Explaining Job Satisfaction and Commitment Among Prison Officers: The Role of Organizational Justice
| Author | Francis D. Boateng,Ming-Li Hsieh |
| Published date | 01 March 2019 |
| Date | 01 March 2019 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032885519825491 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
research-article2019
Article
The Prison Journal
2019, Vol. 99(2) 172 –193
Explaining Job
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DOI: 10.1177/0032885519825491
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Commitment Among
Prison Officers: The Role
of Organizational Justice
Francis D. Boateng1 and Ming-Li Hsieh2
Abstract
The organizational justice doctrine has been applied widely in understanding
the performance of criminal justice institutions. Although most of the
research has been conducted in the West, few studies have focused on
postcolonial societies. Given the importance of cross-cultural investigations,
the current study attempts to test the validity of organizational justice theory
in Ghana by exploring how key organizational justice components impact
correctional officers’ perception of job satisfaction and job commitment.
The results reveal significant support for organizational justice hypotheses in
Ghana. Practical policy implications of the findings are discussed.
Keywords
Ghana, corrections, organizational justice theory, job satisfaction, job
commitment
Introduction
Corrections is an essential part of the criminal justice system. In 2014, there
were 6,851,000 adults under some form of supervision (Kaeble, Glaze,
1The University of Mississippi, University, USA
2University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, USA
Corresponding Author:
Francis D. Boateng, Department of Legal Studies, The University of Mississippi, Odom Hall,
P.O. Box 1848, University, MS 38677, USA.
Email: fboateng@olemiss.edu
Boateng and Hsieh
173
Tsoutis, & Minton, 2015) across more than 4,575 correctional establishments
or institutions in the United States (World Prison Brief, 2017). Potential posi-
tive outcomes for inmates rely heavily on the functions of institutions
(Lambert et al., 2010) and on employees who provide fair treatment and
interventions. Correctional officers represent the fairness and equity of insti-
tutions and impact inmates’ perceptions of justice through their day-to-day
practice (Dirkzwager & Kruttschnitt, 2012). Correctional officers who treat
inmates fairly and decently could help inmates cope with deprived prison life
and contribute to successful reentry (Adams, 1992). The question then is as
follows: What shapes correctional officers’ positive concepts of justice and
fairness within a negative work environment?
Organizational justice (see Folger & Cropanzano, 1998; Greenberg, 1987,
1990) has a considerable impact on correctional officers’ attitudes and behav-
iors in terms of job stress (Lambert, 2003; Lambert, Hogan, & Allen, 2006;
Lambert, Hogan, & Griffin, 2007; Lambert et al., 2010; Taxman & Gordon,
2009), job and organizational commitment (Lambert, 2003; Lambert et al.,
2007; Lambert, Paoline, & Hogan, 2006; Taxman & Gordon, 2009), and job
satisfaction (Lambert, 2003; Lambert et al., 2007; Lambert, Paoline, &
Hogan, 2006) in general. When officers do not perceive organizational jus-
tice within their institution, correctional agencies would have difficulties in
administration and management with respect to escalating employee morale
and motivation, effectively promoting policies and procedures, and generat-
ing productive outcomes (Greenberg, 1990).
Despite the importance of organizational justice, available research to
understand the influence of the concept in shaping officers’ work attitudes is
limited and mainly focused on Western cultures. There is a need for further
examination of the concept in highly understudied non-Western societies to
develop a broader perspective of organizational justice. To fill this void, the
current study sought to apply the organizational justice literature on correc-
tions in a global context, particularly extending the application of the concept
to Ghanaian correctional institutions. Importantly, this study aimed to explore
how organizational justice affects officers’ job satisfaction and organizational
commitment. To meet this objective, we conducted a random survey of 200
Ghanaian correctional officers from five correctional establishments located
within two administrative regions. The results suggest policy implications
regarding improving the officers’ perception of the workplace and strategies
for integrating organizational justice within criminal justice institutions.
Ghana offers an ideal environment for this analysis for several reasons.
