Latino males and females, and White females all experience greater perceived benefits to military service and greater job satisfaction than white males. Additionally, she states, “Since women tend to work in highly gender-segregated conditions, it is suggested, their referent category is other women, not men…. [Thus] structural approaches suggest that black employees are more dissatisfied than female employees because they are reminded of their marginalization on an everyday basis” (p. 477).
Gendered Status Inconsistencies and Job Satisfaction Finally, Cassidy and Warren (1992) examined the role that holding a gender-based status-consistent or status-inconsistent position impacted the work satisfaction of college-educated, white-collar employees (they argued that men are viewed as status consistent in medicine, law, university teaching, science, and upper-level management; women are seen as status consistent in nursing, social work, librarianship, grade- and high-school teaching, and entry-level management). They found that workers in occupations in which the majority of workers are the same gender had significantly higher levels of work satisfaction than those in statusinconsistent occupations.
The Gender-Job Satisfaction Paradox Revisited Despite the many studies previously cited that find that women are more satisfied than men, not all findings have been completely conclusive, and many studies have also found no significant gender gap in job satisfaction (see Bokemeier and William, 1987; Mobley et al., 1994; Fields and Blum; 1997). Additionally, Brush et al. (1987) conducted a meta-analysis of 21 empirical studies, including over 10,000 employees, to examine the role of
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demographic factors in influencing job satisfaction. Though some of the theoretical literature and some empirical studies support the idea that there are significant gender differences in job satisfaction between males and females, the authors found that this connection is inconsistent and ultimately concluded that a gender difference in job satisfaction needs further examination.
Future Research The literature outlined above has identified many important genderrelated aspects that could have interesting implications for ongoing research efforts examining “gendered” differences in work quality characteristics and job satisfaction. This research should not merely control for one’s gender, but should include variables that help to better understand how those perceptions are “gendered”, including other elements of gendered workplace perceptions, gender differences in comparison groups, gender segregation and composition of the workplace, or other related measures.
References Anker, R. 1997. “Theories of Occupational Segregation by Sex: an Overview. “International Labour Review, Vol. 136, p. 315–349. Bashaw, D. 1999. “Gender Earnings and Job Satisfaction: the Case of US Physicians.” Ph.D. Dissertation, UMI Number 9916558, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Bender, K. A., Donohuey, S. M. and Heywoodz, J. S. 2005. “Job Satisfaction and Gender Segregation.” Oxford Economic Papers, Vol. 57, p. 479–496. Berch, Bettina. 1982. “The endless day: The political economy of women and work.” New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Blau, Francine D. and Kahn, Lawrence M. 1992. The Gender Earnings Gap : Learning from International Comparisons.” The American Economic Review, Vol. 82 (2), p. 533-538. Bielby, William T. and Baron, James N. 1986. “Men and Women at Work: Sex Segregation and Statistical Discrimination.” The American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 91 (4). p. 759-799. Bokemeier, J. L. and William, B. L. 1987. “Job Values, Rewards, and Work Conditions as Factors in Job Satisfaction among Men and Women.” The Sociological Quarterly, Vol. 28(2), p. 189-204. Bóo, F. L., Madrigal, L., and Pagés, C. 2009. “Part-Time Work, Gender and Job Satisfaction: Evidence from a Developing Country.” Inter-American Development Bank, p. 3-31.
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Brass, D. J. 1981. “Structural Relationships, Job Characteristics, and Worker Satisfaction and Performance.” Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 26, p. 331-348. Brush, Donald H., Moch, Michael K., and Pooyan, Abdullah. 1987. “Individual Demographic Differences and Job Satisfaction.” Journal of Occupational Behaviour, Vol. 8 (2), p. 139-155. Burris, Val and Wharton, A. 1982. “Sex Segregation in the U.S. Labor Force.” Review of Radical Political Economics, Vol. 14, p. 43-56. Cappelli, P. and Scherer, P. D. 1991. “The Missing Role of Context in OB: the Need for a Meso-Level Approach.” Research in Organizational Behavior, Vol. 13, p. 55-110. Cassidy, Margaret L. 1987. “The Semiprofessions: Gender Differences in Work-Related Attitudes and Status.” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Midwest Sociological Society, Chicago. Cassidy, M. L. and Warren, B. O. 1992. “Status Consistency and Work Satisfaction Among Professional and Managerial Women and Men.” Gender and Society, Vol. 5(2), p. 193-206. Clark, A.E. 1997. “Job satisfaction and gender: Why are women so happy at work?” Labour Economics, Volume 4(4), p. 341-372. Clark, A. and Oswald, A. 1996. “Satisfaction and Comparison Income.” Journal of Public Economics, Vol. 61, p. 359–381. Crosby, Faye J. 1982. Relative Deprivation and Working Women. New York: Oxford University Press. Dhawan, S. 2000. “Work Climate and Gender: Why Are Women Scientists so Satisfied at Work?” Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research, Vol. 59, p. 121–131. Donohue, S. and Heywood, J. 2004. “Job Satisfaction, Comparison Income and Gender: Evidence From the NLSY.” International Journal of Manpower, Vol. 25, p. 211-234. Dormann, C. and Zapf, D. 2001. “Job Satisfaction: A Meta-Analysis of Stabilities.” Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 22(5), p. 483-504. Ely, Robin. 1994. “The Effects of Organizational Demographics and Social Identity on Relationships Among Professional Women.” Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 39, p. 203-238. Fields, D. L. and Blum, T. C. 1997. “Employee Satisfaction in Work Groups with Different Gender Composition.” Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 18(2), p.181-196. Fields, J. and Wolff, E. N. 1991. “The Decline of Sex Segregation and the Wage Gap 1970-80.” Journal of Human Resources, Vol. 26(4), p. 608622.
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Konrad, A., Corrigall, E., Lieb, P., and Ritchie, J. 2000. “Sex Differences in Job Attribute Preferences Among Managers and Business Students.” Group and Organization Management, Vol. 25, p. 108–131. Locke, E. A. 1976. “The Nature and Causes of Job Satisfaction.” In: Dunnette, M. D. (Ed) Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Rand McNally, Chicago, pp. 1297-1349. Loprest, Pamela J. 1992. “Gender Differences in Wage Growth and Job Mobility.” The American Economic Review, Vol. 82 (2), p. 526-532. Loscocco, K. and Bose, C. 1998. “Gender and Job Satisfaction in Urban China: The Early Post-Mao Period.” Social Science Quarterly, Vol. 79, p. 91–109. Loscocco, Karyn A. and Spitze, G. 1991. “The Organizational Context of Women’s and Men’s Pay Satisfaction.” Social Science Quarterly, Vol. 72, p. 3-19. Lundquist, J. H. 2008. “Ethnic and Gender Satisfaction in the Military: The Effect of a Meritocratic Institution.” American Sociological Review, Vol. 73(3), p. 477–496. Lynch, L. 1992. “Private-Sector Training and the Earnings of Young Workers.” American Economic Review, Vol. 82, p. 299–312. Marks, Stephen R. 1994. “Intimacy in the Public Realm: The Case of CoWorkers.” Social Forces, Vol. 72. p. 843-858. McDuff, E. 2001. “The Gender Paradox in Work Satisfaction and the Protestant Clergy.” Sociology of Religion, Vol. 62, p. 1–21. Metle, M. 2001. “Education, Job Satisfaction and Gender in Kuwait.” International Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol. 12, p. 311–32. Millward, N. and Woodland, S. 1995. “Gender Segregation and Male/Female Wage Differences.” Centre for Economic Performance Discussion Paper No. 220, London School of Economics. Mobley, G. M., Jaret, C., Marsh, K., and Lim, Y. Y. 1994. “Mentoring, Job Satisfaction, Gender, and the Legal Profession.” Sex Roles, Vol. 31(1/ 2), p. 79-98. Mulinge, M. and Mueller, C. 1998. “Employee Job Satisfaction in Developing Countries: The Case of Kenya.” World Development, Vol. 26, p. 2181–2199. O’Reilly, C. A., Caldwell, D. F. and Barnett, W. P. 1989. “Work Group Demography, Social Integration and Turnover.” Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 34, p. 21-37. Reskin, Barbara F. and Roos, P. 1987. “Status Hierarchies and Sex Segregation.” In Ingredients for Women‘s Employment Policy, edited by C. Bose and G. Spitze. Albany: State University of New York Press.
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Roxburgh, Susan. 1996. “Gender Differences in Work and Well-Bein g : Effects of Exposure and Vulnerability.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior, Vol. 37 (3), p. 265-277. Salancik, G. R. and Pfeffer, J. 1977. “An Examination of Need-Satisfaction Models of Job Attitudes.” Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 22, p. 427-456. —. 1978. “A Social Information Processing Approach to Job Attitudes and Task Design.” Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 23, p. 224-253. Sokoloff, Natalie. 1987. “The Increase of Black and White Women in the Professions: A Contradictory Process.” In Ingredients for Women’s Employment Policy, edited by C. Bose and G. Spitze. Albany: State University of New York Press. Sloane, P.J. and Williams, H. 2000. “Job Satisfaction, Comparison Earnings and Gender.” Labour, Vol. 14, p. 473–502. Smith, P. C. 1992. “In Pursuit of Happiness.” In: Cranny, C. J., Smith, P. C. and Stone, E. F. (Eds) Job Satisfaction, Lexington, New York. Sousa-Poza, Alfonso and Sousa-Poza, Andrés A. 2000. “Taking Another Look at the Gender/Job-Satisfaction Paradox.” Kyklos, Volume 53 (2), p. 135-152. Tsui, A., Egan, T., and O’Reilly, C. 1992. “Being Different: Relational Demography and Organizational Attachment.” Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 37, p. 554–579. Tsui, A. and O’Reilly, C. 1989. “Beyond Simple Demographic Effects: The Importance of Relational Demography in Superior-Subordinate Dyads.” Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 32(2), p. 402-423. Wagner, W. Gary, Pfeffer, J. and O’Reilly III, Charles. A. 1984 “Organizational Demography and Turnover in Top-Management Groups.” Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 29 p. 74-92. Wharton, Amy S. and Baron, James N. 1987. “So Happy Together? The Impact of Sex Segregation on Men at Work.” American Sociological Review, Vol. 52, p. 574-587. —. 1991. “Satisfaction? The Psychological Impact of Gender Segregation on Women at Work.” The Sociological Quarterly, Vol. 32(3), p. 365387. Wharton, A .S, Rotolo, T, and Bird, S. R. 2000. “Social Context at Work: A Multilevel Analysis of Job Satisfaction.” Sociological Forum, Vol. 15(1), p. 65-90. Originally published: Westover, Jonathan H. 2010. "“Gendered” Perceptions: Job Satisfaction and Gender Differences in the Workplace." The International Journal of Diversity in Organizations, Communities, and Nations: Annual Review10 (1): 49-58. doi:10.18848/1447-9532/CGP/v10i01/39801.
CHAPTER EIGHT EXAMINING THE THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL DEVELOPMENTS AND FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS IN THE CROSS-DISCIPLINARY JOB SATISFACTION LITERATURE
Abstract Job satisfaction is an important factor in driving organizational learning and organizational change, and as such, job satisfaction continues to be an important area of cross-disciplinary study. The question is, what are the major theoretical explanations for explaining variation in job satisfaction? Additionally, how can one categorize the various sorts of explanations found in the literature? Furthermore, in terms of actual empirical research, which theoretical approaches seem to provide the best explanations? Finally, what are the remaining controversies? This chapter will address these questions and provide an overview of the historical and future directions of academic inquiry into job satisfaction.
Introduction Over the past several decades, literally thousands of studies have examined the relationship between job satisfaction and other important organizational variables. In addition, much work has been done to link key work quality characteristics to job satisfaction. As work plays an increasingly important role in our everyday lives, researchers have increasingly performed studies to understand workplace characteristics that impact our lives and how these characteristics impact a worker’s overall job satisfaction.
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Why Examining Work Quality and Job Satisfaction is Still Important Simply stated, job satisfaction is an affective or emotional response towards various aspects of one’s job (Locke, 1976). Researchers across a wide spectrum of academic disciplines have performed extensive research over the past three or four decades examining job satisfaction and its many contributing factors. Though this research has produced sometimes conflicting findings and the overall explanatory power of job satisfaction has been widely debated over that time, the question remains, why is it still important to study job quality characteristics and job satisfaction? Gazioglu and Tansel (2006) note that in recent years there has been a resurgence of interest among academic researchers and practitioners alike in the analysis of various job satisfaction variables and correlates. The question is, why? The bottom line is that work continues to be a very important part of our everyday lives, possibly even more so than at any other time in recent history. In fact, many individuals spend one-half or more of their waking hours in the workplace. Additionally, the landscape of work in the U.S. and across the world has changed dramatically over the past 15-20 years in response to economic shifts and an increasingly global economy. Jamison, et al. provides a nice summary of this perspective: “Today, work, with its attendant management hierarchies and educational requirements, organizational mergers, company buyouts, layoffs, downsizing, contingent work, and job insecurity, is undergoing a radical transformation that threatens the structure of the job as we have come to know. The work environment in which we spend so much of our daily lives today is thus likely to present an entirely new range of work environment [conditions]” (2004:43). Therefore, as work makes up such a dominant portion of our lives, and as the nature of work has been changing in recent decades, it is important to understand how workplace characteristics impact our lives and how these characteristics impact a worker’s overall job satisfaction. Thus, it is important to thoroughly revisit job satisfaction. The following sections will provide an overview of the key theoretical frameworks explaining variation in job satisfaction, followed by a discussion of the models that provide the best explanation, based on empirical research. Finally, I will address the remaining controversies and areas for future research in the academic study of job satisfaction.
Examining the Theoretical and Empirical Developments and Future Research 95 Directions in the Cross-Disciplinary Job Satisfaction Literature
Key Theories Explaining Variation in Job Satisfaction Job satisfaction researchers have explored a variety of theories to explain variation in job satisfaction. These various job satisfaction models can be generally grouped into five distinct model types, including need fulfillment models, discrepancies models, value attainment models, equity models, and dispositional/genetic components models. Each will be briefly reviewed below, starting with a more in-depth overview of need fulfilmen t models, which spurred the start of this line of theoretical and empirical examination of one’s experience in the workplace.
Need Fulfillment Models According to need fulfillment models, satisfaction is determined by the extent to which a job, with its specified characteristics and duties, allows an individual worker to meet his/her personal needs (Pinder, 1984). Need fulfillment models build off of the early work of Maslow, Alderfer, McClelland, and Herzberg. In 1943, Malsow first introduced his now famous needs hierarchy, including (1) physiological needs—survival needs such as food, air, and water, (2) safety needs—safety from physical and psychological harm, (3) love needs—desire for love, affection, and belonging, (4) esteem needs— reputation, prestige, recognition, and (5) the need for self-actualization — desire for self-fulfillment and meeting one’s full potential. Maslow argued that one must first satisfy those most basic needs before moving up to needs higher up on the hierarchy (see Maslow, 1943). Despite the extensive empirical research that has been performed to test this model, little evidence exists to clearly support it. In the late 1960’s, Alderfer provided an alternative theory of human needs, which he identified as the ERG model; (E) Existence—physiological and materialistic well-being; (R) Relatedness—meaningful relationships; and (G) Growth—personal growth and reaching one’s fullest potential. Unlike Maslow’s hierarchy, Adlerfer did not assume that these needs are related to each other in a stair-step manner (Alderfer, 1972). As with empirical testing of Maslow’s hierarchy model, research on Alderfer’s ERG theory has produced at best mixed support (e.g. Wanous and Zwany, 1977). McCelland looked at needs in terms of the following 3 areas: (1) Need for Achievement—mastering difficult tasks, (2) Need for Affiliation— creating and maintaining social relationships, and (3) Need for Power— individual desire for influence (McClelland, 1961). Many studies have provided strong support for the linkage between these three areas and
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worker motivation and satisfaction (see Parson and Pascale, 2007; McNeese-Smith, 1999; Harell and Stahl, 1981). Herzberg also introduced his motivator-hygiene theory, which combined many of the components of the previous needs theories, while specifically looking at the role that different work factors play in driving both job satisfaction, as well as job dissatisfaction (what he called hygiene factors—elements that must be in place, and when absent will drive dissatisfaction). From a study in which he interviewed 203 accountants and engineers, he found that job satisfaction is more closely associated with achievement, recognition, characteristics of the work, responsibility, and advancement (Hezberg et al., 1959). Additionally, he found that job dissatisfaction is primarily related to such factors as company policy and administration, technical supervision, salary, interpersonal relations, and working conditions (Herzberg et al., 1957; Hezberg et al., 1959; Herzberg , 1968). Other empirical research surrounding this theory does not clearly support Herzberg’s idea that some factors drive higher job satisfaction while others are simply hygiene factors, but the research does clearly demonstrate that each of the factors listed above are clearly linked to job satisfaction (see Lockwood, 2007; Lockwood, 2006; Pinder, 1984).
Discrepancy Models Discrepancy models suggest that satisfaction is a result of met, or sometimes unmet, expectations (Wanous et al., 1992). Unmet expectations are the difference between what a worker expects from a job, and what he/she actually receives (such as pay, benefits, advancement opportunities, etc.). In this framework, satisfaction is high when expectations are met or exceeded, and low when they are not. A meta-analysis of 31 discrepancy model studies clearly demonstrated that met worker expectations are significantly related to overall job satisfaction (Wanous et al., 1992).
Value Attainment Models Value attainment models are based on the belief that satisfaction comes from the perception that one’s job fulfills an individual’s work values (Collins and Stukas, 2006). These models argue that though values may differ amongst various locations, companies, departments, and individuals, understanding, encouraging, and reinforcing these values can greatly improve employee satisfaction and motivation (Collins and Stukas, 2006). Overall, the empirical research strongly supports the theoretical argument
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that value attainment is significantly and positively related to job satisfaction (see Hochwarter et al., 1999).
Equity Models Equity models assert that satisfaction is based on the perception of how fairly an individual is treated at work. This is largely based on how one’s own work outcomes, relative to his/her inputs and efforts, compare to the input/output of others in the work place (see Duval and Silvia, 2002). This perspective argues that if one sees that another worker is receiving equal or greater rewards for doing less work, this will reflect negatively on his/her level of satisfaction. Therefore, this perspective suggests that employers should seek to understand his/her workers’ perceptions of fairness and to seek to interact with employees in a way that helps them to feel treated equitably (Duval and Silvia, 2002). The empirical research strongly supports this proposition, demonstrating a highly significant relationship between perceived equity and overall job satisfaction. Additionally, this has been found consistently across countries (see Loi et al., 2006; Begley et al., 2006).
Dispositional/Genetic Models Dispositional and genetic components models suggest that individual employee differences are just as important for determining job satisfaction and success as workplace related factors (see Hulin and Judge, 2003). Individual genetic factors are also tied to satisfaction (see Arvey et al., 1989). Though to date only a handful of studies have tested this theory, existing research finds a positive and significant relationship between personal traits and job satisfaction (see Staw and Choen-Charash, 2005). Additionally, Dormann and Zapf (2001) estimate that 30% of an individual’s work satisfaction is correlated with dispositional and genetic components.
Models Providing Best Explanation of Job Satisfaction Though there has been mixed empirical support for each of the theoretical model types outlined above, in this section I will seek to briefly outline and describe those empirical models that provide the best explanation for job satisfaction, identifying what has been empirically demonstrated as the key determinants to job satisfaction, while building upon growing theoretical discussion over the past half century. First, I will
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look at Hackman and Oldham’s job characteristics model, followed by a brief overview of the developments since Hackman and Oldham’s work.
Hackman and Oldham’s Job Characteristics Model Building on the work of the many theoretical predecessors outline above, Smith, Kendall, and Hulin (1969) were among the first researchers to thoroughly empirically explore job satisfaction and its determents, using the Job Descriptive Index, and found that a worker’s satisfaction is closely related to various work factors, including pay, promotions, co-workers, and supervision. Furthermore, in 1976, organizational behavior researchers J. Richard Hackman and Greg Oldman published a seminal article entitled, “Motivation through the Design of Work: Test of a Theory,” which played a central role in developing a job characteristics approach to understanding worker motivation and job satisfaction. In this article, they outlined five core job dimensions, including the following: (1) Skill Variety— the extent to which a job requires an individual to perform a variety of tasks that require him or her to use different skills and abilities, (2) Task Identify—the extent to which the job requires an individual to perform a whole or completely identifiable piece of work, (3) Task Significance—the extent to which the job affects the lives of other people within or outside the organization, (4) Autonomy— the extent to which the job enables an individual to experience freedom, independence, and discretion in completing the job, and (5) Feedback—the extent to which an individual receives direct and clear information about how effectively he or she is performing the job (see Hackman and Oldham, 1976). Since this article’s publication in the mid-1970’s, empirical research has overwhelming ly demonstrated a strong relationship between these job characteristics and job satisfaction (see Morgeson and Humphrey 2006; Fried and Ferris 2006).
Developments Since Hackman and Oldham’s Job Characteristics Model Following the development and subsequent extensive empirical testing of Hackman and Oldman’s Job Characteristics Model and the five core job dimensions outlined above, there has been an extensive expansion of this area of study in the workplace literature, which spans many academic disciplines, and examines the linkage between job satisfaction and a variety of other both intrinsic and extrinsic workplace characteristics and workplace conditions, such as job security, pay, worker autonomy, interesting work, etc. (see Handel, 2005; Munoz de Bustillo Llorente, 2005; Chiu and Chen,
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2005; Lee, McCabe, and Graham, 1983; Voydanoff, 1980; Kalleberg , 1977). These studies have consistently found an important degree of correlation and statistically significant predictability with the relationship between the various characteristics of one’s workplace and job satisfaction (see Fried and Ferris, 2006; Gazioglu and Tansel, 2006; Morrison et al., 2005; Menguc and Bhuiam, 2004; Wright and Kim, 2004; Huang and De Vliert, 2003; Yoon and Thye, 2002; Davey, Obst, and Sheehan, 2001; Judge, Bono, and Locke, 2000). More specifically, indicators of job satisfaction and job quality include such commonly examined job characteristics such as pay, job security, job variety, job involvement, job identity, job significance, job feedback, opportunity for advancement, career-development opportunities, perceived skill utilization, adequacy of resources, interesting work, self-actualization opportunity, job autonomy, organizational commitment, stress, work load, physical effort, danger, management-employee relations, coworker relations, unemployment rate, and overwork (Handel, 2005; Morrison et al., 2005; Munoz de Bustillo Llorente and Macias, 2005; Chiu and Chen, 2005; Carlson and Mellor, 2004; Menguc and Bhuiam, 2004; Wright and Kim, 2004; Van den berg and Feil, 2003; Hodson, 2002; Davey, Obst, and Sheehan, 2001; Kalleberg , 1977).
The Remaining Controversies and Areas for Future Research To be able to examine these questions and further explore possible explanations and mechanisms by which these relationships unfold, research needs to address the following areas. First, research needs to better understand the linkage between various job quality characteristics and worker satisfaction, and how those differ across different individual-lev el characteristics, such as religiosity, family background, race/ethnicity, and gender, as well as other important individual cultural, dispositional, and genetic factors. Furthermore, there is a need to better understand how worker satisfaction relates to many other important organizational, institutional, economic, and individual outcomes. Finally, there is a need to better understand cross-national differences in these relationships and what these differences mean for various stakeholders (e.g. employers, employees, labor unions, governments, etc.). As was demonstrated in the review above, there is a wide range of academic literature that examines the role of various workplace characteristics in driving worker satisfaction. And though not discussed here, there is a large body of literature that also examines job satisfaction
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and important organizational, individual, and social correlates. However, the vast majority of this research only examines job quality, job satisfaction, and the outcomes of job satisfaction in one country or region at a time. Relatively little has been done examining cross-national differences in work quality and job satisfaction, and virtually no prior research has examin ed country contextual effects on differences in job quality characteristics and job satisfaction. Furthermore, to my knowledge, no prior research has addressed this question on a global cross-national comparative scale. The research that has looked at differences around the world has primarily examined job satisfaction from a cross-cultural perspective. Virtually no research has examined country differences in job quality and job satisfaction from a macro cross-national/global perceptive (including such important country-specific contextual variables as various social variables, human capital variables, various national-level economic variables, and political variables). Furthermore, no research has examined the macro-sociological reasons behind the cross-national differences in significant job quality determinants of job satisfaction and the cross-national differences in levels of job satisfaction and how that has changed over the past few decades. These are all areas for future research.
References Alderfer, C. P. 1972. Existence, Relatedness, and Growth: Human Needs in Organizational Settings. New York: Free Press. Begley, T. M., Lee, C., and Hui, C. 2006. “Organizational Level as a Moderator of the relationship between Justice Perceptions and Work-Related Reactions.” Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vo l 27(6), p. 705-721. Carlson, Jessica H, and Steven Mellor. 2004. “Gender-Related Effects in the Job-Design-Job-Satisfaction Relationship: An International Approach.” Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 51(3-4): 237-247. Chiu, Su-Fen and Hsiao-Lan Chen. 2005. “Relationship between Job Characteristics and Organizational Citizenship Behavior: The Mediational Role of Job Satisfaction.” Social Behavior and Personality, 33(6):523539. Davey, J., Obst, P., & Sheehan, M. 2001. “Demographic and Workplace Characteristics which add to the Prediction of Stress and Job Satisfaction within the Police Workplace.” Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, Vol. 16(1), p. 29-39.
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Duval, T. S. and Silvia, P. J. 2002. “Self-Awareness, Probability of improvement, and the Self-Serving Bias.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol 82(1), p. 49-61. Fried, Yitzhak and Ferris, Gerald R. 2006. “The Validity of the Job Characteristics Model: A Review and Meta-Analysis.” Personnel Psychology, Vol. 40(2), p. 287-322. Gazioglu, S., & Tansel, A. 2006. “Job Satisfaction in Britain: Individual and Job Related Factors.” Applied Economics, Vol. 38(10), 1163-1171. Hackman, J. R., & Oldham, G. R. 1976. Motivation Through the Design of Work: Test of a Theory.” Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, Vol. 16, 250-279. Handel, Michael J. 2005. “Trends in Perceived Job Quality, 1989 to 1998.” Work and Occupations, 32(1): 66-94. Harell, A. M. and Stahl, M. J. 1981. “A Behavioral Decision Theory Approach for Measuring McCelland’s Trichotomy of Needs.” Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol 66(2), p. 242-247. Herzberg, Frederick. 1968. “One More Time: How Do You Motivate Employees?” Harvard Business Review, Vol. 46, p. 53-62. Herzberg, F., Mausner, B., Peterson, R. O., and Capwell, D. F. 1957. Job Attitudes: Review of Research and Opinion. Pittsburgh: Psychological Service of Pittsburgh. Herzberg, F, Mausner, B., and Snyderman, B. B. 1959. The Motivation to Work. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Hochwarter, W. A., Perrewé, P. L., Ferris, G. R. and Brymer, R. A. 1999. “Job Satisfaction and Performance: The Moderating Effects of Valu e Attainment and Affective Disposition.” Journal of Vocational Behavior, Vol. 54 (2), p. 296-313. Hodson, Randy. 2002. “Demography or Respect?: Work Group Demography versus Organizational Dynamics as Determinants of Meaning and Satisfaction at Work.” The British Journal of Sociology, 53(2): 291-317. Huang, X., & De Vliert, E. 2003. “Where Intrinsic Job Satisfaction Fails to Work: National Moderators of Intrinsic Motivation. Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 24(2), 159-179. Hulin, C. L. and Judge, T. A. 2003. “Job Attitudes,” in Handbook of Psychology, vol. 12, eds W. C. Borman, D. R. Ilgen, and R. J. Klimoski (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.), p. 255-276. Judge, T., Bono, J., & Locke, E. 2000. “Personality and Job Satisfaction: The Mediating Role of Job Characteristics.” Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 85(2), p. 237-249.
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Lee, Raymond, McCabe, Dennis J., and Graham, William K. 1983. “Multivariate Relationships between Job Characteristics and Job Satisfaction in the Public Sector: A Triple Cross-Validation Study.” Multivariate Behavioral Research, Vol. 18(1): 47-63. Locke, Edwin A. 1976. “The Nature and Causes of Job Satisfaction.” In M. D. Dunnette, ed., Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Chicago: Rand McNally. Lockwood, N. R. 2006. “Respect: Find Out what it Means to Employees.” Training, June, p. 12. Lockwood, N. R. 2007. “Leveraging Employee Engagement for Competitive Advantage.” SHRM Quarterly, p. 1-11. Loi, R., Hang-Yue, N, and Foley, S. 2006. “Linking employees’ Perceptions to Organizational Commitment and Intention to Leave: The Mediating Role of Perceived Organizational Support.” Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, Vol. 79(1), p. 101-120. Maslow, A. H. 1943. “A Theory of Human Motivation.” Psychological Review, Vol. 50:370-396. McClelland, D.C. 1961. The Achieving Society. Princeton, NJ: Van Nostrand. McNeese-Smith, D. K. 1999. “The Relationship between Managerial Motivation, Leadership, Nurse Outcomes and Patient Satisfaction.” Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 20(2), p. 243-259. Menguc, B., & Bhuian, S. 2004. “Research Note: Career Stage Effects on Job Characteristic-Job Satisfaction Relationships among Guest Worker Salespersons.” Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Vol. 24(3), 215-227. Morrison, D., Cordery, J., Girardi, A., & Payne, R. 2005. “Job Design, Opportunities for Skill Utilization, and Intrinsic Job Satisfaction.” European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, Vol. 14(1), p. 59-79. Parsons, G. D. and Pascale, R. T. 2007. “Crisis at the Summit.” Harvard Business Review, March, p. 80-89. Pinder, C.C. 1984. Work Motivation: Theories, Issues, and Applications. Glenwood, Il: Scott, Foresoman. Smith, P.C., Kendall, L. M., and Hulin, C. L. 1969. The Measurement of Satisfaction in Work and Retirement. Stokie: Rand McNally. Staw, B. M., and Choen-Charash, Y. 2005. “The Dispositional Approach to Job Satisfaction: More than a Mirage, but not yet an Oasis.” Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 26(1), p. 59-78.
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Voydanoff, Patricia. 1980. “Perceived Job Characteristics and Job Satisfaction among Men and Women.” Psychology of Women Quarterly, Vol. 5(2): 177-186. Wanous, J. P., Poland, T. D., Premack, S. L., and Davis, K. S. 1992. “The Effects of Met Expectations on Newcomer Attitudes and Behaviors: A Review and Meta-Analysis.” Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 77(3), p. 288-297. Wanous, J. P. and Zwany, A. 1977. “A Cross-Sectional Test of Human Need Hierarchy Theory.” Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, Vol. 18(1), p. 78-97. Wright, B., & Kim, S. 2004. “Participation’s Influence on Job Satisfaction: The Importance of Job Characteristics.” Review of Public Personnel Administration, Vol. 24(1), p. 18-40. Yoon, Jeongkoo and Thye, Shane R. 2002. “A Dual Process Model of Organizational Commitment: Job Satisfaction and Organizational Support.” Work and Occupations, Vol. 29(1), p. 97-125. Originally published: Westover, Jonathan H. 2010. "Examining the Theoretical and Empirical Developments and Future Research Directions in the CrossDisciplinary Job Satisfaction Literature." The International Journal of Learning: Annual Review 17 (1): 213-220. doi:10.18848/1447-9494/CGP/v17i01/46829.
P ART THREE UNDERSTANDING THE COMPARATIVE INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT
CHAPTER NINE EMPIRICALLY EXAMINING RESEARCH QUESTIONS IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES STATISTICAL RESEARCH METHODS IN COMPARATIVE INTERNATIONAL SOCIOLOGY
Abstract Empirical cross-national researchers employ a variety of statistical methods to evaluate their research hypotheses. These methods include OLS cross-sectional and panel regression models, fixed and random effects models, structural equation models, hierarchical linear models, and network analysis, to name just a few. This chapter discusses the pros and cons of these various methodologies and describes for what type of social science research question each is most appropriate.
Introduction There are a variety of statistical methods to evaluating different research hypotheses. In what follows, I will provide examples of research using each and discuss the pros and cons and appropriateness of different types of research questions for each statistical method. I will first look at (1) OLS Cross-Sectional and Panel Regression Models, followed by (2) Fixed and Random Effects Models, then (3) Logit, Probit, and Ordered Probit Models, (4) Structural Equation Models, (5) Hierarchical Linear Models, and (6) Network Analysis.
OLS Cross-Sectional and Panel Regression Models OLS cross-section studies and panel regression studies are very common in sociology. OLS cross-section studies provide a one-time snapshot in time of what is happening with a given set of variables. For example, Handel (2005) examined trends in perceived job satisfaction from 1989 to 1998 using general attitudinal variables collected in the 1989 and 1998 Work
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Orientations modules of the general social survey. However, due to the nonpanel longitudinal nature of the data, but rather two waves of cross-sectional data, he could not specifically test the direction of causality among the variables examined, though he argued direction of causality in the theoretical development section of his paper. In contrast with cross-section studies, panel models correct for the direction of causality weakness and allow researchers to specifically test for it. Examples of such panel research abound, including Timberlake and Kentor’s (1983) work exploring the relationship between penetration by foreign capital and overurbanization, in which they examined less developed countries between 1965 and 1975 and were able to show clearly that dependence on foreign capital leads to increased over-urbanization, which in turn leads to reduced economic growth. Dixon and Boswell (1996) also used OLS panel analysis to show that foreign capital dependence diminishes economic growth, enhances income inequality, and impairs domestic capital formation. Kentor and Boswell (2003) and Grimes and Kentor (2003) used similar approaches to test similar types of hypotheses, and due to the panel nature of the analysis were able to control for “prior states of the countries included in the analysis and [to control] for the possibility of reciprocal causality” (p. 267). Firebaugh and Beck (1994) further argue that panel data is “appropriate for the questions raised by dependency theory” (p. 636). An additional strength of panel regression models often mentioned is that they protect against threats of unit heterogeneity (see Halaby 2004). Additionally, OLS regression results are easily interpretable as a 1 unit increase in the independent variable either increasing or decreasing the dependent variable by coefficient value amount.
