Adeyinka Tella
Department of Library And Information Studies
University of Botswana
Gaborone
Department of Library And Information Studies
University of Botswana
Gaborone
C.O. Ayeni
Federal College of Forestry Library
Ibadan, Nigeria
Federal College of Forestry Library
Ibadan, Nigeria
S. O. Popoola, Ph.D.
Department of Library Archival and Information Studies
Faculty of Education
University of Ibadan, Nigeria
Department of Library Archival and Information Studies
Faculty of Education
University of Ibadan, Nigeria
Introduction
The
management of people at work is an integral part of the management process. To
understand the critical importance of people in the organization is to
recognize that the human element and the organization are synonymous. An
well-managed organization usually sees an average worker as the root source of
quality and productivity gains. Such organizations do not look to capital
investment, but to employees, as the fundamental source of improvement. An
organization is effective to the degree to which it achieves its goals. An
effective organization will make sure that there is a spirit of cooperation and
sense of commitment and satisfaction within the sphere of its influence. In
order to make employees satisfied and committed to their jobs in academic and
research libraries, there is need for strong and effective motivation at the
various levels, departments, and sections of the library.
Motivation
is a basic psychological process. A recent data-based comprehensive analysis
concluded that competitiveness problems appear to be largely motivational in
nature (Mine, Ebrahimi, and Wachtel, 1995). Along with perception, personality,
attitudes, and learning, motivation is a very important element of behaviour.
Nevertheless, motivation is not the only explanation of behaviour. It interacts
with and acts in conjunction with other cognitive processes. Motivating is the
management process of influencing behaviour based on the knowledge of what make
people tick (Luthans, 1998). Motivation and motivating both deal with the range
of conscious human behaviour somewhere between two extremes:
- reflex actions such as a sneeze or flutter of the eyelids; and
- learned habits such as brushing one's teeth or handwriting style (Wallace and Szilag 1982: 53).
Luthans
(1998) asserts that motivation is the process that arouses, energizes, directs,
and sustains behaviour and performance. That is, it is the process of stimulating
people to action and to achieve a desired task. One way of stimulating people
is to employ effective motivation, which makes workers more satisfied with and
committed to their jobs. Money is not the only motivator. There are other
incentives which can also serve as motivators.
Specific
employee attitudes relating to job satisfaction and organizational commitment
are of major interest to the field of organizational behaviour and the practice
of human resources management. Attitude has direct impact on job satisfaction.
Organizational commitment on the other hand, focuses on their attitudes towards
the entire organization. Although a strong relationship between satisfaction
and commitment has been found, more recent research gives more support to the
idea that commitment causes satisfaction. However, most studies treat
satisfaction and commitment differently, especially in light of things like
downsizing that are part of modern organizations.
The way
librarians in research and academic institutions perceive motivation influences
their level of satisfaction and commitment. While job satisfaction and
commitment have been the topic of many studies, but the present studies is
presents new information and a new perspective, describing job satisfaction, motivation
and commitment of librarian particularly in the context of Oyo state, Nigeria.
Literature
Review
Along with
perception, personality, attitudes, and learning, motivation is a very
important part of understanding behaviour. Luthan (1998) asserts that motivation
should not be thought of as the only explanation of behaviour, since it
interacts with and acts in conjunction with other mediating processes and with
the environment. Luthan stress that, like the other cognitive process,
motivation cannot be seen. All that can be seen is behaviour, and this should
not be equated with causes of behaviour. While recognizing the central role of
motivation, Evans (1998) states that many recent theories of organizational
behaviour find it important for the field to re-emphasize behaviour.
Definitions of motivation abound. One thing these definitions have in common is
the inclusion of words such as "desire", "want",
"wishes","aim","goals", "needs",
and" incentives". Luthan (1998) defines motivation as, "a
process that starts with a physiological deficiency or need that activates a
behaviour or a drive that is aimed at a goal incentive". Therefore, the
key to understanding the process of motivation lies in the meaning of, and
relationship among, needs, drives, and incentives. Relative to this, Minner,
Ebrahimi, and Watchel, (1995) state that in a system sense, motivation consists
of these three interacting and interdependent elements, i.e., needs, drives,
and incentives.
Managers
and management researchers have long believe that organizational goals are
unattainable without the enduring commitment of members of the organizations.
