THE EFFECTS OF PERSON-ORGANIZATION FIT ON EMPLOYEE JOB SATISFACTION ...

127 Pages·2005·1.6 MB·English

THE EFFECTS OF PERSON-ORGANIZATION FIT ON EMPLOYEE
JOB SATISFACTION, PERFORMANCE AND ORGANIZATIONAL
COMMITMENT IN A TURKISH PUBLIC ORGANIZATION

A THESIS SUBMITTED TO
THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
OF
MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

BY

MÜGE KARAKURUM

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR
THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE
IN
THE DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY

APRIL 2005
Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences

Prof. Dr. Sencer Ayata
Director

I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Master
of Science.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nebi Sümer
Head of Department

This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate,
in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science.

Asoc. Prof. Dr. Reyhan Bilgiç
Supervisor

Examining Committee Members

Prof. Dr. Canan Ergin (HUN, PSY)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Canan Sümer (METU, PSY)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Reyhan Bilgiç (METU, PSY)
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I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and
presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare
that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all
material and results that are not original to this work.

Name, Surname: Müge Karakurum

Signature:

i
ABSTRACT

THE EFFECTS OF PERSON-ORGANIZATION FIT ON EMPLOYEE JOB
SATISFACTION, PERFORMANCE AND ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT IN
A TURKISH PUBLIC ORGANIZATION

Karakurum, Müge
M.Sc., Department of Psychology
Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Reyhan Bilgiç

April 2005, 113 pages

The notion of person-organization fit (P-O fit) is concerned with identifying the
antecedents and consequences of compatibility between employees and the
organizations in which they work, as part of interactional psychology. Literature on
consequences of P-O fit has demonstrated significant relationships with various
individual outcomes.
The main purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of P-O fit
operationalized as value congruence between the employee and the organization, on job
satisfaction, organizational commitment and performance of employees working in a
public organization at both individual-level and cross-level analysis by utilizing
multiple measures of fit. The secondary purpose was to compare multiple measures of
fit in terms of their power in predicting individual outcome variables and investigate the
level of association between direct and indirect fit and whether direct fit contributed to
prediction over and above indirect fit measures.
One hundred and eighty employees of a public organization filled out the
questionnaire. Cross-level analysis could not be performed because of inadequate level
of agreement between respondents. Results revealed that both direct and indirect fit
measures were significant predictors of individual outcome variables at individual-level
analysis except for supervisor ratings of task performance and overall performance,
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which were solely predicted by direct fit. Direct fit was the most consistent and
effective predictor of individual outcome variables and made a consistent unique
contribution to prediction of outcome variables over and above indirect fit measures.
The results and implications of the study were discussed and limitations of the study
were addressed.

Keywords: Person-Organization Fit, Organizational Commitment, Job Satisfaction,
Performance.

v
ÖZ

BİR TÜRK KAMU KURUMUNDA KİŞİ-KURUM UYUMUNUN ÇALIŞANIN İŞ
TATMİNİNE, PERFORMANSINA VE İŞE BAĞLILIĞINA ETKİLERİ

Karakurum, Müge
Yüksek Lisans, Psikoloji Bölümü
Tez Yöneticisi: Doç. Dr. Reyhan Bilgiç

