You are on page 1of 9

Job Satisfaction as a Social Concern

Author(s): Ronald L. Wiggins and Richard D. Steade


Source: The Academy of Management Review, Vol. 1, No. 4 (Oct., 1976), pp. 48-55
Published by: Academy of Management
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/257724 .
Accessed: 24/01/2011 17:34
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless
you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you
may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use.
Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at .
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=aom. .
Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed
page of such transmission.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
Academy of Management is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Academy
of Management Review.
http://www.jstor.org
J o b
Satisfactio n as a So cial Co ncern1
RONALD L. WIGGINSand
RICHARD D. STEADE
Co l o rado State
University
Individual and
o rganizatio nal adaptatio ns
to the
dynamics
o f restricted
eco no mic
gro wth
are
examined,
and
specul atio ns
are made ab o ut
adaptatio ns
in a
no -gro wth eco no my.
The
restricted-gro wth adapta-
tio ns co me
to gether
in
jo b satisfactio n, so ught b y
the individual and
pro vided b y
the
o rganizatio n
in
reco gnitio n
o f itsso cial co mmitment.
The
gro wing
interest o f individual s in Qual -
ity
o f Life
(QOL), incl uding Qual ity
o f Wo rk Life
(QOWL),
is refl ected in the
gro wing
so cial co n-
cern o f
o rganizatio ns. Co nvergence
o f these
trends inthe
emerging
era o f restricted eco no m-
ic
gro wth
is
significant
fo r
o rganizatio nal
b ehav-
io r and the
management
o f
o rganizatio ns.
The QOL
co ncept
has attracted co nsider-
ab l e attentio n inrecent
years (1, 17, 21, 36, 56, 57),
b ut the
co ncept
is no t wel l defined. Ina b ro ad
sense,
it is an indicatio n o f
so ciety's
desire to im-
pro ve
o r at l east to
prevent
a
degradatio n
o f its
Ro nal d L.
Wiggins
(Ph.D. -UCLA) is Pro fesso r o f
Manage-
ment, Co l l ege
o f Business,
Co l o rado State University,
Fo rt
Co l l ins, Co l o rado .
Richard D. Steade (Ph.D.
-
University
o f
Washingto n)
is Pro -
fesso r o f
Management, Co l l ege
o f Business, Co l o rado State
University,
Fo rtCo l l ins, Co l o rado .
Received 3/18/75; Revised 12/19/75; Accepted
3/16/76;
Revised 4/26/76.
co nditio n.
Difficul ty
arises in
b ringing
the co n-
cept
do wn to the l evel o f the individual ,
since
QOL
is a
perso nal expressio n
o f o ne's sense o f
wel l -b eing.
It
expresses
a b undl e o f "attrib utes"
that,
in the
aggregate,
amo unts to rel ative satis-
factio n which the individual seeks to
o ptimize.
This b undl e is
co nstantl y changing
in b o th the
mix o f attrib utes and their
pro po rtio ns.
Al tho ugh
the QOWL co ncept,
the wo rk-re-
l ated
aspect
o f
QOL,
is al so no t wel l defined,
it is
b eginning
to take o n
o peratio nal meaning (12,
19, 22, 23, 26, 33, 48, 52, 58). Such val uab l e devel -
o pments
b ear o n the o veral l theme o f this
articl e,
which fo cuses
primaril y
o n the
co nvergent
trends
under restricted
gro wth, using
the
general ized
views ab o ut QOL and QOWL (5, 8, 9).
1
Po rtio ns o f this
paper
were
presented
at the
meeting
o f the
Western Divisio n o f the
Academy
o f
Management,
Las
Vegas,
Nevada,
March 20-22,1975.
48
Academy
o f
Management
Review - Octo b er 1976
The
majo r
definitio nal
difficul ty
with the
QOL and QOWL
co ncepts
is that
they
are sub -
stantial l y perceptual
in
co ntent, refl ecting
sub -
jective
reactio ns o f individual s to enviro nmental
circumstances. Yet individual s and
so ciety
in-
creasingl y
sense the
impo rtance
o f QOL and
QOWL,
and
o rganizatio ns
are
b eginning
to react
to the trends.
Amo ng
the
many
issues interrel ated with the
theme o f this articl e are future directio ns infam-
il y
and
co mmunity l ife, educatio n,
and
l eisure,
which wil l b e invo l ved in
changing
individual
and so cietal QOL
perceptio ns.
Wo rk-rel ated is-
sues incl ude
fl exitime,
the sho rter
wo rkweek,
and auto matio n
(22, 23, 26). Business
o rganiza-
tio ns have to
struggl e
with vario us so cial
o b jec-
tives
(4, 10, 16, 24) and the
necessity
to "b ake in"
such
o b jectives
as a
part
o f
o ngo ing b udget (6, p.
128),
whil e
maintaining
the
vital ity
o f the eco -
no mic
system
(38) and
avo iding
the
deb il itating
effects o f
egal itarianism (13, 14, 15).
Such rel ated issues are
significant
in effo rts
to visual ize the future fo r
individual s, o rganiza-
tio ns,
and
so ciety,
b ut are
general l y b eyo nd
the
sco pe
o f this
paper.