Motivation is a human psychological characteristic that contributes to a
person's degree of commitment (Stoke, 1999). It includes the factors that
cause, channel, and sustain human behaviour in a particular committed
direction. Stoke, in Adeyemo (1999) goes on to say that there are basic
assumptions of motivation practices by managers which must be understood.
First, that motivation is commonly assumed to be a good thing. One cannot feel
very good about oneself if one is not motivated. Second, motivation is one of
several factors that go into a person's performance (e.g., as a librarian).
Factors such as ability, resources, and conditions under which one performs are
also important. Third, managers and researchers alike assume that motivation is
in short supply and in need of periodic replenishment. Fourth, motivation is a
tool with which managers can use in organizations. If managers know what drives
the people working for them, they can tailor job assignments and rewards to
what makes these people "tick." Motivation can also be conceived of
as whatever it takes to encourage workers to perform by fulfilling or appealing
to their needs. To Olajide (2000), "it is goal-directed, and therefore
cannot be outside the goals of any organization whether public, private, or
non-profit".
Strategies
of Motivating Workers
Bernard in
Stoner, et al. (1995) accords due recognition to the needs of workers saying
that, "the ultimate test of organizational success is its ability to
create values sufficient to compensate for the burdens imposed upon resources
contributed." Bernard looks at workers, in particular librarians, in an
organized endeavour, putting in time and efforts for personal, economic, and
non-economic satisfaction.In this era of the information superhighway,
employers of information professionals or librarians must be careful to meet
their needs. Otherwise, they will discover they are losing their talented and
creative professionals to other organizations who are ready and willing to meet
their needs and demands. The question here is what strategies can be used to
motivate information professionals, particularly librarians? The following are
strategies:
Salary, Wages and Conditions of
Service: To use salaries as a motivator
effectively, personnel managers must consider four major components of a salary
structures. These are the job rate, which relates to the importance the
organization attaches to each job; payment, which encourages workers or groups
by rewarding them according to their performance; personal or special
allowances, associated with factors such as scarcity of particular skills or
certain categories of information professionals or librarians, or with long
service; and fringe benefits such as holidays with pay, pensions, and so on. It
is also important to ensure that the prevailing pay in other library or
information establishments is taken into consideration in determining the pay
structure of their organization.
Money: Akintoye (2000) asserts that money remains the most
significant motivational strategy. As far back as 1911, Frederick Taylor and
his scientific management associate described money as the most important
factor in motivating the industrial workers to achieve greater productivity.
Taylor advocated the establishment of incentive wage systems as a means of
stimulating workers to higher performance, commitment, and eventually
satisfaction. Money possesses significant motivating power in as much as it
symbolizes intangible goals like security, power, prestige, and a feeling of
accomplishment and success. Katz, in Sinclair, et al. (2005) demonstrates the
motivational power of money through the process of job choice. He explains that
money has the power to attract, retain, and motivate individuals towards higher
performance. For instance, if a librarian or information professional has
another job offer which has identical job characteristics with his current job,
but greater financial reward, that worker would in all probability be motivated
to accept the new job offer. Banjoko (1996) states that many managers use money
to reward or punish workers. This is done through the process of rewarding
employees for higher productivity by instilling fear of loss of job (e.g.,
premature retirement due to poor performance). The desire to be promoted and
earn enhanced pay may also motivate employees.
Staff Training: No matter how automated an
organization or a library may be, high productivity depends on the level of
motivation and the effectiveness of the workforce. Staff training is an
indispensable strategy for motivating workers. The library organization must
have good training programme. This will give the librarian or information
professional opportunities for self-improvement and development to meet the
challenges and requirements of new equipment and new techniques of performing a
task.
Information Availability and
Communication: One way managers can stimulate
motivation is to give relevant information on the consequences of their actions
on others (Olajide, 2000). To this researcher it seems that there is no known
organization in which people do not usually feel there should be improvement in
the way departments communicate, cooperate, and collaborate with one another.
Information availability brings to bear a powerful peer pressure, where two or
more people running together will run faster than when running alone or running
without awareness of the pace of the other runners. By sharing information, subordinates
compete with one another.
Studies on
work motivation seem to confirm that it improves workers' performance and
satisfaction. For example, Brown and Shepherd (1997) examine the
characteristics of the work of teacher-librarians in four major categories:
knowledge base, technical skills, values, and beliefs. He reports that they
will succeed in meeting this challenge only if they are motivated by
deeply-held values and beliefs regarding the development of a shared vision.
