UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST EFFECTS OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT ON PERFORMANCE: A CASE STUDY OF SENIOR STAFF IN KWAME NKRUMAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY BY ABIGAIL DZAMA TAWIAH DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE INSTITUTE FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES OF THE FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES, UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR AWARD OF MASTER OF ARTS DEGREE IN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT OCTOBER, 2009 ii DECLARATION Candidate’s Declaration I hereby declare that this dissertation is the result of my own original work and that no part of it has been presented for another degree in this university or elsewhere. Candidate’s Signature: ………………………… Date: …………………… Name: ABIGAIL DZAMA TAWIAH Supervisor’s Declaration I hereby declare that the preparation and presentation of the dissertation were supervised in accordance with the guidelines on supervision of dissertation laid down by the University of Cape Coast. Supervisor’s Signature: ………………………… Date: …………………… Name: DR. G. K. T. ODURO iii ABSTRACT Managing organizational commitment brings positive outcomes to organizations. These outcomes are measured in terms of loyalty, intention to leave, work stress and self performance. The purpose of this research was to find out the effect of organizational commitment on the performance of senior staff of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). The research was conducted by employing both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection. Stage one involved the quantitative method whereby 151 survey questionnaires were delivered to respondents. In stage two, face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten (10) employees. The response rate was 74.5% (120 out of the 161 sampled). Bivariate correlation analysis and cross tabulation were employed to analyze trend, associations and relationships among the various variables. The findings of this study indicate that senior staff perceived organizational commitment as important to Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology’s performance, yet they do not allow their feelings about the organization to affect their job performance. Therefore there is no relationship between organizational commitment and job performance at KNUST. The main recommendations include KNUST must enhance its support of senior staff, improve factors that create positive employee perception, as well as boost its reward systems. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my profound gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. George K. T. Oduro for trusting my abilities and encouraging me to work in continuously. His professionalism and exceptional turnaround time is deeply appreciated. To my mother, father and siblings for taking very good care of my baby girl AnnaLois as I pursued this work. To my husband, Sammy, for his understanding, support and love throughout this study. v DEDICATION I dedicate this piece of work to my family. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Content Page DECLARATION ii ABSTRACT iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv DEDICATION v TABLE OF CONTENTS vi LIST OF TABLES x LIST OF FIGURES xi CHAPTER ONE – INTRODUCTION Introduction 1 Statement of the problem 4 Research objectives 5 Research questions 5 Purpose of the study 6 Significance of the study 6 Delimitations 7 Limitations 7 Structure of the report 8 CHAPTER TWO – LITERATURE REVIEW Introduction 9 Organizational commitment as a concept 9 Organizational commitment model 11 vii Approaches to the study of organizational commitment 15 Antecedents of organizational commitment 18 Outcomes of organizational commitment 27 Relationship between organizational commitment and employee performance 29 CHAPTER THREE – METHODOLOGY Introduction 33 Research design 34 Study population 36 Sample 37 Sample design/strategy 38 Data types and sources 39 Instrument 39 Reliability and validity 41 Instrument measures 42 Data management and analysis 45 CHAPTER FOUR – RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Introduction 47 Demographic data analysis 47 Analysis of the levels of organizational commitment of respondents 51 Factors necessary to promote higher organizational commitment among senior staff 63 The effect of organizational commitment on staff performance 68 viii The importance of organizational commitment 71 CHAPTER FIVE - SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Introduction 72 Summary 72 Conclusions 74 Recommendations 75 Recommendations for future Research 75 REFERENCES 77 APPENDICES I: Questionnaire 95 II: Interview Guide 102 ix LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1: Distribution of senior staff by gender in Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology 37 2: Study sample 38 3: Background characteristics of respondents 50 4: General commitment of respondents 51 5: Commitment of respondents by sex 53 6: Pearson’s correlation between tenure and commitment 54 7: The relationship between age and commitment 56 8: Pearson’s correlation between age and commitment 57 9: Respondents’ type of commitment 63 10: The impact of enhanced commitment on performance 69 x LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1: Typology of organizational commitment 12 2: Organizational commitment: Antecedents and Outcomes 29 xi 1 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Introduction With the current increased competitive pressure of globalization and demand for efficiency, work is changing from a worker-intensive industrial society towards an automated information society. Recent technological advancements and increase in competition have resulted in the retention of technological advantages and knowledge capital by an organization no longer assured. Many organizations are alert to the fact that with the requisite resources, organizational objectives and strategic goals could be achieved. Institutions have material, financial and human resources at their disposal and human resources appear to be the most important factor. Human resource appreciates with time and it is the resource that accumulates capital, exploits resources, and manages social, political, economic and technological changes in an organization. In this light, the importance of committed human resources within an organization is becoming increasingly understood in today's rapidly changing and uncertain business environment. The need for committed human resources at KNUST is further strengthened by the fact that tertiary educational institutions in Ghana today are 2 competing for limited material resources. The large number of qualified applicants to be admitted into universities each year has resulted in a spontaneous establishment of private universities and colleges. A little over a decade ago, the country had just five public universities, however, demands for university education resulted in spontaneous response with the establishment of private universities. Currently, Ghana can now boast of six public universities and twenty-six private universities and university colleges (www.nab.gov.gh). This influx of universities together with the fact that now some polytechnics are offering degree programmes have presented a variety of choices to candidates. To remain in competition, KNUST needs staff that are committed to its vision by continually striving for excellence in the higher education industry. The concept of organizational commitment has received significant research focus over the past 25 years (Varona, 1996; Mowday, 1998). Organizational commitment connotes the extent to which an individual identifies with an organization and is committed to its goals. It is important because committed individuals are expected to display a willingness to work harder to achieve organizational goals and a greater desire to stay employed at an organization (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2004). Today, organizational management control has shifted to the commitment system where control is based on shared goals and values (Walton, 1985). In view of the continuous expansion and highly competitive higher education market, organizational commitment among staff of an institution such as KNUST is highly desirable. Interest in the concept of organizational commitment derives 3 from an equal degree of interest in behavioural related outcomes such as performance. This is because it is believed that committed employees exert extra effort that can translate into positive organizational outcomes. In particular, organizational commitment is a multidimensional construct (Morrow, 1993) that has the “potential to predict organizational outcomes such as performance, turnover, absenteeism, tenure, and organizational goals” (Meyer & Allen, 1997:12). In recognizing the importance of its human resources and specifically, senior staff, KNUST has been making efforts to offer continuing training. For instance, in 2008 alone about 45 Senior Staff received training to enhance their capacity and this is hoped to continue (State of the University Address, April 29, 2008). The University was transformed from College of Technology into a full- fledged University by an Act of Parliament on 22 nd August, 1961. The mission of the KNUST is to provide an environment for teaching, research and entrepreneurship training in science and technology for development of Ghana and Africa. Its vision is to be globally recognized as the premier centre of excellence in Africa for teaching in science and technology for development; producing high calibre graduates with knowledge and expertise to support the industrial and socio-economic development of Ghana and Africa (www.knust.edu). KNUST has expanded its faculties and diversified many programmes in an attempt to meet the human resource needs of organizations and industries. The KNUST is poised to take up that challenge with a current staff strength of 2,983, 4 made up of 734 senior members, 800 senior staff and 1449 junior staff that serves a student population of 24,294 (Basic Statistics, KNUST 42 nd Congregation, 2008). Statement of the problem As Cohen (2003) observes, “the success of any organization depends on the organizational commitment of its employees”. By the structure of KNUST, Senior Staff occupy the middle level position of the University and are mainly responsible for providing technical/administrative support to policy formulators. In the real sense of modern business, middle-level managers are responsible for carrying out the goals set by top management. By virtue of middle managers‟ involvement in the day-to-day workings of a business, they serve as valuable source of information to top managers to help improve the organisation's strategic outlook and solvency. The impact of middle managers on top managers however depends largely on their commitment to the values and mission of the organisation in which they work. One wonders though the extent to which senior staff of the KNUST is committed to the values and mission of the university. It is assumed that the University does not have a system that incorporates senior staff in its scheme of affairs and that such a situation affects their level of commitment to University‟s activities. To what extent do individual senior staff of the University demonstrate commitment to the University‟s activities? What are the indicators of senior staff commitment to the University? Questions such as these are critical in 5 understanding the commitment level of senior staff. Yet, little research evidence exists that inform us about the commitment level of staff within the University. It is this gap that urged the researcher on to conduct a study into the effect of organizational commitment on senior staff‟s performance in the University. Specifically, the researcher examines, as a case study, the form of organizational commitment of senior staff in the university and its effect, if any on job performance. Research objectives The main objective of the study was to find out the effect of organizational commitment on the performance of senior staff of KNUST. The specific objectives were to: 1. find out senior staff perception of organizational commitment 2. determine demographic factors that make senior staff committed to KNUST 3. ascertain the importance of organizational commitment in employee performance 4. explain the relationship between organizational commitment and employee performance 5. measure the level of KNUST‟s senior staff organizational commitment Research questions This study sought to address the following broad questions 6 1. What is the perception of KNUST‟s senior staff on their levels of organizational commitment? 2. What demographic factors influence senior staff organizational commitment? 3. How does organizational commitment affect senior staff performance? 4. How does senior staff perceive the importance of organizational commitment? 