The thesis here is that em-
pl o yee
and
o rganizatio nal
interests wil l co me to -
gether
in the
jo b
satisfactio n
aspect
o f
QOWL
in
the
restricted-gro wth
era ahead. In
additio n,
specul atio ns
are made ab o ut such interests under
no -gro wth
co nditio ns.
J o b Satisfactio nand
Qual ity
o f Life
The U. S. has no t l acked in material
symb o l s
o f a
high qual ity
o f
l ife,
fo r the
eco no my
has
pro -
duced mo re
go o ds
and services each
year.
Per-
so nal inco mes are
expected
to
keep rising just
as
regul arl y,
to
pro vide
increased
dispo sab l e
in-
co me fo r
travel , entertainment,
a seco nd
ho me,
co nvenience and
go urmet fo o ds,
etc.
During
the
past twenty years,
it has b een
po ssib l e
fo r
many
middl e-cl ass Americans to
seg-
ment their l ives and to
co mpensate
o utside o f
wo rk fo r the l ack o f
meaningful jo b s, b y pursuing
o ff-the-jo b
l eisure-cl ass l ife
styl es pro mo ted b y
the mass media. An
acceptab l e QOL resul ted
fro m the to tal
pattern
o f
l ife, incl uding jo b
dis-
satisfactio n to l erated inthe eco no mic
suppo rt
o f
o ther mo re desirab l e
aspects
o f o ne's
b eing
(31).
This situatio n is
changing.
The b el ief that
there is a
widening gap
b etween the no rms o f
different l ife
styl es
and the
eco no mical l y sup-
po rtab l e
standard o f
l iving
is b ased o n the fo l -
l o wing assumptio ns:
1. Infl atio n wil l co ntinue into the fo resee-
ab l e
future,
and
pay
raises fo r mo st em-
pl o yees
wil l no t
keep up
with the aver-
age
rate o f infl atio n.
2.
Rising
co sts o f
energy,
scarce natural re-
so urces, shel ter,
and fo o d wil l b e inel as-
tic. Even if sub stitutes are
fo und,
co sts
wil l rise.
3. Recreatio nal areas and b asic
util ities,
such as water and urb an
transpo rtatio n
systems,
wil l b e o ver-l o aded and
strained, heightening
so cial tensio ns.
4. These
devel o pments
wil l ero de
perso nal
dispo sab l e
inco me and l imit travel and
recreatio n,
thus
l eaving peo pl e
l ess ab l e
to
"b uy
the
go o d
l ife" o utside the
jo b .
5. A
perio d
o f zero -sum
co mpetitio n
fo r
the mo re
rewarding jo b s
wil l
fo l l o w,
with
an
aggressive
search fo r
jo b
and l ife
styl e
al ternatives that
permit
the achievement
and maintenance o f o ne's desired
qual -
ity
o f l ife. Fo r
mo st,
these wil l b e
unpro -
ductive and the decisio n wil l b e made to
ride o ut o ne's current
jo b .
Therefo re,
the
impo rtance
o f
meaningful
wo rk inthe l ives o f mo st Americans wil l make the
jo b
enviro nment and
jo b
satisfactio n
increasingl y
significant prio rities
in
o rganizatio ns.
Different scenario s fo r the future are
po ssi-
b l e,
b ut it is maintained that the
assumptio ns
wil l
evo l ve into rel evant facts inthe future.
Emphasis
o n human reso urces
devel o pment
at the wo rk-
pl ace
has co ntinued ina
perio d
o f
deepening
re-
cessio n (40).
Al tho ugh
the who l e
so ciety
is affected
b y
QOL issues, memb ers o f the middl e and
upper
49
J o b Satisfactio n asaSo cial Co ncern
cl asses are
amo ng
the l o udest
decl aring
them-
sel ves to b e
disco ntented,
even inthe face o f ris-
ing
affl uence (17). This
l argel y
unmeasured so cial
disco ntent seems to run
deep, fo rming
the nu-
cl eus o f the
"qual ity
o f l ife
questio n".
No t al l issues in the
pursuit
o f a desirab l e
qual ity
o f l ife are neb ul o us. One
po int
seems
cl ear;
the
qual ity
o f l ife fo r
many
Americans no
l o nger
wil l remain
segmented
with a
primary
em-
phasis
o n the
o ff-the-jo b segment.
Ifthe
assump-
tio ns ho l d
-
that infl atio n and
rising
co sts o f en-
ergy,
natural
reso urces, shel ter,
and fo o d wil l
ero de
perso nal dispo sab l e
inco me
-
then o ne's
future
qual ity
o f l ife wil l
depend
o n an
accept-
ab l e to tal -l ife
pattern
that incl udes increased sat-
isfactio n inthe
jo b segment.
Inthis
scheme,
the
devel o pment
o f
peo pl e
and their satisfactio n in
meaningful jo b s
wil l b e-
co me a
co rpo rate
so cial
go al
that
paral l el s
the
pro per
util izatio n o f o ther reso urces to meet so -
ciety's
needs. This wil l
represent
a
co rpo rate
co mmitment to the humanizatio n o f wo rk and
the
o ppo rtunity
to
gro w
and advance in reward-
ing jo b s.
The
manager
into mo rro w's
o rganizatio n
wil l
b e
expected
to humanize the
wo rkpl ace
fo r b o th
white-co l l ar and b l ue-co l l ar wo rkers. Whil e ac-
kno wl edging
an
imprecisio n
inthe
phrase,
Kahn
defines humanizatio n o f wo rk as "the
pro cess
o f
making
wo rk mo re
appro priate
and
fitting
fo r an
adul t human
b eing
to
perfo rm" (28, p.
