Effects of goal setting on performance and job satisfaction.

Conducted a field experiment to compare participative, assigned, and no-training (comparison) goal setting groups. 37 sales personnel were trained in participative goal setting, and 41 were trained in assigned goal setting. A 3rd group of 44 served as a comparison unit. Mean age range of Ss was 34.3-36.4 yrs. Measures of 4 performance and 2 satisfaction criteria were collected at 4 data points: baseline (before training), and 6, 9, and 12 mo after training. Analysis of variance and Duncan's multiple-range test results indicate that for at least 9 mo both participative and assigned goal setting Ss were more effective in improving performance and satisfaction. The improvements, however, were generally not found 12 mo after training. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological well-being and job satisfaction as predictors of job performance.

The happy–productive worker hypothesis has most often been examined in organizational research by correlating job satisfaction to performance. Recent research has expanded this to include measures of psychological well-being. However, to date, no field research has provided a comparative test of the relative contribution of job satisfaction and psychological well-being as predictors of employee performance. The authors report 2 field studies that, taken together, provide an opportunity to simultaneously examine the relative contribution of psychological well-being and job satisfaction to job performance. In Study 1, psychological well-being, but not job satisfaction, was predictive of job performance for 47 human services workers. These findings were replicated in Study 2 for 37 juvenile probation officers. These findings are discussed in terms of research on the happy–productive worker hypothesis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationships between goal clarity, participation in goal setting, and personality characteristics on job satisfaction in a scientific organization.

Studied the impact of 2 attributes of task goals (goal specificity and participation in goal setting) on employee satisfaction with 271 scientists and engineers (mean age, 46.5 yrs). The moderating influences of 3 personality variables as measured by the Adjective Check List were also determined. Ss were blocked into 3 levels on both a Goal Clarity-Planning factor and a Participation in Goal Setting factor based on a factor analysis of items reflecting employee perceptions of how their supervisors manage. Ss were also divided into high and low levels of need for achievement, autonomy, and affiliation. Analyses of variance indicated that Goal Clarity-Planning and Participation in Goal Setting were factors linearly and positively related to satisfaction, as were all 3 personality variables. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of assigned and participative goal setting on performance and job satisfaction.

Evaluated the job performance of 41 female typists under participative or assigned goal setting conditions over a 10-wk period. Significant productivity improvement occurred in both conditions during the 2nd 5 wks. There was no significant difference between conditions with respect to goal difficulty or frequency of goal attainment. Job satisfaction declined slightly in both conditions. Individual trait measures such as need for independence did not moderate the effects of either type of goal setting. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivational determinants of job performance.

Studied V. Vroom's expectancy theory model in relation to work performance. 138 incentive workers employed in a steel fabricating plant participated in the study. The data indicate that the total expectancy model is a valid indicator of job performance, although the variances explained by the various parts of the theory were low. Several operational problems in defining the basic measures used in testing Vroom's theory are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job satisfaction, job performance, and situational characteristics.

How are job satisfaction and performance related to the variables of the situation? S were approximately 2500 workers in 72 warehouses of 1 company. Job satisfaction was measured by questionnaire items. Factor analysis was used to relate the variables of quantity, quality, profitability, turnover, size of workforce, city size, wage rate and unionization and percentage of males. Job satisfaction was highest with the greatest productivity and profit. Small town culture had the most satisfaction and performance. From Psyc Abstracts 36:01:3LH65K. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some relationships between job satisfaction and organization climate.

Relationships among 2 measures of job satisfaction, 1 measure of organizational climate, and 7 production and turnover indexes of organizational effectiveness were investigated in 50 life insurance agencies (N = 522). It was shown that (a) climate and satisfaction measures were correlated for people in some positions in the agencies but not for others; (b) people agreed more on the climate of their agency than they did on their satisfaction; (c) neither satisfaction nor climate were strongly correlated with production data; and (d) satisfaction but not climate, was correlated with turnover data. Implications of these data for research on climate and satisfaction as well as organizational change are discussed. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

SVIB as a predictor of job satisfaction.

A study was made of 185 graduates of professional curricula to test the hypothesis that job satisfaction in a certain occupation is related to congruent or appropriate interests in that occupation. Occupations represented were medicine, law, dentistry, mechanical engineering, accounting, and journalism. Ss were contacted by mail and asked to fill out 3 job satisfaction blanks and the SVIB. 12th grade SVIB scores were also available for each S. Only 1 of 56 relationships between interests and job satisfaction scores was significantly different from 0. The lack of relationships was true for both earlier and current testing of interests and for all 3 job satisfaction blanks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sources of social support and burnout, job satisfaction, and productivity.

Social support has been identified as an important correlate of a variety of work outcomes. Support from different sources, including family, coworkers, and supervisors, was examined in 211 traffic enforcement agents (92 men, 119 women). Outcomes included subjective variables (burnout and job satisfaction) and an objective measure of productivity (number of summonses). Support was negatively associated with burnout and positively associated with satisfaction and productivity. A cluster of support variables accounted for 7% of the variance in burnout and productivity and 12% of the variance in job satisfaction. Family support was more closely associated with burnout than with satisfaction or productivity, whereas immediate supervisor support was related to satisfaction and productivity but not burnout. Results suggest that support may be associated with work-related outcomes through multiple pathways. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

How important are dispositional factors as determinants of job satisfaction? Implications for job design and other personnel programs.