Vinokur, Jayarantne, and Chess (1994) examine agency-influenced work and
employment conditions, and assess their impact on social workers' job
satisfaction. Some motivational issues were salary, fringe benefits, job
security, physical surroundings, and safety. Certain environmental and
motivational factors are predictors of job satisfaction. While Colvin (1998)
shows that financial incentives will get people to do more of what they are
doing, Silverthrone (1996) investigates motivation and managerial styles in the
private and public sector. The results indicate that there is a little
difference between the motivational needs of public and private sector
employees, managers, and non-managers.
Job
Satisfaction
Locke and
Lathan (1976) give a comprehensive definition of job satisfaction as
pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of ones
job or job experience. Job satisfaction is a result of employee's perception of
how well their job provides those things that are viewed as important.
According to (Mitchell and Lasan, 1987), it is generally recognized in the
organizational behaviour field that job satisfaction is the most important and
frequently studied attitude. While Luthan (1998) posited that there are three
important dimensions to job satisfaction:
- Job satisfaction is an emotional response to a job situation. As such it cannot be seen, it can only be inferred.
- Job satisfaction is often determined by how well outcome meet or exceed expectations. For instance, if organization participants feel that they are working much harder than others in the department but are receiving fewer rewards they will probably have a negative attitudes towards the work, the boss and or coworkers. On the other hand, if they feel they are being treated very well and are being paid equitably, they are likely to have positive attitudes towards the job.
- Job satisfaction represents several related attitudes which are most important characteristics of a job about which people have effective response. These to Luthans are: the work itself, pay, promotion opportunities, supervision and coworkers.
Job
satisfaction of the librarian naturally depends on the economically, social and
cultural conditions in a given country (Ebru, 1995). A librarian who can not
get a sufficient wage will be faced with the problem of maintaining his or her
family's life. This problem puts the librarian far from being satisfied.
Especially the social facilities (transportation services, and consumer
cooperatives -cash boxes) are sufficient because of the economic conditions.
Low wages and lack of status and social security affect motivation. Job
satisfaction cannot be talk of where there is absence of motivation. Job
satisfaction of the librarian who has an important place in the information
society will affect the quality of the service he renders. In this respect, the
question of how the material and moral element affect the job satisfaction of
the librarians gains importance (Ebru, 1995).
Job
satisfaction is so important in that its absence often leads to lethargy and
reduced organizational commitment (Levinson, 1997, Moser, 1997). Lack of job
satisfaction is a predictor of quitting a job (Alexander, Litchtenstein and
Hellmann, 1997; Jamal, 1997). Sometimes workers may quit from public to the
private sector and vice versa. At the other times the movement is from one
profession to another that is considered a greener pasture. This later is
common in countries grappling with dwindling economy and its concomitant such
as poor conditions of service and late payment of salaries (Nwagwu, 1997). In
such countries, people tend to migrate to better and consistently paying jobs
(Fafunwa, 1971). Explaining its nature some researcher (e.g. Armentor, Forsyth,
1995, Flanegan, Johnson and Berret, 1996; Kadushin, and Kulys, 1995) tend to
agree that job satisfaction is essentially controlled by factors described in
Adeyemo's (2000) perspectives as external to the worker. From this viewpoint
satisfaction on a job might be motivated by the nature of the job, its
pervasive social climate and extent to which workers peculiar needs are met.
Working conditions that are similar to local and international standard
(Osagbemi, 2000), and extent to which they resemble work conditions of other
professions in the locality. Other inclusions are the availability of power and
status, pay satisfaction, promotion opportunities, and task clarity (Bolarin,
1993; Gemenxhenandez, Max, Kosier, Paradiso and Robinson, 1997).
Other
researchers (e.g. MacDonald, 1996; O'Toole, 1980) argue in favour of the
control of job satisfaction by factors intrinsic to the workers. Their
arguments are based on the idea that workers deliberately decide to find
satisfaction in their jobs and perceive them as worthwhile.
Studies of
job satisfaction and librarianship seem to consistently show there is a
relationship between professional status and the job satisfaction. High levels
of job satisfaction are observed in those professions that are of good standing
in society. Age is one of the factors affecting job satisfaction. Different
studies conducted show that older workers are more satisfied (Davis, 1988:100).