281). Mo re
specifical l y,
humanized wo rk:
1. Sho ul d no t
damage, degrade, humil iate,
exhaust, stul tify,
o r
persistentl y
b o re the
wo rker;
2. Sho ul d interest and
satisfy
the wo rker;
3. Sho ul d util ize
many
val ued skil l s and
ab il ities
al ready po ssessed,
and
pro vide
o ppo rtunity
fo r
acquiring
o thers;
4. Sho ul d
enhance,
o r at l east l eave unim-
paired,
interest and
ab il ity
to
perfo rm
o ther
majo r
l ife ro l es
-
as
spo use, par-
ent, citizen,
and
friend;
5. Sho ul d ful fil l the instrumental
purpo se
o f
getting
a
l iving,
interms
acceptab l e
to
the wo rker.
The
acceptance
o f these internal so cial
pri-
o rities is a
b ig
o rder fo r
manager
and wo rker. Ac-
ceptance impl ies
individual
psycho l o gical
active-
ness and
gro wing managerial reco gnitio n
o f the
co ncepts
o f industrial
demo cracy.
Itincl udes ful l
rights
o f
citizenship, incl uding
free
speech,
with-
inthe
wo rkpl ace,
and
emerging co ncepts
o f "so -
cial
justice".
Industrial
demo cracy
in this
co untry has,
so
far, emphasized jo b auto no my, participatio n,
and
equity (1, 12, 20, 22, 47, 48, 54), sub stantial l y
dif-
ferent fro m Western
Euro pean
ideas (11). Such
ideas, mo ving
to ward
management
shared with
wo rker-el ected wo rker
representatives (30, 46,
49), may
b e
precedents
fo r the future inthe U. S.
-
al tho ugh
no
significant
trend in this directio n
has
yet appeared.
In its
ful l y devel o ped fo rm,
demo cracy
in the
wo rkpl ace
co ul d mean that
wo rkers wo ul d share
respo nsib il ity
fo r what is
pro duced,
ho w
mo ney
is
invested,
and the so cial
co nsequences
o f
pro ductio n
(25).
Organizatio nal Purpo ses
and
the So cial Go al
Essential l y
the same
end-po int
is reached
b y
co nsidering
the
to pic
fro m an
o rganizatio nal per-
spective.
In
defining
a
go al
as
o rganizatio nal pur-
po se
(in co ntrast to an
o b jective,
defined as tar-
get
fo r
attainment),
survival is the fundamental
go al
o f
o ngo ing o rganizatio ns (29), al tho ugh
sel -
do m stated as such info rmal terms. The criterio n
fo r survival is b enefit to
so ciety,
and
o rganiza-
tio ns make
many adaptatio ns
in o rder to sur-
vive (34).
Gro wth is al so a
purpo se
fo r
o rganizatio ns,
o ften
expl icitl y
stated in
o rganizatio nal
creeds
and instatements o f
o b jectives.
Gro wth indicates
at l east
prima
facie ful fil l ment o f the criterio n o f
b enefit to
so ciety,
and
gro wth
do es facil itate sur-
vival .
Survival and
gro wth
are universal
go al s.
Of
the varied
purpo ses
fo r which
o rganizatio ns
ex-
ist,
al l have the fundamental
go al
o f survival and
the
o peratio nal go al
o f
gro wth.
This is true o f
past, present
and future
o rganizatio ns,
b ut the
50
Academy
o f
Management
Review - Octo b er 1976
gro wth go al
wil l
undergo change
and ul timate
atro phy.
Outl ines o f future
go al s
are
al ready surfacing
as tho se interested in
management try
to visual -
ize the
o rganizatio n
mo del inanenviro nment o f
restricted
gro wth.
Fo r
exampl e, energy pro b l ems
represent
mo re than
tempo rary
eco no mic disl o -
catio ns; they
indicate that faith in eco no mic
gro wth
needs reexaminatio n. Because survival is
fundamental , o rganizatio ns
wil l
adapt
to a re-
stricted-gro wth go al .
Examinatio ns o f future directio ns o f
gro wth
are
inco mpl ete
if l imited
o nl y
to restricted eco -
no mic
gro wth.
Other co nsideratio ns invo l ve
what wil l b eco me universal
o rganizatio nal go al s.
One is
o rganizatio nal
co ncern fo r the
psycho l o g-
ical heal th o f its memb ers (2) and the o ther is so -
cial
respo nsib il ity
refl ected inco ncern fo r the ex-
ternal so cial
system
(10). Whil e these are differ-
ent in co ntent and
appl icatio n, they
co me to -
gether
at
many po ints
and wil l b e co nsidered
herein as a
singl e purpo se,
the
co rpo rate
so cial
go al
(3).
The
co ncept
l ab el l ed "so cial
justice"
iswith-
in this
purpo se.
It is used to refl ect enhanced
freedo m val ues in
so ciety, po ssib l y generated b y
the "Yo uth Revo l utio n"
(18),
reinfo rced
b y
so -
cietal actio ns o f ab etter info rmed and mo re co n-
cerned
po pul atio n.