5. What factors are necessary to promote higher organisational commitment among senior staff of KNUST? Purpose of the study The primary purpose of the study was to find out the effect of organizational commitment on employee performance using senior staff of KNUST as a case study. Senior staff‟s views on factors that challenge employees to committing to KNUST are also important to this study. It was hoped that the findings and recommendations that was obtained can be used to improve the institution‟s effort at gaining and improving employee commitment. Significance of the study It was anticipated that the findings emerging from the study could serve as a reference material for researchers who would be interested in doing further investigation into organizational commitment and employee performance in KNUST. Further, the results of the study, which the researcher intends disseminating through seminar presentations in KNUST, will contribute to the 7 University‟s strategies for enhancing the commitment of its senior staff to the institution‟s vision and mission. Finally, the study has the strength of contributing to the body of knowledge in the field of employee performance management in Ghanaian universities. Delimitations The study was restricted to the KNUST, with particular reference to the senior staff of the University. Findings, conclusions and generalizations emerging from the study are therefore limited to the senior staff and not other members of the University community. . Limitations One limiting factor that the researcher encountered was time constraint in gathering the data for final analysis. This was due to the fact that the researcher had to combine her official duties with the research work. However, measures were put in place to complete the work within schedule. Another limiting factor was the difficulty in retrieving the administered questionnaire. Due to the nature of the topic, many respondents were hesitant to fill and submit the questionnaire. Nevertheless, the fact that the researcher is a senior staff of KNUST and the research work is only for academic purpose encouraged respondents to complete the questionnaire. The above limitations did not affect the researcher so much as to render this work unreliable since the objective was achieved. The researcher had to use 8 personal contacts and informal discussions to encourage senior staff to develop confidence in the study. The findings are peculiar to senior staff in KNUST and thus not appropriate to use the study for generalisation. Structure of the report This section outlines the main structure of what is contained in each of the chapters. The study was organized as follows: Chapter one contains the background of the study, statement of problem and objectives of the study (main and specific). Also are be the purpose and significance of the study as well as the research questions. Limitations and delimitations that characterised the study are also indicated. In Chapter two, literature that relates to the study such as key concepts of organizational commitment and employee job performance have been defined and discussed. Special emphasis was placed on the relationship between organizational commitment and employee job performance. Chapter three pays attention to the empirical study where the study design and methodology are be discussed. Chapter four gives the research findings and analysis of the data as well as discussion of the findings. Lastly, in Chapter five, the summary, conclusions and recommendations are discussed. Subsequent area for further research has been considered. References and appendixes – questionnaire, list of tables and list of figures have been provided. 9 CHAPTER TWO REVIEW OF LITERATURE Introduction This chapter seeks to locate the study in a theoretical frame by reviewing related literature on organizational commitment. It examines how other writers have conceptualised organisational commitment, antecedents of organizational commitment, outcomes of organizational commitment, and employee performance. Organizational commitment as a concept The concept of organizational commitment has attracted considerable interest in an attempt to understand and clarify the intensity and stability of an employee‟s dedication to the organization (Mester, et al, 2003). It however defies a universally acceptable definition. A wide variety of definitions of organizational commitment exist. As Morris, Lydka and O‟Creevy (1993) observed there is not yet any consensus on the definition of organizational commitment. In fact, the commitment literature is characterized with a surfeit of definitions of the concept. One of the earliest definitions of organizational commitment is by Porter et al.‟s (1974) which states that it is the strength of an individual‟s identification and involvement with a particular organization, characterized by three factors (a) 10 strong belief in and acceptance of the organization‟s goals and values; (b) a willingness to exert considerable effort on behalf of the organization; and (c) a definite desire to maintain organizational membership. The term is also perceived as the willingness of social actors to give their energy and loyalty to a social system or an effective attachment to an organization apart from the purely instrumental worth of the relationship (Buchanan, 1974). On his part, Cohen (2003) explains that commitment is the force that binds an individual to a course of action of relevance to one or more targets. This general description of commitment relates to Arnold‟s (2005:625) definition of organizational commitment as “the relative strength of an individual‟s identification with and involvement in an organisation”. Thus, organizational commitment has a connotation of a psychological state that characterizes the employee's relationship with the organization. This has implications in terms of continuing his or her membership in the organization. Mowday, Steers and Porter (1979:226) also defined organisational commitment as “the relative strength of an individual‟s identification with and involvement in a particular organisation”. Upon further research, Mowday, Porter, and Steers (1982) claimed that if employees had strong attachment to an organisation, they would internalise the organisation‟s goals and voluntarily become involved in activities that would have beneficial outcomes for the organisation. They therefore operationalised the definition of organisational commitment as being characterised by three related factors: i) an identification with the goals and values of the organization; 11 ii) a desire to belong to the organization; and iii) a willingness to display effort on behalf of the organization. To Northcraft and Neale (1996), commitment is an attitude reflecting an employee's loyalty to the organization, and an ongoing process through which organization members express their concern for the organization and its continued success and well being. This view of commitment is in line with Morrow (1993) who described organizational commitment by attitude and behaviour. Inferring from the foregoing definitions, the researcher has adopted Allen and Meyer‟s (1990) explanation of organizational commitment as a working definition for the study: an attitude as it relates to individuals‟ mindsets about the organization. Organisational commitment model Organizational commitment is seen as multidimensional in nature. Meyer and Allen‟s (1991) three component model of organizational commitment is therefore of relevance to this research. According to Meyer and Allen (1997), the concept of organizational commitment is a construct distinguishable from other familiar concepts such as job satisfaction, job involvement, career salience, occupational commitment, turnover intentions and work group attachment (Cohen, 1993; Mathieu & Farr, 1991; Meyer, Allen & Smith, 1993; Morrow & Elroy, 1986; Mueller, Wallace & Price, 1992). Allen and Meyer (1990) describe commitment as a psychological state that binds the individual to the organisation. 12 Meyer and Herscovitch (2001) suggest that the binding force of commitment is experienced as a mindset (that is a frame of mind or psychological state that compels an individual toward a course of action). The mindsets reflect three distinguishable themes which Meyer and Allen (1991) proposed. The three components are depicted in Figure 1. All the three components measure organizational commitment and have implications for the continuing participation of the individual in the organization. The three components are: i.) Affective Commitment ii.) Continuance Commitment iii.) Normative Commitment Figure 1: Typology of Organizational Commitment Source: Meyer & Allen, 1991 Affective commitment refers to the employees‟ emotional attachment to the organization. In essence, with affective commitment, employees stay with the Organizational Commitment Affective Commitment Continuance Commitment Normative Commitment 13 organization because they want to. Organizational members, who are committed to an organization on an affective basis, continue working for the organization because they want to (Meyer & Allen, 1991). Employees who are committed on affective level stay with the organization because they view their personal employment relationship as congruent to the goals and values of the organization (Beck & Wilson, 2000). Affective commitment is a work-related attitude with positive feelings towards the organization (Morrow, 1993). The strength of affective organizational commitment is influence by the extent to which the individual‟s needs and expectations about the organization are matched by their actual experience (Storey, 1995). Continuance commitment is defined by Meyer and Allen (1997:11) as “awareness of the costs associated with leaving the organization”. It is calculative in nature because of the individual‟s perception or weighing of costs and risks associated with leaving the current organization. Meyer and Allen (1991:67) further states that “employees whose primary link to the organization is based on continuance commitment remain because they need to do so”. In other words, people stay with the organization because it is simply more comfortable to do so. The individual‟s association with the organization is based on an assessment of economic benefits gained (Beck & Wilson, 2000). The strength of continuance commitment is determined by the perceived costs of leaving the organization (Meyer & Allen, 1984). Best (1994:71) indicates that “continuance organizational commitment will therefore be strongest when availability of alternatives are few and the number of investments are high”. This 14 argument supports the view that when given better alternatives, employees may leave the organization. Normative commitment refers to employees‟ feelings of obligation to remain with the organization. People stay because they feel they ought to do so. Employees with a high level of normative commitment feel that they ought to remain with the organization. Strong normative commitment involves being tied to the organisation by feelings of obligation and duty. Meyer and Allen (1991) argue that, generally, such feelings would motivate individuals to behave appropriately and do what is right for the organisation. It is expected that normative commitment to the organisation will be positively related to such work behaviours as job performance, work attendance and organisational citizenship. According to Wiener (1982), normative commitment to the organisation develops on the basis of a collection of pressures that individuals feel during their early socialization (from family and culture) and during their socialization as newcomers to the organisation. Meyer and Allen (1997) suggest that normative commitment develops on the basis of a particular kind of investment that the organisation makes in the employee, specifically investments that seem difficult for employees to reciprocate (Meyer & Allen, 1991; Scholl, 1981). While Meyer and Allen (1991) used affective, continuance, and normative commitment to capture the multidimensional nature of organizational commitment, affective commitment is considered a more effective measurement of organizational commitment. Meyer and Allen (1997) buttressed their support for the importance of affective commitment by explaining that employees with 15 strong affective commitment would be motivated to higher levels of performance and make more meaningful contributions than employees who expressed continuance or normative commitment. Guest (1991) concludes that high organizational commitment is associated with lower turnover and absence, but there is no clear link to performance. It is probably wise not to expect too much from commitment as a means of making a direct and immediate impact on performance. It is not the same as motivation. Commitment is a broader concept and tends to withstand transitory aspects of an employee's job. It is possible to be dissatisfied with a particular feature of a job while retaining a reasonably high level of commitment to the organization as a whole. When creating a commitment strategy, Armstrong (2006) asserts that "it is difficult to deny that it is desirable for management to have defined strategic goals and values. And it is equally desirable from management point of view for employees to behave in a way that support those strategies and values." Creating commitment includes communication, education, training programmes, and initiatives to increase involvement and ownership and the development of performance and reward management systems. Approaches to the study of commitment There are divergent schools of thought on the subject of commitment. Researchers have used different theoretical approaches within each of the research streams. The approaches to the study of commitment are divided into three, namely from an attitudinal, behavioural and a motivational perspective. 16 Attitudinal approach Morrow (1993) describes organizational commitment as characterized by attitude and behaviour. An attitude, as described by Miller (2003:72) is “evaluative statements or judgements- either favourable or unfavourable – concerning a phenomenon”. Attitudinal commitment reflects the individual‟s identification with organizational goals and the employee‟s willingness to work towards them. Attitudinal commitment focuses on the process by which people come to think about their relationship with the organization. In many ways it can be thought of as a mind set in which individuals consider the extent to which their own values and goals are congruent with those of the organization. Organizational commitment as an attitude reflects feelings such as attachment, identification and loyalty to the organization as an object of commitment (Morrow, 1993). Meyer, Allen and Gellatly (1990:711) supported the attitudinal approach to organizational commitment by suggesting that organizational commitment as an attitude is “characterized by a favourable positive cognitive and affective component about the organization”. The attitudinal approach is without limitations. Roodt (2004a) identified two limitations: firstly, the commitment construct is conceptualised as being multi-dimensional which do not meet the criteria for parsimony, clarity and precision; and secondly, it includes an affective and conative component which creates a conceptual overlap with job attitudes such as job satisfaction and job intentions respectively or moral such as work values. 17 Behavioural approach Behavioural commitment, on the other hand, results from the binding of individuals to behavioural acts. Best (1990:69) maintains that “committed individuals enact specific behaviours due to the belief that is morally correct rather than personally beneficial”. Reichers (1985:468) is of the view that “organizational commitment as behaviour is visible when organization members are committed to existing groups within the organization”. Behavioural commitment relates to the process by which individuals become locked into a certain organization and how they deal with this problem (Mowday et al. in Meyer & Allen, 1997). Mowday, Porter and Steers (1982) maintain that there is a cyclical relationship between these two types of commitment whereby commitment attitudes lead to committing behaviours which, in turn, reinforce commitment attitudes. Therefore organizational commitment is a state of being in which organisation members are bound by their actions and beliefs that sustain their activities and their own involvement in the organisation (Miller & Lee, 2001). According to Roodt (2004a), the behavioural approach to commitment is problematic because behaviour is multi-deterministic (that is predictors related to a particular behaviour can also predict other behaviours). Antecedents and consequential behaviours of commitment can also be related to other determinants or ensuing conditions as job satisfaction, morale and intention to leave or stay. Simply put, the state of commitment in the behavioural approach is therefore not precisely defined. 