Employee job satisfaction in developing countries: The case of Kenya

World Development

Vol. 26, No. 12, pp. 2181-2199, 1998 0 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd All rights reserved. Printed in Great Britain 0305-750X/98/$ - see front matter

Pergamon

PII: s0305-750X(98)00089-8

Employee Job Satisfaction in Developing Countries: The Case of Kenya MUNYAE

MULINGE

Department of Sociology, University of Botswana, Gabarone, Botswana and CHARLES

W. MUELLER*

Department of Sociology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, USA Summary. - Although developing countries that rely on agriculture continue to invest considerable amounts of resources toward the training of qualified agricultural manpower, the intensification of agricultural research, and the development of favourable agricultural policies, little attention is given to the organizational and social structure of the workplaces of the technical workers in agriculture. We argue that an understanding of what produces satisfied agricultural technicians is important in its own right, but is also important for indirectly increasing agricultural production in these developing countries. Following a social exchange theoretical argument, and using a national sample of technically trained agricultural personnel in Kenya, we identify the factors in the workplace that affect job satisfaction. implications for management are drawn from these findings. 0 1998 Elscvier Science Ltd. All rights reserved Ke), words -

Africa,

Kenya, job satisfaction,

agricultural

1. INTRODUCTION Agriculture is the leading economic sector in Kenya (Republic of Kenya, 1989, p. 103) and in the economies of most developing countries. The rate of economic growth in these countries is dependent on the performance of this sector, and a poor performance by the agricultural sector affects the whole economy (Macgregor, 1990; Leonard, 1991). Because of this, the Kenyan government and governments in other developing countries that rely on agriculture have continued to invest considerable amounts of resources toward the training of qualified agricultural manpower, the intensification of agricultural research, and the development of favorable agricultural policies. Such efforts have led to considerable gains but have fallen short of enabling the agricultural sector to effectively serve the role of a leading economic sector (World Bank, 1992). A closer look at government efforts in the quest for a more productive agricultural sector, however, reveals an almost single-minded emphasis on technological advances and the technical training of agricultural personnel. Although there is much written on strategies in management developing countries see Kiggundu, 1989, and Blunt and

sector,

agricultural

technicians

Jones, 1992, for general treatments), virtually nothing has been done to understand the social structure of the workplaces of the technical workers who oversee the development, dissemination to farmers, and implementation by farmers of major technological innovations and knowledge. This study advocates a more comprehensive approach to the search for an improved agricultural sector in developing nations. We argue that efforts to improve the contributions of the agricultural sector to the economic development in developing countries should not be limited to the current emphasis on the technical components of the sector.’ Rather, they should be expanded to incorporate an understanding of the work structures of key individuals in the success of the sector - the technically trained agricultural personnel responsible for extension work and research in the agricultural sector. The basis for this claim is our argument that work structures and environments are not neutral factors in affecting employee attitudes about and orienta-

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“This research was supported by a Rockefeller Foundation African Dissertation Internship Award. Munyae Mulinge is on leave from the Sociology Department at the University of Nairobi. Final revision accepted April 18, 1998.

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tions to their jobs. Based on an enormous volume of Western research (e.g. Mowday, Porter and Steers, 1982; Agho, Mueller and Price, 1993; Horn and Griffeth, 1995; Cranny, Smith and Stone, 1992; Lincoln and Kalleberg, 1990; Hodson and Sullivan, 199.5) in fact, there is no question that work structures are major determinants of the job satisfaction and commitment of employees. There is, however. much less research on this topic in developing nations. We need to assess the crosscultural applicability of Western-based generalizations about how work structures affect job satisfaction, and in doing so, provide important data about the social context of work in developing countries and how it affects employee behavior. The prevailing view, of course, is that the African cultural context is sufficiently different from Western culture that Western-derived and tested arguments cannot be used to explain and understand the organizational problems in developing African nations (see Blunt and Jones, 1992 for a review of these arguments). This is more often an assumption than an empirically tested claim, however. Technical agricultural employees in most developing countries are critical to the economic well being of the country; without them technological know-how and advances are not put into practice and economic growth is detrimentally influenced. Agricultural technicians are either engaged in educating farmers about better farming techniques, commonly referred to as extension services, (as is the case for those in the public and private sectors) or in agricultural research (as is the case for those the parastatal sector). The primary purpose of our study is to examine how the work conditions these agricultural technicians face in their day-to-day work affect their job satisfaction. Understanding what produces job satisfaction is important because of its indirect linkage with improved agricultural productivity, but it is also important in its own right (Blunt and Jones, 1992). Job satisfaction has, at least in the developed countries, been linked to important worker characteristics that we consider crucial for agricultural technicians in the developing countries to formulate, effectively implement, and monitor the implementation of suitable agricultural policies. These consequences of job satisfaction include employee behaviors such as performance and productivity (Petty, McGee and Cavender, 1984), absenteeism and turnover (Brooke, 1986; Cotton and Tuttle, 1986; Dalessio, Silverman and Schuck, 1986; Mathieu and Zajac, 1990; Price and Mueller, 1986a; Staw, 1984; Steel and Ovalle,

1984; Stumpf and Hartman, 1984) transferring (Todor, 1980), intending to quit (Horn, Griffeth and Sellaro, lY84; Mowday. Koherg and McArthur, 1984), and lateness or tardiness (Adler and Golan, 1981; Farrell and Robb, 1980). Job satisfaction has also been shown to increase worker commitment to the employing organization (Aranya, Kushnir and Valency, 1986; Ferris and Aranya, 1983; Lincoln and Kalleberg, 1990; Price and Mueller, 1986a: Sorensen, 1985; Wallace, 1995). Committed employees are thought to be more innovative or creative (Katz and Kahn. 1978). Consequently, it is important for employers (management) to understand what produces satisfaction among their employees. This will enable them (managers) to pinpoint areas in which changes could be initiated to improve worker satisfaction. this increased satisfaction might In turn, decrease the negative behaviors cited above such as tardiness and absenteeism while at the same time strengthen positive behaviors such as greater commitment, more effective delivery of services and increased productivity.

