Sunshine Sports Introduction Program Transcript BENJAMIN JONES: Hi, I'm Benjamin Jones co-founder of Walden Sports. Come on in. Thank you for coming...

Simple Assignment (Wk2 8579)

Focus Groups

Now that you have heard the Walden Sports CEO's perspective on employee attitudes, the next step might be to organize a focus group to hear directly from the employees. Focus groups are groups of people who are asked carefully planned questions about their perceptions, emotions, opinions, beliefs, and attitudes. A best practice is to use open-ended questions that are intended to generate multiple responses. Focus groups (and interviews) are designed to assess what people think or feel about what is going on in the organization, including how satisfied they are with their jobs and what factors or antecedents exist that influence their job satisfaction. Answers to these questions can be used to select additional survey questions for an organization-wide survey. See what clues you can uncover at Walden Sports.

For this Assignment, consider questions you might ask the Walden Sports employees in a focus group to investigate why morale is low.

The Assignment (1-2 pgs)

Based on the information presented by the Walden Sports CEO in the media in Week 1, develop five open-ended questions you might ask the Walden Sports employees in a focus group to investigate why morale is low. Explain why you developed these questions. (Make sure that the questions you develop are different from the job satisfaction instrument you selected for the Discussion.)

Support your Assignment with specific references to all resources used in its preparation. You are to provide a reference list for all resources, including those in the Learning Resources for this course.

Reading Resources

• Campbell, D. T., & Fiske, D. W. (1959). Convergent and discriminant validation by the multitrait-multimethod matrix. Psychological Bulletin, 56(2), 81-105. 
• Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
• Hanisch, K. A. (1992). The Job Descriptive Index revisited: Questions about the question mark. Journal of Applied Psychology, 77(3), 377-382.
• Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
• 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(2), 193-200.
• Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
• Kinicki, A. J., McKee-Ryan, F. M., Schriesheim, C. A., & Carson, K. P. (2002). Assessing the construct validity of the Job Descriptive Index: A review and meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(1), 14-32. 
• Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
• Kulik, C. T., Oldham, G. R., & Langner, P. H. (1988). Measurement of job characteristics: Comparison of the original and the revised Job Diagnostic Survey. Journal of Applied Psychology, 73(3), 462-466. 
• Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
• Russell, S. S., Spitzmuller, C., Lin, L. F., Smith, P. C., & Ironson, G. H. (2004). Shorter can also be better: The abridged Job in General scale. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 64(5), 878-893. 
• Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
• Sims, H. P., Jr., Szilagyi, A. D., & Keller, R. T. (1976). The measurement of job characteristics. Academy of Management Journal, 19(2), 195-212.
• Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
• Wanous, J. P., Reichers, A. E., & Hudy, M. J. (1997). Overall job satisfaction: How good are single-item measures? Journal of Applied Psychology, 82(2), 247-252. 
• Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
• Kunin, T. (1955). The construction of a new type of attitude measure. Personnel Psychology, 8(1), 65-77. 
• The construction of a new type of attitude measure by Kunin, T. in Personnel Psychology, 8(1). Copyright 1955 by Blackwell Publishing, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Blackwell Publishing, Inc., via the Copyright Clearance Center.
• van Saane, N., Sluiter, J. K., Verbeek, J. H. A. M., & Frings-Dresen, M. H. W. (2003). Reliability and validity of instruments measuring job satisfaction: A systematic review. Occupational Medicine, 53(3), 191-200.
• Reliability and validity of instruments measuring job satisfaction: A systematic review by van Saane, N., Sluiter, J. K., Verbeek, J. H. A. M., & Frings-Dresen, M. H. W. in Occupational Medicine, 53(3). Copyright 2003 by Oxford University Press. Reprinted by permission of Oxford University Press via the Copyright Clearance Center.
• Bowling Green State University. (n.d.). Job Descriptive Index and related scales. Retrieved from http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/psych/io/jdi/
• Spector, P. E. (1994). Job satisfaction survey, JSS page. Retrieved from http://shell.cas.usf.edu/~pspector/scales/jsspag.html
• Vocational Psychology Research. (n.d.). Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire. Retrieved from 
• http://www.psych.umn.edu/psylabs/vpr/msqinf.htm

Optional Resources

Cammann, C., Fichman, M., Jenkins, D., & Klesh, J. (1983). Assessing the attitudes and perceptions of organizational members. In S. E. Seashore, E. E. Lawler, P. H. Mirvis, & C. Cammann (Eds.), Assessing organizational change: A guide to methods, measures and practices(pp. 71-138). New York, NY: Wiley.

DeVellis, R. F. (2012). Scale development: Theory and applications (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Fried, Y. (1991). Meta-analytic comparison of the Job Diagnostic Survey and Job Characteristics Inventory as correlates of work satisfaction and performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 76(5), 690-697.

Gillet, B., & Schwab, D. P. (1975). Convergent and discriminant validities of corresponding Job Descriptive Index and Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire scales. Journal of Applied Psychology, 60(3), 313-317.

Hanisch, K. A. (1992). The Job Descriptive Index revisited: Questions about the question mark. Journal of Applied Psychology, 77(3), 377-382.

Hackman, J. R., & Oldham, G. R. (1975). Development of the Job Diagnostic Survey. Journal of Applied Psychology, 60(1), 159-170.

Johnson, S. M., Smith, P. C., & Tucker, S. M. (1982). Response format of the Job Descriptive Index: Assessment of reliability and validity by the multitrait- multimethod matrix. Journal of Applied Psychology, 67(4), 500-505.

Pierce, J. L., & Dunham, R. B. (1978). The measurement of perceived job characteristics: The Job Diagnostic Survey versus the Job Characteristics Inventory. Academy of Management Journal, 21(1), 123-128.

Schneider, B., & Dachler, H. P. (1978). A note on the stability of the Job Descriptive Index. Journal of Applied Psychology, 63(5), 650-653.

Stanton, J. M., Bachiochi, P. D., Robie, C., Perez, L. M., & Smith, P. C. (2002). Revising the JDI work satisfaction subscale: Insights into stress and control. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 62(5), 877-895.

Taber, T. D., & Taylor, E. (1990). A review and evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Job Diagnostic Survey. Personnel Psychology, 43(3), 467-500.

Yeager, S. J. (1981). Dimensionality of the Job Descriptive Index. Academy of Management Journal, 24(1), 205-212.

Media (PDF is Attached)

• Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2012). Introducing Walden Sports Inc. Baltimore, MD: Author.