Abstract

As primary school teachers continue to operate under dynamic circumstances, schools have become more reliant on those who are willing without force to contribute to successful change within and outside the school environment regardless of formal job assignments. While some achievements have been scored, the performance of primary schools in Uganda is low and this has been attributed to unpatriotic organizational behaviors exhibited by teachers. The study was premised on investigating the relationship between relational psychological contract and organizational citizenship behavior, relationship between transactional psychological contract and organizational behavior and relationship between balanced psychological contract and organizational citizenship behavior. Sampling procedure involved a two stage sampling where by cluster sampling was used at the first stage while convenience sampling was used at the second stage. The total sample size considered for the current study was 403 of which 189 were male teacher and 214 were female teachers. From the findings of the study, it emerged that transactional psychological capital negatively influences citizenship behavior among teachers in primary schools. Relational and balanced psychological contract were found to be positively related to citizenship behavior.

1. Background

Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) has been identified as a critical component in enhancing institutional productivity ¹. As employees continue to work under dynamic circumstances, organizations have become more reliant on individual employees who are willing without force to contribute to successful change within and outside the workplace regardless of formal job assignments ². A person who goes beyond assigned work so as to offer an extra support to his co-workers and the company is said to be exhibiting citizenship behavior in an organization ³. Such employees may most likely not even know that they are exhibiting organizational citizenship behavior since such behaviors just emerge from daily work schedules without being controlled ⁴. OCBs are not remunerated by the formal reward system within an organization but, when such behavior is combined with in a group, it results into task efficiency and effectiveness ⁵. In an attempt to enrich individual and organizational performance, organizations used mainly to pay attention only to activities that directly support output production for the organization ⁶. This occurred because employee activities where managed based on tasks assigned and the output expected ⁷. However, as the job market becomes more competitive, it has become evident that it is necessary for workers to go beyond what is officially required according the job description so as to remain competitive ⁸. OCB enhances circumstantial performance of the employee which is rooted from non-task related work behaviors and activities that contribute to the social and economic aspects of the firm ⁹.

There are four components of OCB and these include; altruism, general compliance, persistence of organization enthusiasm and defending the organization ¹. Altruism within the organizational workplace essentially consists of helping behaviors exhibited by workers in a team ⁹. Such employee behaviors can be exhibited outside or within the organization. Overtime, when employees engage in helping others within or outside the organization, this will eventually be beneficial for the organization ⁵. General compliance behavior that an employee exhibits serves to benefit a firm in many ways ². Such behaviors result into low rates of absenteeism and following of rules by employees which helps to keep the organization operating efficiently and effectively ³. When an employee is compliant, he doesn’t or rarely engages in unproductive behaviors ⁴. When such behaviors are minimized within the workplace, employees are naturally more productive. At some point an organization may find it fit to reward an employee who exhibits OCB but such rewards would be indirect, informal and uncertain ⁶. It has been observed by Singh and Singh ⁶ that different companies will experience different OCB levels from their employees. Klotz ⁸ has shown that learning opportunities and structures within an organization can boost OCBs by nurturing a common purpose and deliberate thinking. When organizations create the right context, this can encourage employees to adopt values of sharing valid information, issue orientation, transparency, and responsibility so as to be ready to engage in OCB ².

