Goal Orientation, Organizational Commitment and Intent to Leave among Students Enrolled in a Non-traditional Education Program

This research examined the effect of goal orientation on organizational commitment and intent to leave among a group of employees. This study also focused on a particular subset of employees. This group, employees who have returned to either complete their education or obtain another degree, appeared to be an identifiable subgroup because their educational endeavors mark them as different from their colleagues who are not engaged in such pursuits. There is considerable research on the nature, characteristics and components of organizational commitment, on the way it affects behaviors in organizations and in the ways that certain organizational events have on employees\u27 organizational commitment. While the concept of organizational commitment and its relationship to other workplace behaviors has been widely studied, there is little empirical information on a relationship between goal orientation and organizational commitment or intent to leave. Thus, an examination of goal orientation in relation to organizational commitment and intent to leave can add to the depth of understanding of the ways in which these concepts manifest themselves in employees. Additionally, this research examined the relationship between the college enrollment status of a group of employees and these constructs. The survey used in this study combined three scales in order to measure organizational commitment, goal orientation and intent to leave. In general, there was little or no distinction noted between those enrolled and those not enrolled in relation to the many of the constructs examined. However, the relationship between affective commitment and enrollment status, normative commitment and enrollment status and intent to leave and enrollment status were statistically significant. Additionally, those enrolled reported a higher level of intent to leave than did those not enrolled. The results for goal orientation were inconclusive. An implication is that those enrolled may have begun to distance themselves from their current organization or job. Another implication is that management support of employee education efforts may affect organizational commitment and intent to leave. Additional research on the strength and impact of goal orientation on organizational behavior is needed