BUS603: Managing People

Research on person-organization fit (PO fit) was conducted to gain a deep understanding of increasing compatibility between employees and organization, with the aim of getting a more profound appreciation on how to retain employees for the long run by increasing employee satisfaction and commitment to improve strategic organizational growth. Previous research of the subject matter concentrated on the Context of work or companies, while this study focuses on educational institutions. In daily life, every student will face several choices that should be made, both with regards to small and big decisions, including choosing to join an organization for a student activity. There are many factors influencing students' decisions to join a student activity organization, and they are both voluntary and involuntary. On the other hand, the situation encompassing the work sphere is quite different, such as the case of deciding to assume a job position. Sometimes a person does not have many choices when selecting a job, and one may choose any job as long as it can be obtained. In such cases, the job seeker will not consider the value of compatibility with the company, and this causes the variation of a person-organization fit among individuals.

Kristof states that person-organization fit describes the relationship between individual and organizational desires, including wants or needs of individuals within organizational structures and systems, and takes into account how individual personality fits into the company climate. Management scholars have expressed growing interest in the concept of PO fit. PO fit refers to individuals' congruence with their work environment, mainly due to its many benefits that follow from positive job attitudes and job behaviors in recent years. PO fit affects several aspects and when it is mediated by direct superiors' support, then person-organization fit has a positive effect on job satisfaction. Research conducted by Abdurachman and Siswati found that there is a positive influence of PO fit towards organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). PO Fit also reduces counterproductive behavior, as evidenced by results of Farkhani et al. According to Alniacik et al., PO fit moderated the effect of commitment organizational and job satisfaction on turnover rates for employees working in higher education institutions. PO fit is related to reactions to work. When individual and organizational values are the same, job satisfaction and performance increase while employee' work stress reduces. PO fit is also positively associated with organizational commitment (OC). OC is defined as the level of identification and individual attachment one has to an organization, and characterized by individual loyalty to the organization, willingness to conduct business in the name of the organization, and compatibility between individual and organizational goals. Employee commitment to the organization will increase the employee's feelings of belonging. In a review of PO Fit, Kristof proved empirically that PO fit is a strong predictor of job satisfaction and organizational commitment.

Moreover, research conducted by Lamm et al. found that PO fit has a positive influence on OCB. Individuals who have high organizational fit values tend to have high organizational citizenship behavior, meaning that those who are compatible with the organization tend to comply with the organization's wants, without expecting rewards. In research conducted by Piasentin and Chapman, it was found that an individual would feel compatible with the organization or the workplace when the values individuals hold are compatible with those of the organization. The phenomenon of voluntary behavior in organizations is called organizational citizenship behavior; it develops when individuals voluntarily help others at work without promises of attractive rewards. Organizational citizenship behavior encompasses a willingness to perform tasks beyond the main job description. People who are good organizational citizens perform additional chores to help others or to help improve overall company performance. OCB manifests in assuming extra-role, meaning voluntary act in exceeding the minimum job requirements. Such behavior includes voluntarily taking an active approach in stimulating creativity and innovation to improve one's tasks or organizational performance, enthusiastically making an effort to complete one's work, volunteering to assume extra responsibility, and encouraging others in the organization to do the same.

The purpose of this study was to test the relationship of person-organization fit toward organizational commitment and organizational citizenship behavior for members of students' activity organization from a private university in Bandung, Indonesia. Following the results of the study, we provide recommendations to leaders of student activity organizations and department of student affairs dealing directly with students' activity.