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Virtual Communication The Promotion of Accreditation of Prior Learning Processes by Firms: It’s Impact on the Worker-Organization Relationship Helena Martins Teresa Rebelo Inés Tomás

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Virtual Communication

The Promotion of Accreditation of Prior Learning Processes by Firms: It’s Impact on the Worker-Organization Relationship

Helena MartinsTeresa Rebelo

Inés Tomás

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The Promotion of Accreditation of Prior Learning Processes by Firms: It’s Impacto n the Worker-Organization Relationship

The Promotion of Accreditation of Prior Learning Processes by Firms: It’s Impact on the Worker-

Organization Relationship

Helena MartinsTeresa RebeloInés Tomás1

SummaryThe process of Competences Recognition, Validation and Certification2, also known as

Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL), is an innovative means of attaining school certificates for

individuals without an academic background. The main objective of this process is to validate what

people have learned in informal contexts, in order to attribute academic certificates.

With the increasing interest of the qualification of workers and governmental support, more and

more Portuguese organizations promote this process within their facilities and their work hours. In fact,

nowadays, various Portuguese firms reveal a special concern about learning issues as a key factor in their

competitiveness. Consequently, they tend to invest in strategies oriented towards the enhancement of

human resource competences to improve their learning ability and their performance.

This study explores the relationship between the promotion of this Human Resource

Development measure and employee’s attitudes (Job Satisfaction and Organizational Comitment) and

behaviours (Extra-role Organizational Citizenship Behaviours) towards the organization they work for.

Results of a cross-sectional survey of Portuguese Industrial Workers (N=135) showed that statistical

significant results are in the higher levels of Voice Behaviours in the groups of workers who were

involved or had graduated from the firm promoted APL process, although all the other variables suffered

slight, but not significant, increases. The goal of this paper is to spur future research in this area.

Keywords: APL, Life Long Learning, Organizational Commitment, Job Satisfaction,

Organizational Citizenship Behaviours.

Introduction

In an era where the learner’s earlier educational experiences do not always fit

with the reality of a rapidly changing employment market, and jobs are not “for life”,

accompanied by high rates of experience and knowledge redundancy, along with other

1Participation ander the “Programa Investigación en Psicología de las Organizaciones y del Trabajo: Unidades de trabajo y calidad de vida laboral” (CONSOLIDER-C, Ref: SEJ2006-14086/PSIC), of the Spanish Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia.2 In Portuguese, Reconhecimento, Validação e Certificação de Competências (RVCC).

2

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The Promotion of Accreditation of Prior Learning Processes by Firms: It’s Impacto n the Worker-Organization Relationship

contributory discontinuities in career patterns (Dealtry, 2003), the importance of

lifelong learning is stressed, conveying to the pertinence of a competence-based

approach to learning.

That is to say that the knowledge-based economy, new technologies, the

growing speed of technological changes and globalisation all influence the needs to

improve the population’s skills and competences (Colardyn & Bjornavold, 2004), as

well as the recognition and the validation of the ones they already have, acquired in

non-formal and informal contexts.

The term “competence” assumes in this context a primary role, as has become a

more and more used term. It can be defined in several ways, taking in account two main

components: savoir-mobiliser3 (Perrenoud, 1996), and reflexive attitude, because the

validated experiences in this kind of processes are characterized by the knowledge

acquired by a long practice together with observation and reflexion (Fredy-Pinchot,

2004).

Learning is therefore no longer a preparing exercise from which to launch into a

career but an essential activity of career sustaining and growth (Dealtry, 2003).

The Accreditation of Prior Learning is a process that strives to assess and

recognize the non-formally4 attained knowledge. Usually, the subjects are asked to

demonstrate a set of competences referenced as core to the specific qualification they

are aiming at. This demonstration can have practical elements (such as the french bilan

de compétences) but it usually consists of a portfolio of activities in which the adults

demonstrate certain set of competences (e.g. correct use of language, mathematical

competences, etc.).

In Europe, despite the differences among the countries that have adopted

accreditation and validation of prior learning systems, there are connecting common

basis and common features, along with an apparent trend to the further promotion of

this kind of validation in other countries as a key point of life-long learning. There is

still, however, a long way to go in terms of European cohesion in order ‘to develop a set of

common principles regarding validation of non-formal and informal learning with the aim of

3 As opposed to the traditional savoir-faire, pointing to the integration and even synergy of the resources a competence weighs upon, in the sense that it means mobilising a group of resources – knowledge, attitudes, personal traits, etc. to a certain purpose.4 By “non formal” we mean both the informal experience-based learning and the non-formal courses that one may attend that are not accredited.

3

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The Promotion of Accreditation of Prior Learning Processes by Firms: It’s Impacto n the Worker-Organization Relationship

ensuring greater comparability between approaches in different countries and at different level ’

(Colardyn & Bjornavold, 2004, pp.87)5.

The role of learning validation and accreditation systems is related to the

demand for more co-creative quality assurance solutions in corporate and organizational

learning management (Dealtry, 2003), including the need for a more holistic vision of

human resources management perspective. As we have already said, nowadays, firms

reveal a special concern about learning issues as a key factor in their competitiveness.

Consequently, they tend to invest in strategies oriented towards the enhancement of

human resource competences to improve their learning ability and their performance.

Supporting this investment, a study conducted by Rebelo (2006) reveals that workers’

qualification is a strong facilitator of the existence of a learning culture in organizations,

the type of culture that a leaning organization must have. The results of this study also

support that a learning culture has a positive impact on organizational performance.

The Process of Accreditation of Prior Learning can be developed in a number of

contexts, like refugee camps, centres for the general population, enterprises and

organizations, etc.

In Portugal, the Accreditation of Prior Learning is designed only to attribute

school qualifications (4th, 6 th, 9th and more recently 12th year of education equivalences)

through a process that involves the attendance of APL sessions where candidates show

some oral communication and citizenship competencies, as well as the completion of a

Personal and Professional File, where the candidates report significant past experiences

and informally acquired competencies. No previous level of school attendance is

required for any of the levels of accreditation, as long as the adults prove to possess the

competencies defined by the Portuguese Education Ministry in the law.

This process is carried out by institutions accredited by the same Ministry, called

New Opportunities Centres6, in their own facilities or in organizations that require them

to itinerate there.

5 In Europe, there are APL processes in countries such as Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden and the UK, but the process is not exclusively European, existing also in other Continents, in countries like, Chile, Canada, Malasya, Korea, USA, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, etc., although having different acronyms such as APEL (Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning), RPEL (Recognition of Prior Experiential Learning), PLAR (Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition), etc.6 “Centros de Novas Oportunidades”, in Portuguese.

