Police Organizational

Culture and Job Satisfaction:

A Comparison of Law
Enforcement Officers
Perceptions in Two
Midwestern States in the U.S.
Kaan Boke, Mahesh K. Nalla
ABSTRACT
Purpose:
This article examines the relationship between organizational culture, police
enforcement strategies, and job satisfaction among police officers working in
various cities in two Midwestern states in the United States.
Design/Methodology/Approach:
Data for the study was gathered from 669 respondents in five medium
and large sized police organizations in two adjacent Midwestern States. More
specifically, police officers (supervisors and non-supervisors) perceptions about
organizational factors of job satisfaction are examined. Independent variables
included both individual and organizational characteristics.
Findings:
Findings suggest that organizational characteristics are better predictors of job
satisfaction than individual factors. Among the individual factors, in contrast to
what was found by prior research, race was the only significant factor in predicting
job satisfaction in state wide comparisons, whereas management support, social
cohesion, and job challenges emerged as strong predictors of job satisfaction.
Research limitations/implications:
Research is limited to mid-Western states. Given the decentralized nature of
policing in the U.S. further research should examine variations between regions
and states.
Originality/Value:
Most research on police officers job satisfaction has been undertaken in
relation to individual factors while ignoring the role of organizational culture and
environmental factors. This research examines the determinants of individual,

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Police Organizational Culture and Job Satisfaction: A Comparison of Law Enforcement Officers ...
organizational and environmental factors on law enforcement officers job
satisfaction.
UDK: 351.741(73)
Keywords: job satisfaction, organizational culture, police, Midwest, motivation

INTRODUCTION

The relationship between work environment and job satisfaction has been recognized
for over sixty years since Maslov (1943) first introduced his theory of the hierarchy
of needs. In it, he posited that as humans basic needs are met they push hard to
achieve higher needs in both the private and public sectors and, thus acknowledges
the importance of human motivation. Herzberg and his colleagues (1959) expanded
Maslovs work and argued that whilst job factors such as recognition, achievement,
responsibility, and the nature of work do influence job performance, other factors
such as work environment and relations with supervisors determine employee
satisfaction. These contributions were stepping stones which influenced a large
body of research in both the private and public sectors with well over 3,000 studies
conducted on the determinants of job satisfaction (Mitchell, Larson 1987). In 1991,
a key word index search on job satisfaction in the PSYCINFO database produced
over 6,000 hits for articles and monographs (Jayaratne, 1993).
This enormous amount of research focus on both the private and public sectors
has led to an adoption of reforms aimed at bringing about change in organizations
to increase job performance and worker motivation. However, research on one
sector of public organizations, namely, law enforcement agencies and police
officers job satisfaction, has received very sparse attention. Buzawa and her
colleagues (1994) identified about twenty articles that examine the determinants of
police officers job satisfaction, making this field one of the most under-researched
fields of criminal justice (Dantzker, 1994). Most of the earlier work focuses rather
narrowly on the relationship between demographic characteristics such as
gender on job satisfaction (Belknap, Shelley, 1992; Buzawa, 1984; Buzawa et al.,
1994; Hunt, McCadden, 1985), ethnicity (Buzawa, 1984; Buzawa et al., 1994), rank
(Dantzker, 1994; Buzawa, 1984; Hunt, McCadden, 1985) and education (Buzawa,
1984; Sherman, 1980; Dantzker, 1992). Research findings were mixed in terms of
their potential to explain job satisfaction although significant relationships were
identified by earlier work in relation to the positive impact of education on police
work (Dantzker, 1994; Buzawa, 1984; Sherman, 1980). With the exception of a few
more recent research studies that go beyond demographic variables and focus on
work environment (Zhao et al., 1999), very little research addresses the important
issues of organizational and community factors, including management support,
job challenges, social networks, and citizen cooperation on job satisfaction. Further,
most of the earlier studies focus on single city law enforcement agencies (e.g.,
Buzawa, 1984; Zhao et al., 1999).
The aim of this article is to advance the knowledge of determinants of police
officers job satisfaction in two Midwestern states in the U.S. More specifically,

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this article examines the impact of demographic, as well as organizational and
environmental factors, on officers job satisfaction. Additional analyses of three
major cities in these two states were conducted to examine for similarities and
differences on the determinants of job satisfaction in the two states.

ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND JOB SATISFACTION

Herzberg (1968) identified many factors that contribute to job satisfaction. He

argued that apart from the importance of the work itself, other attributes such as
the responsibility that comes with the job and the recognition one receives from
work greatly influence job satisfaction. Using this perspective as a springboard,
researchers developed a more comprehensive approach to understanding larger
work environments, through the study of organizational culture and its impact
upon human relations and work conditions. Organizational culture is a socially
constructed phenomenon consisting of a set of values, beliefs, and behavioral
patterns (Denison, 1983) which not only conveys a sense of identity to its members
(Willmott, 1993) but is also shared by the members (Weick, 1979) and influences
the commitment of its members to the organization beyond themselves (Willmott,
1993). Organizational culture consists of informal rules (Deal, Kennedy, 1982) with
a, set of symbols, ceremonies and myths that communicates the underlying values
and beliefs of that organization to its employees (Ouchi, 1981: 41).
A basic understanding of culture is essential to the understanding of formal and
informal employee behaviors. Organizational culture influences employees both
directly and indirectly. Research from mainstream business organizations suggests
that organizational climate influences productivity, effectiveness, performance
(Denison, 1990; Denison, Mishra, 1995; OReilly, 1989), job satisfaction, (Jackofsky,
Slocum, 1987), innovativeness (Lorsch, 1985), and leadership and decision-making
(Sapienza, 1985). Subcultures within larger organizations are shaped by conditions
such as differential interaction based on structure, location, size, and division of
labor; shared experiences, leading to similar personal characteristics and social
cohesion (Louis, 1985; Trice, Beyer, 1993).

2.1 Police Organizational Culture

Police organizational culture in the U.S. and other developed countries has been
studied for more than forty years (Paoline, 2004). The conception of culture in
police literature is primarily drawn from anthropological and sociological research
(Chan, 1997). Essentially, police culture is a set of ideas, customs, accepted practices,
information and rules of conduct, and core skills that define good police work and
give meaning to police work (Manning, 1977, 1989; Kingshott et al., 2004). Most of
this work relates to the relationship between police culture and police use of force,
corruption, deviant behavior, discretion and management (Harrison, 1998).
McDonald, Gaffigan and Greenberg (1997) suggest that the concept of police
culture includes the merging of two main elements: the image of objective and

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Police Organizational Culture and Job Satisfaction: A Comparison of Law Enforcement Officers ...
professional crime fighters and a system of informal beliefs and behaviors. Skolnick
(1966) argues that police develop a working personality as a consequence of
their work environment, especially because of the essential elements of their work
conditionsdanger, authority, and efficiency. He states that the potential dangers
of routine police work lead police officers to develop feelings of suspicion towards,
and isolation from, the public. Further, Skolnick claims that when police exert
authority, this action limits citizens liberty, which leads to some citizens resisting
or challenging police officers authority and that this response reinforces the danger
in police work.
Individual, organizational and environmental factors affect officers
understanding of their organizational culture, which in turn helps shape their
orientation towards police work and, subsequently, their satisfaction with the work
itself. Most research on police officers job satisfaction has been done in relation to
individual factors while ignoring the role of organizational culture and environmental
factors. Following Herzbergs (1968) theory that work environment is an important
variable that explains job satisfaction, literature drawn from organizational studies
showing the relationship between organizational support and job satisfaction are
also included in this study in order to examine the determinants of job satisfaction.
This study thus attempts to fill the void by examining determinants comprising
individual and organizational factors on police officers job satisfaction in two
Midwestern states, namely Michigan and Ohio. Further, this article compares
three major cities within these two states: Detroit (Michigan), and Columbus and
Cleveland (Ohio) to examine how comparable these factors are in explaining job
satisfaction in departments which are located in similar cultural contexts.

