Locus of Control and Hostility: Sex Differences

The Nowicki-Strickland Internal-External locus of control scale and the Hostility and Direction of Hostility Questionnaire were administered to 35 male and 35 female college students. In both the total sample and the female sample, significant correlations were observed between locus of control and hostility with an external locus of control being associated with greater hostility. Although locus of control was significantly related to all of the hostility scores in the female sample, the male sample generally showed no significant relationship between locus of control and hostility. The sex differences in the data and the possibility of item overlap between the locus of control and hostility measures are discussed.     

Organizational Politics and Work Identity as Predictors of Organizational Commitment

Building on the organizational-politics (Kaemar & Baron, 1999) and social-identity (Hogg & Terry, 2000) literatures, we examined the moderating effect of work identity on the organizational-politics/organizational-commitment relationship. Data collected from 500 employees of a data-reporting organization and 943 employees of a customer-service organization indicate that employees who identified primarily with their occupations were less affected by the level of perceived politics in the organization in the consideration of their commitment than were employees who identified primarily with their employing organizations or one of its units. Implications for research and management practice are discussed.     

Locus of Control and Delay of Gratification As Moderators of Employee Turnover1

Main effects of personality on turnover have generally been weak. However, little previous research has considered its indirect effects. Personality may moderate the determinants of turnover. Using a sample of 192 hospital employees, this study examined the moderating effects of locus of control and ability to delay need gratification on the immediate determinants of turnover proposed by Mobley, Griffeth, Hand, and Meglino (1979). The findings generally indicated that the relative strength of the determinants of turnover varied as predicted. Implications for employee retention are discussed.     

Gender Differences in Delay of Gratification: A Meta-Analysis

A series of meta-analyses were conducted to test Bjorklund and Kipp's hypothesis that due to selection pressures operating during evolution, women and girls are better able than men and boys to delay gratification (Bjorklund & Kipp, 1996). A total of 38 effect sizes were derived from 33 studies in which participants made one or more choices between a small (or less preferred) immediate reward and a large (or more preferred) delayed reward. Overall, there was a small female advantage (r = .058). Further analyses revealed that the female advantage was larger when continuous measures (r = .096) rather than dichotomous measures were used (r = .021). No evidence was found for the gender gap changing systematically with age. Discussion focuses primarily on alternative explanations for the gender difference found here. Consideration is also given to how the female advantage in delay of gratification might be reflected in real-life situations.     

Predictors of Occupational and Organizational Commitment in Information Technology: Exploring Gender Differences and Similarities

Purpose

Despite growing demand, the information technology (IT) field suffers from a labor shortage compounded by the underrepresentation of women in the IT field. This study examined predictors of occupational and organizational commitment outcomes among IT professionals and explored gender differences and similarities in the relative importance of predictors.

Design/Methodology/Approach

1,229 IT professionals provided web-based survey data, which were analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling and relative weight analysis.

Findings

Satisfaction with growth opportunities, job security, job stress, and work–family culture generally were related to commitment outcomes as expected, accounting for the greatest variance in organizational commitment. Relative weights for men and women differed in the prediction of occupational commitment, where growth satisfaction and work–family culture were weighted more strongly by women and job stress was more strongly weighted by men. For organizational commitment, the relative weights among predictors were similar for men and women, except that men weighted job security more strongly than women.

Implications

Findings suggest that garnering commitment to the IT field requires a gender-specific approach, highlighting growth and work–family support for women and addressing job stress for men. Increasing organizational commitment for both men and women calls for an emphasis on opportunities for growth and development.

Originality/Value

This is the first study to simultaneously examine predictors for organizational and occupational commitment among IT professionals and to assess the relative importance of predictors discussed in the extant literature. Results inform efforts to increase retention in the IT field and provide guidance for improving the representation of women in IT.     

组织职业生涯管理对职业承诺和工作满意度的影响 ——职业延迟满足的中介作用分析

以321名企业员工为被试,通过自编的职业延迟满足问卷,考察了企业员工的职业延迟满足在组织职业生涯管理对职业承诺、工作满意度影响过程中的中介作用。结果表明：职业延迟满足与组织职业生涯管理、职业承诺、工作满意度存在显著正相关;工作年限等人口统计学变量对职业延迟满足没有显著的预测作用;公平晋升、注重培训对职业延迟满足有显著的预测作用;职业延迟满足在组织职业生涯管理对职业承诺、工作满意度影响过程中存在中介作用;在结构方程模型中,职业延迟满足在公平晋升、注重培训与职业承诺、工作满意度之间存在中介作用;而职业延迟满足在职业发展与职业承诺、工作满意度之间不存在中介作用     

