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.M414
A FURTHER EXAMINATION OF THE DETERMINANTS
OF JOB SATISFACTION IN PROGRAMMER/ANALYSTS
David K. Goldstein
November 1982
1370-82
Sloan WP
CISR WP #96
//
Center for Information Systems Research
Massachusetts
Institute of Technology
Sloan School of Management
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139
A FURTHER EXAMINATION OF THE DETERMINANTS
OF JOB SATISFACTION IN PROGRAMMER/ANALYSTS
David K. Goldstein
November 1982
1370-82
Sloan WP
CISR WP //96
//
D.
K.
Goldstein
1982
Center for Information Systems Research
Sloan School of Management
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
I
FEB 2 8
1983
\
ABSTRACT
In
programmer/analysts
job itself
feedback
-
examining
research
the past,
has
the
research by examining
programmer/analysts'
job
the
of
job
satisfaction
and
-
identity,
task
task significance, autonomy,
job satisfaction.
effects
relationships
job
on
with
peers.
satisfaction
co-workers,
of
project
certain
aspects
leadership
leaders, and users.
questionnaire measuring job characteristics, role conflict and
characteristics,
and
job
programmer/analysts at an insurance company.
and
of
role
role ambiguity, and quality of leadership provided by supervisors and
and
A
and
This paper extends the previous
Specifically, the paper examines the relationship between job satisfaction and
conflict
in
focused on the relationship between characteristics of the
such as skill variety,
from
determinants
the
leadership
characteristics.
variables
correlated
more
satisfaction
was
administered
The results indicate
highly
The implications of these results
ambiguity,
that
to
both
25
role
with job satisfaction than job
for
both
information
managers and researchers are discussed.
0745327
systems
The study of job satisfaction and its determinants
examining
3000 articles have been written
satisfaction
job
specific types of workers
of
(Couger and Zawacki,
almost
I98O),
is
that,
as of
in
general
satisfaction
(Locke,
research
no
major research area
a
One estimate
psychology.
organizational
and
industrial
is
1976. over
and
the
With one major exception
1976).
conducted
been
has
in
job
the
on
satisfaction of programmer/analysts.
There are strong reasons for studying job satisfaction and its determinants
in
satisfaction
is
programmer/analysts.
turnover
I976).
(Locke,
outcome
several
negatively correlated with
have
researchers
First,
Turnover
is
shown
variables,
of special
job
that
such
absenteeism
as
relevance for MIS managers, due to
the shortage of experienced programmer/analysts and the high cost
h
i
and
of
training
new
between
job
res.
Second, there
evidence
some
is
satisfaction and productivity.
been
there
that
is
relationship
a
systems development, productivity improvement has
In
traditionally obtained through the introduction of new productivity aids, such
as higher
languages
level
could
satisfaction
structured
and
development
also be an important 'tool' for
and Zawacki hypothesize that improved
motivation
improving productivity.
much
performance
productivity or
Sheridan and Slocum,
Third,
it
about
debate
is
1975;
important
programmer/analysts
to
the
Wanous,
gain
the
better
introduction of a new tool or technique.
increasingly popular
in
direction
the
of
(Bagozzi,
link
I980,
is,
between
Chapter
10;
197'*)'
study
a
and
satisfaction
job
and
to
strength
could
There
lead to a reduction in the large backlog of systems awaiting development.
however,
Couger
programmer/analysts
among
job
Improving
methods.
determinants
of
job
satisfaction
understanding
of
the
effects
the
Productivity improvement aids are becoming
data processing organizations.
Page
of
in
2
(See
Goldstein,
1982a
and
Martin,
development.)
on
the use of
the
There is, however,
a
these
of
tools
could
use
these
of
satisfaction,
increases
aids
level
impact
of programmer/analysts
If
on system
aids
such
(Kraft,
1977).
However, we could argue that
satisfaction
job
more manageable.
then its personnel
their
Some researchers have argued that
to a decrease in job satisfaction.
lead
and
controversy concerning the impact of
these aids reduces the skill
programmer/analysts
if
examination
job satisfaction of programmer/analysts.
the
which
an
for
I982
making
by
the
job
of
the use of productivity aids decreases job
Alternatively,
costs could outweigh its benefits.
job satisfaction increases with the use of productivity aids, this would provide
further evidence for those advocating its use.
