The main purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between organi
zational communication satisfaction and organizational commitment in three
Guatemalan organizations. Data were collected using three questionnaires: the
Downs's (1990) Communication Audit Questionnaire (CAQ), the Mowday,
Porter, and Steers's (1979) Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ),
and the Cook and Wall's (1980) Organizational Commitment Instrument (OCI).
Results indicated that, first, there was an explicit positive relationship between
communication satisfaction and employees' organizational commitment. Sec
ond, school teachers were significantly more satisfied with the communication
practices and more committed to their organization than were the employees of
the other two organizations (a hospital and a food factory). Third, supervisors
were significantly more satisfied than were subordinates with overall communi
cation practices. Fourth, employees with more tenure were significantly more
committed to their organizations. Fifth, the three-factor solution for the Cook
and Wall's Organizational Commitment Instrument did not emerge in this
sample as theorized by its authors. A two-factor solution for the Mowday, Porter,
and Steers's Organizational Commitment Questionnaire emerged as appropriate
for the Guatemalan sample. Finally, conflicting findings in the internal reliabil
ity and factor analysis of one of the commitment instruments used in this study
conducted in Guatemala and in studies conducted in the United States raise
several important issues on the use of research instruments in cross-cultural
studies.
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