Kose (1985) found a meaningful relationship between the age and job
satisfaction; Hamshari (1983), age and professional experience (Delia 1979;
Hamshari 1986), educational level (Well-Maker, 1985; Hamshari, 1986); level of
wages (Vaugan and Dunn in Adeyemo, 1997); sex (D'elia 1979; Lynch and Verdin,
1983).
St. Lifer
(1994) reports the results of a survey of librarians' perceptions of their
jobs. These include compensation and benefits, advancement opportunities, and
technological challenges. The result showed that salaries and benefits are
related to job satisfaction. Horenstein (1993) reported on a study that
examined the job satisfaction of academic librarians as it related to faculty
status. The finding indicated that librarians with academic rank were more
satisfied than non-faculty groups. Predictors of satisfaction included
perceptions of participation and salary. Nkereuwen (1990) reviews theories on
job satisfaction and evaluates their relevance to the work environment of
libraries.
Paramer
and East (1993) discuss previous job satisfaction research among Ohio academic
library support staff using Paul E. Specter's job satisfaction survey. The 434
respondents indicated general satisfaction among females with less experience
who worked in public services. Tregone (1993) tried to determine the levels of
cooperation of media specialists and public librarians. A significant
correlation was shown between the level of satisfaction and the type of
library, although librarians in public libraries showed greater satisfaction.
Similarly,
the result of some other studies have shown meaningful relations between job
satisfaction and wages, management policy, working conditions, possibilities of
promotion, gaining respect, the size of the organization and self development
and achievement of the use of talents (Ergenc, 1982a; Sencer, 1982; Kose, 1985;
Yincir, 1990). Philips (1994) studied the career attitudes of 109 master level
librarians and the relationship between age, career satisfaction and career
identity. His results indicate that over time librarians become more happy with
their profession and more committed to their line of work.
Organizational
Commitment
A wide
variety of definitions and measure of organizational commitment exist. Beckeri,
Randal, and Riegel (1995) defined the term in a three dimensions:
- a strong desire to remain a member of a particular organization;
- a willingness to exert high levels of efforts on behalf of the organization;
- a define belief in and acceptability of the values and goals of the organization.
To
Northcraft and Neale (1996), commitment is an attitude reflecting an employee's
loyalty to the organization, and an ongoing process through which organization
members express their concern for the organization and its continued success
and well being.
Organizational
commitment is determined by a number of factor, including personal factors
(e.g., age, tenure in the organization, disposition, internal or external
control attributions); organizational factors (job design and the leadership
style of one's supervisor); non-organizational factors (availability of
alternatives). All these things affect subsequent commitment (Nortcraft and
Neale, 1996).
Mowday,
Porter, and Steer (1982) see commitment as attachment and loyalty. These
authors describe three components of commitment:
- an identification with the goals and values of the organization;
- a desire to belong to the organization; and
- a willingness to display effort on behalf of the organization.
A similar
definition of commitment emphasizes the importance of behaviour in creating it.
Salancik (1977) conceives commitment as a state of being in which an individual
becomes bound by his actions and it is these actions that sustain his
activities and involvement. From this definition, it can be inferred that three
features of behaviour are important in binding individuals to act: visibility
of acts, the extent to which the outcomes are irrevocable; and the degree to
which the person undertakes the action voluntarily. To Salancik therefore,
commitment can be increased and harnessed to obtain support for the
organizational ends and interests through such things as participation in
decision-making.
Based on
the multidimensional nature of organizational commitment, there is growing
support for a three-component model proposed by Meyer and Allen (1991). All
three components have implications for the continuing participation of the
individual in the organization. The three components are:
Affective Commitment: Psychological attachment to organization.
Continuance Commitment: Costs associated with leaving the organization.
Normative Commitment: Perceived obligation to remain with the organization.
Guest
(1991) concludes that high organizational commitment is associated with lower
turnover and absence, but there is no clear link to performance. It is probably
wise not to expect too much from commitment as a means of making a direct and
immediate impact on performance. It is not the same as motivation. Commitment
is a broader concept and tends to withstand transitory aspects of an employee's
job. It is possible to be dissatisfied with a particular feature of a job while
retaining a reasonably high level of commitment to the organization as a whole.
When creating a commitment strategy, Amstrong, 1999 asserts that "it is
difficult to deny that it is desirable for management to have defined strategic
goals and values. And it is equally desirable from management point of view for
employees to behave in a way that support those strategies and values."