Fo r
o rganizatio ns,
in
partic-
ul ar,
it refers to the
right
to
questio n
decisio ns
affecting
the
individual ,
and
gro up
and so cial
surveil l ance o f the
pro cesses
fo r such
questio n-
ing.
An
o rganizatio n
is no t a
unique
do main in
the so cial
system
and is therefo re
respo nsib l e
fo r
its infl uence o n its memb ers and the
l arger
so cial
system
(16).
Respo nsib il ity
fo r
exercising
the
"Co rpo rate
Co nscience" (32) rests
primaril y
with
management.
Fo r b usiness
o rganizatio ns,
fail ure
to act in acco rdance with the so cial
go al
wo ul d
b ring
ab o ut the demise o f b usiness
po wer
(55).
The
emerging
mo vement to a restricted-
gro wth go al
wil l invo l ve
changes
inthe
meaning
o f
gro wth.
The thrust wil l stil l b e
eco no mic,
b ut
with an
emphasis
o n
qual ity, rel iab il ity,
and co n-
tinued
util ity
in
go o ds
and
services,
rather than
pursuit
o f
ever-expanding
markets. This de-
emphasis
o n
gro wth
wil l b e
acco mpanied b y
in-
no vative shifts in
rel atio nships amo ng qual ity,
co st, pro fit,
and vo l ume.
The so cial
go al
wil l take o n
increasing
im-
po rtance
in this
perio d, resul ting
fro m
gro wing
o rganizatio nal
awareness o f
so cial , psycho l o gi-
cal ,
and
po l itical
fo rces
impl icit
in the
percep-
tio n o f this
go al
as
o rganizatio nal purpo se.
It
wil l al so resul t fro m
diminishing o ppo rtunities
fo r extrinsic rewards to
o rganizatio nal
memb ers
under restricted
gro wth. Organizatio nal
mem-
b ership
and co mmitment wil l b e so l icited and re-
tained in terms o f intrinsic
rewards-jo b
satis-
factio n and
QOWL general l y.
The near-to -intermediate time frames o f the
future, during
which these directio ns wo rk them-
sel ves
o ut,
are seen with rel ative
cl arity.
Since
survival is
fundamental ,
the two
go al s
o f re-
stricted eco no mic
gro wth
and
emphasis
o n so cial
respo nsib il ity
wil l b e
jo intl y o peratio nal .
In the
near-future time
frame, o rganizatio ns
wil l b e sim-
il ar to
present-day o rganizatio ns
b ut with so cial
o b jectives jo intl y
functio nal with eco no mic o b -
jectives
(37).
Further into the
future,
the
co mpariso n
and
pro gno sis
b eco me weaker.
Organizatio ns
wil l
either have so me mo dicum o f
simil arity
to
pres-
ent-day o rganizatio ns
o r
they
wil l refl ect an al -
ternative eco no mic
system
fo r which there is no
present
mo del (38). Ineither
case,
the
go al s
o f re-
stricted
gro wth
-
pro b ab l y mo ving
to ward
strictl y-co ntained gro wth
-
and so cial co ncern
wil l b e
jo intl y o peratio nal
to the fundamental
go al
o f survival . Inthe co ntext o f this
articl e,
the
so cial
go al emphases
are o n
jo b satisfactio n,
and
QOWL
mo re
general l y.
Thro ugho ut
the
restricted-gro wth
era there
wil l co ntinue to b e
co nfl ict,
o ver al l o catio n o f re-
so urces
general l y (45),
and within
o rganizatio ns
(42). Gro wth is
po stul ated,
al b eit restricted and
eventual l y
co ntained.
Hence,
co nfl ict and co m-
petitio n
o ver an
increasingl y
l imited
suppl y
o f
mo st reso urces is
expected,
simil ar in
o peratio n
to current
experiences.
Effectivity
o f human reso urces wil l b e
impo r-
51
l o b Satisfactio nasaSo cial Co ncern
tant fo r
o rganizatio ns thro ugho ut
the era
(40, 41).
Fo r this reaso n in
particul ar, o rganizatio ns
wil l
pro vide
fo r
jo b
satisfactio n and an
acceptab l e
QOWL
-
al tho ugh
there wil l b e
general
so cietal
interests directed to the same end.
Such
o rganizatio nal
sel f-interest has to b e
viewed in terms o f the
dynamics
o f the
future,
in
which
general
so cietal interests are
significant.
They
are
paramo unt
in
co nsidering
the critical
questio n
o f
why o rganizatio ns
wil l mo ve to the
so cial
go al jo intl y o peratio nal
with restricted
gro wth.
At issue are the b asic
pro cesses
o f
adapta-
tio n, ul timatel y
fo r survival . Fo r
o rganizatio ns
as-
sessing futurity dynamics, adaptatio n
wil l o ccur
thro ugh reco gnitio n, regul atio n,
o r revo l utio n.
Reco gnitio n
means that
o rganizatio ns
wil l
interpret
so cietal directio ns
and, wil l ingl y
o r re-
l uctantl y, adapt
to such directio ns.
Regul atio n
means
o rganizatio nal adaptatio n
wil l b e
impo sed
thro ugh po l itical
and
go vernmental actio ns,
in-
cl uding
current circumstances
thro ugh
the who l e
range
o f
po ssib il ities, incl uding
the
po tential
o f
co mpl etel y remaking o rganizatio ns
as we kno w
them, particul arl y
b usiness
o rganizatio ns.
