Factors affecting organizational commitment at the asian international school

RESEARCH PROJECT BMBR5103 FACTORS AFFECTING ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT AT THE ASIAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL December 2015... ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to examine factors affecti

RESEARCH PROJECT

(BMBR5103)

FACTORS AFFECTING

ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT

AT THE ASIAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

December 2015

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 3

LIST OF FIGURES 4

LIST OF TABLES 5

ABBREVIATIONS 6

ABSTRACT 7

CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION 8

1.1 Overview of Asian International School 8

1.2 Problem statement 11

1.3 Purpose of the Research 12

1.4 Structure of the Research 13

CHAPTER 2 – LITERATURE REVIEW 14

2.1 Organizational Commitment 14

2.2 Work Control: 15

2.3 Perceived Importance of Workplace Values 16

2.4 Developmental Experiences 17

2.5 Procedural Justice in Performance Appraisal 18

2.6 Research Model 20

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 22

3.1 Data Collection 22

3.2 Measures 22

3.3 Data Analysis 28

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS 30

4.1 Reliabilty Analysis 30

4.2 Correlation of all Variables 30

4.3 Hypotheses Testing 32

CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION 35

5.1 Discussion: 35

5.2 Limitation of the Research 36

REFERENCES 37

APPENDIX 1 42

APPENDIX 2 48

Advisor’s Assessment

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Advisor’s signature

ACKNOWLEGEMENTS

I would like to send my deep gratitude to my lecturer Dr Nguyen The Khai who gave

me his valuable advice while I was doing this research paper I came to know more new things about both the content and the format of this paper through his continuous assistance Furthermore, the lecturer provided us with in-depth knowlegde about how

to write a research paper I also would like to express my special thanks to my wonderful MBA classmates who supplied me with some useful comments on this paper

Finally, I would like to send heart-felt thanks to my beloved wife who continuously gives me extraordinary encouragement from the very beginning of the course

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: The Asian International School - Tran Nhat Duat Campus 9Figure 2: The Asian International School - Cong Hoa Campus 9Figure 3: Research Model 20

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Summary of Cronbach’s Alpha of the variables 30

Table 2:Summary of Correlations of all variables 31

Table 3: Model Summary 32

Table 4: Model Summary of all hypotheses 33

ABBREVIATIONS

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to examine factors affecting organization commitment at the Asian international School since that the school has been experiencing high turnover in recent years The population of this study consists of 310 teachers and staff at The Asian School The questionnaires were personally administered and collected from 295 employees in which only 270 were usable Reliability statistics, correlations and regression analyses were used to test the hypotheses Findings reported that all independent variables have a positive relationship with dependent variable Based on the findings and limitations of the study, further research was needed to find out other factors affecting organizational commitment

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Overview of Asian International School

The Asian International School is a member of The Group of Asian International Education (GAIE) GAIE comprising The Asian International School (Primary School IPS and Middle & High School AHS), The Institute of Asian Studies (IAS), and The Saigon International University (SIU), is considered to be the largest international standard system of education and scientific research in Ho Chi Minh City GAIE was established in 1999, and there are now more than 9,000 students from many countries, over 2,000 Vietnamese teachers and 200 foreign teachers learning and working in 13 campuses in Ho Chi Minh City The Asian International School provides an international standard of education for Vietnamese and foreign students from grade 1 to grade 12 with a stimulating studying environment, high quality teaching practices as well as health care equal to many other high schools all over the world Students at AIS have full day school time: morning for Vietnamese program outlined by Vietnam's Ministry of Education and Training, afternoon for international educational program based on the United States curricula

Principal: Nguyen Le Thanh Truc Pasteur Campus:

Headquater: 226A Pasteur, P.6, Q.3, Tp.HCM

Phone: (84-8) 3820 7972 Fax: (84-8) 3820 7973

School slogan:

“Vietnam's spirit, global education”

Figure 1: Tran Nhat Duat Campus

Figure 2: Cong Hoa Campus

Vision

Excellence in global education for Vietnamese and international students grounded in the concept of unity through diversity

Mission

As the world moves towards multi-lateralism, it is the mission of the Asian International School to give highest priority to motivating and stimulating students to learn beyond their borders, in order to instill internationalism in education and desire for lifelong acquisition of global knowledge and world peace

Guiding principles:

Academics - Asian International School will:

* Provide instruction through a wide range of learning styles, seeking to develop the cognitive, physical, social and moral potential of every student;

* Provide curricula that stimulate intellectual attributes and encourages self-discipline, critical thinking, respect for others’ opinion and creative approaches to problems

