Determinants of faculty attitudes toward collective bargaining in university graduate departments: An organizational climate approach

This study examines the relationship between some facets of organizational climate in university departments and faculty attitudes toward various aspects of faculty unionization. The dimensions of organizational climate explored are: the perceived power structure, assessment of rewards, and perceived organizational goals. The major findings of this study are: (a) The perceived power structure is an important determinant of attitudes toward an egalitarian system, especially in the social sciences. Perceived individual power is negatively related to egalitarian attitude in the physical sciences whereas perceived faculty group power is negatively related to favorable attitudes toward collective bargaining in the social sciences. (b) Perceived emphasis on consulting activities is positively related to attitudes toward seniority-based aspects of collective bargaining in the physical sciences while perceived emphasis on personal factors is positively related to all aspects of attitude toward collective bargaining in the social sciences. (c) Inequity is positively related to attitudes toward unionization both in the physical and social sciences. The policy implications of these findings to faculty and university administration are discussed.     

INFLUENCE OF ASCRIBED AND ACHIEVED SOCIAL STATUSES,VALUES, AND REWARDS ON JOB SATISFACTION AMONG COMMUNITY COLLEGE FACULTY

Research on job satisfaction among community college faculty has been largely atheoretical. The present study examined the contribution of four sets of factors to explaining faculty job satisfaction in the community college. According to Kalleberg's (1977) theory of job satisfaction, employee's affective reactions to their jobs are largely determined by ascribed social statuses, achieved social statuses, job values, and job rewards. A random sample was drawn of 371 full‐time faculty from a multi‐campus community college district located in a metropolitan area in the Southwest. Nonresponses and partial responses resulted in an effective sample size of 261. A correlation analysis revealed that institutional age and physical safety job value were significantly, inversely related to job satisfaction and that all job rewards were significantly, positively related to job satisfaction. A simultaneous multiple regression analysis indicated that institutional age was a significant, inverse predictor of job satisfaction and that chronological age, and the good supervision and work itself job rewards were significant, positive predictors of job satisfaction. Of the variation in job satisfaction scores accounted for by all predictors, approximately 5% may be attributed to ascribed and achieved social statuses and to job values, and 48% to job rewards. For faculty in the district we surveyed, the keys to promoting job satisfaction would be to enhance the satisfying aspects of the work itself and good supervision. Programs which afford faculty who are less than satisfied with their jobs opportunities to be “origins” rather than “pawns” may be beneficial.     

Organizational climate and faculty attitudes toward collective bargaining: A university in a major labor dispute

The present study attempts to broaden Neumann's (1979) original study, which included only universities with favorable labor relations, and to assess the role of organizational climate in predicting and explaining faculty attitudes toward collective bargaining at a college facing severe labor problems. The major findings of this study are the following. First, the perceived power structure is the dominant predictor of attitudes toward unionization at the university in a labor dispute. The magnitude of relationships between perceived power and collective bargaining attitudes is noticeably stronger at the university with unfavorable labor relations than at universities with favorable labor relations. Second, inequity is related to some aspects of collective bargaining and is not related to others. Third, perceived goals do not effect faculty attitudes toward unionization. The implications of these findings are discussed and elaborated.     

Internationalization of Canadian Agriculture: Policy and Governing Paradigms

Abstract

Purpose: To identify various organizational climatic factors responsible for role performances of veterinary officers in Andhra Pradesh, India.

Design/methodology/approach: Study was conducted in 11 selected districts. Data were collected from 220 respondents through a pretested interview schedule and subjected to correlation and multiple regression to draw valid inferences. Organizational climate was measured by using the index specially prepared for the study.

Findings: Around 76% of the respondents perceived that the organizational climate prevailing in the department of animal husbandry was favorable. Leadership, teamwork and trust had significant contribution towards perception of organizational climate. The respondents were least satisfied with motivation, decision-making and goal setting components of the organizational climate. The model with seven variables out of 16 independent variables was a good fit with R square of 85.59%. Work motivation, persistence disposition, participativeness, job satisfaction, physical facilities availability and timeliness of availability of facilities were found to have significant positive influence while job stress had significant negative influence on perceived organizational climate.

Practical implications: This investigation has an organizational and social significance for development of livestock organizations not only in India, but also to other SAARC countries as well.

Originality/value: No empirical evidence on inter-relation between organizational climate and job performance of veterinarians is available at present in Andhra Pradesh.     

