The Work Task and Role Structure Perceptions of Secondary School Level Job Placement Personnel in the State of Michigan.

Abstract

This study is cross-disciplinary combining theories of vocational decision-making and organizational behavior to examine the differences and similarities among individuals who work in job placement work roles in Michigan secondary schools (n=174). The study uses a descriptive research design to examine the effects of education, organizational socialization and other job responsibility on the individual's perceptions of the importance and responsibility of job placement work role tasks. The findings for the educational variable, defined as the level of education of the respondent, showed no significant differences between responses for Task Importance based on educational level. However, significant differences were found for responses to Task Responsibility based upon educational level. Respondents with an undergraduate college degree tended to designate more tasks as the responsibility of the job placement component of the school than respondents with higher or lower educational levels. Limited differences were identified between respondents based upon the amount of time they had spent in job placement (organizational socialization). Respondents with less than three years in job placement tended to place more importance on placement tasks and identify those tasks as being the responsibility of job placement component than did respondents with more than three years work experience. The findings on organizational socialization were opposite of what was predicted by the study and conflict with other research on organizational theory. The other job responsibilities of respondents were found to have a significant effect on their responses to task importance and task responsibility. This finding supports similar organizational research. Full-time school job placement personnel consistently identified more tasks as belonging to the job placement role than did school counselors, administrators, and vocational educators who also had a part-time job placement responsibility.