Because job satisfaction and organizational culture were strong predictors of commitment, interventions aimed at increasing job satisfaction and creating an organizational culture that values and respects staff members could be most effective in producing higher levels of organizational commitment.

These findings suggest that a good quality of work environment for the staff contributes to a better quality of care for the residents. More research is needed to examine the causal nature of this relationship.

This article describes the development of the Resident Satisfaction Index (RSI) to measure the quality of assisted living from the residents' perspective. In total, 156 residents in 13 assisted living facilities participated in the study. Exploratory factor analysis confirmed five hypothesized RSI subscales representing resident perceptions of health care, housekeeping services, physical environment, relationships with staff, and social life/activities. Cronbach's alpha for the RSI subscales ranged from .77 to .86, and for the entire index, it was .92. The correlation of the RSI with the Affect Balance Scale (ABS) was .53, providing further support for its construct validity. The instrument could be used by policy makers and professionals interested in improving the quality of life for the frail elderly in assisted living. Assisted living represents a social model of care for the frail elderly that combines housing and services to support resident independence (Kane, Baker, Salmon, & Veazie, 1998; Lewin-VHI, Inc., 1996). Residents' demand for and willingness to pay for services are the major factors stimulating the rapid development of assisted living nationwide (Mollica & Snow, 1996). Despite its consumer-centered "philosophy of care," there are no instruments to evaluate resident satisfaction with assisted living. This article describes the development of the Resident Satisfaction Index (RSI) to measure the quality of assisted living from the resident's perspective. Research suggests that satisfaction is a multidimensional concept (Ware, 1981). In this study, resident satisfaction was defined as resident evaluation of multiple dimensions of his or her life in a facility. Conceptually, the dimensions of resident satisfaction can be derived from the definitional characteristics of assisted living that are assumed to be important to residents. These characteristics include resident autonomy, adequate access to health care, 57

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In this study, the author examines the relationship between staff perceptions of organizational culture and their work-related attitudes in assisted living. Data were collected from 317 staff in 61 facilities using self-administered questionnaires. Staff who had more favorable perceptions of organizational culture reported greater job satisfaction, coworker satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Among the dimensions of organizational culture, perceptions of teamwork had the strongest influence on satisfaction with coworkers, and perceptions of organizational morale had the strongest influence on job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Those who want to improve staff attitudes should focus on creating organizational cultures that promote teamwork and high organizational morale.