Wage equity and female faculty job satisfaction: The role of wage differentials in a job satisfaction causal model

The present study examined the role of female/male wage differentials in a model of job satisfaction. Female/male wage differentials were initially derived in a manner designed to eliminate much of past discriminatory practices. Subsequently, wage differentials were incorporated in a causal model to predict multiple aspects of academic job satisfaction for female faculty. It was hypothesized that the magnitude of the gender-based wage differential not only affected global job satisfaction but also intentions to remain in the academy, perceived stress level, perceptions of collegiality, and perception of the institution among female faculty. The findings indicated that as gender-based wage differentials increased, global job satisfaction of female faculty decreased. This significant effect was manifested predominantly through faculty perceptions of the institution.     

Seeking Balance: The Importance of Environmental Conditions in Men and Women Faculty’s Well-being

Faculty retention is of increasing importance in the current economic climate. We examined the role of an institution’s environmental conditions (e.g., climate, collegiality, and administration) in faculty well-being (i.e., job satisfaction, intent to leave, emotional and physical health). Women reported significantly lower well-being and a more negative perception of all environmental conditions than men. Intriguingly, for both men and women, the more institutional support perceived by faculty members for work-life integration, the more positive their well-being. Policies that support work-life integration, often viewed as merely a “women’s issue,” may encourage the retention of both men and women faculty members.     

Analysis of job satisfaction of university professors from nine Chinese universities

Research on work life and job satisfaction of university professors is becoming an important research issue in the field of higher education. This study used questionnaires administered to 1 770 teachers from different levels, types, and academic fields of Chinese universities to investigate job satisfaction among university professors and the relationship between job satisfaction of university professors and the organizational characteristics of the university. The job satisfaction of Chinese university professors includes six dimensions: career development and school management, teaching and research services, salary, benefits and logistical services, professional reputation, teaching and research facilities, and the work itself. The overall job satisfaction levels are close to average, with salary and benefits receiving the lowest level of satisfaction. The organizational characteristics of universities, such as school type, school level, academic field, organizational climate, evaluation orientation, and school management, all have significant effects on the overall job satisfaction of university professors. The organizational climate and school level affect all six dimensions of job satisfaction among university professors.     

Profiles of Organizational Culture and Effective Schools∗

This study intends to investigate how school organizational culture is related to important organizational characteristics and observe how the profiles of strong culture‐effective schools are different from those of weak culture‐ineffective schools in terms of organizational variables (such as principal's leadership, organizational structure, and teachers’ social interactions), teachers’ job attitudes, and school effectiveness criteria. It is a cross‐sectional survey research involving 54 randomly sampled Hong Kong secondary schools and 588 teachers. The unit of analysis is the school.

Organizational ideology index was found to be substantially correlated with schools’ perceived organizational effectiveness. Among the 10 measures of these organizational variables, teachers’ esprit and principal's charismatic leadership can contribute substantially to the prediction of school's strength of organizational culture. The organizational profile of perceived strong culture‐effective schools is contrastingly different from that of perceived weak culture‐ineffective schools. The findings suggest that difference in organizational culture can be reflected at least in three overt levels: 1. organizational level in terms of principal's leadership behaviors, organizational formalization and participation, and teachers’ social norms; 2. teachers’ attitudinal level in terms of organizational commitment, social job satisfaction, intrinsic job satisfaction, and influence job satisfaction; and 3. school effectiveness level in terms of perceived overall organizational effectiveness and academic achievements in public examinations.

The findings reinforce the importance of organizational culture to the ongoing effort and discussion of school improvement and school effectiveness.

     

A Study of Teacher Job Satisfaction and Factors That Influence It

Research on job satisfaction, an extremely important topic in organizational administration and social psychology, has a history of nearly sixty years, beginning with the publication of Hoppock's (1935) classic work. The study of organization administration and behavioral sciences started fairly late on the Chinese mainland. There are few studies on job satisfaction, and even fewer in the educational field. This study is an exploration into the current situation using questionnaires and interviews. We propose the following major factors affecting teacher satisfaction.     

Organizational climate and teachers' job satisfaction in a multi-cultural milieu: The case of the Bedouin Arab schools in Israel

This study examines the relationship between job satisfaction and organizational climate in the elementary schools of the Bedouin Arab community in southern Israel. The school represents a relatively new organization, of Western origin, in this very traditional Arab community, which is now a part of the modern, western-oriented state of Israel. The job satisfaction questionnaire used in this study was based upon Wanous and Lawler's [Wanous, J. P. and Lawler, E. E. III (1972) Measurement and meaning of job satisfaction. Journal of Applied Psychology 56, 95–105] questionnaire, and the organizational climate questionnaire was based upon Horowitz and Zak's [Horowitz, T. and Zak, I. (1979) Recruiting Patterns, Attrition and Persistence in Teaching. The Szold Institute, Publication No. 585, Jerusalem, Israel (in Hebrew)] questionnaire. All Negev Bedouin elementary schools were included in the study. Based on the factor analysis, two job satisfaction factors and five organizational climate factors emerged. The results revealed teachers' satisfaction with work itself as the dominant job satisfaction factor, and principal leadership as the dominant organizational climate factor. The findings of the multiple regression further revealed that: (1) the organizational climate factors of principal leadership and autonomy on the job were significantly related to teachers' satisfaction with work itself; and (2) the interaction between principal leadership and teachers' intimacy was significantly related to both job satisfaction factors (work itself and social needs).     

