Abstract

The facts of job satisfaction and their perceived importance among elementary school foodservice dietitians were assessed. The survey instrument consisted of three parts: the job satisfaction survey was used to measure facets of job satisfaction and the level of total satisfaction; perceived importance questions for corresponding job facets; and demographic items. A survey of school food service operations was undertaken and detailed information was collected from 170 dietitians. The collected data were processed using the SPSS package program for descriptive analysis and analysis of valiance. School foodservice dietitians' importance and satisfactions scores on their job and working environment were 4.25 and 2.83, respectively. The respondents rated the subscales of 'communication' and 'nature of work' the highest and the subscales of 'pay' and 'working environment' the lowest The results of facet satisfaction scores and corresponding perceived importance scores were paired to be plotted on the Importance-Performance Analysis Grid. IPA grid was used to provide a strategy for food service managers to counteract dietitian dissatisfaction.

Keywords

• dietitians;
• job importance;
• job satisfaction;
• school foodservice