ASKIN KESER | Uludag University (original) (raw)

Papers by ASKIN KESER

This study aims to examine the relationship between union commitment and a series of antecedents-... more This study aims to examine the relationship between union commitment and a series of antecedents-general attitudes towards union, union satisfaction, perceived justice, union instrumentality, militancy-among 461 union members from food and transportation sectors in Turkey. Regression analysis was used to test the relationships between these antecedents and union commitment. Findings revealed that instrumentality explained the highest variance in union loyalty, then came the justice perception and perceived union support. Results suggested that members saw their relation with the union mostly as an economic one, but also perceived organizational support, procedural and interactional justice which reflects a social exchange approach appear to be important for level of union commitment. Implications of the study and recommendations for further studies are discussed.

This article examines the association between job security and intention to stay for those who ar... more This article examines the association between job security and intention to stay for those who are employed in Turkey. There is a high level of unemployment in the country and many workers there are concerned about their job security. Job security refers to the objective dimensions of continuous contract, working full-time hours and paid and unpaid overtime. Job security also refers to the subjective dimension of perceived job security. We surveyed 407 employees in banking and related sectors' call centres, five-star hotel front-line staff and airline cabin crews. Results show that objective dimensions of job security are not associated with intention to stay. However, perceived job security is significantly and positively associated with intention to stay. We recommend that human resource managers focus on the perceived job security aspect of employment to keep valuable employees with the company.

This article examines the association between job satisfaction, flexible employment and job secur... more This article examines the association between job satisfaction, flexible employment and job security among Turkish service sector workers. Data come from a survey of workers in banking and related sectors’ call centres, frontline five-star hotel staff and airline cabin crews (N = 407). Results show that flexible employment involving fixed-term contract, paid and unpaid overtime, on-call work and mismatched contract and hours are not associated with job satisfaction. Perceived job security is positively associated with job satisfaction. The study provides evidence that the perception of job security rather than flexible employment is an important contributor to job satisfaction for Turkish workers in the sample.

Çalışma koşullarının iyi olması, çalışılan yerin atmosferi, fiziksel koşulları bireyler tarafında... more Çalışma koşullarının iyi olması, çalışılan yerin atmosferi, fiziksel koşulları bireyler tarafından önemsenir. Diğer yandan, bireyler açısından çalışılan ortamın psikolojik ortamının iyi olması da hassas bir konudur. Bu bağlamda, bireyi etkileyen psikolojik ortam, son dönemlerde örgüt ve çalışma psikolojisi bilim alanlarında daha fazla öne çıkan konu haline gelmiştir. Yaygın kullanımı mobbing olan, işyerinde bireyin karşı karşıya kaldığı psikolojik şiddet, yıldırma, psikolojik taciz gibi davranışlar, çalışma yaşamında bireyin yaşam kalitesini azaltan faktörlerdir. Dilimizde pek çok kelime, bu kavramın yerine kullanılmasına rağmen, mobbing kavramının yerini alamadığı görülmektedir. Bu nedenle çalışmada da mobbing kavramı tercih edilmiştir.

T his study is part of a programmatic research effort into the determinants of self-assessed abil... more T his study is part of a programmatic research effort into the determinants of self-assessed abilities. It examined cross-cultural differences in beliefs about intelligence and self- and other-estimated intelligence in two countries at extreme ends of the European continent. In all, 172 British and 272 Turkish students completed a three-part questionnaire where they estimated their parents’, partners’ and own multiple intelligences (Gardner (10)
and Sternberg (3)). They also completed a measure of the ‘big five’ personality scales and rated six questions about intelligence. The British sample had more experience with IQ tests than the Turks. The majority of participants in both groups did not believe in sex differences in intelligence but did think there were race differences. They also believed that intelligence was primarily inherited. Participants rated their social and emotional intelligence highly (around one standard deviation above the norm). Results suggested that there were more cultural than sex
differences in all the ratings, with various interactions mainly due to the British sample differentiating more between the sexes than the Turks. Males rated their overall, verbal, logical, spatial, creative and practical intelligence higher than females. Turks rated their musical, body–kinesthetic, interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligence as well as existential, naturalistic, emotional, creative, and practical intelligence higher than the British. There was evidence of participants rating their fathers’ intelligence on most factors higher than their mothers’. Factor analysis of the ten Gardner intelligences yield two clear factors: cognitive and social intelligence. The first factor was impacted by sex but not culture; it was the other way round for the second factor. Regressions showed that five factors predicted overall estimates: sex (male), age (older), test experience (has done tests), extraversion (strong) and openness (strong). Results are discussed in terms of the growing literature in the field.