18 Motivational approach The third, motivational approach was proposed by Kanungo (1982a) as an attempt to integrate the diverse perspectives encountered. It also sought to overcome the important limitations of the other two approaches as discussed above (Roodt 2004a). Various researchers have provided variations of the motivational approach (for example, Harter, 2000a; Roodt, 1997). This approach focuses only on the state of commitment in a particular focus. This state of commitment is not only separated from its antecedents, outcomes and behaviour, but also from relative affective and conative components that are present in widely used construct such as job satisfaction and intentions. Antecedents of organizational commitment “Antecedents of organizational commitment are quite diverse in their nature and origins” (Steers, 1977: 53). Once commitment to an organisation is determined by a number of factors, including personal factors (for example, age, tenure in the organization, educational qualification, marital status); organizational factors (job design and the leadership style of one's supervisor); and non-organizational factors (availability of alternatives). All these things affect subsequent commitment (Nortcraft & Neale, 1996). Dornstein and Matalon (1998) describe eight variables that are relevant to organizational commitment. These are interesting work, co-worker's attitudes towards the organization, organizational dependency, age, education, employment alternatives, attitude of 19 family and friends. The variables explain 65% of the variance in organizational commitment. Commitment has served as both a dependent variable for antecedents such as tenure, age and level of education amongst others (Mowday, Porter & Steers, 1982); and as a predictor of various outcomes such as turnover, intention to leave, absenteeism and performance (Mathieu & Zajac, 1990). Because of the range of theories and diversity of antecedents, categories are useful. Reichers (1985) classified the antecedents of commitment into three categories: 1. Psychological -expectations, challenges, conflicts 2. Behavioural -irrevocable acts, volitional and 3. Structural -sunk costs, tenure in the organisation, and lack of opportunity to leave. Reichers (1995) suggested that each class of variables is associated with an employee's commitment of early, middle or late-careers to age respectively. During the early career stage, psychological linkage might be a main antecedent of commitment. It is further hypothesized that in later career stages, psychological, behavioural and structural antecedents combine to influence the employee's commitment. Four categories of organizational commitment antecedents are influential: personal characteristics, job- or role-related characteristics, work experiences 20 (Steers, 1977), and structural characteristics (Mowday, Porter & Steers, 1982). For this study, the researcher examined these four categories: a. Personal characteristics b. Role-related determinants c. Work experience d. Structural characteristics Personal characteristics “Personal characteristics consist of those variables which define the individual” (Steers, 1977:47). Personal characteristics have been strongly connected to antecedents of organizational commitment. According to Tjosvold, Saski, and Moy (1998), the influence of personal characteristics on organizational commitment and organizational outcomes, are examined via age, gender, position, length of service, job tenure, religion, race, academic background and country of graduation. For the purposes of this research, age, gender, tenure, marital status and academic background were discussed. The relationship between age and commitment There are contradictory findings in the relevant literature about the relationship between age and commitment. Meyer and Allen (1997) have found that age was positively correlated with affective and normative commitment, but not to continuance commitment. Others researchers that have found that 21 commitment is positively related to age include Cohen and Lowenberg (1990); Kacmar and Carlson (1999) and Lok and Crawford (1999). Angle and Perry‟s (1981) findings suggested that younger employees are less committed than older employees, largely due to the fact that as age increases, the individual's opportunities for alternate employment decrease. Research has also indicated that there is a positive relationship between age and affective commitment (Harrel, 1990; Meyer & Allen, 1984). Another suggestion is that people become more committed when they realise that it may cost them more to leave than to stay. Some studies on the other hand found no relationship between age and commitment, as was supported by Batlis (1978); Muller and Roodt (1998); Roodt (1992); Irving, Coleman, and Cooper (1997); and Roodt, Bester and Boshoff (1993). The relationship between gender and commitment There are contradictory research findings with regard to gender and commitment. Mathieu and Zajac (1990) reported that there is a relationship between gender and organizational commitment. Some studies found women to be more committed than men (Angle & Perry, 1981; Mathieu & Zajac, 1990; Saal, 1978). This was supported by Mathieu and Hamel (1989) in their study on professional employees. Others, however, found men remained more committed to continue with their work than women (Cohen & Lowenberg, 1990; Ferris & Aranya, 1983; Graddick & Farr, 1983; Lacy, Bokemeier & Shepard, 1983).Similarly, it was found by Irving, Coleman and Cooper (1997) that the men 22 in their sample had higher level of commitment than the women. Other researchers found that gender was not related to commitment (Aven, Parker & McEvoy, 1993; Kacmar & Carlson, 1999; Blau & Boal, 1989; McFarlin and Sweeney, 1992). The relationship between tenure and commitment Hackett, Bycio and Hausdorf (1994) found a positive relationship between tenure and affective and continuance commitment. Cohen and Lowenberg (1990); Buchanan (1974); Meyer and Allen (1984) and Welsch and La Van (1981) all reported that the longer employees worked in an organization the higher their levels of commitment. Roodt (1992) reported contradictory findings when he conducted a study in South Africa at an academic institution and found no significant relationship between tenure and organizational commitment. Ferris & Aranya (1983); Lok and Crawford (1999); McFarlin and Sweeney (1992) and Schwyhart and Smith (1972) also found no meaningful relationship between tenure and organizational commitment. The relationship between marital status and commitment Research has shown that marital status to be related to commitment (Hrebiniak & Alutto, 1972; Mathieu & Zajac, 1990; Mathieu & Hamel, 1989; Meyer & Allen, 1988). The relationship is because married people have greater financial responsibilities towards their family and this increases the need to stay on the job (Hrebiniak and Alutto, 1972; Kacmar and Carlson, 1999; Knoop, 1986; 23 Mathieu and Zajac, 1990). Other researchers, however, have found no relationship between marital status and commitment (Blau & Boal, 1989; Cohen & Lowenberg, 1990; Ferris & Aranya, 1983; Kanungo, 1982b; Roodt, Bester & Boshoff, 1993; & Saal, 1978, 1981). Relationship between education and commitment Research has shown a relationship between organizational commitment and an individual's level of education. For instance, Angle and Perry, (1981); Mathieu and Zajac, (1990); Mowday, Porter and Steers, (1982) and Rowden, (2000) found a negative relationship between organizational commitment and the level of education. The negative relationship may be due to the higher qualified employees feeling that their employers are not rewarding them adequately, and so the level of organisational commitment is diminished (Lok & Crawford, 2001). Angle and Perry (1981) suggest that lower education levels tend to reduce a person's chances for alternative employment and they are therefore restricted to their present organisations. Adeyemo (2000) reported a positive correlation between education and organizational commitment. Other researchers (for example, Lok & Crawford, 1999), however, found no correlation between education and commitment. Ellemmer, Gilder, and Heuvel (1998) also found that background variable as level of education was not clearly related to the three forms of commitment. 24 Role-related determinants Some researchers including Allen and Meyer (1990) contend that commitment is higher when employees have a broad job scope. The argument is that a wider range of duties and responsibilities means employees experience more challenges, hence become more committed. Role conflict refers to uncertainty over which tasks have priority. Morris and Sherman (1981) argued in the theory that experience of role conflict will inevitably lead to a reduction in commitment, although there is a lack of practical evidence of this. Role ambiguity refers to how clearly job tasks are identified. There are divided opinions on the effects of role ambiguity more than there are on role conflict. Some researchers believe that role ambiguity is not “a significant independent predictor of commitment” (Morris & Sherman, 1981: 519). In contrast, a study by Steers (1977) concluded that task identities were very significantly identified with commitment. In summarizing job/role characteristics, the theory suggests that: i. job scopes that allow some challenges but do not involve work overload are important to encouraging commitment; and ii. avoiding role conflict, and possibly role ambiguity, is important to generating commitment. Work experience The third set of characteristics that precede organizational commitment centre on individuals‟ work experiences. It has been argued that “commitment is influenced by the nature and quality of an employee‟s work experience during his 25 or her tenure in an organisation” (Steers, 1977: 47). Key aspects of work experience include rewards, organisational dependability, employee importance and social involvement. If employees receive rewards, say promotion, for example, after overcoming some obstacles, then commitment is likely to be higher than if the rewards are automatically received (Grusky, 1966). Grusky (1966) found, perhaps unsurprisingly, that high levels of pay encourage higher levels of commitment. This presents an obvious challenge to the low-paid senior staff in the education industry. In addition, it has been found that, if an employee sees that a colleague is being paid more than him/herself for the same work, the employee is likely to be disillusioned and therefore less committed (Rhodes & Steers, 1981). Organisational dependability refers to “the extent to which employees feel the organisation could be counted on to look after employee interests” (Mowday, Porter & Steers, 1982: 34). Clearly, the higher the experience of dependability, the more positive the impact on commitment. Interpersonal trust is closely aligned to organisational dependability (Hrebiniak & Alutto, 1972). Further, an individual‟s experiences of their co-workers‟ commitment can have an effect on their own commitment (Steers, 1977). Where the majority of employees are highly committed, it is likely this will encourage individual commitment. The opposite effect, where generally low commitment will reduce individual‟s commitment, is also likely. Thus, building commitment can have a reinforcing effect. 26 The extent to which employees feel they are important to the organisation is posited to be significant in its influence on commitment (Steers, 1977). As a result, individual experiences of people management and employee relations are important in securing and maintaining commitment. Social involvement too has been found to increase commitment (Sheldon, 1971). Steers (1977) used the term “optional interaction” for the same characteristic, arguing that, if an employee makes personal friendships within, and personally associates with people in, an organisation, then he/she will be more committed to the organisation. Structural characteristics Brooks (2002) found that structural variables that describe aspects or features of structure, rather than organisational structure itself, have a bearing on commitment. Formalization, functional dependence and decentralization are related to commitment (Mowday, Porter & Steers, 1982), while size and span of control are not (Brooks, 2002). Employees experiencing greater decentralisation, greater dependence on the work of others and greater formality of written rules and procedures feel more committed to the organisation than employees that experience these factors to a lesser extent (Mowday, Porter & Steers, 1982). However, Mathieu and Zajac (1990) examined the combined works of several authors and their meta-analysis did not support the relationship with decentralisation. Furthermore, studies focusing on the effects of worker ownership, found that employees are significantly more committed when they have a vested interest in the organisation (Mowday, Porter & Steers, 1982). 27 Brooks (2002) and Mowday Porter and Steers, (1982), also maintain that participation in decision-making impacts on organizational commitment. Outcomes of organizational commitment The consequence of understanding the antecedents of commitment and managing them to secure employee commitment in specific sectors and organisations is, ultimately, improved organisational performance. Organizational commitment, in general, is considered a useful measure of organizational effectiveness (Steers, 1975). Organisational commitment outcomes are measured in terms of loyalty, intention to leave, work stress and self performance. These four elements are sufficient to include all elements considered by Steers (1977) as organisational outcomes. Organizational commitment outcomes are not only positive effects on the organisation. As previous research shows, organisational commitment can also lead to negative effects on organizational outcomes. For example, work stress has been included as a negative effect of organisational commitment on organisational outcomes (Koopman, 1991; Smith, 2001; Cacioppe, 2000a; Cacioppe, 2000b). In particular, organizational commitment as a multidimensional construct has the “potential to predict organizational outcomes such as performance, turnover, absenteeism, tenure, and organizational goals” (Meyer & Allen, 1997: 12). Organizational outcomes vary depending on the variables involved. Various outcomes have been examined by different researchers. 