When the Universal Primary Education was introduced in Uganda in 1997, the government committed itself to provide free quality education to all pupils of primary school going age ¹⁰. Through the Millennium Development Goals, the Uganda government further committed itself to ensure that there will be delivery to all children a full course of primary education by 2015 ¹¹. While some achievements have been scored, the effectiveness and efficiency of Uganda’s primary education is low and this has been attributed to unpatriotic organizational behaviors exhibited by teachers which include teacher absenteeism estimated at 20-30%, teacher’s negative attitude to tasks assigned, late coming among others ¹². While salaries and benefits to teachers in government aided schools are paid promptly, attendance to duties assigned is low which has resulted into poor performance of schools ¹³. Most teachers join the profession when they are not psychologically prepared for the demands of the jobs that they are assigned to ¹⁴. It has been observed by Sekiwu et al ¹⁵ that if an employee isn’t psychologically prepared for the tasks assigned; his behaviors within and outside the organization will be detached from the goals of the organization. People tend to exhibit citizenship behavior in their workplaces on the basis of how well their aspirations and preferences connect with those of the organization which provides grounds for achieving personal values and purpose to be good to the organization ¹⁶. If psychological contract between an employee and the employer exists, an employee is expected to engage in organization citizenship behavior ¹⁶. This paper attempts to unpack the relationship between psychological contract and organizational citizenship behavior in primary schools in Uganda. The study was premised on investigating the relationship between relational contract and organizational citizenship behavior, relationship between transactional contracts and organizational behavior and relationship between balanced psychological contracts and organizational citizenship behavior. The rest of the paper explains the theoretical background, literature review, findings and implications of the study.

2. Theoretical Review

According to the Social exchange theory, social and psychological conduct emerges from the interaction in behaviors between two or more entities ^{17, 18}. According to the theory, the behavior of a person in any social setting depends on the expectations of the cost and benefit that will emerge from his conduct ¹⁹. That while a person engages in any form of activity with another entity, the success of such an engagement depends on personal expectations of how much to gain or lose ²⁰. A person will offer more effort in whatever he does for another entity if he expects to attain a relational or transactional benefit out of his conduct ²¹. Within the social exchange theoretical framework, the behavior of entities working together for a common goal will be determined by the level of reciprocity expected. The reciprocation of outcomes from the engagements enhances trustworthiness among the entities which will in turn enable one entity to help another in a working environment and also enable conferring of benefits over the long term ²¹. Reciprocity norm that exists within the interaction among various entities is universal and that individuals are compelled to return help received and not injure those who have helped them previously ¹⁹. The devotion to the custom of reciprocity plays a central role to the actions of one entity contingent upon the reactions of the other entity(s) and it is this contingent interplay that characterizes how psychological contract between entities has been applied to the employment relationship to elicit citizenship behavior among employees ²⁰. In the current study, psychological contract is measured based on dimensions of relational contract, transactional contract and balanced contract while organizational citizenship behavior is measured based on sportsmanship, civic virtue and organizational commitment.

3. Literature Review

A relational contract is one which controls interactions between entities whose outcome is based upon a relationship of mutual trust ²². A relational contract is based on the interpersonal relationship between two people which implicitly define the terms and understandings that determine the behavior of entities to the contract ²³. Relational contracts are characterized by a view that interactions among individual are relational rather than a discrete transaction between entities ²⁴. A relational contract is based on a number of requirements intended at assisting entities to have a productive and efficient relationship over a long-term period ²⁵. Good relational contracts should be flexible by being tolerant to trial and error but also the employee and employer need to be committed to the shared goals ²⁶. Relational contracts between the employee and the employer are based on mutual agreement with rewards of emotional elements. The relationship between employees and employers is founded on open-ended and longer engagement that enables workforces to grow and develop with the organization ²². For relational contracts to be effective, parties need to collaborate and also maintain open communications. With a good relational contract between the employee and the employer, there will be clear roles demarcated and this will enable parties to focus on what they can do best, yet be able to draw on the skill and knowledge of the other ²⁴. This will an create an environment that induces the employee to be committed to the organization, exhibit good will, defend the organization and champion the cause for achieving organization goals ²⁴.

H1: There is a positive relationship between relational psychological contract and organizational citizenship behavior

Transactional contract is a reciprocal and mutually accepted agreement between two or more parties which expresses the operating terms of a relationship ²⁷. A transactional relationship between two or more parties is one where each entity is bound by the transactional terms ²⁸. In such a relationship, each entity performs a task based on what is expected of him. Under transactional relationships, reciprocation is fundamental in order for both entities to stay connected ²². Based on the transactional contracts, workers have very minimal expectations from their organization and they expect only what they agreed on in the written contract ²⁴. Employees are only willing to offer exactly what was described in the contract and they don't desire to do more than what they agreed on. Employers on the other hand expect only what was exactly detailed in the written contract and no more or no less of that ²⁴. It has been argued by Atkinson ²⁶ that a transactional contract is delicate and it’s likely to fall apart more often when it is violated. With an expectation by both parties of total and equal reciprocation, there is a high likelihood for behavioral change when one party does not hold up to the tenets of the agreement ²⁶. Employees whose conduct is oriented towards transactional motives are characteristically performance-leaning and invest little emotional attachment to the organization they work for ²². Such employees accept short-term benefits and they have minimal trust and commitment to uphold in the employment relationship.