Community - Asian International School will:

* Recognize and respect the values, contributions and opinions of others, including students, teachers, and parents

* Stimulate values of good global citizenship through sustainable living concepts, social awareness, community service and leadership training

* Encourage unity of the academic community within a framework that also celebrates diversity in religion, language, culture and individuality of thinking

Facilities - Asian International School will:

* Provide modern learning and study areas that are equivalent to or better than those

of the best international school facilities

* Maintain facilities to access global knowledge via electronic library resources, as well as traditional library holdings and materials;

* Recognize that good health and physical discipline contribute to intellectual development, by providing individual and team sport facilities, as well as suitable equipment and well-trained medical staff to meet emergency and short term care needs of students

Staff - Asian International School will:

* Seek to recruit, train and retain highly qualified staff and teachers who excel in development and encouragement of the Asian International School guiding principles

in education;

* Employ teachers and staff who foster attitudes of toleration for diverse cultural views and who are committed to cooperation in the attainment of academic and community goals

Students - Asian International School will:

* Prepare every student for a productive future in the modern developing world through diverse learning experiences;

* Prepare students who wish to continue learning in international universities abroad

or in Viet Nam by developing all foundation intellectual skills required for

1.2 Problem statement of the research

Viet Nam has made a rapid development since the Open Door policy and especially since the country became the 150th member of WTO More and more

enterprises and corporations have been established throughout the country We can see

a big growth in every field, even in education Schools and colleges have mushroomed

in big cites like Ho Chi Minh, Ha Noi and Da Nang It is easier to find a job Therefore, people start to have a tendency to change their job more often This is also the problem at The Asian International School We can not retain good teachers and staff The high turnover has left a negative impact on the school That is why I want to find out factors leading to orginizational commitment so that the school can deal with the current issue at the school

1.3 Purpose of the research

To solve the problem of high turnover at The Asian international School, I will try to find out factors leading to organizational commitment The four factors, which are work control, pperceived importance of workplace values, ddevelopmental experiences, pprocedural justice in performance appraisal, will be thoroughly explored

in this research Therefore, the purpose of this research is to study the relationship between work control, pperceived importance of workplace values, ddevelopmental experiences, pprocedural justice in performance appraisal and organizational commitment This is done by analysing the following research questions:

1 What is the relevance between work control and organizational commitment?

2 Do workplace values increase organizational commitment?

3 Does developmental experiences have a positive relationship with organizational commitment?

4 To what degree does procedural justice in performance appraisal influence organizational commitment

1.4 Struture of the research

This chapter provides the overview of The Asian International School Then, it introduces the statement problem of the research and the purpose of the study Chapter

2 provides a comprehensive review of the literature relevant to work control, perceived importance of workplace values, developmental experiences, procedural justice in performance appraisal and organizational commitment Then, it develops 4 hypotheses along with the research model Chapter 3 presents the methodology and provides a detailed description of the data collection process, data analysis and measures used in the research Chapter 4 provides the results of the study and Chapter

5 demontrates the discussion Limitations of this study and suggestions for future research are also provided

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Organizational Commitment (OC)

We all realize the value of organizational commitment because commitment has a great impact on the successful performance of an organisation (Nehmeh, 2009) That is why numerous research related to organizational commitment has been carried out so far, and there are various definitions about this term Porter et al., (1974) defined the organizational commitment as believing and accepting the goals and values of organization and possessing and showing desire to be part of the organization Mowday, Porter, and Steer (1982) stated that organizational commitment can be considered “the relative strength of an individual’s identification with and involvement in a particular organization and can be characterized by a strong belief in and acceptance of the organization’s goals and values, willingness to exert considerable effort on behalf of the organization and a strong desire to maintain membership of the organization”

According to Allen and Meyer (1990) organizational commitment has been defined as a psychological state that binds an employee to an organization, thereby reducing the incidence of turnover Furthermore, Allen and Meyer (1991) also proposed a three-component model of organizational commitment They came out with an idea that there are three types organizational commitment which are named affective, continuance, and normative commitment Affective commitment refers to the extent to which a person wishes to be a member of the organization Continuance commitment implies a person’s attachment to an organization because they know

what it will cost if they leave leave the company Continuance commitment echoes Becker’s (1960) side-bet theory, and employees perceive what it will cost if they leave leave the company Normative commitment shows a feeling of moral obligation to continue working for organization This model has gained substantial popularity since its inception (Wasti, 2005)

Mowdray (1992) has proposed a more detailed definition about organizational commitment which consists of three components: “an identification with the goals and values of the organisation, a desire to belong to the organisation and a willingness to