4

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The Promotion of Accreditation of Prior Learning Processes by Firms: It’s Impacto n the Worker-Organization Relationship

In particular, firms have been interested in this kind of validation of their Human

Resources within different schemes and organizational philosophies, cultures and

strategies, as can be seen in the following table.

Table 1 – Factors that impact on the operationalization of the APL process

[Adapted from MEFI (2004) and Pette & Devin (2005)]

Corporate Choice Dominant Aspect Aimed Main Impact

Individual logic

(case by case)

Social/motivational Social acknowledgement of the offer to the

workers by the company;

Individual Motivation

Individualized HR

management

Ability to evolve and manage competences;

Evolution Ability

Collective Logic

(profession,

function,

position…)

Collective mise en

ouvre of the APL

Accompany the professional evolutions;

Professionalization.

Organizational To operationalize choices and reconfigure

the structure

Revalidating of the job/function.

Economic Developing an image in the competitors

landscape (enhancing a brand image of

quality).

Employability Improving the positioning in the labour

market

Thus, there are several motives for a company to engage in an APL process

depending on different variables such as:

foci (individual or collective);

purposes/intentions (social recognition, competences management,

professional evolutions, economic positioning, organizational change,

employability promotion, etc.);

5

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The Promotion of Accreditation of Prior Learning Processes by Firms: It’s Impacto n the Worker-Organization Relationship

objectives (social dialogue, assessing/accompanying worker evolution, re-

levelling, reinforcing the corporate image, adequating the qualifications to

the functions, internal and external employability, etc);

implementation strategies (systematically or not, long term or punctually, as

an Human Resource Development instrument, etc.);

expected impact (worker motivation, corporate mobility, worker

qualification, organizational performance, corporate social responsibility,

management by values, organizational learning management, etc),

issues faced by the companies at the time;

corporate strategy.

However, the APL process in companies does not necessarily entail a formalised

strategic plan, the possible consequences on the workers’ careers are not a fruit of the

validation per se (but of the acquisition of competences implied by it) and most of the

involved companies don’t even acknowledge that are managing by competences (Layec

& Legui, 2006). In fact, this seems to be much more a de facto rather than de jure

process, in the sense that it brings about a serious of issues (like Corporate Social

Responsibility, Management by Competences, Management by Values, Organizational

Learning Management, etc.) that are not always recognized by the actors of the process

themselves.

Nonetheless, it is evident that this process intended as a Human Resources

Development (HRD) instrument or not, impacts on the workers that submit to it. Studies

have shown that the APL impacts mainly on the candidates self-representation (cf.

Layec & Legui, 2006, François & Botteman, n.d., Prodercom, 2004, etc), but also on

their representation of the company and it’s proximity towards them (Layec & Legui,

2006, pp.131).

In our study, we intend to investigate the relationship of this process with Job

Attitudes, particularly Organizational Commitment, Job Satisfaction and Behavours,

namely Extra-Role Organizational Citizenship Behaviours

Job Satisfaction

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The Promotion of Accreditation of Prior Learning Processes by Firms: It’s Impacto n the Worker-Organization Relationship

Job Satisfaction has been the focus of thousands of studies and published articles

in industrial-organizational psychology (Resnick & Bond, 2001).

In general, Job Satisfaction is defined as a positive emotional state resulting

from the appraisal of one’s job and is linked to the characteristics of one’s work

(Dressel, 1982; Butler, 1990; Arches, 1991, cit in Sari, 2004), that is to say Job

Satisfaction is usually treated as a collection of feelings or affective responses

associated with the job situation (Imparato, 1972), or “simply how people feel about

different aspects of their jobs” (Spector, 1997, pp.2).

Research has positively associated Job Satisfaction with the specific attributes

and occupations of the job, positive attitudes, motivation and life-happiness, leisure and

non-work environment (Tennison, 1996). We hypothesize that Job Satisfaction will

increase with the valuing of the workers competences by the APL process, given the

likelihood of improvement of the positive attitudes, motivation and life-happiness

(associated with a better self-concept (CIDEC, 2004)). However, we are particularly

curious about this variable since it seems also reasonable to formulate that an employee

that finds his or her competences above the job requirements will be less satisfied with

it (Person-Job Fit Theory7 [Brkich, Jeffs & Carless, 2002]).

We chose, however to propose a positive relation between the APL Process and

Job Satisfaction, because we believe that although being plausible, the negative

relationship among the variables will be less common than the one we advocate.

Hypotheses 1a: Workers that have concluded the APL process promoted

by their firms reveal higher Job Satisfaction compared to those workers

who are not engaged in this process.

Hypotheses 1b: Workers that are doing the APL processes promoted by

their firms reveal higher Job Satisfaction compared to those workers who

are not engaged in this process.

Organizational Commitment

7 Person-Job fit has been conceptualized as the degree to which an individual’s preferences, knowledge, skills, abilities (KSA), needs, and values match job requirements (Brkich, Jeffs & Carless, 2002). Person-Job Fit is an important determinant of Job Satisfaction (Arvey, Carter, & Buerkley, 1991 cit in Brkich, Jeffs & Carless, 2002).

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The Promotion of Accreditation of Prior Learning Processes by Firms: It’s Impacto n the Worker-Organization Relationship

In the last decades, the concept of Organizational Commitment (OC) has grown

in popularity in the literatures of industrial/organizational psychology and

organizational behavior (Mathieu & Zajac, 1990).

Mowday, Porter and Steers (1982, cit in Fields, 2002) who did much of the

original research about Organizational Commitment characterized it as a strong belief in

and acceptance of the organization’s goals and values, a willingness to exert

considerable effort on behalf of the organization, and a strong desire to maintain

membership in an organization. Despite the different definitions and measurements of

OC, there is some agreement that it can be considered as a bond that links the individual

to the organization (Mathew & Zajac, 1990). The multidimensionality of the construct

also seems to be unanimous (Meyer & Allen, 1997), in spite of the existence of various

models in the literature.

For present purposes, and albeit the different existing OC models, we adopted

Meyer and Allen’s (1991) three component model because, of the multidimensional

conceptualizations, this model and measures associated with it have undergone the most

extensive empirical evaluation to date (see Allen & Meyer, 1996, for a review) and were

the most mentioned in the revised literature.

Meyer and Allen (1991, cit in Bartlett, 2001) conceptualize OC divided in three

components (rather than types, since they can co-exist).

Affective Organizational Commitment can be defined as the emotional

attachment with the organization and is related with the worker-organization

identification; Normative Organizational Commitment is the perceived obligation

(ethical or moral) to remain in the organization and, finally, the Continuance

Organizational Commitment is defined as the perceived costs of leaving the

organization (such as lost of seniority).