2.2 Methodology
Data were gathered from police officers in five Midwest (Michigan and Ohio) cities.
More specifically, police officers (supervisors and non-supervisors) perceptions
about organizational factors of job satisfaction are examined. Specifically, this
study examines whether the dimensions of organizational culture, in addition to
individual factors, affect police officers perceptions about job satisfaction.

2.3 Survey Instrument

This study intends to acquire a thorough understanding of the views of police
officers. In this study Zeitz, Russell and Ritchies (1997) organizational culture
index is used. Based on an extensive literature review, Zeitz et al. (1997) developed
ten priori dimensions of organizational culture and a factor analysis of results from
866 respondents indicated five essential dimensions of organizational culture.
The instruments developed by Zeitz et al. have been utilized in various studies
(Armstrong-Stassen et al., 2001; Armstrong-Stassen et al., 2005; Cameron et al.,
2004; Carmeli, 2005; Chen et al., 2005; Douglas, Fredendall, 2004; Kayis et al.,
2003; Korunka et al., 2003; Lee et al., 2003; Payne et al., 2002; Pool, 2000; Prajogo,

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McDermott, 2005; Sridhar et al., 2004; Swaffin-Smith et al., 2002) and, the scales
have very acceptable psychometric properties in measuring culture attributes
(Pool, 2000: 375).

2.4 Measurement of Variables

For this study, data was collected utilizing a questionnaire divided into two
sections. The first section was designed to collect socio-demographic information
on police officers, including age, gender, experience, rank, race, population of city
of origin, and family and relatives occupations in specific fields, which allowed
for a comparison of different groups of police officers. The second section of the
study was designed to evaluate individual officers perceptions of the different
dimensions of organizational culture.
Following Cooke and Rousseaus (1988) suggestion, for this study
organizational culture is conceptualized as a multidimensional construct with each
dimension being an essential and significant element of the larger organization. The
current study has adopted Zeitz et al.s (1997) organizational culture index and also
includes several different dimensions related to police work. The reliability and
validity of these scales were extensively tested by Zeitz et al. (1997) and additional
factor and reliability tests are also conducted in this study.
In addition to Zeitz et al. (1997), extensive studies of organizational culture
dimensions were carried out by Berry (1991), Carr and Littman (1990), Crosby
(1979), Dean and Evans (1994), Denison (1996), Gordon and DiTomaso (1992),
Hunt (1992), Juran (1995), Lawler, Mohrman and Ledford (1995), McMillan (1989),
OReilley, Chatman and Caldwell (1991), Payne and Mansfield (1973), Payne,
Nielsen and Tyran (2002), Ross (1993), Rousseau (1990), Schmidt and Finnegan
(1992), Scholtes (1988) and Xenikou and Furnham (1996). In this study, five
dimensions of organizational culture are used to measure the self perceptions of
police officers and their relationships to job satisfaction. These dimensions are: (1)
management support, (2) job challenges, (3) loyalty, (4) social cohesion, and (5)
citizen cooperation.

2.5 Research Sites, Samples and Administration of Questionnaires

Michigan: One large city and two medium sized cities in Michigan were chosen for
this study. Law enforcement agencies comprised of more than 150 police officers
were identified and contacted for permission to administer the survey. Detroit,
Ann Arbor and Southfield Police Departments gave permission to administer the
surveys. Detroit, with a population of approximately 952.000 people, is the biggest
city in Michigan. Detroit PD is comprised of 4,804 employees (4,154 sworn officers)
and is the sixth biggest local police department in the U.S. City police is divided
into six newly structured police districts: (1) Northwest, (2) Southwest, (3) Eastern,
(4) Northeastern, (5) Central, and (6) Western.

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Detroit
Ann Arbor
Southfield

4.804
226
176

Columbus
Table 1:
Study Sites Cleveland

2.114
2.386

MICHIGAN
4.154 (%86)
2.186 (%53)
159 (%70)
72 (%39)
157 (%89)
119 (%76)
OHIO
1.787 (%84)
1.535 (%88)
1.822 (%76)
800 (%44)

Officers per
10.000 residents

City Population

Officer Assigned
to respond to
calls (Number &
Percent)

Full time
Employees

Sworn Officers
(Number &
Percent)

Police Organizational Culture and Job Satisfaction: A Comparison of Law Enforcement Officers ...