Fixed and Random Effects Models Researchers who utilize OLS cross-sectional and panel models are also faced with the problem of unmeasured constant variables (such as unchanging or nearly unchanging national characteristics like location, typography, natural resources, culture, economic system, political system, etc.) that when omitted due to difficulty in gathering the data could cause bias in the results. Firebaugh and Beck (1994) argue that fixed effects models can correct for this weakness. They argue that the solution to the problem of the unmeasured constant variables is to use a difference model or fixed effects model (by subtracting the two equations and taking the difference). They identify three benefits to this approach, including (1) “… the effects of the constant variables are removed even though the variables
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are not actually measured…”, (2) “… all variables are measured as change scores, which distinguishes the ‘true’ difference model from the semidifference model [common] in dependency research…”, and (3) “… a fixed effects model is a growth rate model if the variables are logged…”, which in turn has three advantages, including more robust results because outliers exert less influence, that it avoids out-of-bounds estimates, and that the coefficients have a ready interpretation as the effect of one rate on another (p. 637). Halaby (2004) suggests that random effects models are also a popular approach in cross-national panel analysis, including studies he included in his analysis of a selection of panel studies that appeared in AJS and ASR from 1990-2003, such as Kenworthy’s (2002) study of unemployment, Nielson & Alderson’s (1995) study of international organizations, and Shofer and colleagues’ (2000) study of “science and economic growth” (p. 520). Furthermore, according to Nielson & Alderson’s (1995) unlike fixed effects models, random effects models treat the time-invariant factors, such as those mentioned above, as a random component of the error term, and state: “The fixed effects model is equivalent to applying OLS regression to the data transformed by subtracting the country-specific means from the original data”, whereas the “transformation for the random effects model consists of subtracting only a fraction of the country-specific means” (p. 685). In their study, they used the random effects model over the fixed effects model because the “fixed effects model cannot be estimated for models that include time-invariant variables…, as these variables are collinear with the fixed country-specific intercept specified in the fixed effect model. [Additionally], the random effects model is asymptotically efficient relative to the fixed effects model” (p. 685-686).
Logit, Probit, and Ordered Probit Models Another common regression method is logit, probit, and ordered probit analysis. Logit and probit models are useful when dealing with research questions that have a dependent variable dummy that can only hold the value of 1 or 0 (such as examining one’s decision to use public transportation or not, whether one is married or not, etc.) and continuous independent variables. A logit model is more commonly used when there is an assumption of equal categories, whereas a probit model is more appropriate when there is assumed a normal distribution of the dependent variable. Unlike the interpretation of OLS regression coefficients, logit and probit results are interpreted in terms of probabilities with relation to the dependent variable value (see Fu 2007).
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Ordered probit regression is used when the dependent variable is ordered and categorical, with similar interpretation as probit models, only in relation to cut points at each level of the dependent variable (see Fu 2007). For example, Souza-Poza and Souza-Poza (2000) utilized ordered probit regression to examine cross-national attitudinal data on work characteristics and job satisfaction (an ordered and categorical dependent variable). The challenges to using ordered probit for such analysis is that the results are not as intuitively interpretable and that it is not appropriate to compare coefficients across models. However, Handel (2005) suggests that many researchers have argued that using OLS regression is appropriate when looking at satisfaction variables on a Likert scale, where most respondents understand that the difference between responses of 1 and 2 is the same as the difference between responses of 2 and 3, and so on. Additionally, using OLS regression results allows us to report an r-squared and adjusted rsquared value for the model, not available in ordered probit results.
Structural Equation Models Another statistical method commonly used in the field of comparative international sociology is that of structural equation models. Structural equation modeling is typically used in causal modeling or path analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, second order factor analysis, regression models, covariance structure models, and correlation structure models (see Structural Equation Modeling 2008). Additionally, unlike other methods of multiple regression, structural equation modeling looks at such issues as multiple latent independents measured by multiple indicators and the modeling of interactions (see Bielby and Hauser 1977; Muthen, Bengt and Satorra 1995). Kentor (2001) utilized the structural equation modeling method to examine long-term effects of globalization and the “interrelationships between foreign direct investment, income inequality, population growth, and economic development” (p. 441). He conducted “time-sequenced path analyses” with a structural equation model, which he argues has several advantages over other cross-sectional and panel regression methods, including: “First, it clearly specifies the hypothesized direct and indirect relationships among the variables in question, and permits the estimation of these effects. Second, the maximum likelihood estimation (M LE) employed in these structural equation models is a full information estimation method. That is, no information is excluded from the analyses because of missing data. The
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result is a more consistent, less biased estimation than either listwise or pairwise deletion methods of standard multiple regression models” (p. 441).
Thus, this approach is appropriate and useful when testing theory with hypotheses geared towards understanding the interrelationship of variables of interest in a time-sequenced manner.
Hierarchical Linear Models Another statistical method is hierarchical or cross-level techniques. These are appropriate when variables are measured at different levels of analysis, such as when the dependent variable, some independent variables, and individual control variables are measured at the individual level, and other independent variables will be measured at the country level. Conventional statistical techniques are inadequate to test hierarchical models and can result in aggregation bias, misestimated precision and levels of analysis problems (Bryk and Raudenbush 2002). Therefore, because ordinary least squares (OLS) techniques have been criticized for their inadequacy in addressing cross-level issues in cross-national studies (Rousseau 1985), it is more appropriate to use hierarchical linear modelin g (HLM) to test cross-level relationships (Bryk and Raudenbush 2002; Snijders and Bosker 2003). For example, for any study that might involve assessing the impact of country-level factors on individuals, the HLM models will consist of two levels (Bryk and Raudenbush 1992). At level 1, the unit of analysis will be the individual, and each person’s outcome will be a function of a set of individual characteristics and responses. At level 2, the unit of analysis is each nation, where the dependent variable is hypothesized to depend on specific country factors adjusted for the regression coefficients in the level 1 model. For example, Wharton et al. (2000) used hierarchal linear models to analyze data on workers and departments in one organization to “evaluate the relative effects of individual characteristics and departmental demographic characteristics on workers’ job satisfaction” (p. 67). This approach made it possible for them to separate individual-level effects fro m aggregate-level effects, and they found that satisfaction levels are lower in more sex- and race-heterogeneous departments.
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Network Analysis Social network analysis studies are very common in some areas of macro sociology and global studies, including the testing of the global cities hypotheses and other research questions related to various networks within a global system. For example, Alderson and Beckfield (2004) argue that “social network analysts suggest that power is best viewed as a consequence of patterns of social relations that generate opportunities and constraints” and that “network analysts … [can pursue] the world city hypothesis to assess (1) the degree of power wielded by individual cities and (2) the positions of and roles played by different types of cities within the world system” (p. 812-813). In this fashion, Smith and Timberlake (2001) used network analysis of flows of airline passengers between cities to identify the major nodes of the world city network, the strength of network ties between major world cities, and how various network characteristics change over time. Alderson and Beckfield (2004) also examined the role of cities in the global economy, exploring 3,692 cities’ position in international flows of investment and trade through a network analysis with block modeling techniques (using the branch location of the world’s 500 largest multinational enterprises in 2000). Additionally, Smith and Timberlake (2001) argue: Although the leading theorists may be unlikely to turn to high-powered statistical analysis to test their models of global structure and hierarchy, quantitative network analysis is particularly well-suited for this purpose. With appropriate data, this methodology allows us simultaneously to analyze multiple patterns of flows, exchanges, and linkages between cities (or other nodes) in a way that reveals the complex patterning of connections between them as well as the structure of the entire network. It gives researchers a powerful tool to examine global flows of people, commodities, capital, information, and so on. So formal network analysis provides an elegant and rigorous way to operationalize theoretical conceptions about the world economy and the global city system (p. 1660).
They further add that quantitative network analysis also provides “insights into the attributes of particular points”, such as centrality, which can be linked to “power, prestige, and economic success” (p. 1661).
Conclusion In conclusion, there are a variety of statistical methods to evaluating different research hypotheses. Each provides a unique way of analyzing the data and accounting for the various statistical assumptions that are behind
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each model. In many instances, a particular research question can be approached using multiple statistical methods, but as has been summarized above, each statistical approach is best suited for specific types of research questions, ultimately resulting in the maximizing from the benefits of that approach and avoiding the weakness of another, thus strengthening the findings that interpreted from the analysis results.
References Alderson, Arthur S., and Beckfield, Jason. 2004. “Power and Position in the World City System.” American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 109(4): 811– 51. Bielby, William T. and Hauser, Robert M. 1977. “Structural Equation Models.” Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 3: 137-161. Bryk, A. S., & Raudenbush, S. W. 1992. Hierarchical linear models. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications. Bryk, A. S., & Raudenbush, S. W. 2002. Hierarchical linear models (2nd ed.). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications. Dixon, William J., and Terry Boswell. 1996. “Dependency, Disarticulation , and Denominator Effects: Another Look at Foreign Capital Penetration.” The American Journal of Sociology 102:543-562. Firebaugh, Glenn, and Beck, F.D. 1994. “Does Economic Growth Benefit the Masses? Growth, Dependence, and Welfare in the Third World.” American Sociological Review, Vol. 59: 631-53. Fu, Vincent. 2007. “Lecture 07 More on ML Estimation and Binary Dependent Variables: Slides for Sociology 7130.” Lecture Notes. Grimes, Peter, and Kentor, Jeffrey. 2003. “Exporting the Greenhouse: Foreign Capital Penetration and CO2 Emissions 1980-1996.” Journal of World-Systems Research, 9(2): 261-275. Halaby, Charles N. 2004. “Panel Models in Sociological Research: Theory into Practice.” Annual Review of Sociology 30:507-544. Handel, Michael J. 2005. “Trends in Perceived Job Quality, 1989 to 1998.” Work and Occupations, 32(1): 66-94. Muthen, Bengt O. and Satorra, Albert. 1995. “Complex Sample Data in Structural Equation Modeling.” Sociological Methodology, Vol. 25: 267-316. Nielsen, François and Alderson, Arthur S. 1995. “Income Inequality, Development, and Dualism: Results from an Unbalanced CrossNational Panel.” American Sociological Review, Vol. 60(5): 674-701. Smith, David A., and Timberlake, Michael F. 2001. “World City Networks and Hierarchies, 1977-1997: An Empirical Analysis of Global Air
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Travel Links.” American Behavioral Scientist, Vol. 44, No. 10, 16561678. Snijders, T. A. B., & Bosker, R. J. 2003. Multilevel analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Sousa-Pouza A., Sousa-Pouza A. 2000. Well-Being at Work: A CrossNational Analysis of the Levels and Determinants of job satisfaction,” Journal of Socio-Economics, Vol. 29: 517-538. Structural Equation Modeling. 2008. Retrieved Sept. 4 2008 on the World Wide Web at: http://www.statsoft.com/textbook/stsepath.html#index. Timberlake, Michael, and Jeffrey Kentor. 1983. “Economic Dependence, Overurbanization, and Economic Growth: A Study of Less-Developed Countries.” The Sociological Quarterly Vol. 24:489-507. Wharton, Amy S., Rotolo, Thomas, and Bird, Sharon R. 2000. “Social Context at Work: A Multilevel Analysis of Job Satisfaction” Sociological Forum, Vol. 15(1): 65-90. Originally published: Westover, Jonathan H. 2009. "Empirically Examining Research Questions in the Social Sciences: Statistical Research M ethods in Comparative International Sociology." The International Journal of Science in Society 1 (1): 93-98. doi:10.18848/1836-6236/CGP/v01i01/51465.
CHAPTER TEN A REVIEW AND COMPARISON OF SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT
Abstract The sociology of development has undergone significant changes since modernization theory attempted to explain the relative prosperity and poverty of nation-states. This article provides an overview of the majo r approaches to development theory, beginning with modernization theory and including dependency theory, world systems theory, and neoliberalism. Additionally, this chapter compares each theory, while identifying the key assumptions, relevant unit of analysis, the main causal relationships, and relevance of history for each.
Introduction For over the past half century, academics have been trying to better understand and explain the economic development of different countries around the world. In what follows, I will provide an overview of the main sociological theories of development, starting with modernization theory, then dependency theory, followed by world systems theory, and finally , neoliberalism. Additionally, I will compare each while identifying the key assumptions, relevant unit of analysis, the main causal relationships, and relevance of history for each.
Modernization Theory The inquiry regarding development started largely with the popularization of modernization theory in the 1950’s and 1960’s and received important contributions from the likes of Rostow (1960), Hoselit z (1960), and Apter (1965). Modernization theory is a description and explanation of the processes of transformation (including capitalist
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development, democratization, industrialization, urbanization, rationallegal administration, and increased well-being—Babb 2005) fro m traditional or underdeveloped societies to modern societies and looks at the economic growth within societies (such as overall GDP growth). Thus, the unit of analysis is at the national level. Additionally, modernization theory examines the conditions in which economic growth will occur and the consequences of such growth (e.g. social, political, cultural consequences), with a focus on the development of the West as a model for other nations across the world. Furthermore, Kentor (2001) summarizes the arguments of Hoselitz (1960) this way: “Modernization theory argues that development is a process all countries go through, and that assistance from developed countries will speed this process. Even if this process of modernization has some negative consequences for developing countries, these are only temporary ‘growing pains’ that all countries have experienced” (p. 436). Modernization theory has come under much criticism from other development theorists, particularly dependency theorists, for its underlying assumption that Western democracy, culture, and capitalism are the soughtafter ideal and the push to export these Western institutions and values throughout the rest of the world to aid the development of impoverished nations. However, history has shown that other less developed nations have not been able to experience the same developmental path as their Western European and U.S. counterparts. For example, Eisenstadt states: Historically, modernization is the process of change towards those types of social, economic, and political systems that have developed in Western Europe and North America from the seventeenth century to the nineteenth and have then spread to other European countries and in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries to the South American, Asian, and African continents (1966, p. 1).
Modernization theory soon began to lose favor and support in some academic circles, as researchers had increasing difficulty making sense of nations that were unable to follow the development path of the West, leading to development of the dependency school.
Dependency Theory Contrary to modernization theory, dependency theory focuses on the non-Western world and does not view development as a process with stages experienced by all developed/developing countries, but rather that “current economic, political, military, and social environment is very different than that experienced by developed countries, and inhibits the ability of less
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developed countries to grow” (Kentor 2001, p. 436). From this perspective, third world countries are not seen as individual nations within isolation fro m the world economy. Additionally, Chase-Dunn (1978) states that “dependency theory emphasizes that a country’s position in the world division of labor is a major cause of development and underdevelopment” (p. 651). Once more, summarizing the view of dependency theorists, Babb (2005) states: … the domination of rich over poor countries [means] that modernization [looks] quite different at the periphery. Because of such relations of domination, foreign investment and national industrialization [do] not propel developing countries along the same trajectory as the wealthy democracies, but rather [is] compatible with manifold economic, political, and social distortions (p. 199).
Thus, dependency theory argues that there is a center of wealthy states and a periphery of poor, underdeveloped states. Resources are extracted fro m the periphery and flow towards the states at the center in order to sustain their economic growth and wealth. Additionally, poor countries help to provide a higher standard of living for wealthy nations through providing market access, and rich countries use a variety of means to maintain their dominance and the dependence of other nations (e.g. economic policy/sanctions, politics, banking and finance, military power, foreign investment, etc.) (Amin 1976; Frank 1979; Chase-Dunn 1975; Evans 1994, 1995). Much empirical work has been done over the past several decades to test dependency theory, predominantly in looking at the effects of foreign investment on dependence and economic development. The first to empirically test the role of foreign investment in creating this dependency relationship was Chase-Dunn (1975), who looked at a sample of less developed countries and found that foreign capital penetration (dependence) had negative effects on economic development. Additionally, Chase-Dunn concludes that dependency theory better predicts the effects of inputs from advanced nations to less-developed nations better than neo-classical economic and modernization theories. Following up on Chase-Dunn’s work, Bornschier, Chase-Dunn, and Rubinson (1978) used a ratio of foreign capital stock to investment flow (PEN) to revise the foreign capital penetration used three years earlier and found a similar negative effect on economic development, which were then later supported by Kentor (1981), who found that foreign investment dependence stimulates growth in informal sectors while inhibiting growth in the industrial labor sector, again confirmed by Timberlake and Kentor (1983), who found that dependence
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on foreign capital leads to over-urbanization, which in turn leads to relative declines in per capita economic growth, and then replicated by Bornschier and Chase-Dunn (1985), with additional negative consequences including over-urbanization in peripheral countries and various measures of inequality (e.g. personal income distribution, sectoral income distribution, and agricultural land ownership distribution). Several years later, Firebaugh (1992) uncovered a statistical and interpretative flaw in the commonly used PEN measure (“denominator effect”) and argued that a correct reading of the PEN actually shows that foreign investment spurs economic growth. For a time, this finding seemed to take the air out of the dependency debate, but in 1996, Dixon and Boswell responded to the Firebaugh critiques and reanalyzed Chase-Dunn’s model with a revised version of PEN (foreign investment stocks/GDP) and found again that foreign capital dependence diminishes economic growth, enhances income inequality, and probably impairs domestic capital formation, caused by the negative externalities of foreign capital penetration. Firebaugh (1996) counter-attacked and disagreed with Dixo n and Boswell’s findings, arguing that Dixon and Boswell’s ratio effect is due to differential productivity, not the negative externalities that they suggest. Furthermore, Soysa and Oneal (1999) examined economic growth rates between 1980 and 1990 and supported Firebaugh’s assessment, founding no evidence of a negative effect of foreign investment on developing countries and argued that foreign direct investment actually stimulates investment from domestic sources. However, most recently, Kentor (2001), examining data from 88 less developed countries between 1980 and 1997 in a structural equation model, found that foreign capital dependence has a positive effect on income inequality, fertility rates, and population growth, while having a negative effect on long-term economic development. Additionally, Kentor and Boswell (2003) examined whether globalization (measured by foreign direct investment) has a detrimental effect on economic growth in less developed countries. Using a panel model that included 39 less developed countries, they used OLS regression to look at the effects of foreign direct investment penetration and foreign direct investment concentration on a less developed country’s economic growth (in 5-year intervals). They found that the effects of foreign direct investment on economic growth are nonlinear—in the short-term it is a positive relationship, and in the long-term (past 5 years) it is a negative relationship. Given the rather vigorous disagreements in the empirical research surrounding foreign direct investment and measures of PEN, researchers have begun to look into other related areas to examine the premises of the
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dependency theory and its close cousin, world systems theory, such as transnational corporate networks, interlocking directorates, and world cities research.
World Systems Theory World systems theory is actually more of an approach to macro social analysis than it is one theory. However, the perspective as a whole argues that we are currently in a capitalist world system (Wallerstein 1974) and that the world system is not a collectivity of nation states, but rather a system by itself which precedes the emergence of nation states (Wallerstein 2000). Like dependency theories, world systems theory also gives emphasis to unequal exchange relations between core and periphery countries. Additionally, key to world systems theory is the inclusion of a third category, the semi-periphery, which acts as a bridge between the periphery and the core, as both the exploited and the exploiter, to provide political stability for the world system that would otherwise be a battle between the core and the periphery. Thus, in world systems theory, the unit of analysis is not individual nations, but rather a unique and unified global system (see Wallerstein, 1974). Additionally, Wallerstein states, “Capitalism was fro m the beginning an affair of the world economy and not of nation states” (p. 401). Additionally, Wallerstein argues that the modern world system emerged in the 16th century with agricultural capitalism. In this context, the core nations were in Northern Europe (with specialization of agricultural production of high skills, labor control in the form of wage labor and tenancy, and a strong government to enforce the division of labor through the unequal exchange of trade terms while sharing interests with the merchant class), with the semi-periphery in the Mediterranean (with mixed specialization in some agricultural production and in producing raw materials, labor control in the form of share-cropping, and medium to strong government), and the periphery in Eastern Europe (with specialization in providing raw materials, labor control in the form of slavery/coerced labor, and a weak state that doesn’t do much and where the dominant class shares interests with foreign investors). Additionally, Kentor (2001) states: “the current capitalist world-economy… represents a tripartite global division of labor with capital intensive manufactures produced in the core being exchange for labor intensive goods from the periphery. This ‘world systems’ perspective suggests that the capitalist world-economy has inherent structural characteristics that generate and maintain this relative global hierarchy” (p. 436).
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Following behind Wallerstein, Brenner (1976) makes the argument that “… it is the structure of class relations, or class power, which will determine the manner and degree to which particular demographic and commercial changes will affect long-run trends in the distribution of income and economic growth…” (p. 31). Furthermore, Acemoglu (2002) reinforces the argument made by Brenner, with an emphasis on the importance of class relationship and balance of class power in the world system, where property rights and open markets (established through economic institutions to provide incentive and the optimal condition for transactions) drive economic development. For Acemoglu, however, of equal importance is state institutional structure and organizational capacity in driving economic development. However, not all world systems theorists follow directly with Wallerstein. Arrighi (1995) has a more statist world system perspective and examines the world system in relation to the “long twentieth century,” which includes period from the 1870’s to present time/near future (led by U.S. multinational firms) provides various support for his idea of three “long centuries” that preceded the one we currently find ourselves in: (1) 1340’s-1630’s (Genoese leadership), (2) 1560’s-1780’s (Dutch-led), and (3) 1740’s-1930’s (British). He sees three segments/patterns in each successive long-century, where the first and third segments revolved around financial expansion. He focuses his arguments on the movement back and forth between the role of trade and finance in the world capitalist system and country-led dominance in that system, arguing that “financialization” is the tell-tale sign that a new shift is on its way. Similar to Arrighi (1995), Modelski (1978) and Modelski and Thompson (1995) also hold a more statist world system perspective. Modelski (1978) argues that there is a long term relationship between world economic and world political structures, which the evolution happening in cycles, with a leading sector and political world power in each cycle. Modelski and Thompson (1995) are concerned with the patterns of rise and decline of leading powers in the world and present a cyclical model of global macro-development. The main argument is as follows: The rise and decline of leading sectors in the global economy (the Kondratieff process, or K-waves) are coordinated with the rise and decline of world powers (the long cycle of global politics) in such a fashion that one long cycle (one period of ascendancy) is associated with two K-waves organized around innovative sectors in world commerce and industry (p. 3). They try and extend this back to the start of the process, with the emergence of market economy in Sung China (long cycle from 930-1060 ), followed by Renaissance Italy and Portugal. They are trying to figure out
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how K-waves and long cycles interact and how they have co-evolved, arguing that K-waves (55 year pulses of innovation and growth in leading economic sectors initiated by the bunching of innovations; growth slows when diffusion or competition reduces returns) and long cycles (100-120 year long leadership cycles, including phases of agenda setting, coalition building, macro decision, and global leadership) are structurally similar global evolutionary processes and that each of them depends on the performance of the other. Unlike Arrighi (1995), Modelski (1978), and Modelski and Thompson (1995), Sklair (1991) provides a different global sociological perspective that wants to get away from “state-centric” approaches of other theories and relies more on transnational and global forces and institutions. He focuses on transnational practices (i.e. transnational corporations, a transnational capitalist class, and a transnational media, with the transnational corporations as a major source of transnational economic practices) and looks at the culture-ideology of capitalism and transnational corporate (TNC) investment. Similarly, Taylor (1996) has a different world system perspective that is not focused on the evolution of state power, but rather focuses on the cultural dimensions of hegemony or dominance in organizing the successive phases of the modern world system. Furthermore, he promotes the idea of “ordinary modernity” or the creation of a level and degree of comfort for ordinary people that is emulated and diffused around the world. More recently, Chase-Dunn and Hall (1997) and Chase-Dunn (1998) argue that there is not one world system, but rather many world systems. Chase-Dunn and Hall (1997) argue that the main aspect of world systems is not the international division of labor (as Wallerstein says), but rather there are several types of networks (e.g. barter goods networks, precious goods networks, military networks, and information networks). Additionally, Chase-Dunn (1998) takes a structural approach to the study of the modern world-system, with emphasis on systematic patterns and “deep structural logic” (main structures include 1—the world class system, 2—the core/periphery hierarchy, 3—the interstate system, and 4—the world market). As was indicated at the beginning of this section, the world systems perspective is more of an approach to macro social analysis and each of the variations discussed previously fit within the world systems perspective and provide differing contributions.
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Neoliberalism In contrast with the modernization, dependence, and world systems approaches, neoliberalism takes an economic view on development, with emphasis of growth in international trade and cross-border capital flows, elimination of trade barriers, and reduction in size of government. Thus, neoliberalism seeks to transfer control of the economy from the state to the private sector and argues for economic liberalism, free market economics, and welfare reform, and argues that free markets are important to securing political freedom (see Block 1977; Prasad 2006). Additionally, from this perspective, there is an emphasis on the role of individual actors in global networks, as well as local institutions in shaping economic and financial globalization (Bockmann and Eyal 2003; Fourcade-Gourinchas and Babb 2002). For example, Bockmann and Eyal (2003) examine the role of local actors in global networks, focusing on transnational ties and transnational dialogue. They seek to “demonstrate the usefulness of this approach in explaining the rapid success of neoliberalism in postcommunist Eastern Europe” (p. 314). They look at the origins of neoliberalism, including the debate between Austrian economists (economic calculation impossible under socialism) and neoclassical mathematical economists (socialist economic arrangements permitted calculation and were efficient) to demonstrate that socialism was a laboratory of economic knowledge. Finally, they state, “We have suggested that new institutionalist sociologists would do well to pay attention not only to processes of diffusion, but also to how institutional forms are reproduced, and … that this case allows us to think of institutional forms as actor-networks” (p. 345). Additionally, Fourcade-Gourinchas and Babb (2002) use four national case studies (Chile, Britain, Mexico, and France) to explore and contrast the paths to neoliberalism among developed and developing nations. They find that the challenges of globalization are met differently by different countries and that local institutional conditions were key in the shaping of the economic shift to neoliberal economic policies, more so than the also significant role of economic and financial globalization. Additionally, they find that “institutionalized patterns of state-society relations determined the way in which neoliberal transitions were carried out… irrespective of the level of economic development” (p. 533). Furthermore, they compare neoliberal transitions in the four countries, looking at such factors as balance-of-payment crises, inflation, social conflict, business support for neoliberal ideas, origin of neoliberal ideas, and international opening, concluding that Chile and Britain experienced an ideological transition,
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whereas Mexico and France experienced a pragmatic transition (see Table 2, p. 572). Furthermore, Harvey (2005) argues that neoliberalism is a theory of political-economic practices that dedicates the state to championing private property rights, free markets, and free trade, while deregulating business and privatizing collective assets. Critics of neoliberalism argue against the anti-sovereignty mentality, the exploitation of capitalistic economic policies, and the increasingly growing size of corporate power.
Conclusion In conclusion, academics have been trying to better understand and explain the economic development of different countries around the world for the past half century. This effort has led to a range of theory and many studies examining development in the areas of modernization theory, dependency theory, world systems theory, and finally neoliberalism. Each perspective has endured critiques, but each provides a unique point of view to understanding the issues of development on a global scale.
References Acemoglu, Daron, Simon Johnson and James A. Robinson. 2002. “Growt h in the Long-Run,” in Philippe Aghion and Steven N. Durlauf eds. The Handbook of Economic Growth, North-Holland, Amsterdam. Amin, Samir. 1976. Unequal Development: An Essay on the Social Formations of Peripheral Capitalism. New York: Monthly Review Press. Arrighi, Giovanni. 1994. The Long Twentieth Century. London: Verso. Apter, David. 1965. The Politics of Modernization. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Babb, Sarah. 2005. "The Social Consequences of Structural Adjustment: Recent Evidence and Current Debates." Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 31: 199-222. Block, Fred. 1977. The Origins of International Economic Disorder: A Study of U.S. International Monetary Policy from WWII to the Present. Berkeley: University of California Press. Bockmann, Johanna and Gil Eyal. 2003. “Eastern Europe as a Laboratory of Economic Knowledge: The Transnational Roots of Neo-liberalis m” American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 108: 310-352. Bornschier, Volker, Christopher Chase-Dunn, and Richard Rubinson. 1978. "Cross-National Evidence of the Effects of Foreign Investment and Aid
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on Economic Growth and Inequality: A Survey of Findings and a Reanalysis." The American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 84:651-683. Bornschier, Volker, and Christopher Chase-Dunn. 1985. Transnational Corporations and Underdevelopment. New York: Praeger. Brenner, Robert. 1976. "Agrarian Class Structure and Economic Development in Pre-industrial Europe" Past and Present, Vol. 70: 3075. Chase-Dunn, Christopher. 1975. "The Effects of International Economic Dependence on Development and Inequality: A Cross-National Study." American Sociological Review, Vol. 40: 720-738. —. 1998. Global Formation. New York: Rowman and Littlefield. Chase-Dunn, Christopher and Thomas D. Hall. 1997. Rise and Demise: Comparing World Systems. Boulder: Westview. Dixon, William J., and Terry Boswell. 1996. "Dependency, Disarticulation, and Denominator Effects: Another Look at Foreign Capital Penetration." The American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 102: 543-562. Eisenstadt, S.N. 1966. Modernization: Protest and Change, Englewood Cliffs N.J.: Prentice-Hall. Firebaugh, Glenn. 1992. "Growth Effects of Foreign and Domestic Investment." The American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 98: 105-130. —. 1996. "Does Foreign Capital Harm Poor Nations? New Estimates Based on Dixon and Boswell's Measures of Capital Penetration." The American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 102: 563-575. Fourcade-Gourinchas, Marion, and Babb, Sarah L. 2002. “The Rebirth of the Liberal Creed: Paths to Neoliberalism in Four Countries.” American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 108(3): 533–79. Frank, Andre Gunder. 1979. Dependent Accumulation and Underdevelopment. New York: Monthly Review Press. Harvey, David. 2005. A Brief History of Neoliberalism, Oxford University Press. Hoselitz, Bert. 1960. Sociological Aspects of Growth, New York: Free Press. Kentor, Jeffrey. 1981. "Structural Determinants of Peripheral Urbanization : The Effects of International Dependence." American Sociological Review, Vol. 46: 201-211. —. 2001. "The Long Term Effects of Globalization on Income Inequality, Population Growth, and Economic Development." Social Problems, Vol. 48: 435-455. Kentor, Jeffrey and Terry Boswell. 2003. “Foreign Capital Dependence and Development. A New Direction.” American Sociological Review, Vol. 68: 301-313.
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Modelski, George. 1978. "The Long Cycle of Global Politics and the Nation-State." Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol. 20: 214-235. Modelski, George and William R. Thompson. 1995. Leading Sectors and World Powers: The Coevolution of Global Politics and Economics. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press. Prasad, Monica. 2006. The Politics of Free Markets: The Rise of Neoliberal economic Policies in Britain, France, Germany, & The United States. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Rostow, Walt W. 1990. "The Stages of Economic Growth: A NonCommunist Manifesto.” Cambridge University Press. Sklair, Leslie. 1995. Sociology of the Global System, Second Edition. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. Soysa, Indra de, John R. Oneal. 1999. "Boon or Bane? Reassessing the Productivity of Foreign Direct Investment." American Sociological Review, Vol. 64:766-782. Taylor, Peter J. 1996. The Way the Modern World Works: World Hegemony to World Impasse. New York: Wiley. Timberlake, Michael, and Jeffrey Kentor. 1983. "Economic Dependence, Overurbanization, and Economic Growth: A Study of Less-Developed Countries." The Sociological Quarterly, Vol. 24: 489-507. Wallerstein, Immanuel. 1974. "The Rise and Demise of the Capitalist World System.” Comparative Studies in Society and History 16(4): 387-415. —. 2000. The Essential Wallerstein. New York: New Press. Originally published: Westover, Jonathan H. 2009. "A Review and Comparison of Sociological Theories of Global Development." The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences: Annual Review 4 (1): 139-146. doi:10.18848/1833-1882/CGP/v04i01/52807.
CHAPTER ELEVEN SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE RESURGENCE OF THE ROLE OF THE STATE
Abstract Many development theorists have argued for a global world system approach to looking at development (e.g. Wallerstein 1974, 2000) and some research has even indicated a decline in the role and importance of the nation-state in any increasingly global economy (e.g. Kentor 2005). However, more and more scholars have shown a renewed interest in exploring the role of the state in development (see Hirschman 1980; Evans, Rueschemeyer, and Skocpol 1985; Tilly 1990; Mann 1993; Evans 1994; Evans 1995; Meyer et al. 1997; Gilpin 2001; Kohli 2004, etc.). So, what is all the fuss about “bringing the state back in”? Which developmental theories have ignored the role of the state? According to state-centered approaches to “development”, what is it that states do that research needs to take into account? Additionally, what are the key findings of this body of literature, and how have these findings been demonstrated in specific research efforts? This chapter will attempt to answer these questions, as well as briefly explore and suggest future directions.
Introduction Many of the development theorists have argued for a global world system approach to looking at development (e.g. Wallerstein 1974, 2000) and some research has even indicated a decline in the role and importance of the nation-state in any increasingly global economy (e.g. Kentor 2005). However, more and more scholars have shown a renewed interest in exploring the role of the state in development (see Hirschman 1980; Evans, Rueschemeyer, and Skocpol 1985; Tilly 1990; Mann 1993; Evans 1994; Evans 1995; Meyer et al. 1997; Gilpin 2001; Kohli 2004, etc.)
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Development Theories that Have Ignored or Diminished the Role of the State Some of the variations on Wallerstein’s conception of world systems theory call for an increased emphasis on the role of the state (e.g. Arrighi 1995; Modelski 1978; Modelski and Thompson 1995). However, the main push in the world systems perspective argues that the world system is not a collectivity of nation states, but rather a system by itself which precedes the emergence of nation states (Wallerstein 2000; Wallerstein 1974). Thus, in world systems theory, the unit of analysis is not individual nations, but rather a unique and unified global system (see Wallerstein 1974). Additionally, Wallerstein states “Capitalism was from the beginning an affair of the world economy and not of nation states” (p. 401). Additionally, Sassen (2001), Smith (1996), Smith and Timberlake (2001), Alderson and Beckfield (2004), and others have looked beyond the state and argue that there are different kinds of cities that play a key role in the global economy, acting as hubs of growing service sector industries, both specialized high-paying ones, as well as low-paying ones that support the growing inequality within the city. Thus, the emphasis is not on the role of the state and the state as a global actor, but rather on global cities as important node points in the global economic system.
Aspects of the State that Research Needs to Take into Account There are many aspects of the state that research needs to take into account. In brief summary (each will be discussed in more detail in the following section), these aspects include the following: understanding state regime type and level of democratization (Polanyi 1944; Moore 1966; Evans 1994, 1995; Kohli 2004), understanding the effect of colonization on potential for future country development (Kohli 2004), issues surrounding the level of state political power and industrialization (Mann 1993; Evans, Rueschemeyer, and Skocpol 1985), state military build-up and power (Evans, Rueschemeyer, and Skocpol 1985; Tilly 1990), the relative embeddedness and autonomy of the state with business interests (Evans, Rueschemeyer, and Skocpol 1985; Evans 1995), the balance of state regulation in the sharing of state power with social groups (Polanyi 1944; Moore 1966), level state bureaucratic apparatus and decentralization (Evans, Rueschemeyer, and Skocpol 1985), and the state’s role in the establishing, building, and sustaining of markets (Fligstein and Merand 2002). The studies summarized below each provide evidence for the main arguments
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for “bringing the state back in” (Evans, Rueschemeyer, and Skocpol 1985) and each of these keys aspects summarized above. Of course, space restrictions here prevent me from going into more detail on the specifics surrounding each study conducted.
