OCS – DMS

By –

Upinder Dhar (Jaipur)

Prashant Mishra (Ahmedabad)

D.K. Srivastava (Mumbai)

Rhea Dhir 1633259

Introduction

Organizational commitment is very important in a any job. It gets the work

done. Dedication towards one’s work is of utmost importance. Employee’s dedication,

intentions and strong attitude in any situation determines the commitment of the employee

towards the organization. Organizational commitment can be defined as the achievement of

the employee towards the goals of the organization.

Three types of organizational commitment have been identified by John Meyer and Nancy

Allen (1997) –

- Affective or moral commitment which occurs when the employee aligns his goals and

achievements with that of the organization. These employees have high levels of

performance and have a positive attitude.

- Continuance or calculative commitment occurs when the individuals want to continue

receiving benefits and pay from the organization. They put their best efforts in

maintaining these benefits.

- Normative commitment occurs when employees cater to the organization with their

behavior, attitude and obedience towards the organization.

- Another type of commitment was also suggested by Zangaro (2001) called alienative

commitment when the employee realizes that he wants to leave his job because of the

power of his role.

Various factors are responsible for determining organizational commitment.

Personal factors like age, gender, education, perceived competence, work ethics, etc., attitude

of the employee towards the job is also another factor, the characteristics of the job also

determine the level of m=commitment of the employee. If the job is too challenging, low job
level, conflict between coworkers, less group cohesiveness, less leadership roles, etc. leads to

low level of commitment.

The organizational commitment scale developed by Upinder Dhar (Jaipur),

Prashant Mishra (Ahmedabad), and D.K. Srivastava (Mumbai) successfully tests the level of

commitment of an individual towards his organization. The scale has a total of 8 items which

test the concern that the individual has for the workplace and his identification with the

organization. It can be used by professionals in management roles and scholars to study what

motivates individuals to perform. Without organizational; commitment long term plans don’t

seem to work that well. Also managers are helpless if the employees are not committed. With

maximum commitment most simple plans and ideas can work.

The scale can be used by professionals in the management sector to test the

commitment of the employees. It can also be used by scholars and research enthusiasts to

study the motivators behind the commitment of the employees and to develop factors

affecting it.
Methodology

Aim

The aim of the scale is to measure the commitment of the subject to the organization by using

the organizational commitment scale.

Sample

The name of the subject is Harish Kumar and he is in his late 40s. He is in merchant navy and

is a captain. He has been working in this organization since 2014 and has been in merchant

navy since the past 25 years. He is working for an organization called V Ships Monaco, Italy

which is a cargo ship company. He is very committed to the organization. He works for more

than six months and comes back to India for the rest to stay with his family. He loves his job

and thinks that it suits his lifestyle very well.

Measure or tool

The scale has been published by Upinder Dhar (Jaipur), Prashant Mishra (Ahmedabad) and

D.K. Srivastava (Mumbai). The scale consists of 8 items which were developed after an

extensive review of literature. These items were thoroughly studied and analyzed by

academic experts and business organizations. All items have to rated on a five scale response.

The scale was tested on 500 subjects and then their scores were sent for statistical analysis to

find out the validity and reliability of the scale.

The reliability was calculated by using the Spearman Brown Prophecy formula used on half

the test, which was found out to be 0.6078. these halves were taken out on odd even basis.

The validity of the test was checked by keeping two factors in mind. First being the internal

consistency of the test and the second is the scoring of the responses. The index of reliability

was used to measure the validity. Since the reliability index was very high, the scale was

assumed to have high validity as well.

The scale has two factors –

1. Concern for the organization

2. Identification with the organization.

Procedure

The instructions should be read out clearly and any question asked by the subject should be

answered clearly. There is no time limit for the scale, however it should not take more than

five minutes to finish. The questions should be answered very quickly. Also there is no

wrong or right answer and no question should be left unanswered.

Instructions

Read the statements given on the next pages and respond by ticking the box on any one of the

five cells against each statement to indicate how you generally feel. There is no right or

wrong answer. Do not spend too much time on any one statement, but give responses which

describes your feeling/opinion. Please do not leave any statement unanswered.

1. Strongly Agree 2. Agree 3. Neutral 4. Disagree 5. Strongly Disagree

Scoring

Each item is to be scored from 5,4,3,2,1 for positive items. In items 6 and 8 the scoring

should be reversed. The sum of the two is the total score for organization commitment.

