The relationship between job characteristics and personality with the level of organizational commitment among employees of the exploration management of National Iranian Oil Company

Dissertation to receive Master degree (M.A.)

Trend: Industrial and organizational

Summary of the research:

The aim of the current research is to investigate the relationship between job and personality characteristics and the level of organizational commitment among the employees of the exploration management of the National Iranian Oil Company. Descriptive research method is correlation type. The studied population includes all the employees of the oil exploration company in 2013. Considering that the total number of employees is 252 people, 152 people were selected using simple random sampling method. The measurement tool in this research included a questionnaire of occupational and personality characteristics, organizational commitment, and descriptive statistics methods (mean and standard deviation) were used for analysis, and correlation and regression tests were used at the level of inferential statistics, and the results showed: Job characteristics predict the components of organizational commitment. Personality characteristics predict the components of organizational commitment. Job characteristics predict organizational commitment. Personality characteristics predict organizational commitment. Keywords: Organizational Commitment _ Personality Traits _ Job Traits

Introduction:

Considering the complex and dynamic conditions of today's world and the entry into the age of communication and information that has turned the world into a small village and the tremendous progress of various human knowledge and technologies and the consequent rise in the standard of living and human expectations as well as rapid cultural changes in traditional societies, it can be concluded that organizations, which are an expression of society, can no longer be considered without taking into account the dynamic conditions. Managed the internal and external environment.  Rather, the people of the organizations will also be subject to changes and transformations, in the meantime, most of the transformations include handing over decision-making power to the people in the organization, because the people who live in the age of information and communication and the scientific development of societies are knowledgeable and capable people who want authority. Although today, due to the fact that employees are under a lot of financial pressure, most of their attention and desire is on the economic issues of work, but gradually employees are interested in doing meaningful work and want more job independence in their work, so that in this way they will feel valuable. One of the most important motivational issues that has been widely spread in industrial and organizational psychology studies in the West today is the issue of organizational commitment [1] (Esmaili, 1383: 66). Organizational commitment is an effective factor in the organizational behavior of employees and the efficiency of organizations, and it is the positive or negative attitudes of individuals towards the entire organization in which they work. A person with organizational commitment has a strong sense of loyalty towards the organization. In this regard, any factor that increases the commitment and belongingness of employees is important and worthy of attention. For this purpose, in this research, the relationship between job characteristics [2] and personality characteristics [3] with organizational commitment has been investigated so that the organizational commitment of employees can be increased through the dimensions of job characteristics that include skill diversity, task importance, task identity, independence and feedback, and the dimensions of personality characteristics that include conscientiousness, emotional stability, adaptability, extroversion, and experientiality. (Morehead, 1374)

Statement of the problem:

Organizational commitment is an important occupational and organizational attitude that has been of interest to many researchers in the fields of organizational behavior and psychology, especially social psychology. This attitude has undergone changes during the last three decades, and perhaps the most important change in this area has been from a multi-dimensional approach to this concept to a one-dimensional approach to it.  One of the hidden but influential factors in employees' job behavior is their commitment to the organization.  It is very important to pay attention to the commitment of human resources both in the public sector and in the private sector (Kethand and Strasser[4], 2011).

There are many reasons why an organization should increase the level of organizational commitment of its members. First, organizational commitment is a new concept and is generally different from dependence and job satisfaction.  For example, nurses may like what they do, but be dissatisfied with the hospital they work in, in which case they will look for similar jobs in other similar settings.  Or vice versa, restaurant waiters may have a positive feeling about their work environment, but hate waiting at tables or their job in general.. The efficiency and development of any organization depends to a large extent on the correct use of human resources. As companies and organizations grow larger, of course, the problems of this huge workforce are also added. One of the most important motivational issues that has been widely spread in industrial and organizational psychology studies today is the issue of organizational commitment. Experts in management science have defined organizational commitment as follows: ((attitude or orientation towards the organization that connects the individual's identity to the organization)) (Mateo and Zajak [5], 1990).

Allen and Meyer (1991) believe that commitment is a psychological state that is a kind of desire, need and requirement to continue working in an organization. These thinkers have divided commitment into three dimensions: emotional commitment, continuous commitment, and normative commitment. Today, it is necessary to pay attention to the factors that cause organizational commitment in the organization. In this realization, the researcher examines the two factors of job characteristics and personality. Richard Hockman and his colleagues considered the five job dimensions.  According to the model of job characteristics, any type of work or occupation can be described in terms of the five main dimensions of work as follows:

1: Variety of tasks and skills

2: Comprehensibility of tasks

3: Importance of tasks

4: Independence and authority at work

5: Existence of feedback in the job

The model of job characteristics has been researched in many ways. The results of most researches confirm the general framework of the theory (that is, there is a set of job characteristics and these characteristics affect behavior). But there is no complete agreement about which features (or features) constitute the core. Also, there is no consensus on whether the feeling of need for growth can act as a mediating factor or not (Robbins [6], 2013, 2013). Just as some experts consider personality traits as predictors of performance, some consider the validity of personality and individual traits in predicting job performance to be weak or ambiguous. Some question the validity and reliability of personality tools and consider various personality tools to be incomplete for measuring people's personality. However, nowadays personality value is generally accepted as a predictor of job performance. All researchers have emphasized the validity of personality tests and various personality traits and performance components. In the opinion of many psychologists, the term personality refers to the examination and study of traits and characteristics that distinguish a person from others, which are always stable. Also, when there is harmony between a person's abilities and the desired personality traits, it will have a positive effect on the way of acting. In every class and trade and in every group and community, people live unbalanced and no human being is immune to diseases. Of course, knowing that every person may suffer from mental distress is not enough by itself, and its main goal is to prevent the occurrence of distress (Shamlou, 81). In the present study, our definition of job characteristics is based on Al-Dham and Hockman's point of view. Therefore, knowing the ways out of this problem can have good benefits both in terms of productivity and in terms of business development.  Currently, most organizations are trying to downsize. While it is unlikely to increase productivity in the organization only by reducing manpower.  Because besides the number of employees, other factors such as expertise and skills are effective in the organization's productivity, and since not all expertise can be found in a limited number, therefore, you should think of ways to increase the organizational commitment of employees in order to increase the organization's productivity. Therefore, in this research, an attempt is made to determine whether personality and job characteristics can predict organizational commitment or not? Importance and necessity of the research: The human resources of any organization are the precious resource of that organization, which can help it achieve its goals. Professional, loyal, compatible with organizational values ??and goals, with strong motivation, inclined and committed to maintaining and continuing organizational membership is one of the main and very necessary needs of any organization. The organization needs employees who work beyond the description of their prescribed and usual duties. Perhaps many societies, despite having plenty of natural resources, have not been able to use these gifts only because of the lack of human resources, while other nations, despite not having many natural resources, have traveled the path of development and progress at a remarkable speed, only because of the benefit of committed human resources.