In our research, considering the nature and characteristics of the three

components of OC, we chose to formulate our hypotheses only with the Affective and

Normative dimensions of Organizational Commitment.

Literally hundreds of studies have examined the correlations between affective

Organizational Commitment (AOC) and variables hypothesized to be its antecedents

(Meyer & Allen, 1997). In terms of Organizational Variables, AOC seems to be

positively related to the way organizational-level policies are designed, communicated

and perceived as fair. Person Characteristics investigation in this area has focused on

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two types of variables: demographic variables (e.g., age, gender, tenure) and

dispositional variables (e.g., personality, values).

Overall, the relationship between demographic variables and affective

commitment are neither strong nor consistent (Meyer & Allen, 1997). Dispositional

variables, however, have shown different results, in particular, there is some evidence

that suggests that people’s perceptions of their own competence might play an important

role in the development of AOC (Meyer and Allen, 1997). Of the several person

characteristics that they examined, Mathieu and Zajac (1990) reported the strongest link

between perceived competence and affective commitment, which leads us to our first

hypotheses:

Hypotheses 2a: Workers that have concluded the APL process promoted

by their firms reveal higher Affective Organizational Commitment

compared to those workers who are not engaged in this process.

Hypotheses 2b: Workers that are doing the APL processes promoted by

their firms reveal higher Affective Organizational Commitment

compared to those workers who are not engaged in this process.

Normative Organizational Commitment (NOC) has been conceptualized to

develop upon several processes. A collection of pressures that individuals feel during

their socialization as newcomers to the organization plays an important role to the

emergence of this kind of OC, as well as the “psychological contract” between an

employee and the organization (Argyris, 1960; Rousseau, 1989, 1995; Schein, 1980, cit

in Meyer & Allen, 1997). A particular kind of investment that the organization makes in

the employee – specifically, investments that seem difficult for employees to reciprocate

(Meyer & Allen, 1991; Scholl, 1981, cit in Allen, 1997) also appears highly correlated

with the advent of NOC, which leads us to the following hypotheses:

Hypotheses 2c: Workers that have concluded the APL process promoted

by their firms reveal higher Normative Organizational Commitment

compared to those workers who are not engaged in this process.

Hypotheses 2d: Workers that are doing the APL processes promoted by

their firms reveal higher Normative Organizational Commitment

compared to those workers who are not engaged in this process.

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The Promotion of Accreditation of Prior Learning Processes by Firms: It’s Impacto n the Worker-Organization Relationship

Extra-Role Organizational Citizenship Behaviour

Organizational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB) can be defined as an individual

behaviour that is discretionary, not contractually guaranteed and that in the aggregate

promotes the effective functioning of the organization (Organ, 1997; Smith, Organ and

Near, 1983).

Organizational Citizenship Behaviour is discretionary in the sense that it is not

an enforceable requirement of the role or the job description, but a matter of personal

choice (such that its omission is generally not understood as punishable) and by “not

contractually guaranteed” we mean that an OCB is not directly or explicitly recognized

by the formal reward system (Organ, 1997).

This construct, however fashionable at the moment, has been much debated over

time due to the concepts of in-role and extra-role behaviour. Although some of the

original articles referred to OCB as extra-role behaviours, further research verified that

much of the OCB’s were perceived by the workers as in-role, rather than extra-role (cf.

Morrison, 1994, cit in Organ, 1997), a question that inheres the very fuzziness of the

concepts “role” and “job” themselves (Organ, 1997).

In order to avoid the discussion between what employees could consider in-role

or extra-role and to distance ourselves from a discussion that is not the focus of this

study, we chose to approach this subject by restricting our research to the impact of the

APL process to Extra-role Behaviour, using Van Dyne and LePine’s (1998) model,

“Helping and Voice Behaviors”.

Helping is defined as the proactive behavior that emphasizes small acts of

consideration and Voice Behaviors are the proactive behaviors that challenge the status

quo in order to improve Organizational Performance. Both are seen as extra role

behaviors that the employees may undertake at their own time (Fields, 2002).

Ng and Van Dyne (2005) refer that the psycho-social antecedents of Help

Behaviors are essentially group cohesion (defined as “the result of all the forces acting

on the members to remain in the group” (Festinger, 1950, cit in Ng & Van Dyne, 2005)

and cooperative group norms (norms can be defined as regular behavior patterns that

are relatively stable over time and expected by group members [Bettenhausen &

Murnigham, 1991, cit in Ng & Van Dyne, 2005]). Since training as well as the APL

process (given the unquestionability of the contextual similarities) provides a

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The Promotion of Accreditation of Prior Learning Processes by Firms: It’s Impacto n the Worker-Organization Relationship

socialization context, promoting further socialization opportunities and even solidarity

among its subjects (cf. Geerthuis et al, 2002; Bartlett, 2001; Kontoghiorghes & Bryant,

2004), we propose the following hypotheses:

Hypotheses 3a: Workers that have concluded the APL process promoted by

their firms report higher Help Behaviours compared to those workers who

are not engaged in this process.

Hypotheses 3b: Workers that are doing the APL processes promoted by

their firms report higher Help Behaviours compared to those workers who

are not engaged in this process.

Relatively to Voice Behaviours, LePine and Van Dyne (1998) stress the

relevance of Satisfaction with the Group and Global Self Esteem as antecedents of this

variable.

In most organizations, the most proximal work-related source of affect for

employees is their group: when employees must interact with others in their work group

to perform their jobs, their affective response to this interdependence can be a major

source of low and/or high satisfaction (Hackman, 1992, cit in LePine & Van Dyne,

1998). Global Self Esteem, on the other hand, (the degree of positive self-worth that an

individual ascribes to him or herself (Brockner, 1998, cit in LePine & Van Dyne, 1998))

is an important predictor of attitudes and behaviour in work and nonwork contexts

(Brockner, 1988, cit in LePine & Van Dyne, 1998). It can also be thought of in terms of

self-confidence and generalized self-competence (Tharenou, 1979 cit in LePine & Van

Dyne, 1998).

If we consider that one of the main findings on the CIDEC (2004) study on the

impact of the APL process in the Portuguese population was the increase of the global

self esteem, we are led to formulate the following hypotheses:

Hypotheses 3c: Workers that have concluded the APL process promoted by their

firms report higher Voice Behaviours compared to those workers who are not

engaged in this process.

Hypotheses 3d: Workers that are doing the APL processes promoted by

their firms report higher Voice Behaviours compared to those workers

who are not engaged in this process.