Creating commitment includes communication, education, training programmes, and
initiatives to increase involvement and ownership and the development of performance
and reward management systems.
Studies on
commitment have provided strong evidence that affective and normative
commitment are positively related and continuance commitment is negatively
connected with organizational outcomes such as performance and citizenship
behaviour (Hackett, Bycio, and Handsdoff, 1994; Shore and Wayne, 1993). Based
on this finding, it is important for library employers to identify librarians'
commitment pattern and map out strategies for enhancing those that are relevant
to organizational goals. Researchers (e.g. Mayer and Allen, 1997) have found
that age was positively correlated with affective and normative commitment, but
not to continuance commitment. Meyer and Allen (1991), in an exploratory and
confirmatory analysis of factors that can significantly predict job
satisfaction and organizational commitment among blue collar workers, reported
that promotion, satisfaction, job characteristics, extrinsic and intrinsic
exchange, as well as extrinsic and intrinsic rewards, were related to
commitment.
Dornstein
and Matalon (1998) describe eight variables that are relevant to organizational
commitment. These are interesting work, coworker's attitudes towards the
organization, organizational dependency, age, education, employment
alternatives, attitude of family and friends. The variables explain 65% of the
variance in organizational commitment. Glisson and Derrick in Adeyemo and Aremu
(1999) in their study of 319 human service organization workers analyzed the
effects of multiple predictors (job, organization, and worker characteristics)
on satisfaction and commitment. They showed that skill variety and role
ambiguity are best predictors of satisfaction, while leadership and the
organization's age are the best predictor of commitment. Ellemer, Gilder, and
Heuvel (1998) found that background variables as gender, level of education, or
team size were not clearly related to three forms of commitment. Adeyemo (2000)
reported a positive correlation between education and organizational
commitment. Irving, Coleman, and Cooper (1997) found that age was not related
to organizational commitment. Meyer and Allen (1984) earlier argued that age
might be correlated with commitment by postulating that it serves as proxy for
seniority that is associated with opportunity to better one's position in the
work. On the issue of gender, Mathieu and Zajac (1990) reported its
relationship to organizational commitment. Similarly, it was found by Irving,
et, al. (1997) that the men in their sample had higher level of commitment than
the women.
The
following research questions were developed to guide the study.
- What is the relationship between work motivation, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment of the library personnel?
- What is the difference in the work motivation of professional and non-professional library personnel?
- What is the difference in the job satisfaction of the library personnel in academic and research libraries?
- Will there be difference in the commitment of library personnel based on their years of experience?
Methodology
This study
used a descriptive survey design. The purpose of descriptive surveys, according
to Ezeani (1998), is to collect detailed and factual information that describes
an existing phenomenon.
The target
population of the study were library personnel in all research and academic
libraries in Oyo state, Nigeria. A census of five research and four academic
libraries was taken. A total enumeration sampling technique was used to select
200 library personnel. The breakdown is as follows:
Research Libraries
1. Institute of International
Tropical Agriculture IITA, Ibadan
|
10
|
2. Nigeria Institute of Social and
Economic Research NISER, Ibadan
|
15
|
3 Cocoa Research institute of
Nigeria, CRIN
|
15
|
4. Institute of Agriculture
Research and Training
|
20
|
5. Forestry Research Institute of
Nigeria, Ibadan
|
10
|
Total
|
70
|
Academic Libraries:
1. Kenneth Dike Library University
of Ibadan, Nigeria
|
55
|
2. Ladoke Akintola University of
Technology (LAUTECH) Ogbomoso Library
|
25
|
3. The Polytechnic Ibadan Library
|
25
|
4. Oyo State College of Education
Library (OYSCE)
|
25
|
Total
|
130
|
Overall Total200
There were
200 participants. Of these, 82 (41%) were females; while 118 (59%) were males.
Their age ranges from23-56 years, with a mean age of 39.5 years. The academic
qualifications of the participants are:
- &WAEC
- OND, NCE, DLS
- B.Sc, B.Ed , BLS
- &M.Sc, MLS, MA, PhD.
Instrument
A modified
questionnaire tagged Work Motivation, Job Satisfaction, and Commitment Scale
(WMJSCS) was used for the collection of data on the study. The questionnaire
was specifically designed to accomplish the objectives of the study. The first
section collected information such as age, sex, experience, professional
status, marital status, position, and so on. The second section contained the
items, and was divided into three parts.