The Discussion about “Bringing the State Back In” and Relevant Research Findings from Specific Research Efforts So, what is behind all of the renewed interest in “bringing the state back in” (Evans, Rueschemeyer, and Skocpol 1985)? Well, research examinin g the role of the state and state power influence in development has been around for a long time and is now finding a re-emergence in the development literature. Hirschman (1945) conducted three separate studies to explore the nature of a system of international trade that can be exploited for purposes of national power policy. First, he introduced the index of “preference for small or large trading countries” to examine how far large countries actually prefer small and poor trading partners. He found that most large countries prefer small and poor trading partners. Second, he introduced the index of “concentration of trade” and looked at the trade of 44 small countries to examine how far small countries have been successful in combatting the large countries. He found that only a few small countries have succeeded in spreading their exports significantly over a number of countries. Once more, he identified two processes by which trade can affect a state’s power. First is the “supply effect,” which refers to the effect on a country’s power position of imported goods and services (i.e. policies impacting imports and goods needed for the war machine, stockpiling of strategic materials, redirecting trade toward friendly powers, and controlling the sea lanes). The second is the more subtle “influence effect,” which is based on the ability of any sovereign state to interrupt its own export and import trade. Additionally, sovereign nations can make it difficult for the victim to dispense with your trade entirely through increasing its gain fro m trade and trading with poor countries, and they can make it difficult for the victim to shift its trade to other countries by developing a demand for specialties not wanted elsewhere, driving the prices of the victim’s goods above world prices, trading bilaterally, or generally dealing with small countries. Third, he examined commodity structures of foreign trade and classified the trade of a country into foodstuffs, raw materials, and manufactures, and found that less than 1/3 of world trade consists of the traditional exchange of manufactures against foodstuffs. Finally, he argued
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that in a world of sovereign states, international trade has an inherently political dimension based on these two effects. Decades later, Evans, Rueschemeyer, and Skocpol (1985) reopened the examination with their edited book entitled, “Bringing the State Back In,” in which 10 different articles/chapters looked at the role of the state in development. One of the key arguments from this book include a discussion by Theda Skocpol on the importance of state autonomy, where state officials can use the state to direct and restructure society and politics, as states always will try to reinforce its authority. Furthermore, Rueschemeyer and Evans argued that the state is important in that it is (1) an instrument of domination, (2) a corporate actor, (3) in the arena of policing social conflict, and (4) the guardian of the universal interests of society. Furthermore, they argue that for capitalist transformation and development to occur, state intervention (in the form of the institutionalization of market exchange and in taking an active role in curtailing the sometimes destructive interests of the dominant social class) is necessary. Additionally, they argue that in order for state intervention to be effective in driving capitalist development and economic growth, the state will need (1) bureaucratic apparatus, (2) relative autonomy from dominant classes, and (3) a certain level of decentralization in state power to make decisions with local power groups. Additionally, Amsden and Tilly both argue that one important role of the state is in military build-up, which also serves the purpose of spurring economic development, particularly in the industrial sectors. Weir and Skocpol explored the importance of state intervention during and followin g the great depression to get state economies back on track. Finally, Evans examined developing and industrialized nations in the post-World War Two era and found that the state’s role in the economy is decreasing in developed nations where it is increasing in developing and underdeveloped nations (where transnational linkages encourage governments in developing and underdeveloped nations to control local resources). Following up with the arguments and findings in “Bringing the State Back In,” Evans and Stephens (1988) looked at development since the 1960’s and argued for the “emergence of a new comparative political economy.” They argue: The new comparative political economy has not aimed at charting progress along a presumed unilinear path of societal development but rather at uncovering, interpreting, and explaining distinctive patterns of development. Why do different countries exhibit different patterns of distribution and accumulation over the course of their development? Why is industrialization associated with strikingly disparate political regimes in different periods and regions? Associated with the concern with distinctiveness is the refusal to
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take for granted the relative strength of different classes or the character of the relations among them? The strength of dominant and subordinate classes, like the strength and autonomy of the state, is taken as a variable. Possibilities for conflict or compromise between classes are seen as arising out of domestic political histories but also as powerfully conditioned by inter- national economic and political conjuncture (p. 719-720).
Additionally, they summarize Skocpol and Mann saying, “… the state (its structures, capacity, and strength vis-à-vis civil society) cannot be reduced to a reflection of class forces and must be brought back in as an independent force and actor in historical developments” (p. 722). Thus, the state plays a crucial role in providing social cohesion through state power, military organization, and class relations (p. 723). Tilly (1990) also studied national states (as appose to nation-states) and argues that in the creation of modern states, two structures are important; coercion and capital. Additionally, he sees three paths to modernization (1) capital-intensive, 2) coercion intensive, and 3) capitalist-coercion (both the first and second combined). Mann (1993) then built on the work of those before him and focused on the development trajectories of five major states (Britain, France, Prussia/Germany, Austria, and the United States) fro m 1750 to 1914, exploring the sources of power in developing nation states, including economic, political, cultural, and military power. In all five cases, the relationship between the rise of classes and the state were different, which he attributes to “polymorphous crystallization” due to different combinations of power sources driven by the nature of the state. Evans (1994, 1995) followed soon after, examining the impact of globalization on “stateness” and argued that the eclipse of the state that some world systems theorists had been predicting is not likely. Rather, Evans (1994) argued that “the structural logic of globalization and the recent history of the global economy can [be] read as providing rationales for "high stateness" as well as "low stateness." So, the emphasis should be on shifts in the nature of “stateness.” He concludes by saying, “Whether the future unfolds in the probable direction of a leaner, meaner state or embodies more unlikely elements of state-society synergy does not depend on the economic logic of globalization alone. It also depends on how people think about stateness.” Additionally, Evans (1995) attempted to better “…understand state structures, and roles, relations between state and society, and how states contribute to development” (p. 4), while focusing on how state agencies, local entrepreneurs, and transnational corporations impacted industry development in the cases of Brazil, India, and Korea. Ultimately , he argues that states vary in the way they are organized and tied to society, where a combination of embeddedness and autonomy is key—a concrete
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set of connections that link the state intimately to particular social groups, while the state still maintains a level of autonomy and is successful in not allowing the state to be captured by any segment of the business society (e.g. landlord class, big business, business associations, etc), and that this embeddedness and autonomy is the basis for state involvement in industrial transformation. Meyer et al. (1997) also addressed the importance of looking at nation states within a broader world society. They examine nation states as part of a world-cultural institution and argue that “world-societal models shape nation-state identities, structures, and behavior via worldwide cultural and associational processes” (p. 173). More specifically, they discuss four main aspects of the nation-state as part of a world-wide institution, including: (1) “properties of nation states,” (2) “processes by which rationalistic world culture affects national states,” (3) “characteristics of world society that enhance the impact of world culture on national states and societies,” and (4) “dynamic features of world culture and society that generate expansion, conflict, and change” (p. 144). Gilpin (2001) builds on the idea of nation states as part of a world-cultural institution put forth by Meyer et al. (1997), arguing that states are not the only actors in the international political economy, but they are the most important actors. He further argues that political structures are a key part of the broad context within which market activities are embedded and that the coherence of international cooperation and regimes diminishes considerably as we move from trade to capital flows to development. In the end, his analysis is focused on the role of the state, understanding that there is an open global economic order since the postwar era, but that this global economy rests upon an uncertain political base—the interests of powerful states. In fact, he argues that the state is alive and well if altered by globalization. Kohli (2004) further builds off of Evan’s work and uses “… comparative analysis of the state as an economic actor in developing countries” to look at “… the role states have played in fostering different rates and patterns of economic development, especially via deliberate industrialization,” as he specifically tries to answer the question: “Why have some of these states been more successful at facilitating industrialization than others?” (p. 1). Thus, he examines “… patterns of state construction and patterns of state intervention aimed at promoting industrialization” and he compares the development of four developing countries of the 20th century: South Korea, Brazil, India, and Nigeria (p. 2). He similarly argues that the type of state involvement in society directly impacts development trajectory of that society, and thus the market and the state are closely linked, with each influencing each other. He examines patterns of state authority and argues,
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“… one of the underlying themes of this study is that state intervention in rapid industrializers was often characterized by market-reinforcin g behavior, understood in the sense of supporting profitability for private investors…” (p. 6). State interventions include such things as tariffs, subsidies, credit control, manpower training, technology promotion, and bureaucratic cooperation. One unique contribution he makes is in the development of three state “ideal types,” including: (1) neopatrimonial states, (2) cohesive-capitalist states, and (3) fragmented-multiclass states. Neopatrimonial states and cohesive-capitalist states are on two ends of the state authority spectrum, with fragmented-multiclass states falling somewhere in the middle. Cohesive-capitalist states help to facilitate the availability of capital, labor, technology, and entrepreneurship, while also “… enabling private investors to have a ready supply of cheap, ‘flexible,’ and disciplined labor” (p. 13). Additionally, cohesive-capitalist states pursue a “… variety of policies to promote their growth economic commitment, including expansionist monetary and fiscal policies, and tariffs and exchange-rate policies aimed at boosting domestic demand” (p. 13). In contrast, in neopatrimo ni al states, “… instead of strengthening the private sector, these states have appropriated scarce economic resources and diverted them everywhere but towards productive investment” (p. 15). Additionally, cohesive-capitalist states have a lot more “… power to define and pursue their goals than neopatrimonial states, with fragmentedmulticlass states falling somewhere in between…” and the two key determinants of the variation in state power are “… organizational characteristics of state institutions… and the manner in which states craft their relations with social classes, especially the producer classes…” (p. 21). Cohesive-capitalist states focus on a few critical tasks and work closely with producer groups, and their political and economic power reinforces each other and helps to move the society rapidly toward state-defined goals. In contrast, neopatrimonial states “… have a weak sense of public purpose, such that ideology does not play a very significant role” (p. 22). In fragmented-multiclass states, power is not highly concentrated, leaders are generally committed to a broad set of goals, and a variety of interest groups within the states make their demands known to the ruling elite. Kohli then looks at South Korea, Brazil, India, and Nigeria, each in turn. In South Korea, the state possessed a set of conditions “… quite favorable for rapid industrialization, especially a post-land reform productive agriculture, an industrial base, a dense entrepreneurial stratum, and an educated population” (p. 123). Furthermore, “Park engineered a growthoriented alliance of state and capital, recorporatized labor, and used .
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economic nationalism to exhort the entire society into the service of economic advancement” (p. 123). Brazil was “… highly authoritarian, set industrial growth as its priority, involved technocratic bureaucrats in policy making and implementation, worked closely with business elites, controlled the working class, and intervened regularly to facilitate rapid industrialization via both import substitution and export promotion” (p. 216). However, Brazil’s “… heavy dependence on foreign investors made it difficult for the Brazilian state to mobilize the entire nation…” (p. 217). India “… often lacked the political capacity to translate its enormous economic ambitions into outcomes” (p. 286). Additionally, the state authority was fragmented and the relations with social classes were broad and multiclass, resulting in progress of industrialization in India that was not as rapid as in South Korea or Brazil, and levels of efficiency have been low. In Nigeria, the state “… lacked both the vision and the organizational capacity to promote development” (p. 364). Economic investors were subjected to inconsistent incentives and short-term mismanagement of exchange rates further encouraged dependence on imported inputs. Additionally, the model of development was highly dependent on external resources and expertise (see p. 364-365). He then examines the four cases (South Korea, Brazil, India, and Nigeria) to further illustrate his “ideal types” and discusses four major alternative explanations for the differences seen in the four case examples offered in the book: (1) social structure, (2) significance of ruling regimes , (3) importance of free-market conditions, and (4) degree of dependence on the global economy (p. 366). He rejects each, either in part or in whole, and maintains that “the role of the state has been decisive for patterns of industrialization in the developing world,” looking at how state formation and state intervention impact a range of economic outcomes (p. 381; see also p. 408-420). He concludes that cohesive-capitalist states (such as South Korea—due in large part to the close effect of colonization on potential for country to develop in future— and to some extent, Brazil) have been most effective at facilitating rapid industrialization in the developing world.
Conclusion In the end, the more relevant question is not whether there is an “eclipse of the state,” or a necessity of “bringing the state back in”, as it seems apparent that there are many aspects of the state that should be accounted for in ongoing research efforts. Rather, the more relevant question is why are some states losing their power, while others are not, while some may even be strengthening their role in the establishing, building, and sustaining
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of markets? Additionally, how are the various institutional forms reproduced and diffused, and to what extent is reproduction required, or will this process always be different for every nation, based on individual history/content/regime type/policy? Future research must examine these questions.
References Alderson, Arthur S., and Beckfield, Jason. 2004. “Power and Position in the World City System.” American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 109(4): 811– 51. Arrighi, Giovanni. 1994. The Long Twentieth Century. London: Verso. Evans, Peter. 1979. Dependent Development: The Alliance of Multinational, State, and Local Capital in Brazil. Princeton: Princeton University Press. —. 1994. “The Eclipse of the State? Reflections on Stateness in an Era of Globalization.” World Politics, Vol. 50: 62-87. —. 1995. Embedded Autonomy: States and Industrial Transformation. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Evans, Peter, Ruschemeyer, Dietrich, and Skocpol, Theda. 1985. "Bringing the State Back In." Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Evans, Peter and Stephens, John D. 1988. "Studying Development Since the Sixties: The Emergence of a New Comparative Political Economy." Theory and Society Vol. 17: 713-745. Fligstein, Neil, and Merand, Fredric. 2002. “Globalization or Europeanization: Changes in the European Economy.” Acta Sociologica, Vol. 45(1): 7 – 22. Gilpin, Robert. 2001. Global Political Economy: Understanding the International Economic Order. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Hirschman, Albert. 1945. National Power and the Structure of Foreign Trade. Berkeley: University of California Press. Kentor, Jeffrey. 2005. “The Growth of Transnational Corporate Networks 1962-1998.” Journal of World Systems Research 11:2: 263- 286. Kohli, Atul. 2004. State-Directed Development: Political Power and Industrialization in the Global Periphery. Cambridge University Press: West Nyack. Mann, Michael. 1993. The Sources of Social Power, Volume 2: The Rise of Classes and Nation States, 1760-1914. Cambridge: Cambridg e University Press.
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Meyer, John W., Boli, John, Thomas, George M., and, Ramirez, Francisco, O. 1997. “World Society and the Nation-State” The American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 103: 144-181. Modelski, George. 1978. "The Long Cycle of Global Politics and the Nation-State." Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol. 20:214235. Modelski, George and Thompson, William R. 1995. Leading Sectors and World Powers: The Coevolution of Global Politics and Economics. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press. Moore, Jr., Barrington. 1966. Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Lord and Peasant in the Making of the Modern World. Boston: Beacon Press. Polanyi, Karl. 1944. The Great Transformation. Boston: Beacon. Sassen, Saskia. 2001. The Global City: New York, London and Tokyo, Second Edition. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Smith, David A. 1996. Third World Cities in Global Perspective: The Political Economy of Uneven Urbanization. Boulder: Westview Press. Smith, David A., and Timberlake, Michael F. 2001. “World City Networks and Hierarchies, 1977-1997: An Empirical Analysis of Global Air Travel Links.” American Behavioral Scientist, Vol. 44, No. 10, 16561678. Tilly, Charles. 1990. Coercion, Capital and European States AD 990-1990 : Blackwell. Wallerstein, Immanuel. 1974. "The Rise and Demise of the Capitalist World System.” Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol. 16(4): 387415. —. 2000. The Essential Wallerstein. New York: New Press. Originally published: Westover, Jonathan H. 2009. "Sociological Theories of Global Development and the Resurgence of the Role of the State." The Global Studies Journal 2 (1): 35-42. doi:10.18848/1835-4432/CGP/v02i01/40985.
CHAPTER TWELVE WORLD CITIES AND SHIFTING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TRAJECTORIES IN THE AGE OF GLOBALIZATION
Abstract What is the role of world cities in the age of globalization? Hymer (1972), Friedmann (1986), Sassen (2001), Smith (1996), Smith and Timberlake (2001), Alderson and Beckfield (2004), and many others have expanded on world systems theory and other sociological development theories to look at the increasingly important role of cities in the global context. Each argues that there are different kinds of cities that play a key role in the global economy. This chapter will further explore the role of the world city, as well as briefly explore and suggest future directions.
Introduction Hymer (1972), Friedmann (1986), Sassen (2001), Smith (1996), Smit h and Timberlake (2001), Alderson and Beckfield (2004), and many others have expanded on world systems theory to look at the increasingly important role of cities in the global context. Each argues that there are different kinds of cities that play a key role in the global economy. Thus, the emphasis is not on nation states as global actors or even transnational corporations as global actors, but specifically global cities as important central points in the global economic system.
Defining World Cities and Global Cities One of the key contributors to the growing field of study in global cities is Saskia Sassen and her book “The Global City: New York, London and Tokyo” (2001). She builds on the ideas of Hymer (1972) and the world city hypothesis of Friedmann (1986), arguing that there are different kinds of cities that play a key role in the global economy acting as hubs of growing
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service sector industries, both specialized high-paying ones, as well as lowpaying. She states, “Global cities are strategic sites for the management of the global economy and the production of the most advanced services and financial operations that have become key inputs for that work of managing global economic operations” (1994, p. 32). These operations include, “command functions, global markets, and production sites for the advanced corporate service industry” (p. 196). Sassen (1994) argues that it is important to include cities in the study for three reasons: First, it breaks down the nation-state into a variety of components and thereby allows us to establish whether and how some are articulated with global processes…. Second, it displaces our focus from the power of large corporations over governments and economies to the range of activities and organizational arrangements necessary for the implementation and maintenance of a global network of factories, service operations, and markets…. Third, it contributes to a focus on place and on urban social and political order associated with these activities… Finally, focusing on cities allows us to specify a variety of transnational geographies that connect specific groups of cities—depending on economic activity, migration flows, and the like (p. 6-7). Additionally, these global cities have some key characteristics that set them apart from the rest, such as having a large population, participation in world affairs, acting as an international transportation hub and an advanced transportation system, having powerful media outlets, having world-class cultural institutions, advanced communications infrastructure, and acting as a hub of international financial institutions and corporate headquarters that influence the world economy (Sassen 1994, 2001). Alderson and Beckfield (2004) further argue that “power in world cities is inherently relational: cities do not have power in and of themselves; they have power to the extent that they function as command points and centers of planning and thus establish the framework in which other cities operate in the world economy” (p. 812). Additionally, in her book, “The Global City: New York, London and Tokyo” (2001), Sassen finds that New York City, Tokyo, and London have emerged as top cities in the global city hierarchy. Coming from a world systems perspective, she argues that we should examine globalization in terms of these central geographic locations creating and facilitating global processes. Furthermore, she finds that growing international trade, increases in foreign direct investment, and global expansion of multi-service financial firms are correlated with concentration of economic resources in these global cities. Furthermore, she argues that global cities are driven by an expanding service sector stating, “The ‘things’ a global city makes are
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services and financial goods” (p. 5). Additionally, the diversification of business and the intensity of competition make the city an important place in which to do business, and thus new economic activity is attracted to the global city and advanced technology and telecommunications facilitate a decentralization of economic functions around the world. However, Sassen notes that in conjunction with the rise of global cities there is an increasing economic and social disparity in these cities, providing data that demonstrates increases in the high-income and low-income jobs in the growth (service) industries. She notes that a shift to producer services from a combined manufacturing and service economy brings polarizatio n of incomes and jobs, a tendency towards fiscal crisis, and a concentration of unemployment and low-paid workers who provide the rest of the services and some of the manufacturing on which the city depends. In his book, Third World Cities in Global Perspective, Smith (1996) has a slightly different look at examining cities in a global context and places the idea of third-world urbanization and development in the context of world-system analysis. While reviewing urbanization theory and dependency theory, with some discussion of modernization theory, Smit h tries to explain the rapid and uneven urbanization that is occurring in the relatively underdeveloped countries of the world. Smith develops the political economy approach to urbanization and emphasizes the importance of class relations and the state in structuring the geography of cities. He reviews prior empirical research (i.e. Timberlake 1979, Kentor 1981, and Timberlake and Kentor 1983) to look at theories and urbanization/overurbanization and uses his own cross-national statistical analysis to demonstrate that there are general patterns of urbanization that vary by world-system zone. This analysis indicates that world-system roles are important and that membership in the peripheral stratum may lead to more urban unevenness than is experienced in semi-peripheral countries. Ultimately, like Sassen (2001), he sees uneven development and inequality as inherent in the expansion of the capitalist world-system. Smith and Timberlake (2001) built upon the works of Friedman (1986), Sassen (2001), and Castells (1994) to examine the connections between major world metropolitan areas and how those connections change over a 20-year period (1977 to 1997). Using network analysis of flows of airlin e passengers between these cities, they are able to identify the major nodes of the world city network, the strength of network ties between major world cities, and how various network characteristics change over time. They found that the major nodes of the world cities network (those atop the centrality hierarchies and clique memberships) stayed mostly consistent over the 20 year period with New York, Paris, London, and Tokyo
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maintaining their role as the major world cities. However, they did find that the network roles and positions of other cities shifted during the same time period and argue that there is indeed uneven development in global urbanization patterns and that there is a polarization rather than a convergence occurring. Alderson and Beckfield (2004) also examined role of cities in the global economy, exploring cities’ position in international flows of investment and trade. They conducted a network analysis using the branch location of the world’s 500 largest multinational enterprises in 2000. In an analysis of 3,692 cities, they found that Tokyo, New York, Paris, and London have the top four power and prestige scores (which is consistent with other research utilizing other measures for the world city network and positioning). In looking at the structure of the world city system, they used block modelin g techniques and found: The four most active cities from the centrality analysis form a regularly equivalent set; that is, London, New York, Paris, and Tokyo … relate to other cities in the network in an equivalent fashion. These four cities send roughly 37% of the ties that are sent, receive more ties than any other block (about 15% of all ties), and are highly self-reflexive: nearly 23% of all the ties that cities in this block send are received by members of this block (p. 835). Additionally, they found that these four cities, along with Amsterdam, Basel, Atlanta, Caracas, Cologne, and Bristol, are considered to be in a primary position in the world city system. Ultimately, they found (consistent with other world cities research) that power and prestige in the world city system is highly skewed to just a few number of core cities.
Empirical Basis for the Hierarchy of Global Cities In his article, “The World Theory Hypothesis,” Friedmann (1986) was the first to present a qualitative ranking of world cities, listing cities as either primary or secondary and according to their location in the world system. Other empirical studies have since attempted to identify a global hierarchy of cities through quantitative measures (see Chase-Dunn 1985; Meyer 1986, 1991). Smith and Timberlake (2001) used network analysis of flows of airline passengers between cities to identify the major nodes of the world city network, the strength of network ties between major world cities, and how various network characteristics change over time. Alderson and Beckfield (2004) also examined roles of cities in the global economy, exploring 3,692 cities’ position in international flows of investment and trade through a network analysis with block modeling techniques (using the
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branch location of the world’s 500 largest multinational enterprises in 2000). Alderson and Beckfield (2004) also argue that “social network analysts suggest that power is best viewed as a consequence of patterns of social relations that generate opportunities and constraints” and that “network analysts … [can pursue] the world city hypothesis to assess (1) the degree of power wielded by individual cities and (2) the positions of and roles played by different types of cities within the world system” (p. 812813). Additionally, Smith and Timberlake (2001) argue: Although the leading theorists may be unlikely to turn to high-powered statistical analysis to test their models of global structure and hierarchy, quantitative network analysis is particularly well-suited for this purpose. With appropriate data, this methodology allows us simultaneously to analyze multiple patterns of flows, exchanges, and linkages between cities (or other nodes) in a way that reveals the complex patterning of connections between them as well as the structure of the entire network (p. 1660).
They further add that quantitative network analysis also provides “insights into the attributes of particular points”, such as centrality, which can be linked to “power, prestige, and economic success” (p. 1661).
Impacts of Placement in the Global Hierarchy of Urban Places Researchers have examined the impacts of position in the world system on urban places, from traditional dependency and world systems perspectives, as well as in placement in the global cities hierarchy in the emerging field of study in global cities. In using a dependency perspective, Korzeniewicz et al. (1997) used a sample of 121 countries to examine trends in distribution of income inequality between 1965 and 1992. They found that world income inequality became increasingly pronounced over the 1965-1992 period as a whole and that between-country inequality is the most significant component of all world income inequality. Finally, they found that there were significant increases in world income inequality (particularly during the 1980’s) as all countries lost relative ground to the wealthiest quintile. Firebaugh (1999) challenged the findings of Korzeniewicz et al. (1997), focusing on the role of population growth in world income inequalities. He argued that rates of population growth play an important role in the trend of change in income distribution and that the trend of rising inequality leveled
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off from 1960-1989. Finally, he argued that per-capita income rates are diverging, but that the divergence is population induced. Arrighi and Brewer (2003) then argued against convergence and that the North-South divide is not diminishing, but rather that any convergence between the core and periphery measured in other studies is not really happening, at least not in a way that is meaningful; namely that any convergence that has taken place over the last four decades has not been associated with convergence of the income levels of the average populous in both the core and the periphery. They argue that part of the problem in other research showing evidence of convergence is that these researchers incorrectly equate “industrialization” with “development” and “industrialized” with “wealthy.” So, despite the often rapid industrializatio n of some Third World nations, the North-South divide persists because “the intense competition that ensued for generalized industrialization efforts did not just prevent Third World countries from attaining their objective; it also tended to undermine the industrial foundations of the oligarchic wealth of First World Countries” (p. 19). From a global cities perspective, position in the global cities hierarchy also has large impacts on urban places and the individuals that live there. As was mentioned earlier, Sassen (2001) notes that there is an increasing disparity between the conditions of the rich and poor in these cities. She also notes that for global cities at the top of the hierarchy, there is a shift to producer services from a combined manufacturing and service economy bringing polarization of incomes and jobs, a tendency towards fiscal crisis, and a concentration of unemployment and low-paid workers who provide the rest of the services and some of the manufacturing on which the city depends. Thus, even if one lives in a high ranking global city, there is still huge income inequalities and relative deprivation that is experienced . Additionally, Sassen (1994) points to “greater earnings and occupational dispersion, weak unions, and a growing share of casualized low-wage jobs along with a growing share of high-income jobs… more part-time and temporary jobs and generally fewer protections and fringe benefits for growing portions of the workforce” (p. 173) all made possible by the large populations, a large daily influx of non-resident workers and tourists, and growing number of high income individuals seeking high-end consumption and customized production and services, resulting in “increased economic polarization” (see p. 174). Furthermore, for individuals in cities lower on the global city hierarchy, there are other impacts. Smith (2006) found that membership in the peripheral stratum may lead to more urban unevenness than is experienced in semi-periphery and core and sees uneven development and inequality as
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inherent in the expansion of the capitalist world-system. Smith and Timberlake (2001) also found uneven development in global urbanization patterns and that there is a polarization rather than a convergence occurring. Finally , Alderson and Beckfield (2004) found that power and prestige in the world city system is highly skewed to just a few number of core cities.
Conclusion Many researchers (e.g. Hymer 1972; Friedmann 1986; Sassen 2001; Smith and Timberlake 2001; etc.) have expanded on world systems theory to look at the increasingly important role of cities in the global context. Using network analysis to create a hierarchy of global cities, these researchers have been able to empirically identify key cities in the world economy, while position in the hierarchy has implications for individuals within those urban places. Continued research into world cities will undoubtedly produce many additional insights into the roles that key urban places play in an increasingly global economy.
References Alderson, Arthur S., and Beckfield, Jason. 2004. “Power and Position in the World City System.” American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 109(4): 811– 51. Arrighi, Giovanni, Beverly J. Silver and Benjamin D. Brewer, 2003. “Industrial Convergence and the Persistence of the North South Divide” Studies in Comparative International Development 38: 3-31. Castells, M. 1994. “European Cities, the Information Society, and the Global Economy.” New Left Review, 204: 18-32. Chase-Dunn, Christopher. 1985. “The System of World Cities: A.D. 8001975.” In M. Timberlake (Ed.), Urbanization in the World Economy (p. 269-292). Orlando, FL: Academic Press. Firebaugh, Glenn. 1999. “Empirics of World Income Inequality.” The American Journal of Sociology 104:1597-1630. Friedmann, John. 1986. “The World City Hypothesis.” Development and Change, 4: 12-50. Hymer, Stephen. 1972. “The Multinational Corporation and the Law of Uneven Development.” Pp. 113-140 in Economics and the World Order: From the 1970s to the 1990s, edited by J. Bhagwati. London: Macmillan Company.
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Kentor, Jeffrey. 1981. “Structural Determinants of Peripheral Urbanization : The Effects of International Dependence.” American Sociological Review 46: 201-211. Korzeniewicz, Roberto Patricio, and Timothy Patrick Moran. 1997. “World-Economic Trends in the Distribution of Income, 1965 1992.” The American Journal of Sociology 102:1000-1039. Meyer, David R. 1986. “World System of Cities: Relations Between International Financial Metropolises and South American Cities.” Social Forces, 64(3): 553-581. Meyer, David R. 1991. “Change in the World System of Metropolises: The Role of Business Intermediaries.” Urban Geography, 12(5): 393-416. Sassen, Saskia. 2001. The Global City: New York, London and Tokyo, Second Edition. Princeton: Princeton University Press. —. 1994. Cities in a World Economy. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge. Smith, David A. 1996. Third World Cities in Global Perspective: The Political Economy of Uneven Urbanization. Boulder: Westview Press. Smith, David A., and Timberlake, Michael F. 2001. “World City Networks and Hierarchies, 1977-1997: An Empirical Analysis of Glob al Air Travel Links.” American Behavioral Scientist, Vol. 44, No. 10, 1656-1678. Timberlake, Michael, and Jeffrey Kentor. 1983. “Economic Dependence, Overurbanization, and Economic Growth: A Study of Less Developed Countries.” The Sociological Quarterly 24:489-507. Originally published: Westover, Jonathan H. 2009. "World Cities and Shifting Economic Development Trajectories in the Age of Globalization." The International Journal of Knowledge, Culture, and Change M anagement: Annual Review 9 (1): 141-146. doi:10.18848/1447-9524/CGP/v09i01/49675.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN TRICKLE-UP ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF MICROFINANCE PROGRAMS
Abstract With the Muhammad Yunus being recently awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his pioneering approach and sustained effort in addressing the problem of poverty, microfinance programs have continued to grow in usage and popularity. There are numerous studies that demonstrate the tremendous successes of such programs throughout much of the underdeveloped world. However, the universal effectiveness of microfinance institutions in alleviating poverty is still in question and not free from debate. Much of the evidence cited for the successes of microfinance and microcredit are merely anecdotal or involve in-depth case-study approaches, which provide vivid examples and rich details of the impact and effectiveness of specific programs in specific locations at a specific time, but generally fail to achieve a more rigorous standard that would allow for research findings to be widely generalized. Some more rigorous studies have been conducted and more are surely to follow, but in the meantime, NGO leaders and government policy makers must exercis e caution and restraint in applying the microfinance approach universally as a means of alleviating poverty. This chapter reviews some of the recent research into the effectiveness of microfinance programs and proposes areas for future directions in the continued research of microfinance programs.
Introduction Poverty has different meanings to different people and is the source of much debate in the public arena. This is largely due to the fact there are many potential causes of poverty, ranging from those that could be categorized as causes stemming from one’s personal choices and actions, causes stemming from structural constraints and inequalities in society, and
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causes that arise from government welfare entitlement programs. As a result of such a wide and diverse array of potential poverty causes, there are an equally large number of proposed policy interventions and solutions designed to eradicate the problem of poverty, some addressing each of the different areas mentioned above. One potential solution that has been increasing in popularity and controversy in recent years is the area of microfinance. However, despite the increased popularity, what is the record of such programs? Furthermore, what is the effectiveness/ ineffectiveness of such programs on reducing poverty? Finally, what are the predominant methodological approaches in the microfinance literature? As with any intervention strategy, as the number of microfinance programs instituted throughout the world continues to increase, formal investigation into the effectiveness of such programs is important. In this paper I will provide evidence from the existing literature on microfinance to show the current performance record of such programs and the effectiveness/ineffectiveness of such programs on reducing poverty. Furthermore, I will discuss some criticisms of the microfinance approach to eradicating poverty and provide a critique of the methodological foundation of microfinance as a whole, as well as the increased number of impact studies that have been conducted in recent years. Finally, I will draw several conclusions on the appropriateness and effectiveness of microfinan ce programs in addressing the problem of world poverty, while providing several suggestions for future research directions in this developing field.
Review of Literature Article Selection Method For this literature review, I conducted an EBSCO Host database search of peer-reviewed academic journal articles between the years of 1996-200 6, using the search terms, “microfinance and poverty,” and “microcredit and poverty.” This search produced over 100 article abstracts, which I read to determine which articles I would include in the review for this paper. While reading through the abstracts as skimming through the methods and findings sections of these articles, I quickly found that there is a large body of less “rigorous” research in this area, including microfinance institutions program impact studies and a large number of studies that used qualitative or more of a case studies approach. I therefore decided to focus my review on those articles that utilized some form of quantitative data and analysis, and where possible, a broader study scope (rather than focusing on just one program or one town). This reduced the number of articles dramatically ,
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yielding the final six studies to be reviewed in this paper. In addition to the peer-reviewed journal articles, I also used some references to popular media sources and visited a few microfinance practitioner-based websites to provide what may be viewed as the popular mainstream perspective. Background to Microfinance Poverty is a world-wide epidemic. Figure 1 below illustrates that though extreme poverty rates have been declining across many regions of the world in recent decades, high rates still persist. Furthermore, it is estimated that about one-sixth (500 million of an estimated 3 billion) of poor people throughout the world have access to formal financial services (World Bank, 2005). This represents a large gap in access to such services.
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Figure 1: Extreme Poverty Rates in World Regions
One approach to reducing this gap that has increased in popularity in recent years has been the formation of microfinance institutions (an estimated 7,000 microfinance institutions serving approximately 16 millio n poor individuals in developing countries) (World Bank, 2005). However, Figure 2 illustrates the large gap that still persists between need and the access of microfinance services available to the world’s poorest families.
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Figure 2: Access to M icrofinance Services, Source: www.unitus.com/wwd_whatismf.asp
The idea of microfinance started in Bangladesh around 1976 with Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank (recently awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work). Microfinance refers to financial services offered to low SES individuals that are excluded from the traditional financial system (considered “unbankable”—lacking collateral, steady employment, and a verifiable credit history). Aspects of microfinance, such as microcredit, are designed to help lift individuals, families, and communities out of poverty by providing small amounts of start-up capital for entrepreneurial projects, which will then presumably help individuals to generate income, build wealth, and exit poverty. One aspect of microfinance that distinguishes it from the traditional financial system is the “joint liability concept,” where groups of individuals, usually women, group together to apply for loans, and hold joint accountability for repayment of the loan. The premise is that providing low SES individuals access to financial services will better enable poor households to move away from subsistence living to a future oriented outlook on life and an increased investment in nutrition, education, and living expenses. Furthermore, microfinance is unique as a development tool because of its potential to be self-sustaining (both reducing poverty and maintaining a profitable business) (Business Week, 2005).