This paper describes
This
study,
a
a
study extending Couger and Zawacki's previous
survey of job satisfaction in programmer/analysts, examines several
variables not considered in the Couger and Zawacki study.
survey
in
perspective,
work
the
of
Following this, two sets of variables
hypothesized
Finally,
to
research.
be
-
these
In
researchers
role variables and
order
place
to
the
first be reviewed.
will
leadership
variables
important determinants of job satisfaction, will be introduced.
the results of
a
on job satisfaction, will
survey designed to examine the impact of
these
variables
be presented and analyzed.
OVERVIEW
Hackman and Oldham's
(I976,
Couger
and Zawacki
(Evans,
Kiggundu, and House,
(1980),
is
I98O)
Job Characteristic Model, the model
used
by
the dominant paradigm in the literature on job design
1979).
The premise of the model
is
that
personal
and
work related outcome variables, such as job satisfaction and work effectiveness, are
Page
3
-
related to objective characteristics of the job.
dimensions
skill variety,
-
from the job itself
-
states
-
task
identity,
The model
focuses on five core job
task significance, autonomy, and feedback
that are hypothesized to be related to three key psychological
experienced meani ngf ul ness of the work, experienced responsibility for the
These psychological states are,
work, and knowledge of results.
personal and work related outcomes,
turn,
in
related to
These relationships
including job satisfaction.
are moderated by an individual's knowledge and skill, growth need strength
(need for
personal accomplishment), and satisfaction with his or her job contexts, such as pay
and supervision.
In a
professional and technical employees in their reactions to their job (See
other
There was almost no difference between the two groups
Table 1).
dimensions,
job
data
indicated that d. p. professionals were very similar
presented by Couger and Zawacki
to
programmer/analysts,
survey of over 1000 programmers, analysts, and
or
in
from agents, growth need strength, or supervisor
feedback
Programmer/analysts
satisfaction.
core
five
the
in
did,
however,
experience
higher
job
general
and lower satisfaction with their co-workers than other professionals.
satisfaction
One possible explanation for the higher job satisfaction is the newness of the
processing
field.
Couger
Zawacki
and
found
This
in
is
in
therefore,
that the model
individuals
is
was
working
developed
to
study
more or less alone"
not necessarily true
in
systems
.'0)
Improvements
"jobs
that
Page k
jobs,
provides
Hackman and Oldham state
are
done
(Hackman and Oldham,
development
itself
job
the
motivation and satisfaction for the worker.
the
and
.26
lead to improved job satisfaction.
The Job Characteristic Model, however, assumes that
of
(between
agreement with the findings of Hackman and Oldham (1975)-
the core dimensions should,
most
positive correlations
significant
between ratings on the job dimensions and job satisfaction
data
where
independently
I98O,
page 6I)
.
by
This
programmer/analysts
TABLE
1.
COMPARISON OF JOB CHARACTERISTIC DATA FOR PROGRAMMER/ANALYSTS
AND OTHER PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL WORKERS
PROGRAMMER/ANALYSTS
VARIABLE
OTHER PROFESSIONAL
AND TECHNICAL WORKERS
The
individual.
of roles explicitly considers the interactions of a worker
study
with others, whereas the study of jobs concentrates on the
worker
and
tasks
the
organizations has led
more
to
a
complex
a
is
conflict and ambiguity found
and
she performs.
or
there
where
development,
he
and
great
specialized
i
jobs,
such
systems
as
nterdependency among people.
these jobs can be a major source of personal
in
a
note that the growth of
Kahn, et al.
deal of
between
relationship
The
stress
important determinant of job satisfaction.
their research, Kahn, et al.
In
ambiguity
-
as potential
sources
incongruity or incompatibility
person"
focal
(Bostrom,
components of role conflict.
stress.
of
in
I98O,
identify two variables
Role
-
role conflict and role
conflict
degree
"the
is
of
the expectations or requirements communicated to a
page 92).
