Organizational Support for Career Development and Organizational Commitment: Evidence from the Ghana Police Service

The study was conducted on the influence of organisational support for career development on organisational commitment in the Ghana Police Service. The topic was chosen because most studies conducted in Ghana's security sector have focused on job satisfaction, job stress, corruption, and image branding. Given the importance of the Police work to society and extensive skills and training associated with preparing them for effective policing, it has become extremely important to study issues about their career development and employee commitment. To validate this framework, a cross-sectional survey design was adopted. Using a multi-stage sampling technique, a sample of 271 junior and senior personnel from the headquarters of the Ghana police service in Accra were selected. Hypotheses formulated were tested through linear and hierarchical regression analytic procedures using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Findings suggested that organisational support for career development had a significant impact on affective and normative commitment. Again, personnel perceived low organizational support for career development. Personal characteristics such as age, gender, and level of education also had moderate effects on organisational commitment. It was concluded that the government should develop and maintain highly skilled personnel by providing them with more career development options and supports as this will greatly impact on their willingness to stay with their organisation and also reflect in their job performance.