2. THEORETICAL

FRAMEWORK

Job satisfaction studies have mainly utilized one or a combination of three broad theoretical approaches: the social psychological (exchange) approach (Blau, 1964; Homans, 1958, 1961) the neoclassical economic approach (Parsons, 1972; Becker, 1962, 1964; Jovanovic, 1979a,b), and a more sociological approach (Halaby, 1986; Lincoln and Kalleberg, 1985, 1990; Mueller and Price, 1990). It is, however, the social psycholoperspective, which seems to gists’ exchange dominate the literature, that constitutes the major theoretical framework adopted by this study. Exchange theory argues that individuals enter social relations in anticipation of rewards or benefits in exchange for their inputs/investments in the relationship. The rewards could be both intrinsic and extrinsic factors while inputsiinvestments include factors such as effort, status, skill, education, experience, seniority, and productivity. The theory has its origin in the works of George Homans (1958,196l) who applied what is now termed exchange theory to social relationships existing within small groups. He argued that interactions between persons are analogous to an exchange of goods that carry with them some value. Individuals exchange aspects of their mutually exclusive benefits between one another so that each derives some measure of that which he/she seeks, while at the same time each is

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JOB SATISFACTION

instrumental in the other achieving some measure of his/her interest. It was Blau (1964) however, who extended the exchange theory model in order to deal with the social activities observable in complex organizations. He proposed a supply and demand model that extended Homans’ theory to include the broader social structure in the formation of reference standards by individuals. Blau contends that social behaviors found in both simple and complex groups follow the same general principles as those presented by Homans. As applied to work orgamzations exchange theory states that individuals perform for. or make contributions to, an organization in exchange for certain rewards or inducements (Scholl, 1981). It is argued that prospective members to an organization bring needs and goals and agree to supply their skills and energies in exchange for organizational resources (such as rewards or payments from the organization) capable of satisfying those needs and goals (Angle and Perry, 1981; Becker. 1964; Farrell and Rusbult, 1981; Hrebiniak and Alutto, 1972; March and Simon, 10%; Mottaz, lY81: Mowday, Porter and Steers. 1982). To the extent there is a favorable balance or match between what the organization provides and the members’ expcctations (or between inducements and contributions) the members satisfaction is maximized (Kotter, 1973) and performance is maintained (Scholl, 1981). The rewards/payments that arc provided by organizations to workers could be intrinsic or extrinsic benefits (Hcrzberg, 1966; Kalleberg, 1977).

3. KENYA:

THE SETTING

Applying social exchange-based arguments developed in industrialized nations to Kenya is susceptible to the charge of being insensitive to contextual and cultural differences. We acknowledge the potential problems (see Blunt and Jones, 1992), but believe these arguments will explain job satisfaction among agricultural technicians employed in the agricultural sector in Kenya because of two reasons. First, the employment relationship to be studied. agricultural technicians employed in the agricultural sector, has been Westernized in a number of important ways that enhance the fit of exchange-based arguments: (a) The colonization of Kenya, but more importantly, the subsequent introduction of bureaucratic hierarchies (Leonard, 1977, lY91) and Western values (especially through Western formal education) considerably transformed the African cultural beliefs and attitudes toward paid

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labor. During the early colonial days, not only was the notion of work for wages alien to Africans, but a negative attitude and resistance to paid labor emerged because the wages were so low. The British had to rely on coercive mechanisms such a compulsory taxation payable in cash only (which forced them to work for an employer), manipulation of African access to land (which again forced them to work for someone), and outright strategies to force them to work (see Brett, lY73; Collier and Lal. 1YXh: Ghai, Ghai and McAuslan, 1970: Stichter, lY82: Van Zwanenberg. lY75) to maintain a steady supply of labor. During this period, then, thcrc was csscntially no loyalty to the employer. But, Western education and the spread of a monetary economy transformed all such cultural barriers to paid labor. (b) We are focusing on agricultural technicians whose socialization into work roles occurs in academic institutions modeled after those in the industrialized nations. Kenya’s education system has for a long time been a replica of the British school system wjith only a recent bias toward the US school system. WC, therefore, do not anticipate these workers to differ significantly from those in the West in terms of ,job expectations and values, and work attitudes and behaviors. (c) Our study focuses on organizations that are the product of a neocolonial dependent infant capitalist economy. These have been strongly influenced by those in the West and are thus similar in terms of authority structure and management systems. Like their counterparts in the West, the organizations in our study are characterized by hierarchical authority structures with no striking differences in management styles. This is understandablc considering that virtually all organizations in Kenya have been cstablishcd utilizing British and American structural models (Leonard, 1977. IYYI; Blunt and Jones. lY92). Indeed. most of these organizations have at one time or another rclicd on Western expatriates in fashioning their organizational and management structures. Those in the private sector are subsidiaries of multinational corporations based in industrial Europe and the United States and still have ex-patriates in the highest positions in their hierarchies. Second. while acknowledging the numerous claims that African social and political contexts require unique management solutions (World Bank. 1981; Gould, lY8Y; Moris. 1981; Balogun, 1986; Ahiauzu, 1986; Leonard. 1987) we believe the processes that produce employee satisfaction are universal at the general level; actual strategies and policies will vary, but the sociological

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and social-psychological processes arc the same in all contexts. Consequently, and as argued by Leonard (1977, 1991) in explaining administrative successes and failures in Kenya, exchangebased arguments developed to explain satisfaction in large organizations in developed countries should also have explanatory power in less developed countries. Indeed, the limited applications of the Western theories of satisfaction to developing countries (see Alvi and Ahmed, 1987: Putti. Aryec and Liang, 1989) suggest crosscultural applicability.

4. THE DETERMINANTS SATISFACTION

OF JOB

Job satisfaction is the degree to which an employee likes his/her job (Locke, 1969). Following exchange theory, the determinants of job satisfaction for agricultural technicians in Kenya are grouped into intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. These are briefly reviewed.

(a) Intrinsic rewards Also termed task rewards (see Katz and Van Maanen, 1977). intrinsic rewards are directly associated with doing the job (Greenberg, 1980; Herzberg, 1966; Kalleberg, 1977; Mottaz, 1985). They fulfil human goals related to the individual workers’ internal sense of fulfilment. Although no commonly agreed upon list of such rewards exists, they include the freedom to plan work (or self-direction and responsibility), the chance to learn new skills and abilities, opportunities to use one’s skills and abilities (challenging work), being informed about the job, job variety, creativity, the ability to do the job well, sufficient feedback regarding the effectiveness of one’s effort, being fairly rewarded for work accomplished, the chance to see the results of work done, and the chance for self expression through work (Greenberg, 1980; Kalleberg, 1977; Kohn and Schooler, 1973; Mottaz, 1985; Price and Mueller, 1986a; Tausky, 1984; Voydanoff, 1978). In this study the following factors are considered to be intrinsic rewards: participation in decision making, autonomy, upward communication, task significance, distributive justice, career growth, and variety. Participution in decision making is the extent of the employee involvement in the adoption of major policy decisions that affect the organization and its employees. Autonomy is the degree to which employees are offered the freedom, independence and discretion to make decisions

pertaining to the substantive and procedural aspects of their job such as scheduling and determining the procedure to be used in executing the task (Hackman and Oldham. 1975). Upwurd communication refers to the degree of transmission of information up the hierarchy. Task sign+ cancc is the degree to which an individual’s role contributes significantly to the overall organizational process (Hackman and Oldham, 1980). Distrihutil~e justice is the degree to which rewards and punishments are related to performance inputs into the organization (Homans, 1961). Cureer growth refers to the degree of opportunity afforded by the organization for the employee to increase work-related skills and knowledge (Mangelsdorff, 1989). Variety refers to the degree to which a job is not repetitious or monotonous (Hackman and Oldham, lY75: Perrow, 1967). All intrinsic rewards are hypothesized to positively influence job satisfaction.