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The Promotion of Accreditation of Prior Learning Processes by Firms: It’s Impacto n the Worker-Organization Relationship

Method

Subjects and data collection procedures

Data was collected from employees in two industrial organizations. About

150 questionnaires were distributed to employees in production (60,7%), clerical (5,2%)

and supervisory (17%) positions; 17,1% of the subjects did not respond this item. Of the

150 questionnaires, about 90% (N=135) were completed and returned. Females

comprised 30,2% of the sample, and subjects were between 27 and 59 years old with a

mean age of 42,5 years and a standard deviation of 6,95. The sample was divided in

three groups according to the level of involvement in the APL process: not involved

(31,1%), currently involved (40%) and graduated from it (28,9%).

Questionnaires were mainly distributed to employees by one of the authors,

but in the cases where no external personnel were allowed in the premises, a member of

the personnel department in the participating organization collected the data.

The two firms we did our research in are major industrial companies of the

automobile and contract manufacturing business.

Operating since 1946 in Portugal, the firm in the automobile business has

currently about 600 workers and operates in almost all areas of the country, although the

subjects we inquired operate in the Centre and North of Portugal.

The contract manufacturing firm was founded in 1965 in Portugal and merged

with in 2004 with another European Company, expanding throughout Europe ever

since. In Portugal, the company has about 1000 workers and operates in the centre of

Portugal.

Measures

Job Satisfaction was assessed using the short version of the MSQ - Minnesota

Satisfaction Questionnaire (Weiss, Dawis, England & Lofquist, 1967), with 20 items. A

5-point Likert-type scale was answered in which choices range from “very dissatisfied

with this aspect of my job” (1) to “very satisfied with this aspect of my job” (5).

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The Promotion of Accreditation of Prior Learning Processes by Firms: It’s Impacto n the Worker-Organization Relationship

Fields (2002, pp.7) mentions that over the years, and in several different

investigations where the MSQ was used, different factor solutions were found and refers

to Mathieu’s (1991) and Moorman’s (1993) work, as examples.

Mathieu (1991, cit in Fields, 2002) conducted an EFA of this instrument,

yelding four factors: satisfaction with working conditions, satisfaction with leardership,

satisfaction with responsibility and satisfaction with extrinsic rewards. Moorman (1993,

cit in Fields, 2002) found two factors: one assessing satisfaction with intrinsic aspects of

the job and the other assessing satisfaction with extrinsic aspects.

Intrinsic Job Satisfaction refers to the work itself, responsibility, and growth or

achievement whereas Extrinsic Job Satisfaction includes organizational policy, status,

pay, benefits, and overall work conditions (Herzberg, 1987).

Employees’ levels of commitment to their organization were measured using

the revised version of Meyer and Allen’s (1997) 19 item scale: Affective, Normative

and Continuance Commitment Scale (Meyer & Allen, 1997). A 7-point Likert-type

scale was used for measuring respondents’ level of agreement with each statement

(from 1—strongly disagree to 7—strongly agree). In the author’s version, the Affective

Commitment Subscale contains 6 items, such as “I would be very happy to spend the

rest of my career in this organization”, the Normative Commitment Subscale integrates

6 items, such as “I’d feel guilty if I left my organization now” and the Continuance

Commitment Subscale integrates 7 items, such as “I believe I have too few options to

consider leaving this organization”.

Extra-Role Organizational Citizenship Behaviour was assessed by the 13-item

Helping and Voice Behaviours Scale (Van Dyne & LePine, 1998). Responses to all

items were assessed on 7-point scales (1 -strongly disagree to 7 - strongly agree). The

Helping Behaviours original subscale contains 7 items such as “I volunteer to do things

for this work group” and the Voice Behaviours subscale integrates 6 items, such as “I

develop and make recommendations concerning issues that affect this work group”.

The scales were translated from the original version to Portuguese, and later

back-translated by an English language native speaker with extensive knowledge of the

Portuguese language and who was not familiar with this scales, which lead to small

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The Promotion of Accreditation of Prior Learning Processes by Firms: It’s Impacto n the Worker-Organization Relationship

changes. Later on, a talked reflexion was conducted with a small group of Portuguese

Industrial Workers and final adaptations resulted from this procedure. The final version

of the questionnaire that was used in the study is included as an annex of this paper.

Analysis

Construct validity estimates the ability of an instrument to measure the

underlying construct of interest (Ellenbecker & Byleckie, 2005). Exploratory factor

analysis (EFA) has traditionally been employed by researchers as a tool to determine the

number of underlying dimensions in a data set (Hinkin, 1995, cit in Brkich, Jeffs &

Carless, 2002) by grouping together variables that are correlated (Tabachnik & Fidell,

2007). Since none of the three questionnaires had been validated for the Portuguese

Industrial Workers Population, we chose to perform an exploratory factor analysis.

To test our hypotheses, we used a multivariate analysis of variance

(MANOVA) design to analyse the data. The independent variables were the three

different levels of APL Process Development (not involved, currently involved and

graduated from it). The dependent variables were Job Satisfaction (2 levels: internal and

external satisfaction), Organizational Commitment (3 levels: affective, normative and

continuance commitment) and Helping and Voice Behaviours (2 levels: helping

behaviours and voice behaviours). Our primary interest in the MANOVA design was to

test for the overall statistical difference of the main effect and interaction terms. We

subsequently used Games-Howell as a post hoc procedure to examine the substantive

nature of main effect differences when they were found to be statistically significant,

given the fact that Levene’s test did not reveal equality of variances between the groups

(Pestana & Gageiro, 2005).

Results and Discussion

Construct Validity

In our study, principal factors extraction with varimax rotation was performed

on the 20 items from the MSQ (Weiss, Dawis, England & Lofquist, 1967), and on the

19 items of the Affective, Normative and Continuance Commitment Scale (Meyer &

Allen, 1997). Oblique rotation was used on the 13 items of the Helping and Voice

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Behaviours Scale (Van Dyne & LePine, 1998). Because theory suggests that good

citizenship is demonstrated by high levels of both substantive categories (Van Dyne,

1994). Thus, Helping and Voice Behaviours should be positively correlated rather than

orthogonally related, as is the present case.

Table 2. Correlation Matrix between Helping and Voice Behaviours. Help Behaviours Voice Behaviours

Help Behaviours Pearson Correlation 1 ,737(**)

Sig. (2-tailed) ,000 N 129 129

Voice Behaviours Pearson Correlation ,737(**) 1

Sig. (2-tailed) ,000 N 129 129

** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Missing Values Analysis above 15% led us to eliminate some cases prior to

factorial analysis (4 for the MSQ, 9 for the Commitment Scale and 6 for the Helping

and Voice Behaviours Scale).