According to recent research, stable dispositional factors may result in considerable consistency in attitudes such as job satisfaction across time and situations. If true, this finding may have important implications. For example, Staw and Ross (1985) argued that "many situational changes such as job redesign… may not affect individuals as intended." Such personnel programs "may be prone to failure because they must contend with attitudinal consistency" (p. 478). The present article has two purposes. First, methodological and conceptual problems with the Staw and Ross assessment of the impact of situational and dispositional factors on job satisfaction are discussed. Second, given Staw and Ross's focus on job redesign, this article examines the impact on job satisfaction of changes in two very different measures of job complexity. Findings indicate that changes in situational factors such as job complexity are important predictors of job satisfaction, consistent with Hackman and Oldham's (1975, 1976) job design model. In contrast, measurement problems preclude accurate assessment of the predictive power of dispositional factors. Contrary to the concern raised by Staw and Ross (1985) and Staw, Bell, and Clausen (1986), it does not appear likely that the success of personnel programs will be significantly constrained by the influence of attitudinal consistency. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pressure for production, task difficulty, and the correlation between job satisfaction and job performance.

Investigated in an educational setting H. C. Triandis's hypothesis that pressure for production influences the correlation between job satisfaction and job performance. In a difficult course with a great deal of pressure, course satisfaction and expected grade on the part of the students (n = 25) were more highly correlated than in a course where pressure on the students (n = 67) was considerably less. This finding suggests that differences in production pressure and task difficulty may partially explain the variety of results obtained when researchers correlate job satisfaction with job performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job satisfaction and job performance: A meta-analysis.

Coded 9 variables in a meta-analysis of 74 empirical studies of job satisfaction–job performance. Aggregated studies had an S sample size of 12,192 and 217 satisfaction–performance correlations. Findings show that (1) the best estimate of the true population correlation between satisfaction and performance was relatively low (.17); (2) much of the variability in results obtained in previously research was due to the use of small sample sizes, while unreliable measurement of the satisfaction and performance constructs has contributed relatively little to this observed variability in correlations; and (3) the 9 variables coded (composite vs unidimensional criteria, longitudinal vs cross-sectional measurement of performance relative to satisfaction, the nature of the performance measure, self-reports vs other sources, use of specific performance measures, subjectivity or objectivity of measures, specific-facet satisfaction vs global satisfaction, well-documented vs researcher-developed measurement, and white-collar vs blue-collar) were only modestly related to the magnitude of the satisfaction–performance correlation. (3 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ego-defensiveness as a determinant of reported differences in sources of job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction.

Administered the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability scale to 77 white- and blue-collar male employees who described the determinants of their present satisfactions and dissatisfactions during 3 work periods. It was found, especially in relation to the reported determinants of job dissatisfaction, that the higher the social-desirability score the greater was the tendency to respond in a manner predictable from F. Herzberg's 1959 2-factor theory. Results support V. Vroom's 1964 suggestion that Herzberg's results are in part a product of ego-defensive processes within individuals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Causal connections among managers' merit pay, job satisfaction, and performance.

Used the frequency-of-change-in-product-moment and cross-lagged correlation techniques to analyze field study data obtained from 62 managers over 2 yrs. Results indicate that merit pay caused satisfaction and increased the correlation between these 2 variables. Satisfaction was an effect and not a cause of performance. Performance increased the correlation between performance and satisfaction. The merit-pay-causes-performance hypothesis was not supported, but results suggest the possibility of reciprocal causation. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Improving job performance through training in goal setting.

Examined the generality of goal-setting theory to an industrial setting. 20 pulpwood-logging operators were matched and randomly assigned to either a 1-day training program in goal setting or a control group. Measures of production, turnover, absenteeism, and injuries were collected for 12 consecutive wks. Analyses of variance indicated that goal setting can lead to an increase in production and a decrease in absenteeism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluation apprehension on psychological inventories in a prison-based setting.

Administered the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) validity scales, the Hopkins Symptom Checklist, and a sexual fantasy questionnaire to 120 incarcerated male sex offenders (aged 19–55 yrs) either without prior cuing or following exposure to experimental cues that identified psychological health and growth with either positive or negative self-disclosure. Ss' responses were obtained from either bogus pipeline testing or open format testing conditions. Results show that positively cued Ss achieved significantly higher F scale scores and lower K scale scores, and they reported significantly more anxiety symptoms and interpersonal problems. Sexual fantasy disclosures did not differ significantly across conditions, nor did the bogus pipeline apparatus facilitate self-disclosure. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Goal setting and task performance: 1969–1980.

Results from a review of laboratory and field studies on the effects of goal setting on performance show that in 90% of the studies, specific and challenging goals led to higher performance than easy goals, "do your best" goals, or no goals. Goals affect performance by directing attention, mobilizing effort, increasing persistence, and motivating strategy development. Goal setting is most likely to improve task performance when the goals are specific and sufficiently challenging, Ss have sufficient ability (and ability differences are controlled), feedback is provided to show progress in relation to the goal, rewards such as money are given for goal attainment, the experimenter or manager is supportive, and assigned goals are accepted by the individual. No reliable individual differences have emerged in goal-setting studies, probably because the goals were typically assigned rather than self-set. Need for achievement and self-esteem may be the most promising individual difference variables. (3? p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship between job satisfaction and job performance between western and tribal Black employees.

Examined the effect of westernization on the job performance/job satisfaction relationship in 132 Black male 1st-level supervisors in 15 different South African factories. When the sample was split into western and tribal subgroups, the relationship between performance and satisfaction was significantly higher among western Ss. The 2 subgroups were also compared on measures of intrinsic motivation, instrumentality, and valence of job rewards. Because the western subgroup only obtained a significantly higher score on the measure of intrinsic motivation, it is suggested that it may be because they are more concerned about performing well than that the performance–satisfaction relationship is higher among western employees. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)