(b) Extrinsic rewards Unlike intrinsic rewards, extrinsic rewards are not directly received through performing the work itself. Rather, they are a by-product of the work (Greenberg, 1980; Kalleberg, 1977). Three types of extrinsic rewards are analyzed in this study. These are organizational extrinsic rewards, extrinsic rewards, and convenience social extrinsic rewards. The variables that are included under each category are identified and briefy reviewed below.

(i) Orgat~ixtional extrin.sic rewards Organizational extrinsic rewards rcprcscnt those tangible rewards provided by the organization for the sake of motivating the workers to perform their tasks and maintain membership in the organization such as pay, fringe benefits, promotion, job security, and good working conditions (Kalleberg, 1977; Mottaz, 1985; Price and Mueller, 1986a; Tausky. 1984; Voydanoff, 1978). These, traditionally, have been referred to as instrumental rewards (Kalleberg, 1977). Four workplace outcomes are considered to be organizational extrinsic rewards in this study. These are pay, fringe benefits, promotional opportunity, and job security. Pay is defined as the wages and salaries received by employees for services rendered. Fringe benefits are the discretionary payments other than direct wages or salaries that workers get from their jobs (Ivancevich, Szlagyi and Wallace, 1977). Promotional opportunit): is the degree of potential vertical mobility within the organization (Price and Mueller, 1986a).

EMPLOYEE

JOB SATISFACTION

Based on Leonard (1977), job security is the extent to which an employee is guaranteed his/her job as long as s/he is cautious and performs at a minimal level of competence. All four are hypothesized to increase job satisfaction.

(ii) So&l extrinsic rewards Extrinsic rewards also include social rewards derived from interacting with others on the job. These represent workplace conditions that satisfy the social needs of the employee (Kalleberg, 1977). They are based on the quality of interpersonal relationships. Social extrinsic rewards include friendly, helpful. and supportive co-workers and supervisors (Greenberg, 1980: Kalleberg. 1977; Mottaz, 1985; Price and Mueller, 1986a: Rothman, 1987; Tausky. 1YX4; Voydanoff, 197X) and a cohesive work group (Price and Mueller, 1986b; Randall and Cote, 1991). In this study, the following variables are considered to be social extrinsic rewards: Supervisory support, co-worker support, and work group cohesion. Supervisory support is the degree to which supervisors are friendly, helpful and supportive to their subordinates (Mottaz. 1985; Michaels and Spector, 19X2). Co-worker support is the degree to which co-workers are friendly, helpful and supportive (Mottaz, 1985). Work group cohesion is the degree to which employees of an organization form close informal relations in their immediate work units (Price and Mueller, lYX6b). All three are hypothesized to increase employee job satisfaction.

(iii) Convenience extrinsic rewards A third category of extrinsic rewards, termed convenience extrinsic rewards (Kalleberg, lY77), represents organizational constraints that undermine the employee’s ability to perform his/her tasks efficiently. These include those job characteristics that provide what Kalleberg (1977, p. 12X) refers to as “creative comfort, i.e. a ‘soft’ job” such as convenient travel to and from work, good hours, freedom from ambiguous roles, pleasant surroundings, freedom from role overload (enough time to complete tasks), and freedom from conflicting job demands. These have also been referred to as “stressors” (see, for example, Ganster, Fusilier and Mayes, 19%; Hammel and Bracken, 19X6). Convenience extrinsic rewards capture the cost end of the reward continuum. That is, the presence of role overload, role ambiguity, role conflict in the work environment brings pressure to bear on the

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employee thereby undermining his/her abilities to cope with the job requirements (House, IYXOHouse, 1981). Although these variables do not refer “ultimately” to what workers want from their jobs, they are important because workers need to perform adequately in their jobs to obtain other rewards such as pay, fringe benefits, promotions etc. A successful role performance can only occur if the employee is free from the organizational constraints listed above. In this study the following variables are considered to be convenience extrinsic costs: role overload, role ambiguity, role conflict, inadequate resources, and inadequate socialization practices. Role overload represents the degree to which role expectations are in excess of available time and resources (Miles and Perreault, 1976). Role umbi&y is the degree to which there is a discrepancy between the amount of information a person receives and the amount necessary to perform the role adequately (Kahn, Wolfe and Schoek, 1964). A worker experiences role ambiguity during those times when certain aspects of a work role are not clearly defined. In these instances, the worker is uncertain about what is expected. Role cor$ict is the degree to which incompatible demands are made upon an individual by two or more persons whose jobs are functionally interdependent with that of the individual (Kahn, Wolfe and Schoek. 1964). It may occur when two or more sets of role expectations occur simultaneously such that compliance with one makes compliance with the other more difficult or impossible (Kahn and French, 1970). Resource inudcquucv refers to the extent of insufficiency in the resources that arc necessary for the employee to execute his/her duties with the minimum of discomfort (La-Anyane, 1985). Included here are supportive facilities such as adequate transportation, adequate housing, and sufficient funding. Inadequate sociulizution practices refers to the degree to which employing organizations do not display procedures for familiarizing/acquainting (new) employees with the workings of the organization. All five variables arc expected to reduce job satisfaction. (c) Other determimmts ofjoh sutisfictiorl Other variables known to influence satisfaction must be controlled to properly specify the model and estimate unbiased effects of the rewards listed above (Agho. Mueller and Price, 1993). The control variables analyzed in this study include external opportunities. kinship responsibility, work motivation, positive affectivity, and negative affectivity. Extemnl opportunities