The aim of the study is to analyze the effect of job related strain on job satisfaction and to re... more The aim of the study is to analyze the effect of job related strain on job satisfaction and to reveal the moderating effect of emotional exhaustion in this relation. For the purpose of the study, 350 elementary and middle school teachers participated the study conducted in Yalova. Study measured the job related strain by a scale developed by Revicki and friends(1991), job satisfaction by Brayfield and Rothe's (1951) job satisfaction scale and emotional exhaustion by Maslach's Burnout Scale's subscale regarding emotional exhaustion. Job satisfaction levels of teachers in the sample is above the average while the job related strain and emotional exhaustion level was found to be at average level contrary to expectation. The entire hypothesis of the study was verified. As expected, job related strain negatively affected job satisfaction. One of the biggest effects came from job related strain effect on emotional exhaustion. Besides, it was revealed that emotional exhaustion played a mediating role in the relation between job related strain and emotional exhaustion.

T his study is part of a programmatic research effort into the determinants of self-assessed abil... more T his study is part of a programmatic research effort into the determinants of self-assessed abilities. It
examined cross-cultural differences in beliefs about intelligence and self- and other-estimated intelligence in
two countries at extreme ends of the European continent. In all, 172 British and 272 Turkish students completed a
three-part questionnaire where they estimated their parents’, partners’ and own multiple intelligences (Gardner (10)
and Sternberg (3)). They also completed a measure of the ‘big five’ personality scales and rated six questions about
intelligence. The British sample had more experience with IQ tests than the Turks. The majority of participants in
both groups did not believe in sex differences in intelligence but did think there were race differences. They also
believed that intelligence was primarily inherited. Participants rated their social and emotional intelligence highly
(around one standard deviation above the norm). Results suggested that there were more cultural than sex
differences in all the ratings, with various interactions mainly due to the British sample differentiating more between
the sexes than the Turks. Males rated their overall, verbal, logical, spatial, creative and practical intelligence higher
than females. Turks rated their musical, body–kinesthetic, interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligence as well as
existential, naturalistic, emotional, creative, and practical intelligence higher than the British. There was evidence of
participants rating their fathers’ intelligence on most factors higher than their mothers’. Factor analysis of the ten
Gardner intelligences yield two clear factors: cognitive and social intelligence. The first factor was impacted by sex
but not culture; it was the other way round for the second factor. Regressions showed that five factors predicted
overall estimates: sex (male), age (older), test experience (has done tests), extraversion (strong) and openness
(strong). Results are discussed in terms of the growing literature in the field.

Yirminci yüzyılın son çeyreği, çok hızlı değişimlerin yaşandığı bir dönem olarak hafızalara yerle... more Yirminci yüzyılın son çeyreği, çok hızlı değişimlerin yaşandığı bir dönem olarak hafızalara yerleşti. Bu yıllarda ekonomik politikalarda, kültürel hayatta ve toplumsal hayatta çok farklı dönemlere tanık olundu; Doğu bloğu yıkıldı, Berlin duvarı yıkıldı.
Liberal politikalar (özelleştirme vb.) ile birlikte serbest piyasa ekonomisine geçiş yaşandı ve monetarist politikalar uygulamaya konuldu. 80'ler ekonomideki değişim
tartışmalarıyla geçerken, 90'lı yılların başlarında küreselleşme konusu dikkat çekmeye başlamıştır. Hiç kuşkusuz burada bilgisayar ve iletişim teknolojilerinde yaşanan gelişmeler, küreselleşmenin itici dinamikleri oldu. Bu yıllarda tele alışveriş,
tele bankacılık, tele posta gibi kavramlar gelişmeye başladı. 2000 yılı ile yeni bir yüzyıla merhaba denildiğinde ise; dünya İnternet, elektronik ticaret, edevlet vb. uygulamalarla, kendini tamamen dijital bir platformun içinde buldu.