951.270
114.024
78.296

44
15
20

763.351
478.403

23
38

* Reaves & Hickman (2004: 26, 28); U.S. census data (2000) and official websites of police
departments.

Ann Arbor, with a population of approximately 114,000 people, is the one

university city in Michigan. Ann Arbor PD is comprised of 226 employees (159
sworn officers). Southfield, with a population of approximately 78,300 people, is a
medium size city with 176 employees (157 sworn officers).
Because of the different sizes of the cities, different methods of survey
administration were utilized. For Ann Arbor and Southfield, surveys were
distributed (total three hundred) to the entire department. For Detroit, due to its
size, the department authorized distribution of three hundred surveys to randomly
selected officers in each of the six districts.
Ohio: Two large cities, Columbus and Cleveland, were selected. Columbus,
with a population of approximately 763.351, is the capital city of Ohio. Columbus
PD, comprised of 2,114 employees (1,787 sworn officers), is the second biggest local
police department in Ohio, and is the twenty fourth biggest local police department
in the U.S.
Cleveland, with a population of approximately 478.403, is the second biggest
city of Ohio. Cleveland PD is comprised of 2,386 employees (1,822 sworn officers)
and is the biggest local police department in Ohio, and is the twenty first largest local
police department in the U.S. In total, seven hundred surveys were distributed to
Cleveland and Columbus police departments (three hundred and fifty for each).

2.6 Dependent Variable

In this study, officers job satisfaction was used as a dependent variable.
Job satisfaction was measured by using four questions which were designed on
a five point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree = 1 to strongly agree = 5 (see
Appendix). A high score reflects higher levels of job satisfaction. Questions relating to
satisfaction with being a police officer, looking forward to going to work every day, and

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if they had a choice to restart their careers would they choose to become a police officer
were among the questions included in this scale. All the items were loaded in their
intended scale, with item loadings ranging from .72 to .92 and communalities were
greater than .50. The job satisfaction factor explains 69 percent of the common
variance and has a Cronbachs alpha of .84.

2.7 Independent Variables

Independent variables are divided into individual or demographic characteristics
and organizational and environmental dimensions.
Individual and Demographic Factors: These micro-level variables dominate
the police organizational culture literature (e.g. Crank, Payn, Jackson, 1993; Davis,
1984; Fielding, Fielding, 1987; Shernock, 1992; Sun, Payne, 2004; Worden, 1993;
Walker, 1983) and police job satisfaction literature (Belknap, Shelley, 1992; Buzawa,
1984, Buzawa et al., 1994; Hunt, McCadden, 1985; Dantzker, 1992, 1994; Sherman,
1980; Zhao et al., 1999). This study includes the following variables: gender,
education, experience, population of city of origin, and officer rank.
Organizational culture and environmental dimensions: Management support,
job challenges, loyalty, social cohesion, and citizen cooperation are included in
this study. Each of the dimensions is evaluated with between three and five items/
questions (see Appendix). The answer to each question is coded on a five point
Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree = 1 to strongly agree = 5. The scales
are reliable, with all six scales having a Cronbachs alpha of greater than .70, and
the lowest alpha being .70, associated with both job challenge, and the highest
alpha of .86 associated with improvement scale.
Overall, and drawing from previous literature, this article assumes that
individual, organizational and environmental factors have significant effects on
police officers perceptions of job satisfaction. Also this study believes that police
officers environment (in particular, State and City differences) has the largest effect
on police officers perceptions given the decentralized nature of police organizations
in the U.S. It can also be assumed that dimensions of the organizational culture and
orientation to police work explain more variance in the police officers perceptions
than individual and organizational factors do.

