Employee Perceived Communication Effectiveness and Communication satisfaction as related to Job Satisfaction in Higher Education (California)

This study had three central aims: (1) to investigate the association between communication variables and job satisfaction, (2) to increase understanding of the impact of organizational communication on employee satisfaction, and (3) to analyze the communication processes of a church-related institution of higher education, Loma Linda University (LLU).

The Organizational Communication Audit (OAC) Questionnaire was mailed to all LLU full-time employees. Of the 1,228 questionnaires mailed, 896 were returned, representing a response rate of 73 percent. Statistical analyses included ANOVA's, MANOVA's, stepwise multiple regressions, Scheffe's tests, t-tests, canonical, and Pearson r correlations. The .05 level was used to determine the significance.

The data analysis indicated that (1) More than 67 percent of LLU's employees have been at LLU for less than 10 years. (2) LLU employees' responses indicated higher levels of perceived quality and effectiveness of organizational communication in regard to accuracy, usefulness, and importance, than for timeliness, content, frequency, and overall communication effectiveness. (3) LLU employees noted that the highest communication quality and effectiveness occurred from immediate superior to immediate subordinate, among co-workers, and from subordinates to superiors. Respondents perceived the lowest quality and effectiveness in the communication from and to administrators. (4) LLU employees reported being considerably less satisfied with the communication experienced than with the satisfaction experienced on the job. (5) LLU employees' perceptions revealed a positive and statistically significant bond among organizational communication effectiveness, communication satisfaction, and job satisfaction.

Conclusions that emerged from the findings were: (1) LLU employees' perceptions provide persuasive evidence that perceived organizational communication effectiveness and communication satisfaction significantly predicts and affects employee's job satisfaction. (2) LLU employees neither receive nor send as much information as they would like/need, resulting in high levels of communication uncertainty. (3) LLU employees' perceptions reveal that when the distance between the organizational levels increases, dissatisfaction with the communication experienced also increases. (4) LLU employees perceive significant association between frequency of use of a channel and the effectiveness of that same communication channel. (5) LLU employees value high levels of organizational communication effectiveness and desire marked improvement in communication effectiveness. (6) LLU employees express eagerness to invest personal effort toward improving organizational communication effectiveness. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.)

Availability:
Free
Publication Date:
1986
Author:
Luis A Schulz
Order Information:
Full text not available online. Database: ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Completed through Loma Linda University.
Language:
English
Resource Type:
Unpublished Plans & Papers
Resource Objective:
Research
Level:
Tertiary-Lifelong
Audience:
Administrator / Leader, Researcher
Religious Origin:
Seventh-day Adventist