Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Satisfaction'

The recent economic recession has led to a large number of dual-income families losing their second income or having a smaller overall household income as a result of hourly wage cuts. Previous research has examined how job satisfaction can spill over into home life satisfaction; however, literature on how life satisfaction can affect job satisfaction is scarce. Based on theories of job satisfaction, personality, conservation of resources, and affective spillover, this study examined whether job satisfaction of the working partner was affected when the other became unemployed. Measures of job satisfaction, life satisfaction, personality, spousal status, and some demographic data were collected from 99 participants, recruited via various social media sites, who were a dual earning couple and had a significant other who had lost their job in the prior six months. Analysis of covariance was used to compare job and life satisfaction of single- versus dual-earner families, with these covariates: age, education level, income, and the personality traits of neuroticism and conscientiousness. A multivariate analysis of covariance found that the covariates did not account for any significant variance in the analyses, and there were no significant differences between single- and dual-earner family status for either life or job satisfaction. While no empirical support was found for the hypotheses, supplemental analyses revealed that having a partner who worked part-time was preferable to having one who worked full-time, suggesting that part-time work allows for more family/spouse involvement. The social change implications for individuals and organizations include the exploration of how significant life events can impact job satisfaction. Continued research in this area could assist in increasing overall job satisfaction and performance.

This dissertation shows that satisfiability procedures are abstract interpreters. This insight provides a unified view of program analysis and satisfiability solving and enables technology transfer between the two fields. The framework underlying these developments provides systematic recipes that show how intuition from satisfiability solvers can be lifted to program analyzers, how approximation techniques from program analyzers can be integrated into satisfiability procedures and how program analyzers and satisfiability solvers can be combined. Based on this work, we have developed new tools for checking program correctness and for solving satisfiability of quantifier-free first-order formulas. These tools outperform existing approaches. We introduce abstract satisfaction, an algebraic framework for applying abstract interpre- tation to obtain sound, but potentially incomplete satisfiability procedures. The framework allows the operation of satisfiability procedures to be understood in terms of fixed point computations involving deduction and abduction transformers on lattices. It also enables satisfiability solving and program correctness to be viewed as the same algebraic problem. Using abstract satisfaction, we show that a number of satisfiability procedures can be understood as abstract interpreters, including Boolean constraint propagation, the dpll and cdcl algorithms, St ̊almarck’s procedure, the dpll(t) framework and solvers based on congruence closure and the Bellman-Ford algorithm. Our work leads to a novel understand- ing of satisfiability architectures as refinement procedures for abstract analyses and allows us to relate these procedures to independent developments in program analysis. We use this perspective to develop Abstract Conflict-Driven Clause Learning (acdcl), a rigorous, lattice-based generalization of cdcl, the central algorithm of modern satisfiability research. The acdcl framework provides a solution to the open problem of lifting cdcl to new prob- lem domains and can be instantiated over many lattices that occur in practice. We provide soundness and completeness arguments for acdcl that apply to all such instantiations. We evaluate the effectiveness of acdcl by investigating two practical instantiations: fp-acdcl, a satisfiability procedure for the first-order theory of floating point arithmetic, and cdfpl, an interval-based program analyzer that uses cdcl-style learning to improve the precision of a program analysis. fp-acdcl is faster than competing approaches in 80% of our benchmarks and it is faster by more than an order of magnitude in 60% of the benchmarks. Out of 33 safe programs, cdfpl proves 16 more programs correct than a mature interval analysis tool and can conclusively determine the presence of errors in 24 unsafe benchmarks. Compared to bounded model checking, cdfpl is on average at least 260 times faster on our benchmark set.

Master of Science
Department of Hospitality Management and Dietetics
Kevin L. Sauer
Satisfaction with internal communication is important in all organizations and is influenced by the quality and consistency of communication exchange. Job satisfaction is also widely studied in organizations and plays a significant role in employee behavior. Job satisfaction typically correlates with communication satisfaction across different occupations, yet little is known about the communication and job satisfaction relationship in the hospitality industry or specific foodservice organizations. This study explored multiple facets of communication and job satisfaction in a university foodservice setting using the Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire and the Abridged Job Descriptive Index. Results indicated that student employees had the highest levels of communication satisfaction (M=181.75±38.24) while classified employees reported lower communication satisfaction (M=161.00±35.04). Managers reported the lowest levels of communication satisfaction (M=156.17±30.34) and also expressed the highest job satisfaction (M=78.66±18.66). Substantial relationships between job and communication satisfaction were not clearly defined in this study; however, specific themes and opportunities for future research were discovered. Results of this study advance the knowledge about communication and job satisfaction in the foodservice environment.

Thesis (Honors)--Ohio State University, 2006.
Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages: contains ix, 58 p.; also includes graphics. Includes bibliographical references (p. 46-52). Available online via Ohio State University's Knowledge Bank.

The retention of highly motivated, skilled and committed employees is a major concern by organisations to achieve a competitive advantage. The turnover intentions of human capital are of interest to managers, employees, and organisations today. This study explores a theoretical model of turnover intentions that included three proximal variables, job satisfaction, affective and continuance commitment, the distal variables of subordinate communication, horizontal communication, personal feedback, media quality, communication climate, supervisor communication, job-related communication, and management communication, with turnover intentions. A questionnaire was completed by 101 participants of a rental firm in New Zealand. Job satisfaction, affective commitment, continuance commitment, subordinate communication, horizontal communication, personal feedback, media quality, communication climate, supervisor communication, job-related communication, and management communication correlated with turnover intentions. The results of the mediated regression analysis indicated that job satisfaction, affective commitment, and continuance commitment are significant mediators between the eight distal (organisational communication) variables, with turnover intentions. This study highlights the necessity for managers to develop good quality relationships with their employees to improve the quality of their communication, to foster job satisfaction, affective commitment, and continuance commitment to reduce turnover intentions. The conclusion of this study discusses the practical implications for managers, and organisations and the direction for future research.

Job satisfaction is an important job-related attitude that has been linked to various outcomes for both the organization and its employees. In spite of this, researchers of the construct disagree about how job satisfaction is defined and measured. This study proposes the use of the Facet Satisfaction Scale, a new scale of measurement for job satisfaction that is based on more recent definitions of the construct. Reliability and preliminary predictive validity studies were conducted in order to determine the utility of this scale. Next steps in scale development are discussed.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between mindfulness and its link to sexual satisfaction and relationship satisfaction. Data were collected from 809 individuals (18.8% bisexual, 60.7% straight, 19.2% gay/lesbian) in romantic relationships. Participants completed an online survey to measure mindfulness (five facets: observing of experience, describing with words, acting with awareness, non judging of inner experience, non reactivity to inner experience), sexual satisfaction, and relationship satisfaction. Results from two multivariate analyses (predicting sexual satisfaction and relationship satisfaction) revealed that relationship satisfaction is significantly predicted by three of the five facets of mindfulness – acting with awareness, describing with words, and non judging of inner experience. Sexual satisfaction was significantly predicted by the non judging of inner experience facet of mindfulness. Non judging of inner experience was the only facet that significantly predicted both relationship and sexual satisfaction. These findings indicate that when individuals are able to take a non-evaluative stance towards their sensations, cognitions, and emotions, they are more likely to be satisfied. Future research and clinical intervention for improving satisfaction may benefit from focusing on mindfulness related to the non judging of inner experience. Implications for clinical practice and future research will be discussed.

The objective of this master thesis is to identify “key-drivers” embedded in customer satisfaction data. The data was collected by a large transportation sector corporation during five years and in four different countries. The questionnaire involved several different sections of questions and ranged from demographical information to satisfaction attributes with the vehicle, dealer and several problem areas. Various regression, correlation and cooperative game theory approaches were used to identify the key satisfiers and dissatisfiers. The theoretical and practical advantages of using the Shapley value, Canonical Correlation Analysis and Hierarchical Logistic Regression has been demonstrated and applied to market research.

The findings of this study offer agencies useful ways to develop social relationships with foster parents and to implement useful and accessible training opportunities. Strengthening what works well frees agencies to promote these areas to recruit new parents and simultaneously maintain quality foster homes.