At this
extreme o f the
range, regul atio n
is no t
signifi-
cantl y
different fro m co vert o r
"peaceful "
revo -
l utio n. What
might
o ccur
sub sequent
to vio l ent
revo l utio n is
impo ssib l e
to
predict.
There is
gro wing
evidence that
o rganizatio ns
are
reco gnizing
these directio ns and wil l mo ve
to ward
adaptatio n
to them
(4, 6, 7, 37, 43),
inful l
awareness o f current
go vernmental regul atio ns
and the
po tential
fo r mo re
(53),
and with the
ho pe
that
adaptatio n
wil l minimize them
-
as
part
o f the ratio nal reso l utio n o f the "Eco no mic
Dil emma" (38).
The co ncl usio n b ased o n the
AMA
survey
is
expressive:
The
co rpo ratio n
wil l either transfo rm
itsel f,
o r
b e transfo rmed
b y
the
agents
o f the American
pub l ic,
into a unit that
fo rmal l y
and co ntin-
uo usl y
co nsidersthe
desires, needs,
and co n-
cerns o f the individual (b e he o r she
wo rker,
co nsumer, neighb o r,
o r shareho l der) and
fo rms and executes its
po l icies acco rdingl y
(43, p.
4).
To ward No -Gro wth
There
may
b e an ul timate time inthe future
when there wil l b e no eco no mic
gro wth,
either
restricted o r co ntained. It is difficul t to
visual ize,
b ut
l o gical
extensio ns o f the thesis can b e
b riefl y
no ted.
Organizatio ns
wil l no
l o nger
have an
o per-
atio nal
go al
b ased o n the
premise
o f
gro wth.
Mo vement to the
no -gro wth
mo de is no t ex-
pected
to affect the so cial
go al negativel y,
as this
go al
wil l b e mo re
cl earl y
del ineated and wil l en-
tail a mo re visib l e co mmitment than at
present.
Hence,
the
crystal
b al l
yiel ds
a dim visio n o f o r-
ganizatio ns seeking
to
survive,
with so cial re-
spo nsib il ity
as the
majo r o peratio nal go al
fo r
achieving
survival . The
o rganizatio n
o ffers indi-
vidual memb ers a minimum o f extrinsic rewards
-
o r,
at
l east,
such rewards wil l b e stab il ized and
no t a
significant
so urce o f memb er satisfactio n
-
so it maintains
memb ership thro ugh
satisfactio ns
o n the
jo b .
With extrinsic rewards minimized and the
o rganizatio n
attuned to so cial
purpo ses,
and es-
pecial l y
with
po pul atio n
stab il ized,
the dim vi-
sio n can
easil y
b e mo re
negative
than that
suggested.
Such a
negative perspective
was re-
fl ected in a recent articl e (51) inwhich the
anal y-
sis mo ved fro m current val ues o f
gro wth,
ab und-
ance,
and co nsensus to future val ues o f
scarcity,
stab il ity,
and co nfl ict. It was no ted that
"peo pl e
wil l find it
necessary
to
co mpete
fo r the rel ative
size o f their share o f fixed
o rganizatio nal
re-
so urces"
(51, p.
251). Insuch
terms, jo b
satisfac-
tio n is
l ikel y
to b e
merel y
the rel ative success in
such
co mpetitio n.
The co nfl ict in this
perspec-
tive is
qual itativel y
different fro m that discussed
earl ier,
where so me al l eviatio n was
po ssib l e
thro ugh gro wth,
al b eit restricted.
The distinct
po ssib il ity
o f
"Big Bro ther",
in
the fo rm o f
dictato rship
o r
el itism,
l ike Sco tt's
"managemento cracy"
(51, p. 252), emerges
fro m
the mo re
negative
view o f the
no -gro wth o rgan-
izatio n o f the future.
52
Academy
o f
Management
Review - Octo b er 1976
Factso f Life and
Lifestyl e
No co mment has b een made in this articl e
o n fo rces
underl ying
the directio ns
discussed,
since ano ther
entry
into the
l imits-to -gro wth
co ntro versy
was no t the
purpo se.
The
o riginal
study
co mmissio ned
b y
the Cl ub o f Ro me
(39),
whil e
perhaps
far o ff inits
pro jectio ns (50),
makes
the
key po int: "Spaceship
Earth" is finite and its
reso urces are
finite,
hence
l imited,
and
o rganiza-
tio ns and individual s (and natio ns and the
wo rl d,
fo r that matter) wil l b e fo rced to
adjust
to the
l imitatio ns.
Fo r
individual s, adjustment
is
impo sed b y
in-
fl atio n, rising co sts,
and restrictio ns o n
o ppo rtu-
nities fo r
o ff-the-jo b
satisfactio ns b ased
upo n
an
affl uent l ife
styl e,
and wil l
impact upo n emerging
l ife
styl es
(5). Fo r
o rganizatio ns,
at l east fo r the in-
termediate-term
future,
this means
diminishing
o ppo rtunities
to
"b uy"
memb ers
thro ugh
extrin-
sic rewards. Bo th
perspectives give emphasis
to
satisfactio ns fro m the
jo b
fo r
o rganizatio nal
memb ers.
The l ife
styl e
discussed
b y
J o hnsto n in the
"turquo ise
scenario " (27) is
quite
cl o se to the
o ne envisio ned here fo r the intermediate future.