Principal components extraction was used prior to principal factors extraction

to estimate number of factors, presence of outliers, absence of multicollinearity and

factorability of the correlation matrices (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2007).

Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ)

Regarding the MSQ, two factors were extracted, accounting for 43,2% of the

variance. Communality values tended to be high, with a cut off point of 0.32

(Tabachnick & Fidell, 2007) for inclusion of a variable in interpretation of a factor. Six

of the twenty variables loaded in both factors, which led us to eliminate them from the

analysis. Loadings of variables on factors and communalities are shown in Table 3.

Variables are ordered and grouped by size of loading to facilitate interpretation.

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In sum, the two factors of the MSQ for this group are intrinsic satisfaction

(e.g. “the chance to be somebody in the community”) and extrinsic satisfaction (e.g.

“The way company policies are put into practice.”) (Moorman, 1993, cit in Fields,

2002).

Table 3 - Varimax rotated factor matrix based on correlations among the items of the MSQ and communalities (h2).

Intrinsic Job Satisfaction

Intrinsic Job Satisfaction h2

The working conditions. ,719 ,047 ,519The way company policies are put into practice. ,685 ,259 ,537Competence of my supervisor in making decisions. ,683 ,168 ,495The way my boss handles his men. ,610 ,387 ,522The chance for advancement on this job. ,603 ,346 ,483The pay and the amount of work I do. ,603 ,214 ,409Being able to keep busy all the time. ,599 ,234 ,414The freedom to use my own judgement. ,534 ,368 ,421The chance to be “somebody” in the community. ,109 ,754 ,580The chance to do something that makes use of my abilities. ,290 ,675 ,540

The chance to do things for other people. ,150 ,531 ,305The chance to work alone in the job. ,146 ,530 ,302The chance to tell people what to do. ,234 ,457 ,264The chance to try my own methods of doing the job. ,309 ,402 ,257% of Variance accounted for 24,9% 18,2%

Affective, Normative and Continuance Commitment Scale

The 19 items comprising the scale were subjected to a factor analysis, with

principal axis factoring. Three factors, accounting for 50,4% of the total variance were

extracted and rotated to a varimax criterion. The items and their factor loadings are

reported in Table 4. Grouping of the reverse score items and dissonance with the

remaining scale (given by values of corrected item-total statistics, ranging between

0,187 and -0,149) led us to eliminate all the reverse score items as well as one of the

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items in the continuance scale (“If I hadn’t given so much of myself to this company, I

would consider working for another company”).

Table 4 - Varimax rotated factor matrix based on correlations among the items of the affective, continuance and normative commitment scales and respective communlities (h2).

Continuance Commitment

Normative Commitment

Affective Commitment h2

I believe that I have too few options to consider leaving this organization. ,716 ,083 ,080 ,526

One of the few negative consequences of leaving this organization would be the scarcity of available alternatives.

,671 ,098 ,112 ,472

It would be very difficult to leave this organization now, even if I wanted to. ,609 ,336 ,284 ,564

Too much of my life would be disrupted if I decided I wanted to leave my organization now.

,606 ,263 ,152 ,459

One of the major reasons I continue to work for this organization is that leaving would require a considerable personal sacrifice; another organization may not match the overall benefits I have here.

,590 ,194 ,128 ,402

Right now, staying with my organization is a matter of necessity as much as desire.

,578 ,154 ,356 ,484

I really feel as if this organization’s problems are my own ,024 ,740 ,397 ,706

I would not leave my organization right now because I have a sense of obligation to the people in it

,266 ,625 ,315 ,561

I would feel guilty if I left my organization now ,185 ,623 ,104 ,434

Even if it were to my advantage, I do not feel it would be right to leave my organization now.

,295 ,612 ,139 ,481

I owe a great deal to this organization. ,112 ,239 ,726 ,597

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This organization deserves my loyalty. ,239 ,179 ,725 ,615I would be very happy to spend the rest of my carreer in this organization. ,257 ,280 ,480 ,375

% of variance accounted for 20,9% 16,4% 14,1%

Taken together, the results of the present study suggest that each of the

psychological states identified in the literature as “commitment” to the organization can

be reliably measured. The independence of Continuance Organizational Commitment

scores from scores on the other two measures was expected. Not expected, however,

was the significant relationship between the Affective Organizational Commitment and

the Normative Organizational Commitment. In the Portuguese Industrial Workers

population, items from both scales appeared mixed, suggesting that feelings of

obligation to maintain membership in the organization, although not identical to

feelings of desire, may be meaningfully linked, as had already been suggested by Allen

& Meyer (1990) and Herrbach (2006).

Extra-Role Organizational Citizenship Behaviours: Helping and Voice

Behaviours Scale

Self-report responses of employees (N=129) to the 13 item-scale were factor-

analysed using principal axis factoring. We specified oblique rotation for the analysis,

for the reasons mentioned before.

A two factor solution was found, after deleting two items that loaded in both

factors simultaneously. Table 5 lists the 11 items and their factor loadings. Factor 1

contains nine helping items, representing the proactive behavior that emphasizes small

acts of consideration; Factor 2 contains two items, representing Voice Behaviors, the

proactive behaviors that express a challenge the status quo in order to improve

Organizational Performance.

Table 5 - Oblimin rotated pattern matrix based on correlations among the items of the helping and voice behaviour scale and communalities (h2)

Help

BehavioursVoice

Behaviours h2

I help others in this group with their work responsibilities.

,910 -,129 ,731

I attend functions that help the work group ,909 -,084 ,767I assist others in this group with their work for the benefit the work group. ,832 ,050 ,743

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I help others in this group to learn about the work ,798 -,038 ,613I get involved to benefit this work group ,771 -,015 ,585I communicate my opinions about work issues to others in this group, even if my opinion is different and others disagree with me.

,740 -,034 ,527

I help to orientate new employees in this group ,719 ,176 ,657I volunteer to do things for my work group. ,703 ,081 ,551I speak up in this group with ideas for new projects or changes in procedures. ,637 ,238 ,594

I get involved in matters which affect the quality of life in this group -,085 ,982 ,899

I keep myself well informed about issues where my opinion might be useful to this work group. ,252 ,522 ,450

% of Variance accounted for 55,5% 9,2%

In summary, the results of the exploratory factor analysis generally support the

two substantive categories originally predicted by the authors of the scale.

Reliability of the Scales

All three scales proved high levels of reliability, with values of 0,88 for the

MSQ (0,87 for the internal satisfaction factor and 0,77 for the external satisfaction

factor), 0,81 for the Affective, Normative and Continuance Scale (0,75 for the Affective

Commitment Scale, 0,81 for the Normative Commitment Scale and 0,84 for the

Continuance Commitment Scale) and 0,93 fir the Helping and Voice Behaviours Scale

(0,75 for the Voice Behaviours Scale and 0,94 for the Helping Behaviours Scale).