Part1. This measures motivation. It
is a 15-item questionnaire using a Likert scale with responses ranging from
Strongly Agree= SA; Agree = A; Disagree = D; and Strongly Disagree = SD. The
items were adapted from Work Motivation Behaviour Scale of the Akinboye's 2001
Executive Behaviour Battery. The modification yielded an r = 0.74 Cronbach
Alpha.
Part 2. The second part of the
instrument contains items that measure library personnel's job satisfaction. It
is a 5-point Likert scale: Very Dissatisfied = VD; Dissatisfied = D; Undecided
= U; Satisfied = S; and Very Satisfied = VS. Items in this section were adapted
from the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire by Weiss (1967).
Part 3. This part contains fifteen
items that measure organizational commitment, using a Likert scale of four points:
Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, and Strongly Disagree. Items were adapted from
organizational commitment questionnaire (OCQ) by Mooday, Steer, and Porter
(1979). The overall reliability co-efficient of the instrument yielded an r =
0.83 cronbach alpha.
Procedure
The
researcher travelled to all nine libraries in the study and administered the
instrument to library personnel after the approval of their management.
Following the instructions on the instrument, the questionnaires were filled
and returned.
Data
Analysis
Descriptive
statistics, Pearson Multiple Correlation, and Multiple classification methods
with t-test were employed to analyse the collected data.
Results
The
results of the analysis on the study are presented as follows:
Research Question 1. What is the
relationship between work motivation, job satisfaction, and organizational
commitment of library personnel?
Table
1: Mean, Standard Deviation, and Multiple Correlation Matrix of Work
Motivation, Job Satisfaction, and Commitment.
Variables
|
Number
|
Mean
|
Work Motiv.
|
Job Satisf.
|
Org. Commt
|
Work Mot.
|
200
|
45.21
|
1.0000
|
.4056
|
-.1767
|
Job Satisf.
|
200
|
41.18
|
.4056*
|
1.0000
|
.1383
|
Org. Commt
|
200
|
38.62
|
-.1767*
|
.1383
|
1.0000
|
The result
in table 1 above reveals a positive correlation between work motivation and job
satisfaction with coefficient value of r =.4056. Motivation also correlated
with organizational commitment, but the correlation was negative with
coefficient value r = -.1767.
Research Question 2: What is the
significant difference in the work motivation of professional and
non-professional library personnel?
Table
2: Work Motivation of Professional and Non-Professional Library Personnel
Variables
|
Number
|
Mean
|
Std Dev.
|
Df
|
t. cal.
|
t.tab
|
P
|
Remark
|
Professional
|
85
|
60.25
|
7.69
|
1.98
|
0.89
|
1.96
|
0.05
|
NS
|
Non-Professional
|
115
|
59.24
|
8.74
|
The result in table 2 above shows
that the t-cal = 0. 89 > lesser than the t-tab 1.96 at 198 degrees of
freedom at the 0.05 level. This indicates that no significant difference was
observed in the work motivation of the professional and non-professional
library personnel.
Research Question 3: What is the
difference in the job satisfaction of the library personnel in academic and
research libraries?
Table 3: Job Satisfaction of Library
Personnel in Academic and Rresearch Libraries.
Variables
|
Number
|
Mean
|
Std Dev.
|
Df
|
t. cal.
|
t.tab
|
P
|
Remark
|
Professional
|
130
|
55.8
|
10.9
|
198
|
1.66
|
1.96
|
0.05
|
NS
|
Non-Professional
|
70
|
53.6
|
7.8
|
The result
in table 3 shows that no difference exists in the job satisfaction of the
library personnel in academic and research libraries. This was shown with the
t. cal.1.66> t.tab 1.96 at 0.05 level and 198 degrees of freedom.
Research Question 4: What is the
relationship between years of experience and commitment of the library
personnel?
Table 4: Multiple Classification
Analysis of the Years of Experience and Organizational Commitment of the
Library personnel
Multiple R Square =.002
Multiple R =.045
|
|||||
Variable +
Category
|
No
|
Unadjusted
Dev' n
|
Eta
|
Adjusted independent
Dev'n
|
Beta
|
0 -5 years
6-10 years
11-20 years
21-30 years
|
89
59
33
19
|
.08
.48
-.76
-.55
|
.04
|
.08
.45
-.76
-.55
|
.04
|
In table 4
above, the results reveal that years of experience have no relationship withorganizational
commitment. This is shown in the multiple regressions (R) of .05 and multiple
correlations R Square of .002, which indicate 2% of the total correlation, and
Eta and Beta value of .04.
