ACE Membership: A Benchmark Study

Abstract

This study continues inquiry into the reasons people join and retain membership in voluntary professional organizations. Expanding on a study of historical membership data (1991-2004) provided by the Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Life and Human Sciences (ACE), 555 individuals who were dues-paying ACE members in 2006 were sent online surveys. Methodology was based on Dillman's Tailored Design Method. Sixty-four percent of the population responded. Analysis indicated that members were a fairly homogeneous group in terms of employment classification and regional membership status. Average membership tenure was 3.34 years, with 27% of members reporting a lapse in membership. Respondents valued and were satisfied with organizational communication, professional development opportunities, publications, networking, and annual meetings. However, they expressed dissatisfaction with some organizational components, including special interest groups, "cliquishness," lack of diversity, features of the annual meeting, and judging in the awards program. The findings support existing literature about workplace organizational loyalty and commitment and the extended application of such studies to voluntary organizations. Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License. This research is available in Journal of Applied Communications: http://newprairiepress.org/jac/vol91/iss3/5 Journalof Applied Communciations, Vol. 91, Nos. 3 &4, 2007, 57-78©ACE ACE Membership : A Benchmark Study Judith Mcintosh White and Gary J. Wingenbach Abstract This study continues inquiry into the reasons people join and retain membership in voluntary profess ional organizations. Expanding on a study of historical membership data (1991-2004) provided by the Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Life and Human Sciences (ACE), 555 individuals who were dues-paying ACE members in 2006 were sent online surveys . Methodology was based on Dillman's Tailored Design Method. Sixty-four percent of the population responded . Analysis indicated that members were a fairly homogeneous group in terms of employment classification and regional membership status. Average membership tenur e was 3.34 years, with 27% of members reporting a lapse in membership. Respondents valued and were satisfied with organizational communication, professional development opportunities, publications, networking, and annual meetings. However, they expressed diss atisfaction with some organizat ional components, including special interest groups, "cliquishness," lack of diversity, features of the annual meeting, and judging in the awards program. The findings support existing literature about workplace organizational loyalty and commitment and the extended application of such stud ies to voluntary organizations.This study continues inquiry into the reasons people join and retain membership in voluntary profess ional organizations. Expanding on a study of historical membership data (1991-2004) provided by the Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Life and Human Sciences (ACE), 555 individuals who were dues-paying ACE members in 2006 were sent online surveys . Methodology was based on Dillman's Tailored Design Method. Sixty-four percent of the population responded . Analysis indicated that members were a fairly homogeneous group in terms of employment classification and regional membership status. Average membership tenur e was 3.34 years, with 27% of members reporting a lapse in membership. Respondents valued and were satisfied with organizational communication, professional development opportunities, publications, networking, and annual meetings. However, they expressed diss atisfaction with some organizat ional components, including special interest groups, "cliquishness," lack of diversity, features of the annual meeting, and judging in the awards program. The findings support existing literature about workplace organizational loyalty and commitment and the extended application of such stud ies to voluntary organizations. Organizations survive and thrive because they offer valuable networking opportunities, provide useful or needed information, and build loyalty among their members. Like other voluntary organizations, ACE must continue to adapt to the changing needs of its members if it is to build on its 95year history of serv ing applied communicators. This research examines results of an online survey of ACE members, offering a picture of the value members derive from the organization and their attitudes toward it, as well as a demographic sketch of the organization's membership . Journal of Appli ed Communications I 57 1 White and Wingenbach: ACE Membership: A Benchmark Study Published by New Prairie Press, 2017 Individuals join organizations-and remain in them-for many reasons. Minimal research exists with regard to professional agricultural