A Comparison of Models of Role Orientations of Professionals in a Research- Oriented University

In this paper we summarize existing ideas about dimensions of role orientations of professionals in terms of five models. The preferred model has five dimensions: professional commitment, commitment to organizational goals, organizational immobility, external orientation, and concern with advancemen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Administrative Science Quarterly 1981-06, Vol.26 (2), p.187-206
Main Authors: Tuma, Nancy Brandon, Grimes, Andrew J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Administration/Administrations/ Administrative/ Administrator/ Administrators
Behavior Patterns
Behavioral Science Research
Cogs
College instruction
Colleges & universities
Commitment
Conformity
Educational administration
Factor analysis
Faculty/Faculties
Loyalty
Modeling
Organizational behavior
Organizations (Groups)
Orientation/Orientations
Orientations
Parametric models
Profession/Professions/ Professional/ Professionals/ Professionalism/ Professionalized
Professional Occupations
Professional schools
Professionals
Promotion (Occupational)
Research universities
Research/Researcher/Researchers
Researchers
Role Theory
Role/Roles
Roles
Universities
University administration
University/Universities
Vocational Adjustment
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Summary:In this paper we summarize existing ideas about dimensions of role orientations of professionals in terms of five models. The preferred model has five dimensions: professional commitment, commitment to organizational goals, organizational immobility, external orientation, and concern with advancement. We propose that three mechanisms generate associations between dimensions of role orientations: cognitive congruence, organizational selection, and behavioral feedback. The first mechanism implies that associations between dimensions do not vary across organizations; the other two imply that associations between dimensions depend on organizational structures and processes. Confirmatory factor analyses of data from faculty and administrators at a large research-oriented university clearly favored the preferred model over the other four. Moreover, the correlations between the dimensions of this model differed in some striking ways from associations found previously between comparable dimensions in liberal arts colleges; this suggests that organizational structures and processes shape role orientations of professionals. We conclude that the organizational context must be explicitly included in theories dealing with role orientations of professionals.
ISSN:0001-8392
1930-3815
DOI:10.2307/2392468