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Reported Strengths/Positive Impacts of Microfinance Programs A variety of studies have found a few key strengths and positive impacts produced by the implementation of microfinance programs in poor and impoverished areas of the world. First, microfinance programs can be an effective way to provide low-cost financial services to poor individuals and families (Miller and Martinez, 2006; Stephens and Tazi 2006). Second, such programs have been shown to help in the development and growth of the local economy as individuals and families are able to move past subsistence living and increase disposable income levels (Khandker, 2005). In addition, many studies (primarily microfinance institution impact studies and academic researcher qualitative or case studies) have shown that microfinance programs were able to reduce poverty through increasing individual and household income levels, as well as improving healthcare, nutrition, education, and helping to empower women. For examp le, standard of living increases, which help to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, have occurred at both the individual and household levels as a result of microfinance programs (Khandker, 2005). Furthermore, it has been demonstrated by some research that microfinance programs increase access to healthcare, making preventative healthcare measures more affordable to the poor. In addition, more children are being sent to school and staying enrolled longer (Morduch, 1998). Finally, it has been shown that such programs can help borrowers to develop dignity and self-confidence in conjunction with loan repayment, and self-sufficiency as a means for sustainable income becomes available. Since microfinance services are primarily focused on women, it is argued that this leads to the empowermen t of women and the breaking down of gender inequalities through providing opportunities for women to take on leadership roles and responsibilities (Goetz and Gupta, 1995). Reported Problems/Negative Impacts of Microfinance Programs In contrast to the various positive impacts and strengths of microfinance programs listed above, other studies (more quantitative, with appropriate treatment/control frameworks and comparisons made across larger samples) have found several key problems and negative impacts produced by the implementation of microfinance programs in poor and impoverished areas of the world. First, some studies have shown that microfinance programs benefit the moderately poor more than the destitute, and thus impact can vary by income group (better-off benefit more from micro-cred it ) (Copestake et al., 2001; Morduch, 1998; Dugger, 2004). Second, most microfinance programs target women (due to higher repayment rates),
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which may result in men requiring a wife to get loans for them (Goetz and Gupta, 1995). Third, examples exist of a vicious cycle of debt, microcred it dependency, increased workloads, and domestic violence associated with participation in microfinance programs (Copestake et al., 2001; Morduch, 1998). Fourth, studies have shown that there are low repayment rates in comparison with traditional financial institutions (Miller and Martinez, 2006; Stephens and Tazi, 2006), thus possibly contradicting one of the key strengths listed above, that such programs can lead to empowerment and increased self-confidence through responsible loan repayment. Fifth, there have been reports of the use of harsh and coercive methods to push for repayment and excessive interest rates (Business Week, 2005; The Financial Express, 2005). Finally, concerns have been raised that the reliance on microfinance programs to aid the poor may result in a reduction of government and charitable assistance (“privatization of public safety-net programs”) (Neff, 1996). Microfinance as a Means to Alleviate Poverty? Based on the findings reported above, there are mixed conclusions as to the overall impact of microfinance institutions. This leads us to the key question of this paper: What is the effectiveness/ ineffectiveness of microfinance programs on reducing poverty? Some studies have found marked decreases in overall poverty levels, including declining levels of extreme poverty (Khandker, 2005), while other studies do not find the same direct effect (Morris and Barnes, 2005; Kan, Olds, and Kah, 2005; Goet z and Gupta, 1996). Still, other studies provide mixed results (Copestake, Bhalotra, and Johnson, 2001; Morduch, 1998). Thus, the academic literature is mixed in regards to the specific impact that microfinance has on alleviating poverty. In what follows, I will review these studies, briefly discussing the study designs and key findings. Microfinance Helps to Alleviate Poverty The only study, among those selected for review in this paper, that was both more rigorous in design and reported very clear and direct effects of microfinance programs on poverty was Khandker’s 2005 article, “Microfinance and Poverty: Evidence Using Panel Data from Bangladesh.” This research examined 1,638 households that participated in two waves of the BIDS—World Bank 1991/92 and 1998/99 survey in Bangladesh. Khandker found that moderate poverty in the sample villages declined 17% between the two waves of the survey, and extreme poverty declined 13%.
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Among those households that participated in the microfinance programs, the poverty rate declined 20% in the same period, with more than half of the nearly 3% annual moderate poverty decline among participants attributed to the microfinance programs alone. He further found that access to microfinance programs contributed to the reduction of both moderate and extreme poverty of individuals (particularly women) as well as for the village as a whole—where inflow of microfinance funds to rural areas impacted the local economy— and raised per capita household consumption for both participants and nonparticipants. Microfinance Does not Help to Alleviate Poverty Despite the very positive results reported by Khandker, other studies reported more findings that were much muddier. Kan, Olds, and Kah (2005) studied the evolution, sustainability, and management of ten microcred it institutions in Gossas, Senegal, using a mixed-methods approach to study design, utilizing socioeconomic surveys, semi-structured interviews, and ethnographic research over a period of three years. They found that microcredit institutions have helped to create some positive change, but that there was no clear and marked evidence of poverty reduction that was attributable to the microfinance programs studied and stated that the expectations of what microcredit can do to help lift communities out of poverty is “a bit too optimistic” (p. 146). Morris and Barnes (2005) attempted to provide an overall assessment of the impact of microfinance and examined the impacts of three microfinan ce programs in Uganda (FINCA, FOCCAS, and PRIDE). Utilizing survey data collected via random sample from each of the three program areas (for both program clients and non-clients), baseline data was first collected in the winter of 1997, and then the survey was repeated in the winter of 1999 to assess impact. The researchers did not find that microfinance programs help to alleviate poverty in program areas, though results from these impact studies indicated positive impacts of these microfinance programs on both program participants’ entrepreneurial business endeavors and within their own households. The authors further found that microfinance programs help to reduce financial vulnerability of poor individuals through the diversification of available income sources and the accumulation of assets. Mixed Results Though most of the studies already previously cited found some mixed results of the role that microfinance programs play in alleviating poverty, a
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few other studies clearly did not come down on one side or the other. Copestake, Bhalotra, and Johnson (2001) also attempted to provide an overall assessment of microfinance programs and used a mixed-metho d s approach, utilizing a questionnaire-based sample survey of PULSE participants, a secondary survey on drawn on a larger population of businesses and households, a qualitative focus-group discussion, and key informant interviews. The researchers noted that “expectations are high, but evidence of the impact of microcredit remains in short supply” (abstract) and that the number of rigorous studies still remains small (p. 82). However, 57% of program participants reported feeling better off overall, though some borrowers are made worse off financially through involvement with the microcredit programs. Further, the researchers found that the microfinance programs benefited the moderately poor more than the destitute. Morduch (1998) attempted to look specifically at the role microfinance plays in helping the poor and reported mixed results, including some positive and some negative impacts of microfinance in alleviating poverty and helping the poor. Morduch used survey data collected in 1991/92 by the Bangladesh Institute for Development Studies, in collaboration with the World Bank, covering 87 villages and nearly 1800 households. Survey data was collected at three points during the collection period to capture seasonal variations in household circumstances. Morduch found that the microfinance programs benefited the moderately poor more than the destitute. Further, he found that households that are eligible to borrow and have access to the programs do not have notably higher consumption levels that control households. Additionally, he found that households eligible for programs have substantially lower variation in consumption and labor supply across seasons, thus the most important potential impacts of microfinance programs are with reducing one’s financial vulnerability, and not necessarily poverty.
Critique of Existing Literature As demonstrated in the review section of this paper, the findings in the literature on the effectiveness and impact of microfinance programs vary. Many impact studies and other similar assessments find great strengths and positive impacts of such programs on reducing poverty, while other studies report that such positive impacts may be over-reported and even inaccurate, while pointing out some fundamental flaws with such study designs. The question is, which group of studies is correct, and to what extent? In what
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follows, I will briefly provide some methodological critiques of the current body of research in trying to address this question. At this point in the literature, there are few stringent evaluations of microcredit programs generally viewed as credible by experts. Much of the literature reporting positive results of the impact of microfinance programs in reducing poverty fails to meet a rigorous level of study design and statistical analysis, using qualitative methods, looking at single cases or specific areas or regions, using cross-sectional data, analyzing self-reported measures, and using non-random sampling procedures, resulting in findings that cannot be easily replicated nor generalized to all programs. In contrast to the common qualitative and case-study approaches in the less rigorous body of research, only a handful of studies use sizeable samples and appropriate treatment/control frameworks to answer the questions of real impact and effectiveness. As Morduch said in his critique of the existing literature methodology, “While strong claims are made for the ability of microfinance to reduce poverty, only a handful of studies use sizable samples and appropriate treatment/control frameworks to answer the question” (1998, p. 1). Until more such studies are conducted and findings reported, we must take the findings of less rigorous impact studies with a grain of salt and not be too quick to generalize findings of the impact and effectiveness of a specific program, in a specific location, at a specific time, to other cases.
Future Directions I am encouraged by the increasing popularity of the growing microfinance movement and recognize it as a pioneering approach to addressing the problem of poverty. There are numerous studies that demonstrate the tremendous successes of such programs throughout much of the underdeveloped world. However, despite the increase in the popularity of microfinance programs and the vast amount of research conducted to date, there are two key areas for future research into the effectiveness of microfinance programs. First and foremost, more stringent evaluations of microcredit programs are needed. Various feasibility and impact studies have shown the financial viability of such programs in being self-sustainable institutions, but the question of the effectiveness and impact on the poor of such programs is still highly in question. Many studies use a case-study approach to look at the effectiveness of a given program in a given region at a given time, but few effectively measure the impact of multiple programs. To be able to say once and for all that these programs are or are not effective at reducing
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poverty will require a large sample of programs with data that can be rigorously analyzed, with replicable methods and generalizable findings. Second, there are considerable practical debates surrounding the implementation of microfinance programs that have yet to be answered. These debates include a fundamental theoretical debate between large-scale, top-down funding of major development projects versus small-scale, bottom-up funding to individuals and households as a means of alleviating poverty. Additionally, there are questions surrounding the potential of microfinance programs to cannibalize other programs, including government assistance and aid. Furthermore, there are still questions as to the potential of microcredit hurting the poor and creating a kind of microcredit dependency. Finally, as microfinance programs are geared almost exclusively to women, there is a debate about the appropriateness of such a policy and the possible exploitation of women. Therefore, further research needs to be conducted to examine these facets of microfinan ce programs.
Conclusion Despite the popularization of microfinance in the mass media and the many positive findings that are reported in some feasibility and impact studies, there are also many studies that report some negative impacts of such programs and fail to find a direct link between microfinance program involvement and poverty reduction. Thus, at this point, NGO leaders and government policy makers must exercise caution and restraint in applying the microfinance approach universally as a means of alleviating poverty and continue to conduct rigorous research that will better answer the questions addressed in this paper.
References Copestake, James, Bhalotra, Sonia, and Johnson, Susan. 2001. “Assessing the Impact of Microcredit: A Zambian Case Study.” The Journal of Development Studies, Vol. 37 (4), p. 81-100. Dugger, Celia W. 2004. “Debate Stirs over Tiny Loans for World’s Poorest.” New York Times. Goetz, Anne Marrie and Gupta, Rina Sen. 1996. “Who Takes the Credit? Gender, Power and Control over Loan Use in Rural Credit Programmes in Bangladesh.” World Development Vol. 24 (1), p. 45-63.
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Kah, Jainaba M.L., Olds, Dana L., and Kah, Muhammadou M. O. 2005. “Microcredit, Social Capital, and Politics.” Journal of Microfinance, Vol. 7 (1), p. 121-151. Khandker, Shahidur R. 2005. “Microfinance and Poverty: Data fro m Bangladesh.” The World Bank Economic Review, Vol. 19 (2), p. 263286. —. “Large NGOs Becoming Rockefellers.” The Financial Express, November 22, 2005. —. “Micro Loans, Solid Returns: Microfinance Funds Lift Poor Entrepreneurs and Benefit Investors.” Business Week, May 9, 2005. Miller, Jared, and Martinez, Renso. “Championship League: An Overview of 80 Leading Latin American Providers of Microfinance.” Microbanking Bulletin, April 2006. Morduch, Jonathan. 1998. “Does Microfinance Really Help the Poor? New Evidence from Flagship Programs in Bangladesh.” MacArthur Network, Princeton University. Morris, Gayle, and Barnes, Carolyn. 2005. “An Assessment of the Impact of Microfinance.” Journal of Microfinance, Vol. 7 (1), p. 40-54. Neff, Gina. 1996. “Microcredit, Microresults.” The Left Business Observer Vol. 74. Stephens, Blaine and Tazi, Hind. “Performance and Transparency: A Survey of Microfinance in South Asia.” Microbanking Bulletin, April 2006. Originally published: Westover, Jonathan H. 2010. "Trickle-Up Economic Development: A Critical Examination of M icrofinance Programs." The International Journal of Environmental, Cultural, Economic, and Social Sustainability: Annual Review 6 (4): 1-10. doi:10.18848/18322077/CGP/v06i04/54793.
P ART F OUR GLOBAL COMPARATIVE RESEARCH
CHAPTER FOURTEEN GLOBAL ECONOMIC SHIFTS IMPACTING THE PERCEIVED IMPORTANCE OF VARIOUS INTRINSIC AND EXTRINSIC JOB CHARACTERISTICS AND OVERALL JOB SATISFACTION: A CROSS-NATIONAL ANALYSIS
Abstract In this research, I apply and extend Handel’s (2005) Post and NeoFordist framework for understanding job characteristics and job satisfaction in the context of a changing global environment. Prior research has indicated that the nature of work has changed dramatically in recent years in response to economic shifts and an increasingly global economy. However, there is little agreement on whether the overall quality of work has improved or declined over that period. Furthermore, less is known about changes in job satisfaction and its various indicators over time, based on how the workers feel and the perceived importance those workers place on each of those indicators. Finally, even less is known about the overall comparative quality of work and job satisfaction across the global economy. In this study, I use non-panel longitudinal data from the International Social Survey Program (Work Orientations I and II: 1989 and 1997) to conduct a descriptive comparative analysis of job quality and job satisfaction in relation to the differing theoretical predictions of Post-Fordist and NeoFordist paradigms and a changing global economy.
Introduction There is a large body of workplace literature across disciplines that specify a variety of job satisfaction indicators (i.e. job security, pay, worker autonomy, interesting work, etc.). Furthermore, this body of literature
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generally acknowledges that the nature of work has changed dramatically in recent years in response to economic shifts and an increasingly global economy. However, there is little agreement on whether the overall quality of work has improved or declined over this time period, and less is known about changes in job satisfaction and its various indicators over time, based on how the workers feel. Finally, even less is known about the overall descriptive comparative quality of work and job satisfaction across the global economy, and the resulting implications for firms striving for a competitive edge in an increasingly global work environment. I use non-panel longitudinal data from the International Social Survey Program (Work Orientations I, and II: 1989, and 1997—survey questions on job characteristics and job quality) to conduct a descriptive comparative analysis of job quality and job satisfaction to examine the perceived importance of various job characteristics and dimensions of job quality on job satisfaction over time and across countries. Data from eight countries is included in this analysis, including the U.S., Israel, the Netherlands, West Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Norway, and Hungary. Finally, I make cross-national comparisons in relation to the differing theoretical predictions of Post-Fordist and Neo-Fordist paradigms in looking at changing job quality characteristics across nations as they relate to these global economic shifts.
Brief Background to the Fordist Perspective My main purpose in this study is to take a descriptive comparative approach to begin to understand changing labor-management conditions and relations—resulting from global economic shifts—and the impact of these conditions on job quality. To do this, I will start by providing a brief overview of the Fordist position, followed by its predecessors, Neo and Post-Fordism.
Fordism and a Changing Global Economic Climate There is a wide range of relevant sociological and management theory in the areas of work and organizations. In looking at the connected issues of worker-oriented policies and economic competitiveness, one useful management perspective is that of Fordism and its Neo and Post-Fordist offshoots. Fordism, derived from Henry Ford’s approach to the mass production, is a system of mechanized mass production of consumer durable goods that is characterized by a labor process based around the fragmentation of tasks and the assembly-line, operated by semi-skilled mass
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labor (Hodkinson, 1997). Though the Fordist approach led to massive increases in productivity in certain industries, the human costs were high, with increased worker alienation, leading to labor problems such as high turnover, labor discipline, falling productivity, increasing wages, and rising unit labor costs (Hersey and Blanchard, 1982; Vroom, 1964). By the early 1970’s, the mass markets that stabilized the Fordist system started to breakup, causing a world-wide economic crisis and fundamental shift in trade cycles, due in part to huge costs associated with Fordist production methods and the exhaustion of the efficiency gains that had made the Fordist production system successful (Hardt and Negri, 2000; Piore and Sabel, 1984). The Neo and Post-Fordist management philosophies and practices emerged in response to this economic shift of the 1970’s.
Post Fordism (Mass Production) Scholars acknowledged that one possible response to the economic shift of the 1970’s was a move away from the principles of Fordism in an attempt to meet the demands to innovate and meet new consumer needs (Hardt and Negri 2000). This new approach is often called Post-Fordism, or “Organized Capitalism,” and is typified by the word “flexibility,” where labor and resources are used in a strategic fashion to enable production systems to be responsive to market changes and cycles and to encourage workers to develop new skills in order to be able to operate across a range of tasks (Amin 1994; Hirst and Zeitlin 1991; Priore and Sabel 1984). Thus, PostFordism is an approach that emphasizes flatter organizational hierarchies that benefit both firms and workers and has moved towards greater flexibility and employee involvement. Additionally, Post-Fordists would predict that the overall quality of jobs for most workers has increased in the last 20 years, particularly in terms of intrinsic non-material rewards, due to the adoption of participative management practices and strategies, the diffusion of information technology, and changing markets (Osterman 1994; Piore & Sabel 1984; Zuboff 1988).
Neo-Fordism (Flexible Production) Scholars acknowledge that another response to the economic crisis of the 1970’s was an attempt to meet the demand for varied products while maintaining the basic Fordist principles of production (Avis et al. 1996). This perspective is often called Neo-Fordism, or “Flexible Production,” and maintains the basic principles of the traditional firm held by Fordism, while accentuating other principles, such as flexible production, in an attempt to
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correct for insufficiencies in the original Fordist theory and application (Graham 1993; Harrison 1994; Harrison and Bluestone 1988; Harvey 1989; Mishel, Bernstein, and Schmitt 2001; Schor 1991; Taplin 1995; for relevant reviews, see Kalleberg 2000; Morris and Western 1999). Thus, this new approach combines the logic of mass production and mass consumption with more flexible production, distribution, and marketing systems. Thus, in contrast to Post-Fordism, Neo-Fordism combines the logic of mass production and mass consumption with more flexible production, distribution, and marketing systems and maintains top-down control of workers and other basic principles of the traditional firm held by Fordis m (Hodkinson, 1997; Brown and Lauder 1992). Additionally, Neo-Fordists would predict that the overall quality of jobs for most workers has declined in the last 20 years, particularly in terms of extrinsic material rewards and work pace, as businesses have responded to economic recessions by removing many of the labor gains of the post-war era (Handel 2005; Harrison 1994). Though firms do not necessarily adhere strictly to either Post or NeoFordist philosophy over the other, firms do tend to lean one way or the other, which has implications for work quality characteristics and worker satisfaction.
Job Quality Characteristics and Job Satisfaction Researchers have studied job satisfaction extensively over the past three or four decades. Though this research has produced sometimes conflicting findings and the overall explanatory power of job satisfaction has been widely debated over that time, the question remains, why is it still important to study job quality characteristics and job satisfaction? The bottom line is that work continues to be a very important part of our everyday lives, possibly even more so than at any other time in recent history. Additionally, the landscape of work in the U.S. and across the world has changed dramatically over the past 15-20 years in response to economic shifts and an increasingly global economy. Furthermore, despite the many conflicting findings and debates, it has been generally accepted in the workplace literature that satisfied workers are more productive and perform at a higher level (see Souza-Poza and Souza-Poza 2000). It has further been demonstrated that low job satisfaction can lead to higher absenteeism and turnover (Vroom 1964). Finally, a wide body of work and health research has shown the link between job satisfaction and worker health (see Karasek’s 1979; Totterdell et al. 2006; Tsutsumi 2005).
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In addition to these key findings, there is a large body of workplace literature across disciplines that indicates a variety of job satisfaction indicators—job security, pay, worker autonomy, interesting work, etc. (Munoz de Bustillo Llorente 2005; Chiu and Chen 2005). These studies have usually found an important degree of correlation between characteristics of one’s workplace and job satisfaction. A relatively new way to categorize and look at these various characteristics and indicators of job quality are from the Post-Fordist and Neo-Fordist perspectives, which generally look at characteristics of job quality in terms of nonmaterial (intrinsic) and nonmaterial (extrinsic) rewards, respectively (Handel 2005; Kalleberg 1977). In addition to providing a basis for understanding what variables are useful to examine, this literature also reveals that data collection methods in this line of research vary from quantitative to qualitative and mixed-methods approaches, often utilizing secondary and archival data. Furthermore, the method by which various researchers operationalize job satisfaction and its indicators varies, from a single-item survey question (Handel 2005; Munoz de Bustillo Llorente and Macias 2005; DeHart-Davis and Pandey 2005; Marchand, Demers, and Durand 2005; Sloan 2004; Hodson 2002; Hamermesh 1999; Kirkman and Shapiro 2001), to multi-item scales (Chiu and Chen 2005; Marchand, Demers, and Durand 2005; Carlson and Mellor 2004; Kirkman and Shapiro 2001).
Discussion of Variables I use Handel’s (2005) job satisfaction model (based on Kalleberg’s 1977 findings) for conducting a cross-national comparison of job satisfaction and the perceived importance of varying intrinsic and extrinsic job quality characteristics (for cross-national comparative component, see also SouzaPoza and Souza-Poza 2000; Munoz de Bustillo Llorente and Fernandez Macias 2005). Handel (2005) characterizes 12 perceived job quality variables from the General Social Survey (10 of which are available for all countries in both waves of the International Social Survey data used for this study) into intrinsic (Interesting Job, Job Autonomy, ManagementEmployee Relations, Coworker Relations) and extrinsic (Pay, Job Security, Promotional Opportunities, Workload, Physical Effort, Danger) job quality factors. This study specifically looks at five of these variables, also examined specifically in terms of the level of importance the respondent places on that job characteristic: Job security, Pay, Promotional Opportunities, Interesting Work, and Job Autonomy.
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Methodological Description Data Collection I use non-panel longitudinal data from the International Social Survey Program (Work Orientations modules I and II: 1989 and 1997), which utilized a multistage stratified probability sample to collect the data for each of the various countries with a variety of eligible participants in each country’s target population. Variables of interest in the data collected by the International Social Survey Program are single-item indicators (i.e. with a single survey question for job satisfaction, interesting work, job autonomy, workplace relations, etc., on a Likert scale) and data was collected via selfadministered questionnaires, personal interviews, and mail-back questionnaires, depending on the country, and were collected in 1989 and 1996-97, respectively. For the purposes of this study, the unit of analysis is individuals within the separate sovereign nations. In addition to examinin g one large sample including all respondents from all participating countries, I examine a separate sample for each country to examine differences in job satisfaction and the perceived importance placed on various intrinsic and extrinsic job characteristics in each particular country.
Statistical Methodology and Limitations I use a variety of bivariate and multivariate procedures to examin e differences and changes in job satisfaction and job quality characteristics across countries and over time. One of the primary limitations of the available data is that each question represents a subjective single item indicator. Another problem is the nonpanel longitudinal nature of the data. I use two waves of cross-sectional data and therefore, I cannot specifically test the direction of causality among the variables examined as easily as I might with panel longitudinal data. Additionally, some variables of interest (i.e. work-related stress) could not be included in the analysis, as data was not available for both waves across all countries of interest. Finally, in any research comparing data fro m various countries throughout the world, cross-cultural variation and culturally motivated bias in responses is always a potential issue. Though this research is not designed to be cross-cultural, per se, it is important to understand the possible implications of culturally motivated biased perceptions in responses based on the cross-national comparative nature of this research. However, several researchers have found that individuals compare their situation to those around them, and that happiness and well-
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being is based on this relative comparison (Clark and Oswald 1996; Diener et al 1995). Furthermore, most studies examining job satisfaction are based on this type of data (Sousa-Pouza and Sousa-Pouza 2000).
Descriptive Results Mean Job Satisfaction: Figure 1 below shows that mean job satisfaction scores have generally declined in most countries from 1989 to 1997, while rising in Israel, Italy, and the Netherlands. For all countries, job satisfaction dropped slightly, with a -1% change between 1989 and 1997. Furthermore, the United Kingdom, Hungary, and Italy are below the overall average mean for all countries in both years, with Israel slightly below in 1989 and West Germany slightly below in 1997. Norway, the Netherlands, and the United States are consistently above average across both time-frames. A simple percent change across years shows that Israel had the biggest rise in job satisfaction between 1989 and 1997 (5%), and the United States had the largest decline (-5%). Mean Job Satisfaction Score, by Country with Respect to the Mean for all Countries 4.60 4.40 1989
4.20
1997
4.00
1989 Mean
3.80
1997 Mean
3.60
Ita ly No rw Ne ay th er la Un nd ite s d S W t a es t G te s er m an y
Un i
te d
Ki
ng do m Hu ng ar y Is ra el
3.40
Figure 1: M ean Job Satisfaction Score, by Country with Respect to the M ean for all Countries
Trends in Perceived Importance: Tables 2 and 3 below shows that while the perceived importance of pay and promotional opportunities for respondents in all countries has increased between 1989 and 1997, the perceived importance of job security, interesting work, and job autonomy
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has declined in the same time period. Additionally, the perceived importance of job security, pay, promotional opportunities, interesting work, and job autonomy vary by country but stay the same between 1989 and 1997. The only exception is Israel, where the most and least important stayed the same, but the middle three changed position. Six of the eight countries place the most importance on job security (with the exception of Israel and the Netherlands), and the most common characteristic to be at the bottom of the list is job autonomy, followed by the next most common , promotional opportunity. Interestingly, with the exception of Hungary (where it was ranked 2nd), pay was consistently in the 4th of 5th rank for all other countries, which intuitively many individuals would assume to be first. For all respondents, job security had the most importance and promotional opportunities had the least. Table 2: Trends in Perceived Importance Placed on Various Job Characteristics, 1989-1997, all Countries % 1989 1997 Change Job Security 1.53 1.47 *-3.7% Pay 1.96 1.99 1.4% Promotional Opportunities 2.02 2.08 *3.2% Interesting Work 1.63 1.55 **-4.5% Job Autonomy 1.96 1.90 -2.8% Response categories for each variable above included, (1) Very Important, (2) Important, (3) Neither Important nor Unimportant, (4) Not Important, (5) Not at all Important, (8) Can’t Choose, and (9) No Answer. *Significant at the 0.10 level; **Significant at the 0.05 level
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Table 3: Trends in Perceived Importance Placed on Various Job Characteristics, 1989-1997, Each Country Summary
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More specifically, Figures 2 through 6 show specifically the differences between countries through each wave of the survey with relation to each of the five “perceived importance” intrinsic and extrinsic variables. Figure 2 below shows that job security has increased in perceived importance from 1989 to 1997 in all countries but Norway, where it had a 3% decline in importance. The greatest increase occurred in Israel (12%).
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Mean Importance of Job Security Score, by Country and Year
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Figure 2: M ean Importance of Job Security Score, by Country and Year
Figure 3 below shows that pay has remained stable in perceived importance from 1989 to 1997 in all countries, with a slight decline in the UK, Norway, the Netherlands, and West Germany between those years. On the other hand, in Israel (9%) and Hungary (5%) pay increased in its perceived importance between the same years.
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Figure 3: M ean Importance of Pay Score, by Country and Year
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Mean Perceived Importance of Pay, by Country and Year
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Figure 4 below shows that promotional opportunities have remained stable in perceived importance from 1989 to 1997 in all countries, with a slight decline in the UK, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, the U.S., and West Germany between those years. On the other hand, in Hungary (8%) and Israel (5%) promotional opportunities increased in their perceived importance between the same years.
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Figure 4: M ean Importance of Promotional Opportunities Score, by Country and
Year Figure 5 below shows that interesting work has increased in perceived importance from 1989 to 1997 in all countries, with Italy and Norway remaining the same. In Israel (7%) and Hungary (5%) interesting work has increased the most in its perceived importance between the same years. Figure 6 below shows that job autonomy has remained stable and slightly increased in perceived importance from 1989 to 1997 in all countries, with a slight decline in the Italy and Norway. In Hungary (5%) and Israel (4%) job autonomy increased in its perceived importance between the same years.
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5.00 4.00 3.00 2.00 1.00 0.00
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Figure 5: M ean Importance of Interesting Work Score, by Country and Year
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Figure 6: M ean Importance of Job Autonomy Score, by Country and Year
Conclusions/Discussions In this section I provide a final discussion of the results and findings of the study. Furthermore, I briefly address policy implications for work organizations, labor unions, and public policy makers. Finally, I address areas for future research.
Final Discussion While acknowledging that the nature of work has changed dramatically in the post-war era in response to economic shifts and an increasingly global economy, particularly over the past 15-20 years, the literature on PostFordism and Neo-Fordism provides very different predictions for shifts in
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overall job quality and job satisfaction over time. The Post-Fordist paradigm argues that job quality has improved in conjunction with the deindustrialization of the U.S. and some foreign-based economies due to such factors as the adoption of participative management practices and strategies, the diffusion of information technology, and changing product markets. In contrast, the Neo-Fordist paradigm argues that job quality has declined as businesses have responded to economic recessions by removing many of the extrinsic rewards gained by the labor movement in the post-war era. Results from the descriptive comparative study conducted here-in indicates that neither of these perspectives can completely explain nor predict the changing trends in the perceived importance placed on workplace characteristics and overall worker job satisfaction. Evidence suggests that each perspective seems to accurately depict what has generally been happening in terms of the shifts in the world economy and the workplace. Despite the limitations of the theory, each perspective provides a useful framework for exploring differences between nations.
Policy Implications Results suggest that there are important country differences in both the perceived importance of various work characteristics and workers’ selfreport experiences with both intrinsic and extrinsic work characteristics. Therefore, it is important for any work organization (such as multinational corporations, global NGO’s, local and national governments, and labor unions) to understand that individual workers in different countries face unique economic and social conditions that impact their experience in the workplace. For worker organizations, such as labor unions, the findings of this paper suggest that a worker’s satisfaction with their employment experience will differ greatly depending on the type of work they are involved with. Workers in industrial jobs tend to value more extrinsic workplace characteristics, such as higher pay, opportunity for advancement, and workload, while workers in service sector jobs tend to value intrinsic workplace characteristics, such as job autonomy, interesting work, and workplace relationships. For union strategies and goals, this means that unions need to be aware of these fundamental differences in worker preferences and develop long-term union goals/strategies to help enhance the worker’s experience on the job. Finally, due to the fact the worker job satisfaction impacts firm performance and various measures of worker well-being, firms (regardless of economic sector or private/public status) need to be cognizant of these
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differences and unique challenges and work to tailor management philosophy and policy to create a unique work atmosphere that will benefit the interests of both the employer and the employee.
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Sloan, Melissa M. 2004 “The Effects of Occupational Characteristics on the Experience and Expression of Anger in the Workplace.” Work and Occupations, 31(1): 38-72. Sousa-Pouza A., Sousa-Pouza A. 2000. Well-Being at Work: A CrossNational Analysis of the Levels and Determinants of job satisfaction,” Journal of Socio-Economics, vol. 29, pp. 517-538. Taplin, I. M. 1995. “Flexible Production, Rigid Jobs: Lessons from the Clothing Industry.” Work and Occupations, 22, 412-438. Totterdell, Peter, Wood, Stephen, and Toby, Wall. 2006. “An IntraIndividual Test of the Demands-Control Model: A Weekly Diary Study of Psychological Strain in Portfolio Workers.” Journal of Occupational & Organizational Psychology, 79(1):63-84. Tsutsumi, Akizumi. 2005. “Psychosocial Factors and Health: Communit y and Workplace Study.” Journal of Epidemiology, 15(3): 65-91. Vroom, V., 1964. Work and Motivation. Wiley, New York. Zuboff, S. 1988. In the Age of the Smart Machine: The Future of Work and Power. New York: Basic Books. Originally published: Westover, Jonathan H. 2010. "Global Economic Shifts Impacting the Perceived Importance of Various Intrinsic and Extrinsic Job Characteristics and Overall Job Satisfaction: A Cross-National Analysis." The International Journal of Knowledge, Culture, and Change M anagement: Annual Review 10 (1): 137-150. doi:10.18848/1447-9524/CGP/v10i01/49872.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN STATE WELFARE PROVISIONS AND CROSS-NATIONAL DIFFERENCES IN WORK QUALITY AND JOB SATISFACTION
Abstract Scholars are increasingly recognizing that overall job satisfaction/job quality assessments are embedded in a context that is far wider than any particular place of employment or employer. Accordingly, one new area of research revolves around the role played by the state. One aspect of the state that is arguably at the heart of providing a context for worker satisfaction is welfare state provisions. This article explores how the comparative welfare state literature might bear upon ongoing job satisfaction research, first identifying and explaining the foundations of the comparative welfare state literature, and then updating it to reflect key changes in social welfare provisions since Epsing-Anderson’s (1990) and Huber and Stephens’ (2001) seminal works. Finally, this chapter identifies which social welfare provisions will be most relevant to worker satisfaction and should be considered in ongoing research efforts.
Overview of the Role of the State Many of the development theorists have argued for a global world system approach to looking at development (e.g. Wallerstein 1974, 2000) and some research has even indicated a decline in the role and importance of the nation-state in any increasingly global economy (e.g. Kentor 2005). However, more and more scholars have shown a renewed interest in exploring the role of the state in development (see Hirschman 1980; Evans, Rueschemeyer, and Skocpol 1985; Tilly 1990; Mann 1993; Evans 1994; Evans 1995; Meyer et al. 1997; Gilpin 2001; Kohli 2004). In broad summary, the modern state is both separate from and connected to civil society. The rise of the modern state system is closely related to changes in
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political thought, especially concerning the changing understanding of legitimate state power.