This thesis aims to increase the understanding for how customer satisfaction is created in business-to-business relationships in the copying machine and IT sector. A second objective is to contribute to the small, yet growing literature on the topic of satisfaction in business-tobusiness settings. In order to accomplish this, one company in the copying machine and IT sector has been used as a base and its customers have been the focus of the study. The results show that if the expectations the customers have of the product are met, the customers are likely to be satisfied. Furthermore, parts that have a high influence on customer satisfaction are technical support, the products’ quality, the product’s user-friendliness and availability of the staff. The part that contributed the most to customer satisfaction was how the staff treatedthe customers. The parts which contributed the least were selection of products, handling of invoices and delivery times.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, 2007.
Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-05, Section: A, page: 2168. Adviser: Ruth V. Russell. "Title from dissertation home page (viewed Jan. 12, 2008)."

The Higher Education (HE) sector is a major contributor to the UK economy. Beyond its financial contribution HE adds value to society and generally advances global culture. Along with funding, league tables ranking and rising tuition fees one of the major challenges HE faces is competition on both national and international levels. So as to gain competitive advantage HE institutions need to satisfy their stakeholders. This research is concerned with two categories of HE stakeholder: 1. Postgraduate (PG) taught students 2. Academic staff. The focus of this study is to explore the relation between postgraduate student satisfaction and academic staff satisfaction. The University of Salford’s Salford Business School (SBS) in the UK was chosen to be an exploratory case study. This study is underpinned by two research questions: 1. How can PG student satisfaction be linked to academic staff satisfaction and explored in relation to Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory and the Balance Theory? 2. How does the marketisation affect PG student perceptions of HE? Unlike previous studies which adopted positivist standpoints, this research uses an interpretive paradigm. A total of twenty-eight in-depth interviews were conducted between the 20th October 2014 and the 30th November 2015. The data subjects were twenty PG students and eight academic staff in a dyadic relationship. Participants were selected based on their knowledge and experience of SBS. NVivo software was used to analyse the semi-structured interviews as well as critical incidents discussed. This study contributes to knowledge by investigating the relation between student satisfaction and staff satisfaction, using both Herzberg theory and the Balance theory. Findings of this research suggests there is a relation between PG student satisfaction and academic staff satisfaction, although in some cases it was not activated. It contributes to Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory in that it shows a need to augment his framework with the impact of negative feedback when using it in future studies, particularly if considering HE. Moreover, one of the key findings is that PG students consider themselves as customers. This means that they expect high quality of service in return for the student fees paid. The methodological contribution of this research shows that data collected from members of the dyadic relationship of PG students and academic staff who teach them, offers a rich understanding of services provided by SBS. Finally, the practical contribution of this work challenges the reliability of student surveys being conducted to measure satisfaction of students as in reality unhappy experiences were those that were shared more easily and this highlights the need to change the feedback culture in HE. Research findings highlight both the benefits and drawbacks of the Block delivery mode currently used at SBS. The findings also imply that one of the HE system drawbacks is that it focuses on and rewards research output. So it identifies a need within the management of the school to focus on and reward teaching excellence.

There are many questions about the long-term effects of college athletic participation that have not been studied, especially issues regarding gender. Because of socialization and the structural differences in men's and women's sports, the long-term effects of sports participation may be different for men and women athletes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of competition through college sports participation on job satisfaction and life satisfaction of former men and women athletes. Research was conducted on men and women who participated at the college level in basketball, track and field, swimming and diving, and tennis from 1983-1988 at Virginia Tech. Data were collected using a mail survey adapted from the Sports Orientation Questionnaire (Gill & Deeter, 1988), the revised and abridged version of the Life Satisfaction Index-A ( Kleiber, Greendorfer, Blinde, & Samdahl, 1987) and the Index of Job Satisfaction (Brayfield & Rothe, 1951). Data were analyzed using t-tests and regression models to determine the relationship between the independent variables of gender and level of competitiveness and the dependent variables of job satisfaction and life satisfaction. No significant difference was found between gender and its relationship to job satisfaction and life satisfaction. This result may have great importance given that women experience discrimination in sports participation. It seems that women are able to overcome these adverse conditions and achieve levels of job satisfaction and life satisfaction equal to men. Level of competitiveness was not statistically significant either; however this may be due to a small variance among the sample's level of competitiveness.
Master of Arts

Thesis (M.A.)--Miami University, Dept. of Speech Communication, 2003.
Title from first page of PDF document. Document formatted into pages; contains iii, 42 p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 32-35).

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship of leisure satisfaction, job satisfaction, and life satisfaction among selected faculty in higher education institutions whose specialty teaching subject area was therapeutic recreation. This study also investigated the relationship of specific demographic variables to leisure satisfaction, job satisfaction, and life satisfaction. The variables included age, gender, education, income level, health, tenure, marital status, type of institution where employed, and participation in therapeutic recreation organizations. The population for this study consisted of 162 faculty whose specialty teaching subject area was therapeutic recreation. Subjects were selected from colleges and universities of the United States listed in the curriculum catalog published by the Recreation and Park Association, Society of Park and Recreation Education for the year 1993-1994.

Aquesta tesi se centra en el concepte de la satisfacció amb la vida en el context de Xile. Després de revisar múltiples factors que influeixen sobre el nivell de satisfacció general amb la vida de les persones, es proposa un model de satisfacció amb la vida basat en el nivell de satisfacció amb múltiples aspectes importants de la vida com són la salut, la família i la feina. Comparant la importància que els treballadors xilens atorguen a cadascun d'aquests aspectes, aquesta tesi contribueix a millorar la comprensió de l'estructura del concepte de la satisfacció amb la vida a la població xilena i, en particular, de la importància relativa que la satisfacció amb la feina té sobre la satisfacció general amb la vida pels treballadors xilens. En primer lloc, es tracte sobre el mesurament del constructe de la satisfacció general amb la vida en el context de Xile. Es presenta una nova operacionalització en espanyol d'una de les escales més comunament utilitzades pel mesurament de la satisfacció general amb la vida. L'escala es valida psicomètricament sobre una mostra representativa de la població xilena. S'aporten suficients evidències de la validesa de l'instrument i de la seva fiabilitat pel mesurament de la satisfacció general amb la vida entre la població xilena. A continuació, s'identifiquen set aspectes de la vida considerats importants per gaudir d'una vida satisfactòria: salut, família, situació financera, relacions socials, autoestima, temps lliure i feina. S'examina la contribució de cadascun d'aquests aspectes sobre la satisfacció general amb la vida. Seguidament, s'aprofundeix en la relació existent entre la satisfacció amb la feina i la satisfacció amb la vida per millorar la nostra comprensió de la complexitat d'aquesta associació. Finalment, un capítol de conclusions resumeix la contribució d'aquest treball de recerca, identifica algunes de les seves limitacions, suggereix futures investigacions, i presenta algunes implicacions pràctiques. Tot i haver-hi arguments filosòfics i ideològics que sostenen la centralitat de la feina per a la satisfacció amb la vida, aquesta tesi conclou que la satisfacció amb la feina té una contribució relativament petita sobre la satisfacció general amb la vida dels treballadors xilens. Altres aspectes de la vida tenen una influència predominant sobre la satisfacció general amb la vida en el context cultural i socioeconòmic de Xile. Per a alguns treballadors, com els autònoms, els quals, suposadament, valoren més la feina en les seves vides, la satisfacció amb la feina té una influència major sobre les seves avaluacions de satisfacció amb la vida.
Esta tesis se centra en el concepto de la satisfacción con la vida en el contexto de Chile. Tras revisar múltiples factores que influyen sobre el nivel de satisfacción general con la vida de las personas, se propone un modelo de satisfacción con la vida basado en el nivel de satisfacción con múltiples facetas importantes de la vida como son la salud, la familia y el trabajo. Comparando la importancia que los trabajadores chilenos otorgan a cada una de éstas facetas de la vida, esta tesis contribuye a mejorar la comprensión de la estructura del concepto de la satisfacción con la vida en la población chilena y, en particular, de la importancia relativa que la satisfacción con el trabajo tiene sobre la satisfacción general con la vida para los trabajadores chilenos. En primer lugar, se aborda la medición del constructo de la satisfacción general con la vida en el contexto de Chile. Se presenta una nueva operacionalización en español de una de las escalas más comúnmente utilizadas para la medición de la satisfacción general con la vida. La escala se valida psicométricamente sobre una muestra representativa de la población Chilena. Se aportan suficientes evidencias de la validez del instrumento y su fiabilidad para la medición de la satisfacción general con la vida entre la población Chilena. A continuación, se identifican siete facetas de la vida consideradas importantes para gozar de una vida satisfactoria: salud, familia, situación financiera, relaciones sociales, autoestima, tiempo libre y trabajo. Se examina la contribución de cada una de dichas facetas sobre la satisfacción general con la vida. Seguidamente, se profundiza en la relación existente entre la satisfacción con el trabajo y la satisfacción con la vida para mejorar nuestra comprensión de la complejidad de esta asociación. Finalmente, un capítulo de conclusiones resume la contribución de este trabajo de investigación, identifica algunas de sus limitaciones, sugiere futuras investigaciones, y presenta algunas implicaciones prácticas. A pesar de argumentos filosóficos e ideológicos que sostienen la centralidad del trabajo para la satisfacción con la vida, ésta tesis concluye que la satisfacción con el trabajo tiene una contribución relativamente pequeña sobre la satisfacción general con la vida de los trabajadores chilenos. Otras facetas de la vida tienen una influencia predominante sobre la satisfacción general con la vida en el contexto cultural y socio-económico de Chile. Para algunos trabajadores, como los autónomos, los cuales, supuestamente, valoran más el trabajo en sus vidas, la satisfacción con el trabajo tiene una influencia mayor sobre las evaluaciones de satisfacción con la vida.
This thesis focuses on the concept of life satisfaction in the context of Chile. After reviewing multiple factors that influence people’s overall satisfaction with life, this thesis proposes a life satisfaction model based on the level of satisfaction with multiple important life domains, such as health, family, and work. Comparing the different importance Chilean workers place on these life domains this thesis contributes to improve our understanding of the structure of the life satisfaction concept in the Chilean population and in particular of the relative importance of work satisfaction to overall life satisfaction for Chilean workers. First, the measurement of the construct of overall life satisfaction in the context of Chile is addressed. A new operationalization into Spanish of one of the most commonly used scales for measuring overall life satisfaction is presented and psychometrically validated on a representative sample of the Chilean population. Sufficient evidence is provided of the validity of the instrument and its reliability for measuring general satisfaction with life among the Chilean population. Then, seven life domains considered to be important to a satisfactory life are identified: health, family, financial situation, social relationships, self-worth, leisure time, and work. The different weight Chilean workers place on these life domains when making life satisfaction judgements are examined. After that, we go deep into the relationship between work satisfaction and life satisfaction to better understand the complexity of this association. Finally, a conclusions chapter summarizes the contributions of this research, identifies some of its limitations, suggests some avenues for future research, and presents some practical implications. Despite appealing philosophical and ideological arguments claiming the centrality of work to life satisfaction, this thesis concludes that work satisfaction has only a relatively minor contribution to Chilean workers’ level of life satisfaction. Other life domains have a predominant influence on life satisfaction judgments in the cultural and socio-economic context of Chile. For some type of workers, like self-employed, who presumably value work more in their lives, work satisfaction have a stronger influence on their overall life satisfaction appraisals.

Dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: Quality in the Faculty of Engineering at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology
This research will focus on employee satisfaction in the workplace. The research will be conducted as a result of the high number of factory staff resigning due to unhappiness in their work environment. This transposes into not only productivity being lost, but also that the efficiency of the organisation is being compromised. The purpose of this research is to establish if employee satisfaction could serve as a catalyst for improved efficiency, productivity and customer satisfaction.The research will be conducted at Anchor Lining Systems (ALS). The company is based in Cape Town South-Africa and manufactures a concrete protection liner referred to as Anchor Knob Sheet (AKS). The product represents a „state of the art‟ robust concrete protection liner system. It is designed to protect concrete structures in chemically aggressive environments.The research question which will be researched to mitigate the research problem reads as follows: “What approach could be deployed to minimise employee dissatisfaction in a manufacturing organisation to improve its overall efficiency, profitability and customer satisfaction?”Applied research will be conducted in this thesis, as the research will be designed to apply its findings to solve a specific, existing problem. The research will furthermore fall in the social world as social science has to do with how things are, and why. The research, due to the fact that it would require intensive textual investigation will be theoretical in nature, which can be define as, “contemplative of the mind, on intellectual faculties”. Furthermore, theoretical research is commonly associated with the phenomenological paradigm, which is used to answer questions about the complex nature of a phenomena, often with the purpose of describing and understanding the phenomena from the participant‟s view. These concepts are also commonly referred to as the „qualitative paradigm‟.The proposed research in this dissertation would be of specific benefit to the manufacturing industry in South-Africa, due to the high levels of staff turnover being experienced in the industry due to employee dissatisfaction. Such high levels of turnover de-stabilises the industry in that key resources are lost to organisations. If turnover can be minimised by elevating the levels of employee satisfaction then efficiency, productivity and customer satisfaction can be exponentially improved.

Effective school studies showed that the principal -- as building leader -- is the key person in establishing and maintaining good schools; however, an extensive review of the literature revealed a lack of empirical data relevant to the relationship between the principal's level of job satisfaction end communication satisfaction. The purpose addressed in this study was to measure the relationship between communication satisfaction and job satisfaction of elementary school principals. Specific research questions addressed by the study were as follows: 1. How satisfied are elementary school principals with their jobs? 2. How satisfied are elementary school principals with the communication within their school system? 3. What is the relationship between job satisfaction and communication satisfaction of elementary school principals? The Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire developed and copywrited in 1974 by Downs and Hazen was utilized with revisions by the researcher. The population participating in the study was determined by selecting elementary school principals listed in the Tidewater Zone of the Virginia Association of Elementary School Principals. The computed correlation coefficients, which ranged from .09 to .41, indicated that a low positive relationship exists between the elementary principals stated job satisfaction, level of job satisfaction, level of productivity, and the eight dimensions and total communication satisfaction instrument. The conclusions presented in this study are the results of data collected from the elementary school principals toward the Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire. 1. Elementary principals were generally satisfied with their jobs. 2. Elementary principals were very satisfied with the communication within their school system. 3. A low positive relationship exists between the elementary principals' job satisfaction and communication satisfaction; however, observers/interpreters/researchers may be reasonably confident that a true relationship exists between job satisfaction and communication satisfaction of elementary school principals.
Ed. D.
incomplete_metadata

Home satisfaction, work satisfaction and the presence or absence of children were quantitatively assessed using responses from 132 Virginia vocational home economics teachers. Analysis of variance was used to examine whether home satisfaction and the presence or absence of children made a significant difference in work satisfaction. Those items which teachers found most and least satisfying in both their work and home situations were also identified. The analysis of variance found that mean home satisfaction scores made a significant difference upon work satisfaction, while the presence or absence of children did not. The interaction of home satisfaction and children made no significant difference. Home and family items teachers identified as being most satisfying were personal habits, housing, health of family members, and personal health. Those least satisfying were amount of time for self! division of household duties, time together as a family, and family schedule. Aspects which were the most satisfying at work were amount of commuting time, amount of control over job, opportunity to work independently, and friendships at work. Those which were least satisfying were flexibility of work schedule, opportunities for advancement, salary, and meal and break times. Overall, this group of vocational home economics teachers indicated a high level of satisfaction with work and home life.

Master of Science

Dans la première partie, construction du cadre conceptuel de la recherche, nous nous sommes intéressé à la définition des concepts clefs de la recherche à savoir la satisfaction au travail, la satisfaction à l'égard de la rémunération et l'équité salariale. Nous avons entre autres, mis l'accent sur l'amalgame conceptuel qui règne, dans la littérature, entre la satisfaction à l'égard de la rémunération et le sentiment d'équité salariale. Nous avons grâce à un test d'équivalence des deux concepts, prouvé l'indépendance des deux construits et abouti à la construction du modèle de recherche. Dans la seconde partie, consacrée à l'étude empirique, nous avons procédé à la construction, la validation et la confirmation des échelles de mesure de l'équité salariale, de la satisfaction à l'égard de la rémunération et de la satisfaction au travail à l'aide d'outils statistiques, notamment SPSS et AMOS. Nous avons ensuite procédé à la collecte des données auprès des cadres du public et du privé en France, pour le test du modèle et des hypothèses de recherche. .
The first part develops the conceptual framework by defining the following key concepts : job satisfaction, pay satisfaction and wage equity. In fact, the objective was to cope with the confusion, existing in the literature, between wage equity and pay satisfaction. The implementation of equivalence test provides support for the independence of both constructs. Then, we set up the research model. The second part presents the empirical study integrating construction, validation and confirmation of wage equity, pay satisfaction and job satisfaction measurement scales using SPSS and AMOS. Then, the data collection was made within executives from private and public organizations in France. .

