Faculty Career-Enhancing Training Opportunity Effects on Perceived Organizational Support, Job Satisfaction, and Organizational Commitment

Faculty Career-Enhancing Training Opportunity Effects on Perceived Organizational Support, Job Satisfaction, and Organizational Commitment by Laura Pateri Bryant MA, Walden University, 2009 BS, University of West Florida, 2004 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Psychology Walden University September 2016 Abstract Research has shown that organizations outside of academia that provide career-enhancing training opportunities have employees with greater levels of perceived organizational support, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment than do organizations without such training. Increasingly, colleges and universities are looking to attract and retain the most talented individuals; providing opportunities for growth through career-enhancing training opportunities may be one way to do so. This study examined whether or not faculty at institutions providing career-enhancing training opportunities showed a similar positive relationship between perceived organizational support, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment as have employees at organizations outside of academia; this study also examined if those levels varied by gender. A sample of 90 faculty members at both private and public academic institutions was recruited via LinkedIn and the Walden Participant Pool and were administered a 13-item demographic questionnaire, followed by The Survey of Perceived Organizational Support, The Job Satisfaction Survey, and The Three Component Model of Organizational Commitment Survey. Both a correlation and moderation analysis showed no significant relationship between the variables, suggesting the need for a larger sample. Although this study had non-significant results, it contributes to positive social change by promoting discussion of effective ways to improve faculty recruitment and retention and by highlighting the need for further research into the relationship between career enhancement and perceptions of organizational support, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment.Research has shown that organizations outside of academia that provide career-enhancing training opportunities have employees with greater levels of perceived organizational support, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment than do organizations without such training. Increasingly, colleges and universities are looking to attract and retain the most talented individuals; providing opportunities for growth through career-enhancing training opportunities may be one way to do so. This study examined whether or not faculty at institutions providing career-enhancing training opportunities showed a similar positive relationship between perceived organizational support, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment as have employees at organizations outside of academia; this study also examined if those levels varied by gender. A sample of 90 faculty members at both private and public academic institutions was recruited via LinkedIn and the Walden Participant Pool and were administered a 13-item demographic questionnaire, followed by The Survey of Perceived Organizational Support, The Job Satisfaction Survey, and The Three Component Model of Organizational Commitment Survey. Both a correlation and moderation analysis showed no significant relationship between the variables, suggesting the need for a larger sample. Although this study had non-significant results, it contributes to positive social change by promoting discussion of effective ways to improve faculty recruitment and retention and by highlighting the need for further research into the relationship between career enhancement and perceptions of organizational support, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Faculty Career-Enhancing Training Opportunity Effects on Perceived Organizational Support, Job Satisfaction, and Organizational Commitment by Laura Pateri Bryant MA, Walden University, 2009 BS, University of West Florida, 2004 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Psychology Walden University September 2016 Dedication This work is dedicated to my mother, Gina, without whose sacrifices and tireless selflessness, I would have never been able to make it this far. I would also like to thank Dame Agatha Christie because her Marple and Poirot exploits gave me so much joy in the face of such a complex and overwhelming task. Poirot helped me learn to always use my “little grey cells” even when I was exhausted and Miss Marple taught me to see that things are the same no matter where you are, pay attention to the immediate world around you and you can understand the workings of the universe. Acknowledgments First I would like to thank any higher or enlightened being who gave me the strength to complete this project. Without your support and gentle encouragement, I would not have been able to keep going when the light at the end of the tunnel seemed to be getting smaller and not larger. Second I would like to thank my mother who has always been there for me regardless of what I was going through. I was always a curious child, sometimes too curious, but you nurtured that curiosity and encouraged me to pursue my goals however difficult or impossible they might have appeared. Consequently I developed a “can do” attitude and am still convinced that failures only help me grow stronger and wiser. To my sister Taura “TB the Great,” you have been an inspiration to me through your battle with Lupus. Seeing you fight every day to try and have some semblance of a normal life continues to remind me that I can always “suck it up” a little bit longer and get through. To my baby sibling Kaura “Tater Tot,” I have never given up on you and will continue to try to be a positive role model for you to strive towards. Hopefully one day you will surpass me. To Crystal Dawn Connors, a better friend I could not have asked for. Giving up your free time so we could muddle through my statistical analyses, until the wee hours of the morning, even though we both had to be up early, means the world to me. When I needed you, you rogered up. How important that was to me I don’t think you will ever know. I would also like to thank my committee members Dr. Catherine Kwantes and Dr. Linda Whinghter; your guidance and support through this process has been invaluable. Thank-you for working so quickly to get my revisions and corrections back to me and for being so diligent in your review, ensuring that my final dissertation version would be of a quality worthy of Walden’s academic standards. Finally, I would like to thank Dr. John Schmidt. Without knowing it many years ago you challenged me to begin this process. Determined to prove you wrong, I made it to this point. Through it all you have been the mentor I have always needed, providing me with support, encouragement, and a swift kick when necessary. I never realized that you believed in me until much later when I understood you did not think I was living up to my potential.thank-you does not seem like enough.