Aspects of the State that Research Needs to take into Account There are many aspects of the state that ongoing social science research needs to take into account. In brief summary, these aspects include understanding state regime type and level of democratization (Polanyi, 1944; Moore, 1966; Evans, 1994, 1995; Kohli, 2004), understanding the effect of colonization on potential for future country development (Kohli, 2004), issues surrounding the level of state political power and industrialization (Mann, 1993; Evans, Rueschemeyer, and Skocpol, 1985), state military build-up and power (Evans, Rueschemeyer, and Skocpol, 1985; Tilly, 1990), the relative embeddedness and autonomy of the state with business interests (Evans, Rueschemeyer, and Skocpol, 1985; Evans, 1995), the balance of state regulation with the sharing of state power with social groups (Polanyi, 1944; Moore, 1966), level state bureaucratic apparatus and decentralization (Evans, Rueschemeyer, and Skocpol, 1985), and the state’s role in the establishing, building, and sustaining of markets (Fligstein and Merand, 2002). Additionally, cross-national differences in welfare state provisions are equally important to understanding workplace conditions and characteristics and overall job satisfaction differences cross-nationally (see Epsing-Andersen, 1990; Huber and Stephens, 2001). In what follows, I will briefly provide an overview of the foundations of the comparative welfare state literature, followed by an in-depth review of two key works in the field: (1) Epsing-Andersen’s “The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism” and (2) Huber and Stephens’ “Development and Crisis of the Welfare State.” Following these in-depth reviews, I will explore other key developments in the social welfare state literature in recent years and conclude with a discussion about the social welfare state provisions most relevant to the cross-national study of worker satisfaction.
Foundations of the Comparative Welfare State Literature There are three broad theoretical schools that have examined the determinants of welfare state development over the past several decades, including (1) the “logical industrialism”, (2) “state-centric”, and (3) “political class struggle” approaches. The “logic of industrialism” school has argued that a focus on economic development is of greatest importance and that growth of the welfare state and global differences in the extent of welfare states can be understood as merely a byproduct of a broader
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economic development context and other related demographic and social organizational consequences (see Pampel and Williamson, 1989; Wilensky, 1975). The “state-centric” school has focused on issues surrounding the policy making of relatively socially autonomous bureaucrats and the impacts these policies (both old and new) have on the state’s capacity to implement welfare programs (see Skocpol, 1988; Weir et al., 1988; Helco, 1974). The “political class struggle” school has focused on the distribution of organizational power between leftist political influences (e.g. labor organizations and leftist political parties) and right-wing political forces as the key determinant of the cross-national variations in welfare state size and impact over time (see Epsing-Andersen, 1985; Hicks and Swank, 1984; Korpi, 1983; Stephens, 1979).. In addition to these three theoretical schools, there are several other approaches that have also examined cross-national differences in aggregate size of welfare states that do not neatly fall into any of the three theoretical schools briefly outlined above. They include (1) literature that examin es economic openness and domestic vulnerability, which can lead to the establishment of state-run safety nets (see Katzenstein, 1985; Cameron , 1978), (2) literature that specifically examines corporatist institutions that are conducive to welfare state growth (see Katzenstein, 1985; Stephens, 1979), and (3) literature that examines Catholicism political strength as a determinant of welfare state development (Van Kersbergen, 1995; Wilensky, 1981; Stephens, 1979). A variety of feminist theories have emerged as well over the last two decades, but I will explore those further later on.
Esping-Andersen and “The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism” In his seminal book “The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism,” EspingAnderson built upon the existing welfare state literature and specifically identified three theoretical typologies for welfare regimes and social policy in advanced capitalist nations, as they apply to the concept of “commodification of labor.” These include the following: (1) the liberal approach to social policy and welfare (liberal welfare regimes), (2) the conservative approach to social policy and welfare (corporatist/statist regimes), and (3) social democratic approach to social policy and welfare (social democratic regimes). I will describe each type of welfare regime more below. The Liberal Approach: Esping-Andersen holds up the United States as an example of his “liberal” type, which refers to the maximization of the
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free market with little to no state intervention. This perspective assumes that all individuals are capable of market participation, who can then sell their commodified labor and compete in that marketplace, leading to a stratification of society. Furthermore, this competition results in “winners” and “losers”, which leads to insecurity and can result in poverty among some segments of the population. From this perspective, Epsing-Andersen states, “this is not the fault of the system, but solely a consequence of an individual’s lack of foresight and thrift” (p. 42). Further, he argues that such liberal states tend to view welfare in terms of minimal assistance to allow the worker the opportunity to gain entry back into the market. The Conservative Approach: Epsing-Andersen holds up Germany as an example of his “conservative” type, which looks at social policy and welfare in terms of class stratification and hierarchical society, where state welfare intervention is both minimal, but also does not fail to intervene to protect those who are unable to succeed in the market place through no fault of their own. The Social Democratic Approach: Finally, Esping-Andersen holds up Sweden as an example of his “social democratic” type. This perspective supports full employment and promotes equality, including the provision of a safety net that no one should be allowed to fall through. This perspective seeks to remove reliance upon family groups as the first alternative to the market, where the primary concern is not to wait until the family is unable to provide further, but “to pre-emptively socialize the costs of familyhood ” (p. 26). Once more, the decommodification of workers is achieved through universal and comprehensive welfare policies.
Huber and Stephens and “Development and Crisis of the Welfare State” Following up on Epsing-Anderson’s (1990) seminal work, Huber and Stephens (2001) published an equally important work examining the welfare state entitled, “Development and Crisis of the Welfare State: Parties and Policies in Global Markets.” Huber and Stephens utilized a mult imethod approach (statistical—pooled cross-national time series models, detailed case study, and comparative historical comparisons) to examin e and explain the development, expansion, adaptation, and entrenchment of welfare states in advanced capitalist democracies over the second half of the 20th century. They argue that partisan choice ultimately determines welfare policy. Additionally, they state specifically, “it is the distribution of class power that is most influential in determining policy outcomes, particularly those with disruptive implications” (p. 341).
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Huber and Stephens identify three constellations/clusters of power that interact to determine the type of welfare regime that any given country adopts at a given time in its trajectory, including: (1) class power balance, which is the focus of the power resources approach to the variations in welfare state development, (2) the structure of the state and of the statesociety relations, and (3) complex relations in the international economy and system of states. Additionally, they included an examination of the women’s movements (extent and depth of mobilization) and the impacts of state structures (the extent to which political power is dispersed or centralized). Furthermore, they argue that the balance of class power is the primary determinant of variations through time and across countries in welfare state efforts, with distributive outcomes particularly being affected by social policy. In looking at their multi-pronged analysis, they first performed a statistical analysis of welfare outcomes in 18 countries over the “golden age” (1950’s, 1960’s, and early 1970’s), as well as in a period of crisis and retrenchment (1980’s and 1990’s). Here, they examined social insurance and service programs, major public expenditure and revenue aggregates, poverty differences, welfare state expenditures, transfers to various groups, various economic and political differences (i.e. various shares of GDP, security benefits and transfer payments), as well as other indicators of state redistributive and safety-net outcomes. Additionally, they provided comparative case study accounts of nine countries as they relate to the politics of welfare and policy making, examining various job and gender, labor market, and educational policies from 1946-1996. Huber and Stephens present several key findings. First, looking at the politics of welfare policy making, the authors find that partisan politics is the most important variable in the development of welfare state outcomes. Also, social and Christian democratic government cabinets are associated with the expansion of welfare activity in the 1960’s, but this relationship weakened through the 1970’s, 80’s, and 90’s. Therefore, they argue that those in the political left are better at building and defending welfare states. Second, they find that the nature of the production regimes in which welfare states are embedded is key to impacting options and choice. They state that there are clear “patterns of relationships between enterprises, banks, labor, and the government accompanied by different policy patterns” (p. 5). Additionally, they state: The central argument is that there must be a mutually enabling fit between essential aspects of welfare state programs and the production regimes in which they are embedded. Therefore, as international economic
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conditions change, national production regimes are affected and in turn may stimulate adaptations of welfare state regimes (p. 23). Third, they introduced a few new key variables: women in the workforce and constitutional structures. They demonstrated that the inclusion of women in the workforce has an interaction effect with the expansion of welfare services. Additionally, they demonstrated that whether or not a state constitution includes multiple veto points significantly impacts whether or not welfare states are more likely to expand or reduce welfare policies during critical developmental or adaptational periods.
Other Key Developments in the Social Welfare State Literature In addition to Huber and Stephens’ (2001) equally influential work, since the publication of Esping-Andersen’s “Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism” (1990), researchers interested in the development of the welfare states in advanced capitalist democracies have been focusing primarily on a variety of welfare state regimes. This includes a growing body of literature that examines “varieties of capitalism,” which has changed the focus of welfare state studies to understanding relationships among and between various enterprises, financial institutions, and government (see Hall, 1999; Hollingsworh et al., 1994). Even more recently, some scholars have started to examine the relationship between varieties of capitalism/production regimes and welfare state regimes (Scruggs and Allan, 2006; Hall and Soskice, 2001; Huber and Stephens, 2001; Kitschelt et al. 1999). Varieties of capitalism analyses assumes that firms are the central actors in the economy whose behavior aggregates into national economic performance and that firms must engage with others in multiple spheres of the political economy. Coordination with other actors in the economy is key (firms coordinate with other actors primarily through competitive markets or through processes of strategic interaction) (see Scruggs and Allan, 2006; Hall and Soskice, 2001). Additionally, Hicks (1999) and Swank (1999) have both advanced the democratic corporatism thesis, where strong and centralized unions and strong social democratic parties bargain alongside corporatist institutions regarding various social and economic policies that have led to the development of the social democratic welfare state. Furthermore, in recent years a new institutionalism school has begun to emerge, which looks at role of formal institutions, the linkages between them, and the impact of existing policy arrangements on the differing national welfare states outcomes (Pierson, 2001).
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Finally, there has been an abundance of welfare state literature from a feminist perspective since the early 1990’s. As Huber and Stephens state, “Gender has become an important basis for organization in advanced industrial democracies, particularly in the last three decades” (p. 19). This literature has focused not on the determinants of the welfare state, but rather the consequences of the welfare state for women, in terms of social position, status, and gender relations (see Orloff, 1997; Hobson, 1994). Additionally, in recent years there has been a great deal of literature that has examined the role of women’s movements in shaping the development of the welfare state (see O’Connor et al., 1999; Hobson and Lindholm, 1997).
Social Welfare State Provisions Most Relevant to the Study of Cross-National Worker Satisfaction The vast literature examining the development of the welfare state utilizes many variables that could be useful in uncovering welfare staterelated reasons behind cross-national differences in worker satisfaction. These include such measures as government revenue as a percentage of GDP, government expenditures as a percentage of GDP, social security benefit expenditure as a percentage of GDP, social security transfers as a percentage of GDP, public health expenditure as a percentage of total health expenditure, union density, unemployment rate, and civilian government employment as a percentage of working-age population, among many other possibilities (see Huber and Stephens, 2001; Esping-Andersen, 1990). Such common measures of welfare state size and reach could help to better understand how cross-national differences in welfare security measures and policy impact worker attitudes about their job. For example, in a nation that has a comparatively higher percentage of unionization, where the worker’s jobs are more securely protected, one would suppose that such a common job satisfaction determinant as job security would have less saliency to worker satisfaction in that country. However, if another country does not have such job security provisions in place, job security may play a more important role in worker satisfaction in that country. The same would apply to other various state redistributive and safety-net outcomes. Thus, the possible comparative welfare state implications on job satisfaction and its determinants cross-nationally could be extensive, and as no research to date has specifically studied this relationship, particularly in a cross-national analysis, future research in this area will need to be performed to see to what extent the comparative welfare state plays a role in cross-national difference in job satisfaction.
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References Epsing-Andersen, G. 1985. Politics against Markets. Princeton: Princeton University Press. —. 1990. Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Evans, Peter. 1994. “The Eclipse of the State? Reflections on Stateness in an Era of Globalization” World Politics 50: 62-87. —. 1995. Embedded Autonomy: States and Industrial Transformation. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Evans, Peter, Dietrich Ruschemeyer, and Theda Skocpol. 1985. “Bringing the State Back In.” Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Fligstein, Neil, and Merand, Fredric. 2002. “Globalization or Europeanization: Changes in the European Economy.” Acta Sociologica, Vol. 45(1):7 – 22. Hall, P. 1999. “The Political Economy of Europe in an Era of interdependence.” In Kitschelt et al. 1999, 135-163. Hall, P.A., and Soskice, D. (eds.). 2001. Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage. Oxford: Oxfo rd University Press. Helco, H. 1974. Modern Social Politics in Britain and Sweden. New Haven: Yale University Press. Hicks, A. 1999. Social Democracy and Welfare Capitalism: A Century of Income Security Policies. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. Hicks, A. and Swank, D. 1992. “Politics, Institutions, and Welfare Spending in Industrialized Democracies, 1960-82.” American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 86: p. 668-710. Hobson, B. 1994. “Welfare Policy Regimes, Solo Mothers, and the Logics of Gender.” In Sainsbury 1994, 170-187. Hobson, B. and Lindholm, M. 1997. “Collective Identities, Women’s Power Resources, and the Construction of Citizenship Rights in Welfare States.” Theory and Society, Vol. 26: p. 475-508. Hollingsworth, R., Schmitter, P., and Streeck, W. eds. 1994. Governing Capitalist Economies. New York: Oxford University Press. Huber, E. and Stephens, J. 2001. Development and Crisis of the Welfare State: Parties and Policies in Global Markets. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Katzenstein, P. 1985. Small States in World Markets: industrial Policy in Europe. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
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Kitschelt, H., Lange, P., Marks, G., Stephens, D. eds. 1999. Continuity and Change in Contemporary Capitalism. New York: Cambridge University Press. Kohli, Atul. 2004. State-Directed Development: Political Power and Industrialization in the Global Periphery. New Jersey: Princeton University. Korpi, W. 1983. The Democratic Class Struggle. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Mann, Michael. 1993. The Sources of Social Power, Volume 2: The Rise of Classes and Nation States, 1760-1914. Cambridge: Cambridg e University Press. Moore, Jr., Barrington. 1966. Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Lord and Peasant in the Making of the Modern World. Boston: Beacon Press. O’Connor, J. S., Orloff, A. S., and Shaver, S. 1999. States, Markets, Families: Gender, Liberalism, and Social Policy in Australia, Canada, Great Britain, and the United States. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Orloff, A. 1997. “Motherhood, Work, and Welfare in the United States, Britain, Canada, and Australia.” Paper presented at the conferences Welfare States at the Crossroads, Sigtuna, Sweden, January 9-11. Pampel, F., and Williamson, J. 1989. Age, Class, Politics, and the Welfare State. New York: Cambridge University Press. Pierson, P. ed. 2001. The New Politics of the Welfare State. Oxford: Oxfo rd University Press. Polanyi, Karl. 1944. The Great Transformation. Boston: Beacon. Scruggs, L. A. and Allan, J. P. 2006. “Social Stratification and Welfare Regimes for the 21st Century: Revisiting the ‘Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism.’” Paper prepared for delivery at the 15th International Conference of Europeanists, Chicago, IL, March 30-April 1 Skocpol, T. 1988. “The Limits of the New Deal System and the Roots of Contemporary Welfare Dilemmas.” In The Politics of Social Policy in the United States. Ed. Margaret Weir, Ann Shola Orloff, and Theda Skocpol, 293-312. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Stephens, J. D. 1979. The Transition from Capitalism to Socialism. London: Macmillan. —. 1979. “Class Formation and Class Consciousness.” British Journal of Sociology, Vol. 30: p. 389-414. Swank, D. 1999. Diminished Democracy: Global Capital, political Institutions, the Welfare State in Advanced Economies. Cambridg e: Cambridge University Press.
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Tilly, Charles. 1990. Coercion, Capital and European States AD 990-1990: Blackwell. Weir, M., Orloff, A. S., and Skocpol, T. 1988. “Introduction: understanding American Social Politics.” In The Politics of Social Policy in the United States. Ed. Margaret Weir, Ann Shola Orloff, and Theda Skocpol, 293312. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Wilensky, H. 1975. Welfare State and Equality. Berkeley and LA : University of California Press. —. 1981. “Leftism, Catholicism, and Democratic Corporatism.” In Flora and Heidenheimer 1981, 314-378. Van Kersbergen, K. 1995. Social Capitalism. London: Routledge. Originally published: Westover, Jonathan H. 2010. "State Welfare Provisions and Cross-National Differences in Work Quality and Job Satisfaction." The Global Studies Journal 3 (1): 67-74. doi:10.18848/1835-4432/CGP/v03i01/40660.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN EUROPEAN COUNTRY CONTEXTUAL DIFFERENCES IMPACTING JOB QUALITY CHARACTERISTICS AND WORKER SATISFACTION: A LOOK AT FRANCE AND GERMANY FROM 1997 TO 2005
Abstract Prior research has indicated that the nature of work has changed dramatically in recent years in response to economic shifts and an increasingly global economy. In this study, we used non-panel longitudinal data from the International Social Survey Program (Work Orientations II and III: 1997 and 2005—survey questions on job characteristics and job quality) to examine the changing job quality and job satisfaction determinants in two European countries, France and West Germany, while exploring the country contextual and cultural shifts that impacted this change. We used a comparative international methodology to examin e similarities and differences between France and West Germany from 1997 to 2005. We used a variety of bivariate and multivariate descriptive statistics and procedures, as well as ordinary least squares and ordered probit regression analysis, to explore variations across the two countries to examine the conditions that exist in France and Germany that may affect the satisfaction of workers within those two countries. To move beyond the existing research of social psychologists and organizational behavior researchers, we utilized descriptive country level comparative data to include important macro cross-national factors that may directly influence working conditions and the perceptions of workers.
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Introduction A great deal of cross-disciplinary research has been done that examines job satisfaction and its determinants. Additionally, a variety of literature across academic disciplines indicates that the nature of work has changed dramatically in recent years in response to economic shifts and an increasingly global economy (see Westover, 2008a, 2008b, 2009, 2010a, 2010b, 2011). However, there is little known about the overall comparative quality of work and job satisfaction in France and Germany in recent decades. This research utilizes non-panel longitudinal data from the International Social Survey Program (Work Orientations II, and III: 1997 and 2005— survey questions on job characteristics and job quality) to conduct an exploratory comparative analysis of job quality and job satisfaction to examine the impact of various job characteristics and dimensions of job quality on job satisfaction over time in France and Germany (see Westover, 2010a and 2011 for similar studies done in looking at changes in Hungary and Israel respectively). Following Handel’s (2005) approach to studying workplace changes in the United States, we make comparisons in looking at changing job quality characteristics in France and West Germany as they relate to global economic and geo-political shifts. Following the approach used by Westover’s (2010a, 2011) studies of job satisfaction in Hungary and Israel, in what follows, we first provide a brief overview of the relevant job quality and satisfaction literature. We then take a more detailed look at the variables to be analyzed, followed by a methodological description. Finally, we report and discuss the results of the analysis.
Overview of Job Characteristics and Job Satisfaction Research over the previous three decades has extensively explored the construct of job satisfaction and how it is related to other workplace characteristics and conditions, such as job security, pay, worker autonomy, interesting work, etc. (Westover, 2011, 2010b, 2010c, 2009, 2008a, 2008b ; Munoz de Bustillo Llorente, 2005; Chiu and Chen, 2005). Studies have consistently found a significant degree of predictability between a worker’s job characteristics and the corresponding job satisfaction. Furthermore, various characteristics and indicators of job quality tend to fall into intrinsic and extrinsic factors, with differing impacts on worker satisfaction levels (Westover, 2011, 2010b, 2010c, 2009, 2008a, 2008b; Handel, 2005; Kalleberg, 1977).
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Additionally, this research has repeatedly shown how job satisfaction is closely linked to a variety of individual-level, organizational-level, and societal-level outcomes. For example, the literature has shown that satisfied workers are more productive and perform at a higher level (Schleicher et al., 2004; Harter et al., 2002; Judge et al., 2001; Souza-Poza and SouzaPoza, 2000; see also Westover, 2010a; 2011). Additionally, low job satisfaction has been shown to lead to higher absenteeism and turnover (Clark, Peters, and Tomlinson, 2005; Johns, 2002; Bardsley and Rhodes, 1996; Dwyer and Ganster, 1991; Leigh and Lust, 1988; Adler and Golan , 1981; Ronan, 1970; Vroom, 1964). Once more, many studies have uncovered a link between job satisfaction and worker health (see Karasek, 1979; Totterdell et al., 2006; Tsutsumi, 2005). Following with Westover’s (2010a; 2011) studies in Hungary and Israel, this research is aimed at exploring changing job quality and job satisfaction determinants in France and West Germany, while exploring global economic shifts that may have impacted this change.
Discussion of Conditions in France and West Germany So what are the possible causes behind the differences in mean job satisfaction scores, overall model predictability, and job characteristics significance and variable coefficient strength between the two countries in each wave of the survey? France and Germany each have various countrycontextual conditions that may impact worker job satisfaction, including various country-specific human capital, cultural, and political conditions, in addition to the legal environment. France and Germany are fairly similar when observing the two from a general perspective. However, each country has its own nuances that affect both the working conditions and the legislation that protects employers and employees.
Country Conditions France is most known for its love of food and wine. In fact, Martin Gannon and Rajnandini Pillai (2010) compare France’s love for food and wine to how its culture presents itself. The French tend to view their country as being special and unique (Gannon and Pillai, 2010). Additionally, French society is divided into four different classes: The haute bourgeoisie, the petite bourgeoisie, the classes moyennes, and the classes populaires. The haute bourgeoisie are aristocrats, while the classes populaires are the working class (Gannon and Pillai, 2010). The scale between these four
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classes influences the managerial style in the work environment. Managers tend to display nearly complete control over subordinates and only share vital information to those of the elite network (Gannon and Pillai, 2010). This centralized style seems to promote unity in organizations; however, the French pride themselves on being different (Gannon and Pillai, 2010). “The French [also] tend to be monocronic—doing one activity at a time—once they have defined a goal they wish to attain” (Gannon and Pillai, 2010). In contrast, Germany society is very diverse and compartmentalized . Following the Second World War, Germany began to be more systematic and logical during its changing culture and economy (Gannon and Pillai, 2010). Also, following the fall of the Berlin Wall, Germany’s foreign population had increased substantially (Gannon and Pillai, 2010). German society is also extremely private and formal. Many German people take much longer than others to develop a friendship; although, after a friendship bond is formed, they will treat this new friendship in a special manner (Gannon and Pillai, 2010). Additionally, German’s are more risk-averse than people of other cultures (Gannon and Pillai, 2010). Promptness and respect to power and status are also valued within the German culture. German organizational structures seem to be much more rigid, although many German managers tend to delegate responsibility well. After World War II, Germany “developed a unique and democratic form of corporate governance termed codetermination” (Gannon and Pillai, 2010). German’s , like the French, tend to be individualistic but in a more subordinate form (Gannon and Pillai, 2010). German’s also are conscious of time and prefer historical background to a situation, rather than a quick overview (Gannon and Pillai, 2010).
Workplace Legislation Most French legislation concerning labor law was enacted in 1973 with the ‘Code du travail’ (German Law Journal). French Labor law has much to do with Labor Unions because France has its own national labor union. Additionally, the strong support of unions in France impacts the workplace legislation that comes into effect. The legislation that is currently in place is pro-employee—this means that employees are the main objective to benefit in terms of employment and labor law. As for the actual legislation contained within the ‘Code du travail’, we will reference the actual law as well as a chapter from “Doing Business in France” (www.investinfrance.org). The Code du travail provides sections on: discrimination, equal work for men and women, rights and freedoms in business, harassment, employment contracts, and many others.
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Table 1 France Location of Employ men t Law: Issues Addressed* x Discrimination
x Rights and freedoms in business x Equal work for women and men x Employment contract x Harassment x Rules and disciplinary rules x Trade unions x Collective bargaining x Hours or work, pay, and incentive *not all inclusive
(Collective law) Code du Travail (Main Source of Employment Law) Civil Code New Code of Civil Procedure Issues Defined x Provides that no person be excluded from employment based upon origin, sex, manners, sexual orientation, age, marital status or pregnancy, genetic characteristics, membership or nonmembership to an ethnic group, nation or race, political opinion, trade union activities, religious beliefs, physical appearance, last name, health, or disability. x Provides that no one can make restrictions based upon the nature of the task or the aim pursued. x Provides for equal rights to work for both men and women. x Defines the provisions for employment contracts. x Defines harassment types as well as the penal provisions for such behaviors. x Establishes that internal rules are required for companies with more than 20 employees. x Outlines provisions for trade unions. x Establishes the rights of employees to bargain collectively and the provisions of such. x Defines work hours, holidays, salaries, and legal provisions for such.
Employment law in Germany is not quite as collectivistic as in France. German employment law began after the end of World War II, with the enactment of several Acts (German Law Journal, 2002). German
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employment law is also found intermixed with the law found in German code. “[The] crucial fields of labor relations are based on mere case law,” while the other portions of the law are based on legislation and are not based upon statutory law (German Law Journal, 2002). The France and Germany charts above and below are a brief look at the two countries’ legal systems relative to labor/employment issues. Table 2 Germany Location of Employment Law: Issues Addressed* x Health and safety law
x Occupational health insurance
x Federal data protection x Equal opportunities x Hours of work
x Works councils
x Employee’s right to make complaints
(Scattered throughout the law) Federal Labor Court Federal Constitutional Court Case law/Legislation Issues Defined x Health and safety law: Provides measures to ensure safety and health to employees in the workplace, as well as requires employers to provide such measures. x Accident insurance is required to prevent occupational accidents, diseases, and health hazards; also provides benefits for the injured or their survivors. x Provides protection of individuals in the processing of personal data and the free movement of the data. x This act establishes equality for men and women. x Ensures protection of workers in hours of work and improves conditions for flexible work hours; also regards Sundays and public holidays as days of rest for workers. x This act establishes a European Works Council for the purpose of informing and consulting employees. x Each employee is entitled to make a complaint if treated unfairly; also provides that the employer informs the employee how the complaint will be dealt with and
European Country Contextual Differences Impacting Job Quality Characteristics and Worker Satisfaction
x Training
x Offences
x Structuring of jobs, operations and environments *not all inclusive
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the employee will not suffer any adverse action for the complaint. x Employer should promote vocational training and provide means for employees to attend such trainings. x Outlines various offences that are punishable by a fine, a one year imprisonment, or both. x Requires that employers submit necessary documents and inform the works council of plans to alter, extend, or construct offices or premises that belong to the establishment.
Discussion of Variables We use Westover’s (2008a, 2008b, 2009, 2010a, 2010b, 2011) job satisfaction model (based on Kalleberg’s 1977 findings and Handel’s 2005 study) for conducting a comparison of job satisfaction and the perceived importance of varying intrinsic and extrinsic job quality characteristics in France and West Germany from 1997 to 2005. Handel (2005) characterizes 12 variables from the General Social Survey (10 of which are available for France and West Germany in both waves of the International Social Survey data used for this study) into intrinsic and extrinsic job quality factors (as can be seen in below).
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Dependent Variable: Job Satisfaction
V54: “How satisfied are you in your main job?”
Key Independent Variables: Intrinsic Rewards Non-Material Rewards Interesting Job Job Autonomy
V38: “My job is interesting” V39: “I can work independently”
Quality of Workplace Interpersonal Relationships Management-Employee Relations V52: “In general, how would you describe relations at your workplace between management and employees?” Coworker Relations
V53: “In general, how would you describe relations at your workplace between workmates/ colleagues?”
Extrinsic Rewards Material Rewards Pay Job Security Promotional Opportunities
V36: “My income is high” V35: “My job is secure” V37: “My opportunities for advancement are high”
Other Work Conditions Workload Physical Effort Danger
V42: “How often do you come home from work exhausted?” V43: “How often do you have to do hard physical work?” V45: “How often do you work in dangerous conditions?”
Figure 1: Independent Variables in Looking at Job Satisfaction
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Control Variables Though the literature has identified many important individual control variables, due to limitations in data availability, control variables used in this study are limited to the following individual characteristics (see Westover, 2008a, 2008b, 2009, 2010b, 2010c, 2011): full-time/part-time status, self-employment status, gender, age, marital status, and education (see also Hammermesh, 1999; Souza-Poza and Souza-Poza, 2000; Hodson, 2002; Carlson and Mellor, 2004).
Country Contextual Descriptive Variables In addition to the key independent variables and controls described above, we follow Westover’s (2010a, 2011) comparative approach and provide country contextual descriptive variables for France and West Germany to help paint the picture of the changing context from 1997 to 2005 (from CIA World Factbook, World Bank, and UN Data; House et al., 2004): x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Percentage Service Sector Percentage Industrial Sector GDP (billions) GDP per capita (thousands) Unemployment Rate Union Density Rigidity of Employment Index Economic Freedom Index Inequality (Gini Coefficient) Human Development index Democracy Index Power Distance Individual Collectivism Masculinity/Feminity Uncertainty Avoidance Long-Term/Short-Term Orientation
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Methodological Description Data Collection Following with Westover’s (2010a, 2011) studies in Hungary and Israel, we use non-panel longitudinal data from the International Social Survey Program (Work Orientations modules II and III: 1997-2005—vario u s survey questions on job characteristics and job quality). These waves of the International Social Survey Program utilized a multistage stratified probability sample to collect the data for each of the various countries with a variety of eligible participants in each country’s target population. The Work Orientations module focuses on the areas of general attitudes toward work and leisure, work organization, and work content. Variables of interest in the data collected by the International Social Survey Program are singleitem indicators (i.e. with a single survey question for job satisfaction, interesting work, job autonomy, workplace relations, etc., on a Likert scale). For the purposes of this study, the unit of analysis is individuals within the sovereign nations of France and West Germany, respectively.
Statistical Methodology We use a variety of bivariate and multivariate procedures to examin e differences and changes in job satisfaction and job quality characteristics in France and Germany over time (trend analysis, correlations, ordered probit regression analysis—see appendix). Additionally, following Handel’s (2005) and Westover’s (2010a, 2011) statistical methodology, we performed OLS regression analysis on all variables of interest for ease of interpretation over the ordered probit alternative (used when the dependent variable is ordered and categorical) and like Handel, we confirm that identical models using ordered probit statistical procedures “indicates few substantive differences” between the OLS and ordered probit results and their implications (2005:74). Therefore, OLS regression results will be presented in the main body of the paper, with comparable ordered probit regression results available upon request.
Limitations of Data The main limitations of this research include (1) the key variables are subjective single item indicators, (2) the non-panel longitudinal nature of the data, which means we cannot specifically test the direction of causality among the variables examined as easily as we might with panel longitudinal
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data, and (3) some variables of interest and other important control variables could not be included in the analysis, as data was not available for both waves of the survey.
Results Results in this section are organized as follows. First, we looked at the descriptive results from the data, including correlations and mean scores. Second, we look at the OLS regression results for the 1997 and 2005 models, comparatively. Additionally, complete summary statistics, correlation matrices, as well as comparison ordered probit regression results for each year are provided in the appendix.
Descriptive Statistics Table 3 below shows the breakdown of demographic descriptive statistics for France and West Germany in both 1997 and 2005. Of note is the significantly higher percentage of full-time workers in West German y in both waves of the survey, as contrasted with France. Additionally, there is a high percentage of self-employed workers in France in both waves. Once more, there is a significantly higher percentage of male workers in West Germany (63.21 and 58.21 in 1997 and 2005 respectively) than in France (47.35 and 43.49 in 1997 and 2005 respectively). Workers in West Germany are older than their French counterparts and significantly less educated. Table 3: Demographic Descriptive Statistics, by Country and Year Variable Full-Time/Part-Ti me Status Full-Time Part-Time Employment Status Employed by Org. Self-Employed
West Germany 1997 2005
France 1997
2005
88.71 11.29
80.97 19.03
85.98 14.02
79.08 20.92
92.9 7.1
88.80 11.20
97.44 2.56
93.01 6.99
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Gender Male Female Age Years of Education Marital Status Married Widowed Divorced Separated Single
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63.21 36.79 40.095 11.965
58.21 41.79 42.37 11.24
47.35 52.65 37.63 13.90
43.49 56.51 40.20 14.94
61.57 0.91 5.1 1.64 30.78
57.65 1.68 8.96 2.80 28.92
70.77 0.51 7.01 1.03 20.68
57.12 1.24 8.88 4.01 28.75
Table 4: Pearson Correlation Between Job Satisfaction and Other Job Characteristics, by Country and Year 1997 2005
Variable
France
West Germany
France
West Germany
Management/Employee Relations
0.4602*
0.4670*
0.4944*
0.4262*
Coworker Relations
0.3685*
0.3028*
0.3686*
0.3197*
Job Autonomy
0.3291*
0.4036*
0.3860*
0.3417*
Interesting Work
0.5805*
0.5169*
0.5940*
0.5057*
Job Security
0.2335*
0.2465*
0.1934*
0.2568*
Pay
0.3333*
0.2485*
0.3376*
0.3627*
Promotional Opportunities
0.3723*
0.2482*
0.3640*
0.3475*
Workload
-0.1709*
-0.1526*
-0.2439*
-0.2622*
Physical Effort
-0.1419*
-0.1440*
-0.1148*
-0.1686*
Danger
-0.0975*
-0.1003*
-0.1122*
-0.1693*
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.001 level (2-tailed).
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Table 4 shows dramatic shifts in the correlation among key job characteristic variables and job satisfaction in France and West German y for 1997 and 2005. In 1997 in France, interesting job, management/ employee relations, promotional opportunities, and co-worker relations all had the strongest direct positive correlations to job satisfaction, with job autonomy being added to the list in 2005. In 1997 in West Germany, interesting job, management/employee relations, job autonomy, and co-worker relations all had the strongest direct positive correlations to job satisfaction, with pay and promotional opportunities being added to the list in 2005. Job security had the lowest positive correlation strength in each country across both waves of the survey. Finally, as expected, workload, physical effort, and danger were each negatively correlated with job satisfaction for both countries across each wave of the survey. Table 5: Mean Job Satisfaction Score, by Country and Year 1997
2005
France
5.08
4.97
West Germany
5.19
5.42
Table 5 above shows a statistically significant drop in France mean job satisfaction scores from 1997 to 2005, while West Germany had a significant increase in mean job satisfaction scores over the same period, which highlights the great importance of understanding the changing determinants of those satisfaction scores from 1997 to 2005, as indicated in Table 6 below.
0.81 0.68 0.87 0.90 1.08 1.05 1.08 0.84 1.29 1.13
3.49 4.04 3.67 3.92 3.39 2.36 2.22 3.45 2.37 1.88
1.01 0.80 1.15 1.03 1.40 1.06 1.08 0.80 1.28 1.07
1018 1014 1060 1068 1049 1064 1042 1068 1066 1058
4.08 4.30 4.19 4.11 3.83 2.69 2.71 3.36 2.47 1.97
0.96 0.83 1.24 0.94 1.36 1.02 1.06 0.79 1.29 1.06
507 502 530 531 521 521 514 531 531 527
France N Mean S.D.
and Year 2005 West Germany S.D. N Mean S.D.