Job Satisfaction,Organizational Commitment,and Religious Commitment of Full-Time University Employees

This study investigated the relationship of job satisfaction and organizational and religious commitment among full time workers at Akra University (a pseudonym) based on a number of demographic factors. Analysis of variance using the Games-Howell procedure revealed that workers who were older than age 46 years had higher job satisfaction and organizational and religious commitment than younger employees. It was also noted that workers holding doctoral degrees had higher levels of job satisfaction and religious commitment than individuals with a high school diploma only. It was evident that the longer employees stayed at this institution, the higher the levels of organizational commitment and extrinsic job satisfaction, and administrators and sector managers had higher levels of intrinsic job satisfaction and religious commitment than those in other occupational areas.     

Satisfaction with Initial Work Assignment and Organizational Commitment1

The present study examined the moderating effects of role stressors on the relationship between initial work assignment satisfaction and organizational commitment. Moderated multiple regression analyses on data collected from 76 employees of an American military Research and Development (R&D) laboratory indicated that initial work assignment satisfaction accounted for little variance in commitment among workers low in role conflict but considerable variance among workers high in role conflict. However, role ambiguity had no moderating effect on the initial work assignment satisfaction-commitment relationship.     

An Examination of Satisfaction With My Supervisor and Organizational Commitment

This paper reports an examination of the relationship between satisfaction with one's supervisor and organizational commitment type based on data collected from nonmanagerial employees. The results show that moral and alienative forms of commitment were related to employees' satisfaction with their supervisors and that calculative commitment was not related. Supervisor behaviors related to moral commitment include consistency of behavior toward subordinates, showing concern for career progress, backing up employees with other managers, and employees' satisfaction with the supervisor's technical competence. Supervisor behaviors related to alienative commitment include the way one's supervisor treats an individual when he or she makes a mistake, the way the supervisor shows concern for one's career progress, and the way one's job responsibilities are defined.     

Locus of Control and Academic Engagement: Mediating Role of Religious Commitment

Earlier studies have shown that locus of control is related to academic processes and outcomes. However, the nature of the relationship between locus of control, religious commitment, and academic engagement is unclear. This study examined the mediating role of religious commitment in linking locus of control with academic engagement, as well as the engagement dimensions - vigour, dedication, and absorption. Four hundred and eight university students completed the Locus of Control Behaviour Scale, Religious Commitment Inventory and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale – Student version. Locus of control was found to be positively related to the outcome variables. Intrapersonal religious commitment was positively related to the outcome variables. Interpersonal religious commitment did not have a significant relationship with vigour and absorption but it was significantly related to dedication and the total scores of academic engagement. Structural equation modelling analyses indicated significant paths from locus of control to academic engagement through both intrapersonal religious commitment and interpersonal religious commitment. Locus of control and religious commitment are suggested to be relevant in programmes and interventions to enhance academic engagement.     

The Effects of Person-Environment Fit and External Locus of Control on Organizational Affective Commitment: a Study of Immigrant Wives in Taiwan

The National Immigration Agency of Taiwan reported that, by 2014, more than 498,000 immigrant spouses were registered in Taiwanese households, 91 % of which was female. Immigrant wives are now a significant part of Taiwanese society, and they are an important aspect of the labor force in Taiwan’s economy. However, they face major challenges in the workplace, which influences their work outcomes, results in a reduced labor force for enterprises, and increases societal costs. This pioneering study employed the person-environment fit and locus of control concepts from the organizational behavior field to address this issue. A sample of 130 immigrant wives from Indonesia and Vietnam living in Taiwan was surveyed. The results of a hierarchical regression analysis found that immigrant wives’ person-job fit and person-supervisor fit significantly influenced their affective commitments to their workplaces. An external locus of control significantly weakened the relationship between person-environment fit and affective commitment. The contributions and implications of the study results were discussed.     

Organizational Commitment,Job Satisfaction,and Effort in the Service Environment

Investigations of the causal relationship between organizational commitment and job satisfaction have yielded contradictory findings. Little empirical research has looked at this complex relationship in the context of work effort. The purpose of this study was to determine how these variables interact in the service environment. Using a sample of 425 employees in two service organizations, the author tested two structural equation models. The hypothesized model with organizational commitment as a moderator between job satisfaction and service effort fit better than a model with job satisfaction as moderator did. Conceptual implications are discussed, and suggestions for future research are made.     