Nisan 2005, 113 sayfa

Birey-Örgüt uyumu kavramı, etkilişimsel psikolojinin bir parçası olarak,
çalışanlar ile çalıştıkları kurumlar arasındaki uyumluluğun öncelleri ve sonuçları ile
ilgilidir. Kişi-Kurum uyumunun sonuçları hakkındaki literatür çeşitli sonuç değişkenleri
ile anlamlı ilişkiler göstermiştir.
Bu araştırmanın temel amacı, kişisel değerler ile kurum değerleri arasındaki
uyum olarak ölçülen Birey-Örgüt uyumunun çalışanların iş tatmini, performansı ve işe
bağlılığı üzerindeki etkilerini hem kişisel düzeyde hem örgütsel düzeyde birden fazla
uyum ölçüm yöntemi kullanarak ortaya çıkarmaktır. Araştırmanın ikincil amacı ise
kullanılan uyum ölçüm yöntemlerini bağımlı değişkenleri yordama güçleri yönünden
karşılaştırmak ve doğrudan uyum ile dolaylı uyum arasındaki ilişki düzeyi ile doğrudan
uyumun bağımlı değişkenleri dolaylı uyumun üzerinde bir yordama katkısı olup
olmadığını ortaya çıkarmaktır.
Bu amaçla, bir kamu kurumunda çalışmakta olan yüz seksen çalışana anket
uygulanmıştır. Kurum kültürü konusunda yeterli düzeyde görüş birliği ortaya
çıkmadığından örgütsel düzey analizi uygulanamamıştır. Sonuçlar, sadece doğrudan
uyum ile anlamlı şekilde yordanan yönetici tarafından değerlendirilen iş performans ile
genel performans hariç olmak üzere, hem doğrudan hem dolaylı uyumun sonuç
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değişkenlerinin anlamlı yordayıcıları olduğunu göstermiştir. Doğrudan uyum en etkin
yordayıcı olarak ortaya çıkmış ve sonuç değişkenlerini sürekli olarak dolaylı uyum
ölçümlerinin üzerinde yordamıştır. Çalışmanın sonuçları tartışılmış ve çalışmanın
sınırlılıklarına değinilmiştir.

Anahtar Kelimeler: Birey-Örgüt Uyumu, İşe Bağlılık, İş Tatmini, Performans.
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To My Family and Hakan

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor Assoc. Prof. Dr.
Reyhan Bilgiç for her patience, encouragement and guidance throughout the study.

I would like to express my thanks to the Examining Committee Members,
Assoc. Prof. Canan Sümer and Prof. Dr. Canan Ergin for their valuable
recommendations and comments.

The contribution of each and every participant of the study as well as the support
and help of departmant managers and employees who distributed and gathered the
questionnaires are gratefully acknowledged. Without them, this study would not be
possible.

The technical assistance of Atilla Bektaş at each step of the study is gratefully
appreciated.

I would like to thank all my friends each of whom has a unique contribution that
can not be expressed in words.

I would like to thank my fiance Hakan Atasoy for his continuous patience and
support throughout the research. Without him nothing would be as good as it is.

Finally, I would like to express my special thanks to my family for their endless
encouragement throughout my education life and endless love throughout my life. Also,
thanks to Buddy for making me smile every time I am with him.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PLAGIARISM……………………………………………………………………….....iii
ABSTRACT.....................................................................................................................iv
ÖZ ....................................................................................................................................vi
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................ix
TABLE OF CONTENTS..................................................................................................x
CHAPTER
1. INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................1
1.1. The Interactional Perspective in Explaining Employee Behavior .......................... 2
1.2. Theoretical Foundations of P-E Fit......................................................................... 3
1.2.1. Principle of Interaction .....................................................................................3
1.2.2. Principle of Congruence ...................................................................................3
1.3. Different Forms of P-E Fit...................................................................................... 4
2. PERSON-ORGANIZATION FIT.................................................................................6
2.1. Definiton and Operationalizations of P-O Fit......................................................... 6
2.2. Measurement of P-O Fit ....................................................................................... 11
2.2.1. Direct and Indirect Fit ....................................................................................11
2.2.2. Individual-level and Cross-level Indirect Fit..................................................12
2.2.3. Common Instruments for Measuring Indirect Fit...........................................14
2.2.3.1. The Organizational Culture Profile..........................................................14
2.2.4. Alternative Methods for Calculating Indirect Fit ...........................................17
2.2.4.1. Difference Scores .....................................................................................18
2.2.4.2. Correlation ...............................................................................................18
2.2.4.3. Polynomial Regression ............................................................................19
2.2.5. Consequences of P-O Fit ................................................................................20
2.2.6. Discussion of the Literature Findings.............................................................30
3. OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY ..................................................................................33
3.1. Individual Outcome Variables .............................................................................. 33
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