European Country Contextual Differences Impacting Job Quality Characteristics and Worker Satisfaction
Table 6: Trends in Mean Job Characteristics Scores, by Country Variables 1997 West Germany France N Mean S.D. N Mean Management/Employee Relations 549 3.95 0.85 585 3.54 Coworker Relations 549 4.25 0.63 585 4.02 Job Autonomy 549 4.11 0.83 585 3.16 Interesting Work 549 4.08 0.83 585 3.95 Job Security 549 3.83 1.13 585 3.30 Pay 549 2.91 1.02 585 2.52 Promotional Opportunities 549 2.55 1.04 585 2.34 Workload 549 3.31 0.76 585 3.41 Physical Effort 549 2.12 1.20 585 2.28 Danger 549 1.83 1.08 585 1.80
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Table 6 shows the movement in the mean job characteristics scores from 1997 to 2005. Of greatest note is how mean scores for each of the intrinsic (management/employee relations, coworker relations, job autonomy, and interesting work) and extrinsic (job security, pay, promotional opportunities, workload, physical effort, and danger) job characteristics increased in West Germany from 1997 to 2005, while there was little consistent movement in the same variables’ mean scores in France over the same time period, with some mean scores increasing and some decreasing.
Regression Results Table 7 below shows the shifts in the OLS regression standardized coefficient strength and significance levels among key intrinsic and extrinsic job characteristic independent variables and control variables with job satisfaction in 1997 versus 2005 in France and West Germany. 1997 and 0.57 in 2005, versus an adjusted r-squared of 0.0.43 in 1997 and 0.42 in 2005 in West Germany. Additionally, there was significant variation in variable significance and relative standardized coefficient strength for the study variables between each country and over time. Interesting job, management/employee relations, and workload were the most significant and had the strongest standardized coefficient values for both countries across both waves of the survey. Coworker relations and promotional opportunities were only significant in France (both waves) and job security was only significant for both countries in the 1997 wave. Job autonomy and pay varied in significance and coefficient strength between countries and waves. Physical effort and danger were not significant in either country in either wave. Additionally, years of education was a significant control variable in 1997 and 2005 in France, but only in 2005 in West Germany. Full-time/part-time working status was only significant in France in 2005. All other control variables proved to not be significant in any model.
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Table 7: OLS Regression Standardized Coefficient and Significance Comparison, by Country and Year France
West Germany
Variable Management/ Employee Relations
1997
2005
1997
2005
0.243***
0.269***
0.268***
0.218***
Coworker Relations
0.091**
0.135***
0.062
0.011
Job Autonomy
0.057
0.088***
0.113**
0.097*
Interesting Work
0.390***
0.398***
0.323***
0.362***
Job Security
0.071*
0.030
0.072*
-0.016
Pay Promotional Opportunities
0.144***
0.108***
0.070
0.125**
0.076*
0.132***
0.072
0.061
Workload
-0.096***
-0.112***
-0.091**
-0.183***
Physical Effort
0.016
0.027
-0.025
-0.015
Danger Full-Time/PartTime
0.029
0.005
-0.010
-0.052
-0.024
0.066**
0.067
-0.070
Self Employed
-0.005
-0.005
0.023
-0.023
Gender
0.028
-0.017
0.022
0.061
Age
-0.028
0.038
-0.022
0.019
Years of Education
-0.075*
-0.078***
-0.036
-0.097*
Widowed
-0.029
-0.016
-0.004
-0.049
Divorced
0.021
-0.043
0.006
-0.018
Separated
-0.016
0.006
-0.037
-0.039
Single
-0.030
-0.006
-0.006
-0.034
N
585
859
514
440
Adjusted R-square
0.4798
0.5701
0.426
0.4168
F
29.35***
60.88***
21.04***
17.51***
Level of significance: * = p < .05; ** = p < .01; *** = p < .001; beta values Of note is that the model fit in France is significantly better than in West Germany in both waves of the survey, with an adjusted r-squared of 0.48 in
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Culture & Expectations In addition to the employment laws briefly outlined in the literature review previously, Table 6 displays a selection of comparative country contextual factors for 1997 and 2005. Both France and West Germany have a high percentage of jobs within the service sector, for both 1997 and 2005. Additionally, in 2005 the “Rigidity of Employment Index” 1 for France is 56 while West Germany is 44. This means that employers find the employmen t regulatory environment more rigid and difficult to manage in France than in Germany. The economic freedom index measures the degree of economic freedo m in the world’s nations (Holmes et al., 2008). Like rigidity of employment , economic freedom is important to look at because it is the degree to which an individual can control his or her own labor. Heritage and The Wall Street Journal’s measurement of economic freedom2 considers 10 components: Business freedom, trade freedom, fiscal freedom, government spending, monetary freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom, property rights, freedom from corruption, and labor freedom. France’s economic freedo m index is 64.20 while West Germany’s is 71.10. This means that individuals and organizations in France experience less overall economic freedom than do their German counterparts. Pertaining to the workers’ experience on the job, differences in the “Rigidity of Employment Index” and “Economic Freedom Index” suggest that there are significant differences in overall employee expectations in France and Germany, particularly as they related to management/employee relations and other “pro-employee” types of policies that may impact perceived job satisfaction levels. Finally, to more fully understand the conditions in the two countries that affect working life we can explore differences in Hofstede’s five cultural dimensions. Power distance 3 in both countries is very similar. Additionally, both countries are very individualistic, with the French being more individualistic than Germans. Also, both countries are relatively feminin e, 1
The Rigidity of Employment Index measures the relative regulation of employment and the overall “rigidity” of doing business within a particular national context. This index is an average of three sub-indexes: a difficulty of hiring index, a rigidity of hours index, and a difficulty of firing index. Rigidity of employment has a maximum score of 100, which indicates the most rigid regulations (The World Bank, 2009) 2 A score of 1 equals no economic freedom, while a score of 100 equals complete economic freedom. 3 Power distance measures the extent that less powerful individuals in organizations expect power to be distributed equally/unequally
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which means the country as a whole tends to be more “caring and modest,” with the French being more “feminine” than Germans. The two countries do vary greatly in the area of uncertainty avoidance. Germany is nearly a whole point higher than France, thus indicating that Germany tends to avoid uncertainty in many situations while France may not avoid this uncertainty as much. Long-term/Short-term Orientation in each country again varies by nearly a whole point, with Germans generally having a longer-term orientation. Pertaining to the workers’ experience on the job, this again suggests that there are significant differences in overall employee expectations in France and Germany, particularly as they related to the various intrinsic and extrinsic job characteristics included in the statistical models earlier. Table 8: Country Contextual Descriptive Characteristics, by Country and Year 1997
2005
France
West Germany
France
West Germany
71.7
64.4
73.00
68.00
26.5
34.5
24.30
31.00
GDP (billions) GDP per capita (thousands)
1220.00
1700.00
1869.40
2587.70
20900
20400
29759
31380
Unemployment Rate
12.70
10.80
9.30
10.60
Union Density Rigidity of Employment Index Economic Freedom Index
8.70
27.00
9.00
26.00
NA
NA
56.00
44.00
58.1
70
64.20
71.10
Power Distance Individual Collectivism
5.28
5.25
5.28
5.25
4.37
4.02
4.37
4.02
Masculinity/Feminity Uncertainty Avoidance Long-Term/ShortTerm Orientation
3.64
3.10
3.64
3.10
4.43
5.22
4.43
5.22
3.48
4.27
3.48
4.27
Percentage Service Sector Percentage Industrial Sector
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Inequality (Gini Coefficient) Human Development index
26.7
28.3
32.70
30.00
NA
NA
94.60
92.50
Democracy Index
8.07
8.82
8.07
8.82
Conclusions Regression results confirm the findings of previous research (see 2008a, 2008b, 2009, 2010a, 2010b, 2011) and show that both intrinsic and extrinsic work characteristics strongly impact worker job satisfaction. With regards to France and Germany specifically, the same is true, while that impact has also shifted somewhat over time. Thus, as Westover (2010a, 2011) noted, it is important for any work organization (such as multinational corporations, global NGO’s, local and national governments, and labor unions) to understand these shifts in the perceptions of French and West German workers between 1997 and 2005 and how these workers face unique economic, social, and cultural conditions that impact their experience in the workplace. Additionally, as worker job satisfaction impacts a variety of individuallevel, organizational-level, and societal-level outcomes, organizations of all varieties need to recognize and embrace these workplace attitudinal variations and shifts in France and West Germany “to tailor management philosophy and policy to create a unique work atmosphere that will benefit the interests of both the employer and the employee” (Westover, 2010a, p. 92). Future research should continue to track the changes in work quality characteristics in France and West Germany. Have there been additional changes since 2005? Additionally, future research should further explore other possible country-level contextual variables that would be important to include in such an analysis to help explain cross-national differences and changes over time. Ideally, future research efforts would include crossnational comparisons between a variety of nations, not just in the European nations of France and West Germany, but also in other Middle Eastern nations, other “Westernized” nations, the rapidly emerging economies in Asia, and other developing “third world” countries. As Westover (2010a) noted, “Such analysis would better allow for the disentanglement of statelevel contextual variables that truly impact work characteristics, worker orientations, and overall worker satisfaction” (p. 92).
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References Adler, S., & Golan, J. (1981). Lateness as a withdrawal behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology, 66: 544-554. Bardsley, J., & Rhodes, S. (1996). Using the Steers-Rhodes (1984) framework to identify correlates of employee lateness.” Journal of Business & Psychology, 10: 351-365. Carlson, J.H., & Mellor, S. (2004). Gender-related effects in the job-design– job-satisfaction relationship: an international approach. Sex Roles, 51: 237-247. Chiu, S.F., & Chen, H.L. (2005). Relationship between job characteristics and organizational citizenship behavior: the mediational role of job satisfaction. Social Behavior and Personality, 33: 523-539. Clark, K., Peters, S., & Tomlinson, M. (2005). The Determinants of lateness: evidence from British workers. Scottish Journal of Political Economy, 52: 282-304. Dwyer, D., & Ganster, D. (1991). The effects of job demands and control on employee attendance and satisfaction. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 12: 595-608. Gannon, M.J., & Pillai, R. (2010). Understanding Global Cultures (4th ed.). Los Angeles: Sage. Hamermesh D.S. (1999). The changing distribution of job satisfaction,” NBER Working Paper 7332, Cambridge, Mass. Handel, M.J. (2005). Trends in perceived job quality, 1989 to 1998. Work and Occupations, 32: 66-94. Harter, J.K., Schmidt, F.L., & Hayes, T.L. (2002). Business-unit-level relationship between employee satisfaction, employee engagement, and business outcomes: a meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87: 268-279. Hodson, R. (2002). Demography or respect?: work group demography versus organizational dynamics as determinants of meaning and satisfaction at work. The British Journal of Sociology, 53: 291-317. Holmes, K.R., Feulner, E.J., & O’Grady, M.A. (2008). 2008 Index of Economic Freedom, Heritage Foundation. House, R.J., Hanges, P.J., Javidan, M., Dorfman, P.W., & Gupta, V. (2004). Culture, Leadership, and Organizations: The GLOBE Study of 62 Societies, Sage Publications. International Social Survey Program (ISSP). INTERNATIONAL SOCIA L SURVEY PROGRAM: WORK ORIENTATIONS II, 1997 [Computer file]. ICPSR version. Koeln, Germany: Zentralarchiv fuer Empirisch e Sozialforschung [producer], 1999. Koeln, Germany: Zentralarchiv fuer
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Empirische Sozialforschung/Ann Arbor, MI: Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributors], 2000. International Social Survey Program (ISSP). INTERNATIONAL SOCIA L SCIENCE PROGRAM: WORK ORIENTATIONS, 1989 [Computer file]. Cologne, Germany: Zentralarchiv fuer empirische Sozialforschung [producer], 1991. Cologne, Germany: Zentralarchiv fuer empirisch e Sozialforschung and Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributors], 1992. Judge, T. A., Thoresen, C. J., Bono, J. E., & Patton, G. K. (2001). The job satisfaction-job performance relationship: a qualitative and quantitative review. Psychological Bulletin, 127: 376-407. Kalleberg, A. L. (2000). Nonstandard employment relations: work. Annual Review of Sociology, 26: 41-365. Karasek, R. A. Jr. (1979). Job demands, job decision latitude, and mental strain: implications for job redesign. Administrative Science Quarterly, 24: 285-308. Leigh, J., & Lust, J. (1988). Determinants of employee tardiness. Work and Occupations, 15: 78-95. Marchand, A., Demers, A., and Durand, P. (2005). Do occupation and work conditions really matter? A longitudinal analysis of psychological distress experiences among Canadian workers. Sociology of Health and Illness, 27: 602-627. Munoz de Bustillo Llorente, R., & Macias, E.F. (2005). Job satisfaction as an indicator of the quality of work. The Journal of Socio-Economics, 34: 656-673. Ronan, W. (1970). Individual and situational variables relating to job satisfaction. Journal of Applied Psychology, 54: 1-31. Samuel, Y. & Harpaz, I. (2004). Trends and developments in work and organizations in Israel. In Samuel, Y. & Harpaz, I. (Eds.) Work and Organizations in Israel: Studies of Israeli Society, 1-5. London: Transaction. Schleicher, D. J., Watt, J. D., & Grigoris, G. J. (2004). Reexamining the job satisfaction-performance relationship: the complexity of attitudes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89: 165-77. Sloan, M.M. (2004). The effects of occupational characteristics on the experience and expression of anger in the workplace. Work and Occupations, 31: 38-72. Sousa-Pouza A., & Sousa-Pouza A. (2000). Well-being at work: a crossnational analysis of the levels and determinants of job satisfaction. Journal of Socio-Economics, 29: 517-538.
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Totterdell, P., Wood, S., & Toby, W. (2006). An intra-individual test of the demands-control model: a weekly diary study of psychological strain in portfolio workers. Journal of Occupational & Organizational Psychology, 79: 63-84. Tsutsumi, A. (2005). Psychosocial factors and health: community and workplace study. Journal of Epidemiology, 15: 65-91. Vroom, V. (1964). Work and Motivation. Wiley, New York. Westover, J.H. (2011). A Longitudinal analysis of changing job quality and worker satisfaction in Israel. KCA Journal of Business Management, 3: 1-14. —. (2010a). Global shifts: changing job quality and job satisfaction determinants in socialist and post-socialist Hungary. International Journal of Social Economics, 37: 84-100. —. (2010b). Global economic shifts impacting the perceived importance of various intrinsic and extrinsic job characteristics and overall job satisfaction. The International Journal of Knowledge, Culture, and Change Management, 10: 137-149. —. (2009). A cross-national look at the changing nature of gender differences in perceived job satisfaction. International Journal of Global Business and Economics, 2: 62-67. —. (2008a). A cross-national analysis of job quality characteristics and perceived job satisfaction in a changing world economy: implication s for public administrators managing in a multicultural workforce. International Review of Public Administration, 13: 129-144. —. (2008b). Potential impacts of globalization on changing job quality and worker satisfaction: a descriptive cross-national comparative examination. Journal of Global Business Management, 4: 19-26. Contributors to this chapter include: Dr. Jonathan H. Westover, Trista Doxey, and Michelle Spencer. Originally published: Westover, Jonathan H., Trista Doxey, and M ichelle Spencer. 2013. "European Country Contextual Differences Impacting Job Quality Characteristics and Worker Satisfaction: A Look at France and Germany from 1997 to 2005." Organizational Cultures: An International Journal 12 (3): 1-17. doi:10.18848/2327-8013/CGP/v12i03/50911.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN A PRELIMINARY LOOK AT THE IMPACT OF POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATIONS ON SOCIETAL VALUES AND ATTITUDES IN POST-SOVIET BELARUS, 1990–2000
Abstract With the economic collapse of the former Soviet Union, Belarus was faced with new political and economic realities. In the two decades since, these new realities have also impacted other aspects on Belarusian’s day-today lives, including their societal values and attitudes. This research uses descriptive attitudinal data from multiple waves of the World Values Survey to examine and explore the political and economic transformations in postSoviet Belarus from 1990–2000 and their impacts on societal values and attitudes.
Introduction With the economic collapse of the former Soviet Union, Belarus was faced with new political and economic realities. In the two decades since, these new realities have also impacted other aspects on Belarusian’s day-today lives, including their societal values and attitudes. This research uses descriptive attitudinal data from multiple waves of the World Values Survey to examine and explore the political and economic transformations in postSoviet Belarus from 1990–2000 and their impacts on societal values and attitudes.
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Overview to Belarus Political and Economic Transformations Many scholars have pointed to the extensive disrupting economic and social changes that followed the collapse of communism in the USSR in 1991 (e.g., Burawoy 2001; Sztompka 2002; Abbott and Wallace 2009; Shevchenko 2009). Furthermore, Rotman and Veremeeva (2011) examin ed these impacts among post-Soviet countries and argue that “Belarus’s location in the geographical heart of Europe places the country in a strategically important position between Russia and the European Union (EU)” (p. 73). Despite its central geographic location, cultural and political history, and current economic ties with its neighbors, to this point Belarus has largely been an understudied country, particularly within the context of the shifting political and economic landscape following the Soviet collapse. Among studies of post-Soviet Belarus that have been conducted to date, Abbott and Wallace (2010) examined the economic collapse of the former Soviet Union on the lives of Belarusian citizens and found that a majorit y of the population have a poor quality of life and good reason to be dissatisfied with their lives. More specifically, they found that the collapse has not only resulted in a decline in economic security of households but also on social integration, social cohesion, and the ability of people to take control over their own lives, leaving many unable to develop capabilities to adequately function. They state, “The economic transition from planned market economies was accompanied by economic crisis exemplified in declining GDP, hyperinflation, and cuts in state welfare spending. The social impact of transition can be seen in the increase in inequalities, rising poverty, unemployment, violent crime, a decline in trust, a decline in wellbeing and de-modernisation, with the majority of the population being ‘losers’” (2010, p. 653–654; see also Danilovich 2010). However, it was not merely the collapse of the Soviet Union that resulted in these difficulties for Belarusian citizens. Abbott (2007), Koktysh (2005), and Karbalevich (2001) each examined the economic, political, and social contextual influences on the overall quality of the lives of Belarusian citizens following the Soviet collapse in 1991. As Koktysh (2005) pointed out, “The overnight disintegration of the Soviet identity in August 1991, combined with the failure of the nationalization project…, left society in a somewhat complicated position. Like the rest of the post-Soviet space, Belorussia had no ‘framework’ ideology, no national idea that could integrate society” (p. 86), thus leaving it in an untenable position culturally , politically, and economically. Within the context of this political and economic “vacuum” and the shifting political landscape, Karbalevich
A Preliminary Look at the Impact of Political and Economic Transformations 211 on Societal Values and Attitudes in Post-Soviet Belarus, 1990–2000
(2001) noted, “The triumphant victory of Alaksandr Lukashenka in the 1994 presidential elections was a populist revolution. It took place under the slogan of a return to the prior system and a fight against the nomenklatura and entrepreneurs…. In 1996, there was a coup d’etat in the country under the guise of a referendum and an authoritarian regime was established with sole power to the president. Market reforms were overthrown and war was declared on the private sector” (p. 7). Finally, Abbott (2007) added, “that lived experience—how people evaluate their condition—is as significant an influence on their welfare as the actual circumstances in which they live” (p. 219) and found that most Belarusians perceive the post-1991 economic and political changes negatively, and that levels of general satisfaction and happiness are comparatively low in relation to other post-Soviet countries.
Methodology This research utilizes self-reported non-panel longitudinal data fro m three waves of the World Values Survey (1990, 1996, 2000—various survey questions on political, economic, social, and work attitudes; for comparable studies using similar self-reported attitudinal data, see also Westover 2008a, 2008b, 2010a, 2010b, 2011, 2012; Taylor and Westover 2011). The World Values Survey utilized a multistage stratified probability sample to collect the data eligible participants in Belarus (age 18+) 1 . Variables of interest in the data collected by the World Values Survey are self-reported single-item indicators (i.e. with a single survey question for each variable, on a Likert scale). For the purposes of this study, the units of analysis are individuals within Belarus. One of the primary limitations of the available attitudinal data is that each question represents a subjective single item indicator. Another problem is the non-panel longitudinal nature of the data. This research uses three waves of cross-sectional data and therefore, one cannot specifically test the direction of causality among the variables examined as would be possible with panel longitudinal data. Additionally, some variables of interest and other important control variables are simply not available in the data. Finally, it is important to note that a fourth wave of data collection was conducted from 2006–2008, but Belarus did not participate, so unfortunately more recent data is not available.
1 For a full summary and description of this research and its methodology, see http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/.
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Comparing Attitudes in Belarus to Other Countries around the Globe In looking at shifting societal values and attitudes, first it is important to understand how Belarus “stacks up” within a global comparative context (Note: all data is from the World Values Survey for 2000 or the closest approximate year available). Below are a few interesting key areas of attitudinal comparison: x
Out of 81 countries around the globe (global mean is 6.51), Puerto Rico (8.5) enjoys the highest mean life satisfaction score, with Tanzania and Zimbabwe both bringing up the rear (3.9). Only the following 7 countries have a lower mean life satisfaction score than Belarus (4.8): Tanzania (3.9), Zimbabwe (3.9), Armenia (4.3), Moldova (4.6), Ukraine (4.6), Russia (4.7), and Georgia (4.7). Note that general life satisfaction in Belarus is very close to the mean scores of several of its post-Soviet neighbors. x Out of 80 countries around the globe (global mean is 6.74), Puerto Rico and Venezuela (8.3) enjoy the highest mean “freedom of choice and control” scores, with Pakistan (4.7) bringing up the rear. Only the following 4 countries have a lower mean “freedom of choice and control” score than Belarus (5.6): Pakistan (4.7), Turkey (5.3), Ukraine (5.4), and Egypt (5.5). As with general life satisfaction, “freedom of choice and control” in Belarus is very close to the mean scores of several of its post-Soviet neighbors. x Out of 33 countries around the globe (global mean is 7.14), Malta (8.4) enjoys the highest mean job satisfaction score, with Belarus (5.5) bringing up the rear. The next closet countries are the Ukrain e (5.9), Turkey (6.1), and Russia (6.2), followed by a significant jump in mean scores before you reach the next tier of countries. x Out of 33 countries around the globe (global mean is 6.34), Denmark (7.8) enjoys the highest mean “freedom of making decision in taking a job” score, with Turkey (4.5) bringing up the rear. Only 2 countries have a lower mean “freedom of making decision in taking a job” score than Belarus (5.1): Turkey (4.5) and Lithuania (4.9). x Out of 15 countries around the globe (global mean is 6.59), Denmark (8.4) enjoys the highest mean “satisfaction with job security” score, with Lithuania (4.6) bringing up the rear. Belarus (5.5) is only trailed by Lithuania (4.6), the Ukraine (5.2), and Turkey (5.3).
A Preliminary Look at the Impact of Political and Economic Transformations 213 on Societal Values and Attitudes in Post-Soviet Belarus, 1990–2000
One can easily see that Belarus is at or near the rear for each of these 5 variables (and many more I have not listed here), significantly below worldwide averages for each. However, within the post-Soviet/Eastern European geopolitical/cultural context, attitudes in Belarus appear to be fairly similar to several of its post-Soviet neighbors.
Belarusian Societal Values and Attitudes, 1990–2000 In what ways have the above-mentioned shifting post-Soviet political and economic conditions and global comparative attitudes impacted societal values and attitudes in Belarus? Below includes descriptive cross-tabs of various relevant societal values and attitudes, most of which are for three waves of the World Values Survey Data. Table 1 looks at attitudes regarding social change. While clearly most Belarusians in each of the three waves felt like society must be gradually improved by reforms, the percentage with this attitude increased drastically from 45.6% in 1990 to 93.5% in 1996, and then declined to 87.1% in 2000. There was a corresponding drastic decrease (and then slight increase) in the polarized attitudes of “society must be radically changed” (26.2% in 1990 to 3.7% in 1996 and 5.3% in 2000) and “society must be valiantly defended” (28.1% in 1990, 2.9% in 1996, and 7.5% in 2000). Table 2 shows a rather steady shift in Belarusians’ self-reported political ideology (left-liberal versus right-conservative) from 1990 to 2000. In 1990, the overall mean for Belarus was 3.8 (with women being farther right than men overall). However, by 1996, the overall country mean increased 1.5%, to 5.3%, with men slightly farther right than women, and by 2000 the overall country mean was even higher (5.7%) and nearly equal from both men and women. The percentage of far-left Belarusians (responding somewhere from 1–4 on the scale) decreased from over 60% in 1990 to just over 22% in 1996 and then to just over 15% in 2000. Table 3 shows a very interesting shift in Belarusians’ attitude on the general role of government in their lives (whether people should take more responsibility or the government should take more responsibility). While significantly more Belarusians in 2000 felt like they should take more personal responsibility for their lives than in 1990 (mean of 6 in 1990, compared to a mean of 5.6 in 2000), these mean scores are still clearly more on the side of government responsibility (additionally, in each of the three waves, women had significantly higher mean scores than men). Interestingly, in 1996 there was a huge jump for both men and women (from 5.8 and 6.2 respectively in 1990 to 7 and 7.4 in 1996), followed by the rather stark pendulum swing back towards pro-personal responsibility attitudes just 4 years later.
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Table 4 looks at attitudes about income inequality. There has been a steady decline in mean scores related to the income inequality attitudes of Belarusians from 1990 to 2000, with an overall mean score of 7.3 in 1990, to 6.6 in 1996 and just 5.3 in 2000, meaning more and more Belarusians are feeling that incomes should be made more equal, rather than having larger income differences as incentives (in each wave, women had significantly lower mean scores than men). Table 5 shows a very interesting shift in Belarusians’ attitude on private versus state ownership of business (whether private ownership of business should be increased or government ownership of business should be increased). While significantly more Belarusians in 2000 felt like private ownership of business should be increased than in 1990 (mean of 5.9 in 1990, compared to a mean of 5.2 in 2000), these mean scores are still clearly more on the side of government ownership of business (additionally, in each of the three waves, women had significantly higher mean scores than men). However, in 1996 there was a jump for both men and women (from 5.6 and 6.2 respectively in 1990 to 5.8 and 6.4 in 1996), followed by the rather stark pendulum swing back towards pro-private ownership attitudes just 4 years later. Table 6 shows the comparative attitudes of Belarusian employees on how business and industry should be managed (before the Soviet collapse and following Belarus Independence and establishment of the current government). Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, overwhelmingly, the majority of employees in Belarus felt like “employees should own the business and elect managers,” with only 8.2% of male and 7.0% of female workers felt like the state should be the owner. By 1996, attitudes had shifted significantly, with over 21% of men and over 28% of women feeling that the state should be the owner (with an overall much more even percentage distribution between the four categories, with some rather stark gender differences). Table 7 looks at attitudes about the role of competition in business. The overall percentage of Belarusians who feel that competition is harmful for society has increased slightly from 1990 to 2000 (3.5 in 1990 to 3.7 in 2000), with a much higher percentage of men than women feeling that competition is good for society. Finally, table 8 looks at attitudes about scientific advances. While the majority of Belarusians feel that scientific advances are helpful to society, there was a significant jump from 1990 to 1996, followed by a significant decline from 1996 to 2000 (with a higher percentage of women than men in each wave feeling that scientific advances will be harmful).
Table 1
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Table 2
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Table 3
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Table 4
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Table 5
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Table 6
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Table 7
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Table 8
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A Preliminary Look at the Impact of Political and Economic Transformations 223 on Societal Values and Attitudes in Post-Soviet Belarus, 1990–2000
Life Satisfaction in Belarus, by Profession/Job Type, Education Level, and Age In addition to the various shifting societal values and attitudes outlined above, in what follows, I look at self-reported life satisfaction levels in Belarus, particularly as it relates to respondent profession/job type, education level, and age. Table 9 below shows comparative mean life satisfaction scores for Belarus, by profession/job type of the respondent and study year (1990, 1996, and 2000). While overall mean life satisfaction scores have dropped significantly over this 10-year period (from 5.5 in 1990 to 4.8 in 2000), Table 9 shows very significant drops from 1990 to 1996 in mean scores for employers/managers of large/small organizations. There is also a fairly clear pattern of more professional employees experiencing higher overall life satisfaction than those who do some sort of manual/blue-collar labor.
Table 9
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A Preliminary Look at the Impact of Political and Economic Transformations 225 on Societal Values and Attitudes in Post-Soviet Belarus, 1990–2000
Table 10 shows comparative life satisfaction scores by Belarusian respondent education level and age. We see that increased education level contributes to higher life satisfaction scores and that younger Belarusians tend to have higher levels of life satisfaction than their older counterparts (both findings are consistent with many other life satisfaction studies that have looked at the role of education and age). Table 10
The Impact of other Individual Factors on Belarusian Life Satisfaction Finally, in addition to the various shifting societal values and attitudes outlined above, in what follows, I look at self-reported life satisfaction levels in Belarus, particularly as it relates to a variety of other individual factors. Table 11 below (followed by Figure 1: Belarus Province Map) shows comparative life satisfaction of Belarusians by geographical location (province). Those living in Gomel and Vitebsk provinces (4.7 and 4.6 respectively) had the highest mean life satisfaction scores in 1996, while Mogilev (4.0) had the lowest. In 2000, residents of Vitebsk province (5.2) had the highest life satisfaction in 2000, followed by Minsk, Gomel, and Mogilev (each with 4.9), while residents of Grodno province (4.2) had the lowest mean life satisfaction score.
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Table 11
Figure 1: Belarus Province M ap
While Belarus is not a very ethnically diverse nation, Table 12 shows that ethnic Belarusians experience the lowest self-reported life satisfaction, save those of Polish ethnicity. Table 13 shows that female Belarusians have slightly lower overall life satisfaction than their male counterparts, while
A Preliminary Look at the Impact of Political and Economic Transformations 227 on Societal Values and Attitudes in Post-Soviet Belarus, 1990–2000
both genders saw significant declines from 1990 to 1996, with a modest rebound and increase in life satisfaction from 1996 to 2000. Table 12
Table 13
Table 14 shows an overall decline in life satisfaction from 1990 to 1996, and then an increase (though still significantly lower than 1990 levels) fro m 1996 to 2000, with this pattern applying to each of the different marit al status categories. The highest life satisfaction is found among married and single/never married individuals, with divorced and separated individuals experiencing the lowest life satisfaction level.
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Table 14
Table 15 shows that since 1990 (when there was no significant difference between living or not living with parents on life satisfaction), Belarusians that live with their parents experience overall greater life satisfaction than those who do not, with the gap increasing from 1996 to 2000. Table 15
Table 16 shows an almost oddly consistent level of life satisfaction regardless of the number of adults living in the home. There is a large jump from a single adult household, to those homes with more than one adult. Oddly, homes with 6+ adults experience another significant boost in selfreported life satisfaction. Additionally, Table 17 shows a very clear pattern of declining life satisfaction with each additional child in the home, with overall self-reported satisfaction levels being higher in 2000 than they were in 1996.
A Preliminary Look at the Impact of Political and Economic Transformations 229 on Societal Values and Attitudes in Post-Soviet Belarus, 1990–2000
Table 16
Table 17
Table 18 shows comparative life satisfaction by how often the respondent attends religious service, over the three waves of the WVS data. Interestingly, more religious Belarusians (attending a church service once a week or more) had the highest life satisfaction levels in 1990, but then had the lowest levels by 1996 and continuing to 2000.
Table 18
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A Preliminary Look at the Impact of Political and Economic Transformations 231 on Societal Values and Attitudes in Post-Soviet Belarus, 1990–2000
Table 19 clearly shows that social class has a strong impact on the perceived life satisfaction of Belarusians. Table 20 shows a significant positive impact of self-reported income level on self-reported job satisfaction for Belarusians, with impact increasing with each of the three waves of the data. Table 19
Table 20
Next, Table 21 shows comparative life satisfaction by Belarusian employment status and study year. Students experience the highest levels of life satisfaction across all three waves of the data. Table 22 shows a very clear and significant increase in self-reported mean life satisfaction scores for those Belarusian workers who have some level of supervisory responsibilities on the job.
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Table 21
Table 22
Finally, Table 23 shows comparative mean life satisfaction scores by chief wage earner profession/job type, with little consistent impact of chief wage earner profession/job type on one’s perceived life satisfaction.
Table 23
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Future Research Future research needs to further explore the political and economic transformation in post-Soviet Belarus, particularly as they relate to shifting societal values and attitudes. Additionally, future research should explore Belarus’ comparative placement related to other countries with regard to these various attitudinal indicators and seek for explanations as to the crossnational differences in various societal attitudes. Finally, future research needs to move beyond the descriptive analysis presented herein and perform more rigorous statistical analyses, including regression models that take into account each of these various individual factors when exploring changing life satisfaction scores in Belarus and comparatively across the globe.
Conclusion It is clear that there have been substantial shifts in societal attitudes and values as Belarus experienced the transition from being a part of the Soviet Union, to post-Soviet political and economic adaptation and the eventual adoption of its own government. Almost overnight, Belarus was faced with new political and economic realities. In the two decades since, these new realities have impacted other aspects on Belarusian’s day-to-day lives, including their societal values and attitudes.
References Abbott, Pamela. “Cultural Trauma and Social Quality in Post-Soviet Moldova and Belarus.” East European Politics & Societies 21, no. 2 (2007): 219–258. Abbott, Pamela and Wallace, Claire. “Explaining Economic and Social Transformations in PostRussia, Ukraine and Belarus.” European Societies 12, no. 5 (2010): 653–674. —. “Patterns of Participation in the Formal and Informal Economies of the Commonwealth of Independent States.” International Sociology 39 (2009): 12–38. Burawoy, Michael. “Transition without Transformation: Russia’s Involuntary Road to Capitalism.” East European Politics and Societies 15 (2001): 269–90. Danilovich, Natalia. “Growing Inequalities and Reproductive Health in Transitional Countries: Kazakhstan and Belarus.” Journal of Public Health Policy 31, no. 1 (2010): 30–50.
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Fehey, Tony and Smyth, Emer. “Do subjective indicators measurer welfare?” European Societies 6 (2004): 5–27. Karbalevich, Valerii. “The Belarusian Model of Transformation: Alaksandr Lukashenka’s Regime and the Nostalgia for the Soviet Past.” International Journal of Sociology 31, no. 4 (2001): 7. Koktysh, Kirill. “The Post-Soviet Transformation of Belorussia.” Russian Politics & Law 43, no. 5 (2005): 79–94. Rotman, David and Veremeeva, Natalia. “Belarus in the context of the neighbourhood policy: Between the EU and Russia.” Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics 27, no. 1 (2011): 73–98. Sen, Amartya. (1993). “Capability and well-being.” In The Quality of Life, edited by N. Nussbaum and Amartya Sen, 31–53, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993. Shevchenko, Olga. Crisis and the everyday in Postsocialist Moscow. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2009. Sztompka, Piotr. “Cultural Trauma: The other Face of Social Change.” European Journal of Social Theory 3 (2002): 441–65. Westover, Jonathan H. “Comparative International Differences in Intrinsic and Extrinsic Job Quality Characteristics and Worker Satisfaction, 1989–2005.” International Journal of Business and Social Science 3, no. 7 (2012): 1–15. —. “A Longitudinal Analysis of Changing Job Quality and Worker Satisfaction in Israel. KCA Journal of Business Management 3, no. 1 (2011): 1–14. —. “Global Shifts: Changing Job Quality and Job Satisfaction Determinants in Socialist and Post-Socialist Hungary.” International Journal of Social Economics 37, no. 2 (2010a): 84–100. —. “Global Economic Shifts Impacting the Perceived Importance of Various Intrinsic and Extrinsic Job Characteristics and Overall Job Satisfaction.” The International Journal of Knowledge, Culture, and Change Management 10, no. 1 (2010b): 137–149. —. “A Cross-National Analysis of Job Quality Characteristics and Perceived Job Satisfaction in a Changing World Economy: Implication s for Public Administrators Managing in a Multicultural Workforce.” International Review of Public Administration 13, no. 2 (2008a): 129– 144. —. “Potential Impacts of Globalization on Changing Job Quality and Worker Satisfaction: A Descriptive Cross-National Comparativ e Examination.” Journal of Global Business Management 4, no. 1 (2008b): 19–26.