Several marital education workshops for distressed marriages are offered in America. These workshops primarily address marital relationship issues but do not address sexual problems that may exist in marriages even though it is known that marital satisfaction can be negatively affected by sexual dissatisfaction. Because marital and sexual satisfaction are both important in a marriage, this study examined whether an intensive marital education workshop that helped individuals in distressed marriages improve their levels of marital satisfaction correspondingly improved their levels of sexual satisfaction even though sexual issues were not addressed. There were 188 married individuals enrolled in a three-day intensive marital education workshop for distressed marriages who voluntarily completed a survey measuring marital and sexual satisfaction before the workshop. Of those, 63 also completed a survey 90 days after participating in the workshop. As a control group, 571 married individuals not enrolled in the workshop were recruited online to complete the same initial survey. Of that number, 142 also completed a 90-day later survey. Respondents in both groups were heterosexual married USA citizens at least 21 years of age who were living in America with their spouses. Of those participating in the marital education workshop, 57.1% had significant positive change in both marital and sexual satisfaction in the 90-day later survey, 27.0% had significant negative change in both measures of satisfaction, 7.9% had no significant change in either satisfaction, and 7.9% were not able to be analyzed because of missing data. Those in the control group showed no significant change in the means of either their marital or sexual satisfaction scores during the 90 days.

Employee and customer satisfaction have been widely studied and are important for business outcomes. Their relationship has primarily been researched at the organisational and departmental levels within the consumer type industries where frontline employee interaction with the customer is important. Research into the relationship at the job characteristic level and within a business-to-business context is limited and therefore the purpose of the research is to examine these relationships in a South African firm. Two data collection instruments, based on the literature review, were used to obtain the primary data for this research. A self administered job satisfaction survey was preformed as well as a telephonic customer satisfaction survey was undertaken. 67 employees and 66 customers responded to the survey. Descriptive and comparative statistics with a rank order correlation was used to examining and analyse the data. Although a weak relationship was observed between the percentages of satisfied employees and satisfied customers in the survey, a strong and significant relationship exists between the rank order of the different functions within the firm, when comparing the employees job and customers satisfaction results. The results suggest that the job satisfaction levels of the employees in a business-to-business environment influence to some degree the level of satisfaction experienced by the customer.
Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2008.
Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)
unrestricted

La presente tesis doctoral tiene como objetivo principal analizar la satisfacción del cliente en tres hoteles de diferente categoría, desde tres a cinco estrellas, situados en la ciudad de San Petersburgo en Rusia. La estructura de la tesis doctoral se presenta en tres partes bien diferenciadas: (1) Se realiza una profunda revisión sistemática de la literatura sobre la satisfacción del cliente centrándose particularmente en las ciencias sociales y la economía, analizando también las diferencias observadas por regiones geográficas comparando los resultados de la literatura internacional con los obtenidos en revistas científicas rusas; (2) se analiza después las peculiaridades que presenta esta literatura en un contexto más adecuado al objeto de estudio de esta investigación cómo es el turismo donde se presenta un análisis bibliométrico así como un estudio de los principales determinantes y consecuencias de la satisfacción en el campo del turismo; y (3) se presentan dos aplicaciones empíricas utilizando los resultados obtenidos mediante la aplicación de un modelo híbrido multicriterio basado en la lógica borrosa y en la técnica de comportamiento global obtenida por la comparación existente con las soluciones ideales observadas en el conjunto de la muestra analizada. De esta forma, la parte empírica presenta dos trabajos que analizan el papel que juega el género y la edad en la satisfacción experimentada en los hoteles analizando de forma global el conjunto de los hoteles incluidos en la muestra, así como los resultados obtenidos para los hoteles de tres y cuatro estrellas. Los resultados obtenidos permiten concluir que la edad y el género influyen de manera decisiva en la satisfacción del cliente discutiéndose importantes implicaciones de gestión que tienen que considerarse por los agentes económicos implicados.
La present tesi doctoral té com a objectiu principal analitzar la satisfacció del client en tres hotels de diferent categoria, des de tres a cinc estrelles, situats a la ciutat de Sant Petersburg a Rússia. L'estructura de la tesi doctoral es presenta en tres parts ben diferenciades: (1) Es realitza una profunda revisió sistemàtica de la literatura sobre la satisfacció del client centrant-se particularment en les ciències socials i l'economia, analitzant també les diferències observades per regions geogràfiques comparant els resultats de la literatura internacional amb els obtinguts en revistes russes; (2) s'analitza després les peculiaritats que presenta aquesta literatura en un context més adequat a l'objecte d'estudi d'aquesta investigació com és el turisme on es presenta una anàlisi bibliomètrica així com un estudi dels principals determinants i conseqüències de la satisfacció en el camp del turisme; i (3) es presenten dues aplicacions empíriques utilitzant els resultats obtinguts mitjançant l'aplicació d'un model híbrid multicriteri basat en la lògica borrosa i en la tècnica de comportament global obtinguda per la comparació existent amb les solucions ideals observades en el conjunt de la mostra analitzada . Així, la part empírica presenta dos treballs que analitzen el paper que juga el gènere i l'edat en la satisfacció experimentada en els hotels analitzant de manera global el conjunt dels hotels inclosos en la mostra, així com els resultats obtinguts per als hotels de tres i quatre estrelles. Els resultats obtinguts permeten concloure que l'edat i el gènere influeixen de manera decisiva en la satisfacció del client discutint importants implicacions de gestió que han de considerar-se pels agents econòmics implicats.
The main objective of this dissertation is to analyze customer satisfaction in three different hotels, from three to five stars, located in the city of Saint Petersburg in Russia. The structure of the doctoral thesis is presented in three distinct parts: (1) A thorough systematic review of the literature on client satisfaction is carried out, focusing particularly on the social sciences and economics, also analyzing the differences observed by geographic regions by comparing the results of the international literature with those obtained in Russian scientific journals; (2) we analyze the peculiarities presented by this literature in a context more appropriate to the object of study of this research as is the tourism where a bibliometric analysis is presented as well as a study of the main determinants and consequences of satisfaction in the field of tourism; and (3) two empirical applications are presented using the results obtained through the application of a multicriteria hybrid model based on the fuzzy logic and on the global behavior technique obtained by the existing comparison with the ideal solutions observed in the analyzed sample. Two empirical exercises are presented that analyze the role of gender and age in the satisfaction experienced in hotels by analyzing overall the hotels included in the sample, as well as the results obtained for hotels of three and four stars. The results obtained allow us to conclude that age and gender decisively influence client satisfaction by discussing important management implications that have to be considered by the economic agents involved.

The harassed boss who faces an office full of mutinous, recalcitrant staff every morning may not believe it, but half of South Africa’s employees love their jobs and their employers. That’s according to TNS Research Surveys, which recently released the results of a survey into employee wellbeing and commitment. TNS director Neil Higgs issued a caution, though: because of the tough economic times, employers are likely to be stuck with the malcontents among their staff for longer than they might like (Ferreira, 2009). From the above mentioned it can be deduced that there are many employees who are currently not satisfied with their jobs. This poses a danger for employers and their productivity, as an unsatisfied employee is likely to be an unproductive employee. Satisfied employees are likely to make a better contribution to the economic growth of this country as more drive and motivation will be shown in the workplace. In these tough economic times, those employees who are not satisfied with their jobs are less likely to find employment elsewhere as mentioned above. The main purpose of this research paper was to identify certain factors impacting on job satisfaction. The first step was to complete a literature study on the selected factors which impacts on job satisfaction. The factors selected were that of recruitment and selection, rewards offered by employers, personality of employees and leadership characteristics of superiors. The literature study revealed which methods to use in attempting to deal with the selected factors impacting on job satisfaction. Secondly, the views of staff in various departments and views of staff specifically in the Human Resources department of the selected company were asked various questions in an empirical study. These questions were based on the selected factors mentioned in the previous paragraph, this involved them completing questionnaires. v Based on the findings of the literature study and the empirical study, the last step was to make recommendations to the selected company on how to improve job satisfaction of employees. Recommendations were also made as to what to look for to make it easier in recruiting new employees, who are likely to have enhanced job satisfaction for the good of the company.

