Abstract
This research was an attempt to find evidence for Scarpello and Campbell's (1983) conclusion that a single-item global measure is more content valid than a composite facet measure for assessing overall job satisfaction. The first study investigated responses from employees in three separate plants who completed a facet measure, a single-item global measure, along with items and facets chosen by an employee committee. Results indicated that the employee-chosen facets accounted for some incremental variance in the prediction of the single-item measure. A second study investigated the relationship between a single-item and a facet measure of benefit package satisfaction when the entire benefit package domain was included in the facet measure. The magnitude of the relationship suggested that the single-item measure of global benefit package satisfaction involved consideration of more than merely satisfaction with each element in the package. Limitations and alternative explanations for the findings are discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aldag, R.J., & Brief, A.P. (1978). Examination of alternative models of job satisfaction.Human Relations,31, 91–98.
Brief, A.P., & Roberson, L. (1989). Job attitude organization: An exploratory study.Journal of Applied Social Psychology,19, 717–727.
Ferratt, T.W. (1981). Overall job satisfaction: Is it a linear function of facet satisfaction?Human Relations,34, 463–473.
Fryxell, G.E., & Gordon, M.E. (1989). Workplace justice and job satisfaction as predictors of satisfaction with union and management.Academy of Management Journal,32, 851–866.
Ironson, G.H., Smith, P.C., Brannick, M.T., Gibson, W.M., & Paul, K.B. (1989). Construction of a job in general scale: A comparison of global, composite, and specific measures.Journal of Applied Psychology,74, 193–200.
Johnson, W.R. (1991). An investigation of the dimensionality and construct validity of an abbreviated measure of union commitment. Paper presented at the sixth annual meeting of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Saint Louis, Missouri.
Locke, E.A. (1969). What is job satisfaction?Organizational Behavior and Human Performance,4, 309–336.
Murphy, K.R. (1991). Criterion issues in performance appraisal research: Behavioral accuracy versus classification accuracy.Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes,50, 45–50.
Rice, R.W., Gentile, D.A., & McFarlin, D.B. (1991). Facet importance and job satisfaction.Journal of Applied Psychology,76, 31–39.
Scarpello, V., & Campbell, J.P. (1983). Job satisfaction: Are all the parts there?Personnel Psychology,36, 577–600.
Scarpello, V., & Vandenberg, R.J. (1987). The satisfaction with my supervisor scale: Its utility for research and practical applications.Journal of Management,13, 447–466.
Stone, E.F., Stone, D.L., & Gueutal, H.G. (1990). Influence of cognitive ability on responses to questionnaire measures: Measurement precision and missing response problems.Journal of Applied Psychology,75, 418–427.
Weaver, C.N. (1980). Job satisfaction in the United States in the 1970's.Journal of Applied Psychology,65, 364–367.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
The helpful comments of Mark E. Tubbs and John W. Jones on an earlier version of this article are greatly appreciated.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Highhouse, S., Becker, A.S. Facet measures and global job satisfaction. J Bus Psychol 8, 117–127 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02230397
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02230397