The purpose of this study was to construct and field-test a standardized instrument for assessing the attitudes of employees toward a Quality of Working Life (QWL) program. The QWL movement is one response to the increasing demand for organizational change efforts, an intervention which elects worker representatives to jointly-established union-management committee structures, thereby democratizing the workplace. The instrument finalized was the Quality of Working Life Attitude Scale (QWLAS), a 29-item Likert-format inventory developed through the administration of an 8^-item Pilot Form within the Department of Transportation of Pima County, Arizona. The following research questions were addressed: (1) What basic factors comprise the concept of QWL attitude as measured by the QWLAS?; (2) What items can comprise the final QWLAS Long Form and Short Form without significantly lowering scale reliability?; (3) Is the QWLAS a reliable psychological instrument?; and (k) Is the QWLAS a valid psychological instrument? A total of 179 respondents returned the completed Pilot Form, and data analysis was performed utilizing the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Confirmatory factor analysis employing a principal factors analysis with a varimax rotation, as well as coefficient alpha tests of internal consistency and subscale intercorrelations, revealed that the rationally-derived initial subscales did not possess sufficient factoral validity, homogeneity, or statistical independence to warrant their being kept intact in the final QWLAS forms. Exploratory factor analysis surfaced two interpretable factors, the first being labeled General and consisting of 17 positively-worded items concerning more global feelings and ideas about the theory of the program. The second factor, Specific Concerns, consisted of 12 negatively-worded items about more practical realities of QWL. A 29-item QWLAS Long Form and 14-item QWLAS Short Form were finalized around these two components. Cronbach's alpha estimate of reliability yielded high coefficients of .96, .95 and .93 for the Pilot Form, Long Form, and Short Form, respectively. All forms were reviewed favorably against face, content, concurrent and construct validity. The QWLAS results suggest it reliably and validly discriminates favorable versus unfavorable QWL attitudes. Recommendations include further factor validation and use of the QWLAS to research attitudes toward QWL.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/298718 |
| Date | January 1982 |
| Creators | BRANDON, RICHARD WILLIAM |
| Publisher | The University of Arizona. |
| Source Sets | University of Arizona |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text, Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) |
| Rights | Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. |
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