The research literature on factors associated with relationship satisfaction and relationship failure suggests that the expression of emotion has a vital role in the maintenance or failure of marriages and cohabiting partner relationships. Relationship failure is a significant clinical concern because of the association with increased suicide risk for separating partners and negative consequences for children of parents whose relationship is characterised by high levels of conflict. Longitudinal follow up studies have been used to clearly describe a destructive style of conflict resolution, based on a lack of communication of emotion between couples who then subsequently divorce or separate. However no research has been carried out to determine how the alexithymic personality trait, which is characterised by an inability to express emotion impacts upon cohabiting partner relationships such as marriages. This study used a clinical sample of men presenting with mental health problems to two adjoining community mental health teams. The study investigated whether the ability of men to express emotion, measured by the Toronto Alexithymia Scale was correlated with their satisfaction levels in cohabiting relationships (measured by the Relationship Assessment Scale). In addition, the hypothesis that alexithymic men may be more vulnerable, through their difficulties in expressing emotion to enter destructive partners of conflict resolution that lead to relationship failure was also investigated by correlating alexithymia scores with the number of failed precious cohabiting relationship the men had experienced. Results were not statistically significant, as it was only possible to collect a small, homogenous sample of men that was not sufficient for fairly evaluating the hypotheses of this study. The replication of this preliminary study within a primary care service, where participants may be more numerous, along with the additional incentive of payment for participation is recommended, due to the difficulties encountered in recruiting men to participate in a study about relationship satisfaction.

Applying The Theory of Work Adjustment, the purpose of this study was to test the following hypotheses: (1) Higher levels of correspondence between vocational needs and work environment reinforcers will be associated with decreased severity of illness. In addition, personality flexibility will moderate these relationships such that higher levels of flexibility will attenuate the relationship between discorrespondence and illness. (2) Those individuals with greater tenure in an occupation where there is discorrespondence between work reinforcers will display more flexibility than those with similar degrees of discorrespondence and less tenure.Medical records were reviewed from 122 subjects from the Counseling Psychology section of the Minneapolis Veterans Administration Medical Center. Severity of illness was determined form these records. Occupational fit was measured through comparison of the individual's Minnesota Importance Questionnaire (Rounds, Henly, Dawis, Lofquist, & Weiss, 1981) profile and the reinforcers present in his/her primary occupation. Flexibility was measured by selected subscales from the Jackson Personality Inventory (Jackson, 1976) and a criterion variable and occupational fit, tenure, job satisfaction, and personality flexibility as predictor variables. Also, a hierarchial multiple regression technique was applied to test possible interaction effects between Flexibility and Fit.A brief self-report measure of flexibility was administered to a subsample and, although correlating in the expected direction, it was not significantly associated with Flexibility as measured by the JPI. Neither was it correlated with any of the other variables of interest in this study.The first hypothesis was not supported. Correspondence between vocational needs and work environment reinforcers was not associated with decreased severity of illness. There was no significant correlation between job satisfaction and occupational fit although there was a trend in the expected direction. It was found, however, that Flexibility, as measured by selected subscales from the JPI, was associated (p < .01) with a lesser severity of illness rating.There was not support for the second hypothesis. Tenure was not significantly associated with any of the variables of interest in this study. There was a trend, however, in the expected direction among tenure, job satisfaction and occupational fit. They all correlated positively.

This dissertation consists of two essays that study the relevant boundary conditions to the relationship between the customer satisfaction and loyalty. Retaining current customers is critical to a firm's performance and has been well-established in the literature. Extant literature tells us that loyal customers are typically less price sensitive, spend more than non-loyal customers, less expensive to retain, and more importantly, provide new referrals through positive word of mouth. In the first essay, drawing from decision justifiability theory, I posit that consideration set size and price-consciousness moderate the relationship between satisfaction and loyalty. At higher levels of consideration set sizes, the positive relationship between satisfaction and loyalty is likely to be weakened. However, this two-way interaction effect is seen to impact high and low price-conscious consumers differently. Specifically, I show that satisfied, low price-conscious consumers with higher consideration set sizes will be more loyal vis-a-vis high price-conscious consumers with similar satisfaction levels and set sizes. These theoretical hypotheses are tested in four separate studies. Specifically, I use secondary data and three experimental studies. All my hypotheses including the mediating role of decision justifiability are supported. The second essay investigates the role of satisfaction on loyalty intentions for firms that offer both the product and the product-related augmented services. In the industry that I studied for this question, buying a product requires an extraordinarily high capital outlay; however, the profitability of the firm is dependent on the services offered to the customers. The services market is a very competitive market as well in this industry. So, how should a firm manage this portfolio that includes both products and services? I draw and extend the consumption system model proposed by Mittal, Kumar and Tsiros (Journal of Marketing, 1999). Specifically, I propose a curvilinear relationship for both product and services satisfaction on loyalty intentions and posit synergistic interactions between them. I test this model using longitudinal data spanning five years across multiple countries that were obtained from a multinational company. Analyses reveal support for the proposed hypotheses.
Ph.D.
Department of Marketing
Business Administration
Business Administration PhD

The purpose of this study is to investigate tourists' perceptions of value and satisfaction with the quality of the tourism services in Saudi Arabia. In recent years, one of the areas for product and service differentiation has been the development of tourism services. In service industries, it is widely assumed that competitive advantage, and hence profitability, depends on service quality and customer satisfaction. This raises the question, in tourism what constitutes customer value and satisfaction, and how can they be measured? This research addresses these issues with specific reference to Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is a rapidly developing Arab country, with varied topography. It has well-established transport, accommodation and communications infrastructure, and a rich cultural heritage. These features are reflected in the cities of Jeddah and Abha, where the study is focused. A theoretical framework for the study is provided by Woodruff and Gardial's (1996) customer value determination model in which product attributes produce positive and negative consequences which mayor may not conform to customer values. This value determination is the main antecedent of customer satisfaction. Quality, value and satisfaction are shown to have significant implications for the development and successof tourism, a complex phenomenon, with economic, technical and social components. Various typologies exist, which have implications for tourism planning. A survey (n=553) and qualitative interviews (n=24) contextualized by participant observation were conducted to explore internal tourists' value perceptions and satisfaction with selected services in Jeddah and Abha. Descriptive and inferential statistics, and inductive analysis, were employed to analyse the data collected. The findings revealed the importance to customer satisfaction of safety and security, relaxation (produced by comfort and convenience) and respect conveyed by conformity of service personnel to traditional norms of behaviour. There were significant areas of dissatisfaction in relation to all these values, especially in Abha. Suggestions are offered for developing this model as a guide for assessing the quality of services in general and particularly in Saudi Arabia. The practical implications of the findings for tourism planners are also highlighted.

Sexual satisfaction is a major component of human behavior. Individuals in relationships have specific demands for sexual satisfaction. Relationships and societal trends may impact the standards for sexual performance. The effects of performance can result in negative transitions in relationships. Therefore, Individuals may also consider outside variables in addition to relationship status, length of relationships, sexual orientation, gender-role, and religiousness. This poster presentation will be based on a literature review. The review reveals positive effects of religiousness on sexual satisfaction for those married more than ten years. In comparison with social behaviors, gender-roles are not influenced by traditional or non-traditional beliefs. When social norms and sexual orientation are paired in correlation with satisfaction in relationships, gay men and lesbians rate higher than heterosexuals in the area of sexual satisfaction. When long-term and short-term relationships are measured based on sexual satisfaction, results indicate long-term relationships are successful due to active communication and no sexual dysfunctions.

Relationship satisfaction often declines after marriage or cohabitation and between 40-50% of marriages end in divorce. Furthermore, many couples who stay together report feeling unsatisfied in their relationships. Thus, it is important to examine factors that contribute to enduring and satisfying relationships. One factor that has been closely linked to relationship satisfaction is the sexual relationship of the couple. One aspect of the sexual relationship that has received little attention is masturbation. Although most psychologists hold positive views about masturbation, and recommend masturbation in many instances, the empirical data examining the association between masturbation and relationship satisfaction has mixed findings, with the majority of studies reporting a small negative relationship between these variables. The purpose of the present study was to further explore the association between masturbation and relationship satisfaction, focusing on possible moderators and mediators of this relationship including: masturbation guilt, openness with an individual's partner about masturbation, gender, object of arousal during masturbation, and reason for masturbating. Overall, masturbation frequency did not have a significant association with relationship satisfaction. However, the object of arousal during masturbation and openness about masturbation moderated the association between masturbation frequency and relationship satisfaction. Specifically, individuals who (a) used objects of arousal other than the partner when masturbating and (b) were less open about the masturbation reported a more negative association between masturbation frequency and relationship satisfaction.

