The Relationship Among Psychological Empowerment, Job Satisfaction And Organisation Job Satisfaction And Organisational Commitment Of Staff Members At The University Of Namibia

Abstract:

The ability of organisations to be innovative and to empower their employees would

lead to the organisation gaining that competitive edge. The process would start with

managers feeling empowered and committed to the organisation (Bhatnagar, 2005).

Thomas and Velthouse (1990) defined psychological empowerment as a set of four

cognitions reflecting an employee’s orientation to his/her role in terms of meaning

competence, self-determination and impact.

Job satisfaction is defined as “a state that depends on the interaction of employees,

their personal characteristics and expectations with the working environment and the

organisation” (Pinikahana & Happell, 2004, p. 120). It was found that when employees

are more satisfied with their jobs, committed to their organisation and psychologically

empowered, this could help organisations to thrive instead of trying to survive in a

competitive environment (c. Bhatnagar, 2005; Bhatnagar, 2007; Conger & Kanungo,

1988; Quinn & Spreitzer, 1997).

Robbins (2003) defined organisational commitment as a state in which an employee

identifies with a particular organisation and its goals, and wishes to be part of that

organisation.

Equity theory of work motivation is categorised into content and processes approach.

A major input into job satisfaction and performance is the degree of equity (or

inequity) that employees perceive in their work situation. Thomas and Velthouse

(1990) also explained the cognitive model to be the more comprehensive explanation,

to the way in which individuals react to their environmental and personal experiences

ii

to shape their cognition. The model also resembles the social learning sequence of

stimulus, organism, behavior and consequences (S- O- B- C).

It was found in this research that PE- 2 (Impact) predicted SAT- 1 (Autonomy), PE- 2

(Impact) predicted SAT-2 (Social), PE- 1 (Attitude) and PE- 2 (Impact) predicted

SAT- 3 (Intrinsic), PE- 2 (Impact) predicted SAT- 4 (Advance), PE- 2 (Impact) and

SAT-1 (Autonomy) predicted Normative commitment, SAT- 2 (Social) and SAT- 4

(Advance) predicted Affective Commitment. Based on these findings it’s clear that

psychological empowerment could make employees more satisfied in some areas of

their jobs and more committed to the organization, making organizations thrive and

prosper instead of just trying to survive.