These researchers have identified several
They are:
person-role conflict - the extent to which role expectations are
with the orientations, standards, or values of the focal person.
intrasender conflict - the extent to which role requirements
with the resources or capabilities of the focal person.
incongruent
are
incompatible
or
expectations
intersender conflict - the extent to which role requirements
from one party oppose those from one or more other parties.
role overload - the extent to which the various role expectations communicated
the
focal
person exceed the amount of
time available for
their
to
accomplishment (Bostrom, 1980, page 93)-
Role ambiguity
his role]"
(Bostrom,
it
I98O,
difficult for the person to fulfill the requirements
to
be
spanning,
Specifically,
they
et
al.
found
role
conflict
dealing
with
high
people
role
outside
conflict
of
the
person's
and ambiguity in
a
role
and
high among people whose job required being innovative or
found
[of
page 93).
their study of various jobs, Kahn,
ambiguity
boundary
"the degree to which desired expectations are vague, ambiguous, or
thereby making
unclear,
In
is
work
involved
group.
job called "IBM
Converter," which involved "developing computer programs that will make some of
Page 6
the
work
departments
other
of
electronic equipment"
[within
(Kahn,
similar to the work that
is
et al.,
organization]
an
196'+,
ambiguity
in
user-designer
75
This
page ll6).
type
dyads
examined role
(I98O)
designer
involved
in
his or her job satisfaction.
and
correlations between
Bostrom'
variables
these
consistent
are
results
s
examined the relationship between
different
types
House and Rizzo,
A
Miles,
1972;
second extension
role
the
to
Job
The
programmer/analyst's
supervisor
determinant
satisfaction.
effort,
job
of
involving
interactions
and
much
of the
is
very
and
role
systems maintenance.
He found
ambiguity
felt
by
He also found significant negative
user's
the
information
satisfaction.
with the findings of other researchers who have
1976;
characteristics.
leadership
and
variables
jobs and organizations
of
job
of
conflict
significant negative correlations between the role conflict and
the
to processing by
currently performed by programmer/analysts.
some more recent research, Bostrom
In
amenable
and
interaction
job
(e.g.
satisfaction
in
many
Rizzo, House, and Lirtzman,
1970;
and
Schuler, Aldag, and Brief,
Characteristic
quality
peers
Since
of
is
team
the
is
inclusion
provided
leadership
another
systems
among
Model
1977).
potentially
development
members,
leadership and guidance provided by
the
a
is
by
of
a
significant
usually
quality
a
of
team
the
programmer/analyst's
supervisor and peers could be important determinants of the programmer/analyst's job
sat sf act ion.
i
The relationship between leadership and organizational
has been well documented.
(1966)
studies.
found
that
In
and
personal
outcomes
reviewing the leadership research. Bowers and Seashore
four characteristics of leadership behavior were common to many
They are:
support - behavior that enhances someone else's feeling of personal
importance.
Page
7
worth
and
interaction facilitation - behavior that encourages members of the
mutually satisfying relationships.
[worl<]
group
to develop close,
goal emphasis - behavior that stimulates an enthusiasm for meeting the
goal or achieving excellent performance.
group's
work f ac
behavior
that
helps achieve goal
tat ion attainment by such
activities as scheduling,
coordinating, planning, and by providing resources
such as tools, materials, and technical knowledge (Bowers
and Seashore,
page
i
1
i
2^7).
These four characteristics can be used to examine the quality of leadership provided
by
both
(1966)
the supervisor and the peers of a programmer/analyst.
significant
found
positive
correlations
between
Bowers and Seashore
measures
these
of
characteristics and job satisfaction and performance.
The
survey
described
below
examines
relative
the
importance
of
job
characteristics, role perceptions, and leadership characteristics as determinants of
job
satisfaction
programmer/analysts.
in
Based on the boundary spanning nature of
programmer/analysts' jobs, and the high level of team interaction needed
development,
it
characteristics
hypothesized
is
of
supervisor
that
and
role
peer
conflict,
leadership
role
in
systems
ambiguity,
and the
discussed
above
will
be
significant determinants of job satisfaction in programmer/analysts.
RESEARCH METHOD
Subjects and Procedure
Data were collected from 25 programmer/analysts at a large Northeast
company.
of
The
programmer/analysts were involved
in
insurance
new systems development, mostly
large transaction processing systems.
The questionnaire used to collect the data
was
administered
setting to three groups of between seven and ten subjects at
Page 8
a
time.
in
a
classroom
The procedures
recommended
by Hackman and Oldham
(I98O,
Appendix
were followed
D)
in
administering
the questionnaire.