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Westover, Jonathan H. and Taylor, Jeanette. “International Differences in Job Satisfaction: The Effects of Public Service Motivation, Rewards and Work Relations.” International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management 59, no. 8 (2010c): 811–828. Originally published: Westover, Jonathan H. 2013. "A Preliminary Look at the Impact of Political and Economic Transformations on Societal Values and Attitudes in Post-Soviet Belarus, 1990–2000." The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Civic and Political Studies 7 (1): 45-64. doi:10.18848/2327-0071/CGP/v07i01/53108.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN A PRELIMINARY LOOK AT COUNTRY CONTEXTUAL FACTORS IMPACTING LABOR MANAGEMENT PRACTICES, CHANGING WORK VALUES, AND WORKING CONDITIONS: ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL TRANSFORMATIONS IN POST-SOVIET BELARUS, 1990–2000
Abstract It has been argued that the economic collapse of the former Soviet Union and the transformation of political and economic systems in post-Soviet Belarus resulted in a decline in the material circumstances of households, in a reduction of social integration and social cohesion, and a decline in the ability of people to take control over their own lives (Muradyan, 2011; Abbott and Wallace, 2010). Furthermore, previous research has shown that labor management practices in Belarus are more negative for workers than those under the Soviet system (Danilovich and Croucher, 2011). Buildin g upon these and other studies, this research uses descriptive attitudinal data from multiple waves of the World Values Survey to examine and explore the political and economic structural country contextual factors impacting the labor transformation in the country, with a focus on changing work attitudes and values in post-Soviet Belarus from 1990–2000.
Introduction It has been argued that the economic collapse of the former Soviet Union and the transformation of political and economic systems in post-Soviet Belarus resulted in a decline in the material circumstances of households, reduced social integration and social cohesion, and a decline in the ability of people to take control over their own lives (Muradyan 2011; Abbott and Wallace 2010). Furthermore, previous research has shown that labor management practices in Belarus are more negative for workers than those
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under the Soviet system (Danilovich and Croucher, 2011). Building upon these and other studies, this research uses descriptive attitudinal data from multiple waves of the World Values Survey to examine and explore the political and economic structural country contextual factors impacting the labor transformation in the country, with a focus on changing work attitudes and values in post-Soviet Belarus from 1990–2000.
Overview to Belarus Political, Economic, and Labor Management Transformations Many scholars have pointed to the extensive disrupting economic and social changes that followed the collapse of communism in the USSR in 1991 (e.g., Burawoy 2001; Sztompka 2002; Abbott and Wallace 2009; Shevchenko 2009). Furthermore, Rotman and Veremeeva (2011) examin ed these impacts among post-Soviet countries and argue that “Belarus’s location in the geographical heart of Europe places the country in a strategically important position between Russia and the European Union (EU)” (p. 73). Despite its central geographic location, cultural and political history, and current economic ties with its neighbors, to this point Belarus has largely been an understudied country, particularly within the context of the shifting political and economic landscape following the Soviet collapse. Among studies of Belarus that have been conducted to date, Abbott and Wallace (2010) examined the economic collapse of the former Soviet Union on the lives of Belarusian citizens and found that a majority of the population have a poor quality of life and good reason to be dissatisfied with their lives. More specifically, they found that the collapse has not only resulted in a decline in economic security of households but also on social integration, social cohesion, and the ability of people to take control over their own lives, leaving many unable to develop capabilities in order to adequately function. They state, “The economic transition from planned market economies was accompanied by economic crisis exemplified in declining GDP, hyperinflation, and cuts in state welfare spending. The social impact of transition can be seen in the increase in inequalities, rising poverty, unemployment, violent crime, a decline in trust, a decline in wellbeing, and de-modernisation with the majority of the population being ‘losers’” (2010, p. 653–654; see also Danilovich 2010). However, it was not merely the collapse of the Soviet Union that resulting in these difficulties for Belarusian citizens. Abbott (2007), Koktysh (2005), and Karbalevich (2001) each examined the economic, political, and social contextual influences on the overall quality of the lives of Belarusian citizens following the Soviet collapse in 1991. As Koktysh
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(2005) pointed out, “The overnight disintegration of the Soviet identity in August 1991, combined with the failure of the nationalization project…, left society in a somewhat complicated position. Like the rest of the post-Soviet space, Belorussia had no ‘framework’ ideology, no national idea that could integrate society” (p. 86), thus leaving it in an untenable position culturally , politically, and economically. Within the context of this political and economic “vacuum” and the shifting political landscape, Karbalevich (2001) noted, “The triumphant victory of Alaksandr Lukashenka in the 1994 presidential elections was a populist revolution. It took place under the slogan of a return to the prior system and a fight against the nomenklatura and entrepreneurs…. In 1996, there was a coup d’etat in the country under the guise of a referendum and an authoritarian regime was established with sole power to the president. Market reforms were overthrown and war was declared on the private sector” (p. 7). Finally, Abbott (2007) added, “that lived experience—how people evaluate their condition—is as significant an influence on their welfare as the actual circumstances in which they live” (p. 219) and found that most Belarusians perceive the post-1991 economic and political changes negatively, and that levels of general satisfaction and happiness are comparatively low in relation to other post-Soviet countries. The emerging political “populous revolution” and Lukashenka’s authoritarian orientation towards a “social market economy” had impacts on labor management practices in the country as well. Danilovich and Croucher (2011) have explored the changing nature of human resource practices within the country following the Soviet collapse and the Lukashenka rise to power and argue, “The few studies of Belarus available are at the national level and follow two main lines. The first, advanced by the government and official commentators, contends that labour management has undergone significant changes and is converging with Western models. The second, developed by some Western and Belarusian scholars, asserts that it has changed very little since ‘transition’ began or (in only a slight variant) that changes are minor and insignificant. In short, for the latter commentators, only small changes have occurred since Soviet times” (2011, p. 242). Additionally, they state, “the state remains a decisive and pervasive force in determining the system of labour management in Belarus…. Belarusian labour market is characterized by extreme employee weakness in the employment relationship that is worse than that under the Soviet system. This weakness exists primarily in relation to the state since, although managers must manage labour from day to day at the point of production, their autonomous role is small. Industry remains essentially state owned, and all enterprises are, in any case, subject to huge state involvement.” (2011, p. 257). Ultimately they found that “Labour
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management practices at enterprise level in Belarus are more negative for workers than those under the Soviet system. Welfare has largely disappeared, as has Soviet-style informal bargaining; wage payment may be in kind; training is minimal; job insecurity is extreme and trade unions perform a corporatist role” (2011, p. 241). Additionally, Sokolova and Ermakov (2005) examined the changing nature of human capital in Belarus in three spheres: science, education, and health. They state, “The theory of human capital that came into being in the second half of the twentieth century looks at the state of science, education, and health care in a society from the standpoint of investment in an effective use of human capital…. Today, science and education are becoming the chief factors of success in the market, economic growth, and progress in science and technology” (p. 78–79). They find that Belarus has seen significant declines in each of these three spheres of human capital, putting the future competitive nature of the labor force and growth in the economy in question. This political and economic context has influenced general labor management and human capital issues, which in turn have created a context that has an impact on worker values and attitudes. Muradyan (2011) specifically examined work values and work ethos in Belarus and found that the values of self-realization, personal responsibility, and initiative are still not a firm part of the Belarusian labor consciousness, while materialist ic needs dominate the perceived needs of employees. He states, “The change in the work sphere and in work values is part of a comprehensive cultural change, linked to economic development…. The transformation of political and economic systems in post-Soviet countries after 1990s brought some specifics in the sphere of work: after decades of the state administration of work under a command economy, the labor market came to the economic stage and changed the supply of the workforce (the skills acquired before were reshaped and improved in the light of new requirements) and demand sides of the workforce (the more stringent requirements are in need for using the human resources; this reflects the imperatives of the market economy) (Vecernik 2003, p. 9). So, more flexibility in jobs and work was required, but not easily were accepted by workers, we hold, that deficiencies in work habits and a lack of flexibility remain evident in large sections of the labor force in post-Soviet countries” (p. 1). So how are things more recently in Belarus? While the limit ed economic, political, and sociological research on Belarus has largely focused on the post-Soviet transitions, with regards to the more recent worldwide financial crisis, Lane (2011) argues that Belarus was less negatively impacted by the 2007 financial crisis than many of its European
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neighbors, as it was relatively less dependent on and less integrated into the world financial system. He states, “Major differences exist between leading European members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) (Russia, Belarus and Ukraine) and the post-communist New Member States (NMS) of the European Union. In responding to the financial and economic crisis of 2007 onwards, countries of the CIS were relatively less dependent on, and less integrated into, the world financial system than the NMS; consequently, direct contagion from the world financial crisis, although significant, had less impact on them compared with the NMS” (p. 587).
Methodology This research utilizes self-reported non-panel longitudinal data fro m three waves of the World Values Survey (1990, 1996, 2000—various survey questions on political, economic, social, and work attitudes; for comparable studies using similar self-reported attitudinal data, see also Westover 2008a, 2008b, 2010a, 2010b, 2011, 2012; Taylor and Westover 2011). The World Values Survey utilized a multistage stratified probability sample to collect the data eligible participants in Belarus (age 18+). 1 Variables of interest in the data collected by the World Values Survey are self-reported single-item indicators (i.e. with a single survey question for each variable, on a Likert scale). For the purposes of this study, the units of analysis are individuals within Belarus. One of the primary limitations of the available attitudinal data is that each question represents a subjective single item indicator. Another problem is the non-panel longitudinal nature of the data. This research uses three waves of cross-sectional data and therefore one cannot specifically test the direction of causality among the variables examined as would be possible with panel longitudinal data. Additionally, some variables of interest and other important control variables are simply not available in the data. Finally, it is important to note that a fourth wave of data collection was conducted from 2006–2008, but Belarus did not participate, so unfortunately more recent data is not available.
1 For a full summary and description of this research and its methodology, see http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/.
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Comparing Attitudes in Belarus to other Countries around the Globe In looking at shifting societal values and attitudes, first it is important to understand how Belarus “stacks up” within a global comparative context (Note: all data is from the World Values Survey for 2000 or the closest approximate year available). Below are a few interesting key areas of attitudinal comparison: x
Out of 81 countries around the globe (global mean is 6.51), Puerto Rico (8.5) enjoys the highest mean life satisfaction score, with Tanzania and Zimbabwe both bringing up the rear (3.9). Only the following 7 countries have a lower mean life satisfaction score than Belarus (4.8): Tanzania (3.9), Zimbabwe (3.9), Armenia (4.3), Moldova (4.6), Ukraine (4.6), Russia (4.7), and Georgia (4.7). Note that general life satisfaction in Belarus is very close to the mean scores of several of its post-Soviet neighbors. x Out of 80 countries around the globe (global mean is 6.74), Puerto Rico and Venezuela (8.3) enjoy the highest mean “freedom of choice and control” scores, with Pakistan (4.7) bringing up the rear. Only the following 4 countries have a lower mean “freedom of choice and control” score than Belarus (5.6): Pakistan (4.7), Turkey (5.3), Ukraine (5.4), and Egypt (5.5). As with general life satisfaction, “freedom of choice and control” in Belarus is very close to the mean scores of several of its post-Soviet neighbors. x Out of 33 countries around the globe (global mean is 7.14), Malta (8.4) enjoys the highest mean job satisfaction score, with Belarus (5.5) bringing up the rear. The next closet countries are the Ukrain e (5.9), Turkey (6.1), and Russia (6.2), followed by a significant jump in mean scores before you reach the next tier of countries. x Out of 33 countries around the globe (global mean is 6.34), Denmark (7.8) enjoys the highest mean “freedom of making decision in taking a job” score, with Turkey (4.5) bringing up the rear. Only 2 countries have a lower mean “freedom of making decision in taking a job” score than Belarus (5.1): Turkey (4.5) and Lithuania (4.9). x Out of 15 countries around the globe (global mean is 6.59), Denmark (8.4) enjoys the highest mean “satisfaction with job security” score, with Lithuania (4.6) bringing up the rear. Belarus (5.5) is only trailed by Lithuania (4.6), the Ukraine (5.2), and Turkey (5.3).
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One can easily see that Belarus is at or near the rear for each of these 5 variables (and many more I have not listed here), significantly below worldwide averages for each. However, within the post-Soviet/Eastern European geopolitical/cultural context, attitudes in Belarus appear to be fairly similar to several of its post-Soviet neighbors.
Belarusian Workplace Attitudes, 1990–2000 In what ways have the above-mentioned shifting post-Soviet political, economic, and labor conditions and global comparative attitudes impacted societal values and attitudes in Belarus? Below includes descriptive crosstabs of various relevant work values and attitudes, most of which are for three waves of the World Values Survey Data. Table 1 shows that a greater percentage of women agree that work is a duty towards society (65.9%) than their male counterparts (59.9%), with a greater percentage of men disagreeing (25.0%) than women (21.6%). Table 2 shows the overall perceived importance of work in the life of Belarusian workers for three waves of the World Values Survey data (1990, 1996, and 2000). Overall, nearly 85% of all Belarusian workers feel that work is either very important or rather importation in life, with this overall percentage increasing to more than 88% for men from 1990 to 2000, and dropping to just over 80% for women over the same time period. However, it is also important to note that while the overall percentage of men saying that work is either very important or rather important, the percentage of male workers saying work was very important in life dropped more than 9% fro m 1990–2000 (presumably most of that 9% decline selecting “rather important” instead of “very important” by 2000). Additionally, it is interesting to note that for women, the percentage saying that work is not at all important steadily increased from just 2.2% in 1990 to 7.6% in 2000.
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Table 1
Table 2
Table 3 shows what Belarus employees deemed to be the most important aspects of their job (from most frequently mentioned to least frequently mentioned), for three waves of World Values Survey data (1990, 1996, and 2000; Note that the 1990 wave precedes Belarusian independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union). For both males and females, pay (an extrinsic motivator) was clearly considered the most important aspect of their job (the percentage actually rising for men from 1990 to 2000, and
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falling for women during the same period). The percentage of respondents mentioning interesting work (an intrinsic motivator) as a key job aspect dropped sharply from 1990 to 2000 (by more than 12% for men and 16% for women). There was then a rather stark drop between the next items mentioned as important aspects of a job. Women more highly valued good working hours, while men more highly valued good job security (both extrinsic motivators with near-equal total means for both men and women across the three waves of data). The percentage of workers mentioning having a job that meets one’s abilities (intrinsic motivator) as important dropped drastically for both men and women from 1990 to 2000 (a more than 8% decline for men and a more than 12% decline for women). Similarly, the percentage of Belarusian workers mentioning having a respected job (an intrinsic motivator) as important dropped drastically fro m 1990 to 2000 (by more than 9% for men and more than 14% for woman). Generous holidays (an extrinsic motivator) saw a drastic drop for both men and women from 1990 to 2000, while the percentage of workers mentioning that it was important to feel that you can achieve something (intrinsic motivator) dropped by more than 8% for men and more than 13% for women from 1990 to 2000. Not having too much pressure at work (intrinsic motivator) dropped the most of any work characteristic, by more than 40% for men and nearly 39% for women from 1990–2000. Finally, two additional intrinsic motivators (using initiative and having a responsible job) both saw double digit declines for both male and female workers fro m 1990 to 2000.
Table 3
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Table 4 looks at additional work attitudes. In 2000, Belarusian workers also mentioned several additional work characteristics not included in the previous two waves of the data, workplace relationships (intrinsic motivator) being mentioned only less frequently than pay for both men and women that year. Physical working conditions (extrinsic motivator) was also mentioned more than 54% of the time, with time off for the weekends (extrinsic motivator), meeting people (intrinsic motivator), having a job useful for society (intrinsic motivator), and having opportunities for promotion (extrinsic/intrinsic motivator) each being mentioned by significantly fewer Belarusian employees (both male and female alike). Table 4
Overall, Tables 3 and 4 demonstrate that Belarusian workers (men and women alike) clearly mentioned extrinsic work characteristics as being important aspects of work more often than intrinsic work characteristics, with the largest percentage drops in aspects of the job mentioned occurring with the intrinsic workplace factors. This shows that in the years followin g the collapse of the Soviet Union, Belarusian independence, the establishment of the new Belarusian government, and the intervening economic struggles, Belarusian workers’ attitudes on the importance of various job characteristics shifted from a fairly balanced mixed of intrinsic and extrinsic job characteristics before the Soviet collapse to a much heavier focus on the importance of various extrinsic job characteristics by the end of the decade.
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Job Satisfaction in Belarus, by Profession/Job Type, Education Level, and Age In addition to the various shifting societal values and attitudes outlined above, in what follows, I look at self-reported job satisfaction levels in Belarus, particularly as it relates to respondent profession/job type, education level, and age. Table 5 below shows comparative mean life satisfaction scores for Belarus, by profession/job type of the respondent and study year (1990, 1996, and 2000). While overall mean life satisfaction scores have dropped significantly over this 10-year period (from 5.5 in 1990 to 4.8 in 2000), Table 2 shows very significant drops from 1990 to 1996 in mean scores for employers/ managers of large/small organizations. There is also a fairly clear pattern of more professional employees experiencing higher overall life satisfaction than those who do some sort of manual/ blue-collar labor. Table 6 shows comparative life satisfaction scores by Belarusian respondent education level and age. We see that increased education level contributes to higher life satisfaction scores and that younger Belarusians tend to have higher levels of life satisfaction than their older counterparts (both findings are consistent with many other life satisfaction studies that have looked at the role of education and age).
Table 5
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Table 6
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Table 7 shows the comparative mean job satisfaction scores for Belarusian workers by profession/job type (I actually have a more detailed table that breaks the job types out further, but it is quite large and I could not get a clear enough screen shot of it to be able to add a clear picture of it here). Though there does not seem to be any clear-cut distinction between professional-level employees and those holding blue collar types of positions, the table below does show slightly higher job satisfaction levels for employees of the professional variety. The more detailed table shows that laborers in mining, construction, manufacturing, and transport (mean of 4.4) share the distinction of experiencing the lowest mean job satisfaction scores with life science and health associate professionals (mean of 4.4). Stationary plant and related operators have the highest job satisfaction scores (7.1) and clerks (6.5) have the second highest. Table 7
Table 8 shows comparative job satisfaction scores by Belarusian worker education level and age. We see that increased education level contributes to higher job satisfaction scores and that older employees tend to also have higher levels of job satisfaction than their younger counterparts (both
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findings are consistent with many other job satisfaction studies that have looked at the role of education and age). However, for those with the least educational attainment, those workers from ages 55–65 have mean job satisfaction scores just slightly higher than those of the youngest age group, while it is the 45–54 age group for middle educational attainment employees, and the 65+ age group of the upper educational attainment employees that are most similar to the youngest age group.
Table 8
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The Impact of other Individual Factors on Belarusian Worker Satisfaction While the descriptive analysis above looks at self-reported Belarusian worker satisfaction levels based on profession/job type, education level, and age, there are also many other important individual factors they may influence differences in worker satisfaction (Note: while the job satisfaction literature identifies many important individual factors that may impact worker satisfaction and/or should be controlled for in statistical analyses, the following tables represent those factors that are available in the World Values Survey data for Belarus, limited as they may be). Table 9 shows that married and divorced Belarusian respondents experience significantly higher job satisfaction levels than individuals who are separated (by far the lowest), widowed, and single. This is mostly in line with the job satisfaction literature, which has consistently shown that married individuals report the highest job satisfaction levels. However, the high job satisfaction scores for divorced Belarusians is an interesting and contradictory finding and warrant additional examination. Somewhat surprisingly, Table 10 shows that religious observance has little consistent impact on self-reported job satisfaction levels, while Belarusians who attend religious services once a week have the lowest selfreported job satisfaction and those that only attend on “other specific holidays” have by far the highest. This is at odds with much of the job satisfaction and religion literature, which has consistently shown that higher levels of religiosity often carry over into other areas of perceived satisfaction (whether it be marital, work, or life satisfaction) and warrants additional examination. Table 9
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Table 10
Table 11 shows a significant impact of self-reported income level on self-report job satisfaction for both Belarusian male and female workers (consistent with existing literature), while Belarusian women job satisfaction is even more positively impacted by higher income than it is for male workers (inconsistent; the literature has shown that male job satisfaction levels tend to be more greatly impacted by income than for women). Table 11
While I already looked at job satisfaction by profession, Table 12 shows comparative mean job satisfaction scores by chief wage earner profession/job type (a slight but not insignificant distinction). We see that chief wage earners working as managers in larger organizations, as
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professional workers, as semi-skilled manual workers, and as members of the armed forces result in relatively higher job satisfaction scores for the respondent, while junior level non-manual chief wage earners have the lowest. Table 12
Consistent with the existing job satisfaction literature, Table 13 shows a very clear and significant increase in self-reported mean job satisfaction scores for those Belarusian workers who have some level of supervisory responsibilities on the job, as compared with those who do not.
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Table 13
Another important individual factor that is often looked at in the job satisfaction literature is household composition. Unfortunately, the WVS data for Belarus does not have much in that regard. However, Table 14 does look at the number of adults in the home and shows little difference on selfreported job satisfaction scores by the number of adults living in the home, while there is a significant jump from 1 to 2 adults, followed by a modest decline with each additional adult in the home. Table 14
In the existing literature, the size of the organization in which an individual works has been shown to impact overall job satisfaction levels. Interestingly, Table 15 shows little consistent impact of the number of other workers in the organization on job satisfaction. Those individuals in organizations with 500–999 employees have the lowest self-reported job satisfaction (5.2), while those in organizations with 2500 and more employees have the highest (6.7), with mixed results at other tiers of organizational size.
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Table 15
It should also be noted that overall job satisfaction in Belarus does not differ significantly by gender, though there are significant gender differences by other individual/demographic factors and certainly gender will be an important individual control variable in future statistical analysis.
Implications As a preliminary and exploratory study, the aim and scope of this paper has been to take a preliminary look at the country contextual factors in Belarus impacting labor management practices, changing work values, and working conditions. As such, the focus of this paper has been on presenting the data as it currently exists; a detailed exploration of all of the implication s of the data and preliminary findings will be the focus of future papers. However, it is relevant to point out the possible scope of the implications of this data, as such implications will lead to a continued research stream examining related questions, such as: x x x x
What do these findings mean for other emerging democracies? What do these findings mean for European countries currently in financial distress? What are the suggestions for HRM practices? Are there segments of the labor force which are not able to participate in the market?
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Certainly, more thought needs to be given as to what these finding really mean and what their implications are.
Future Research Future research needs to further explore the political, economic, and labor transformation in post-Soviet Belarus, particularly as they relate to shifting work values and attitudes. Additionally, future research should explore Belarus’ comparative placement related to other countries with regard to these various attitudinal indicators and seek for explanations as to the cross-national differences in various work attitudes and their implications for the workplace. Finally, future research needs to move beyond the descriptive analysis presented herein and perform more rigorous statistical analyses, including regression models that take into account each of these various individual factors when exploring changing job satisfaction scores in Belarus and comparatively across the globe.
Conclusion It is clear that there have been substantial shifts in work attitudes and values as Belarus experienced the transition from being a part of the Soviet Union to post-Soviet political and economic adaptation and the eventual adoption of its own government. Almost overnight, Belarus was faced with new political and economic realities, which in turn impacted labor and work realities. In the two decades since, these new realities have impacted other aspects on Belarusian’s day-to-day lives, including their work values and attitudes.
References Abbott, Pamela. “Cultural Trauma and Social Quality in Post-Soviet Moldova and Belarus.” East European Politics & Societies 21, no. 2 (2007): 219–258. Abbott, Pamela and Wallace, Claire. “Explaining Economic and Social Transformations in Post Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.” European Societies 12, no. 5 (2010): 653–674. —. “Patterns of Participation in the Formal and Informal Economies of the Commonwealth of Independent States.” International Sociology 39 (2009): 12–38.
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Burawoy, Michael. “Transition without Transformation: Russia’s Involuntary Road to Capitalism.” East European Politics and Societies 15 (2001): 269–90. Danilovich, Natalia. “Growing Inequalities and Reproductive Health in Transitional Countries: Kazakhstan and Belarus.” Journal of Public Health Policy 31, no. 1 (2010): 30–50. Danilovich, Hannah and Croucher, Richard. “Labour Management in Belarus: Transcendent Retrogression.” Journal of Communist Studies & Transition Politics 27, no. 2 (2011): 241–262. Fehey, Tony and Smyth, Emer. “Do subjective indicators measurer welfare?” European Societies 6 (2004): 5–27. Karbalevich, Valerii. “The Belarusian Model of Transformation: Alaksandr Lukashenka’s Regime and the Nostalgia for the Soviet Past.” International Journal of Sociology 31, no. 4 (2001): 7. Koktysh, Kirill. “The Post-Soviet Transformation of Belorussia.” Russian Politics & Law 43, no. 5 (2005): 79–94. Lane, David. “The Impact of Economic Crisis: Russia, Belarus and Ukrain e in Comparative Perspective.” Journal of Communist Studies & Transition Politics 27, no. 3/4 (2011): 587–604. Muradyan, Elana. “Work Values and Work Ethos in Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia, and the Netherlands.” Unpublished Working Paper (2011). Rotman, David and Veremeeva, Natalia. “Belarus in the Context of the Neighbourhood Policy: Between the EU and Russia.” Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics 27, no. 1 (2011): 73–98. Sen, Amartya. (1993). “Capability and well-being.” In The Quality of Life, edited by N. Nussbaum and Amartya Sen, 31–53, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993. Shevchenko, Olga. Crisis and the everyday in Postsocialist Moscow. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2009. Sokolova, G. and Ermakov, V. “Human Capital in the Republic of Belarus.” Sociological Research 44, no. 1 (2005): 77–92. Sztompka, Piotr. “Cultural Trauma: The other Face of Social Change.” European Journal of Social Theory 3 (2002): 441–65. Vecernik Jiri. “Skating on Thin Ice: A Comparison of Work Values and Job Satisfaction in CEE and EU Countries.” International Journal of Comparative Sociology 44 (2003): 444–471. Westover, Jonathan H. “Comparative International Differences in Intrinsic and Extrinsic Job Quality Characteristics and Worker Satisfaction, 1989–2005.” International Journal of Business and Social Science 3, no. 7 (2012): 1–15.
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—. “A Longitudinal Analysis of Changing Job Quality and Worker Satisfaction in Israel.” KCA Journal of Business Management 3, no. 1 (2011): 1–14. —. “Global Shifts: Changing Job Quality and Job Satisfaction Determinants in Socialist and Post-Socialist Hungary.” International Journal of Social Economics 37, no. 2 (2010a): 84–100. —. “Global Economic Shifts Impacting the Perceived Importance of Various Intrinsic and Extrinsic Job Characteristics and Overall Job Satisfaction.” The International Journal of Knowledge, Culture, and Change Management 10, no. 1 (2010b): 137–149. —. and Taylor, Jeanette. “International Differences in Job Satisfaction: The Effects of Public Service Motivation, Rewards and Work Relations.” International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management 59, no. 8 (2010c): 811–828. —. “A Cross-National Analysis of Job Quality Characteristics and Perceived Job Satisfaction in a Changing World Economy: Implication s for Public Administrators Managing in a Multicultural Workforce.” International Review of Public Administration 13, no. 2 (2008a): 129– 144. —. “Potential Impacts of Globalization on Changing Job Quality and Worker Satisfaction: A Descriptive Cross-National Comparativ e Examination.” Journal of Global Business Management 4, no. 1 (2008b): 19–26. Originally published: Westover, Jonathan H. 2012. "A Preliminary look at Country Contextual Factors Impacting Labor M anagement Practices, Changing Work Values, and Working Conditions: Economic and Social Transformations in Post-soviet Belarus, 1990–2000." The Global Studies Journal 5 (1): 79-94. doi:10.18848/1835-4432/CGP/v05i01/40834.
P ART F IVE TEACHING AND LEARNING
CHAPTER NINETEEN THE MEANING OF ENGAGED LEARNING
Abstract There must be discussion and agreement on the meaning of engaged learning in specific educational contexts for institutions implementing these practices because the potential meaning is vast. It is only in this way those directly involved in implementing, assessing, and applying engaged learning can ensure they are targeting the same goals and objectives. For some, it refers to local community engagement in education, for others it is more global in scale. It can have to do with local collaboration, local community-university engagement, global viewpoints and equity in education, transformative learning, sparking the desire to learn, vigor and energy, active or applied learning, application and integration of knowledge, creation of knowledge, or involvement and ownership in decision making . This conceptual chapter provides an analysis of literature on the definitions of engagement in learning to examine the similarities and differences in meaning with the intent to expand and enhance the concept of engaged learning and its employment in practice in educational contexts.
Introduction According to David Goslin (2003), only perhaps 20 to 25 percent of students are engaged in learning most of the time. He asserts increasing this engagement in learning is key to increasing academic achievement and therefore productivity in the U.S. educational system. Engagement, in this context, includes physiological, psychological, task-related/ educational and sociocultural aspects and points to a key consideration. In assessing the current state of engagement in American universities, one must first consider the interpretation of the meaning of engagement itself. As Bowen (2005) points out, “despite the emerging emphasis on engaged learning, explicit consensus about what we actually mean by engagement or why it is important is lacking” (1). He continues, "Educators think of engagement in four related but different ways. The most fundamental is student engagement with the learning process: just getting
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students actively involved. The second is student engagement with the object of study. Here the emphasis is on stimulation of students' learning by direct experience of something new. Another is student engagement with contexts of the subject of study. This gives emphasis to the importance of context as it may affect and be affected by the students' primary subject. When social and civic contexts are considered, this inevitably raises ethical issues. Finally, there is student engagement with the human condition, especially in its social, cultural, and civic dimensions”. These same four conceptualizations of engaged learning expressed by Bowen are held by Wehlburg (2006). According to this way of thinking, the human condition is the ultimate subject of study to which individual subjects and disciplines should be understood as subordinate" (1). There must be discussion and agreement on the meaning of engaged learning in specific educational contexts for institutions implementing these practices. It is only in this way those directly involved in implementing, assessing, and applying engaged learning can ensure they are targeting the same goals and objectives. At Utah Valley University, for example, as it self describes, "Utah Valley University is a teaching institution with a unique focus on engaged learning, or the combination of traditional academic and hands-on education. This mode of teaching goes back to UVU's roots as a vocational school at its inception during World War II and persists today across the institution's full array of university-level programs. In 2008, the prestigious Carnegie Foundation classified UVU as a community engaged institution. This elective classification reflects UVU's curricular emphasis on engaged learning and longstanding role as a community problem-solver" (Utah Valley University 2014). Even with this definition, there is continual discussion and debate about the meaning of engaged learning throughout the institution as even this leaves room for broad interpretation. These differences have an effect in areas such as curriculum development, student assessment, educational evaluation, and even funding. The scope of the potential meaning of engaged learning is vast because the types of potential engagement are many. For some, it refers to local community engagement in education, for others it is more global in scale. It may have to do with collaboration with others locally, local community university engagement, global engagement and equity in education, transformative learning, sparking the desire to learn, engagement as vigor and energy, engagement at active or applied learning, engagement as application and integration of knowledge, engagement as creation of knowledge, or involvement and ownership in decision making (Barkley 2010; Blankstein, Cole, and Houston 2007; Carlarne 2011; Fink 1999;
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Gordon and Crabtree 2006; Goslin 2003; Kytle 2004; Loeher and Schwart z 2003; Revere and Kovach 2011; Robinson 2010; Park et al. 2012; Walqui 2000; Wehlburg 2006). This conceptual paper provides an analysis of literature on the definitions of engagement in learning to examine the similarities and differences in meaning with the intent to expand and enhance the concept of engaged learning and its employment in practice in educational contexts. Consider the interpretation of engagement as offered by Elizabet h Barkley in her book Student Engagement Techniques. Barkley (2010) summarizes, “student engagement is a process and a product that is experienced on a continuum and results from the synergistic interaction between motivation and active learning” (8). Engagement entails both process and product; it involves both motivation and active learning. The goal of this a conceptual paper is not to contest these definitions of engagement in learning, but instead to examine similarities and differences in meaning in its employment in educational contexts. Ponder, for examp le, if you would consider any or all of the following to be engaged learning either personally or institutionally: x x x x
x x x x x x
Students interact in small group discussions in class. Students identify and participate in a civic engagement project in the community. Course curriculum is adjusted each semester based on the linguistic and cultural attributes of the students. Instructors intentionally create disequilibrium between what the student believes to be fact and what is being presented to them as fact. Students self-regulate and are able to define their own individual learning goals and evaluate their own achievement. Instructors implement activities aimed at drawing out physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual energy. Students are given hands-on projects to work on independently in the classroom. Instructors bring real-life social, political, economic, or environmental issues into the curriculum. Students are asked to broaden their knowledge transfer in learning communities or other multi-disciplinary course environments. Students are involved in course decision making early on such as in defining assignments or point values.
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Below we will address each of these examples independently and discuss different strategies of engaged learning within various sociocultural approaches.
Engagement as Collaboration with Others Locally Engagement often involves collaboration with others and the development of, and membership in, communities (Shulman 2002). It may be that students are more engaged when they are working with others such as in peer interaction. In this context the classroom can be a community operating as a learner-centered environment where all students are a part of the community (Walqui 2000; Revere and Kovach 2011). The classroom could perhaps be viewed as a holistic knowledge-building learning community which develops shared understandings through collaboration as well as an empathetic learning environment which brings value to diversity and varying perspectives (Fink 1999; Robinson 2010). Added to this, students may collaborate in groups both inside of class and outside it in the local community. With team learning, students are collaboratively engaging with both each other and with the material (Wehlburg 2006, 31). Thus, perhaps the classroom culture itself can be seen as a strategy for engaged learning.
