Organizational and professional commitment as predictors of job satisfaction among allied health education program...

That institutionally employed professionals can exhibit divided commitments to their organization and profession is well documented. The impact such dual affiliation can have upon organizations, particularly academic institutions, is less well established. The purposes of this study were: (1) to describe the nature and magnitude of allied health education program directors' organizational and professional commitment and (2) to determine the utility of these measures in explaining variations in the job satisfaction of these professionals. A cross-sectional survey design gathered pertinent descriptive information and data on the organizational commitment, professional commitment, and job satisfaction of a modified cluster sample of program directors representing five allied health disciplines. Consistent with prior speculative assumptions regarding its importance, the professional commitment of these faculty was observed to exert a positive and independent effect upon the gratification they perceive in fulfilling their organizational roles. That a complementary, as opposed to conflicting, relationship exists between the organizational and professional commitment of allied health faculty has profound implications for academic administrators intent upon increasing the effectiveness of their organization.