Discussion
The
findings of this study reveal that a correlation exists between perceived
motivation, job satisfaction, and commitment, although correlation between
motivation and commitment was negative. No difference was observed in the
perceived motivation of professional and non-professional library personnel.
Moreover, findings also show that differences exist in the job satisfaction of
library personnel in academic and research libraries, and that no relationship
exists in the organizational commitment of library personnel based on their
years of experience.
The
correlation that exists in this study among perceived work motivation, job
satisfaction, and organizational commitment corresponds with (Brown and
Shepherd, 1997) who reported that motivation improves workers' performance and
job satisfaction. The result also agrees with Chess (1994), reported that
certain motivational factors contribute to the prediction of job satisfaction.
However, negative correlation between organizational commitment and work
motivation as reported in this study may be a result of the fact librarians are
not highly motivated by their deeply held values and beliefs regarding the
development of a shared vision as put forward by Brown and Shepherd (1997).
Tang and LiPing (1999) report that a relationship exists between job satisfaction
and organizational commitment, and Woer (1998) finds that organizational
commitment relates to job satisfaction, which both support this result.
Furthermore, Stokes, Riger, and Sullivan's (1995) report that perceived
motivation relates to job satisfaction, commitment, and even intention to stay
with the firm corroborates this present result.
The second
result obtained on this study was that no significant difference was observed
in the perceived work motivation of professional and non-professional library
personnel. Williams in Nwagu (1997) reported that motivation potential is
linked to five core characteristics that affect three psychological states
essential to internal work motivation and positive work outcom. That idea
complements the present finding. Similarly, the finding by Colvin (1998) that
financial incentives increase productivity, corroborates this result.
Professional and non-professional library personnel have the same perceived
work motivation if they are given the work environment and incentives that they
need and deserve. The issue of professionalism in librarianship is a very
important one, but non-professional library employees are essential to library
operations and their motivation and commitment are also essential. Many
libraries, therefore, take the same approach to motivation for all of their
employees, irrespective of status and qualifications. Hence, the non
significant difference in their perception of work motivation is probably
connected with this issue.
The fact
that no relationship was observed between the organizational commitment of the
library personnel and their years of experience, contradict some previous
findings of studies. For instance Irving, Coleman, and Meyer (1994) suggest
that job experience early in one's career plays a prominent role in the
development of commitment. It is commonly felt that experience increases the
level of commitment of workers in an organization, and this may be the case
under normal circumstances. The result obtained in this study may be due to
particular local situations.
The
findings of this study have pointed out some salient issues in the field of
librarianship. It is imperative for library management to meet the demands of
their personnel to strengthen their motivation, satisfaction, and commitment to
minimize turnover. Governments and library management should concentrate on
improving the conditions for library personnel. One crucial area is on-the-job
training to cope with the integration of information technology into library
practices.
Career
survival would depends on career resilience (Casio in Sinclair et al. 2005) and
pragmatic adjustment to change (Borgen, in Adeyemo, 2000). Librarians and
library staff must readily re-invent themselves and take responsibility for
managing their careers with support from employers. Satisfaction might be found
in "sacrificial labour," otherwise referred to as labour of love by
(McDonald, 1996). Uppermost in our minds should be the quest for
self-actualization described by Maslow.
Library
personnel must acknowledge that mental health is better anchored in intrinsic
motivational factors within one's control. The need to assume responsibility
for one's career, especially in a depressed economy, cannot be overemphasized
(Heinz, 1987). Attainment of job satisfaction among library personnel through
value clarification, personal problem solving, and a creative approach are
insightful and intrinsic motivational approaches that are recommended in this
study.
It is
important to note some limitations of this study. First, the study is
correlational and as such we cannot assume any causal relationship between job
satisfaction, organizational commitment, and work motivation. Second, the
samples used for this study are library personnel in academic and research libraries
in Oyo State, Nigeria. One cannot generalize findings to other states of the
federation. Future researchers may focus on the limitations and work improving
the generality of the results.
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