Job satisfaction is the central attitude about work and can be considered among the most important constructs in organizational psychology and managerial practice. While scholars traditionally focused on job satisfaction of individual employees, the ongoing shift from individual to team-based working led to a new emphasis of satisfaction in the context of teams. Specifically, the focus on job satisfaction as an individual-level construct was complemented by a group-level perspective, which describes the satisfaction of teams as a whole. Furthermore, employees’ satisfaction with the team (i.e., team satisfaction) appeared as a new facet on the research agenda. Although research on job satisfaction in teams has grown in recent years, it still faces important challenges. The main problem is that prior research mostly viewed satisfaction in teams from a single-level perspective and conceptualized it as construct that is shared by all team members, overlooking that exclusion and polarization processes might lead to other than uniform satisfaction patterns. Second, while the literature already established a relationship between teams’ average satisfaction and performance, authors so far devoted only little attention to multi-level conceptualizations, neglecting that satisfaction on different levels of analysis can have different effects on emergent states, team processes, and performance. Finally, a lack of validated scales to assess satisfaction in teams forces researchers to rely on ad-hoc measures, on scales that were adapted from different research contexts, and on single-item measures, which complicates the testing of theoretical models, and the prediction and improvement of performance of individuals and teams. This dissertation addresses these challenges in a series of four studies. Study 1 presents a conceptual multi-level framework of team satisfaction. Current theorizing on team satisfaction as a group-level construct and its relationship to team performance faces two challenges: (1) a merely consensus-based conceptualization of team satisfaction at the group level and (2) a neglect of multi-level effects. This limits our understanding of team satisfaction and its influence on team performance because team members’ satisfaction does not always emerge as a uniform group-level construct. In this case, current theory cannot adequately explain the relationship between team satisfaction and team performance. In this conceptual paper, my co-authors and I develop a typology of different forms of team satisfaction (uniform, fragmented, deviate, and bimodal satisfaction), and introduce a multi-level framework that explains how these forms affect team performance within and across different levels of analysis. Based on our framework, we propose that the forms of team satisfaction affect emergent states, such as cohesiveness and trust climate, and team processes, such as cooperation and conflict resolution, that affect team performance beyond the effects of team members’ individual level of satisfaction. The paper contributes to current theory about team satisfaction and its relationship to team performance. Study 2a focuses on a methodological problem concerning the measurement of job satisfaction. Although an economical and differentiated assessment of job satisfaction is important for research and practice, German job satisfaction scales are often extensive or cannot differentiate between satisfaction facets. In order to fill this gap, I construct and validate a short questionnaire to assess general job satisfaction as well as satisfaction with the work itself, coworkers, promotions, pay, and supervision. First, I derive a large item pool from different versions of the Job Descriptive Index (JDI) and its German equivalent Arbeitsbeschreibungsbogen (ABB). Second, based on data collected with an online survey (N = 217), I subsequently reduce the item pool to a 30-item short questionnaire. Finally, I cross-validate the short questionnaire with an independent sample (N = 377). Given its satisfactory psychometric properties, the new scales allow for a reliable, valid, and economical measurement of job satisfaction and its facets in the German language. Study 2b adapts these newly developed scales to the context of teams. Studies that assess satisfaction in the team context usually rely on ad-hoc measures that are not validated and difficult to compare across studies. To address this problem, Study 2b adapts the scales developed in Study 2a to the team context and validates them using the data from 202 team members working in 47 teams. Despite a small method bias due to reverse-coded items, the scales’ psychometric properties are satisfactory. The results further show that, in contrast to non-team contexts, satisfaction with the team members appears to be the most important facet of satisfaction as it exhibits the strongest relationships with performance-related criteria and overall satisfaction. In summary, the results suggest that the adapted scales provide for a reliable and valid measurement of satisfaction in the context of teams. Study 3 addresses the emergence of job satisfaction in teams by examining homogeneity of satisfaction. Job satisfaction homogeneity is necessary for aggregating team members’ job satisfaction to the group level, and affects team-related outcomes such as social integration, team cohesion, and absenteeism. However, our understanding of the processes that lead to shared satisfaction is limited. Based on affective events theory, I test competing hypotheses about situational, dispositional, and social antecedents of satisfaction homogeneity. Path analyses based on data from 415 team members working in 110 teams suggest that job satisfaction homogeneity primarily depends on characteristics of the working environment, and to a lesser extent on team members’ personality traits. Unlike earlier studies, the study finds no evidence that social interaction leads to agreement in job satisfaction. Additionally, the study partly replicates the finding that satisfaction homogeneity moderates the group-level satisfaction—team performance relationship. Taken together, the studies comprising this dissertation contribute to three research domains — emergence, measurement, and consequences — of job satisfaction in teams. Concerning emergence, the studies comprising this dissertation present strong arguments and empirical evidence why satisfaction dispersion can occur in real-life teams, which marks a departure from the former emphasis on satisfaction as a shared group-level construct. In particular, whereas Study 1 argues that team satisfaction can emerge as a configural construct on the group-level in addition to uniform satisfaction, Study 3 analyzes the antecedents of satisfaction homogeneity. Concerning measurement, the results of Studies 2a and 2b provide valuable shortscales for future research and organizational practice that can be used to assess overall and facet-specific job satisfaction in team and non-team contexts. Given their individual-level nature, scale scores can be interpreted in cases without sufficient consensus and can be used for a variety of research questions at different levels of analysis. Finally, concerning consequences, this research emphasizes the importance of satisfaction facets and configurations for the relationship to team performance. Whereas Study 2b showed that facets of satisfaction are differently related to individual-level and group-level performance criteria, the theorizing of Study 1 and the findings of Study 3 build on and advance prior studies that have shown that differences in jo satisfaction are meaningful in the team context. A further contribution of this dissertation lies in the development of a multi-level input-mediator-outcome framework which advances prior team effectiveness frameworks and connects to a wide range of research areas. Taken together, the theorizing and empirical findings of this dissertation show that a configural and multi-level conceptualization is necessary to advance research on satisfaction in teams