FINDINGS

Seven hundred questionnaires (350 in each city) were administered to randomly

selected police officers and supervisors in Ohios two police departments, out of
which 350 useable surveys (50 percent response rate) were received. Six hundred
questionnaires were distributed in Michigan and 319 useable surveys were returned
(53 percent response rate).

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3.1 Characteristics of the Respondent

The demographic characteristics of the police officers in Michigan and Ohio are
presented in Table 2. In Michigan nearly a quarter of all the respondents are 30
years or younger, 43 percent are in the age group of 31 to 40 years of age, and the
remaining 34 percent are 41 years or older. From the Ohio group, only 6 percent of
the officers are in the age group of 30 years or younger, while 42 percent are in the
31-40 years age group, and the remaining half of all officers are 41 years or older.
A little over two-thirds of all respondents in Michigan and Ohio are male. A larger
percentage of officers in Michigan have University degrees (43 percent) compared
to Ohio (29 percent). Michigan respondents are nearly equally distributed in the
experience categories of 10 years or less and 11 years and more. However, over
two-thirds of the respondents from Ohio have 11 or more years experience and
nearly 85 percent of the respondents from Michigan are line officers compared
to Ohios 70 percent. Finally, 50 percent of Michigan respondents are non-white
compared to 28 percent from Ohio.

Michigan
(n = 319)
N

Table 2:
Demographics
of Police
Officers in
Midwest, U.S.
(N = 669)

Age
30 years or less
31-40 years
41 years and more
Gender
Male
Female
Level of Education
Police School
University or above
Experience
10 years or less
11 years or more
Population of city of origin
250.000 or less
250.001 or more
Rank
Supervisors
Line Officers
Race
Caucasian
Non-White

Ohio
(n = 350)
%

73
137
109

23
43
34

22
145
181

6
42
52

227
89

72
28

268
77

78
22

181
137

57
43

248
101

71
29

152
162

48
52

95
255

27
73

149
167

47
53

133
215

38
62

46
270

15
85

103
244

30
70

157
156

50
50

249
97

72
28

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3.2 Comparison of Organizational Characteristics

In addition to the individual and demographic characteristics, this study also
compares the mean scores of the organizational dimensions included in the
study. The findings are presented in Table 3. On each of the five organizational
dimensions included in our study Ohios police officers rate their perceptions
favorably towards each factor relative to Michigans respondents. For example,
on the issue of management support, Ohios mean score was 24.43 compared to
Michigans 19.09. This finding suggests that Ohios respondents are slightly more
positive about their management support and this mean difference is found to
be statistically significant. Similarly, Ohios respondents indicate that their jobs
are slightly more challenging, have a stronger social cohesion, and enjoy more
positive citizen cooperation. All these mean differences are found to be statistically
significant. On the issue of loyalty, there appears to be no strong evidence of loyalty
to their fellow officers in both states. This finding is not statistically significant.

SCALES
Management Support (8-40)
Job Challenges (5-25)
Social Cohesion (4-20)
Citizen Cooperation (3-15)
Loyalty (3-15)

Michigan
(N = 319)
M
SD
19.09
8.04
17.76
4.11
13.06
2.98
9.17
2.88
6.73
2.50

Ohio
(N = 350)
M
SD
24.43
6.66
18.42
3.72
13.55
3.09
10.04
2.35
7.07
2.19

F
**87.04
*4.58
*4.20
**18.44
3.49

Table 3:
Comparison
of Mean
Differences
among
States for
Organizational
Dimensions in
U.S. (N = 669)

Mean scores:
1 represents strongly disagree and

5 represents strongly agree on each of the items in each scale.
p < .05, ** p < .01 (two-tailed)

3.3 Determinants of Job Satisfaction in Michigan and Ohio

Findings on police officers perceptions of job satisfaction are presented in Table
4. This model suggests (R2.312) a combined variance of 31 percent of the variation
in job satisfaction as explained by these variables. Police officers perceptions
regarding the challenging nature of the police job is the strongest (Beta .261)
predictor of officers job satisfaction in Michigan. Diagnostics for multi-colinearity
are performed to make sure that the independent variables are not correlated. The
statistical significance of the regression coefficients indicates that individual and
organizational factors have significant effects on perceptions of job satisfaction.
In Michigan, non-white officers, as compared to white officers, are less satisfied
with their job. Officers who perceive a high level of management support and
positive citizen cooperation are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs. Finally,
the challenging nature of the police job positively contributes to the officers
satisfaction with their jobs in the Michigan group.

