The relationship between job satisfaction and management span of control in the Fortune 500 pharmaceutical industry

The construct of job satisfaction has been exhaustively explored among research scholars and occupies a considerable space in the literature. The debate has continued regarding the relationship between job satisfaction and performance and the interest among organizations in a myriad of industries has reached its peak as, among others, the economic conditions of the 20 th century have elevated the significance of sustaining performance of human capital. The pharmaceutical industry is not immune to the global conditions impacting organizations. The industry has been challenged with multiple reductions in force efforts and significant restructuring that has generated disruption and variability in management span of control. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between job satisfaction and management span of control in the pharmaceutical industry. While there has been a plethora of research on job satisfaction and management span of control, the relationship between the two constructs has not been studied in the pharmaceutical industry. This research utilized a survey instrument to measure the relationship between management span of control and job satisfaction among 214 participants in the U.S. based pharmaceutical industry. The results of this study do not support a relationship between management span of control and employee levels of job satisfaction as measured by the JDI and JIG in the U.S. based pharmaceutical industry.