28 For instance, Loui (1995) examined the relationship between organizational commitment and the outcome measures of supervisory trust, job involvement, and job satisfaction and reported positive relationships with organizational commitment. Angle and Perry (1991) also undertook a study to determine the effect that organizational commitment have on turnover. Their findings revealed a negative relationship between turnover and organizational commitment. This implies that employees who intended to leave the job were not committed to the organization. Studies on commitment have provided strong evidence that affective and normative commitments are positively related and continuance commitment is negatively connected with organizational outcomes such as performance and citizenship behaviour (Hackett, Bycio, & Handsdoff, 1994; Shore & Wayne, 1993). In 1987, DeCotiis and Summers undertook a study of 367 managers and their employees. The researchers examined the relationship between organizational commitment and the outcome measures of individual motivation, desire to leave, turnover, and job performance. Organizational commitment was found to be a strong predicator for each of these outcome areas. Out of the various outcomes of organizational commitment, its impact on performance is of interest to the researcher and so this research explored that. As summarised in Fig. 2, worker attitude within the context of individual mindsets about the organisation are associated with some antecedent issues such as personal characteristics, role-related determinants, work experience and structural characteristics. These antecedent behaviours largely influence 29 individuals‟ commitment to the organisation which in turn determines the extent to which the individual will be loyal to the organisation, decide to continuously work with the organisation, experience stress at the work place and work diligently. Figure 2: Organizational Commitment: Antecedents and Outcomes Source: Researcher’s creation The relationship between organisational commitment and employee performance From an organisational perspective, effective employee performance is the ultimate outcome and purpose of commitment. Basically: “… the main reason why commitment has been one of the most popular research subjects … over the past 30 years is its assumed impact on performance” (Benkhoff, 1997: 701). Yet the effect of commitment on performance is still only largely assumed and not conclusive. Lack of practical evidence is one factor that makes it difficult to draw definitive conclusions; the number of variables affecting employee performance is another. To put it bluntly, “researchers have not been able to come Outcomes 1. Loyalty 2. Intention to leave 3. Work stress 4. Self performance Antecedents Personal characteristics Role-related determinants Work experience Structural characteristics 30 up with evidence that commitment and performance go hand in hand” (Benkhoff, 1997: 702). This is not to diminish the value of investigating employee performance and commitment, but instead to establish the complexity of the relationship between the two. A number of authors testify that there is some relationship between employee performance and commitment (for example, Benkhoff, 1997; Mowday, Porter & Steers, 1982). The difficulty is that the relationship is neither consistent (Steers, 1977) nor direct (Mathieu & Zajac, 1990). Despite the complex relationship between commitment and employee performance, several theoretical positions can be established. One is that commitment influences performance as committed people will be persistent in tasks set and achieve set goals, whereas uncommitted people will not (Salancik, 1977). Second, the first likely outcome of commitment is service quality (Iverson, 1996). The importance of service quality for the higher education industry cannot be understated. Third, acceptance of organisational change can be a direct consequence of commitment (Iverson, 1996), as employees who are committed to their employer are likely to trust them and accept change affecting them. However, there is a limit to a productive level of commitment in respect of accepting change: too high a level of commitment can actually lead to resistance to change (Salancik, 1977). Fourth, committed individuals may assume extra role responsibilities (O‟Reilly & Chatman, 1986). An alternative way of considering commitment and employee performance is examining the effects of not encouraging commitment but instead 31 relying on employee compliance. This line of inquiry has, however, been rebutted. The grounds for rebuttal are that employees whose performance is based on compliance only may not display higher levels of absenteeism but they will certainly not be as productive or as likely to remain with the organization in the longer term as those who have deeper levels of commitment (Bennett & Durkin, 2000). It seems therefore, on balance, that investigation of organizational commitment is worthwhile in individual and organizational terms due to the potential, if not guaranteed, outcomes. With regard to the outcome of employee performance, commitment may be expressed in: persistence in completing tasks and achieving goals; service quality; acceptance of change; and assumption of extra job tasks. Several researchers have conducted studies to establish the actual relationship between organizational commitment and performance. For instance, Benkhof (1997) established a positive relationship between the two; Mathieu and Zajac (1990) saw no relationship, whilst Hartline and Ferrell (1996) even established a negative relationship. According to Maxwell and Steele (2003), lack of practical evidence and the number of variables affecting employee performance make it difficult to draw conclusions. Steers, (1977) found that the relationship is not consistent whilst Mathieu and Zajac (1990) found it not direct. Becker and Eveleth‟s (1995) research findings suggest that although overall organizational 32 commitment is not related to job performance, commitment to the supervisor, especially based on internalizing the supervisor's values, may be a more valid predictor of performance. Based on the above findings, it is important for KNUST to identify its staff commitment pattern and map out strategies for ensuring positive organizational commitment outcomes are derived from staff. 33 CHAPTER THREE METHODOLOGY Introduction This section describes how data for the research were be obtained. It provides information on the research design, study population, sampling issues, types of data and sources, data collection and data management and analysis. Research design A research design is a plan or blueprint of how the research is to be conducted (Mouton, 2001). It reflects the type of study undertaken to provide acceptable answers to the research problem. A case study approach was used for investigating the research problem. Yin (2002) defines the scope of a case study as an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident. Case studies can be either single or multiple-case designs. In a single case study, only one subject is studied in detail whereas multiple case studies involve using different subjects to gain a better understanding of a phenomenon. This research is a single case study. 34 Frequently, case study methodology has been criticised of its dependence on a single case rendering it incapable of providing a generalizing conclusion. Yin (1993) presented Giddens' view that considered case methodology "microscopic" because it "lacked a sufficient number" of cases. Hamel (Hamel, Dufour & Fortin, 1993); Yin (1984, 1989a, 1989b, 1993, 1994) forcefully argued that the relative size of the sample whether 2, 10, or 100 cases are used, does not transform a multiple case into a macroscopic study. The goal of the study should establish the parameters, and then should be applied to all research. In this way, even a single case could be considered acceptable, provided it met the established objective. A key strength of the case study method involves using multiple sources and techniques in the data gathering process. Tools used in collecting data can include surveys, interviews, documentation review, observation, and even the collection of physical artefacts (Soy, 1997). Case study method also has the advantages of applicability to real-life, contemporary, human situations and public accessibility through written reports. Case study results relate directly to the common reader‟s everyday experience and facilitate an understanding of complex real-life situations (Soy, 1997). Construct validity is especially problematic in case study research. It has been a source of criticism because of potential investigator subjectivity. Yin (1994) proposed three remedies to counteract this: using multiple sources of evidence, establishing a chain of evidence, and having a draft case study report reviewed by key informants. In order to ensure construct validity in this research, 35 multiple sources of information was employed. The researcher used both questionnaires and interview to counteract the criticism of construct validity in case study research. According to Tellis (1997), case studies often use triangulation to ensure the validity of findings. In triangulation, all data items are corroborated from at least one other source and normally by another method of data collection. Triangulation increases the reliability of the data and the process of gathering it that is triangulation serves to corroborate the data gathered from other sources. As a result, the researcher employed the use of both questionnaires and interviews in collecting data. The case study was located within a descriptive survey design. The purpose of descriptive surveys, as Ezeani (1998) explains, is to collect detailed and factual information that describes an existing phenomenon. According to Koul (1997:434), “Survey studies are conducted to collect detailed descriptions of existing phenomenon with the intent of employing data to justify current conditions, practices or make more intelligent plans for improving them. Their objective is not only to analyse, interpret and report the status of an institution, group or area in order to guide practice in the immediate future, it is also to determine the adequacy of status by comparing established standards.” 36 In light of the foregoing, the researcher deemed descriptive survey appropriate as the study was on organizational commitment. It was to answer questions on the perception, type and importance of organizational commitment. The study also gathered data necessary to make analysis and report on organizational commitment of senior staff of KNUST. This type of survey do not make decisions rather, it provides the researcher with information on which to base sound decisions (Osuala, 1991). Study population A population refers to all of the events, things or individuals to be represented in the study (Christensen, 2001). The population under study was senior staff of KNUST. “Senior Staff means those persons in the employment of the University of a rank not lower than that of an Administrative Assistant or its equivalent” (KNUST Statutes, 2004: 1). This category of staff include workers holding first degrees, Higher National Diplomas and other recognisable certificates who with years of work experience have risen through the ranks to the position of a senior staff. The senior staff consists of 805 employees with 83 males and 81 females performing administrative duties whiles 442 males and 199 females perform technical duties. Table 1 gives the distribution of senior staff in the University. 37 Table 1: Distribution of senior staff by Gender in Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology __________________________________________________________________ Section/College Administrative Technical Total M F M F __________________________________________________________________ Central Administration and Supporting Units 34 27 241 178 480 College of Agriculture and Natural Resources 11 15 73 5 104 College of Science 5 7 29 4 45 College of Engineering 8 4 32 1 45 College Arts and Social Sciences 12 10 17 5 44 College of Architecture and Planning 6 6 17 1 30 College of Health Sciences 7 12 33 5 57 _________________________________________________________________ Total 83 81 442 199 805 _________________________________________________________________ Source: KNUST Basic Statistics 2008 Sample Sampling is the process of selecting observations. A sample is a special subset of a population observed in order to make inferences about the nature of the total population (Babbie & Mouton, 2001). Sampling is described by Mouton (1996) as a research strategy to study objects or a phenomena as representative examples of a larger population of similar objects or phenomena. According to Ary, Jacobs and Razavieh (2002), sampling is indispensable to the research because it is sometimes virtually impossible to use the entire population for the research. Sampling is important for three reasons: i) the data will be 38 representative of the population; ii) sampling accuracy satisfies reliability requirements; and iii) efficient use of resources (Luck & Rubin, 1987). In view of the above reasons, sample was be drawn for this study. According to Ary, Jacobs and Razavieh (1990), results from samples are more reliable than those from the entire population thus the sample size was 20% of senior staff out of the target population of 805. This resulted in the selection of 161 respondents. The allocation was 20% each of males and females under each of the two categories (administrative and technical) of staff. The final selection is presented in Table 2: Table 2: Study Sample ___________________________________________________________ Category Male Female Total ___________________________________________________________ Administrative 17 16 33 Technical 88 40 128 ___________________________________________________________ Total 105 56 161 ___________________________________________________________ Sample design/strategy A random sampling method ensures that all members of the population have an equal chance to participate in the research study (Mouton and Marais, 1991). The