Measures
Role Conflict and Role Ambiguity
eight
-
The role conflict measure
item scale developed by Rizzo et al.
that the scale
could
separated
be
Miles and Perrault
(1970).
subscales
into
components of role conflict identified by Kahn, et al.
used
to
measure
satisfaction in
in
this
a
study.
overload,
role
was
study of programmer/analysts
A
measures
that
{]3Gk)
(Bostrom,
on
found
(1976)
each
an
the
of
The fourth subscale,
.
correlated
significantly
not
based
is
and is
198O)
job
with
included
not
sample item for each subscale, with the number of items
in
the
subscale in parentheses, follows:
person-role conflict
differently."
(2)
-
"I
have
to
do
things
should
that
be
intrasender conflict (2) - "I receive an assignment without adequate
and materials to execute it."
intersender conflict (k) person and not by others."
"\
do things that are apt
to
The six item role ambiguity measure developed by Rizzo, et
A
sample
item follows:
Schuler, Brief and Aldag
al
resources
accepted
be
.
done
by
used.
is
(1970)
one
"There are clear planned goals and objectives for my job."
(1977)
conducted a scale analysis of both the role conflict
and role ambiguity measures and recommended their continued use.
Supervisor and Peer Leadership Measures
Seashore
(I966)
characteristics.
the
four
are
used
to
measure
-
The scales developed
the
supervisor
The first set of scales consists of thirteen
supervisor leadership characteristics.
items that measure the four characteristics of peer
leadership items follow:
Page 9
and
Bowers
by
peer
items
and
leadership
that
measure
The second set consists of eleven
leadership.
Sample
supervisor
support
goal
thei
r
"To what extent
-
is
your supervisor friendly and easy to approach?"
emphasis - "To what extent does your supervisor encourage people
best effort?"
work f ac
tat ion - "To what extent
improve your performance?"
i
1
supervisor
your
does
i
show
Hunt
and
identified in the Ohio State leadership behavior description
-
characteristic
Each
-
to
the
scales.
"The job requires me to use
(JDS)
measured
is
number of complex
a
provides
with
Sample items follow:
three questions from two different sections of the survey.
var iety
(LBDQ)
Hackman and Oldham's Job Diagnostic Survey
measures of the five job characteristics.
skill
how
give
found these characteristics similar to the characteristics
(1976)
Job Characteristics
you
encourage
interaction facilitation - "To what extent does your supervisor
people who work for him to work as a team?"
Yunger
to
high-level
or
skills."
task identity - "The job is arranged so that
entire piece of work from beginning to end."
task significance - "This job is one where
affected by how well the work gets done."
autonomy
-
I
do not have the chance to do
of
lot
a
other
people
can
an
be
"The job requires a lot of cooperative work with other people."
feedback from the job itself - "Just doing the work required
provides many chances for me to figure out how well
am doing."
the
job
measure
job
by
I
Job
Satisfaction
satisfaction.
scale.
job,
The
-
Four
scales
measure
principle
from
is
the
are
JDS
used
to
Hackman and Oldham's general satisfaction
The other scales measure satisfaction with the opportuni ty of growth in
with co-workers, and with supervision.
A
the
sample item for each scale, with the
number of items in the scale in parentheses, follows:
general
job."
satisfaction
(5)
-
"Generally speaking,
I
am
very
growth satisfaction (h) - "How satisfied are you with the
growth and development you get in doing your job?"
Page 10
satisfied
amount
of
with
my
personal
1
.
co-worker satisfaction (3) - "How satisfied are you with the people you talk to
and work with on your job?"
supervisor satisfaction (3) - "How satisfied are you with the amount of support
and guidance you receive from your supervisor?"
Other Measures
included
The other scales found in the long form of the
internal work motivation,
security satisfaction,
identified
Hackman
by
and
Oldham
also
are
JDS
growth need strength, pay and job
measure
They
questionnaire.
the
in
-
states
and the three psychological
These scales permit comparison of the
(I98O).
results of this survey to the findings of Couger and Zawacki
(I98O)
and Hackman
and
Oldham {I98O)
RESULTS
Means, standard deviations,
scales and subscales used
are
within
the
Brief,
and
reliabilities
Table
Couger
and
3
-
internal
consistent
in
1977;
reliabilities
(Hackman
previous studies
Yunger and Hunt,
1976).
and are consistent
(1978)
Oldham,
and
the
for
Most reliabilities
the study are presented in Table 2.
satisfactory range specified by Nunnally
with results presented
Aldag,
in
and
Schuler,
1975".
