THE RELATİONSHİP BETWEEN ORGANİZATİONAL COMMUNİCATİON AND JOB SATİSFACTİON: AN EMPİRİCAL STUDY OF BLUE COLLAR WORKERS

The Relationship Between Organizational Communication And Job Satisfaction: An Empirical Study Of Blue Collar Workers Füsun BULUTLAR* Rıfat KAMAŞAK** Abstract: While much is known about the dimensions of job satisfaction, the relationship between job satisfaction and organizational communication still remains relatively uncertain. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the dimensions of job satisfaction and organizational communication. A survey was conducted to the sample of 637 blue-collar workers and the data obtained from the sample, firstly, analyzed by the principal component factor-analytic method of Varimax and then an ordinary least squares regression estimation technique in order to identify the job satisfaction and communication relationship. The study revealed a clear relationship between job satisfaction and organizational communication. Upon regression analysis, communication was observed to predict all of the dimensions of job satisfaction but especially satisfaction with the supervisor was highly explained by communication. Whilst the female employees were more satisfied with the supervisor, work itself and the rewards and payments, the inexperienced workers differed significantly from the others nearly in all the dimensions of job satisfaction except the work itself. Moreover, females were also observed that they had more positive perceptions about communication in the workplace. Keywords: Job satisfaction dimensions, organizational communication, job satisfaction and communication relationship, exploratory factor analysis, regression analysis. Örgütsel Đletişim Ve Đş Tatmini Arasındaki Đlişki: Mavi Yakalı Çalışanlara Yönelik Ampirik Bir Araştırma Özet: Đş tatminini ve iş tatmini boyutları ile ilgili oldukça fazla bilgiye sahip olunmasına rağmen, iş tatmini ile örgütsel iletişim arasındaki ilişki halen tam olarak bilinmemektedir. Bu araştırmanın amacı, iş tatmini ile örgütsel iletişim arasındaki ilişkiyi incelemektir. Bu amaca yönelik olarak 637 mavi yakalı çalışanı kapsayan bir anket uygulaması sonrasında elde edilen veriler öncelikle Varimax metodu izlenerek faktör analizine tabi tutulmuş, daha sonra ise iş tatminini boyutları ile örgütsel iletişim ilişkisini incelemek üzere regresyon analizi gerçekleştirilmiştir. Araştırma sonucunda iş tatmini ile örgütsel iletişim arasında belirgin bir ilişki olduğu ortaya çıkmıştır. Regresyon analizi sonuçları, örgütsel iletişim ile iş tatminine ait tüm boyutlar arasındaki ilişkiyi belirtirken, özellikle amirler ile ilişkiden doğan tatmin düzeyinin büyük oranda örgütsel iletişim ile açıklandığı görülmüştür. Bayan çalışanlar ile erkek çalışanlar arasında amirler ile olan ilişki, işin kendisi ve ödüller ile ödemeler boyutlarında anlamlı farklılıklar bulunduğu gözlenmiş, bayanlar bu boyutları erkeklere oranla daha olumlu algılarken, tecrübeye göre farlılık analizi sonuçları en az tecrübeye sahip olan çalışanların diğer tüm çalışanlara oranla işin kendisi haricindeki tüm boyutları daha olumlu * Asst. Prof. Dr., Yeditepe University, Faculty of Commerce Asst. Prof. Dr., Yeditepe University, Faculty of Commerce ** algıladıkları sonucunu vermiştir. Ayrıca bayan çalışanların erkeklere oranla işyerindeki çalışma ortamını daha olumlu algıladıkları da gözlemlenmiştir. Anahtar kelimeler: Đş tatmini boyutları, örgütsel iletişim, iş tatmini ve iletişim ilişkisi, açıklayıcı faktör analizi, regresyon analizi. INTRODUCTION Organizational communication, job satisfaction, job performance and their linkages have always been the organizational concepts that were of interest to management practitioners and researchers. Their interest emerges from the fact that the quality of organizational communication and job satisfaction may determine the quality of life, effectiveness and eventually, the level of job performance (Pettit, Goris and Vaught, 1997:81). While almost all of the research efforts were focusing on to explain the effects of organizational communication and job satisfaction on job performance, some firm studies (e.g., Jain, 1973; Pincus, 1986; Clampitt and Downs, 1993) found stronger links and relationships between communication and satisfaction than the one does exist between communication and performance. The results of the studies which revealed the strong links between communication and satisfaction emerged a new argument about the issue; a moderating effect of communication on the relationships between job performance and job satisfaction rather than a direct effect on job performance. The implication of the findings about the moderator effect of organizational communication on satisfaction-performance relation is, to use communication effectively as a moderator in order to increase the level of job satisfaction which will eventually affect the job performance positively. According to Pettit et al. (1997:82), “theoretically, higher links of communication with satisfaction should increase the relationship between an employee’s job performance and the satisfaction with that job”. Although abundant research linking job satisfaction with job performance exists in the literature (e.g., Barney, 1986; Rusbult, Farrell, Rogers and Mainous, 1988; Witt, 1989; Shalley, Gilson and Blum, 2000), the relationships among the organizational communication and job satisfaction are still not clear and much more empirical, focused research is needed to investigate the nature of these relations (Pearce and Segal, 1998). In this study, it is aimed to explore the relationship between organizational communication and job satisfaction based on empirical evidence. LITERATURE REVIEW Since the 1970s, much attention has been paid on factors that might affect job performance. Among these factors based on the empirical evidence (Harris, 2002; Bush and Frohman, 1991; Barney, 1986; Podsakoff and Williams, 1986; Oldham, 1980; Pierce, Dunham and Blackburn, 1979; Hackman and Pearce, 1976), especially, organizational communication and job satisfaction took an important role to explain the large proportion of the variation in job performance. Communication is one of the most elusive organizational variables and has a vital importance to all functions of organizations. Katz and Kahn (1978:430) suggest, “communication - the exchange of information and the transmission of meaning - is the very essence of a social system or an organization”. In a similar vein, Scott and Mitchell (1976:192) notes, “Communication is the critical process in organizing because it is the primary medium of human interaction”. According to Bush and Frohman (1991), communication is important in organizational functioning to bring greater organizational effectiveness. Lawler (1989:28) states that “sharing information is one of the easiest and most effective ways that managers can foster employee involvement within organizations”. Industry practitioners concludes that employees must be given information about the company, its activities, goals, and d (...truncated)