According to the businessdictionary.com, organizational commitment is considered as strength of the feeling of responsibility that an employee has towards the mission of the organization

In summary, organizational commitment is shown when employees clearly understand the goals of the organization and desire to achieve it

2.2 Work control (WC)

A wide range of studies have confirmed the importance of employees’ influence at work for their job satisfaction, their work motivation and their commitment to the organization for which they work ( Blumberg, 1968; Warr, 1987; Meyer & Allen, 1997; Heller et al, 1998; Zhou, 2009)

Karasek (1979) introduced the Demand-Control model in which job control, labelled

as decision latitude, consists of two components: decision authority and skill discretion Decision authority lets emplyees to decide when and how the job is

done.They can also determine the amount and tempo of their work Skill discretion refers to control over the use of the employee’s initiative and skills on the job

Indeed, involvement in decision-making at work has been shown to have important implications for people’s ability to take initiative in their lives out of work (Kohn and Schooler, 1983)

To stand out in today’s fierecely competitive market, employers take advantages of all resources that they have They are even highly aware of the importance of engaging employees in decisions to increase organizational commitment The higher level of work control employees have, the tighter engagement employees want to keep with their organization

Hypothesis 1: Work control is positively related to organizational commitment

2.3 Perceived importance of workplace values (PIWV)

Workplaces are now becoming a second home for many people Normally, employees spend half a day at the workplaces That is why people are increasingly looking for organizations where they feel comfortable, and look for organizations whose values and ethics align with their own Your organization's workplace values set the tone for your company's culture, and they identify what your organization, as a whole, cares about It's important t hat your people's values align with these (Monteiro, 2015)

There are many workplace values, such as courtesy, quality, productivity, integrity, respect, and so on

The most effective organizations attract people who already share most of their key values

Workplace values are vital to both big or small organizations It helps promote positive personal behaviours, uphold fundamental responsibilities, and improve excellence and professionalism at the workplaces When employees realize the workplaces values, they seem committed to the organization to achieve the goals

Hyphothesis 2: Perceived importance of workplace values is positively related to organizational commitment

2.4 Developmental Experiences (DE)

Nowadays, the younger workforce has been looking for a working place where there are clear-cut policies about professional growth, thus displaying the important role of training programs and developmental experiences in every organization Patrick (1992) defined training as the systematic development of the attitudes/knowledge/skill behaviour patterns required by an individual in order to perform adequately a given task or job.”

According to Armstrong (2001), “Training is systematic development of the knowledge, skills and attitudes required by an individual to perform adequately a given task or job”

Training will bring competitive advantages over other competitors Ferrell (2012) defined ccompetitive advantage as “something that the firm does better than its competitors that give it an edge in serving customers’ needs and/or maintaining mutually satisfying relationships with important stakeholders Furthermore, due to

training our employees will be able to work more efficiently and effectively With an appropriate and well-designed human developmental plan, we can not only satisfy employees’ wish but ensure the productivity at the workplace

Hyphothesis 3: Developmental experiences are positively related to organizational commitment

2.5 Procedural Justice in Performance Appraisal (PJPA)

Performance appraisal is one of the most widely researched areas in industrial/organizational psychology (Murphy & Cleveland, 1993) However, the traditional research agenda has done little to improve the usefulness of performance appraisal as a managerial tool It has been defined in many ways by organizational researchers, for example, Griffin and Ebert (2002, p 216) described performance appraisal as the “formal evaluation of an employee's job performance in order to determine the degree to which the employee is performing effectively”

Anthony, Perrewe and Kacmar (1996, pp 374-5) state that a performance appraisal system must be well defined, corporately supported and monitored It must also be widely communicated and focused towards achieving corporate objectives

It is a formal process of employee monitoring (Cardy & Dobbins, 1994; Murphy & Cleveland, 1991) and usually involves “evaluating performance based on the judgments and opinions of subordinates, peers, supervisors, other managers and even workers themselves” (Jackson & Schuler, 2003, p.455) Similarly, performance appraisal has been defined as “activities through which organizations seek to assess

employees and develop their competence, enhance performance and distribute rewards” (Fletcher, 2001, p.473)

Murphy and Cleveland (1995) referred to employee reaction to appraisals as one class

of neglected criteria that might be considered in evaluating performance appraisal systems

