Relationships Among Perceived Organizational Support, Job Training Satisfaction, and Job Satisfaction Within Staff Personnel at Penn State University, University Park
Open Access
- Author:
- Walker, Melissa Anne
- Graduate Program:
- Workforce Education and Development
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- May 21, 2018
- Committee Members:
- David Lynn Passmore, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
David Lynn Passmore, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Cynthia Pellock, Committee Member
Wesley Edward Donahue, Committee Member
Niki Tanya Dickerson Vonlockette, Outside Member - Keywords:
- job training satisfaction
perceived organizational support
job satisfaction
occupational status - Abstract:
- The purpose of this study was to discover what relationships, if any, existed between job satisfaction, job training satisfaction, and perceived organizational support—the variables of interest. There is additional attention in the relationships that may exist between the variables of interest and control variables such as occupational status, participant age, participant’s educational attainment, and gender of full-time staff employees working at Penn State University at University Park. If there are relationships between the variables, what are those relationships, and how are they affected by the control variables? Of particular interest was occupational status of the participant and their level within the organization. A survey was sent to all full-time staff personnel at Penn State University at University Park. Those employees included all, except students, faculty, and volunteers. The survey instrument included basic demographic questions to qualify the participant as eligible for the survey, and to collect the data needed for the control variables. Those who participated were asked to complete 25 Likert scale questions relating to the variables of interest. There were 12 questions capturing employee perception of job satisfaction, seven for job training satisfaction, and six for perceived organizational support. Collected responses were reviewed for validity determined by the amount of missing data, the employee demographic eligibility, and if the employee authorized the use of their aggregate data in this study. A total of 2,103 surveys were deemed valid. Analysis of valid surveys indicated strong and statistically significant positive relationships between job training satisfaction, job satisfaction, and perceived organizational support. The control variables did not offer any conclusive statistical findings with the exception of a positive relationship found between perceived organizational support and both job training satisfaction and job satisfaction, controlled by occupational status, specifically technical service employees.