In
particul ar,
its
emphasis
o n the
b l ending
o f
wo rk and
l eisure, humanizing
the
wo rkpl ace,
and "so cial
justice" represents
the kind o f to tal
l ife
pattern
seen
evo l ving b y
the autho rs.
Impl icatio ns
Each individual determines the nature and
extent o f the b undl e o r mix o f attrib utes which
make
up
his o r her
qual ity
o f l ife. So me
may o pt
fo r a l ife
styl e
o utside o f a
co mpl ex o rganizatio n,
b ut this invo l ves
majo r changes
in the mix. Fo r
the
majo rity
who co ntinue as
o rganizatio nal
REFEREN(
1.
Acko ff, Russel l L.
Redesigning
the Future: A
Systems Ap-
pro ach
to So cietal Pro b l ems (New Yo rk:
Wil ey, 1974).
memb ers,
the effo rt wil l b e to
o ptimize
the to tal -
l ife
pattern.
Managers
o f
o rganizatio ns
have the
respo n-
sib il ity
to
reco gnize
the fo rces at wo rk and to
shape o rganizatio nal respo nses
to these fo rces
in o rder to
o ptimize jo b
satisfactio ns and
hel p
empl o yees
in effo rts to
o ptimize
to tal -l ife
pat-
terns. This
go es b eyo nd
the
tho ughtful sugges-
tio ns fo r
"Qual ity
o f Life
Management" (24) b e-
cause o f
restricted-gro wth
and its
impact
o n o r-
ganizatio ns
and
empl o yees.
Mo reo ver, managers
have to b e co nscio us
o f the
l o ng-term, no -gro wth
situatio n so that
decisio ns
al o ng
the
way
are made interms o f that
eventual ity.
Whether o r no t
jo b
satisfactio n wil l
have
any meaning
at that time
may
b e rel ated to
ho w
managers
make decisio ns fo r
o rganizatio ns
en ro ute.
A
heavy respo nsib il ity
rests o n
management
educato rs. Ifco nfl ict is to b e the standard mo dus
o perandi
in a
no -gro wth era, co ncepts
fo r man-
aging
co nfl ict must b e
devel o ped
and
enl arged.
Since it is difficul t to visual ize the ful l
impl ica-
tio ns o f
no -gro wth
to
o rganizatio ns,
so me diffi-
cul ties wil l b e
experienced
in this co nfl ict-
management respo nsib il ity.
But no such
easy expl anatio n
excuses o ne
fro m the wo rk o f
studying
and
understanding
restricted-gro wth circumstances,
and
transl ating
the resul ts into educatio nal
pro grams
fo r
manag-
ers and
managers-to -b e.
This
appl ies equal l y
to
rel ativel y
narro w-fo cus
pro b l ems,
as
devel o ped
in this
articl e,
and to the b ro ad val ue issues fac-
ing o rganizatio ns
in a
restricted-gro wth, so cial l y
respo nsive
mil ieu.
This
respo nsib il ity
o n
management
educa-
to rs is
heavy, current,
and wo rl dwide
(44) in
sco pe.
If the
study
o f
management
is
trul y
to b e
the "third
cul ture",
there isa
jo b
to b e do ne.
(35)
2.
Argyris,
Chris.
Perso nal ity
and
Organizatio n (New Yo rk:
Harper
and
Ro w, 1957).
53
J o b Satisfactio n as aSo cial Co ncern
3. Baker, H. G.
"Identity
and So cial
Respo nsib il ity
Po l icies:
Six
Large Co rpo ratio ns Examined,"Business Ho rizo ns,
Vo l . 16
(1973),
23-28.
4.
Banks, Lo uis. "The Missio n o f Our Business
So ciety,"
Harvard Business
Review,
Vo l .
53,
No . 3
(May-J une 1975),
57-65.
5. Bass, Bernard M.
"Organizatio nal
Life inthe 70's and Be-
yo nd,"
Perso nnel
Psycho l o gy (1972),
19-30.
6.
Bl o dgett, Timo thy B.,
and
Cheryl
W.
Po pe.
"The
Co rpo -
ratio n and Its
Ob l igatio ns:
An Interview with C. Peter
McCo l o ugh
o f Xero x
Co rpo ratio n,"
Harvard Business
Review,
Vo l . 53, No . 3
(May-J une 1975), 127-138.
7.
Buehl er,
Verno n M.,
and Y. K.
Shetty. "Managerial
Re-
spo nse
to So cial
Respo nsib il ity Chal l enge," Academy
o f
Management J o urnal , Vo l . 19, No . 1 (March 1976), 66-78.
8.
Byro n,
F. L. "To ward the Human
Century,"
Co nference
Bo ard
Review,
Vo l . 10
(1973),
7-12.
9.
Carl so n,
G. B. "Human
Systems Appro ach
to
Co ping
with
Future Sho ck,"
Perso nnel J o urnal
(1974),
618-622.
10.
Davis,
Keith."The Case Fo r and
Against
Business As-
sumptio n
o f So cial
Respo nsib il ities,"Academy
o f Man-
agement J o urnal ,
Vo l . 16, No . 2
(1973), 312-322.
11.
Derb er,
M. "So me Further
Tho ughts
o n the Histo rical
Study
o f Industrial
Demo cracy,"
Lab o r
Histo ry (Fal l 1973),
599-611.