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(termed a “pull” factor by Granovetter, 1986) is an environmental (extraorganizational) variable which refers to the availability of alternative jobs outside the organization. This is assumed to be high when a large number of alternative jobs exist for which the employee is qualified. The variable economic captures supply/demand conditions and is hypothesized to have a negative effect on job satisfaction. Work motivation. positive affectivity, and negative affectivity are fairly stable employee dispositions (personality traits) that have been shown to affect job satisfaction. in addition to being related to the rewards that arc discussed ahovc. Kimhip rusponsihili@ is the degree of involvement with relatives in the local community or with relatives who are dependent on one’s income for their economic survival (Brief and Aldag. 1980). This variable is especially important in the Kenyan situation where the extended family is still strong and economic responsibilities for kin extend beyond the nuclear familv of husband, wife and their immediate offspring. Intentions to lcave are reduced when the leaving means the family will have to be uprooted or family members will have to be left behind. C!-&rkmotil’atior7 refers to the degree to which work is central to one‘s life (Kanungo. 1982). Po.vitil,cJ crffecthi& represents the degree to which one feels enthusiastic across time and situation (Watson. Pennehaker and Folger. 1987). Ncgrrti~~c,uj@tility. on the other hand, is the degree to which one feels dissatisfac(Watson and tion across time and situation Clark. 1984). All three dispositions are well documented in the empirical literature on job satisfaction. In addition, firm-specific training, education, tenure, tenure2, gender. and empl~)~ment sector are also controlled for. /+v-.s~ccIJIc tlainiwg is the degree to which the occupational socialization of an employee equips him/her with the ability to increase only the productivity of the firm providing it (Becker, 1962). It is basIcally an on-the-job training process through formal and informal training programs that equips the employees with skills that make them more qualified for higher positions in the job hierarchy. Education refers to the highest level of formal schooling or training an individual has had Ten~rc~ refers to the individual’s length of service in the organization. Tenure2 (the tenure variable squared) captures the deterioration of skills in the human capital tradition of neoclassical economics. The squared term captures the nonlinear (declining) relationship of productivity with tenure. Gc~~ier- refers to the sex of the individual. As described in the data and methods

section. the technicians analyzed in this study or private work for the public. semi-public agricultural sectors. We will control for work .rcc’tor to capture any differences in work cnvironments and the kind of tasks performed across the three sectors. Downsizing and improvements in management in the public and parastatal sectors because of inefficiency and low productivity have been prominent among the recommendations from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank (World Bank. lY92). It is important to assess whether the job satisfaction of employees in these sectors varies. Given the uniformly more positive image offered of the private sector, we expect job satisfaction to be higher here than in the other two sectors.

5. DATA AND METHODS The data were collected in Kenya between November 1991 and July 1992. Surveys (selfadministered questionnaires) were administered to a probability sample of 1850 technically agricultural workers. trained These are individuals who have formal training in agriculture or in an agriculturally related field such as plant breeding. horticulture, agronomy, plant pathology. entomology. and soil conservation. to mention a few. Those interviewed were spread across three employment sectors as 1 102 respondents; follows: Public sector, parastatal (semi-public) sector, 503 respondents: and private sector, 245 respondents.’ The overall response rate for the study was a very high 7X.22? (1447 cases). This high response rate was due primarily to two factors. First, the first author spent considerable time contacting and gaining permission for the study from representatives of all three sectors, travelling to various sites to legitimate the study, and ensuring rcspondcnts that their questionnaires could be returned in sealed envelopes and their answers would remain confidential. Second, most of the questionnaires were distributed at training sessions that all employees are expected to attend on a regular basis. The sample size used in the analysis is based on eliminating cases according to a listwise deletion procedure. This resulted in a sample size of 1211 cases. All intrinsic and extrinsic rewards included in the study were measured using multiple items where possible. The specific measures utilized for each construct are presented in Appendix A. Respondents were asked to respond to each item on a Likert-type scale with five response points. Most of the scales have been used in previous studies following Price and Mueller (1986a) and

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have been judged to have acceptable validity and reliability. Descriptive data, including alpha coefficients for multiple-item constructs, are presented in Table 1. Table 2 presents the zeroorder correlations among all variables. Maximum likelihood estimation (LISRELS) is used to simultaneously estimate the measurement and structural equation models for the study. LISREL provides reliability-corrected estimates of the direct and indirect effects of the determinants on job satisfaction (Bentler, 1980; Bentler and Bonett, 1980; Bollen, 1989; Joreskog and S&born, 1993) as well as goodness of fit indices and asymptotic standard errors that allow

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for significance determinants.

tests

of the coefficients

for the

6. RESULTS Table 3 presents the LISREL results for the effects of rewards and control (nonreward) variables on job satisfaction. About 69% of the variance in job satisfaction is explained. From the table, it is evident that out of the 19 substantive variables analyzed, 10 have statistically significant net effects on job satisfaction in the

Table 1. Descriptive dutu for variables (N = 121 I)” Number Endogenous variable Job satisfaction

of items

4

Exogenous variables Intrinsic rewards Decision making Autonomy Upward communication Task significance Distributive justice Career growth Variety Extrinsic rewards Pay Fringe benefits Promotional opportunities Job security Supervisory support Co-worker support Work group cohesion Work overload Role ambiguity Role conflict Resource inadequacy Inadequate socialization Control variables External opportunities Kinship responsibility Work motivation Positive affectivity Negative affectivity Firm-specific training Gender (female = 1) Education Tenure Tenure’ Public sector Parastatal sector Private sector “For multiple

item measures

1 1 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

1

the items are summed

Mean

Standard

deviation

Range

3.78

0.87

1-5

0.86

I.99 3.12 3.36 4.18 2.74 3.38 3.27

O.XY I .05 1.02 0.69 1.02 l.OY 1.03

1-5 l-5 1-5 l-5 l-5 l-5 l-5

0.76 0.85 0.82 0.72 0.88 0.83 0.90

500-30000 1-12 1-5 l-5 l-5 1-5 l-5 l-5 l-5 l-5 l-5 l-5

n.a. na. 0.84 0.81 0.74 0.82 0.77 0.87 0.76 0.73 0.74 0.88

6 168.05 5.78 2.71 3.86 3.66 3.72 3.64 2.75 1.68 2.50 2.95 3.37

4812.10 1.82 1.oo 0.83 0.75 0.80 0.74 I .07 0.69 0.84 I .04 I .06

2.36 5.73 4.07 3.31 2.51 2.72 0.27 13.87 9.96 153.47 0.54 0.30 0.16

0.80 1.74 0.73 0.94 0.93 I .O6 0.44 2.10 7.37 215.84 0.50 0.46 0.37

and divided by the number

of items.

l-5 o-9 l-5 l-5 l-5 l-5 O-l 7-22 l-37 l-l 369 o-1 O-l o-1

Alpha

0.80 n.a. 0.74 0.83 0.83 0.87 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

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r

a

c

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EMPLOYEE

JOB SATISFACTION

hypothesized direction. Specifically, agricultural technicians who are able to transmit information up their organization’s hierarchy (b = 0.147) who consider their roles to constitute a significant contribution to the overall organizational work process (b = 0.099) perceive fair treatment in the workplace (b = 0.067) who find in their work organization the opportunity to increase work-related knowledge and skills (b = 0.088) and whose jobs have high job variety (b = 0.139) have higher levels of job satisfaction. Satisfaction is also higher for those employees whose within-

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organization chances for vertical occupational mobility are good (b = 0.118) who are guaranteed to hold their jobs for as long as they wish (b = 0.120), have co-workers who are friendly, helpful and supportive in job related matters (b = 0.1 IS), who experience less discrepancy between the amount of information received and that which is necessary to adequately perform their roles (b = -0.067) and have sufficient resources to execute their duties (b = -0.131). Fringe benefits significantly influence job satisfaction but in the wrong (unexpected) direction.