Co-authored with Viren Swami, David Frederick, Toivo Aavik, Lidia Alcalay et al. To be published ... more Co-authored with Viren Swami, David Frederick, Toivo Aavik, Lidia Alcalay et al. To be published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin

Here we report results from the first International Body Project (IBP-I), which surveyed 7,434 individuals in 10 major world regions about body weight ideals and body dissatisfaction. Participants completed the female Contour Drawing Figure Rating Scale (CDFRS) and self-reported their exposure to Western and local media. Results indicated there were significant cross-regional differences in the ideal female figure and body dissatisfaction, but effect sizes were small across high socioeconomic status (SES) sites. Within cultures, heavier bodies were preferred in low SES sites compared to high SES sites in Malaysia and South Africa (ds = 1.94-2.49) but not in Austria. Participant age, body mass (BMI), and Western media exposure predicted body weight ideals. BMI and Western media exposure predicted body dissatisfaction among women. Our results show that body dissatisfaction and desire for thinness is commonplace in high SES settings across world regions, highlighting the need for international attention to this problem.

In organizations, not only the satisfaction in working life but outer working life or whole satis... more In organizations, not only the satisfaction in working life but
outer working life or whole satisfaction from life has an effect on
the motivation of an individual and ambition for work.
From this view the subject of “satisfaction obtained from the
working life and life satisfaction” constitutes one of the most
interesting subjects of the working psychology literature.
Many approaches have been suggested for the relation
between satisfaction obtained from the working life and life
satisfaction:
― According to some, working life affects the life satisfaction
positively or negatively.
― According to others general life satisfaction affects the
satisfaction obtained from the working life.
― Other than these two approaches mentioned before,
absence of relationship between these two concepts is defended, too.
When discussing either the satisfaction in the working life
affects the general life satisfaction or vise versa, the only certainty on this matter is the existence of the strong relationship between working life and general life satisfaction.
In this paper, the relations between the satisfactions obtain
from the working life and general life satisfaction would be handled in a theoretical frame and it would be tested among automotive sector in Bursa.

Abstract: Call centers are new type of interacting with customers by telephone and also call cent... more Abstract: Call centers are new type of interacting with customers by telephone and also call centers growth recent years. It has been argued that call center work is new form of “Taylorism”. Beyond this idea, call center work is being critized strongly by work/organizational psychologists. On the other hand unskilled work character, stressful job identity, low, task complexity, routine work type and low levels of job control has been chriticized.
The purpose of study is to find the relationship between “workload” and “job sat-isfaction” at call center workers. In order to measure this relationship, statistical analysis (Correlation and Regression analysis) used The research was performed in one of the biggest bank call center department. (N=101) The result of research shows that, there is important relation between “workload” and “job satisfaction”. The job satisfaction results seems lower because of workload problems of call cen-ter workers.
Key Words: Call Center Work, Workload, Job Satisfaction, Work Psychology, Work Stress

Turnover becomes a major concern for Turkey’s tourism sector in which the experienced labour shor... more Turnover becomes a major concern for Turkey’s tourism sector in which the experienced labour shortages
is common. Studying intention to leave and predictors of it will be enlighting for the growing
sector. Moving from this point, this study first tries to reveal the job and life satisfaction level of
unionized hotel employees, and then test these variables’ effect on intention to leave among a selection
of unionized hotels in Turkey in an attempt to shed light to an underresearched topic in unionized
hotel settings. Respondents (n=1298) are the members of TOLEYIS union dispersed to different
touristic regions in Turkey. Employees have moderate level of job satisfaction. Results show that demographic
variables and the employing hotel have effects on each satisfaction. The effect of job satisfaction
and number of hotel’s stars on intention to leave is significant. Implications of the findings
and future research directions are discussed.
Keywords: Unionized Hotel Employees, Turkey, Job Satisfaction, Life Satisfaction, TOLEYIS.

