Dissertations and Theses @ UNI
Availability
Open Access Thesis
Keywords
Fast food restaurants--Employees; Job satisfaction;
Abstract
This study examined the relationship of communication-related variables to employee job satisfaction. Specifically, employee communication satisfaction with supervisor, employee participation in decision-making, participation versus desired participation level, and job satisfaction with supervisor, co-workers, promotions, pay, and work were studied. The subjects for the study were lower level employees (cooks, shift supervisors, cashiers/hospitality, and dishwashers/table bussers) in fast-food restaurants in the Cedar Falls/Waterloo area. It was hypothesized that the communication with supervisor and decision participation variables would significantly predict employee job satisfaction variables. It is also hypothesized that communication satisfaction with supervisor variables would be more powerful predictors of job satisfaction than the decision participation variables. In the test of the first hypothesis, a canonical correlation showed that the communication-related variables accounted collectively for little variance (19%) in employee job satisfaction. Communication satisfaction with supervisor, participation level and participation/desired participation discrepancy served as "predictor" variables. The five dimensions of job satisfaction served as "criterion" variables. The second hypothesis was tested with two separate canonical correlations. One canonical correlation used the variables of communication satisfaction with supervisor as "predictors." The other canonical correlation used participation level and participation/desired participation discrepancy as "predictors." Again, the five dimensions of job satisfaction served as the "criterion" variables in both. Decision participation variables were found to be more powerful "predictors" of job satisfaction than the communication satisfaction with supervisor variables. Furthermore, two research questions also supported the decision participation variables significance as a predictor of job satisfaction. Employees were asked to list the most satisfying and the least satisfying aspects of their job. These responses were then compared to the correlational data obtained from the test of the hypotheses. The study casts some doubt upon the relative comparative value of communication satisfaction with supervisor as a communication strategy with low-level employees. Specific guidelines for direct applications of results included the use of the consulting role for management communication style, realization of possible employee expectations, the added significance of the satisfaction with pay factor of job satisfaction, and the impact of the sample demographics on the study. Finally, implications for future research were derived from the study. These research directions involved: (a) the relationship of decision participation variables and the organizational hierarchy; (b) the influence of demographics on the data; (c) the need for replication of the study; and (d) the desire for methodological refinements for future study of the fast-food restaurant environment.
Year of Submission
1986
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Department of Communication and Theatre Arts
First Advisor
Bill Henderson
Second Advisor
Randall A. Rose
Third Advisor
Jon Hall
Date Original
1986
Object Description
1 PDF file (113 leaves)
Copyright
©1986 Craig Lee Borchard
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Borchard, Craig Lee, "Communication-Related Variables and Job Satisfaction in Fast-Food Restaurants" (1986). Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 2126.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd/2126
Comments
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