Hypotheses testing

MANOVA was used for the analysis with the sequential adjustment for

nonorthogonality. The total N was reduced from 135 to 134 for Job Satisfaction, 132 for

Organizational Commitment and 133 for Helping and Voice Behaviours, due to the

deletion of severe outlier cases.

With the use of Wilk’s criterion, we found Helping and Voice Behaviours to

be significantly affected by the participation on the APL Process (F(4 ,240)=3,943, p=0,04)

and Games-Howell post hoc procedure revealed significant differences to be

specifically in Voice Behaviours, between the workers who had already graduated and

the workers not involved in the process (mean difference = ,79 for p= 0,006), as well as

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the workers currently involved versus the workers not involved in the APL process

(mean difference = ,67 for p= 0,03).

There was no statistically significant multivariate effect for Job Satisfaction

(F(4, 252)= 0,405; p=0,805) or Organizational Commitment (F(6 , 240)= 0,555; p=0,766).

Table 6 - Results of the MANOVA proceduresValue F Hypothesis df Error df Sig.

Job SatisfactionAPL status Wilks' Lambda ,987 ,405 4,000 252,000 ,805

Organizational Commitment

APL status Wilks' lambda ,973 ,555 6,000 240,000 ,766Helping and

Voice BehaviorsAPL status Wilks' lambda ,880 3,943 4,000 240,000 ,004

Hence, workers who are currently undergoing the APL process as well as

workers who have graduated from the APL process display higher levels of proactive

behaviors that challenge the status quo in order to improve Organizational Performance

(Voice Behaviors).

Table 7 – Averages and Standard Deviations

VariableIntrinsic Job Satisfaction

N=134

Extrinsic Job Satisfaction

N=134

Affective Organizational Commitment

N=132

Normative Organizational Commitment

N=132

Continuance Organizational Commitment

N=132

Help Behaviours

N=133

Voice Behaviours

N=133

M SD M SD M SD M SD M SD M SD M SDNot involved 4,00 ,643 3,61 ,844 5,39 1,44 4,63 1,332 4,97 1,452 5,93 ,773 5,21 1,354

Involved 3,94 ,695 3,49 ,778 5,50 1,10 4,35 1,538 4,97 1,302 5,99 ,825 5,88 ,904Graduated from it 4,04 ,496 3,62 ,590 5,63 ,87 4,51 1,144 4,89 ,874 6,20 ,572 6,00 ,677

Although .the Multivariate Analysis of Variance yelled statistical significance

only in terms of Voice Behaviours, the studied variables seem to follow the tendency

predicted in the introduction as one can observe in the following graphics.

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Figure 1 - Graphical depiction of the differences between the three levels of APL process situation in terms of the two

levels of Job Satisfaction

situation of respondent towards the APL processgraduated from itcurrently involvednot involved

Mean

5

4

3

2

1

0

Extrinsic Job Satisfaction

Intrinsic Job Satisfaction

Figure 2 - Graphical depiction of the differences between the three levels of APL process situation in terms of the

three levels of Organizational Commitment

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situation of respondent towards the APL processgraduated from itcurretly involvednot involved

Mean

6

5

4

3

2

1

0

Affective Organizational Commitment Average Score

Normative Organizational Commitment Average Score

Continuance Organizational Commitment Average Score

Figure 3 - Graphical depiction of the differences between the three levels of APL process situation in terms of the two

levels of Helping and Voice Behaviours

situation of respondent towards the APL processgraduated from itcurrently involvednot involved

Mean

6

4

2

0

Help Behaviour Average Score

Voice Behaviour Average Score

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Discussion

Although Accreditation of Prior Learning has existed in Portugal since 2003,

and there are increasingly more studies about the impact of the process, there was a void

in the investigation of this process effects in companies. The research that does exist

focuses on the individual and on educational features that APL implies. Our research

presents a first effort to understand the implications of this Human Resource

Development instrument in the functioning of companies, having a clearly exploratory

character.

Drawing from Social Exchange Theory (Blau, 1953 cit in Rousseau, 1995) and

Psychological Contracts (Rousseau, 1995) to propose that employees would most likely

want to reciprocate the companies’ interest in their development with higher levels of

Job Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment and Organizational Citizenship

Behaviour, we verified that although all the variables (except for the Normative

Organizational Commitment) reported the expected tendency, as is visible in the

graphics in the Results section, statistical significance was only found in Voice

behaviours, the proactive behaviors that challenge the status quo in order to improve

Organizational Performance.

This finding, although slightly different from what we had predicted, makes

perfect sense in view of the fact that all the studies that we consulted (Coladryn &

Bjornavold, 2004, Layec & Leguy, 2006, Fredy-Pinchot, 2004, CIDEC, 2004, MEFI,

2004, etc.) point out that the absolute main effect of the APL process in the individual is

the boost in self confidence, self-concept and self esteem, witch in it’s turn is the major

antecedent of Voice Behaviours (Van Dyne & LePine, 1998).

Although our original propositions make sense, there can be covariates that we

hadn’t accounted for. The well known demand of the modern labour market that

workers practice lifelong learning may be seen as a demand with a direct enforcement

by the companies, e.g., workers who don’t keep evolving don’t progress in their careers

and are more likely to be fired. This may bring a sense of necessity rather than

opportunity to initiatives like promoting the APL Process in the company, bringing a

certain pressure and sense of obligation to it. Currently, in both companies although the

APL sessions are done on the workers after work hours, sessions are held in company

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premises, making it visible to administration and colleagues whether or not workers are

developing this qualification effort.

In this sense, workers might not consider the APL process as something the

company is offering, so that they feel that they need to reciprocate in terms of job

attitudes (Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment), although interestingly

enough, they modify their behaviour (Voice Behaviours, in this case) in a way that is

positive for the firm.

It is also important to mark that both firms registered very high levels of Job

Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment a priori making it, on the one hand, less

probable that those variables increased significantly and on the other hand, suggesting

that the companies promote other Human Resource Management measures that due to

temporal antecedence or other reasons may account for that variance.

Conclusions

It is commonly accepted in the management literature that organizations need

employees who are willing to exceed their formal job requirements (Barnard, 1938;

Katz, 1964; Katz & Kahn, 1978; cit in Morrison, 1994).

This exploratory study has shown that firm promoted Accreditation of Prior

Learning has a clear impact in the workers pro-active behaviour towards Organizational

Performance. Workers who have had their competences validated and workers involved

in APL tend to display a higher involvement in matters which affect the quality of life

in their group, and make a larger effort to keep themselves well informed about issues

where their opinion might be useful to their work group.