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Variables

Table 4: OLS
Regression of
Job Satisfaction
(N=669)

Michigan
(N=319)
B /SD
Beta

Individual Factors
Experience (Experienced =1)
-.141/.405
-.019
Gender (Male=1)
-.724/.420
-.089
Education (University or more=1)
.162/.401
.022
Race (Non-White=1)
-1.396/.399
**-.192
Officer from larger population
-.310/.405
-.042
Rank (Supervisors =1)
.555/.571
.054
Organizational Culture Dimensions
Management Support
.067/.025
**.150
Citizen Cooperation
.287/.072
**.222
Job Challenges
.231/.047
**.261
Loyalty
-.048/.075
-.033
Social Cohesion
.090/.067
.073
R2
0.312
F
11.354

Ohio
(N=350)
B/SD
Beta
-.587/.320
.071/.315
-.109/.286
.091/.215
.281/.262
.439/.307

-.096
.011
-.018
.015
.050
.075

.071/.021
**.172
.016/.056
.014
.294/.037
**.400
-.028/.061
-.023
.154/.045
**.170
0.333
14.244

In Ohio, police officers who perceive a high level of management support and
social cohesion in their work are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs. The
challenging nature of policework positively contributes to officers satisfaction with
their job in the Ohio group. Individual factors do not significantly contribute to the
model in Ohio. The R squared (.333) value indicates that 33 percent of the variation
in job satisfaction is explained by these variables. Police officers perceptions about
the challenging nature of the police job is the strongest (Beta .400) predictor of
officers job satisfaction in the Ohio group.

3.4 Determinants of Job Satisfaction in Detroit (MI), Columbus (OH),

and Cleveland (OH)
The findings in Table 5 indicate the relationship between various independent
variables and job satisfaction in three big police organizations in two Midwestern
U.S. states. Statistical significance of the regression coefficients indicates that
individual and organizational factors have significant effects on perceptions of job
satisfaction.
In Detroit, police officers who perceive a high level of social cohesion in their
work are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs. The challenging nature of police
work positively contributes to the officers satisfaction with their jobs in the Detroit
group. Individual factors do not significantly affect officers job satisfaction in the
Detroit group.

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Kaan Boke, Mahesh K. Nalla

Detroit (N=201)
B/Sd
Beta

Variables
Individual Factors
Experience
-.732/.585
-.099
(Experienced =1)
Gender (Male=1)
-.356/.578
-.045
Education
(University or
.014/.582
.002
more=1)
Race (Non-.400/.595
-.051
White=1)
Officer
from larger
.028/.604
.004
population
Rank
.416/.920
.036
(Supervisors =1)
Organizational Culture Dimensions
Management
.046/.037
.095
Support
Citizen
.178/.098
.140
Cooperation
Job Challenges
.247/.063
**.289
Loyalty
-.004/.106
-.003
Social Cohesion
.193/.090
*.164
R2
0.213
F
4.032

Columbus (N=187)
B/Sd
Beta

Cleveland (N=163)
B/Sd
Beta

-.413/.431

-.071

-.523/.502

-.084

.259/.452

.039

-.298/.455

-.047

.325/.350

.063

-1.172/.524

*-.156

.234/.469

.033

.301/.422

.052

.403/.333

.078

.198/.437

.032

-.095/.391

-.018

1.116/.515

.159*

.069/.030

.164

.049/.033

.118

.004/.079

.004

.020/.081

.018

.268/.048
**.396
.-035/.085
-.027
.120/.057
*.146
0.302
6.658

.338/.060
**.426
-.007/.097
-.006
.216/.077
**.215
0.387
7.639

Table 5: OLS
Regression of
Job Satisfaction
in the Midwest
(N=669)