Three variables had unacceptable
skill variety, person-role conflict, and peer goal emphasis.
presents comparisons of this data with the data obtained
Zawacki
(I98O)
and Hackman and Oldham
(I98O)
,
In
in
general,
studies
by
this sample
scored lower than either of the other samples on measures of job characteristics and
outcomes.
others
The sample did, however,
significantly
score
than the Hackman and Oldham sample,
higher
on
dealing
With
indicating that systems development jobs
involve more interactions with co-workers and other members of the organization than
the jobs performed by other technical
and professional workers.
Page
1
Even
though
there
TABLE
2.
SUMMARY STATISTICS FOR DEPENDENT AND INDEPENDENT VARIABLES
TABLE
3.
COMPARISON OF THIS JOB CHARACTERISTIC DATA WITH PREVIOUS STUDIES
CURRENT
STUDY
VARIABLE
SKILL VARIETY
MEAN
STD DEV
COUGER AND
ZAWACKI STUDY
MEAN
STD DEV
HACKMAN AND
OLDHAM STUDYa
MEAN
STD DEV
4
TABLE 4. CORRELATION OF DEPENDENT VARIABLES WITH SATISFACTION VARIABLES
GENERAL
SATIS.
SUPERVISOR
SATIS.
-27
-10
-08
.37
.30
-45
.51
-27
-37
.35
.kh
-H
•
ROLE AMBIGUITY
PERSON-ROLE CONF.
INTRASENDER CONF.
INTERSENDER CONF.
ROLE CONFLICT
1
-51
.33
.57
-40
-.72
-.49
-.46
-.45
-.57
-.89
-.54
-.46
-.45
--58
-.59
-.45
-.40
SUPPORT
GOAL EMPHASIS
WORK FACIL.
INTERACTION FAC.
.46
.56
.53
.59
.29
.41
.52
.54
.63
.24
SUPERVISOR SUPPORT
SUP. GOAL EMPHASIS
SUP. WORK FACIL.
SUP. INTERACTION FAC.
.36
.52
.57
.50
.40
.54
.72
.35
.39
.i^
.64
-32
Note:
-35
.50
.5^
-.61
-.63
-.27
-.54
-.58
-.31
-.45
-38
.29
-29
.10
-59
.17
.68
.51
.74
.48
r>.33 are significant at the .05 level
general, the role variables correlated slightly higher with the satisfaction
variables than either the peer
variables.
supervisor
or
leadership
variables.
The
lowest
with satisfaction were consistently found among the job characteristic
correlations
general
CO-WORKER
SATIS.
SKILL VARIETY
TASK IDENTITY
TASK SIGNIFICANCE
AUTONOMY
FEEDBACK FROM JOB
PEER
PEER
PEER
PEER
In
GROWTH
SATIS.
For example,
satisfaction
leadership,
and
the average correlation of
was
.29f
supervisor
while
leadership
the
the
job
characteristics
with
average correlations of the role, peer
variables,
were
.53i
.49.
and
.49.
respectively.
Tables 5. 6, and
The
i
7
ntercorrelat ions
between .35 and .72,
present the
among
role
i
ntercorrelat ions of the independent
and
variables.
leadership variables were relatively high,
indicating that high levels of role conflict and role ambiguity
tend to occur together, as do high levels of peer and
Page 14
supervisor
leadership.
The
TABLE 5.
INTERCORRELATIONS AMONG JOB CHARACTERISTICS
i
•
ntercorrel at ons among the job characteristics were lower, varying between -.07 and
i
52.
Correlations among the dependent variables are presented in
There
significant,
are
perceptions
between
correlations
weak
characteristics,
leadership
and
relatively
but
variables
role
both
characteristics.
job
leadership
and
and
8
between
correlations
and
Tables
9-
role
The
variables tended to be much
stronger.
This prompted further investigation into the
role
characteristics,
perceptions,
relationship
House and Rizzo (1972)
job satisfaction.
and
leadership
between
observed that the relationship between leadership variables and job satisfaction
moderated
That is, positive leadership characteristics reduce
variables.
role
by
role conflict and ambiguity
is
and
lead
increased
to
satisfaction.
