Doctoral thesis
This study, sought to investigate the determinants of job satisfaction experiences among
academic staff in four selected public and private universities in Tanzania. Specific
objectives were to: assess job satisfaction differences by socio-demographic
characteristics among academic staff in public and private universities in Tanzania;
compare job satisfaction experiences among academic staff in each selected public and
private university in Tanzania; assess the context differences on experiences of job
satisfaction among academic staff and assess the behaviours of satisfied and dissatisfied
academic staff. The study was guided by the Two Factors Theory by Herzberg (1959) and
Value-percept theory by Locke (1976). Cross-sectional survey design was employed with
mixed research approaches. Sample size consisted of 130 respondents; 76 from public and
54 from private universities and questionnaires, interview, observation and documentary
review were techniques used for data collection. Data were analyzed qualitatively and
quantitatively (t-test and ANOVA) where SPSS version 20.0 computer software was used.
Findings indicated that, there is a significant difference between socio-demographic
factors and academic staff job satisfaction in public and private universities in Tanzania.
Leadership, religious ideologies, pay, promotion, academic growth, job security, and
organizational cultures determined different levels of job satisfaction. There is a
difference in job satisfaction within and among universities (public and private) in
Tanzania. Counterproductive behaviours including conflicts, absenteeism, revenge,
emotional cruelty, service sabotage, divided loyalty and intention to quit are the main
threats to public and private universities in Tanzania.
This study suggests that, university leadership need to consider factors such as religious
ideologies, fairness in promotion among others to create a friendly organizational culture.
It is also recommended that dialogue through regular academic staff meetings, effective
communication, and enough academic freedom can foster the culture of curiosity,
autonomy, and trust in public and private universities in Tanzania.