study made use of stratified random sampling. This type of sampling was chosen because the sample was made up of categories. An advantage of stratified over simple random sampling is that it can provide greater precision than a simple random sample of the same size. Stratified sampling also provides 39 greater precision and often requires a smaller sample, which saves money. The use of stratified sample by the researcher can guard against an "unrepresentative" sample (for example, an all-male sample from a mixed-gender population). Data types and sources The source of data for the study was primary data. Primary data are data obtained from a direct observation of the phenomenon under investigation or data collected personally (Struwig & Stead, 2001). The data were obtained through the administration of questionnaires and interviews. The questionnaires and interview guide were designed by the researcher with the aim of soliciting information on staff perception of organizational commitment, factors influencing their commitment to KNUST, their organizational commitment level and the impact it has on their performance. Instrument A questionnaire was designed and used to elicit information on the effect of organizational commitment on employee performance. A written questionnaire was deemed appropriate for this study because it does not only allow for larger sample collection of information at a minimum cost but also offers greater anonymity to the respondents. According to Kumekpor (2002), greater anonymity that comes with the questionnaire is vital in order for respondents to be open and willing in their answering of the questions. A total of 42 questions were included 40 Twenty-four questions were derived from elements of the literature review whilst the remaining 18 were questions as contained in Meyer & Allen (1997) Organizational Commitment Questionnaire. The researcher personally administered the questionnaires to prospective respondents. Respondents were given one week to fill after which the researcher went back to collect them; some respondents were had not completed the questionnaires thus prompting the researcher to go back some few times resulting in the collection of 110 answered questionnaires. The researcher also conducted 10 interviews as an additional source of information. According to Tellis (1997), interviews are one of the most important sources of case study information. The forms of interviews that are possible are: open-ended, focused, structured, semi-structured and unstructured. In an open- ended interview, key respondents are asked to comment about certain events. They may propose solutions or provide insight into events. They may also corroborate evidence obtained from other sources. The questions were detailed and developed in advance. The focused interview was used in a situation where the respondent is interviewed for a short period of time, usually answering set questions. This technique is often used to confirm data collected from another source. The researcher employed focused interview in addition to the questionnaires. 41 Reliability and validity Reliability is defined as “the extent to which a measure yields consistent results; the extent to which scores are free of random error” (Ary, Jacobs & Razavieh, 2002: 566). According to Hair et al (2006), reliability is considered an assessment of the degree of consistency between multiple measurements of a variable. It is a measurement concept that represents the consistency with which an instrument measures a given performance or behaviour. Reliability coefficient is the diagnostic measure used to assess the consistency of the entire scale, which is known as Cronbach‟s Alpha. This is the most widely used measure. The generally agreed upon lower limit for Cronbach‟s Alpha is 0.70, however in exploratory research this may decrease to 0.60 (Hair et al, 2006; Robinson, Shaver & Wrightsman, 1991). In order to ensure reliability of the study, the researcher employed the use of Meyer and Allen (1997) Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ) in the study. Several studies have examined the reliability (Cronbach‟s Alphas) of the OCQ. Allen and Meyer (1990) reported 0.87 for affective, 0.75 for continuance, and 0.79 for normative. Meyer, et al (1993) reported 0.82, 0.83, 0.74 for affective, normative and continuance commitment. Dunham, et al (1994) found alpha ranges of 0.74 to 0.87 for affective, 0.73 to 0.81 for continuance, and 0.67 to 0.78 for normative. Cohen (1996) discovered alphas of 0.79 for affective, 0.69 for continuance, and 0.65 for normative commitment. Meyer and Allen (1997:120) found the internal constituencies of the OCQ “varying between 0.85 for affective, 0.79 for continuance and 0.73 for normative.” 42 With regard to validity, it indicates whether the means of measurement are accurate and whether they are actually measuring what they are intended to measure. Validity, as another measurement concept, is concerned with the degree to which a measurement instrument actually measures what it purports to measure. According to Hair et al (2006), validity is present in many forms and five which are most widely accepted forms are convergent, discriminant, nomological, contents, and construct validity. Validity of this research depends on the validity of the measuring instruments. Concerning validity of the OCQ to be employed, Meyer and Allen (1997) found that the correlation between the OCQ and antecedents variables provide evidence that the questionnaire is a valid measure of organizational commitment and can be used for future research. Construct validity of the OCQ is based on the fact that they correlate as predicted with the proposed antecedent variables (Meyer & Allen, 1997). This is preliminary evidence that OCQ is a valid measurement of organizational commitment. Instrument measures Personal characteristics A personal characteristics profile was designed for this study. In this light, personal data about each subject were collected. The measures included age, gender, tenure, marital status and education status. These were to help in understanding the characteristics of the participants and also to compare these diverse characteristics within the context of the participants‟ responses to the questionnaire. 43 Perception of organizational commitment Three questions were asked to find out how the participants perceived organizational commitment. Examples of the questions are “In what ways do you think KNUST demonstrates a lack of support for its staff?”, “In what ways does the organization demonstrate support?” and “How could the organization better demonstrate commitment for its staff?” (see Appendix) Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ) by Meyer and Allen (1997) Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ) is the most commonly used measure of employee's affective attachment to an organisation (Meyer & Allen, 1991). The OCQ, in its original form, was designed to “measure the degree to which subjects feel committed to the employing organisation” (Porter et al., 1974: 605) and versions of it are commonly used in commitment studies. Some authors who have developed versions of OCQ include Porter et al. (1974) who developed a 15-item OCQ, and Roodt (1997) developed an OCQ which originally contained 38-items and later revised it to 18 items (6 per each dimension) instrument. Another OCQ is one developed by Meyer and Allen (1984) who initially made distinctions between two types of commitment: affective commitment and continuance commitment. Allen and Meyer (1990) subsequently introduced a third component of commitment, normative commitment, which reflected the perceived obligation to remain with the organization. Later, Meyer, Allen, and 44 Smith (1993) revised the normative commitment dimension to clarify the distinction between affective commitment and normative commitment. Earlier versions (Meyer & Allen, 1984, 1991; Allen & Meyer, 1990) of the OCQ contained 24 items (8 items for each dimension), the later version by Meyer, Allen, and Smith (1993) and Meyer and Allen (1997) only contained 18 items (6 items for each scale). This study utilized Meyer and Allen‟s (1997) OCQ because it has been “credited with the most well known clarification of the construct of organizational commitment and its measurement” (Sparrow & Cooper, 2003:186). One advantageous feature of the instrument is that it is a self-scoring questionnaire (see Appendix A). Eighteen were derived from Meyer and Allen (1997)‟s Organisational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ), that composed of 3 groups of questions covering affective, continuance and normative questions. Affective questions were made up of questions 12, 15, 25, 27, 11, 16. Continuance questions were 13, 17, 18, 19, 21, 26 whilst normative questions were 10, 14, 20, 22, 23, 24. Responses to each of the 6 items were rated using a 5-point Likert scale with anchors labeled: 1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = neither agree nor disagree, 4 = agree, 5 = strongly agree. Thus the highest score to be obtained for any type of commitment was 30 and the least score was 6. For the purposes of analyses, all three types of commitment were given three levels: high affective, affective, and unaffective. The marks for the levels of commitment were high affective – 22 to 30, affective – 15 to 21 and unaffective – 6 to 14. The same was applied to continuance and normative commitment. Total commitment of 45 respondents was also evaluated with the highest score was 90 and the least 18. Total commitment was given three levels of very strong commitment (66-90 marks), strong commitment (45-65 marks) and weak commitment (18-44 marks). Effect of organizational commitment on staff performance With reference to the literature review, questions relating to the effect of organizational commitment on job performance were designed. For instance, a question such as “I work hard in order to get promotion” and “I perform just what is expected of me” were included. Importance of organizational commitment Six questions were framed for staff views on the importance of organizational commitment. Some of the questions included “Organizational commitment does not matter: I get paid for work done”, “Senior staff commitment is important in the performance of this University” and “Senior staff should be involved in some form of decision making”. Data management and analysis The data was first edited and subsequently analyzed. The editing included the assignment of values to responses and also the categorization of responses into like forms. The editing helped to correct certain responses and fill in some gaps that existed. Data were analyzed using Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) 15.0 and Microsoft Excel. These softwares enabled the researcher to 46 derive descriptive statistics for the data. Review of relevant literature indicated relationships between various variables on commitment. Bivariate correlation analysis and cross tabulation were employed to analyze trend, associations and relationships between the various variables. 47 CHAPTER FOUR RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Introduction This chapter forms one of the core sections of the study. It presents the results obtained from the data collected. It is not only descriptive by stating what the results showed but also discusses the findings. To test trend, associations and relationships between the various variables on commitment, a bivariate correlation analysis and cross tabulation were also used. The study also linked the results to previous researches so as to ascertain the confirmation or refutation of such findings. Demographic data analysis Demographic data form a very important aspect of most research as they give indications on the various characteristics and composition of the populations under study as well as giving first hand information on the appropriate segment of the populations to address during implementation. It is in response to this that the researcher decided to include demographic variables such as age, gender, marital status, academic qualification, category of staff and working experience of the respondents. 48 Age group With the inclusion of the age group of respondents under this study, the study was able to determine the level of commitment across age groups of respondents as well as evaluate how age influenced commitment among senior staff of KNUST. The exploratory data analysis performed on age group of respondents indicated that 34% of the respondents were between the age group 46 and 55 years as at the time of the data collection whilst a smaller proportion (14.2%) of the respondents were aged over 55 years. Gender The gender distribution of respondents was also analyzed. This was to help establish the relationship, if any, between gender and commitment of the senior staff of KNUST. The data analysis performed on gender showed that 38 of the respondents representing 31.7% were females while the remaining 68.3% were males. Marital status The marital status of the respondents is one other vital demographic variable that could not be overlooked under a study of this nature. The marital status was included to help ascertain whether there was any relationship between a person‟s marital status and his/her level of commitment to the KNUST. Out of the 120 respondents who participated in the study, 78 corresponding to 65% were 49 married/cohabiting whilst 9 (7.5%) were widowed. A percentage of 11.7 were single while 15.8% were divorced/separated. Educational qualification Education is a significant factor that impacts on our perceptions and definitions of issues pertaining to life. People‟s perceptions about things in life tend to differ based on differences in educational background. The educational background of respondents under this study helped to determine how it influences respondents level of organizational commitment. The analysis performed on respondent‟s educational qualification indicated that, out of the 120 respondents who participated in the study, 53 (44.2%) of them had bachelors degree representing the highest category recorded for educational qualification whilst 4.2% of the respondents had a secondary level qualification. Eight percent (8.3%) have diploma, 20.0% had HND with 28 respondents representing 23.3% had “other” qualifications. Category of staff The essence of analyzing the category of staff was to help the researcher determine how staff in the administration and technical sectors within the University perceived organizational commitment. This was because one‟s category of job skills influences one‟s worldview. The results obtained revealed that 75.