Table 3. LISREL results (standardized coefficients) for the causal model Variables Substantive variables Intrinsic rewards Participation in decision Autonomy Upward communication Task significance Distributive justice Career growth Variety

Beta

making

0.002 0.035 0.147*** 0.099*** 0.067” o.oxs* 0.139***

Organizational extrinsic rewards Pay Fringe benefits” Promotional opportunities Job security

0.052 -0.052* 0.118*** 0.120***

Social extrinsic rewards Supervisory support Co-worker support Work group cohesion

0.019 O.llS*** -0.051

Convenience extrinsic costs Work overload Role ambiguity Role conflict Resource inadequacy Inadequate socialization

0.018 -0.067” 0.009 -0.131** -0.047

Control variables External opportunities Kinship responsibility Work motivation Positive affectivity Negative affectivity Firm-specific training Education Tenure Tenure’ Gender (1 = female) Parastatal sector Public sector R’

-0.099*** 0.025 0.034 - 0.025 -0.140*** 0.103*** 0.013 0.029 -0.010 -0.037 0.076 0.001 0.688

“The coefficient is significant using a two-tailed test. *p io.05. ““p
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All of the categories of rewards analyzed are represented by the variables that are statistically significant. The 10 rewards that are significant in the hypothesized direction include five of seven intrinsic rewards, two of four organizational extrinsic rewards, one of three social extrinsic rewards, and two of five convenience extrinsic costs. Based on these standardized coefficients, the strongest effects are distributed across all four categories of rewards. Upward communication (an intrinsic reward) has the greatest impact on job satisfaction followed by job variety (an intrinsic reward), resource inadequacy (a convenience extrinsic cost), job security, promotional opportunities (organizational extrinsic rewards), and co-worker support (a social extrinsic reward). Of the 11 control variables analyzed, three have significant net effects on job satisfaction. While job satisfaction is lower for employees who perceive promising external job opportunities and are characterized by negative affectivity, it is higher for those who are equipped with non-transferable skills. We also see that there is no net sector effect. Based on documented inefficiency and low productivity in the public and parastatal sectors, we had expected job satisfaction to be low in these two contexts, relative to the private sector. Additional analysis (not shown) does indicate that, without controls, private sector employees are more satisfied. But, once controls are introduced (Table 3) there are no significant differences. This tells us that our expectation was correct the private sector offers “better” work conditions than the other sectors, and it is these work conditions that result in higher job satisfaction.

7. DISCUSSION

AND CONCLUSIONS

This study is an attempt to inject a “personnel element” into the quest for a more improved agricultural sector in developing countries. Specifically, we utilize exchange-based arguments that have been applied to job satisfaction in the developed economies of the West to assess the determinants of job satisfaction among agricultural technicians in Kenya. We acknowledge that developing countries may be empirically distinct and different from developed countries based on a variety of social, economic, and political criteria. We argue, however, that the exchangebased model of satisfaction is a general model that explains satisfaction in developing countries just as well as in developed countries. That is,

the same basic social processes that produce satisfaction in the developed countries are operating in these quite different environments to produce job satisfaction. The application of the exchange-based model to agricultural technicians in Kenya supported these claims. Job satisfaction is increased when employees perceive higher intrinsic rewards, organizational extrinsic rewards, and social extrinsic rewards and lower convenience extrinsic costs. The support for this general exchange-based model was strong on the basis of several criteria. First, although not every variable in every category of rewards had a significant net effect, all zero-order correlations were significant in the expected direction. Second, some variables in all of the categories had significant net effects on job satisfaction. Third, the directions of all of the significant variables, except fringe benefits, were as expected. Finally, the model was able to explain about 69% of the variance in job satisfaction. There are three issues that need to be discussed. First, although the fit of the exchangebased model was relatively strong, finding a negative net effect of fringe benefits and finding autonomy and participation in decision making not to be significant need to be discussed. Second, we must discuss the general implications of the findings of the study for personnel management in developing countries. Third, we need to identify directions for future research.

(a) The unanticipated findings There exists a substantial body of literature arguing for the importance of autonomy and participation in decision making as determinants of job satisfaction (see e.g. Halaby and Weakliem, 1989; Lincoln and Kalleberg, 1990; Lawler, 1992) but we found neither to have net effects. We must rule out collinearity between the two as the reason because they are correlated only 0.25. One possible explanation for finding no effect could be the relatively limited power that agricultural technicians in Kenya have. Because there is little, if any, power associated with their work, these employees do not enter the field expecting to exercise a lot of power, and thus are not dissatisfied when this is the reality they experience. Another version of explanation this “expectation” comes from Leonard (1977) who argues that more educated and high ranking employees who do not have autonomy or cannot participate in decision making are those most likely to be dissatisfied.

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To assess this possibility, we examined interactions of education with autonomy, education with participation, tenure with autonomy and tenure with participation. Neither this set of four interactions, nor the individual interactions, was significant, however. The final explanation for no effect identifies the prevalence of political and criteria in policy making. nonmeritocratic Despite the Westernization of the work culture in Kenya, it is commonly known that “politics” still plays a major role in decision making in the work environment. This is especially true for work organizations where the government exercises some measure of control such as the Ministry of Agriculture and the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute from which about 82% of our respondents were drawn. Although, in principle, expertise and skills remain the basis for decision making in these settings, political influence is quite widespread. This makes the more innovative employees vulnerable because they can be penalized for decisions their superiors are not happy with: decision making actually places employees in a position of accountability that makes them vulnerable to reprisals and criticism. Such an interpretation is consistent with our finding that it is upward communication that is important in this same category of rewards work organizations that have a “listening” hierarchy that allow employees the opportunity to offer ideas and suggestions do produce satisfaction. Giving superiors feedback is not the same thing as the employees making decisions that they will then be held accountable for. The other finding that requires some discussion was the combined nonsignificance of pay and negative effect of fringe benefits. Both variables had significant, albeit small, positive zero-order effects on job satisfaction, so we are convinced that the measurement is valid and reliable. Because pay and fringe benefits are correlated 39, we re-estimated the equations in Table 3 eliminating each of these variables one at a time. The result was that neither variable had a significant net effect. Weak effects of these particular rewards on job satisfaction in Western studies are not that surprising (see Agho, Mueller and Price, 1993). As in the West. it is more the promotion opportunities (that carry with them pay increases) that affect job satisfaction. With the budget cuts and downsizing in Kenya, job security also is as important as the other significant determinants in creating a satisfied employee. Decisions about leaving one job for another are likely a different story, however. Following arguments neoclassical from economics, pay and benefit differences can be

expected to be mobility decisions.