The R square (.213) value indicates that 21 percent of the variation in the job
satisfaction is explained by these variables. Police officers perceptions about the
challenging nature of their work is the strongest (Beta .289) predictor of officers job
satisfaction in the Detroit group.
In Columbus, officers who perceive a high level of management support and
social cohesion in their work are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs. The
challenging nature of their work positively contributes toward officers satisfaction
with their jobs in the Columbus group. On the other hand, none of the individual
factors significantly contributes to the model. The R squared (.302) value indicates
that 30 percent of the variation in job satisfaction is explained by these variables.
The police officers perceptions about the challenging nature of their work is the
strongest (Beta .396) predictor of officers job satisfaction in the Columbus study.
In Cleveland, supervisors compare to line officers and less educated officers
compare to educated officers and are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs.
Officers who perceive a high level of social cohesion in their work are more likely
to be satisfied with their jobs. The challenging nature of the police job positively
contributes to officers satisfaction with their jobs in the Cleveland study. The
R squared (.387) value indicates that almost 39 percent of the variation in job
satisfaction is explained by these variables. Police officers perceptions about the

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challenging nature of policework are the strongest (Beta .426) predictor of officers
job satisfaction in the Cleveland sample.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

This study examines the determinants of police job satisfaction in two U.S.
Midwestern states, Michigan and Ohio. Additionally, it compares the determinants
of police job satisfaction in three major cities in the Midwest: Detroit, Columbus,
and Cleveland. Among the individual factors, and in contrast to the findings of
previous research, race was the only significant factor in predicting job satisfaction
in state wide comparisons. More specifically, in Michigan, non-white officers
were less likely to be satisfied with their jobs. With regards to the organizational
dimensions, in Michigan, officers who perceive positive management support,
citizen cooperation and job challenges experience satisfaction with their jobs
while in Ohio, officers who perceive greater management support, job challenges,
and social cohesion are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs. In a citywide
comparison, at the individual level, some subtle differences are found. Officers
who are more educated and non-supervisors (Cleveland) express less satisfaction
with their jobs. At the organizational level, Columbus officers are the only group
who feel job satisfaction as a result of management support. However, in all three
cities, officers who feel their jobs are challenging and where strong social networks
exist, express greater job satisfaction.
The findings suggest that organizational factors are stronger predictors of job
satisfaction among officers than individual and demographic variables. Clearly,
contrary to earlier findings on the positive relationship between education and job
satisfaction, this studys findings challenge the conventional wisdom that better
educated officers have greater job satisfaction. The Cleveland sample was the only
exception to this rule. This is in some ways an interesting finding in itself despite
the fact that Cleveland and Columbus are two of the biggest cities in Ohio and are
located within close proximity of each other. More research is needed in this area
to tease out the differences between education and job satisfaction whilst holding
other environmental factors constant. Similarly, the notion that senior officers
have greater cynicism is also not apparent from this study. As Niederhoffer (1967),
and other later studies established, the notion that length of service is related to
diminished job satisfaction and increased cynicism has not been supported by the
findings of this study. Thus, contrary to earlier work, individual level variables
appear to have less impact on job satisfaction.
Overall, the findings suggest a multifaceted explanation of job satisfaction
amongst police officers and an absence of uniform findings across police agencies
situated in similar situational and cultural contexts. This is apparently due to the
political nature of police organizations in decentralized bureaucracies such as in
the U.S. The findings, however, suggest that the organizational culture of police
departments plays a significant role in influencing job satisfaction. Clearly, those
police organizations that do a good job of listening to the feedback of officers and
encourage open channels of communication between line officers and supervisors