This
can
be
diagrammed as follows:
_\
/
role
conf
1
i
ct
eadership_
character sties
_\
1
job
/ satisfaction
i
\ rol e
/ ambiguity
This finding
analysis
found
conflict
or
is
Table
in
10.
ambiguity
role
characteristic
confirmed in the
and
reduced
for
role
conflict,
in
leadership
variables
and
First
between
order
The
general
In
satisfaction
three
Page l6
correlations
cases,
is
between
were
leadership
correlations
partial
indicating that role ambiguity
controlling for both role variables.
correlation
a
order
general, smaller than first
intervening variable than role conflict.
eight
partial
the
by
relationship
the
satisfaction.
general
study
cases but one, controlling for either role
all
In
controlling for role ambiguity were,
controlling
present
a
partials
more important
seven
of
the
greatly reduced when
controlling
for
both
role
ABLE 8. CORRELATION
TABLE 10. PARTIAL CORRELATIONS OF LEADERSHIP CHARACTERISTICS AND GENERAL
SATISFACTION CONTROLLING FOR ROLE CONFLICT AND AMBIGUITY
GENERAL SATISFACTION
The most significant of the conclusions
adequate
not
examining
for
programmer/analysts.
conclusion.
The
with others scale,
dealing
provide
to the average score of managers
score
for
other
of
this measure
satisfaction
(6.4)
technical workers
(Hackman and
role
and
in
this
survey
and
(5.8),
Oldham,
and is well
I98O).
leadership
'more or
Their average score
and salespeople
(6.^*)
(6.3)
than
were
interactions
of
the
less alone'
is
as
more similar
average
the
to
correlations
(5.6)
between
consistently
correlations between job satisfaction and job characteristics.
the
in
on
above the national norm
Second,
variables
highly
scored
indicating that they do not work
required by the Job Characteristic Model.
satisfaction
job
of
is
great deal of evidence to support this
a
the programmer/analysts
First,
that the Job Characteristic Model
determinants
the
data
is
job
higher than
This indicates
that
programmer/analysts with others are more important sources of
satisfaction for these workers than the characteristics of the tasks they perform.
finding
This
redesigning
important
is
for
researchers
and
managers
the Job Characteristic Model were to be used as the sole basis
If
for work redesign,
the redesign would focus on job enrichment.
example,
For
programmer/analyst
complete
a
control
possible
of
a
project from systems analysis through testing.
identity,
like this,
would
This
the tasks performed by programmer/analysts to improve some of
characteristics.
task
in
work performed by programmer/analysts to increase job satisfaction
the
and productivity.
changing
interested
and
autonomy
work
redesign
specific part of
the five job
could
a
involve
give
each
systems development
This should increase skill
leading to increased job satisfaction.
A
variety,
job change
however, will affect the interactions between programmer/analysts, users,
and project leaders.
It
could lead to reduced job satisfaction
by
increasing
conflict between users and the programmer/analyst and by increasing the ambiguity
the programmer/analyst's job.
Page 19
the
in
redesign
Work
perspective,
programmer/analysts
for
approach as advocated by Cherns
approach
information
is
examination
based on an
among
those
involved
i
systems
in
systems
1
appropriate.
and technical
development
broader
a
i
interactions
the
of
take
soc o-techn ca
A
and others would be more
(1976)
to work redesign focuses on both the social
Work redesign
therefore,
concentrating on job enrichment.
just
not
should,
aspects of work.
and
well
as
This
the
as
flow
of
the tasks
performed by programmer/analysts.
A
second important result of this study is the significance of role perceptions
Strong correlations between role ambiguity and
as determinants of job satisfaction.
job satisfaction and slightly weaker correlations
satisfaction support Bostrom's
findings
(I98O)
in
between
conflict
role
his study of systems designers and
are consistent with results obtained by Rizzo, House, and Lirtzman
Rizzo
and
(1972),
Schuler,
different types of jobs.
satisfaction
indicate
Aldag,
Brief
and
reducing
role
effective way to improve job satisfaction
in
conflict
perceptions
role
ambiguity
and
role conflict and ambiguity is the use of user
team.
These
programmer/analysts.
liaisons
could
people
act
programmer/analysts.
the
amount
of
job
and
could
be an
that
could
made
Some organizations
them
part
of
the
liaisons between the user group and the
as
By facilitating communication
reduce
process
liaisons.
have trained members of user groups in systems design and
development
House and
programmer/analysts.