H2: There is a negative relationship between transactional psychological contract and organizational citizenship behavior

A balanced psychological contract relates to an employee–employer relationship which features career advancement expectations in exchange for high individual performance on task assignments ²⁹. Balanced contracts bring together features of both transactional and relational contracts ³⁰. Psychological contracts which are balanced are said to be developmental in nature since they induce altruism behaviors from the employee ³¹. It has been observed that balanced contracts exhibit an interpersonal approach of socio-emotional characteristic taking into consideration the transactional orientations of precise performance-reward contingencies ³². Balanced contracts are characterized with internal advancement, external employability and dynamic performance, while the employer makes assurances to provide employability that is long-term within and outside the organization ²⁹. A balanced psychological contract involves entities with a shared goal to be able to take on well-defined responsibilities, which enables them to develop their skills while the organization provides trainings to their workers, which is also beneficial to the organization ³⁰. In such a framework, workers are employed for a longer period of time and this gives them a positive future outlook which induces citizenship behavior.

H3: There is a positive relationship between balanced psychological contract and organizational citizenship behavior

4. Methods

The present study was carried out from Uganda and the considered population comprised of teachers from government aided primary schools located in Jinja District. Government aided schools where considered for the study because such schools are grappling with inefficiencies emanating from teacher misconduct. Teachers where considered because the study aims at investigating their citizenship behavior. Teachers where drawn from various schools located in the four divisions of Jinja. Sampling procedure involved a two stage sampling where by cluster sampling was used at the first stage. Schools were clustered based on the divisions that make up Jinja District. After clustering, convenience sampling was used to choose respondents of the study who were readily available and willing to participate in the study. The total sample size considered for the current study was 403 of which 189 were male teacher and 214 were female teachers.

A questionnaire to be used in the study was developed which was delivered to the respondents considered for the study. The survey questionnaire was broken down into two parts where by the first part comprised of general information and the independent variable. The second part of the survey questionnaire that was supplied to respondents measured the dependent variable. First part of the questionnaire was delivered first to the respondents while the second part of the questionnaire was delivered after an interval of a week. This was intended at reducing on the common method bias which affects reliability of data results.

The study variables included psychological capital which was the independent variable while the second variable was organization citizenship behavior which is the dependent variable. Psychological contract was measured based on dimensions of relational psychological contract, transactional psychological contract and balanced psychological contract ^{33, 34}. Organizational citizenship behavior was measured based on dimensions of sportsmanship, civic virtue and organizational commitment ^{8, 35}. Validated tools where adapted and modified to fit context of the study.

5. Results and discussions

Out of the 403 respondents who were supplied with survey questionnaires, 312 were returned giving a response rate of 77.4%. By gender, females accounted for 178(57%) while males accounted for 134(43 %.). Based on distribution according to division, the findings also indicate that 82(26%) of the respondents were from Mpumudde, 71(23%) of the respondents where from Central division, 79 (25%) where from Walukuba, while 80(25%) where from Mafubira. According to level of education, 123(39%) had certificates, 113(36%) had diploma, 71(23%) had degrees while 5(2%) had masters.