12. DiMarco , Nicho l as. "Life
Styl e,
Wo rk
Gro up Structure,
Co mpatib il ity,
and J o b Satisfactio n," Academy
o f Man-
agement J o urnal , Vo l . 18,
No . 2
(1975),
313-322.
13.
"Egal itarianism:
Threat to aFree Market." Business Week
(Decemb er 1, 1975), 62-65.
14.
"Egal itarianism:
Mechanisms fo r
Redistrib uting
Inco me."
Business Week (Decemb er 8,1975),
86-90.
15.
"Egal itarianism:
The
Co rpo ratio n
as Vil l ain." Business
Week (Decemb er 15,1975),
86-88.
16.
El b ing,
Al var
O., J r. "The Val ue Issue o f Business: The
Respo nsib il ity
o f the Businessman," Academy
o f Man-
agement J o urnal , Vo l . 13,
No . 1
(1970),
79-88.
17. Enviro nmental Pro tectio n
Agency:
Enviro nmental Stud-
ies Divisio n. The
Qual ity
o f Life
Co ncept (U. S. Go vern-
ment
Printing Office, 1973).
18.
Fal termayer,
Edmund. "Yo uth After the Revo l utio n,"
Fo rtune,
Vo l . 87, No . 3
(1973), 145-158.
19. Fein,
Mitchel l . "The Real Needs and Go al s o f Bl ue Co l l ar
Wo rkers,"
Co nference Bo ard Reco rd
(1973),
26-33.
20. Fro st, Carl F., J o hn H.
Wakel y,
and Ro b ert A. Ruh. The
Scanl o n Pl an fo r
Organizatio nal Devel o pment: Identity,
Participatio n,
and
Equity (Lansing: Michigan
State Uni-
versity Press, 1974).
21. Garb o r,
Dennis. The Mature
So ciety (Lo ndo n: Secker &
Warb urg,
1972).
22. Go l emb iewski, Ro b ert T., Samuel
Yeager,
and Rick Hil l es.
"Facto r
Anal ysis
o f So me Fl exitime Effects: Attitudinal
and Behavio ral
Co nsequences
o f a Structural Interven-
tio n," Academy
o f
Management J o urnal , Vo l . 18,
No . 3
(1975), 500-509.
23.
Green,
Richard
G.,
and Do nal d E.
Hegl and.
"Can Mass
Pro ductio n Survive J o b Enrichment?" Auto matio n
(May
1975), 74-80.
24.
Hay, Ro b ert,
and Ed
Gray.
"So cial
Respo nsib il ities
o f
Business
Managers,"Academy
o f
Management J o urnal ,
Vo l . 17, No . 1
(1974),
135-143.
25. Herrick,
Neal Q., and Michael
Macco b y. "Humanizing
Wo rk: A
Prio rity
Go al o f the 1970's," Hearings
o n Bil l S.
3916,
U. S. Senate, Co mmittee o n Lab o r and Pub l ic Wel -
fare,
Wo rker Al ienatio n, 1972 (U. S. Go vernment
Printing
Office, 1972), p.
313.
26.
Ivancevich, J o hn M. "Effects o f the Sho rter Wo rkweek
o n Sel ected Satisfactio n and Perfo rmance Measures,"
J o urnal o f
Appl ied Psycho l o gy,
Vo l . 44
(1974),
717-721.
27.
J o hnsto n, Denis F. "The Future o f Wo rk: Three Po ssib l e
Al ternatives," Mo nthl y
Lab o r Review
(May 1972),
3-11.
28.
Kahn, Ro b ert L. "The Wo rk Mo dul e: A
Pro po sal
fo r the
Humanizatio n o f
Wo rk," Hearings
o n Bil l S. 3916, U. S.
Senate, Co mmittee o n Lab o r and Pub l ic
Wel fare,
Wo rker
Al ienatio n,
1972 (U. S. Go vernment
Printing Office,
1972), p.
261.
29. Kast. Fremo nt E., and J ames E.
Ro senzweig.
"General
Sys-
tem
Theo ry: Appl icatio ns
fo r
Organizatio n
and
Manage-
ment," Academy
o f
Management J o urnal , Vo l . 15, No . 6
(1972), 456.
30.
Kendal l ,
W. "Industrial
Demo cracy
in
Euro pe,"
Perso n-
nel
Management,
Vo l . 3
(1971),
32-34.
31.
Kreps,
J uanita. "Lifetime Tradeo ffs b etween Wo rk and
Pl ay,"
Industrial Rel atio ns Research Asso ciatio n Pro ceed-
ings (Decemb er 29-30,1968), pp.
307-316.
32.
Lazarus, Haro l d. "The
Co rpo rate Co nscience," Academy
o f
Management Pro ceedings (Decemb er 26-28,1968).
33.
Levitan, Sar A., and Wil l iam B. J o hnso n. "J o b
Redesign,
Refo rm,
Enrichment -
Expl o ring
the
Limitatio ns,"
Mo nthl y
Lab o r Review
(J ul y 1973),
35-41.
34.
Lippitt,
Go rdo n L.,
and Warren H. Schmidt. "Crises in a
Devel o ping Organizatio n,"
Harvard Business
Review,
Vo l . 45, No . 6 (1967),
102-112.
35. Litterer, J o seph
A.