First, Ghana is a postcolonial society that inherited its correctional ideology
from its “colonial masters,” reflected in severe problems in creating condu-
cive prison work environments. Prison officers in Ghana are poorly paid and
174
The Prison Journal 99(2)
housed and mostly work in less than favorable conditions. The persistence of
this work environment has led to the development of negative work-related
outcomes and behaviors among Ghanaian correctional officers (Ghana
Prisons Service [GPS], 2015). Low morale and lackadaisical behaviors are
among the poor attitudes exhibited by these officers. Second, prisons in
Ghana are brutal and abusive and have been criticized for inhuman, degrad-
ing punishment and life-threatening treatment of inmates by United Nations
Human Rights (2013). To improve harsh prison conditions and enhance fair
treatment, first and foremost, Taxman and Gordon (2009) indicated that “a
high level of organizational justice should become [a] priority” concern in
correctional reform (p. 707), and that effective administration and recalibrat-
ing discipline can improve the humanity and integrity of employee services
in general. Thus, the examination of the validity of the organizational justice
doctrine in this type of prison environment is justified and necessary.
Organizational Justice and Corrections
The contemporary doctrine of organizational justice (Greenberg, 1987, 1990)
explains how perceptions of justice and equity impact employees’ attitudes
and behaviors toward the workplace. This doctrine can be divided into two
sub domains: procedural justice and distributive justice. Distributive justice,
Greenberg (1990) explained, is the content- and outcome-oriented concern
regarding “the fairness of the ends achieved,” while procedural justice is the
process-oriented concern regarding “the fairness of the means used to achieve
those ends” (p. 400). In other words, perception of “fairness” plays a vital
role throughout the means-ends pipeline in any organizational setting and, in
turn, has formed a justice-performance relationship for employees (Colquitt
et al., 2013). A meta-analysis conducted by Colquitt et al. (2013) demon-
strated that employees who perceived a higher level of organizational justice
were less likely to be associated with counterproductive work behaviors and
more likely to have positive job and task performance.
Organizational justice is a “basic requirement” for organizational effec-
tiveness (Greenberg, 1990, p. 399) and, indeed, the concepts of “justice and
fairness” underlying organizational justice are its cornerstones in the criminal
justice realm (Lambert, 2003, p. 155). Law enforcement (Myhill & Bradford,
2013; Wolfe & Piquero, 2011) and legal authorities (Baker et al., 2014; Tyler,
2007) have consistently emphasized the importance of organizational justice,
but a small and growing body of research led predominantly by Lambert
(Lambert, 2003; Lambert, Hogan, & Allen, 2006; Lambert et al., 2007;
Lambert et al., 2010; Lambert, Paoline, & Hogan, 2006) is documenting the
need for organizational justice within correctional settings.
Boateng and Hsieh
175
According to Lambert, Hogan, and Allen (2006), only correctional offi-
cers who perceive organizational integrity and legitimacy can make fair deci-
sions about inmates, create safe prison environments, and, indirectly, aid and
determine the success of their institution. Second, when inmates experience
unbiased correctional discretion on punishment, they are more likely to
respect authority and receive their penalty rather than resist or rebel (Santos,
Lane, & Gover, 2012). Third, both procedural justice and distributive justice
can help correctional officers “successfully practice care, custody and con-
trol” in prison from a liberal-humanitarian-oriented rehabilitation approach
(Ricciardelli, 2016, p. 339). In addition, Lambert (2003, p. 156) indicated
that even though “job stratification and organizational commitment are pow-
erful attitudes” that shape the behavior of correctional officers, understanding
the interaction with organizational justice is a more important issue within
corrections. Both procedural justice and distributive justice influence offi-
cers’ subsequent behaviors and their impact on inmates and the organization
in general.
Organizational Justice and Job Satisfaction
Distributive justice and procedural justice have been found to have positive
effects on job satisfaction. Correctional officers reported that when they per-
ceived more accurate and fair evaluations of job performance from their
supervisors and more unbiased promotion procedures in their institutions,
they felt a higher level of job satisfaction (Lambert, 2003). In line with
Lambert’s (2003) study, Lambert and Paoline (2008) revealed that percep-
tions of fair, clear, and objective criteria for promotions would reduce the
negative emotional and psychological effects such as stress that could result
...
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