Employee Job Autonomy and Control in a Restructured Extension Organization

Subject Areas : Environmental policy and management

Mary S. Holz-Clause ¹ , Vikram Swaroop Chandra Koundinya ² , Nancy K. Franz ³ , Timothy O. Borich ⁴

1 - Vice President for Economic Development, University of Connecticut, 304 Gulley Hall, Storrs, CT 06268, U.S
2 - Postdoctoral Research Associate, ISU Extension and Outreach, 220 Curtiss Hall, ISU, Ames, IA 50011, U.S
3 - Program Director for Families, ISU Extension and Outreach, 111 MacKay, Ames, IA 50011, U.S
4 - Program Director for Communities, ISU Extension and Outreach, 126 Design, Ames, IA 50011, U.S

Received: 2015-08-29 Accepted : 2015-08-29 Published : 2012-12-01

Keywords: Control, Extension, Restructuring, Autonomy, Programming,

Abstract :

This descriptive cross sectional census study identified the perceptions of Extension and Outreach employees of Iowa State University in the United States about job autonomy and control after two years of a major restructuring. Employees perceived autonomy and control over expressing views and ideas about their work and spending time on the job but perceived little influence over budget allocations and shaping organizational strategies. They felt administrators and external funding sources influenced programming. They perceived contributing most to program implementation and marketing. The findings from this study have implications for operations and programming in Extension and other organizational settings.