Volunteers in Corporate America Dissertation

Introduction

The purpose of this study is to explore the correlation between employers that support volunteerism and employee satisfaction. The spectrum of theoretical support for the benefits of this type of corporate philanthropy span identification, exchange, social capital, and commitment theories.

Commitment is a valued outcome of volunteerism and other corporate policies in part because of behavior that lowers operating costs and because the positive inclination towards corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs is strongly associated with commitment. Among the behavioral outcomes impacting favorably on operating efficiency of the company are: reduced or minimized turnover, absenteeism, markedly improved productivity, and hence, more satisfactory performance appraisals overall (Hunt and Morgan, 1994).

Main Text

The effective outcomes of commitment are even more important, particularly when companies do not provide for paid time off for participating in volunteer programs. Here, commitment theory relies a great deal on Blau and Boal (1987) articulating commitment as that condition when an employee relates so strongly to the employer and its goals that he prefers to stay, all other things remaining equal, so as to continue to help with those goals.

Commitment not only establishes an “upbeat” attitude but also colors all subsequent experiences of the employee within the organization. Somewhat earlier, Mowday, Steers and Porter (1979) realized that the conceptual definition needed the aspect of an employee being willing to exert a great deal of effort on behalf of shared organizational goals. Consequently, commitment creates even more rewards.

Identification is critical to understanding the process of commitment because there must be, first of all, cognitive receptivity: understanding what the CSR and volunteerism policies of the organizations are all about. In addition, Allen and Meyer (1996) point out that commitment has affective (belief and emotional attachment), continuance (weighing the costs and benefits of staying), and normative (reciprocating an obligation to the company) components.

To Cheung (2000), this insight into reciprocity within an organization justifies the application of exchange theory which posits the three facets of rationality, reciprocity and the principles that link the first two. Rationality means that both the organization and the individual derive reinforcement from their mutual association. The worker receives rewards for his commitment – a supportive environment aimed at fostering just pay, physiological and emotional well-being, communication openness, clearly-articulated tasks, etc. – while the organization feels amply rewarded by the continuing commitment of the staff.

Reciprocity applies because relations at work are not just industrial but also overlaid with social relations. If reciprocity fails, then commitment weakens to the point that the employee contributes to the turnover rate.

Around the same time, Knoop (1996) provided the link between commitment and job satisfaction, albeit deriving empirical validity from just one profession. In the particular case of the altruism-laden nursing practice, the author reveals a strong relationship between commitment and satisfaction, on one hand, and commitment and job involvement. The caveat is that the study subjects derived satisfaction not from the commitment to the primary care employer per se but to the profession and the opportunity to care for patients.

More recently, Satterland (2003) confirms that organizational identification and commitment are salient outcomes of corporate support for volunteerism. The two phenomena are closely linked since organizational theory has established that emphatic organizational identification is an antecedent of organizational commitment. In turn, corporate philanthropy encourages employee identification with the beneficial outcomes for the community, religious life, non-profit organizations, trade and professional organizations, notwithstanding the fact the volunteer work creates conflicts in time available for personal and family pursuits.

Within Texas nonprofit human service organizations (NPHSOs) such as United Way, Nuno (2008) posited that social capital theory (combining human, financial, and volunteerism resources) explains program effectiveness. Empirical surveying and structural equation modeling suggested that more social capital induced greater total revenue for the NPHSO, more prevalent volunteerism, and ultimately, enhanced program effectiveness.

In addition, the model suggested that total revenue attracted more human capital. The control variables – such as how established the organization was, the size of the organization in point of manpower, and size of region (market, in other words) – were all significantly correlated to total revenue. Finally, organization size bore a positive relationship to social capital.

Conclusion

In more pragmatic terms, finally, Geroy, Wright, and Jacoby (2000) assert that there are theoretical underpinnings for the hypothesized “spillover effects” of company-encouraged volunteerism. Principally, organizations benefit from increased productivity of employees. It appears that enhanced output springs from at least four dimensions:

1. privileges gained;
2. status security;
3. greater prestige or status enhancement; and,
4. an enriched, better-rounded personality.

Greater commitment and diminished inclination to leave are doubtless enhanced by improved self-esteem and enriched skills that help the volunteer-employee become a proactive problem solver and decision-maker on the job; job security that eases coping with job stress; and, simple personality enrichment leading to broader perspectives that benefit the organization.

References

Allen, N. J. & Meyer, J. P. (1996). Affective, continuance, and normative commitment to the organization: An examination of construct validity. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 49: 252-276.

Blau, G. J. & Boal, K. B. (1987). Conceptualizing how job involvement and organizational commitment affect turnover and absenteeism. Academy of Management Review, 12: 288-300.

Geroy, G. D., Wright, P. C. & Jacoby, L. (2000). Toward a conceptual framework of employee volunteerism: an aid for the human resource manager. Management Decision, 38(4), 280-286.

Hunt, S. D. & Morgan,, R. M. (1994). Organizational commitment: One of many commitments or key mediating construct? Academy of Management Journal, 37: 1568-1587.

Knoop, R. (1996). Relationships among job involvement, job satisfaction and organizational commitment for nurses. Journal of Psychology, 95(129) 643-50.

Mowday, R. T., Steers, R. M. & Porter, l. W. (1979). The measurement of organizational commitment. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 14: 224-247.

Nuno, Delissa Garcia (2008). The social capital effect in nonprofit human service organizations: An examination of potential outcomes of organizational social capital related to effectiveness. Ph.D. dissertation, The University of Texas at Arlington, Texas.

Satterland, A. M. (2003). A thousand hours of overtime: A study of employee identification and commitment (Doctoral dissertation, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.