communications organizations and their members' reasons for affiliation, participation, and retention. Such research must be extrapolated from research in sociology and applied psychology, primarily from studies centered on relationships between employers and their employees. An earlier study of historical membership data provided by ACE Headquarters attempted to expand our knowledge on the subject (White, 2005), and this study explored the matter further through data gathered with an online survey of ACE members . Need Fulfillment and Motivation All human behavior is driven by the desire to satisfy needs, which may be defined as "a person's conscious wants, desires, or motives" (Baard, Deci, & Ryan, 2004, p. 2046); the more needs a relationship satisfies, the more likely an individual is to value that relationship and to want to continue it (DuBrin, 2002). Baumeister and Leary (1995) found that humans' powerful and fundamental need to belong contributes to formation and maintenance of social relationships, even in the face of actual or perceived discrimination (Carvallo & Pelham, 2006). Participation in organizations to fulfill needs can include attending meetings and communicating with other members (Catchings, 2004). Today's organizations emphasize communication. Members expect to be well informed about the organization; they also expect to take part in decision making (Mai & Akerson, 2003). According to the theory of planned behavior, individuals base decisions on information moderated by intention, which is determined by their attitudes and norms and by the amount of control they believe they possess over a situation. Functionalism, on the other hand, maintains that behavior results from evaluation of the benefits of such behavior (Greenslade & White, 2005). Both theories help predict participation in voluntary activities. Individual Attributes and Organizational Cultures Individuals do not have identical needs, so organizations cannot treat all their members identically. For example, people may differ in their need to know or in their desire to learn (Cacioppo, Kao, Petty, & Rodriguez, 1986; Tharenou, 2001). Etzioni (1964, 1968) noted that in our complex society, individuals belong to many groups, with the nature of their memberships determined by organizational characteristics and by individuals' attributes. Thus, individual psychological traits and motivations are important determinants of a person's level of organizational commitment. Singer 58 I Journal of Applied Communications 2 Journal of Applied Communications, Vol. 91 [2007], Iss. 3, Art. 5 http://newprairiepress.org/jac/vol91/iss3/5 DOI: 10.4148/1051-0834.1248 and Singer (2001) suggest that individuals' participation or continued commi tment depends more on their individual character istics than on what an organiza tion prov ides. All organjza tions have a distinct culture with character istic structu res and belief systems (Pepper, 1995), including symbols that members recogn ize and for which they construct shared meanings (Conrad, 1990). Organizations use these symbols (for example, the organization's name, seal, colors, etc.) to communicate with members (Maehr & Braskamp, 1986) and to involve members financially, temporally, and emotionally (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986; Rusbult, 1983). An individual's "buy-in" depends on his or her history, perceptions of self-efficacy, goal-directedness, expectat ions of peers, and degree of understanding of the organiza tion (Maehr & Braskamp). Organi zational cultures help members meet their needs (Conrad, 1990) based on members' individual psychology, their individua l need-fulfillment strategies, and their response to organizational cultures (deMan & Ephra im, 2001; Greene, Morrison, & Tischler, 1980; Mullin & Hogg, 1999; Pan dey, 1979; Pelled & Xin, 1997; Solomon, Sneed, & Serow, 1979; van Knippenberg, van Knippenberg, De Cremer, & Hogg, 2004). Because American cultur e favors "self-enhancement," Americans gravita te toward persona l-impr ovement activities (Kitayama, Matsumoto, Markus, & Norasakkunkit, 1997), such as membership in voluntar y professional organizations that enhance professional knowledge, skills, and contacts. Indi vidual reactions to such self-enhancemen t opportunit ies may, however, be influenced just as much by individuals' opinions of themselves as by their culture (Kwan, John, Kenny, Bond, & Robins, 2004). Identification and Commitment The greater a member's identification with, investment in, and commitmen t to an organization, the more positive are his or her perceptions of it (Collier, 2001). Organizational iden tification may focus on members' careers or occupations and comprises cognitive, affective, evaluative, and behavioral dimensions (van Dick, Wagner, Stellmacher, & Christ, 2004), but overall organ izat iona l identification prevents member alienation and reduces turnover (van Knippenberg & van Schie, 2000). A