"Management
as a Third
Cul ture,"
Academy
o f
Management Pro ceedings (August 23-26,
1970), 1-6.
36. Littl e, Dennis. "So cial Indicato rs, Po l icy Anal ysis
and Sim-
ul atio n," Futures, Vo l . 4, No . 3 (1972),
220-231.
37. Martin,
Wil l iam F., and
Geo rge
Cab o t
Lo dge.
"Our So -
ciety
in 1985
-
Business
May
No t Like It,"
Harvard Busi-
ness
Review, Vo l . 53, No . 6 (No vemb er-Decemb er 1975),
143-152.
38. McGuire, J o seph
W.
"Perfecting Capital ism
-
An Eco -
no mic Dil emma,"
Business Ho rizo ns, Vo l . 19, No . 1 (Feb -
ruary1976), 5-12.
39. Meado ws, Do nel l a H.,
Dennis L. Meado ws, J o rgen
Ran-
ders,
and Wil l iam W. Behrens. The Limitsto Gro wth (New
Yo rk: Universe Bo o ks, 1972).
40. Mil l s,
T. "Human Reso urces:
Why
the New Co ncern?"
Harvard Business Review, Vo l . 53, No . 2 (1975), 120-134.
54
Academy
o f
Management
Review - Octo b er 1976
41.
Myers,
Charl es A.
"Management
and the
Empl o yee,"
in
J ames W. McKie (Ed.),
So cial
Respo nsib il ity
and the Busi-
ness Predicament
(Washingto n,
D.C.: The
Bro o kings
In-
stitutio n, 1974).
42.
Neil sen,
Eric H.
"Understanding
and
Managing
Inter-
gro up Co nfl ict,"
in
J ay
W. Lo rsch and Paul R. Lawrence
(Eds.), Managing Gro up
and
Intergro up
Rel atio ns
(Ho mewo o d,
Il l ino is: Irwinand
Do rsey, 1972),
329-343.
43. Pal uszek, J o hn L. Business and
So ciety:
1976-2000 (AMA
Survey Repo rt, AMACOM, 1976).
44. Perl mutter,
Haro l d V. "The Mul tinatio nal Firm and the
Future,"
The Annal s o f the American
Academy
o f Po l iti-
cal and So cial Science,
Vo l . 403
(1972),
139-152.
45.
Rapo po rt,
Anato l . Co nfl ict in Man-Made Enviro nment
(Bal timo re:
Penguin Bo o ks, 1974).
46.
Ro b erts,
B. C. "Industrial Rel atio ns and the
Euro pean
Eco no mic
Co mmunity,"
Lab o r Law
J o urnal ,
Vo l . 24
(1973), 484-490.
47.
Ruh, Ro b ert A., Raymo nd
G. J o hnso n, and M. Peter
Sco ntrino . "The Scanl o n Pl an, Participatio n
in Decisio n
Making
and J o b Attitudes,"
J o urnal o f Industrial and Or-
ganizatio nal Psycho l o gy,
Vo l . 1
(1973),
36-45.
48. Ruh, Ro b ert A., J . Kenneth
White,
and Ro b ert R. Wo o d.
"J o b Invo l vement, Val ues, Perso nal
Backgro und,
Partici-
patio n
inDecisio n
Making,
and J o b Attitudes," Academy
o f
Management J o urnal , Vo l .
18, No . 2
(1975), 300-312.
49.
Schregl e,
J o hannes. "Lab o r Rel atio ns inWestern
Euro pe:
So me
To pical Issues,"
Internatio nal Lab o r
Review,
Vo l .
109
(1974),
16-22.
50. Science
Po l icy
Research Unit o f the
University
o f Sussex.
Mo del s o f Do o m: A
Critique
o f the Limits to Gro wth
(New Yo rk: Universe Bo o ks, 1973).
51. Sco tt,
Wil l iam G.
"Organizatio n Theo ry:
A Reassess-
ment," Academy
o f
Management J o urnal ,
Vo l . 17, No . 2
(1974), 242-254.
52. Seasho re, S. E., and T. D. Tab er. "J o b Satisfactio n Indica-
to rs and Their Co rrel ates,"
American Behavio ral Scien-
tist,
Vo l .
18, No . 3 (1975), 333-368.
53.
Seel ye,
Al fred L. "So cietal
Change
and Business-Go v-
ernment
Rel atio ns,"
MSU Business
To pics,
Vo l . 23,
No . 4
(Autumn 1975), 5-11.
54.
Shepard, J o n M.
"Special izatio n, Auto no my,
and J o b
Satisfactio n,"
Industrial Rel atio ns, Vo l . 12
(1973), 274-281.
55. Sil k, Leo nard S. "Business Po wer, To day
and
To mo rro w,"
Daedal us (Winter 1969), 174-190.
56.
Special
Task Fo rce to the
Secretary
o f Heal th, Educatio n
and Wel fare. Wo rk in America
(Camb ridge,
Mass.: MIT
Press, 1973).
57.
Stro ng,
Maurice F. "The
Qual ity
o f Life,"
Co l umb ia J o ur-
nal o f Wo rl d
Business, Vo l . 7, No . 3 (1972), 5-12.
58. Wal to n,
Richard E.
"Impro ving
the
Qual ity
o f Wo rk
Life,"
Harvard Business
Review,
Vo l . 52
(1974),
12-33.
55

You might also like