One change in the organization of the systems development
reduce
(1970),
studies involving many
in
(1977)
The high correlations between
that
job
and
between
the
two
groups,
the
intersender role conflict perceived by the
They could also reduce role ambiguity by eliminating
some
of
This result also has implications for researchers interested in the effects
of
the less well-defined tasks that the programmer/analysts perform.
productivity
aids
on
job satisfaction.
Many productivity aids now being used add
Page 20
structure
programmer/analysts
and
analysis and design
development
(Kraft,
characteristics
providing
by
(Goldstein,
1977)
If
this were
will
lead to the rout
case
the
could
identity
also
would
we
The programmer/analysts'
imposing the guidelines that are
guidelines
part
i
ni
use
the
zat on of systems
i
several
expect
job
skill variety could be
Their autonomy could be reduced
productivity
the
of
for
language for documenting systems
formal
reduced by making systems development more routine.
by
providing
by
Some researchers have argued that
aids
affected.
be
to
•
process
a
1982a).
productivity
structured
these
of
development
systems
the
to
Their
aid.
task
reduced by splitting the development process into smaller
be
pi eces.
These productivity aids,
satisfaction,
1982a)
-
if
we
have
found that using one class of productivity aids
communication
facilitated
therefore,
better
a
understanding
intrasender
conflict
role
programmer/analyst
and
This author
user's
the
of
between users and systems developers.
what
of
by
they
by
effect
business
be doing.
increasing
the
of
could
third result of this
study
lead
resources
increased
to
with
a
They could lead to reduced
increasing their capabilities.
aids
productivity
and
These aids could,
available
to
They could also lead to
reduced intersender role conflict by improving communications with users.
use
(Goldstein,
programmer/analysts
should
job
on
structured analysis methods
-
lead to reduced role ambiguity by providing
understanding
opposite
the
role perceptions into account.
take
gave programmer/analysts
better
could
however,
job
Thus, the
satisfaction
in
programmer/analysts.
A
characteristics,
role
perceptions,
concerns
and
especially
role
causal
and job satisfaction.
analysis in Table 10 supports the findings of
perceptions,
the
House
and
link
between
leadership
The partial correlation
Rizzo
(1972)
that
role
ambiguity, act as intervening variables between
Page 21
leadership characteristics and job satisfaction.
characteristics
leadership
of
pair
This
measure
that
especially
is
supervisor
facilitation
-
scheduling,
and organizing work for the programmer/analyst.
amount
the
aid
of
peers
increase in the amount of aid provided
decrease
perceived by programmer/analysts, which
-
and to
could,
for
peer
the
work
planning,
in
This indicates that an
could
peers
and
cause
a
lesser extent role conflict
a
cause
turn,
in
and
provide
supervisors
supervisors
by
amount of role ambiguity
the
in
and
true
increases
an
-
in
programmer/analysts' job satisfaction.
Leadership training could, therefore, be an important method for improving
satisfaction
job
possibly
and
productivity
the
programmer/analysts.
of
programmer/analysts and project leaders have a great deal of technical
programming
systems
and
design.
training
systems design, systems analysis, and project management.
project
organizing, and controlling work
programmer/analysts
and
-
project
and
leaders
in
these
in
to
areas
-
Training
interpersonal skills.
in
reduced role conflict and ambiguity and indirectly
Since
in
then
to
These programmer/analysts
are lacking training and experience in management
leaders
Many
Many have technical degrees and have followed a
career path that leads from program maintenance to program development and
and
the
planning,
of
both
could lead directly to
improved
satisfaction.
job
these skills will make programmer/analysts and project leaders more effective
carrying out
jobs,
their
this
training
also
could
lead
to
improving
the
productivity of programmer/analysts and the quality of the systems they develop.
At this point
it
is
of partial
correlations.
act
intervening
as
important to interject a word of caution concerning the use
Even though it is logical
variables
between
satisfaction, the direction of this causal
by
a
partial
correlation
analysis.
to assume that role
leadership
characteristics
link cannot be determined with
The
Page 22
data
in
Table
perceptions
10
and
job
certainty
could also be used to
support the hypothesis that leadership characteristics act as intervening
between
perceptions
role
and job satisfaction.
longitudinal study
A
variables
is
needed to
links between the variables.
determine with certainty the direction of the causal
Implications for Future Research
The conclusions discussed
determinants
of
satisfaction
job
highlight
above
in
importance
the
of
studying
the
programmer/analysts and the need for further
This section discusses some specific research projects
research in this area.
that
explore further some issues raised in the previous section.