Local Community-University Engagement Engaged learning might equally be seen to necessitate some type of interaction between the local community and the educational institution, or at a minimum some institution-wide deployment methods. Jackson Kytle (2004) argues that it is the culture of the whole institution -- its values, norms, roles, and ethos--that educates (157). Thus, if we desire to refine or enhance educational experience we should look to the whole of the institution. This coincides with the viewpoint of the National Survey of Student Engagement Institute for Effective Educational Practice (2014) which states student engagement "represents two critical features of collegiate quality. The first is the amount of time and effort students put into their studies and other educationally purposeful activities. The second is how the institution deploys its resources and organizes the curriculum and other learning opportunities to get students to participate in activities that decades of research studies show are linked to student learning" (1). For others, student engagement and the requisite relationships go beyond the institution. Korgen and White (2007) emphasize connecting the classroom to the community, particularly through civic engagement. This is
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accomplished, in part, with hands-on activities via discussions, observations, data collection, group work, or similar student-centered learning practices. Checkoway (2007) studies the relationship of engaged learning, student mental health, and civic development and assumes, "if institutions formulate strategies for engaged learning through servicelearning, community-based research, and other approaches, and that if such efforts truly engage students and increase active involvement in learning on campus and in the community, then the program has the potential to promote the mental health of students find to contribute to their civic development” (1).
Global Engagement and Equity in Education Student engagement in educational content and in social worlds is another potential approach or key factor to engaged learning. Often in college-level courses, faculty assume students come in with some specific level of foundational knowledge (Wehlberg 2006, 51). Sometimes assumptions about this foundational knowledge will contain localized social or cultural norms, expectations, or awareness. Due to this, some see engagement as having to do with meeting the needs of linguistically and culturally diverse student populations. It has to do, for example, with program design and instructional approaches for immigrant or international students (Walqui 2000; Blankstein; Cole and Houston 2007). It also has to do with appreciating and understanding global aspects of culture and society. Instead of homogeneous curricula and materials, there is a need for differentiation and individualization based on the belief that students learn with understanding (Walqui 2000; Gordon and Crabtree 2006). The idea here is to be inclusive when considering course content, assessment, and curriculum. When a course experience engages a student emotionally and intellectually in the content and context of the course, that student is drawn into it more (Wehlberg 2006; Park et al. 2011). Essentially, they are engaged in the learning experience for the sake of understanding and meaningfulness because they are interested, curious, or emotionally concerned about the topic (Wehlberg 2006).
Transformative Learning as Engaged Learning Engagement and enhanced learning could be seen as occurring specifically when some type of transformative learning occurs. Transformative learning might occur when the broadening or opening of the mind takes place through activities such as reflection and self-examinatio n .
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It might also occur when students become stronger critical thinkers. As Barkley (2010) contends, “While combined motivation and active learning promote basic student engagement, some teachers are pushing for more: they want students to be truly transformed by their educational experiences. Although any learning, by definition, results in some level of change, transformative learning is deep and thorough change" (6). One way this can occur is when there is a disequilibrium between what the student believes to be fact and what is being presented to them as fact, thus moving them outside their comfort zone. Creating a cognitive disequilibrium often causes a student to more deeply think about a particular topic and may set the stage for engagement and enhanced learning (Wehlburg 2006, 57; Robinson 2010). In some ways, transformative learning can occur when the right questions are asked which push or challenge a person’s initial conceptions. For Morgan and Saxton (1994), engaging students in learning means, in part, effective questioning by not only instructors but by students. For Beck, Hamilton, and McKeown (1997), it includes questioning the author as well. For others, engaged learning primarily means deeply reflective thinking by the participant including accountability and membership in a shared context (Carlarne 2011). In each case however, there is a change in depth, direction or scope of thought – there is some type of transformation of knowledge and learning occurring for the individual participant.
Engagement as Sparking the Desire to Learn In the book To Want to Learn, Kytle (2004) describes ten considerations for better learning. He states that learning needs: (1) purposes, (2) individualization, (3) predicaments, (4) mentors, (5) small spaces, human places, (6) process before academic content, (7) reflective experience outside of class, (8) reflective experience in class, (9) feedback, and (10) theory. It is through these considerations that educators may be able to better spark or grow the desire to learn in students. This is important if one believes that learning requires engagement on the part of the learner, such as studentled rather than teacher-based learning (Goslin 2003, 15; Robinson 2010). For some students, there may be a belief on their part that they may not be able to succeed in the learning endeavor at hand and cannot control the outcome. In this case, simply helping the students understand they can indeed succeed may lead to engagement on their part (Goslin 2003). For others, it may have to do more with teaching students how to better be responsible for their own learning experiences and ensuring the learning is personal and not impersonal in nature (Robinson 2010). As Fink (1999)
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describes, “Successful, engaged learners are responsible for their own learning. These students are self-regulated and able to define their own learning goals and evaluate their own achievement. They are also energized by their learning; their joy of learning leads to a lifelong passion for solving problems, understanding, and taking the next step in their thinking" (1). This statement incorporates not only motivation to learn in the present, but a motivation toward self-directed and life-long learning.
Engagement as Vigor and Energy According to Loeher and Schwartz (2003), managing energy (not time) is key to high performance. Engagement, then, can be seen as the investment of energy or effort on the part of the learner (Goslin 2003). Every individual has the same 24 hours to work with, yet some individuals seem to accomplish more in relation to educational goals. As Loehr and Schwart z (2003) note, full engagement requires drawing on four separate but related sources of energy: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. Student engagement and educational success is related to their actions and energetic contribution. In the view of Morgan and Saxton (1994), engaging students in relation to participation means that "students are in the active mode: not only taking in, absorbing and being acted upon but working energetically, acting upon their initiatives, acting upon others, asking questions and understanding they have the right to contribute their ideas, experiences and feelings about the content and procedures of the lesson" (7).
Engagement as Hands-on, Active, or Applied Learning Hands-on or applied learning is also related to engagement in education. When students are actively engaged in the material by discussing it or applying it, they learn the material better (Wehlberg 2006). This may involve doing hands on work, working with mentors or persons in the field , or other types of student interaction or active learning. As Gordon and Crabtree (2006) note, “Though active learning and positive, appropriate feedback are essential components, the most powerful factor in building engagement is identifying and fully deploying talents in the classroom. And not only students’ talents--the talents of everyone involved in education must be leveraged, from students, teachers, and principals to parents and community leaders” (82). If educators are able to embrace and enhance students’ already existing talents, much progress can be made toward successful active and applied learning. “For many students, the most important discoveries may be the realization of where their greatest talents
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lie and where the flow of experiences occur” (Gordon and Crabtree 2006, 83).
Engagement as Application and Integration of Knowledge Engagement with course content and subject matter, including both a balance of content and process, may also add to a student’s later application and integration of knowledge (Robinson 2010). As Shulman (2002) states, "Learning begins with student engagement, which in turn leads to knowledge and understanding. Once someone understands, he or she becomes capable of performance or action" (36). As an example, Georgetown University encourages engaged learning through what it calls curriculum infusion. This brings real-life college health issues into the curriculum of academic courses through readings, guest speakers and discussions, and class assignments (Riley 2007).
Engagement as Creation of Knowledge All individuals see the world through a personal lens based on their own backgrounds, experiences, and perceptions. A student’s experiential background is used as a point of departure and an anchor in the exploration of new ideas, then these new ideas and tasks are contextualized. It is at this point that new knowledge is created (Walqui 2000). Essentially, education to some degree, can change the learner’s personal lens through which they see the world. “Once students are engaged in a particular course, they develop a new perspective or lens through which to view other material. This new perspective will show up in other courses. Students will begin to transfer learning from one course to others (Wehlburg 2006, 55). This new or refined knowledge is then used in all future experiences and will be further refined and improved upon. In order for this to occur though, the student must be engaged in a way that is lasting. As Fink (1999) sees it, this often means we need complex and multidisciplinary coursework, "In order to have engaged learning, tasks need to be challenging, authentic, and multidisciplinary. Such tasks are typically complex and involve sustained amounts of time" (1).
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Engagement as Involvement and Ownership in Decision-making Commitment and engagement have a potentially paired relationship with one another (Shulman 2002; Gordon and Crabtree 2006). Some methods of encouraging student commitment in the classroom is to have them involved in course decision making early on such as in defining assignments or point values (Barkley 2010; Blankstein, Cole, and Houston 2007). In this way, the student is directly involved in the process and course curriculum, adding to potential perceived commitment. According to Blankstein, Cole, and Houston (2007), there are six principles that lead to engagement: connection, relevance, empowerment, opportunities for success, quick and accurate feedback, and recognition and celebration.
Conclusion Gordon and Crabtree (2006) believe that promoting engagement is not just a desired outcome of education--it is essential to the process itself. This is a view held by others (Goslin 2003; Blankstein, Cole, and Houston 2007; Shulman 2002). As Goslin (2003) accurately points out, learning requires engagement on the part of the learner which includes an investment of energy or effort. This can be affected, based on individual definitions of engaged learning, on characteristics of the learner, the task, the topic, and the environment. Shulman (2002) agrees as well, stating that engagement is not just a proxy for learning but a fundamental purpose of education. Added to that, one must consider the longevity and sustainment of engagement. As Blankstein, Cole, and Houston (2007) point out, there is a need to not just create school cultures that engages all students, but also to sustain their success. Whatever definition or timeframe, engagement plays a role in learning and is perhaps related to many other aspects of learning. Indeed, personal self-reflection on the meaning of engaged learning may lead one to consider its relationship to other learning emphases. As referenced in the opening of this paper, Bowen (2005) states, "Educators think of engagement in four related but different ways. The most fundamental is student engagement with the learning process: just getting students actively involved. The second is student engagement with the object of study. Here the emphasis is on stimulation of students' learning by direct experience of something new. Another is student engagement with contexts of the subject of study. This gives emphasis to the importance of context as it may affect and be affected by the students' primary subject. When social and civic contexts are considered, this inevitably raises ethical
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issues. Finally, there is student engagement with the human condition, especially in its social, cultural, and civic dimensions. According to this way of thinking, the human condition is the ultimate subject of study to which individual subjects and disciplines should be understood as subordinate" (1). We would argue the definitions are even more broad and sweeping. For some, it refers to local community engagement in education, for others it is more global in scale. It may have to do with local collaboration, local community-university engagement, global viewpoints and equity in education, transformative learning, sparking the desire to learn, vigor and energy, active or applied learning, application and integration of knowledge, creation of knowledge, or involvement and ownership in decision making. Bowen (2005) ends his article Engaged Learning: Are We All on the Same Page? with the statement: M any of these concepts of engagement cover ground similar to that covered by initiatives in higher education known by other names: x Engagement x Engagement x Engagement learning. x Engagement learning.
with the learning process is similar to active learning. with the object of study is similar to experiential learning. with contexts generally is similar to multidisciplinary with social and civic contexts is similar to service
Perhaps the most important contribution of engagement is the focus it brings to the learner's personal relationship to learning. This emphasis is consistent with our recent appreciation that knowledge is more constructed than received, and that the primary agent of learning is the student. Thus, teaching and learning are different, and a focus on the learner is essential to the improvement of teaching. From this perspective, we can understand engagement as both the means to an end and an end in itself. Teachers strive to produce engagement as a means to learning. If a student is engaged in any of the ways discussed above, then learning of some kind would seem assured. Consider, in closing, on more time if you would consider any or all of the following to be engaged learning: x x
Collaboration with others locally: Students interact in small group discussions in class. Local community-university engagement: Students identify and participate in a civic engagement project in the community.
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x
x
x
x x
x
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Global engagement and equity in education: Course curriculum is adjusted each semester based on the linguistic and cultural attributes of the students. Transformative learning: Instructors intentionally create disequilibrium between what the student believes to be fact and what is being presented to them as fact. Sparking the desire to learn: Students self-regulate and are able to define their own individual learning goals and evaluate their own achievement. Engagement as vigor and energy: Instructors implement activities aimed at drawing out physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual energy. Engagement as hands-on, active or applied learning: Students are given hands-on projects to work on independently in the classroom. Engagement as application and integration of knowledge: Instructors bring real-life social, political, economic, or environmental issues into the curriculum. Engagement as creation of knowledge: Students are asked to broaden their knowledge transfer in learning communities or other mult idisciplinary course environments. Involvement and ownership in decision making as engagement: Students are involved in course decision making early on such as in defining assignments or point values.
Each may be seen as engaged learning, or a component of it, or perhaps they may be seen as aspects of sociocultural educational methodologies that are shared by many forms of educational approaches and pedagogies. While there is not a clear definition for engaged learning nor even strategies for engaged learning, it certainly plays a role in education. It is likely every reader will have a somewhat individualized description and meaning based on personal intrinsic and extrinsic definitions. Hopefully, this conceptual paper has offered additional perspectives and considerations. These differences, after all, have an effect in areas such as curriculu m development, student assessment, educational evaluation, and even funding.
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References Barkley, Elizabeth. 2010. Student Engagement Techniques. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Beck, Isabel, Hamilton, Rebecca, and Margaret McKeown. 1997. Questioning the Author: An Approach for Enhancing Student Engagement with Text. Newark: International Reading Association. Blankstein, Alan, Cole, Robert, and Paul Houston. 2007. Engaging Every Learner. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press. Bowen, Stephen. 2005. “Engaged Learning: Are We All on the Same Page?” Peer Review 7:4-7. Carlarne, John. 2011. “Multi-context Engaged Learning and Ethnographic Fieldwork: Some Notes from the Middle of the Edge.” International Journal of Social Research Methodology 14:135-152. Checkoway, Barry. 2007. “Engaged Learning, Student Mental Health, and Civic Development: Can We Demonstrate the Relationship?” Peer Review 9:6-10. Fink, Dee L. 1999. Active Learning. North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. Gordon, Gary and Steve Crabtree. 2006. Building Engaged Schools: Getting the Most Out of America's Classrooms. New York: Gallup Press. Goslin, David. 2003. Engaging Minds. Lanham: Scarecrow Press. Korgen, Kathleen, and Jonathan White. 2010. The Engaged Sociologist: Connecting the Classroom to the Community (3). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. Kytle, Jackson. 2004. To Want to Learn: Insights and Provocations for Engaged Learning. New York: Palgrave MacMillan. Loeher, Jim and Tony Schwartz. 2003. The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal. New York: Free Press. Morgan, Norah and Julianna Saxton. 1994. Asking Better Questions: Models, Techniques and Classroom Activities for Engaging Students in Learning. Markham: Pembroke Publishers. National Survey of Student Engagement Institute for Effective Educational Practice, Indiana University. 2014. National Survey of Student Engagement. Obtained February 20, 2014 from http://nsse.iub.edu/html/about.cfm. Park, Sira, Holloway, Susan, Arendtsz, Amanda, Bempechat, Janine, and Jin Li. 2012. “What Makes Students Engaged in Learning? A Time-use Study of Within- and Between-individual Predictors of Emotion al
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Engagement in Low-performing High Schools.” Journal of Youth and Adolescence 41:390-401. Revere, Lee, and Jamison Kovach. 2011. “Online Technologies for Engaged Learning: A Meaningful Synthesis for Educators.” Quarterly Review of Distance Education 12:113-124. Riley, Joan and Mindy McWilliams. 2007. “Engaged Learning through Curriculum Infusion.” Peer Review 9:14-17. Robinson, Peter B. 2010. “Engaged Learning and the Entrepreneurial Mindset.” Journal of the Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters 87:87-110. Shulman, Lee. 2002. “Making Differences: A Table of Learning.” Change 34: 36-44. Utah Valley University. 2014. Engage. Retrieved February 21, 2014 fro m http://www.uvu.edu/engage/, 2014. Walqui, Aida. 2000. Access and Engagement, Program Design and Instructional Approaches for Immigrant Students in Secondary School. Santa Cruz: Delta Publishing. Wehlburg, Catherine. 2006. Meaningful Course Revision: Enhancing Academic Engagement Using Student Learning Data. Anker Publishing Company. Contributors to this chapter include: Dr. Anne Arendt and Dr. Jonathan H. Westover. Originally published: Arendt, Anne, and Jonathan H. Westover. 2014. "The M eaning of Engaged Learning." 20 (2): 13-22. doi:10.18848/2328-6318/CGP/v20i02/48276.
CHAPTER TWENTY LIFELONG LEARNING: EFFECTIVE ADULT LEARNING STRATEGIES AND IMPLEMENTATION FOR WORKING PROFESSIONALS
Abstract Researchers have examined the process of learning and how to best implement learning programs. Furthermore, research in the field of adult education has demonstrated that adults learn differently than young people in many ways and for many different reasons. These differences have triggered the implementation of adult learning theory in training adult professionals. This chapter identifies the core principles of adult learning theory and discusses how each of these principles can affect current and future training strategies within work organizations.
Introduction Adults learn differently than young people for many different reasons. According to Ralph C. Kennedy, M.Ed., “Adults differ distinctly in terms of such factors as motivation, interest, values, attitudes, physical and mental abilities, and learning histories” (Kennedy, 2003). These differences have triggered the implementation of adult learning theory in training adult professionals. This paper deals with the principles of adult learning theory and how these principles affect current and future training strategies. Important characteristics of adult learning include the following (Goad , 1982; Hanson, 1981): 1. Learning is a process—as opposed to a series of finite, unrelated steps—that lasts throughout the entire lifespan of most people. 2. For optimum transfer of learning, the learner must be actively involved in the learning experience, not a passive recipient of information.
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3. Each learner must be responsible for his/her own learning. 4. The learning process has an affective (emotional) as well as an intellectual component. 5. Adults learn by doing; they want to be involved. Regardless of the benefits of coaching, one should never merely demonstrate how to do something if an adult learner actually can perform the task, even if it takes longer that way. 6. Problems and examples must be realistic and relevant to the learners. 7. Adults relate their learning to what they already know. It is wise to learn something about the backgrounds of the learners and to provide examples that they can understand in their own frames of reference. 8. An informal environment works best. Trying to intimidate adults causes resentment and tension, and these inhibit learning. 9. Variety stimulates. It is a good idea to try to appeal to all five of the learners’ senses, particularly to those aspects identified by neurolinguistic programming: the visual, the kinesthetic, and the auditory. A change of pace and a variety of learning techniques help to mitigate boredom and fatigue. 10. Learning flourishes in a win-win, nonjudgmental environment. The norms of the training setting are violated by tests and grading procedures. Checking learning objectives is far more effective. Specifically as it applies to the professional training and development and the Human Resource (HR) training and development context, HR training initiatives that incorporate adult learning theory will focus on the following core areas of the training process: needs assessment, motivation, reinforcement, retention, transference, and evaluation. Each of these key aspects will be examined and applied in turn to the HR management training and development context.
Needs Assessment An effective training program begins with an honest assessment of the needs of the organization and the individual employee. Needs assessments are designed to provide input on how to best structure training programs to enhance organizational performance (Goldstein and Goldstein, 1991). A recent study found that only 27 percent of state agencies use needs assessments to plan their training programs (Gray, 1997). The rest of the agencies employed less formal methods in deciding which training
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programs to implement. Most organizations rely on managerial expertise to direct training programs. The best needs assessments occur on two levels: on a broad organizational level and on a personal individual level. The organization should first align training programs with organizational objectives. This requires the organization to commit to specific goals and critically analyze as to why or why not the organization is meeting those goals. Once the organization highlights specific objectives that its personnel need, it should conduct a careful analysis of individual needs. Not all employees within an organization may need training, while other may need significantly more (Goldstein and Goldstein, 1991). Mary Carolan (1993) suggests three steps to needs assessment – Identify, Analyze, and Research. x x
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Identify- First, those in leadership positions should identify job specific skills that need to be improved within the organization. Analyze- Second, the audience should be analyzed. The training program should be tailored to fit specific needs of individuals and departments. Knowledge and ability should be considered as well as motivation. Research- Finally, managers and HR professionals should research to “develop specific, measurable knowledge and performance objectives.”
One method of needs assessment is “training gap analysis.” David Chauldron (1996) proposed that human resource managers should define the gap between current employee knowledge and knowledge that the employee will need to know in the future. While Chauldron uses “training gap analysis” in the context of training due to corporate restructuring, this approach may be used in any training environment. First, the manager should let the employees know the organization is serious about training and development. The manager should take active involvement in the training process. Second, the manager needs to critically assess the informational needs of the organization. The manager should know how each position operates and have a general idea of what information operators of each position need in order to function. This assessment and implementatio n occurs before actual training in order to present the employee with a better understanding of his/her position. Finally, managers should know what skill sets and knowledge each individual needs to excel at his/her position. Training programs will focus on deficiencies in those areas (Chauldron, 1996).
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The future of effective employee training programs depends first on successful needs assessments. Without this step in the training development process, managers will find themselves wasting valuable time and resources training employees in irrelevant areas. Needs assessment provides a foundation upon which managers and corporate leaders can build a solid and useful training program.
Motivation The next logical step in looking at the role of adult learning in the HR training context is the individual motivation of the adult. In order for the training and development efforts of an organization to be successful, employees must be motivated to learn and develop new skills and competencies. When employees have a high level of motivation, they will be more likely to take in new knowledge and seek opportunities to apply it. At least six factors serve as sources of motivation for adult learning (Lieb , 1991): x
x
x
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Social relationships: to make new friends, to meet a need for associations and friendships. When adults see social benefits to a potential training or learning experience, they will be far more likely to participate in a meaningful way. External expectations: to comply with instructions from someone else, to fulfill the expectations or recommendations of someone with formal authority. Authority can be a powerful motivator, and if employees feel like they have to participate because of their boss’s wishes, they will be more likely to enroll in training. Social welfare: to improve ability to serve mankind, prepare for service to the community, and improve ability to participate in community work. When adults have a clear perspective as to how the training will help society, they will be more likely to participate. Personal advancement: to achieve higher status in a job, secure professional advancement, and stay abreast of competitors. Not all motivations are altruistic, and if employees can see the tie between training and job promotion or the betterment of their work situation, they will be more likely to participate in training. Escape/Stimulation: to relieve boredom, provide a break in the routine of home or work, and provide a contrast to other exacting details of life. When employees need some variety in their workday and to get away from the grind, they will be more likely to participate in training.
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Cognitive interest: to learn for the sake of learning, seek knowledge for its own sake, and to satisfy an inquiring mind. Some employees are life-long learners and love to learn. These individuals will take advantage of nearly all training opportunities presented to them.
The best way to motivate adult learners is simply to enhance their reasons for enrolling in a training program and decrease the barriers. In order to do this, managers must seriously consider employee needs in the design of the training program and learn why their employees are enrolled. Some common employee needs are advancement, maintaining job performance, and job security (Jurkiewics & Massey, 1997; Jurkiewics , 2000). Additionally, managers and instructors can motivate employees in several possible ways (Lieb, 1991): x
x
x
Set a feeling or tone for the lesson: Instructors should try to establish a friendly, open atmosphere that shows the participants they will help them learn. Set an appropriate level of concern: The level of tension must be adjusted to meet the level of importance of the objective. If the material has a high level of importance, a higher level of tension/stress should be established in the class. However, people learn best under low to moderate stress levels; if the stress is too high, it becomes a barrier to learning. Set an appropriate level of difficulty: The degree of difficult y should be set high enough to challenge participants but not so high that they become frustrated by information overload. The instruction should predict and reward participation, culminating in success.
Furthermore, managers have to discover what is keeping their employees from being motivated to learn. Some of these barriers include lack of time, money, confidence, or interest; lack of information about opportunities to learn; scheduling problems; "red tape;" and problems with childcare and transportation. After identifying the barriers to motivation, the managers and training instructors must plan their motivating strategies to overcome the barriers, primarily by showing adult learners the relationship between training and an expected promotion. Once entering the actual training scenario, if the training participant does not recognize the need for the information, all of the training efforts to assist the participant’s learning will likely be in vain. If a manager successfully identifies and understands employees’ motivators and barriers to learning,
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steps can be taken to help make the training a worthwhile and meaningfu l experience for all adult learners involved. Additionally, it must be understood that the training facilitator is a change agent. The trainer’s role is to present information or skills or to create an environment in which exploration can take place. The participants’ role is to take what is offered and apply it in a way that is relevant and best for them. The trainer’s responsibility is to facilitate. The participants’ responsibility is to learn.
Reinforcement The next major component of looking at the role of adult learning in the HR training context is reinforcement (often referred to as operant conditioning) which is a mode of learning by which a human or animal learns to associate an action or behavior with an event. B.F. Skinner (1953) originally developed this research with rats. In his experiment, every time the rats pushed a lever they would receive a reward. This reinforced the rats’ desired behavior. In order to more fully understand reinforcement, it is also important to understand Thorndike’s Law of Effect. This law states that “if a consequence is pleasant, the preceding behavior will become more frequent, and if a consequence is unpleasant, the behavior becomes less likely to occur” (Kodat, 2002). Many managers are taught to use this tactic with their adult employees. In fact, positive reinforcement has been cited as “The single most important factor in maintaining the behavior of trainees once they return to their jobs…. Positive reinforcement from immediat e supervisors is the most powerful maintenance system” (Michalak and Yager, 1979). However, reinforcement is only powerful if used correctly. The two major problems with reinforcement are inappropriate rewards and/or lack of consistency.
Inappropriate rewards It is important to be aware of the type of activities that are being reinforced. If the task seems menial, such as busy work, motivation may be compromised (Jenson et al, 2004). For example, an individual who was rewarded for doing a simple task would not feel the need to progress. Another example of inappropriate rewards is the trivially rewarding an individual for doing a great amount of work when in fact the individual did little or nothing.
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Lack of Consistency Like inappropriate rewards, lack of consistency can also cause problems. A study was conducted by P.L. Gunter in which he reported that when a teacher’s praise appeared to be a random event unrelated to the student’s behavior, it was sending the message of “curriculum of non-instruction” (Gunter et al., 1993). Essentially, this means that if the students were to act as they should, they would receive inconsistent positive reinforcement. However, when they were to act incorrectly, they would always be punished. The confusing actions of “non-instruction” mislead the adult learners. In addition, Jenson (2004) said that inconsistency in positive reinforcement affects a learner’s optimism. According to Jenson, optimis m is very important to learning because it is “linked to positive mood, perseverance, effective problem solving, and academic success.” Reinforcement, the power of praise, is a very powerful tool and quite possibly the “single most important factor” in adult learning. However, this will only be the case if it is used appropriately. Positive reinforcement must include appropriate rewards and consistency; then it will truly become an essential element to learning.
Retention Another key element of looking at the role of adult learning in the HR training context is retention. People commonly learn a piece of information , like a person’s name, and then soon forget it. Although people typically forget many things, training sessions should be designed so the employees can retain and use the knowledge and skills they learn. If employees forget the information they learn or do not practice the principles learned in their jobs, training sessions would be useless. Thankfully, there are many things that can be done to help adults learn and retain new information in training. For example, building on established knowledge, repeating information , and practicing new skills all help in retaining new information (Berman , 2001). Adult learners have a wide variety of life experiences that shape their interests and learning abilities. When developing a training session, a trainer should build on the learners’ experiences and established knowledge. By building on what the employees already know, the teacher provides a familiar context, which helps in retaining knowledge. Ralph C. Kennedy (2003) explains how to involve previous knowledge in training sessions:
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1. Instructors should use teaching techniques, such as group discussions, symposiums, debates, demonstrations, role-plays, and group projects, where learners have an opportunity to draw upon their previous experiences and to share them in cooperative interaction with others (p. 2). 2. Training sessions should build on the collective knowledge of the group to enhance the learning and retention of the entire group. Most people do not remember information after only being told once. To make the problem of forgetfulness worse, adults’ abilities to retain information decline as they age. Therefore, repetition is vital to retaining information. The rule of three states that a person only hears something after it has been said three times (Berman, 2001). In training meetings, important concepts and facts should be repeated many times to ensure that employees will hear and retain the information. Repetition is also important in practicing skills. The rule of seven states that a person must practice a skill seven times in order to master that skill (Berman, 2001). Repetition slows down the learning process for those people who do not understand the concepts quickly. Repetition also reinforces the knowledge of those who already understand the knowledge. Repetition aids people in both understanding information and retaining it. Practicing new skills is important in retaining knowledge and skills . According to Kennedy, “Recall shortly after learning reduces the amount of forgetting, and spaced or distributed practice further facilitates retention” (Kennedy, 2003, p. 3). The more a skill is practiced, the easier it becomes and the more likely a person is to remember how to perform it. Therefore, training sessions should provide multiple opportunities to practice what is being taught. Opportunities to practice what was taught in previous training sessions should also be offered to provide more repetition. Practice opportunities should be placed directly after learning a concept or skill because the sooner a person practices the skills after learning them, the better that person will retain those skills. Practicing new skills is imperativ e in retaining the learned abilities.
Transference Related to retention is the issue of knowledge transference. Transference refers to one’s ability to use the information and skills attained through training in a new environment, ideally the work environment. Transference can be categorized into two types: positive and negative transference (Lieb, 1991).
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Positive Transference Simply put, positive transference occurs when trainees actually put into practice the techniques and procedures learned in the training. An examp le of positive transference would be an electrician practicing safety techniques in a lab and then going out into her job and implementing those safety techniques.
Negative Transference Negative transference, which is also a positive outcome, occurs when trainees avoid doing what they are trained not to do. An example of negative transference would be an employee at a movie theatre who refuses to let his friends in for free after been specifically trained not to do so.
Occurrences of Transference Several factors affect how much transference actually takes place in the workplace. Some of the factors that increase the likelihood of transference are (Lieb, 1991): x
Association- This refers to trainees being able to associate newly received information with something they already know. x Similarity- Like association, when trainees receive information that is similar to information already attained, they are more likely to benefit from transference. x Degree of Original Learning- This refers to the amount at which the trainee was able to engage in original learning, meaning trainees participated in learning original to themselves. x Critical Attribute Element- When the elements learned are extremely critical to the successful completion of the job, then transference is more likely. x Reinforcement- If desired behavior is reinforced, then the likelihood of transference from training to performance is increased.
Idealistically, the goal of training programs is for the highest possible amounts of transference to take place. If the factors above are taken into consideration and implemented when training adult learners in the organization, then the results will be positive.
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Evaluation In order to ensure that adults are learning effectively, training programs must be evaluated. Evaluation is to assign value to an object or process. In evaluating training then, it is important to know one's audience—the person or persons for whom the determination of value is to be made. There are several possible audiences for evaluation results. These include the trainees, their managers, the trainers and their managers, the executives of the organization wherein the training is taking place, members of the training profession, and even members of the larger community in which the organization is embedded (see Kirkpatrick, 1998; Paddock, 1997). Evaluation is often looked at from four different levels listed below. Note that as more levels are completed, the more valid the evaluation becomes (see Kirkpatrick, 1998). x Reaction - What does the learner feel about the training? x Learning - What facts, knowledge, etc., did the learner gain? x Behaviors - What skills did the learner develop, that is, what new information is the learner using on the job? x Results or Effectiveness - What results occurred, that is, did the learner apply the new skills to the necessary tasks in the organization, and if so, what results were achieved? Although level 4, evaluating results and effectiveness, is the most desired result from training, it is usually the most difficult to accomplish. Evaluating effectiveness often involves the use of key performance measures—measures one can observe (i.e. faster and more reliable output from the machine after the operator has been trained, higher ratings on employees' job satisfaction questionnaires from the trained supervisor, etc.). The following of such sound principles of performance management can be of great benefit to the organization (Kirkpatrick, 1998). Different evaluation approaches may be distinguished based on the nature of the evaluation process. Ideally, managers should assess employee skills against a control group of those workers who did not receive training. When such control groups are not available, then the use of pre and posttraining should be done. One example of post-training is the usage of role playing and simulation. Simulation allows managers and employees to replicate on-the-job scenarios without disrupting the actual work environment. Simulation also helps trainees learn new technological advances and allows manager to assess the trainees’ performance under real-life situations. Effective simulation requires imitation of real-life
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conditions and problems with ample time for trainees to acquire and learn new skills required for the job (Paddock, 1997). Simply put, managers need to evaluate the training in one form or another to assess their employees or perspective employees. By doing so, managers will ensure that these adult learners are meeting the standards that are set by an organization.
Conclusion Adults learn differently than young people for many different reasons. Therefore, adult learning theory can become a valuable tool when implemented in professional training and development programs. This paper has dealt with the core principles of adult learning theory and how these principles affect current and future training strategies. Additionally, in order to effectively integrate adult learning theory, the elements of needs assessment, motivation, reinforcement, retention, transference, and evaluation all must be adequately applied to any Human Resource training and development initiative. Only when previsions are made to ensure the successful application and implementation of each of these areas will various organizational training programs and initiatives have the opportunity to succeed.
References Berman, Evan M. et al. 2001. Human Resource Management in Public Service: Paradoxes, Processes, and Problems. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, California. Carolan M. 1993. “Today’s training basics: Some new golden rules.” HR Focus, Vol 70(4) p. 18. Chauldron, D. 1996. “Don’t Overload the Horse.” HR Focus, Vol 73(1), p. 10-12. Goad, T.W. 1982. Delivering effective training. San Diego, CA: Pfeiffer & Company. Goldstein, E.P. and Goldstein, H. 1991. “Needs Assessment,” in Developing Human Resources, ed. K. N. Wexley, (Washington DC: Buareau of National Affairs): 5-35 to 5-75. Gray, Hall, Miller, & Shasky. 1997. Public Personnel Management, 187203. As referenced by Berman, Bowman, West, & Van Wart (2001) Human Resource Management in Public Service. Gunter, P.L., Denny, R.K., Jack, S.L., Shores, R.E., & Nelson, C.M. 1993. “Aversive stimuli in academic interactions between students with
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serious emotional disturbance and their teachers.” Behavior Disorders, 19, p. 265–274. Hanson, P.G. 1981. Learning through groups: A trainer’s basic guide. San Diego, CA: Pfeiffer & Company. Jenson, W., Olympia, D., Farley, M., & Clark, E. 2004. “Positive Psychology and Externalizing Students in a Sea of Negativity.” Psychology in the Schools, Vol. 41(1), Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jurkiewicz, C. 2000. “Generation X and the public employee.” Public Personnel Management, 29(1), p. 55-75. Jurkiewicz, C., and Massey, T. 1997. “What motivates municipal employees: A comparison study of supervisory vs. non-supervisory personnel?” Public Personnel Management, 26(3), p. 367-377. Kennedy, Ralph C. 2003. “Applying Principles of Adult Learning: The Key to More Effective Training Programs.” FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. Kirkpatrick, D. 1998. Evaluating training programs: The four levels. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler. Kodat, Rebecca. 2002. “Psychology operant conditioning.” PageWise, Inc.
Lieb, S. 1991. “Principles of Adult Learning.” Accessed on-line March 20, 2004 at http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/ guidebk/teachtip/adults-2.htm> Michalak, D.F., & Yager, E.G. 1979. Making the training process work. New York: Harper & Row. Paddock, S. 1997. “Administrative benchmarks in management training.” Public Productivity & Management Review, 21(2), p. 192-202. Skinner, B.F. 1953. Science and Human Behavior. New York: The Free Press. Originally published: Westover, Jonathan H. 2009. "Lifelong Learning: Effective Adult Learning Strategies and Implementation for Working Professionals." The International Journal of Learning: Annual Review 16 (1): 435444. doi:10.18848/1447-9494/CGP/v16i01/46102.