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The “Levels” Problem in Assessing Organizational Climate

Evidence From the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey

Bibliographic Data

ID21422656
AuthorsJohn R Thompson (0000-0002-5858-9642, The University of Illinois at Chicago, IL, USA, corresponding author), Michael D Siciliano (0000-0001-8688-8685, The University of Illinois at Chicago, IL, USA)
Year2021
Volume50
Issue1
Pages133-156
Publication date2021-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePublic Personnel Management (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0091-0260 • E-ISSN: 1945-7421
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0091026020917710
OpenAlexW3026586372
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited23

The Federal Employees Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) has gained prominence as the primary vehicle through which agencies assess the work-related attitudes of their employees. Within the discipline, the FEVS results have proven a fertile source of data on the job-related attitudes of public employees. However, concerns have been raised with the instrument and with how the FEVS data has been used by scholars. This article highlights a concern with the use of ambiguous terms which impede interpretation of the FEVS results. An investigation in partnership with officials from the regional office of a federal agency confirmed the divergent meanings respondents assign terms such as “my organization” and brought to the fore the extent to which, in large organizations, employee attitudes are distinctive to the units to which they belong at different hierarchical levels. The literature on organizational climate provides a useful framework within which the phenomenon can be understood and analyzed

Agency (philosophy) · Business · General partnership · Interpretation (philosophy) · Organisation climate · Phenomenon · Political science · Public relations · Sociology · Survey data collection · Work (physics) · Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior · Law · Occupational Health and Safety Research · Public Policy and Administration Research

  • Obtaining Comparable Measures of Organizational Performance

    Open Access•George Krause, David E Lewis•Journal of Policy Analysis and…•2025

  • What is necessary for high employee engagement and satisfaction? A look at the best places to work in the Federal Government Index

    Open Access•Gordon Abner, Arfa Alam et al.•Public Administration Review•2022

  • Measuring the Impact of Appointee Vacancies on US Federal Agency Performance

    Mark Richardson, Mark D Richardson et al.•The Journal of Politics•2025

  • Do Vacancies Hurt Federal Agency Performance

    Open Access•Christopher Piper, David E Lewis•Journal of Public Administration…•2023

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    David Chan•Journal of Applied Psychology•1998

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    Benjamin Schneider, Amy Nicole Salvaggio et al.•Journal of Applied Psychology•2002

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    Open Access•Maribeth Kuenzi, Marshall Schminke•Journal of Management•2009

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    Open Access•Benjamin Schneider•Personnel Psychology•1975

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    J Richard Hackman, Greg R Oldham•Journal of Applied Psychology•1975

  • Organizational climate

    Lawrence R James, Allan P Jones•Psychological Bulletin•1974

  • Validating the organizational climate measure

    Open Access•Malcolm Patterson, Malcolm G Patterson et al.•Journal of Organizational Behavior•2005

  • Assessing the Past and Promise of the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey for Public Management Research

    Open Access•Sergio Fernandez, William G Resh et al.•Public Administration Review•2015

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  • Strategies for Improving Measurement Models for Secondary Data in Public Administration Research

    Open Access•Mark John Somers•Public Administration Review•2017

Unique citing works4
Citations per year1
Citation span2022 - 2025 (4)
Citation velocityrecent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 4
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