Occupational Well-being Among University Faculty: A Job Demands-Resources Model

The effects of changing academic environments on faculty well-being have attracted considerable research attention. However, few studies have examined the multifaceted relationships between the academic work environment and the multiple dimensions of faculty well-being using a comprehensive theoretical framework. To address this gap, this study implemented the Job Demands-Resources (JDR) model to investigate how job demands/resources in the academic environment interact with multiple dimensions of faculty well-being. The study participants were 1389 full-time faculty members employed in public universities in the Czech Republic. The participants completed a questionnaire assessing perceived job resources (influence over work, support from supervisor and colleagues), job demands (quantitative demands, work-family conflicts and job insecurity) and three dimensions of faculty well-being (job satisfaction, stress and work engagement). A structural equation model was used to test the effects of “dual processes” hypothesized by the JDR theory, i.e., the existence of two relatively independent paths between job demands/resources and positive/negative aspects of faculty well-being. The model showed a very good fit to our data and explained 60% of the variance in faculty job satisfaction, 46%, in stress and 20% in work engagement. The results provide evidence for the dual processes, including the “motivational process” (i.e., job resources were related predominantly to work engagement and job satisfaction) and the “health impairment process” (i.e., job demands were predominantly associated with stress, mostly through work-family conflict). The study expands current research on faculty well-being by demonstrating the complex, non-linear relationships between academic work environments and different dimensions of faculty well-being.     

Determinants of faculty salary in prestigious versus less-prestigious departments: A comparative study of academic disciplines

This study examines the role of research performance and seniority in determining faculty salary in university graduate departments. Four fields were studied: chemistry, physics, political science, and sociology. Seniority was found to be positively related to the pay structure in most of these fields and in most of the prestige levels, though slightly more so in the social sciences. Overall, research performance dimensions were found to be the major predictors of salary. Articles are most effective in predicting salary in the physical sciences and least effective in the social sciences. The reverse is true regarding published books.The applicability of these findings to university administration is discussed and potential changes in the reward systems are elaborated.     

Estimating the economic payoff to virtual university education: a case study of the Open University of Catalonia

This study extends the scope of research that examines the connection between physical attractiveness and student perception through a survey analysis. While other studies concentrate on physical attractiveness alone, we examined not only perceptions of attractiveness but its impact on students’ perception of knowledge, approachability and faculty selection in a hypothetical course. Using ordered logistic regression, logistic regression and ordinary least squares regression to examine the interaction between age, attractiveness, knowledge and approachability, our findings show that younger faculty members are perceived as more approachable and more attractive, while older faculty members are perceived as more knowledgeable. Faculty perceived as more attractive are also perceived to be more approachable. Further, we test the impact that these results have on faculty selection in a hypothetical course and find that students are more likely to select an attractive and approachable faculty member to take a course with, regardless of perceived knowledge of the faculty member. Overall, although the perception of beauty may be cursory, its results may not be when considering the primacy effect, role model effect and teaching effectiveness assessment.     

The Effects of Faculty Demographic Characteristics and Disciplinary Context on Dimensions of Job Satisfaction

This study applies Kalleberg’s framework to better understand the effects of diverse demographic faculty characteristics on dimensions of job satisfaction. We also extend his work and the work of others to explore the contextual effects of academic disciplines on faculty job satisfaction. We find that women are consistently less satisfied than their male colleagues and that the effect of being female varies by discipline on levels of job satisfaction. We also find race/ethnicity has mixed effects on dimensions of job satisfaction but the effects of race/ethnicity tend to be constant across discipline. Our findings hold important implications for those seeking to understand the experiences of college faculty from diverse demographic backgrounds.     