% of the respondents were in the category of technical whilst 25% were into administration. 50 Number of years working in the University The length of time at which one has been with an organization is a very important indicator of one‟s level of commitment. This is because it influences one‟s perception of level of support provided by the organization which forms one important component of the determinants of commitment and in turn influences one‟s commitment. An analysis of respondents‟ tenure in the University revealed that 11-15 years as the longest number of years spent in the University and 11.7% with the least tenure of 1-5 years. Table 3 gives descriptive analysis of the total demographics of the respondents. Table 3: Background characteristics of respondents __________________________________________________________________ Item Frequency % Frequency % __________________________________________________________________ Age Education 20 – 25 0 0 Secondary 5 4.2 26 – 35 24 20 Diploma 10 8.3 36 – 45 38 32 HND 24 20.0 46 – 55 41 34 Bachelor‟s degree 53 44.2 Over 55 17 14 Other 28 23.3 Sex Category of Staff Female 38 31.7 Administrative 29 25 Male 82 68.3 Technical 91 75 Marital Status Tenure Single 14 11.7 1 – 5 years 14 11.7 Married/ 6 – 10 23 19.2 Cohabitating 78 65 11 – 15 33 27 Divorced/ 16 – 20 25 20.8 Separated 19 15.8 Over 20 years 25 20.8 Widowed 9 7.5 Source: Field data (2009) 51 Analysis of the levels of organizational commitment of respondents As earlier mentioned, organizational commitment is a psychological state that characterizes the employee's relationship with the organization which has implications in terms of continuing his or her membership in the organization. In this regard, one research question sought to examine how senior staff of the University perceived their levels of organizational commitment. It was necessary to analyze the level of commitment of the respondents so as to assess its effect on performance. In analyzing the commitment of the respondents, commitment was categorized into three levels- very strong commitment, strong commitment, and weak commitment. As illustrated in Table 4, 95% of the respondents expressed a strong commitment and 3.3% very strong commitment to the university. Only 1.7% of the respondents expressed weak commitment to the University. Table 4: General commitment of respondents Levels of Commitment Frequency Percentage _________________________________________________________________ Very strong 4 3.3 Strong 114 95.0 Weak 2 1.7 Total 120 100.0 __________________________________________________________________ Source: Field data (2009) From the above result, it can be observed that the senior staff involved in the study had a strong commitment towards the University as only 1.7% of the respondents had weak commitment towards the institution. As a way of assessing the level of commitment of staff, a group of 10 respondents were interviewed with 52 regard to their intention to work with the University for the rest of their lives. Seven (7) out of the number expressed interest in working with the University for the rest of their lives. One respondent said “I have worked here for many years and so will stay until retirement to derive all my benefits”. Six (6) of them attributed their decision to their pensions. This view is captured in a statement made by one of them: “I‟m left with only five years to retirement, why leave when I may never get another employment again?” The seventh interviewee assigned availability of good condition of service and accommodative staff as the basis for her intention to work with the institution for the rest of her life. The remaining three respondents were uncertain about it and two of them claimed they would leave the institution if it was to their advantage. For the other respondent, the only reason for which she would work with the institution for the rest of her life was when her position as a senior staff was upgraded to a senior member position. Commitment of respondents by sex Another dimension of the research question sought the relationship between gender and the general commitment of the staff. Out of the four respondents who indicated that they had a very strong commitment to the institution, three were females whiles only 1 was a male. Eighty respondents to the questionnaire, representing 70.2% of the strong commitment category were females with the remaining 34 were males. The two respondents who had a weak commitment were males. 53 Table 5: Commitment of respondents by sex Levels of Commitment Female Male Total _________________________________________________________________ Very strong 3 1 4 Strong 80 34 114 Weak 0 2 2 Total 120 __________________________________________________________________ Source: Field data (2009) The result suggests that women members of senior staff of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology perceived their commitment to the University stronger than the commitment level of their male counterparts. This result is confirmed by various studies done by Angle and Perry, 1981; Mathieu and Zajac, 1990; and Saal, 1978, who commonly found women to be more committed than men. It has also been supported by Mathieu and Hamel (1989) in their study on professional employees. Tenure and commitment Previous studies done on the relationship between tenure and commitment reported that the longer employees worked in an organization, the higher their levels of commitment. However, results from the current study revealed that out of 14 respondents who had worked with the institution for 1-5years, all 14 of them had a strong commitment with none of them possessing a weak commitment. Similarly, out of the 25 respondents who had worked for over 20 years, 24 of them had a strong commitment, one (1) had a very strong 54 commitment and none had a weak commitment. A comparison of the least number of years (1-5years) spent in the institution and the most number of years (over 20 years) revealed no significant difference in terms of their relationship to the commitment of respondents. This result is supported by Roodt (1992) who reported similar findings when he conducted a study in South Africa at an academic institution and found no significant relationship between tenure and organizational commitment. Ferris and Aranya (1983); Lok and Crawford (1999); McFarlin and Sweeney (1992) and Schwyhart and Smith (1972) also found no meaningful relationship between tenure and organizational commitment. To further examine the significance of the relationship between tenure (period of working) and the level of commitment, an advanced statistical test was performed using bivariate Pearson‟s correlations at 5% significance level. The result obtained is seen in the Table 6. Table 6: Pearson’s Correlation between tenure and commitment Period of working Commitment Period of Working Pearson‟s Correlation 1 0.152 Sig. (1-tailed) .89 N 120 120 Commitment Pearson‟s Correlation 0.152 1 Sig. (1-tailed) .89 N 120 120 Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (1-tailed) 55 The result from Table 6 shows the bivariate correlation analysis between period of working in the University and commitment gives a Pearson‟s correlation coefficient of 0.152 with a corresponding significance level of 0.89. This correlation coefficient indicates that there is a very weak positive relationship between the two variables and as such the relationship is not statistically significant since (p>0.05). The implication of this result is that in determining the commitment level of staff, the period for which one has worked with the institution is not effective a determinant. Education and commitment Research has shown a relationship between organizational commitment and an individual's level of education. Angle and Perry, 1981; Mathieu and Zajac, (1990); Mowday, Porter and Steers, 1982 and Rowden, 2000 found a negative relationship between organizational commitment and the level of education. The negative relationship may be due to higher qualified employees‟ feeling that their employers are not rewarding them adequately, and so the level of organizational commitment is diminished (Lok & Crawford, 2001). This assertion has been supported by the current study where the only two respondents who had weak commitment to the institution were those who had a bachelor‟s degree, the highest qualification. 56 Age and commitment In relation to the relationship between age and commitment, the study found no significant relationship between them. This is because for the youngest age group, 26-35, 91.7% had strong commitment with only one of them having weak commitment. In addition, one respondent had a very strong commitment. Similarly, for the oldest age group, 94.1% had strong commitment with one respondent having a very strong commitment; none of them had a weak commitment towards the institution. Table 7 presents the results. Table 7: The relationship between age and commitment Age Total Commitment Total (Years) ____________________________________________ Very strong Strong Weak 26-35 1 (4.2%) 22 (91.7%) 1(4.2%) 24 (100%) 36-45 1 (2.6%) 37 (97.4%) 0 (0%) 38 (100%) 46-55 1(2.4%) 39 (95.1%) 1(2.4%) 41(100%) Over 55 1(5.9%) 16 (94.1%) 0 (0%) 17 (100%) _________________________________________________________________ Source: Field data 2009 From Table 7, there is a difference in terms of the youngest age group recording a respondent for weak commitment and the oldest age group not recording any. However, this difference is not so significant to conclude that as age increases, commitment increases. Also, from this finding, one cannot easily conclude that young people are less committed than older ones. Some studies similarly have found no relationship between age and commitment, as was 57 supported by Batlis (1978), Muller and Roodt (1998), Roodt (1992), Irving, Coleman, and Cooper (1997), and Roodt, Bester and Boshoff (1993). To further examine the significance of the relationship between age and the level of commitment, an advanced statistical test was performed thus a bivariate Pearson‟s correlations analysis was performed at a 5% significance level. The result obtained is seen in Table 8. Table 8: Pearson’s Correlation between age and commitment Age Commitment __________________________________________________________________ Age Pearson‟s Correlation 1 0.56 Sig. (1-tailed) .067 N 120 120 Commitment Pearson‟s Correlation 0.56 1 Sig. (1-tailed) .067 N 120 120 Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (1-tailed) The output in Table 8 gives a Pearson‟s correlation coefficient of (0.56) between the bivariate variables, age and commitment with a significance level of (0.067). This result therefore implies that, with a correlation coefficient of 0.56, there is a positive but weak relationship between age and commitment. In effect as age increases, commitment also increases. Statistically, the relationship between age and commitment is not significant at a 0.067 significant level since it is greater than 0.05 which is the significant value under which the test was performed. The implication of the fact that there is a positive relationship between 58 age and commitment but not significant statistically could be attributed to chance as a factor. From this result, it can also be said that, it is not always the case that as a person‟s age increases, his commitment level for the organization in which he/she works will automatically increase. This result further confirms the crosstabulation earlier performed between the two variables. In spite of the fact that, in general, a significant relationship was not established between age and commitment, a relationship was found between age and continuance commitment. As one ages, one develops high continuance commitment. This relationship is relevant especially for those who were over 50 years old, that is, those whose pension was due. A Pearson‟s correlation performed gave a coefficient of (0.97) between the bivariate variables, age and continuance commitment with a significant level of (0.04). This result therefore implies that, with a correlation coefficient of 0.97, there is a positive and a very strong relationship between age and continuance commitment. In effect as age increases, continuance commitment also increases. Statistically, the relationship between age and continuance commitment is significant at a 0.04 significant level since it is less than 0.05 which is the significant value under which the test was performed. Thus, from the test as one ages, continuance commitment to one‟s organization also increases. This result is confirmed by previous analysis where out of the 7 respondents who were interviewed, three (3) of them who expressed agreement to work with the University for the rest of their lives did so because their pension was due. Hence, these people are committed to the organization 59 because of the realization that there was no opportunity out there for them due to their age. In understanding commitment as a phenomenon Meyer and Herscovitch (2001) suggested that the binding force of commitment is experienced as a mindset. This mindset has been described as reflecting three distinguishable themes namely affective, continuance and normative commitment which altogether measure organizational commitment and have implications for the continuing participation of the individual in the organization. In response to this, the commitment levels of the respondents were analyzed on the basis of affective, continuance and normative commitment. For each of the themes of commitment, they were categorized into three levels. For affective commitment, there was high affective, affective, and non-affective. The same category was given for continuance and normative. In analyzing the commitment levels of the respondents, the results obtained showed that 85 respondents accounting for 70.9% had affective commitment whiles high affective commitment was credited to 29 (24.2%) of the respondents. However 6 (5.0%) of the respondents had “non-affective commitment”. It thus indicates that a larger percentage of the respondents were committed to the University on affective basis. Affective commitment is said to be a work-related attitude with positive feelings towards the organization (Morrow, 1993). Meyer and Allen (1991) consider affective commitment as a more effective measurement of organizational commitment. They buttressed their support for the importance of affective commitment by explaining that employees 60 with strong affective commitment would be motivated to higher levels of performance and make more meaningful contributions than employees who expressed continuance or normative commitment. This result therefore