Bernardin and Beatty (1984) suggested that employee reactions to performance appraisal systems are usually better indicators of the overall viability of a system than the more narrow psychometric indices such as leniency and halo According to Keeping and Levy (2000) employee reactions toward performance appraisal may be considered important for a number of reasons First, reactions are of great interest to practitioners Second, while reactions have been theoretically linked to determinants

of performance appraisal success and acceptance they have been overlooked in the research These issues are both within the context of the gap between research and practice that has been noted in the performance appraisal literature by a number ofresearchers including Banks and Murphy (1985); Bretz, Mikovich and Read (1992); Ilgen, Barnes-Farrell and McKellin (1993); and Smither (1998)

Researchers have suggested that reaction to performance appraisal is critical to the acceptance and use of a performance appraisal system (Bernardin & Beatty, 1984; Cardy & Dobbins, 1994; Murphy & Cleveland, 1995)

There are clearly strong reactions from employees about performance appraisal because this does not only affect their wages but their promotion as well Therefore, the more transparent the policies about performance appraisal are stated, the more

satisfied and comfortable the employees feel in their workplace, thus, increasing their commitment with the company

Hyphothesis 4: Perceived justice in performance appraisal is positively related to organizational commitment

Perceived importance of workplace values (PIWV) Developmental experiences (DE)

Procedural justice in performance appraisal (PJPA)

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 3.1 Data collection

The research method of this study is survey method The survey method is the most appropriate method for the data collection as this method helps to predict the nature of the total population from which the sample are selected (Fowler, 1988; Sapsford, 1999)

The population of this study consists of 310 teachers and staff at The Asian School The questionnaires were personally administered and collected from 295 employees in which only 270 were usable Roscoe (1975) stated that for most studies,

a sample size between 30 and 500 would be sufficient

The questionnaire consists 5 parts with 50 questions which collect information about work control, perceived importance of workplace values, developmental experiences, procedural justice in performance appraisal and organizational commitment

3.2 Measures

Part 1: Organizational Commitment

This measure, which was developed for and used in the 1991 General Social Survey, describes overall organizational commitment It assesses commitment with only six items, meeting the needs of large sample survey research where parsimony is essential The items were derived from Lincoln and Kalleberg’s (1990) American – Japanese work commitment study (cited in Marsden et al., 1993)

There are 06 items being used to measure the agreements or disagreements of teachers and staff to The Asian International School Responses are obtained on a 4-point Likert-type scale where 1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = agree, and 4 = strongly agree

Note: Items denoted with (R) are reversed scored

Participants are required to show the degree of agreement about organizational commitment for the following items:

1 I am willing to work harder that I have to in order to help this organizational succeed

2 I feel very little loyalty (R)

3 I would take any job to keep working for this organization

4 I find that my values and the organization's are very similar

5 I am proud to be working for this organization

6 I would turn down another job for more pay in order to stay with this organization

Part 2: Work Control

This measure, developed by Dwyer and Ganster (1991), describes the extent to which workers perceive they have control over numerous aspects of their work environment These aspects include control over the variety of tasks performed, the order of task performance, the pace of tasks, task scheduling, task procedures, and arrangement of the physical layout/environment

Participants are asked to answer the following items The response options are 1 = very little, 2 = little, 3 = a moderate amount, 4 = much, 5 = very much

1 How much control do you have over the variety of methods you use in completing your work?

2 How much can you choose among a variety of tasks or projects to do?

3 How much control do you have personally over the quality of your work?

4 How much can you generally predict the amount of work you will have to do on any given day?

5 How much control do you personally have over how much work you get done?

6 How much control do you have over how quickly or slowly you have to work?

7 How much control do you have over the scheduling and duration of your rest breaks?

8 How much control do you have over when you come to work and leave?

9 How much control do you have over when you take vacation or days off?

10 How much are you able to predict what the results of decisions you make on the job will be?

11 How much are you able to decorate, rearrange, or personalize your work area?

12 How much can you control the physical condition of your work station (lightning, temperature)?

13 How much control do you have over how you do your work?

14 How much control do you have over when and how much you have to interact with others at work?

15 How much control do you have over the policies and procedures in your work unit?

16 How much control do you have over the sources of information you need to do your job?

17 How much are things that affect you at work predictable, even if you can’t directly control them?

18 How much control do you have over the amount of resources (tools, material) that you get?

19 How much control do you have over the number of times you are interrupted while you work?

20 How much control do you have over how much you earn at your job?

21 How much control do you have over how your work is evaluated?

22 In general, how much overall control do you have over work and work-related matters?

Part 3: Perceived importance of workplace values

This measure was developed by Van Dyne, Graham, and Dienesch (1994) It uses 12 items to describe the extent to which employees believe their organization