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(b) Implications for human resource management policy Understanding the causes of employee job satisfaction could improve the performance of the agricultural sector if it translates into personnel management policies that increase worker motivation. reduce negative behaviors such as tardiness and absenteeism, and strengthen positive behaviors such as more effective delivery of services and increased productivity. A mean level in job satisfaction of 3.78 on a 1 to 5 scale for the sample studied here (see Table I) indicates that agricultural technicians in Kenya are only moderately satisfied with their jobs, but it certainly does not support the Blunt and Jones hypothesis (1992, p. 207) that there is widespread alienation in Africa. Kenya has been more successful economically than most African countries and this relatively high job satisfaction may reflect this. In this section we present some of the important implications of the study results for the management of agricultural technicians in Kenya. What is presented here. however, are just general ideas that do not provide specific courses of action. The responsibility of initiating such courses of action is left to managers as a part of what Kiggundu (1989) and Blunt and Jones (1992) refer to as strategic human resource management. Based on the results of this study the intrinsic rewards of upward communication, task significance, distributive justice, career growth, and job variety and the extrinsic rewards of promotional opportunities, job security, co-worker support, role ambiguity (a cost), and resource inadequacy (also a cost) are important determinants of job satisfaction for agricultural technicians in Kenya. This suggests the following: (i) Upward communication: Employers should restructure the work environment so as to improve the employees‘ ability to communicate their concerns to top level managers and administrators. In addition. to encourage lower level employees to transfer feedback to the top management calls for the top level management to ensure that they respond to any feedback received from them accordingly without unnecessary delays. (ii) Task significance: employers should encourage all of their employees to be involved in the organization in more meaningful ways. This may require employers to restructure the work setting to ensure that the contribution of every employee counts in the overall functioning and survival of

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the organization. No employee should be made to feel or believe that his/her contribution is a secondary (unimportant) one that the organization can survive without. (iii) Distributive justice: employers should offer fair compensation to employees based on their contributions to the operations of the organization. This, for example, may be translated to mean more pay and better fringe benefits. (iv) Carter growth: organizations should place increased priority on staff development and training (career and persona1 development) to enable employees to enhance their professional knowledge and skills. This will not only increase employee job satisfaction but will also ensure that they can perform their duties more efficiently. Efforts in this direction could, for example, include more employer sponsorship for employees to attend both short and advanced courses in their areas of specialization. Employees, and especially those involved in research work, could also be allowed to take credit for some of their accomplishments by being permitted to publish some of their research findings as their own rather than in the name of the organization. (v) Variety: ,job restructuring should also be undertaken to reduce monotony in job tasks. (vi) Promotional opportunity: promotion should not only be based on merit but employers also need to redesign the career paths within their organizations so as to facilitate increased within-job mobility for their employees. This calls for the creation of more elaborate career ladders within the firm by increasing the number of non-entry positions. (vii) Job security: all categories of technical employees should be guaranteed some measure of job security. This will remove the fear of unexpected layoffs and, in return, encourage the employee to get more involved in accomplishing his/her job tasks. This is especially important in light of the on-going downsizing of particularly the civil service that most developing countries are now implementing as part of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund prescribed Structural Adjustment Policies for economic support: revitalization. (viii) Co-worker employers also need to create work environments that facilitate improved relationships between all categories of staff. This will increase cooperation among employees and lead to a more effective delivery of services. (ix) Role ambiguity and resource inadequacy: it is employers avoid exposing important that employees to frustrating work situations such as unclear job information and the lack of job inputs (resources). Rather, they should endeavor to ensure that employees have at their disposal

clear and adequate job information and provided with all the necessary supportive resources,

arc job

Given that the data were collected in the early lY9Os, WC must ask whether changes in Kenya in this decade make our results and conclusions outdated. For example. because of the deteriorating economic efficiency in the public and parastatal sectors observed in the lY80s. the public sector was to “. . streamline its functions and organizational structure to eliminate duplication and redundancies, downsize staff.. , and reform pay and personnel structures” (World Bank, 1992. p. iii). and the parastatal sector was, as much as possible, to be privatized and rcstructured and direct initiatives wet-c to be taken to develop the private sector (World Bank. 1902, p. iii). Although all of these recommendations have been undertaken to some degree. the conscquences of thcsc changes are yet unknown. Overall. however, we argue that our basic findings about the factors that affect job satisfaction have not changed that much. Studies in Western countries have found essentially the same determinants as we have and there is no reason to expect these to change much over time in any particular country. Mean levels of job satisfaction, however, can be expected to decline in the public and parastatal sectors as thcv are downsized and resources rcdistributcd. If the reorganization results in greater efficiency. however, then the job satisfaction may eventually rise again as employees adjust and feel they have of the increased efficiency been a part (Kiggundu. 1988). Future research that replicates what we have undertaken would provide the data necessary to assess these possibilities. In addition, much could bc learned by disaggregating the data by ethnicity and region. Ethnicity, in particular. is believed to be important in promotions (Leonard, 1991: Miller and Yeager, lYY4), although Leonard’s quantitative analysis (1991: Ch. 4 and Appendix A) revealed, to his surprise, no effect, except for the very highest levels. We could not assess the role of ethnicity because pretests strongly suggested that the response rate would have suffered dramatically if we had asked respondents about ethnicity. This reluctance to give one’s ethnicity, of course, is revealing and suggests that it may be operating in ways not captured by Leonard. An obvious caveat is that our findings are for one developing country. Other developing countries need to be studied too. This i\

EMPLOYEE

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important because the so-termed less developed countries are not homogenous. Within the African continent, for instance, are found French-, English-, and Portuguese-speaking countries depending on who was the colonizing power. More important, because different colonial powers utilized different administrative approaches to govern their territories, and, consequently, to socialize the Africans into Western culture, there could be work culture differences. While the French, for example, utilized indirect rule and had the dual mission to extract material resources from their colonies and to assimilate Africans into French culture. the British relied on direct rule and were primarily concerned with the expansion of British capitalism to their colonies. In addition, countries embraced independent African different socioeconomic and political development ideologies and philosophies that may, in turn, have affected differently the organization of work, the types of rewards provided by work organizations, and the processes by which satisfaction is produced. While some embraced a socialist ideology for their economic and political development with tight government control of the economy, others opted for some form of capitalism in which the state had some limited control of the economy. A logical next step, thcreforc, would be not only to study a society that was colonized by the French or Portuguese but also to examine the effects of postcolonial ideological/philosophical differences. We wish to emphasize three points in concluding. First, our findings about the determinants of job satisfaction in a developing country are largely consistent with what has been found in Western nations. Such consistency supports claims (e.g. Vengroff, Belhaj and Ndiayc, 19Yl) that bureaucracies are quite similar in developed and developing countries, and also suggests the generalizability of theories of job satisfaction developed and tested primarily in Western contexts (e.g. Leonard, 1977, lYY1). Second, just because the sources of job satisfaction have been identified and the translation of these hndings into management recommenda-