is a positive indicator for the institution so far as the commitment of the staff is concerned, more especially with 29 of the respondents having high affective commitment. In terms of their continuance commitment, the result recorded a larger percentage of the respondent being 73.30% as having continuance commitment whiles only 5 (4.2%) respondents had high continuance commitment. This therefore means that a larger percentage of the respondents were committed to the institution on a continuance basis. Based on this result, it can be inferred that the strength of the result (73.30%) is due to the availability of few alternatives and because of the high investments made in the staff (Best, 1994). This argument supports the view that when given better alternatives, employees may leave the organization. This result therefore is an indicator to the management of the University in terms of planning against turnover, such that effective measures to motivate and retain staff ought to be enforced especially if the retention of the workers is necessary for the survival of the institution. It has also been suggested by Angle and Perry (1981) that lower education levels tend to reduce a person's chances for alternative employment and they are therefore restricted to their present organizations. Thus, lower educational levels promote high continuance commitment and vice versa. This therefore led the study to investigate the relationship between one‟s educational qualification and 61 continuance commitment. The result showed that out of the 26 respondents who depicted non-continuance commitment, 15 of them possessed a bachelor‟s degree qualification and only 1 respondent possessed a secondary level qualification. The implication is that a greater number of the respondents who were holders of a bachelor‟s degree had a perception of a good number of employment alternatives out there than holders of secondary level qualification who had limited perception of availability of alternatives. Thus, degree holders had a low continuance commitment than holders of secondary level qualification. To examine how significant this relationship was, a detailed analysis was performed using Spearman‟s correlation coefficient. This test was chosen since the educational background of respondents could be ranked. The result shows that there is a statistically significant (p<0.05) negative correlation coefficient (-0.752) for the association between educational level and continuance commitment. This negative correlation coefficient indicates that there is a statistically significant linear relationship between the two variables such that the more a person gets educated, the lower his continuance level of commitment. This result implies that as a person‟s level of education increases, more alternatives of seeking other jobs are made available, indicating a lower level of continuance commitment. Analyzing the normative commitment of the respondents, the results obtained revealed that 54 respondents accounting for 45% had high normative commitment towards the institution while 60 respondents (50%) had normative commitment. 62 A strong normative commitment can be observed among the senior staff of KNUST. This is because a larger percentage of the respondents recording 45% and 50% had been ascribed to high normative and normative commitment respectively. The implication of this result is that employees with a high level of normative commitment feel that they ought to remain with the organization. Strong normative commitment involves being tied to the organization by feelings of obligation and duty. Meyer and Allen (1991) argue that, generally, such feelings would motivate individuals to behave appropriately and do what is right for the organization. It is expected that normative commitment to the organization will be positively related to such work behaviours as job performance, work attendance and organizational citizenship. Comparing the types of commitment, it could be observed that in terms of the strength of the types of commitment, large proportion of the respondents had strong normative commitment as 45% of them obtained high normative commitment as compared to affective and continuance commitment where 24.2% and 4.2% were recorded for high affective and high continuance respectively. Collectively, the organisational commitment of senior staff of KNUST can either be affective, normative or continuance. Table 9 gives the result for respondents‟ commitment type. 63 Table 9: Respondents’ type of commitment _________________________________________________________ Commitment Frequency Percentage _________________________________________________________ Affective 52 43.3 Normative 39 32.5 Continuance 29 24.2 Total 120 100.0 __________________________________________________________ Source: Field data 2009 It is clear from the table that 43.3% of the respondents were committed to the organisation on affective basis. This means they were emotionally attached to the organisation and stayed because they wanted to. This form of commitment has positive outcomes for the organisation. Factors necessary to promote higher organisational commitment among senior staff of KNUST The fifth research question of this study was concern with factors necessary to promote higher organisational commitment among staff. Prior research in the area of organizational commitment of workers has indicated that there are two primary factors that affect workers' commitment to an organization - job satisfaction and perceived organizational support. In this study, the perceived organizational support of the staff of KNUST was investigated into so as to verify the truth of the fact that a relationship exists between organizational support and organizational commitment. In relation to their perceptions of support in the institution, 6.7% of the respondents perceived 64 of support as very satisfactory, 40% of the respondents perceived of support as satisfactory whiles 24.2% perceived it as not satisfactory with 9.2% perceiving it as not very satisfactory. 20% of the respondents were however uncertain. The reasons for their responses were sought out and for those who perceived of support as unsatisfactory, the following were the reasons they gave: 1. There was a great disparity between senior staff and senior members, this was because; i. There has been a cancellation of the incentive packages of senior staff unlike senior members. ii. The salary of senior staff does not commensurate with their workload. iii. The performances, profession, and integrity of senior staff are undermined. iv. Inadequate attention is paid to senior staff. 2. There is no improvement in scholarship scheme and working condition. 3. Inadequate incentive, motivation, and salary. 4. The existence of an ineffective promotional system. 5. Lack of career development and capacity building programme. 6. Accommodation and health care problems. Notwithstanding, a larger percentage of the respondents perceived of the support as satisfactory, they also maintained that there was more room for improvement especially, improvement of promotional systems. 65 A further qualitative analysis was done with respect to the satisfaction of staff so far as the level of support given by the University was concerned. Out of the 10 respondents who were interviewed, 6 of them expressed dissatisfaction towards the level of support, while 3 of them were satisfied, with only 1 respondent unsatisfied. This indicates a greater number of people as not satisfied with the level of support they received and one common reason that runs through was the existence of a vast disparity between senior staff and senior members in terms of salary and condition of service in general. In order to assess the truth of the fact that the main reason accounting for senior staff dissatisfaction to the level of support was perceived disparity between senior staff and senior members, the respondents were asked to describe the relationship between senior staff and senior members. Out of the 10 respondents who were interviewed, 5 of them described the relationship between senior staff and senior members as one where there existed a vast difference between their respective conditions of service, salary and output. For instance, one respondent stated “the salary of a senior member is about 5 times of what we (senior staff) receive”. In addition to the assessment of the respondent‟s perception of support, they were asked to indicate their agreement or disagreement to the existence of a number of supportive variables. For the respondents who disagreed to the existence of some supportive variables in KNUST, a greater percentage (28.3%) disagreed to the existence of a scholarship and award system for senior staff. Similarly, for those who expressed 66 agreement to the existence of some supportive variables in KNUST, a small percentage (20.8%) agreed to the existence of scholarship and award system. It can also be observed from the above that the University has welfare program for its staff as a greater percentage (43.3%) agreed to that fact with a small percentage (14.2%) disagreeing. The results therefore shows that welfare programmes was the most effective or frequent means by which the University demonstrated support whiles scholarship and award system stood as the least utilized supportive tool. However, the fact that a 100% agreement response to the existence of supportive variables in KNUST was not obtained, is an indicator that more needs to be done in terms of improvement. In order to know more about the areas at which the University demonstrated support for the senior staff, an interview was conducted among 10 respondents and the following areas were listed with the frequency of responses by respondents. Two common variables can be observed as the areas at which the University demonstrated support to the senior staff; welfare programmes and scholarship scheme. Similarly, results from the interview showed a greater number (8) of the respondents attesting to the fact that provision of welfare programs was the most frequent means by which the University demonstrated support to the senior staff. Furthermore, scholarship and award system were the least utilized supportive tools in the University as only one respondent attested to 67 the fact that scholarship scheme was one way by which the University demonstrated it support to the senior staff. The previous analysis showed that a greater percentage of respondents perceived of support as satisfactory. It therefore became necessary to assess the relationship between perceived organizational support and organizational commitment. Analysis revealed that for those who perceived support as satisfactory, 95.8% had strong commitment, 4.2% had very strong commitment whiles none of them fell into the category of weak commitment. Notwithstanding, for those who perceived support as not satisfactory, out of the 29 respondents, 28 (96.6%) of them had a strong commitment and 1 (3.4%) had a very strong commitment, none of them had a weak commitment. Therefore, there is no significant difference between those who perceived support as satisfactory and those who did not and their level of their commitment for the institution. Thus, perceived organizational support is not significantly correlated to organizational commitment. This finding has been disconfirmed by Tansky, Cohen and Debra (2001) who conducted a survey of hospital supervisors and managers and found that managers who were satisfied with employee career development were more committed to the organization and perceived more organizational support. 68 The effect of organizational commitment on staff performance This study‟s research question 3 sought to find out how organisational commitment affects KNUST‟s senior staff‟s job performance. Research conducted by Guest (1991) who concludes that high organizational commitment is associated with lower turnover and absence, but there is no clear link to performance. According to him, it is probably wise not to expect too much from commitment as a means of making a direct and immediate impact on performance. In this regard, the study sought to find out from respondents if their work performance was based on how they felt about working in KNUST. The result obtained for this analysis revealed 46.7% of the respondents disagreeing to the viewpoint. Meaning, a greater percentage of the respondents did not perceive of their work performance as based on their feelings about KNUST. Other results obtained from the analysis are shown below. Irrespective of respondents feelings about the organization, they still performed their work as expected. Based on this, it is not surprising that inspite of the fact that 24.20% percieved support as unsatisfactory, which is more than half (40.0%) of those who percieved support as satisfactory, there still existed 46.70% disagreeing to the fact that their work performance was based on their feelings for the institution. The implication therefore is that irrespective of the fact that a significant number of the respondents percieved of support as unsatisfactory, they still did not permit that perception or feeling to affect their performance at work. 69 To further confirm many studies that found no relationship between commitment and job performance, the question the “I perform just what is expected of me” was included in the questionnaire. Analysis of this statement revealed a greater percentage of 39.2% agreeing to the view. Therefore it can be asserted with some level of confidence that the work performances of KNUST‟s senior staff was not based on their feelings, be it feelings of commitment or non- commitment, but rather they work because it was expected of them. It must be understood that commitment is not the same as motivation. Commitment is a broader concept and tends to withstand transitory aspects of an employee's job. It is possible to be dissatisfied with a particular feature of a job while retaining a reasonably high level of commitment to the organization as a whole. However, irrespective of the above result, there is the need for management to enhance commitment level of respondents. This assertion is relevant in the sense that when respondents were asked if they would perform better at work should the University showed interest in their personal and career development, 40.8% of agreed to do so. Table 10 displays the results in a detailed form. Table 10: The impact of enhanced commitment on performance Responses Frequency Percentage Strongly disagree 4 3.3 Disagree 7 5.8 Neither disagree nor agree 12 10.0 Agree 49 40.8 Strongly agree 48 40.0 Total 120 100.0 Source: Field data 2009 70 In order for the University to enhance the commitment level of the staff, there is also the need for management to demonstrate commitment to its senior staff through a number of ways. Some of these ways are through a reward system, provision of feedback on performance, implementation of career development and incentive programmes, improvements in working conditions, increase in pay, and improving promotional system and opportunities for promotion. When respondents were asked to identify which of the above ways were effective for the University to demonstrate commitment to its senior staff, the following were the opinions of the respondents. Majority of the respondents perceived of increase in pay as an effective means by which the University could demonstrate commitment to its senior staff and this was followed by an improvement in promotional system and giving opportunities for promotion. This finding supports earlier finding where those who perceived support as satisfactory still maintained that there was the need for improvement in the area of promotional system. In support of the above analysis, an interview was conducted so as to gather additional information on the subject matter. The interview expected interviewees to come out with ways by the level of commitment of staff could be improved. Improvement in promotional system is considered as the necessary factor for the improvement of the level of commitment by 8 of the respondents. In reference to the previous analysis, there has been a consistent need by respondents for an improvement in the promotional system. 