Study instruments were subjected to reliability and validity test. Confirmatory analysis (CFA) was carried out to determine validity and reliability of instruments whose results are shown in Table 1. Hair et al. ³⁶, observed that for an item to be valid, its factor loading should at least load at 0.5 and above. From Table 1, it can be detected that all items ranged from 0.5 to 0.9. Fornell and Larker ³⁷ noted that for an instrument to be reliable, construct validity should load at 0.6 while average variance extracted (AVE) should load at least 0.5. From the table above, it can be detected that all variables achieved the minimum threshold points for both composite reliability (CR) and AVE. Hair et al. ³⁶ observed that there should be discrimination in constructs that measure a variable and this is done using the discriminant validity criterion. The criterion requires that the square of multiple correlations between constructs should be less than AVE. This was achieved for all constructs used in the study

Data received from the respondents was analyzed by means of regression analysis and a model was derived whose summary is captured Table 2. As indicated from the summary, the coefficient of determination is 57.7% meaning that a combination of transactional psychological contract, relational psychological contract and balanced psychological contract explain the variation in OCB by 57.7%.

An Analysis of the Variance (ANOVA) was carried out and as indicated in the table, F is distributed with (1, 309). The F value of 138.01 is statistically significant with a probability value of 0.00. This means that the probability of observing a variable which is greater than or equal to 138.01 is less than 0.00. Therefore, there is strong evidence that the impact of a combination of transactional, relational and balanced psychological contract on OCB is not zero.

The study sought to investigate the relationship between transactional psychological contract and organizational citizenship behavior in government owned primary schools. As indicated in the Table 4, there is a negative relationship between transactional psychological contract and organizational citizenship behavior. As indicated in the table, a unit increase in transactional psychological contract will result into 11.1% reduction in organizational citizenship behavior which is significant at 5% critical value. Therefore, the more primary school administrators in Uganda boost transactional contracts with teachers, it will diminish citizenship behavior. This result is empirically supported whereby it was observed that employees whose conduct is oriented towards transactional motives they characteristically become performance-leaning and invest little emotional attachment to the organization they work for ^{24, 25}. Such employees accept short-term benefits and they have minimal trust and commitment to uphold in the employment relationship.

The study also investigated the relationship between relational psychological contract and organizational citizenship behavior government owned primary schools. As indicated in Table 4, a unit increase in relational capital raises citizenship behavior among teachers in primary schools by 35.5%. The magnitude of influence was found to be significant at a critical value of 5% which is greater than the probability value of 0.042. The finding is empirically supported where by it was noted that a good relational contract between the employee and the employer ushers in a sense of mutuality between the employer and employee. A relational contract creates an environment of cooperation among entities which will enable parties to focus on what they can do best, yet be able to draw on the skill and knowledge of the other ^{22, 27}. This will create an atmosphere that induces the teachers to be committed to the schools, exhibit good will, defend the schools with its programs and champion the cause for achieving organization goals.

Similarly, the study investigated the relationship between balanced psychological capital and organizational citizenship behavior. As indicated in the Table 4, a unit increase in balanced psychological capital will result into a 44.1% increase in citizenship behavior among teachers in primary schools in Jinja District. The result is statistically significant with a probability value of zero. It was observed by Kaya and Karatepe ³⁰ that psychological contracts which are balanced are said to be developmental in nature since they induce altruism behaviors from the employee.

6. Conclusions and Recommendations

The study sought to investigate the relationship between psychological contract and OCB. From the findings, it emerged that transactional psychological capital negatively influences citizenship behavior among teachers in primary schools. Relational psychological contract was found to be positively related to citizenship behavior. Among the three constructs measuring psychological contract, balanced psychological capital had the highest magnitude of influence on citizenship behavior with 44.1% compared to relational and transactional contracts. From the findings, schools’ administrators in primary schools in Uganda should champion contracts that bring together features of both transactional and relational contracts with their teachers since this creates an environment where by teachers can trust their administrators and champion brotherhoods in schools which enrich individual commitment to school objectives.

7. Limitations and Areas for Further Study

The study was carried out in only government aided schools in Jinja. It isn’t known whether the results resonate with teachers in private schools. Therefore, there is need to extend the study to include private schools. The study used a cross sectional survey design. There is need to investigate the phenomena using a longitudinal design so as to examine the study over a long period of time. The study was carried out from Jinja which is an urban area. There is need to extend the study to villages so as to examine comprehensively the phenomena under study.

References