SATISFACTION

21Y3

tions seems fairly straightforward, there is no guarantee that any action will be taken. There are two reasons for this pessimism. One is the general conclusion by most scholars of developing African nations that the political and social context is sufficiently different from the West to make direct application of Westernderived and tested arguments unlikely. That is, the results may be believed, but translation of them into recommendations will be perceived as difficult, if not impossible. The other reason for pessimism is the consensus that organizational mismanagement is a major culprit in the documented inefficiency in the public and parastatal sectors (World Bank, 1992; Blunt and Jones, 1992). Because of this, steps to improve management systems seem to be a prerequisite to any steps designed to increase the job satisfaction of the workers. Implicit in our argument, of course. is that better management systems involve structuring work and the work environments in ways that increase job satisfaction. Third, although the direct link of job satisfaction and productivity has not been demonstrated in this research, and the relationship has never been found to be large in Western studies (Iaffaldano and Muchinsky. 1983, we argue that satisfied agricultural technicians will have an indirect, and positive, impact on reaching a developing society’s economic goals. By estimating a model of the determinants of job satisfaction for Kenya, we have identified intrinsic and extrinsic rewards in the workplace that could be changed to increase job satisfaction of the agricultural technicians. In addition, even if job satisfaction do not have positive effects on organizational and societal outcomes, we agree with Blunt and Jones (1992) that job satisfaction is important in-and-of-itself. Every society should attempt to create work environments in which workers can be satisfied with the work they do. For these reasons. it is important that developing countries seriously think about the implications of investing in satisfied employees as well as technically competent employees. Knowing what produces satisfied employees is a step in that direction.

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with the sole goal to gcncrate profits through user charges for goods and/or services. They operate 111 a competitor market. Four of the tivc contacted prwdte organizations agrwd to cooperate: HAT Kcn)la Lirmtcd, Brookc Bond Kenya Limtcd, Kenya Brewmes Lunitcd and Edt Afrmn Industries Limited. The pubhc actor refer\ to the Ministry of Agriculture, the major employer of agricultural graduates trained in the local unwcrsities, colleges and inatltutcs. The sample \w\ drwn from the division of Agruxltural Education, and specifically, the Di\trlct Agricultural Estenslun Servicc~ branch of this division. From tbi\ division, six ~~drnmistrativc districts (Bungom~, Embu. Nurobi, Nyerl and South Nyanrd) were randomly wlectcd firom the II dlstrlct, m the country Organ~z,~tions in the wrn-public (par,istx&d) sector 31-c \c‘mi-:~llt0110ii~011\ govcrnrnent rnonopol~cs

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MEASUREMENT

The groupings mirror the categories of exogenous variables. All csogtmous variables with the exception of pay and fringe benefits (and most of the controls) were measured utilizing multiplcindicated, the item scales. Unless otherwise measures come from Price and Mueller (1080~). In addition, unless indicated otherwise all items “strongly agree” (1) to “strongly wcrc coded disagree” (5). Ii indicates the coding was revcrscd. Factor loadings are the standardized lambdas from the LISREL mcasurcment model.

Partiripatior~ irz dcfisiorf rrrakir;q was measured using the following three items: I usually participate in decision making to hire new professional staff; I usually do not participate in the decision making to promote professional staff (R): I often participate in decisions in the adoption of new policies. Factor loadings for this construct ranged between 0.67 and 0.76. The alpha was 0.76. Autor7orq was measured by three items as follows: I control the scheduling of my work; I influence the things that affect me on the job: I have inputs in deciding what tasks or parts of tasks I will do. Factor loadings ranged hetwecn 0.78 and 0.85 and the alpha was 0.85. by I!pujarff coriff~rrirli~atiorr was operationalizcd three items as follows: It is easy to communicate any information I have concerning my job to higher level administrators; reaching those at the higher levels of administration in my job is almost impossible (R); feedback from basellne workcra in my job hardly gets to top policy makers (I~). Factor loadings ranged between 0.75 and 0.78 and the alpha was 0.82. Tusk s@~$cnr~wwas measured using a short form of a seven-point scale developed by Mottaz (19%~). Employees responded to the following three out of scvcn items used by Mottaz: My work is a significant contribution to the successfLll operation of my department: my work is really important and worthwhile to my department; I often feel that my work counts for very little around here (R). The factor loadings ranged hctween 0.51 and 0.82 and the alpha was 0.72. through the Distrihrfiw justice was measured following four items: I am fairly well rewarded considermg the responstbllmcs that I csercise (money and recognition are examples of rewards): I am not fairly rewarded taking into account the

amount of education and training I have had (R); I am fairly rewarded for the amount of effort that I put forth; I am fairly rewarded in view of the amount of experience that I have. Factor loadings ranged between 0.72 and 0.88 and the alpha was 0.88. Carwr p~utlr was measured using three items developed specifically for this study as follows: My organization provides me with the opportunity to improve my professional skills and knowledge; my organization offers the nicans for me to keep up with new devclopmcnts rclatcd to my job; my organization does rot provide the means for me to nttcnd courses which incrcasc my job skills and knowlcdgc (I~). Factor loadings ranged between 0.75 and 0.83 and the alpha was 0.83. Ibricty was operationalizcd by a three-item scale adopted frown Price and Mueller (1981, 1986a) as follows: My duties arc repetitious in my _job (R); my job has variety; I have the opportunity to do a number of different things in my job. Factor loadings ranged bctxveen 0.81 a11d 0.W and the alpha was 0.90.

Pny wa\ measured in terms of Kenya shillings received by the employee from the work setting per month before taxes and other deductions are made. The variable was measured categorically. The category midpoints in shillings wcrc assigned and a Pareto estimate was used for the open-ended upper

category.

0~vr~fit~ wcrc operationalized by a list of possible items that employees could receive from their jobs as fringe bcncfits. Rxspondents wcrc asked to circle those items on the list that were offcrcd by their current employers as fi-inge hcncfits. The hcncfits rcccivcd by each respondent we,-c \ummcd. Prorrmtiorral opporttrrtiti~~~ wcrc measured by a four-item Likcrt scale as foollows: I have the opportunity for advancement; I am in a dead-end job (Ii); I can IIIOVC up quickly in my present job; I have a good chance to move np in this organization. Factor loadings for this construct ranged between 0.69 and 0.84 and the alpha was 0.81. _/ob .wtrrrity was measured using a three-item scale developed specifically for this study. Employees responded to the following items: I will he able to keep my present job as long as I wish; my job is not a secure one (R); I am secure in my job. Factor loadings ranged from 0.70 to 0.80 and the alpha was 0.81.