Theoretical and Practical Implications of the Research Project

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This study represents an important effort in the job of adapting the three scales

to the Portuguese Industrial workers population, since a good part of the work

(translation, back-translation, talked reflection and an Exploratory Factor Analysis

procedure) is done, although having relatively small N for this task, since we have

below 300 respondents (Tabachnik & Fidell, 2007).

We believe that the clues provided by the present study will contribute to the

research of APL as a blooming new valid approach to life-long learning, organizational

learning management and human resource development practice.

In practical terms we hope our contribution will aid the improvement of the use

and implementation of APL processes in Portuguese firms, since it has become clear

that there are some positive changes in the Worker-Organization relationship.

Limitations and Directions for future investigation

One of the limitations of the present study is its cross-sectional design. So, for

future research, we think it would be interesting to make a longitudinal study, with this

population in order to understand the evolutions of these and other dependent variables

that could be relevant (such as the innovations of workers in their work context). Also,

it could be very interesting to explore what happens to the workers that give up the

process in terms variables in study.

We also think it would be very interesting to understand how the reverse

relationship (Organization-Worker) is affected by the APL process, e.g., since we found

that workers increase their Voice Behaviours, does that mean that companies tend to

empower their workers more, after they validated their informal and non-formal

competencies?

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the Faculty of the School of Education Curriculum and Instruction in partial

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Author Contacts

Helena Martins ([email protected]) e Teresa Rebelo ([email protected])

NEFOG – Núcleo de Estudo e Formação em Organização e Gestão Faculdade de Psicologia e Ciências da Educação da Universidade de CoimbraRua do Colégio NovoApartado 61533001-802 COIMBRA

Inés Tomás8

Dpto. de MetodologiaFacultad de PsicologiaUniversitat de ValènciaAv. Blasco Ibáñez, 21 [email protected]

8 Colaboração ao abrigo do “Programa Investigación en Psicología de las Organizaciones y del Trabajo: Unidades de trabajo y calidad de vida laboral” (CONSOLIDER-C, Ref: SEJ2006-14086/PSIC), financiado pelo Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia.

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FACULDADE DE PSICOLOGIA E CIÊNCIAS DA EDUCAÇÃOUNIVERSIDADE DE COIMBRA

NEFOG – Núcleo de Estudos e Formação em Organização e Gestão

O presente questionário insere-se num estudo sobre o impacto do processo de

Reconhecimento, Validação e Certificação de Competências (RVCC) nas Empresas.

Todas as respostas que lhe solicitamos são rigorosamente anónimas e confidenciais.

Leia com atenção as instruções que lhe são dadas, certificando-se de que compreendeu

correctamente o modo como deverá responder. Responda sempre de acordo com aquilo

que faz, sente ou pensa, pois não existem respostas correctas ou incorrectas, nem boas

ou más respostas.

Muito obrigado pela sua colaboração!

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The Promotion of Accreditation of Prior Learning Processes by Firms: It’s Impacto n the Worker-Organization Relationship

Caracterização 1 Sexo: Masculino…. Feminino….2 Idade: ____ anos

3 Tipo de Contrato Temporário Efectivo Contrato a

termo Outro Qual?___________________

4 Onde desempenha funções (Departamento e/ou Secção):5 Função que actualmente desempenha6 Há quanto tempo está na empresa:

Se não está nem nunca esteve envolvido no processo de RVCC, responda à secção 1;

Se está de momento a frequentar o processo, passe para a secção 2;

Se já concluiu o processo, preencha a secção 3.

1 Responda a esta secção apenas se não frequenta nem nunca frequentou o processo de RVCC

Qual é a sua habilitação escolar?a) inferior ao 1.º Ciclo de Ensino Básico (antiga 4.ª classe)b) 1.º Ciclo de Ensino Básico (antiga 4.ª classe)c) 2.º Ciclo de Ensino Básico (antigo Ciclo Preparatório)d) Frequência do 3.º Ciclo de Ensino Básico (7.º ao 9.º ano), embora incompleto

Considera importante para si vir a frequentar o processo de RVCC?

Nada importante

Pouco importante

Mais ou menos

importanteImportante Muito

importante

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The Promotion of Accreditation of Prior Learning Processes by Firms: It’s Impacto n the Worker-Organization Relationship

2 Responda a esta secção apenas se está actualmente a frequentar o processo de RVCCAntes de ingressar no processo de Reconhecimento, Validação e Certificação de Competências (RVCC), qual era a sua habilitação escolar?

a) inferior ao 1.º Ciclo de Ensino Básico (antiga 4.ª classe)b) 1.º Ciclo de Ensino Básico (antiga 4.ª classe)c) 2.º Ciclo de Ensino Básico (antigo Ciclo Preparatório)d) Frequência do 3.º Ciclo de Ensino Básico (7.º ao 9.º ano), embora incompleto

Quando começou o processo (mês e ano) ? _______________

Considera importante para si frequentar o processo de RVCC?

Nada importante

Pouco importante

Mais ou menos

importanteImportante Muito

importante

3 Responda a esta secção apenas se já concluiu o processo de RVCCAntes de ingressar no processo de Reconhecimento, Validação e Certificação de Competências (RVCC), qual era a sua habilitação escolar?

a) inferior ao 1.º Ciclo de Ensino Básico (antiga 4.ª classe)b) 1.º Ciclo de Ensino Básico (antiga 4.ª classe)c) 2.º Ciclo de Ensino Básico (antigo Ciclo Preparatório)d) Frequência do 3.º Ciclo de Ensino Básico (7.º ao 9.º ano), embora incompleto

Qual é a sua actual situação escolar?Há quanto tempo concluiu o processo (mês e ano) ? _______________Desde que concluiu, mudou de funções? Não Sim Se respondeu que sim, qual a sua função anterior?Desde que concluiu, mudou de categoria profissional? Não Sim Se respondeu que sim, que outros benefícios trouxe?Considera que foi importante para si frequentar o processo de RVCC?