Positive Items Negative Items

Strongly 1 Strongly 5

agree agree

Agree 2 Agree 4

Neutral 3 Neutral 3

Disagree 4 Disagree 2

Strongly 5 Strongly 1

Disagree Disagree
 Results

Factors I II Total Score

Raw Score 30 10 40

Interpretation High Normal High

The result overall shows that the subject has high commitment towards his organization. He

has scored a 30 in factor 1, which is interpreted as high towards his concern for the

organization and a 10 in factor II which can be interpreted as normal in his identification with

the organization.
Discussion/Interpretation

The subject scored a 40 in the O.C. Scale. He is highly committed towards his

organization. He feels that his commitment and dedication towards the organization is

unquestionably strong. He has scored a high in factor I which was towards the concern for the

organization and scored a 10 which is normal in factor II which measured his identification

towards the organization.

His scores can be explained by his commitment towards the organization. He feels

bad if the organization is at a loss and he believes that the organization and himself can

together grow and achieve success. He feels that the image of the organization coincides with

his image and feels the urge to protect it. He feels that his time and commitment are valued

and have a positive impact towards achieving the goals of his workplace. He does not shy

away from hard work. He feels that the image of the organization reflects on his personal

image. He is fully committed to the welfare of the organization he is in.

His company offers him the best and challenges him to show subpar level of

performance. He manages the ship he is in for six months. Since he is the captain, enormous

responsibilities fall on his shoulders. He has to look after every crew member and he’s

always alert. Even after all these challenges, he has deep respect for his work and if there are

any problems, he communicates it very clearly to the top management. He is ready put extra

hours of work in and at times delayed his signing off to make sure the ship reaches the port

on time.

He resonates with the goals of the organization and is highly satisfied with the area

he is working in. He is loyal and his loyalty has been demonstrated a couple of times. He is

extremely satisfied with his job.

 His time is used constructively making new rules and ensuring smooth functioning.

He does not neglect any details and makes an extra effort in completing his targets. The work

environment fosters his talents and abilities and he feels challenged every day which pushes

him to achieve more. He doesn’t believe in deceiving and neglecting anyone and is always

true to his work. He enjoys the kind of work he does and gives loyal support to everyone

including his colleagues and juniors. Money does not motivate him enough as much as his

passion for his job does. He loves traveling and meeting new people. His job enables him to

do both. He is a good people’s person and hence gels with people from all around the world

who come to work on his ship. Also he has travelled the whole world and continues to do so.

The result is in accordance with the views of the subject towards his organization. He

feels that the organization is like his extended family. He is concerned about the image of the

organization as much as he is for his own reputation. His organization provides him with

enough benefits to sustain him and maintain a good lifestyle. He’s willing to stay back extra

hours and work to achieve his targets.

Conclusion

The subject has scored a high score in the organizational commitment scale. He is very

committed and feels that the company is like his family. He feels that his organization

nurtures his talent and provides him with ample opportunities to grow. He puts in the hard

work and extra time to get all his work done, not only for himself but also for the well being

and progress of his organization. He is a valued member and his services are highly

appreciated which goes to show his commitment towards his company that he has been a part

of for the past three years.

References

- Allen, N. & Meyer, J. (1990). The measurement and antecedents of affective,

continuance and normative commitment to the organization. Journal of Occupational

Psychology, 63, 1-18.

- Zangaro, G. (2001). Organizational commitment: A concept analysis. Nursing Forum,

36(2), 14-22.

- Ali, K Mahabub, (June, 2011) Propelling Motivation: How HR can stimulate the

hierarchy of human needs?, HRD Newsletter, pp. 25-29.

- Management Study Guide - Free Training Guide for Students and Entrepreneurs.

(n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.managementstudyguide.com/

Appendix

Observation

The subject is a man in his late forties and is properly dressed. He built rapport almost

instantly and was very open and forthcoming. He was evaluated for about 5 minutes. He was

motivated to answer the questionnaire and failed to show any resistance. He was tapping his

finger on the desk while answering and was mouthing the questions. He answered almost

immediately and did not leave any question unanswered. The condition met the requisites so

the validity of the result of this test was high.

Introspective report

The test was very short and it took me less than five minutes to finish. It was a good test and

the length of the questions was not that much. The experimenter was very good and calm

while giving the instructions.