Arbeitszufriedenheit ist die zentrale Einstellung gegenüber der Arbeit und zählt zu den wichtigsten Konstrukten in der Organisationspsychologie und der praktischen Personalarbeit. Traditionellerweise beschäftigte sich die Forschung mit der Arbeitszufriedenheit individueller Mitarbeiter. Der anhaltende Trend hin zu team-basierten Arbeitsformen führte jedoch zu einer Betonung der Arbeitszufriedenheit im Teamkontext. Zum einen wurde der Fokus auf Arbeitszufriedenheit als Konstrukt auf der Individualebene durch eine Gruppenlevel-Perspektive ergänzt, die die Zufriedenheit von Teams beschreibt. Zum anderen erschien Team-Zufriedenheit, die Zufriedenheit mit dem Team, als eine spezifische (Sub-)Facette von Arbeitszufriedenheit auf der Forschungsagenda. Obwohl die Forschung zu Arbeitszufriedenheit in Teams in der Vergangenheit große Fortschritte verzeichnen konnte, sieht sie sich nach wie vor wichtigen Herausforderungen gegenüber. Das Hauptproblem ist in der Konzeptionalisierung von Gruppen-Level-Zufriedenheit ausschließlich als geteilte Eigenschaft des Teams und im Verzicht auf Mehr-Ebenen-Konzeptionen zu sehen. Die Möglichkeit, dass Exklusions- und Polarisierungsprozesse zu anderen als uniformen Zufriedenheitsverteilungen führen könnten, wird in der Regel nicht betrachtet. Ein weiteres Problem besteht darin, dass sich die Forschung insbesondere auf durchschnittliche oder summierte Zufriedenheit konzentriert, um den Zusammenhang von Zufriedenheit auf Gruppenebene und Teamleistung zu erklären. Mehr-Ebenen-Konzeptionen, die unterschiedliche Effekte auf Teamprozesse, Teameigenschaften und Teamleistung auf verschiedenen Analyseebenen beleuchten, werden nicht betrachtet. Schlussendlich ist das Fehlen validierter Messinstrumente zur Erfassung von Zufriedenheit in Teams zu konstatieren. Forscher greifen daher häufig auf Ad-hoc-Maße, Ein-Item-Skalen oder adaptierte Skalen aus anderen Forschungskontexten zurück, was sowohl das Testen theoretischer Modelle als auch die Vorhersage und Verbesserung von Individual- und Gruppenleistung erschwert. Die Dissertation befasst sich mit diesen Herausforderungen in vier Studien. In Studie 1 wird ein konzeptionelles Mehrebenen-Rahmenmodell von Arbeitszufriedenheit in Teams entwickelt. Das derzeitige Verständnis von Arbeitszufriedenheit in Teams und ihrem Zusammenhang zur Teamleistung ist durch zwei Probleme gekennzeichnet: (1) ein ausschließlich konsensbasiertes Konzept von Zufriedenheit auf Gruppenebene sowie (2) die Vernachlässigung von Mehrebenen-Effekten. Diese schränken das Verständnis von Zufriedenheit auf Gruppenebene und ihrem Zusammenhang zur Teamleistung ein, da aus der Arbeitszufriedenheit einzelner Teammitglieder nicht immer geteilte Zufriedenheit entsteht. Da der Zusammenhang zwischen Zufriedenheit auf Gruppenebene und Teamleistung mit den derzeitigen Ansätzen nur unzureichend erklärt werden kann, entwickeln meine Koautoren und ich in Studie 1 eine Typologie von Zufriedenheitsformen (uniforme, fragmentierte, abweichende und deviante Zufriedenheit), und stellen ein Mehrebenen-Rahmenmodell vor, das den Zusammenhang dieser Formen und Teamleistung innerhalb und zwischen verschiedenen Analyseebenen erklärt. Auf Basis des Rahmenmodells stellen wir dar, dass die Zufriedenheitsformen emergente Eigenschaften wie die Teamkohäsion und das Vertrauensklima sowie Teamprozesse wie Kooperation und Konfliktlösung beeinflussen. Diese wiederum beeinflussen die Teamleistung über die individuelle Zufriedenheit hinaus. Die Studie leistet einen Beitrag zur aktuellen Forschung zur Teamzufriedenheit und ihrem Zusammenhang zur Teamleistung. Studie 2a befasst sich mit dem methodischen Problem der Messung von Arbeitszufriedenheit. Obwohl eine ökonomische und differenzierte Erfassung von Arbeitszufriedenheit für Forschung und betriebliche Praxis von hoher Relevanz ist, sind deutschsprachige Messinstrumente meist sehr umfangreich oder nicht in der Lage, zwischen Zufriedenheitsfacetten zu differenzieren. Vor diesem Hintergrund besteht das Ziel des Beitrags darin, einen Kurzfragebogen zu entwickeln und zu validieren, mit dem sich die Gesamtzufriedenheit sowie die Zufriedenheit mit den Tätigkeiten, Kolleginnen und Kollegen, Entwicklungsmöglichkeiten, der Bezahlung und der/dem Vorgesetzten messen lassen. Hierfür wird zunächst auf Basis verschiedener Versionen des Job Descriptive Index (JDI) und des Arbeitsbeschreibungsbogens (ABB) ein umfangreicher Itempool abgeleitet. Dieser wird anschließend mit Daten einer Onlinebefragung (N = 217) zu einem 30 Items umfassenden Kurzfragebogen verdichtet. Der neu entwickelte Kurzfragebogen wird schlussendlich an einer zweiten, unabhängigen Stichprobe (N = 377) kreuzvalidiert. Die Ergebnisse der Studie zeigen, dass das neu entwickelte Verfahren in der Lage ist, Arbeitszufriedenheit und ihre Facetten reliabel, valide und ökonomisch zu messen. In Studie 2b werden die neu entwickelten Skalen auf den Teamkontext adaptiert. Frühere Studien nutzten in der Regel Ad-hoc-Maße, die nicht sorgfältig entwickelt und validiert sind, häufig keine Differenzierung von Zufriedenheitsfacetten zulassen und deren Messergebnisse sich nur eingeschränkt zwischen Studien vergleichen lassen. An den Items und Vignetten der in Studie 2a entwickelten Skalen wurden daher linguistische Anpassungen vorgenommen und die adaptieren Skalen anschließend mit Daten von 202 Teammitgliedern aus 47 Teams validiert. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die psychometrische Qualität der Items und Skalen, abgesehen von einem schwachen Methoden-Bias aufgrund negativ kodierter Items, solide und vergleichbar zu der der Original-Skalen ist. Darüber hinaus offenbart die Studie Unterschiede zur Arbeitszufriedenheit in Nicht-Team-Kontexten. Insbesondere zeigen die Ergebnisse, dass die Zufriedenheit mit den Tätigkeiten nur eine untergeordnete Rolle für die Gesamtzufriedenheit sowie für individuelle und teambezogene Leistungsmaße spielt. Insgesamt deuten die Ergebnisse darauf hin, dass die adaptierten Skalen eine zuverlässige und valide Messung von Arbeitszufriedenheit im Teamkontext ermöglichen. Studie 3 befasst sich mit der Emergenz von Arbeitszufriedenheit in Teams, insbesondere mit ihrer Homogenität. Zufriedenheitshomogenität ist eine wichtige Grundvoraussetzung, um individuelle Zufriedenheitsurteile zu einem Gruppenkonstrukt zu aggregieren und wirkt sich auf verschiedene Teammaße, wie z.B. soziale Integration, Kohäsion und Absentismus aus. Die Prozesse, die eine geteilte Zufriedenheitsstruktur begünstigen, sind jedoch noch weitgehend unklar. Auf Basis der Theorie affektiver Ereignisse werden in dieser Studie alternative Hypothesen zu situativen, dispositionalen und sozialen Einflussfaktoren auf Zufriedenheitshomogenität getestet. Pfadanalysen (n = 415 Teammitglieder; N = 110 Teams) zeigen, dass Zufriedenheitshomogenität primär von der Arbeitsumgebung und zu einem geringeren Ausmaß von Persönlichkeitsmerkmalen der Teammitglieder abhängt. Im Gegensatz zu früheren Studien konnten keine Effekte sozialer Interaktion auf Zufriedenheitshomogenität nachgewiesen werden. Zudem werden frühere Untersuchungen teilweise repliziert, die zeigen konnten, dass Zufriedenheitshomogenität den Zusammenhang zwischen Zufriedenheit auf Gruppenebene und Teamleistung moderiert. Im Zusammenhang leisten die vier Studien dieser Dissertation Beiträge zu den Forschungsbereichen Emergenz, Messung und Konsequenzen von Zufriedenheit in Teams. Bezüglich der Emergenz auf Gruppenebene liefern die zusammengefassten Ergebnisse sowohl theoretische Argumente als auch empirische Evidenz, wieso Zufriedenheit in Teams unterschiedlich verteilt sein kann und stellt damit eine Abkehr vom vorherrschenden Fokus auf geteilte Zufriedenheit dar. Während Studie 1 postuliert, dass sich Teamzufriedenheit nicht nur zu einer uniformen, sondern auch zu einer konfiguralen Eigenschaft auf Gruppenebene entwickeln kann, untersucht Studie 3 die Emergenz zu einem geteilten bzw. uniformen Gruppenkonstrukt. Bezüglich der Messung von Zufriedenheit liefern die Ergebnisse von Studien 2a und 2b wertvolle Kurzskalen für die Forschung und Praxis, die zur Erfassung von allgemeiner und facettenspezifischer Zufriedenheit sowohl im Teamkontext als auch in anderen Kontexten genutzt werden können. Da die Skalen die Zufriedenheit auf der Individual-Ebene erfassen, lassen sich die Messergebnisse auch ohne hinreichende Übereinstimmung im Team interpretieren und sind daher für verschiedene Forschungsfragen auf verschiedenen Analyse-Ebenen nutzbar. Bezüglich der Konsequenzen von Zufriedenheit verdeutlichen die Ergebnisse die Wichtigkeit von Zufriedenheitsfacetten und -konfigurationen für den Zusammenhang zur Teamleistung. Während Studie 2b zeigen konnte, dass sich unterschiedliche Facetten von Zufriedenheit in unterschiedlichem Maße auf gruppenbezogene Leistungsmaße auswirken, verdeutlichen die Befunde aus Studien 1 und 3 die Relevanz von Zufriedenheitsdifferenzen im Teamkontext. Die Dissertation leistet einen weiteren Beitrag in Form der Entwicklung eines Mehrebenen-Rahmenmodells, das in Studie 1 vorgestellt wird. Das neue Rahmenmodell stellt eine Weiterentwicklung vorheriger Rahmenmodelle zur Teameffektivität dar und ist an verschiedene Forschungsbereiche anschlussfähig. In ihrer Gesamtheit zeigen die theoretischen und empirischen Befunde dieser Dissertation, dass eine konfigurale Mehrebenenkonzeption nötig ist, um die Forschung zur Arbeitszufriedenheit in Teams weiterzuentwickeln