71 The importance of organizational commitment The perception of the importance of organizational commitment by staff of KNUST will determine their attitude towards commitment. In order to answer research questions 4, the perception of the respondents about the importance of organizational commitment was sought. A large proportion (47.5%) of the respondents disagreed to the view that their only interest was to be paid for work done and not necessarily to be committed. It can also be observed that 68% of the respondents perceived of the importance of senior staff‟s commitment in the performance of the University. These findings show how the senior staff of KNUST regarded or perceived commitment so far as its importance was concerned in the performance of the institution. From these findings, it could also be understood why a greater percentage of the staff had a strong commitment towards the institution; their attitude (commitment) was influenced by their perception. 72 CHAPTER FIVE SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Introduction This last chapter of the study contains summary of findings and conclusions of the study. It also gives recommendations that could be implemented as well as recommendations for future research. Summary The study was intended to find out the effect of organisational commitment on employee job performance using senior staff in KNUST as a case study. In all, 161 senior staff were sampled for the study. However the response rate was 74.5%. Various findings emerged out of the study and below is a summary of the findings: Demographic data indicated that of the 120 respondents, a large section of the respondents (34%) were in the age group 46-55, 68.3% were males and 65% were married/cohabiting. Of their educational background, 44.2% had a bachelor‟s degree and 75% of respondents‟ jobs were classified as technical whilst the largest segment of respondents (27.5%) had served the University for 11-15 years. 73 Respondents‟ level of organisational commitment revealed that 3.3% had very strong commitment, 95.0% had strong commitment and 1.7% had weak commitment. Women were found to be more committed than men. Even though there was no significant relationship between organisational commitment and respondents‟ level of education, there was a positive relationship between age and continuance commitment. That is, as one ages, one develops high continuance commitment. Perception of organisation support revealed that 40% of respondents perceived it as satisfactory while 20% were uncertain. A greater number of respondents did not perceive that their work performance was based on their feelings about KNUST. On importance of organisational commitment, 68% of respondents perceived that senior staff commitment was important in the performance of KNUST. 74 Conclusions From the findings of the study conducted, the main conclusion of the study is that the organisational commitment of senior staff of KNUST does not affect their job performance. Other conclusions that can be drawn are: Respondents‟ perception, which is antecedent of organizational commitment, has a significant influence on organizational commitment. Positive employee perception leads to higher organizational commitment thus organizational outcomes like higher loyalty and lower intention to leave but these have little influence on KNUST‟s senior staff job performance. Welfare programmes, accommodation allowances, staff child education are among factors that make senior staff committed to KNUST. Respondents perceived that senior staff commitment is important in the performance of KNUST. There is no relationship between organizational commitment and KNUST‟s senior staff performance. This is because even though respondents perceived organization support as unsatisfactory, they did not allow this perception or their feelings about KNUST to affect their job performance. Those who perceived support as satisfactory still maintained that there was the need for improvement in the area of promotional system. 75 On a scale of very strong, strong and weak commitment, respondents scored strong commitment toward KNUST with lower intention to leave. This is especially true in the case of those nearing pension. Recommendations In light of the above research findings and conclusions, the following recommendations are made: Management must endeavour to enhance its support of staff as respondents indicate they would perform better at work should the University show interest in their personal and career development. There should be improvement in factors that create positive employee perception like organisational support programmes to increase the commitment level of staff. The reward system of KNUST must be boosted to reduce the effect the negative relationship between education and commitment may bring. Recommendations for future research This research was carried out in KNUST which has its own peculiar socio- economic and cultural background. It might be useful to carry out a similar research in other public and even private universities. This study was also 76 confined to only senior staff of the university. 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(1994). Case study research: Design and methods (2nd ed.). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publishing. 94 Yin, R. K. (1994). Case study research: Design and methods. Sage Publications, New York, NY. Yin, R. K. (2002). Case Study Research, Design and Methods, (3rd ed.) Newbury Park, Sage Publications. 95 APPENDICES APPENDIX I A Study into ORGANISATIONAL COMMITMENT AND EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE QUESTIONNAIRE You are kindly requested to participate in a survey that seeks to find out the effect of organisational commitment on work performance. It would be appreciated if you would spare some time to respond to this questionnaire. Participation of this survey is voluntary. Please answer the questions as honestly as possible remembering that all your responses are held in strict confidence and your anonymity is safeguarded. Your participation is greatly appreciated. SECTION A PERSONAL INFORMATION Please tick the option that best suits you. 1. What is your age group? 20 – 25 26 – 35 36 – 45 46 – 55 over 55 2. What is your gender? Female Male 3. What is your marital status? Single Married / Cohabitating Divorced /Separated Widowed 4. What is your highest academic qualification? Secondary level Diploma HND Bachelors‟ Degree Other (please specify)………………… 5. Which category of staff are you? Administrative Technical 6. How many years have you been working in the University? 1 – 5 6 – 10 11 – 15 16 – 20 over 20 years 96 SECTION B PERCEPTION ON ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT This is about you view on organizational commitment. Please tick [√] the appropriate answers. You are free to add to the list. 7a. How would you describe the level of support provided by your University for senior staff? Very satisfactory Satisfactory Indifferent Not satisfactory Not very satisfactory 7b. Please assign reasons for your response ……………………………………………………………………………………. ……………………………………………………………………………………. ……………………………………………………………………………………. 8. In what ways does your University demonstrate support? Please tick indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with each of the statement below by ticking [√] the option you consider appropriate. Strongly Disagree 1 Disagree 2 Neither Disagree Nor Agree 3 Agree 4 Strongly Agree 5 1 2 3 4 5 8a The University involves staff in decision making 8b The University demonstrates confidence in staff and provide feedback 97 8c The University improve working conditions 8d The University improve management attitude and performance 8e. The University has improved promotional systems 8f. Improve career development and incentive programmes 8g The University has welfare programmes for its staff 8h There are scholarships and awards systems to support senior staff 9. How, in your opinion, could the University better demonstrate commitment for its staff? (Please tick [√] all that apply) Reward systems Management must provide feedback on performance appraisal to their staff Implementation of career development and incentive programs Improvements in various working conditions Increasing pay Improving the promotional system and opportunities for promotion Other (please list) …………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… 98 SECTION C ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT This section covers questions that relate to your commitment toward KNUST. Please tick indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with each of the statement below by ticking [√] the option you consider appropriate. Strongly Disagree 1 Disagree 2 Neither Disagree Nor Agree 3 Agree 4 Strongly Agree 5 1 2 3 4 5 10. It would be very hard for me to leave my department right now, even if I wanted to 11. I do not feel any obligation to remain with my current employer 12. I would be very happy to spend the rest of my career with this University 13. One of the few negative consequences of leaving this University would be the scarcity of available alternatives 14. Even if it were to my advantage, I do not feel it would be right to leave my University now 15. I really feel as if this University‟s problems are my own 16. Right now, staying with my department is a matter of necessity as much as desire 17. I do not feel a strong sense of "belonging" to the University 99 18. I feel that I have too few options to consider leaving this University 19. I do not feel "emotionally attached" to this University 20. I would feel guilty if I left my University now 21. I do not feel like "part of the family" at my department 22. This University deserves my loyalty 23. If I had not already put so much of myself into this University, I might consider working elsewhere 24. Would not leave the University right now because I have a sense of obligation to the people in it 25. This University has a great deal of personal meaning for me 26. Too much of my life would be disrupted if I decided I wanted to leave my department now 27. I owe a great deal to this University 100 SECTION D THE EFFECT OF ORGANISATIONAL COMMITMENT ON STAFF PERFORMANCE This section seeks to find out the extent to which your feelings about KNUST affect your job performance. Please indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with each of the statement below by ticking [√] the option you consider appropriate. Strongly Disagree 1 Disagree 2 Neither Disagree Nor Agree 3 Agree 4 Strongly Agree 5 1 2 3 4 5 28. My feelings towards this University affect the effort I put in work 29. Because I feel great about working in KNUST, I work hard to contribute to its success 30. I perform just what is expected of me 31. My work performance is not based on how I feel about working in KNUST 32. If the University show interest in my personal and career development, it will energise me to perform better at work 33. I love working in this University because I have good/friendly co-workers 34. My work is challenging as it involves a wide range of duties 35. I work hard in order to get promotion 36. My colleagues work hard and encourage me to do same, we‟re a team 101 SECTION E IMPORTANCE OF ORGANISATIONAL COMMITMENT This section examines your view of the importance of organizational commitment and how commitment to KNUST can be increased. Please tick [√] the option you consider appropriate. Strongly Disagree 1 Disagree 2 Neither Disagree Nor Agree 3 Agree 4 Strongly Agree 5 1 2 3 4 5 37. Organizational commitment does not matter: I get paid for work done 38. Senior staff commitment is important in the performance of this University 39. Staff training is necessary for effective performance 40. Periodically, there should be performance appraisal and feedback given to staff 41. Senior staff should be involved in some form of decision making 42. Transfers to various departments offer the opportunity for interaction both socially and professionally Thank you for taking time off to complete this questionnaire. 102 APPENDIX II ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT AND EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE INTERVIEW GUIDE Sex: Male [ ] Female [ ] Age of respondent: ....................... Category: ......................... Number of years working in KNUST: ................ Educational level: .............................................. Marital Status: .................... 1. How did you become a senior staff of this University? 2. Which areas does the University demonstrate support to senior staff? 3. Are you satisfied with the level of support by this University to senior staff? Please, what is your justification? 4. How could the University improve the level of commitment to its staff? 5. How will you describe the relationship between senior staff and senior members? 6. What are your feelings towards this University, will you be prepared to spend the rest of your life working here? 7. Does your commitment affect your work performance? 8. Is it necessary to commit yourself to your organisation? Please assign reasons. Thank you for your time.