This literature review was performed in conjunction with a study, the purpose of which was to identify the cause of man agerial turnover in a specific firm in the retail industry. Literature was reviewed with respect to major causes of mana gerial personnel generally, as opposed to the managerial turn over occurring in the firm which was the focus of the associated study. Literature, thus, is reviewed with respect to the impact on managerial turnover of (1) a failure to development organizational commitment, and (2) a misapplication of power by senior managerial personnel.
Organizational commitment is defined as a (1) strong desire to remain as a member of a specific organization, (2) willingness on the part of an individual to exert high levels of effort for a specific organization, and (3) belief in and acceptance of organizational values and goals by an indivi dual (Porter, & Smith, 1970). The development of organiza tional commitment in an organization is a joint responsibil ity of human resources management, and line management.
In the context of organizational effectiveness, it hasbeen found that high levels of organizational commitment are
correlated with (1) low turnover rates, and (2) high levels of organizational adaptability. Studies of organizational commitment conducted prior to the 1980s either concluded that individuals would be committed to only one social institution, or the studies were inconclusive on the matter (Dubin, Champoux, & Porter, 1975; Dubin, & Goldman, 1972; Porter, Crampon, & Smith, 1972). Many studies conducted in the 1980s have found, however, that dual commit ment is possible and, indeed, occurs often (Angle, & Perry, 1986; Martin, 1981; Schlesinger, & Balzer, 1985).
Senior managers have for years proclaimed that an organi zation's people were its most valuable resource. All too often, however, this statement represented the real extent of top organizational interest in t...