This paper consists two different studies’ result. First study measured the burnout level and its... more This paper consists two different studies’ result. First study measured the burnout level and its relation with job satisfaction of call center employees. Results showed that burnout level explained %50 of variance in job satisfaction. Second study documented the effect of electronic performance measurement on call productivity of employees. Monitoring increase the number of outgoing calls and decrease the duration of call which is a desired thing for employers.
For the majority of companies call centers become an integral part of customer relationship management. Parallel with this development, number of employees working in call centers continues to grow exponentially not only in developed countries, but also in developing countries like Turkey whose service sector and outsourcing operations of multinational companies pursues its consistent expansion. This creates a need towards understanding call center work.
To our knowledge, there are studies which presented findings either from employee perspective (Bain and Taylor, 2000) or from employer perspective (Spkins et al., 1999). This study differentiates from these studies by incorporating employee and employer perspective to call center work with two different studies from Turkish banking sector.
First study represents the employee perspective regarding call center work by investigating burnout level of call center employees and its relation with job satisfaction. Results of this study revealed that “burnout” explained % 50 of “job satisfaction” among call center employees. It remains unclear how employers benefitted from electronic performance monitoring and how call center employees reduce their workload which causes burnout among them under consistent electronic performance monitoring. For this reason, second study reflects the employer perspective by measuring the effect of electronic monitoring on call productivity of these employees. Lack of electronic monitoring caused a decrease in the number of outgoing calls and increased the duration of calls. These findings clearly show that call center employees attempted to decrease their high workload by increasing the duration of call and decreasing the number of outgoing calls. There is no doubt that employers benefit from the electronic monitoring by increasing the call productivity of call center agents while this workload cause job burnout among these employees.
Key Words: Electronic Mail, Mail, Organization, Communication

T his study is part of a programmatic research effort into the determinants of self-assessed abil... more T his study is part of a programmatic research effort into the determinants of self-assessed abilities. It
examined cross-cultural differences in beliefs about intelligence and self- and other-estimated intelligence in
two countries at extreme ends of the European continent. In all, 172 British and 272 Turkish students completed a
three-part questionnaire where they estimated their parents’, partners’ and own multiple intelligences (Gardner (10)
and Sternberg (3)). They also completed a measure of the ‘big five’ personality scales and rated six questions about
intelligence. The British sample had more experience with IQ tests than the Turks. The majority of participants in
both groups did not believe in sex differences in intelligence but did think there were race differences. They also
believed that intelligence was primarily inherited. Participants rated their social and emotional intelligence highly
(around one standard deviation above the norm). Results suggested that there were more cultural than sex
differences in all the ratings, with various interactions mainly due to the British sample differentiating more between
the sexes than the Turks. Males rated their overall, verbal, logical, spatial, creative and practical intelligence higher
than females. Turks rated their musical, body–kinesthetic, interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligence as well as
existential, naturalistic, emotional, creative, and practical intelligence higher than the British. There was evidence of
participants rating their fathers’ intelligence on most factors higher than their mothers’. Factor analysis of the ten
Gardner intelligences yield two clear factors: cognitive and social intelligence. The first factor was impacted by sex
but not culture; it was the other way round for the second factor. Regressions showed that five factors predicted
overall estimates: sex (male), age (older), test experience (has done tests), extraversion (strong) and openness
(strong). Results are discussed in terms of the growing literature in the field.