The present study investigated the impact of intensity of Facebook use, attachment anxiety, and attachment avoidance on relationship satisfaction, sexual satisfaction, and self-esteem as perceived by individuals within heterosexual couples. One hundred and thirty-nine members of the social networking site, Facebook, who were currently involved in an exclusive, heterosexual relationship with a partner who was also a member of Facebook, completed an online survey in order to be included in the study. Results indicated that intensity of Facebook use was a significant predicator of sexual satisfaction, but did not significantly predict relationship satisfaction or self-esteem. In addition and consistent with previous literature, the current study found that attachment avoidance was a significant predictor of relationship satisfaction and attachment anxiety significantly predicted self-esteem. Given the lack of research in the area of Facebook use, the results from this study offer a platform for future researchers to investigate the complexities of the social networking site on face-to-face relationships.

The purpose of this research was to understand the beliefs and attitudes of teachers that affect their perceptions of job satisfaction in one small rural Florida school district. Data collected included a self-administered survey of Likert-type items measuring 20 factors for job satisfaction (96% response rate), individual semi-structured interviews, and focus groups. Analysis of the data confirmed prior research suggesting that multiple factors influence job satisfaction. Intrinsic satisfaction factors were the best predictors of overall job satisfaction: security, activity, social service, variety, and ability utilization. Extrinsic factors were most likely to predict overall dissatisfaction: recognition, company policies, opportunities for advancement, co-workers, and compensation. Interviews and focus groups further confirmed how participants projected personal significance onto these factors and how they interacted. The complexity of these interactions stemmed from personal perceptions and values participants placed on individual extrinsic factors and linked those values to other extrinsic factors. Consequently, other extrinsic factors took on perceptions of dissatisfaction based on the original factor. In addition, this research revealed several issues not previously reported in studies of rural teaching. First, "role confusion" emerged as a major source of job dissatisfaction for teachers who were either raised in the community or who had spent a considerable number of years in the community. These teachers often found themselves frustrated at work because of conflicting expectations and perceptions between their professional roles as teachers and their social roles in the community. Second, a high majority of teachers interviewed expressed dissatisfaction because they believed other teachers to have undue influence and power. However, interview data suggested that power was distributed properly but pervasive informal decision making processes led to the widespread perception of favoritism. In addition, teachers often exercised influence because no one opposed them. This study suggests that research to gain a better understanding of the sociology of rural communities needs to be conducted in rural education generally and specifically in rural teacher job satisfaction. Rural teachers' job satisfaction is complexly intertwined with a wide range of factors. Suggested uses for this study include an invitation for rural administrators and teachers to incorporate issues related to job satisfaction into their school improvement and professional development strategies. Addressing the factors influencing rural teacher job satisfaction, which have been previously overlooked, affords rural administrators a new opportunity to positively influence teacher retention, teacher quality, student achievement, and school climate.
Ed.D.
Department of Educational Research, Technology and Leadership
Education
Curriculum and Instruction EdD

Romantic relationship research has yet to identify the relationship between conflict, an interpersonal variable, and equity, an intrapersonal variable. The current study represents the first attempt to understand these variables' contribution, separately and interactionally, on individual partner's feelings of relationship satisfaction. A total of 106 undergraduate and graduate participants completed questionnaires gauging their frequency of conflict and perceptions of equity across each of five relational domains: Love, Status/Power, Money, Services, and Sex, in addition to reporting general levels of relationship satisfaction. Data were interpreted in three separate relationships: conflict and satisfaction, equity and satisfaction, and the interaction of conflict and equity (conflict x equity) and satisfaction. Results indicate a significant negative relationship between conflict and satisfaction. Secondly, perceptions of inequity relate to low levels of satisfaction in the Love and Status/Power domains. Finally, the combination of conflict and inequity demonstrate significant differences in satisfaction scores in the Status/Power domain only.
M.A.
Nicholson School of Communication;
Arts and Sciences
Communication

In the increasingly competitive world of retail banking, organizations are focusing their attention on customer service as a means of increasing customer loyalty and retention. With this goal of increasing customer retention, the link between the attitudes of the service provider (employee satisfaction), the customer interaction behaviors that those attitudes lead to (customer service quality), and the attitudes that those behaviors generate in the customer (customer satisfaction) has become an increasingly important area of investigation. The goal of this research is to analyze the relationships that exist between these three variables: employee satisfaction, customer service quality, and customer satisfaction in a mid-sized retail bank. Data from three separate surveys collected during the same time period in 137 branches of a regional bank are analyzed using multiple regression analysis to determine whether relationships and interactions exist at a banking center level. While results of the analyses did not show a significant relationship between the variables, issues relevant to this determination are discussed and conclusions drawn regarding the nature of these constructs.

The major purpose of this study was to identify customer and employee satisfaction levels and the most important satisfaction factors in the lodging industry by the example of two hotel properties of a resort on the East Coast. This study included a sample of 267 customers, while the exact number of employees was unknown. The customer satisfaction survey was prepared by the consulting agency. It was conducted in the form of a 10-minute telephone interview with the customers who stayed at the resort 30 days prior to the survey. The customers indicated their satisfaction levels with six areas of the customer experience at the resort such as dining experience, golfing experience, experience with spa, beach club experience, experience with facilities/activities, and guest problems experience. Top 10 and lowest 10 customer satisfaction factors were found for both hotels of the resort. Four similar factors out of 10 positive ones were found to be in both of the hotel properties. Nine similar factors out of 10 were ranked as least satisfying in both of the hotels. The range score between the highest and the lowest customer satisfaction rating for the Hotel A was found to be 1.44, and for B Hotel 1.6. As for the overall customer satisfaction in two hotels, the overall customer satisfaction for the Hotel A was 4.5 (90%), and for the Hotel B was 4.58 (91.6%). To identify the customer satisfaction factors, four areas were selected for the analysis: staff, room divisions, recreation, and conflict resolution. Satisfaction with Room Divisions received the highest overall mean scores (4.64-for Hotel A, and 4.83- for Hotel B), while Conflict Resolution area received the lowest satisfaction scores for both of the Hotels (4.51- for Hotel A, 4.48- for Hotel B). The employee satisfaction questionnaire was created by the human resources department of the resort. The employee satisfaction survey was represented by 12 areas: the company; vision/mission/values; interact; your job; your department; physical work environment; communications; leadership, supervision and management effectiveness; teamwork; pay, opportunity, and benefits; career development and training; quality; and demographic information. To determine the employee satisfaction levels, the mean percentage scores of all positive and negative employees' responses were calculated. Satisfaction with Your Department received the highest positive total percentage mean score of 81.1%, while satisfaction with the Interact program implemented by the resort received the lowest positive mean percentage score of 44.0%. Similar to customer satisfaction, the 10 top positive and 10 bottom negative employee satisfaction response questions were identified. The strong positive relationship (r=0.66) was found between the Hotel A and B of the resort and customer satisfaction factors. Those areas that were ranked high by the customers of the Hotel A were also highly ranked by the Hotel B customers. A Person's correlation coefficient was run on the relationship between the hotel property and customer satisfaction levels. The strong positive association was found between two hotel properties and satisfaction statements. Paired sample t-test was also run in order to determine if there was a significant difference in customer satisfaction in two hotels A and B based on the customer's responses to the questionnaire. The t equal to (-2.5), and the probability of (0.016) were found. There was found to be statistical significant difference between the Hotel A and B customer satisfaction statements.