Nada importante

Pouco importante

Mais ou menos

importanteImportante Muito

importante

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The Promotion of Accreditation of Prior Learning Processes by Firms: It’s Impacto n the Worker-Organization Relationship

Responda às seguintes questões, indicando a sua opinião de 1 (muito insatisfeito com este

aspecto do meu trabalho) a 5 (muito satisfeito com este aspecto do meu trabalho)

Mui

to In

satis

feito

com

est

e as

pect

o do

meu

trab

alho

Insa

tisfe

ito c

om e

ste

aspe

cto

do m

eu tr

abal

ho

Não

con

sigo

dec

idir

se e

stou

satis

feito

ou

insa

tisfe

ito c

om

este

asp

ecto

do

meu

trab

alho

Satis

feito

com

est

e as

pect

o do

meu

trab

alho

Mui

to sa

tisfe

ito c

om e

ste

aspe

cto

do m

eu tr

abal

ho

1. A forma como o meu trabalho me permite estar ocupado o tempo todo. 1 2 3 4 5

2. A sensação de realização pessoal que o meu trabalho me dá. 1 2 3 4 5

3. A oportunidade de fazer coisas pelos outros. 1 2 3 4 5

4. A oportunidade de trabalhar de forma autónoma na minha função. 1 2 3 4 5

5. A oportunidade de ser alguém na comunidade. 1 2 3 4 5

6. A forma como o meu chefe lida com os seus subordinados. 1 2 3 4 5

7. A competência do meu supervisor em termos de tomada de decisão. 1 2 3 4 5

8. A forma como a minha função me permite ter um emprego seguro. 1 2 3 4 5

9. A forma como as políticas da empresa são postas em prática. 1 2 3 4 5

10. A oportunidade de fazer coisas diferentes de tempos a tempos. 1 2 3 4 5

11. O reconhecimento que tenho por fazer um bom trabalho. 1 2 3 4 5

12. A oportunidade de dizer aos outros o que fazer. 1 2 3 4 5

13. A oportunidade de fazer algo que me permite utilizar as minhas capacidades.

1 2 3 4 5

14. Poder fazer coisas que não vão contra a minha consciência. 1 2 3 4 5

15. A forma como os colegas se dão uns com os outros. 1 2 3 4 5

16. A liberdade para tomar algumas decisões. 1 2 3 4 5

17. As condições de trabalho. 1 2 3 4 5

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The Promotion of Accreditation of Prior Learning Processes by Firms: It’s Impacto n the Worker-Organization Relationship

18. A oportunidade de progressão neste trabalho. 1 2 3 4 5

19. A relação entre o pagamento e a quantidade de trabalho que faço. 1 2 3 4 5

20. A oportunidade de usar os meus próprios métodos para fazer o meu trabalho.

1 2 3 4 5

Responda às seguintes questões, indicando a sua opinião de 1 (discordo completamente) a 7

(concordo completamente).

Dis

cord

o C

ompl

etam

ente

Dis

cord

o B

asta

nte

Dis

cord

o Li

geira

men

te

Não

Con

cord

o ne

m D

isco

rdo

Con

cord

o Li

geira

men

te

Con

cord

o B

asta

nte

Con

cord

o C

ompl

etam

ente

1. Esta empresa tem muito significado pessoal para mim. 1 2 3 4 5 6 72. Não tenho um grande sentimento de pertença para com esta empresa. 1 2 3 4 5 6 73. Gostaria muito de desenvolver o resto da minha carreira nesta empresa 1 2 3 4 5 6 74. Mesmo sendo vantajoso para mim, não acho que fosse correcto deixar a

minha empresa agora. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5. Não deixaria a minha empresa neste momento porque me sinto obrigado/a para com as pessoas que nela trabalham. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6. Sinto mesmo os problemas desta empresa como meus. 1 2 3 4 5 6 77. Uma das poucas consequências negativas de deixar esta empresa seria a

falta de alternativas disponíveis. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8. Uma das maiores razões para eu continuar a trabalhar nesta empresa é que sair iria requerer um sacrifício pessoal muito considerável (outra empresa poderia não oferecer todos os benefícios que tenho aqui).

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9. Não me sinto ligado emocionalmente a esta empresa. 1 2 3 4 5 6 710. Devo muito a esta empresa. 1 2 3 4 5 6 711. Esta empresa merece a minha lealdade. 1 2 3 4 5 6 712. Não sinto qualquer obrigação de permanecer com o meu empregador

actual. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13. Seria muito difícil deixar esta empresa agora, mesmo se eu quisesse. 1 2 3 4 5 6 714. Sinto que tenho muito poucas opções para considerar sair desta

empresa. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15. Se já não tivesse dado tanto de mim a esta empresa, consideraria trabalhar noutro sítio. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

16. Não me sinto como fazendo “parte da família” nesta empresa. 1 2 3 4 5 6 717. Sentir-me-ia culpado/a se deixasse a minha empresa agora. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

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The Promotion of Accreditation of Prior Learning Processes by Firms: It’s Impacto n the Worker-Organization Relationship

18. Neste momento, permanecer na minha empresa é uma questão tanto de necessidade, como de vontade. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19. Demasiadas coisas na minha vida seriam “abaladas” se eu decidisse sair da minha empresa agora. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

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The Promotion of Accreditation of Prior Learning Processes by Firms: It’s Impacto n the Worker-Organization Relationship

Responda às seguintes questões, indicando a sua opinião de 1 (discordo completamente) a 7

(concordo completamente).

Dis

cord

o C

ompl

etam

ente

Dis

cord

o B

asta

nte

Dis

cord

o Li

geira

men

te

Não

Con

cord

o ne

m D

isco

rdo

Con

cord

o Li

geira

men

te

Con

cord

o B

asta

nte

Con

cord

o C

ompl

etam

ente

1. Ajudo a orientar novos empregados no meu grupo de trabalho. 1 2 3 4 5 6 72. Falo no meu grupo sobre ideias para novos projectos e mudanças

nos procedimentos. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

3. Ajudo outros no grupo a aprender sobre o trabalho. 1 2 3 4 5 6 74. Desempenho algumas funções para ajudar o grupo de trabalho. 1 2 3 4 5 6 75. Ajudo outros colegas do grupo no seu trabalho de forma a

beneficiar todo grupo. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6. Comunico as minhas opiniões acerca do trabalho a outras pessoas do grupo, mesmo que as minhas opiniões sejam diferentes ou se discordarem de mim.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

7. Falo e encorajo outros colegas a envolver-se em assuntos que dizem respeito a este grupo. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8. Ajudo outras pessoas no grupo nas suas responsabilidades no trabalho. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9. Envolvo-me para beneficiar o grupo de trabalho. 1 2 3 4 5 6 710. Ofereço-me para fazer coisas pelo meu grupo de trabalho. 1 2 3 4 5 6 711. Desenvolvo e faço recomendações sobre assuntos que dizem

respeito ao meu grupo de trabalho. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12. Mantenho-me bem informado acerca de assuntos em que a minha opinião possa ser útil a este grupo de trabalho. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13. Envolvo-me em assuntos que dizem respeito à qualidade de vida deste grupo. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Muito Obrigada pela sua Colaboração!

36