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positive feedback such as compliments from supervisors and/or coworkers when from the feedback recipient's view, his or her performance does in fact warrant positive feedback. Correspondingly, unfavorable feedback is conceptualized as the perceived frequency of negative feedback such as expressions of dissatisfaction and criticism from supervisors and/or coworkers when from the feedback recipient's view, his or her performance warrants such feedback (Steelman et al, 2004). Supervisor and/or coworker source availability is operationalized as the perceived amount of contact an employee has with his or her supervisor and/or coworkers and the ease with which feedback can be obtained (Steelman et al, 2004). Feedback seeking is defined as the extent to which the environment is supportive or unsupportive of feedback seeking. It is the extent to which employees are encouraged or rewarded for seeking feedback and the degree to which employees feel comfortable asking for performance feedback (Williams et al, 1999).

2.3 Role Clarity

Lyons (1971) defines role clarity as the subjective feeling of having as much or not as much role relevant information as the person would like to have. The importance of having role clarity (knowing the tasks and expectations of a job) has been shown in previous research that used both emotional and performance-related measures (Abramis, 1994; Jackson & Schuler, 1985; Tubre & Collins, 2000). Role clarity is a prerequisite for harmonious interactions with others in the role set (Mcgrath, 1976). The absence of role clarity leads to stress, intrapersonal tension and lowered job satisfaction (Cooper, Sloan & Williams, 1988; Hall, 2004).

Breaugh & Colihan (1994) defined role ambiguity to be job ambiguity and indicated that job ambiguity possesses three distinct aspects: work methods, scheduling, and performance criteria.

2.4 Employee Commitment

It is recognized that an employee's commitment to an organization can be expressed in three particular ways: affective, continuance, and normative. Affective commitment is focused on an emotional attachment to the organization (Herscovitch, 2002). On the other hand, continuance commitment is when an employee stays with an organization based on a perceived cost of leaving (Herscovitch, 2002). In this case, the employee is staying because he/she thinks it will cost more to go find work elsewhere. Lastly, normative commitment refers to an employee's moral obligation to stay with the organization (Herscovitch, 2002). This can arise due to the employee feeling that the organization has treated him/her well and therefore, he/she owes the organization a continued period of employment. In one sense, each type of commitment somewhat ties the individual to the organization; however, each impacts differently on the manner in which the employee conducts him/herself in the workplace. For example, an employee with an affective commitment will often go above and beyond what is required of his/her position in order to assist the organization in meeting its goals. Employees with high affective commitment tend to be absent from work less frequently and display a higher work motivation and organizational citizenship (McShane, 2001). Continuance commitment, however, is negatively related to performance whereby employees tend to do simply what is required, have higher rates of absenteeism, and low motivation (Joh