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Kaan Boke, Mahesh K. Nalla

appear to have a positive impact on job satisfaction. Social cohesion, a factor
representing a police culture with strong bonds and networks among the officers
has been found to be positively related to job satisfaction within all three cities. The
presence of strong and cohesive police departments is not only reflective of the
police culture in general but also of the strong organizational culture that promotes
social networks and camaraderie among its cadres.
A factor that is found to be strongly associated with job satisfaction among
officers in all three cities was the challenge offered by a particular role. That is,
officers who find their job challenging also find greater satisfaction in going to
work. This further supports the earlier finding that management and supervisory
support is crucial in creating positive work environments. Perhaps, the most
interesting findings are the lack of relationship between citizen cooperation and
loyalty with job satisfaction. Regarding citizen cooperation, one can assume that
given that most police work relates to interacting with citizens, their perception of
cooperation has no impact on job satisfaction. Similarly, the perception of loyalty to
the group is not related to job satisfaction. These findings are interesting given that
most of the cities in the study group (with the exception of Detroit) have a formal
organizational mandate of community policing. Given these formal arrangements
for establishing closer ties with the community, future research should address
whether or not departments with formal community policing programs perceive
greater citizen cooperation and if such relationships positively impact upon job
satisfaction.

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About the Authors:

Kaan Boke, Ph.D., Turkey, Ankara, bokekaan@msu.edu or

kaan_boke@yahoo.com.
Mahesh K. Nalla, Ph.D., School of Criminal Justice, Michigan State University,
East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA. Email: nalla@msu.edu.

Appendix
Job Satisfaction: Intended to measure officers job satisfaction. Items loadings
ranged from .72 to .92 and communalities were greater than .50. Job satisfaction
scale had Cronbachs alpha of .84.
1. I am satisfied with being a police officer.
2. If I had the opportunity to go back to the day I decided to become a police
officer, I would choose to become a police officer again.
3. I really look forward to coming to work every day.
4. I measure up to the jobs standards.
Management Support: Intended to measure officers perceptions about
management support. Items loadings ranged from .64 to .84 and communalities
were greater than .45. Management support had Cronbachs alpha of .92.

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Police Organizational Culture and Job Satisfaction: A Comparison of Law Enforcement Officers ...
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

There is a strong commitment to quality at all levels of this organization.

Members of this organization show concern for the need for quality.
Continuous quality improvement is an important goal of this organization.
Top police managers in this organization follow up on suggestions for
improvement.
Our top management tries to make this organization a good place to work.
Top police managers in my department set clear goals for quality
improvement.
Police managers here try to plan ahead for changes that might affect our
performance.
People in this organization are aware of its overall mission.

Job Challenges: Intended to measure the extent to which police officers feel that
police job demanded them to use a variety of abilities and provided them with new
challenges. Items loadings ranged from .55 to .73 and communalities were greater
than .30. Job challenges had Cronbachs alpha of .70.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

The job requires me to use a number of complex or high-level skills.

I have new and interesting things to do in my work.
My work challenges me.
The job is simple and repetitive (Reverse Coded).
I am never bored at work since I have many different things to do.

Loyalty: Intended to measure loyalty amongst the officers. Items loadings ranged
from .82 to .88 and communalities were greater than .67. Loyalty factor had
Cronbachs alpha of .82.
1. If my fellow officer makes a mistake at work, it is my responsibility to protect
him.
2. I will never report against my fellow officer even if he has violated rules.
3. If I violate a rule, I expect my fellow officer to protect me.
Citizen Cooperation: Intended to measure officers perception about the citizen
cooperation with police. Items loadings ranged from .73 to .88 and communalities
were greater than .53. Citizen cooperation factor had Cronbachs alpha of .72.
1. Citizens would often call the police if they saw something suspicious.
2. Citizens would often provide information about a crime if they knew something
and were asked by police.
3. Citizens are willing to work with the police and try to solve neighborhood
problems.
Social Cohesion: Intended to measure officers perceptions about the social cohesion
in the organization. Items loadings ranged from .67 to .88 and communalities were
greater than .40. Social cohesion scale had Cronbachs alpha of .79.

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1.
2.
3.
4.

Officers in my work unit enjoy their co-workers.

Co-workers in my work unit are like a family.
Problems exist here between co-workers. (Reverse Coded)
I trust my fellow officers to do what is in the best interests of the
organization.

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