Higher Order Need Research Articles

Individual differences and reactions to job characteristics.

Three different methods of measuring individual differences were evaluated as moderators of employee reactions to job characteristics. The three methods are urban versus rural background, strong versus weak belief in the Protestant Work Ethic, and high versus low strength for needs. Each of these three methods was used as a moderator of the relationships between job characteristics on the one hand, and specific job facet satisfaction, overall job satisfaction, and job behavior on the other hand. Based on the job results, higher order need strength is the most useful way to measure this type of individual difference, followed by the Protestant Work Ethic, and lastly by urban versus rural background of the worker. There were no differences among the three individual differences as moderators of the job characteristics and job behavior relationship. Although certain job characteristics tend to be more satisfying to employees than others, there are wide individual differences in reactions to them. This research is an examination of three different methods for measuring individual differences relevant for employee reactions to job characteristics. The three methods are (a) urban versus rural worker background (Hulin & Blood, 1968), (b) strong versus weak belief in the Protestant Work Ethic (Blood, 1969), and (c) high versus low desire for order need satisfaction (Hackman & Lawler, 1971). The framework for comparison among the three individual differences concerns how well each moderates the relationship between the presence of certain job characteristics and reactions to these characteristics.

Correlates of Organizational Identification as a Function of Career Pattern and Organizational Type

This study examines personal and organizational correlates of organizational identification in two types of organization-the Roman Catholic Church and research and development laboratories.' The results are compared with those obtained in the United States Forest Service (Hall, Schneider, and Nygren, 1970). Priests and foresters typically spend their entire careers in one organization (the single-organization career pattern), while research professionals are more mobile (the multiorganization career pattern). Because of differences in organizational socialization and mobility, tenure is a stronger correlate of organizational identification in the single-organization career. The effects of tenure are independent of other correlates-job challenge, job involvement, self-image, need importance, and satisfaction. Job challenge, through the intervening effects of job satisfaction, is a strong correlate of identification for both career types. The researcher's self-image is more strongly tied to his work involvement and the forester's to his organizational involvement. This is consistent with the differential mobility patterns. Higher-order need satisfaction is correlated with high organizational involvement for both career patterns, although the importance of needs correlates differentially; for the single-organization career, organizational identification is related to security and affiliation, while identification is linked to low concern for self-fulfillment for the multiorganization career. The single-organization career thus combines security and localism with growth and cosmopolitanism, whereas in the multiorganization career the professional must choose between these alternatives.

Personal Factors in Organizational Identification

This is a study of the personal dynamics of the process of organizational identification in the U.S. Forest Service, an organization noted for the high degree of organizational identification of its members. It was hypothesized and found that identification increased as a function of time and commitment to a pivotal organizational goal, public service. Organizational position, with tenure held constant, did not relate to identification. It was further found that several personal characteristics suggestive of a service orientation were related to identification. It was also hypothesized and found that identification is related to the member's higherorder need satisfactions. There appears to be a process whereby (1) serviceoriented individuals are attracted to and recruited by the Forest Service, (2) service-oriented members are likely to identify strongly with the Service, and (3) this identification results in intrinsic need satisfactions.

NEEDS AND NEED SATISFACTION AMONG CLERICAL WORKERS IN COMPLEX AND ROUTINE JOBS

SummaryReliable measurement of needs and need satisfaction on Maslow's hierarchy is possible. Clerical employees (mainly female) indicated a high need for self‐actualization and autonomy. In this respect they are similar to lower level managers described by Porter (1962) and women described by Jurgensen (1949). There was no substantial difference in need satisfaction patterns between clerical employees in routine jobs and those in more complex clerical jobs. Similarly, no difference was found in the motivation of these two groups. It was concluded that jobs which appear to management as higher in responsibility and complexity, and which are commonly viewed as promotions, may not always provide additional satisfactions in self‐actualization, autonomy, or esteem. This study focused on the importance of defining accurately what constitutes job enlargement. An increase in variety and responsibility does not necessarily result in increasing higher order need satisfaction or motivation. How much job enlargement makes a difference in these variables is still open to question and must be the subject of further investigation.

Dissertation Abstract: The Relationship of Work Role Involvement to Job Characteristics with Higher-Order Need Satisfaction Potential.

The article presents abstracts of studies on business management, including “The Relationship of Work Role Involvement to Job Characteristics With Higher-Order Need Satisfaction Potential', by John...