Exploring the Impact of God Schema on Equal Opportunity Climate and Related Indicators of Organizational Effectiveness

Abstract

The present study explored the relationship between God schema and work place perceptions, specifically perceptions of equal opportunity (EO) climate and indicators of organizational effectiveness (OE). The first aim of this research was to investigate the impact of God schema (i.e., God schema patterns) on EO climate (i.e., collective EO climate patterns). The second aim of this research was to explore the impact of God schema, race, gender, and EO climate on indicators of organizational effectiveness, such as job satisfaction, organizational commitment, perceived work-group cohesion, and perceived work-group effectiveness. The final aim of this study was to examine the impact of group heterogeneity in terms of God schema, race, and gender, on group perceptual agreement.

Data was collected and analyzed from 1,622 United States Navy personnel who completed the DEOMI Equal Opportunity Climate Survey (DEOCS) and attached God schema research module. Using a pattern approach (i.e., cluster analysis and configural frequency analysis), the results provided clear support for a relationship between God schema and perceptions of EO climate and OE. The findings suggested the influence of God schema was expressed differently depending on an individual's race/gender identity. Lastly, the results provided support for the predictive power of God schema (i.e., God schema heterogeneity within a unit) on unit-level agreement.

Taken as a whole, these findings highlighted a dynamic relationship between God schema and perceptions of EO climate and related indicators of OE. The research findings affirmed individuals’ conceptions of God are powerful cognitive schema. In addition, the research findings illustrated individuals’ conceptions of God and variations among these conceptions are measurable, and can be investigated in an objective and scientific manner. Above all, the findings supported a meaningful relationship between God schema and work-place perceptions.