The relationship between school’s organizational climate and teacher’s job satisfaction: Malaysian experience

The purpose of this paper was to examine the relationship between school organizational climate and teachers’ job satisfaction. A quantitative survey method was applied, and three broadly hypothesized relationships were tested with a sample of 245 teachers from six government secondary schools in district of Penampang, Sabah, Malaysia. The instrument used in this study was the modified version for combination of two questionnaires: Organizational Climate Index and the Teachers’ Job Satisfaction Questionnaire. The findings indicated that there is a significant positive relationship between school organizational climate and teachers’ job satisfaction. The teachers in this study were found to be fairly satisfied with their job, with the responsibility factor as the biggest contributor to job satisfaction. This study found that there is no significant difference in levels of job satisfaction between the teachers’ gender (male and female). Based on the years of service in their current school, there was a statically significant difference in the level of job satisfaction among the teachers. These findings revealed that the secondary schools in Sabah have a positive and open climate, with the professional teachers’ behaviour factor as the biggest contributor. The results of this study indicate the necessity to provide positive organizational climate and up keeping teachers’ job satisfaction by policy makers and principals with hope in enhancing the quality of schools in Malaysia.     

高校海归教师首聘期工作满意度演进:1979-2017年的实证研究

改革开放以来,海归人才已成为高校教师队伍中的重要组成部分。对不同年代归国教师的首聘期工作满意度及其变化趋势、影响因素进行分析,是对高校人才政策环境和海外引才效果的检验。课题组以全国48所研究型大学1979-2017年期间归国的541名教师为样本,开展问卷调查。研究发现,过去40年海归教师首聘期总体满意度水平不高。通过对四个时期多维度满意度的量化分析发现:薪酬待遇和文化适应等方面的满意度存在显著差异;随着时间的推移,工作自主性、压力和科研团队等方面的满意度呈现下降趋势;薪酬待遇满意度的平均水平最低,但近年来已略有提升。基于研究发现,提出增加海归教师工作自主性和职业认同感、提高基础薪资和建立稳定的薪酬增长机制等建议。     

The impact of role conflict,role ambiguity and organizational climate on the job satisfaction of academic staff in research-intensive universities in the UK

This study focuses on academics in research-intensive universities in the UK and explores their perceptions of organizational climate, role conflict, role ambiguity and job satisfaction. The findings suggest that the universities have multiple organizational climates. Three organizational climate types – the Clan, the Hierarchy and the Adhocracy – were associated with lower levels of role stress. However, the Market climate was associated with higher levels of role conflict. Only the Clan-type climate was directly related to high levels of job satisfaction. It appears that despite the changes in the styles of management in universities, the collegial/Clan climate is still a very important contributor to the satisfaction of academic staff.     

The reward-support framework and faculty commitment to their university

The present study examined faculty commitment to their university across hard and soft sciences and across pure and applied fields. Within each field, faculty commitment was separately examined for each career stage and for each level of research productivity. Furthermore, this study assessed (separately for each field) the relative powers of rewards and support variables, derived from the exchange framework, in explaining faculty commitment. A stratified random sample of 40 U.S. research university departments, 10 each in physics, sociology, electrical engineering, and education, was surveyed by means of a questionnaire. The major findings of the study suggest that the reward-support framework plays a meaningful role, although distinctly different for hard and soft sciences, in determining faculty commitment to their university in each of the four fields. The relative power of rewards in explaining faculty commitment is stronger in hard sciences and weaker in soft sciences whereas a reversed pattern is found for support indicators. In addition, faculty commitment to their university varies across fields, career stages, and levels of research productivity (only for hard sciences).     

Not Your Child's Playground: Workplace Bullying Among Community College Faculty

Community colleges have provided an entree into higher education for many women. Yet, women faculty perceive the overall climate of community colleges as “chilly.” To deconstruct the interpersonal dynamics that may lead to perceptions of a chilly climate, this study examines the prevalence of workplace bullying among and between community college faulty. The purpose is to understand the nature of harassment, the ways in which women define and respond to it, and the importance of contextual factors in the prevalence. Workplace bullying is a form of interpersonal aggression that has implications for how individuals perceive the organizational climate, job productivity, and job satisfaction. Findings from this study indicate that workplace bullying among faculty includes many subtle practices characterized by informal and formal use of power, faculty workplace bullying is affected by several enabling structures specific to the context, and victims typically respond with avoidance. This study has implications for harassment policies, faculty involvement in institutional governance, and the gendered nature of interpersonal dynamics.     

Faculty perceptions of deans' and department chairpersons' management functions

The present study examined the patterns of perceived management functions of deans and department chairpersons in three schools: social sciences, physical sciences and medical school. In all schools, deans were perceived as paying utmost attention to outside activities, and least attention to inside activities. The study explored the relationships between personal career data and scales of perceived managerial functions on one hand, and between job satisfaction and management functions on the other hand. Articles were found to be negatively correlated with perceptions of managerial functions in all schools. Seniority, rank, and tenure were positively associated with inside activities of the dean and the chairperson in the social sciences. Managerial functions were positively related especially to satisfaction with governance. The implications of the results were discussed and elaborated.