One research project that should be undertaken is a replication of this
There
limitations
several
are
replication.
First,
programmer/analysts
in
certain
not
is
it
that
study
this
to
sample
the
if
point
up
is
the
that
company,
the
the results might not hold for other companies,
study
involved
were
in
studied programmer/analysts
of
in
especially for companies
Third, all programmer/analysts
The results might differ
systems development.
involved
could
(I98O)
Second, since the sample was chosen from one
was atypical.
other industries and other parts of the country.
this
for a
The small number of subjects and the fact that the
general.
sample
need
representative
subjects scored lower than the norms established by Couger and Zawacki
mean
study.
maintenance.
systems
Fourth,
if
the
in
in
we
low
reliability of some of the scales reduces our ability to interpret results involving
scales.
those
Ideally,
programmer/analysts
different
parts
replication
of
the
country.
study
this
variety of organizations,
in a
of
a
in
would
different
involve surveying
industries
and
in
would allow us to determine the external
This
validity of our results.
A
certain
second area where research
environmental
factors
is
on
warranted
job
is
the examination of the effects
satisfaction
Page 23
and
its
determinants.
of
For
a
between
programmer/analysts
systems maintenance.
We might
routine.
find
differences
the
job
in
systems development and those involved
in
maintenance
programmer/analysts
programmer/analysts
maintenance
that
characteristics, because they deal
can
second topic that
productivity
and
productivity
is a
former
research
Recent
could
This
correct.
is a
survey
in
by
Bagozzi
mean
that
more
the
previous
and others
increasing
for
the
reverse
is
productivity
the
true
indicate that the
of
Before we can test this
programmer/analysts
(see Jones,
must
be
I98I
for
no single agreed upon measure has been developed.
summary of this research)
is
between
link
great deal of debate as to whether
(I98O)
productivity
the
is
Although there has been much research in this area
developed.
measure
There
a
lead to increased satisfaction.
could
hypothesis, an adequate measure of
a
with
examined
determinant of job satisfaction or whether
1976).
is
be
satisfaction.
job
programmer/analysts
a
derive
improving systems development jobs,
section for
(Locke,
be
improving systems
maintenance jobs would be different than the strategies recommended
A
would
in
less with people outside
this were the case the strategies needed for
If
satisfaction
programmer/analysts, because their jobs are more
development
job
their work group.
involved
likely that
is
also
from
satisfaction
It
than
satisfied
less
examine
survey could be used to
example,
Once
found, a survey could be used to examine the strength and direction of
the link between productivity and job satisfaction.
There are several areas where longitudinal research can be used to examine
satisfaction.
productivity
controversy
One
aids
as
to
area
on
job
in
importance
satisfaction.
whether
decreased job satisfaction.
change
particular
of
the
A
use
As
is
longitudinal study
the study of the effects of
mentioned
productivity
of
could
above,
there
2^4
is
some
aids leads to increased or
be
used
to
job satisfaction attributed to the use of productivity aids.
Page
job
examine
the
This author
(Goldstein,
has presented the design of such a study.
1982b)
Longitudinal research can also be used to examine the effects of other
in
or
For example, we might want to study the
organizational changes on job satisfaction.
change
job
job sat s'^act on, role perceptions, and leadership characteristics caused
i
i
by giving programmer/analysts and project
recommended
in
the previous section.
leaders a leadership
training
course
as
We might also want to examine the effects of
introducing user liaisons on role perceptions and job satisfaction.
As can be seen
answers.
It
in
this section,
highlights
the
this study
importance
raises
many
as
of the quality of
questions
as
leadership provided by
project leaders and co-workers, and of the interactions of programmer/analysts
others
as determinants of job satisfaction.
It
in
programmer/analysts.
Page 25
with
also points up the need for further
research to validate this study and to examine in greater
productivity and job satisfaction
it
detail
ways
to
improve
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_
IJOS'^'^
Page 27
^^^'
Date Due
Lib-26-67
HD28.IV1414
Goldstein,
745327
3
no.1370- 82
Dav/A further examination
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001505
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