Abstract:
A recent change in the organizational structure of the direct sales team of a bank was made with the objective of improving job satisfaction. The present study of 57 salesmen that are part of the mentioned team, aims to analyse the changes in their overall job satisfaction before and after the introduction of a flatter structure, to confirm that the change had the desired effects. A quantitative descriptive approach will be taken and a before-and-after intra-group comparison will be used to study the differences in the dependant variables. According to Worthy (1950), Carpenter (1971) and Ivancevich & Donnelly (1975), there is some empirical evidence that suggests a significant correlation between a flatter structure and higher job satisfaction. To measure job satisfaction, a single-item measure will be used. In addition to measuring job satisfaction directly, rates of turnover and absenteeism will be utilized to confirm the findings. The outcome of this research could help for decisions to apply comparable changes to similar teams, and add to the academic discussion of the relationship between job satisfaction and tall or flat organizations.
