Variables and Operational Definition

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D. Variables and Operational Definition

1. Independent variables An independent variable according to Sekaran 2003 is one of the variables that influence the dependent variable in either a positive or negative way. In this research the indenpendent variables are: a. Need for achievement Need for achievement is the personal striving and employees desire to perform to high standards and to excel in their job. The present study adopted the Manifest Needs Questionnaire to confirm that the measurement was appropriate for assessing the need for achievement. A modified five-item version of Steers and Braunstein’s 1976 Manifest Needs Questionnaire was used to measure need for achievement. This instrument has previously been used by Subramaniam et al. 2002. Respondents were required to respond on a seven-point Likert-type scale. b. Work attitude Work attitude is refers to the manager’s attitudes toward job and toward their organization. In this study the work attitude measured by job satisfaction and affective commitment. Job satisfaction was measured by eight-item instrument developed by Nicole Renee Baptiste 2008. The job satisfaction measurement has been used for public sector organization that focuses on employees being satisfied with eight categories of their job: 1 sense of achievement, 2 scope of using commit to user 33 initiative, 3 influence over job, 4 pay, 5 job security, 6 training received, 7 the work they do, 8 involvement in decision making. Affective commitment was measured by eight-item instrument, developed by Meyer and Allen 1991. This instrument has previously been used by many studies Ketchand and Strawser 1998; Muse and Stamper 2007. Respondents were required to respond on a seven-point Likert-type scale. The overall attitude towards the job and towards the organization was assessed by the sum of the scores. 2. Intervening variable The intervening variable surfaces as a function of the independent variable operating in any situation, and helps to conceptualize and explain the influence of the independent variable on the dependent variable Sekaran 2003. The intervening variable in this research is budgetary participation. Budgetary participation is the extent to which the employees or managers in an organization have the opportunity to get involved in formulation of budgets for which the employees are responsible to implement. The Milani 1975 six-item, seven-point Likert-type scale instrument was used to assess participation in budgeting. The instrument has been extensively used in earlier studies and has provided high internal reliability Brownell, 1986; Frucot and White, 2006; Subramaniam et al 2002;Yuen 2007. Participants were asked to respond to each item on a seven-point scale ranging from 1 representing low participation to 7 representing high participation. commit to user 34 3. Dependent variable The dependent variable in this research is job performance. Job Performance is the competence of employees in conducting the managerial activity includes planning, investigating, coordinating, evaluating, supervising, staffing, negotiating and representing. Job performance was measured with a self-evaluation questionnaire developed by Mahoney et al. 1963. Respondents were asked to respond on a nine-point Likert-type scale. They were required to rate their performance on eight dimensions – planning, investigating, coordinating, evaluating, supervising, staffing, negotiating and representing. They were also asked to rate their overall performance. Although such self-evaluation might be criticized as being a subjective measure, similar techniques have been widely adopted in many studies Brownell and Hirst 1986; Frucot at all 2006;Yuen 2007; Sardjito and Muthaher 2007.

E. Analysis Technique