Friryc

WORLD

2198

DEVELOPMENT

(Iii) Soriol extrirzsic re7uards Superviwy tupport wz asscsscd utilizing the foilowing items: When things get tough in my job I can rely on my supervisors for help; my supcrvisor is w~lhng to listen to my job-related problems; my supervisor is helpful to me in getting my job done. Factor loadings for this construct ranged between 0.59 and 0.79. The alpha was 0.74. Co-worker support was measured using the following statements: My co-workers can be rclicd upon when things get tough on my job; my co-workers are willing to listen to my job-related problems; my co-workers are helpful to me in getting my job done. Factor loadings ranged between 0.76 and 0.80 and the alpha was 0.82. Finally, work group cohesion was measured by a three-item scale shaped around a scale developed by Price and Mueller (1981, 1986b) to assess the extent to which employees have close friends in their immediate work units. Employees responded to the items: Individuals in my work group are very friendly; people in my work group take a personal interest in me; I very much look forward to being with the people in my group each day. The factor loadings ranged between 0.70 and 0.74 and the alpha

was 0.77.

(iv) Conveniewe exiritlsic cost5 Work overload was measured using the following three items (see Rizzo and Lirtzman, 1970): I do not have enough time to get everything done in my job: I have to work very fast in my job to keep up with my work; my workload is too heavy in my job. Factor loadings for this construct ranged between 0.78 and 0.85 and the alpha was 0.87. Role urrrbig~iry was also measured using three items as follows (see Rizzo and Lirtzman, 1970): I do not know exactly what my responsibilities are in performing my job; I know exactly what is expected of me in my job (R); I know how to get my job done. Factor loadings ranged between 0.63 and 0.83 and the alpha was 0.76. Role rotizict was measured using the following three items (see Rizzo and Ln-tzman, 1970): I get conflicting job requests from my administrator/ supervisor; I get conflicting job requests from my co-workers; job requests fi-om my administrator and co-workers are often conflicting. The factor loadings ranged between 0.67 and 0.71 and the alpha was 0.73. Rcqourw inadequacy was measured using three items fashioned along that used by Halaby and Wcakliem (1989) as follows: I have difficulties in getting enough help and equipment to get my job

done; most times I cam7ot do my job because of lack of adequate transportation: I have enough support services to do my job (R). The factor loadings ranged between 0.64 and 0.74 and the alpha was 0.74. Finally, irradcquacr~ socialization was measured using three items devclopcd following I’ascale (1985) as follows: Virtually all new employees in my Job are required to identify and articulate the firm’s shared values (i.e. the purpose or mission that tics the firm to society, the customer and its employees) (R); in my job nobody cares to familiarize new employees with the in-depth workings and expectations of the firm; as a new employee in my job I was required to under go an intensive in-service course to acquaint myself with the goals and cxpcctations of my organization (R). Factor loadings ranged between 0.82 and 0.86 and the alpha was 0.88.

(b) Endocqerlous variable measwt’meni job .sati+tion was measured using four items which are an adaptation of Price and Mueller (1981, 1986a) from Brayfield and Rothe (1951). Employees responded to the following items: I tind real enjoyment in my job; I definitely dislike my job (R); I feel dissatisfied with my present job (R); I am fairly well satisfied with my job. Factor loadings ranged between 0.75 and 0.80 and the alpha was 0.86.

(c) Conrrol variables measurement Exfermd opportrrnirie~ was measured by a threeitem version of a scale developed by Price and Mueller (1981, 1986b). Employees responded to the items: It would be very easy for me to find a job with another employer that is as good as the one I have now; it would be very easy for me to find a job with another employer that is better than the one I now have; It would be very easy for me to find a job with another employer that is much better than the one I have now. Factor loadings ranged between 0.63 and 0.86 and the alpha was 0.80. Kinrhip responribility was operationalized by questions about marital status, presence of children and other dependents, and presence of kin in the community as recommended by Blcgan, Mueller and Price (1988). These items were combined into a scale which was a summation of the following components: (1) Marital status: 1 if married, 0 if not married; (2) presence of resident dependents: 0 If none, 1 foi- one through two dependents, 2 for

EMPLOYEE

JOB SATISFACTION

three through six dependents, 3 for seven through 24 dependents; (3) presence of non-resident dependents: 0 for none, 1 for one through twc) dependents, 2 for three through six dependents, 3 for seven through 20 dependents: (4) respondent’s/ spouse’s kin in the community: 0 if none present, 1 if one through two, 2 if three through six, and 3 if scvcn through 50 kin. The range for the variable is O-9. LVork rtm~ivatio~~ was measured using three items based on Kdnungo (1982) as follows: Work is something people should get involved in most of the time; work should only he a small part of one’s hfe (R): work should be considcrcd central to life. The factor loadings ranged hctwccn 0.09 and 0.73 and the alpha was 0.74. Posirivc @~ri~~ir~ was measured by a modified short version of the Multidirncnsional Personality Scale developed by Tcllegen (198 1). Employees responded to the items: It is easy f-or me to become cntllusiastic about something I am doing: I often feel happy and satisfied for no particular reason; I always seem to have something pleasant to look forward to. Factor loadings ranged hctwccn 0.73 and 0.84 and the alpha was 0.83. /Vc~~atit~r afi~&ity was also measured by a short fol-m of tl;c Tcllegen (19X1) scale. Employees responded to the items: Often I get irritated at little annoyances; my mood often got\ up and down; I sometimes feel miscrablc. Factor loadings

2 109

ranged between 0.75 and 0.82 and the alpha was 0.83. Firm-s~~ec-$ifir trairrir!q was measured utilizing the following four-item scale: Doing my job depends on knowledge and skills learned \vhilc working for this organization; the skills and knowlcdgc I acquired throu$ formal edrlc‘~tioll/tralniil~ have hccn adequate for mc to perform my job compctcntly in the organization (l<); the skills I LISC to carry out my duties in my job only tit my prcscnt work setting; the skills I use to do my job in this organization would transfer- easily to Inost other organizations (K). The factor loadings rangd bchveen 0.71 and 0.91 and the alpha ~vas 0.87. Gerdu was mcasurcd by a dichotomy with 1 for fcmalc and 0 for male. E~lrcariorr was measured by the number of years of formal schooling and training the employee had had. TcrlrrrcJ was measured by the length of time (the numbclof years) the respondent was employed by the cltI-rent organization. The square of tenut-e (tenure’) was utilized to capture skill deterioration. Finally IrxA scrtor was captured by three dummies with the private sector being the omitted (comparative) category. Not only dots this represent the public. parastatal. and private distinctions, but it also captures the distinction hcnvccn cstcnsion and rcscarch activities. Those in the parastatal sector are involved m research activities: those in the public and private sectors do extension work.