The Role of Pay Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment in Turnover Intentions: A Two-Sample Study

This paper reports the results of a two-sample study—a sample of medical reps from pharmaceutical companies (N = 232) and a sample of respondents from multiple organizations (N = 221)—of the relationships between pay satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intentions. Hypotheses were tested using a multidimensional perspective on both pay satisfaction and organizational commitment. Results from both samples show that the effect of pay satisfaction on intended turnover is fully mediated by affective commitment and perceived sacrifice commitment. Pay satisfaction is also significantly related to normative commitment but the latter has no influence on the outcome. Finally, in the sample of medical reps, pay satisfaction significantly reduces commitment based on lack of employment alternatives, a finding that is interpreted in light of the characteristics of pay systems in pharmaceutical companies. Future directions on compensation satisfaction and commitment research are discussed.     

Personal and Organizational Responses to Work-Nonwork Interface as Related to Organizational Commitment

This research examined how the response of employees and organizations to the mutual influences between work and other domains was related to 2 forms of organizational commitment (OC): commitment to the local unit and commitment to the head office. All 720 employees of a school district in Western Canada were surveyed by mail questionnaires. Three hundred usable questionnaires were returned, a response rate of 42%. The findings showed that nonwork domain variables affected OC. Positive nonwork-to-work spillover and organizational responses to nonwork, namely separation and respect, were related to commitment to the head office and individual coping strategies were related to commitment to the local unit. The paper concludes with conceptual implications regarding research on OC.     

Relationships Among Job Involvement,Job Satisfaction,and Organizational Commitment for Nurses

The relationships among a cluster of attitudes toward work and job were investigated using a sample of 171 nurses. The hypothesis was that involvement in work and job, commitment to the employing organization, and satisfaction with the job (overall, and with specific facets of the job) would be significantly correlated. The results showed that involvement was not related to overall satisfaction but only to two specific facets, satisfaction with work and promotion opportunities. In contrast, the degree of relationship between overall and various facets of satisfaction and commitment and between involvement and commitment was moderately high.     

职业生涯高原对员工工作满意度、组织承诺、离职意愿的影响

职业生涯高原是指个体在当前组织中职业生涯发展的停滞。在控制人口统计学变量以及同一方法偏差的基础上,研究发现职业生涯高原的不同维度对不同组织效果变量有不同影响。（1）层级高原对员工工作满意度和组织承诺并没有显著负向影响,但会增加员工离职的可能性。不过,层级高原对员工离职意愿的影响受到工龄的调节;（2）内容高原对员工的工作满意度、组织承诺均具有显著负向影响,并增加员工离开组织的可能性;（3）中心化高原对员工的工作满意度、组织承诺均具负向影响,但对员工离职意愿却没有显著影响     

Delay of Gratification: Mothers' Predictions About Four Attentional Techniques

Mothers' predictions about the ability of their own children to delay gratification using different techniques were investigated. Fifty-one mothers of children 4 to 6 years old were asked to evaluate distraction, thinking about the incentive, tasting the incentive, and a control. These conditions were derived from the research of Mischel and his associates (1974), who demonstrated the effectiveness of distraction in aiding children's delay behavior. Parents were predicted to expect delay to be enhanced by the distraction technique and hampered by the thinking about the incentive and tasting the incentive techniques, with the latter being the least effective. Contrary to our predictions, mothers failed to predict effectiveness of distraction compared with the two incentive-focused techniques. Reasons are advanced for more research on parents' knowledge and valuing of metacognitive strategies appropriate for their children.     

Predictors of Health Locus of Control in Older Adults

Health locus of control has been shown to influence how individuals approach their health and health-related decisions. The present study examined the variables predictive of older adults’ health locus of control. A total of 261 adults aged 54–84 years completed a questionnaire about their health, approach to health, and background information about themselves. The results revealed that demographic indicators, health-related variables, and psychological variables—particularly health risk tolerance, future time perspective, health self-efficacy, and emotional instability—were related to older adults’ health locus of control. Findings have implications for programs aimed at modifying older adults’ health locus of control.     

Predictors of Coping with Work Stress: The Influences of Sex,Gender Role,Social Desirability,and Locus of Control

This investigation examined the influence of 4 personal attributes—sex, gender role, social desirability, and locus of control—as predictors of coping with work stress. Participants were 208 employed adult students (154 females and 54 males), primarily European Americans (90.4%) from working-class backgrounds. Theresults indicated that men were more likely to use alcohol and women more likely to use direct action. Femininity and/or masculinity scores predicted control-related coping butwere unrelated to escape-related coping. High social desirability scores predicted direct action coping, whereas low scores predicted alcohol use. In terms of locus of control, an internal orientation predicted help-seeking and positive thinking, a powerful others orientation predicted avoidance/resignation, and a chance orientation predicted alcohol use.