JOB RESOURCES, PSYCHOLOGICAL EMPOWERMENT, AND ORGANIZATIONAL JUSTICE AS PREDICTORS OF EXTRA-ROLE BEHAVIOUR AMONG NIGERIA POLICE OFFICERS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title page                                                                                                                    i

Certification Page                                                                                                       ii

Dedication                                                                                                                  iii

Acknowledgements                                                                                                    iv

Table of Contents                                                                                                       v

List of Tables                                                                                                              vi

Abstract                                                                                                                      vii

CHAPTER ONE: Introduction                                                                               1

Statement of the Problem                                                                            18

Purpose of the Study                                                                                                20

Operational Definition of Terms                                                      20

CHAPER TWO: Review of Related Literature                              22

Theoretical Review                                                                              22

Organizational identification theory                                                       22

Social exchange theory                                                                                25

Role identity theory                                                                                 27

Self determination theory                                                                    29

Empirical Review                                                                        31

Job Resources and Extra-role Behaviour                                     31

Psychological Empowerment and Extra-Role Behaviour                  33 

Organizational Justice and Extra role behaviour                    35

Summary of Literature Review                                                            37

HYPOTHESES                                                                                                         38

CHAPTER THREE: Method                                                                                 39

Participants                                                                                                                 39

Instruments                                                                                 39

Procedure                                                                                                                    41

Design and statistics                                                                                                  42

CHAPTER FOUR: Result                                                                                       43

Summary of Results                                                                                 44

CHAPTER FIVE: Discussion                                                                                 45

Implications of the findings                                                                     46

Limitations of the study                                                                            47

Suggestions for further study                                                               48

Conclusion                                                                                                                  49

Recommendations                                                          49                              REFERENCES                                                                                                        50

APPENDICES

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Description of the Study Respondents

Table 2: The results of Multiple Regression Test on Job Resources, Psychological Empowerment and Organizational Justice as Predictors of Extra Role Behaviour among Nigerian Police Officers.

ABSTRACT

This study examined job resources, psychological empowerment and organizational justice as predictors of extra-role behaviours among Nigeria police officers. A total of 250 particitants comprising 154 male and 96 female, 162 married and 88 single, 110 old and 140, and 98 with high qualification and 152  police officers with low qualification. Job demand/resources scale was to measure job resources, psychological empowerment scale was used to measure psychological empowerment, organizational justice was measure with organizational justice scale and extra-role behavior scale was used to measure extra-role behavior.  A cross-sectional survey design was used. Multiple regressions analysis was used to analyze the data. The psychological empowerment independently, had a positive impact/prediction on extra role behaviour with a β value of .124, which is statistically significant since the P-value < .05 and t= 2.076. Whereas, job resources and organizational justice have no impact/prediction on extra role behaviour with a β value of .004 and -.041, which were statistically not significant since the P-values >.05 and t= .209 and -1.547 respectively. The results were discussed and recommendations were made in light of the findings.

CHAPTER ONE

Introduction

            The notion of giving something extra back to an organization fits well with research on non-traditional aspect of work behaviour referred to in the literature generally as extra role behaviour (Organ & Konovsky, 1989; Schnake, 1991; Smith, Organ, & Near, 1983).

            Extra-role behaviours are in two categories: organization-oriented and people/co-worker-oriented (Zhu, 2013). The organization-oriented extra-role behaviour behaviour refers to adherence to non-formal norms formed in the organization and extra effort to improve outcomes, while the people-oriented includes conveying useful information to the colleagues and the cooperation effort as well as helping them (Resick, Giberson, Dickson, Wynne, & Bajdo, 2013). The focus of this study is on extra-role behaviour in the Nigeria police force.

The importance of extra-role behaviours in the workplace are enormous, especially in the Nigerian Police Force: For many years, scholars have recognized the significant impact of extra-role behaviour on the success of an organization. As several authors have noted (George, 1996; Organ & Konovsky, 1989), extra-role behaviour provides the organization with additional resources and removes the need for expensive formal mechanisms otherwise crucial to successful restructuring processes. Extra-role behaviours give opportunity for innovative behaviours (Xerri & Brunetto, 2013), it increases organizational effectiveness; increase in work quality, reduction in the cost of hiring external hand, and even client satisfaction (Podsakoff, Whiting, & Blume, 2009). It can make the employees to have a better understanding of their job especially newly recruited officers that will be attached to a boss (Senior Officer/colleague); Teh and Yong (2011) term it as organizational learning.

One may ask how could we stimulate or make Nigeria Police Officers extra-role behaviour if they have not been engaging in it, or when there is decrease in the level of discretionary behaviours among Officers? According to Ilies, Scott and Judge, (2006); Greguras and Diefendorff (2010) extra-role behaviour or organizational citizenship behaviours are strongly dependent on the subject’s disposition (personality, emotions etc), officers conduct (Cohen, 2006), organizational justice (Niehoff & Moorman, 1993, Fassina, Jone & Uggerslev, 2008), management style (Organ, Podsakoff & Mackenzie, 2006) and the functioning of the organization (Britt, Mckibben, Greene-Shortridge, Odle-Dusseau & Herleman, 2012).

   According to George and Brief (1992), all of these types of behaviours (e.g prosoical, spontaneous organizational behaviour, etc) refer to the additional things people do at work that are beneficial to the organization but the workers are not mandated to do them. For example, workers choose throughout the day whether to help co-workers, to share insight on improvements, and in general, to do what is needed to help their organization perform smoothly and productively. Several researchers have argued that extra role behaviour is especially suitable material for reciprocity, because, workers have much discretion in performing it, whereas traditional, in-role behaviours such as productivity are primarily a function of work processes and workers abilities (Konovsky & Pugh, 1994; Moorman, 1991; Organ, 1988). Extra role behaviours are discretionary behaviours that are not enforceable requirements of an employee’s job (Van Dyne, Cummings & Parks, 1995).

Organ (1988) emphasized the discretionary nature of extra-role behaviour when he defined it as constructive behaviour not included in an employee’s formal job description, such as assisting co-workers with their work, helping peers learn new task, volunteering to do things that benefit their work groups and orienting the new workers. Since these behaviours are not required by the job, there is no formal sanction for not engaging in them. Thus, extra role behaviour can be viewed as a behavioural indicator of workers’ responses to their employment relationship (Organ 1988).

            Extra-role behaviour goes beyond and above the call of duty, that is discretionary and not explicitly recognized by the employing organization’s formal reward system, and that contributes to organizational effectiveness (Organ, 1988; Smith, Organ, & Near 1983). Extra role behaviour is desirable from an organizational point of view because, such behaviour is thought to increase available resources and decrease the need for more formal and costly mechanisms of control (Organ, 1988; Podsakoff, & Mackenzie, 1997). It is seen as voluntary behaviour outside one’s official job duties that positively affect the organization or its members (Borman & Motowidlo, 1993; Organ, 1988).

Role can be defined as the expected pattern of behaviour attached to a position with an organization (Ilgen, Hollenbeck & Crampton, 1992). The expectations encoded within a role specify a wide variety of requirements. Examples includes what task role holders should perform, how they should interact with others, how they should dress, how they should speak, what opinion  and attitudes they should hold, what goals they should work towards and what means they should employ to attain the goals (Sarbin & Allen, 1968).

According to Aikhionbare (2016), Nigeria Police is one of the cardinal Agencies of government. They are tasked with the sole responsibility of protecting the lives and properties of citizens of the country. The diverse roles of Nigeria police are as follows; crime prevention, crime investigation, road traffic control, election protection duties, controlling and quelling civil unrest, military duties, VIP protection services etc.