The Study of the Relationship between Managers Communication Skills and Organizational Performance among Nurses in Educational Hospitals
Authors: Amraei Mahdi , Valizadi Hossein , Haghighizadeh Mohammad Hosein , Faraji-Khiavi Farzad 
Published: April 2022

Background. The aim of study was to determine the relationship between managers’ communication skills and nurses’ organizational performance in teaching hospitals. Methods. This was a descriptive-analytic research using correlational analysis method. The research population included managers and nurses in 5 educational hospitals in Ahvaz city of Iran, with a sample size based on the Cochrane formula of 39 managers and 195 nurses. Proportional stratified random sampling method was used in the present study. Data collection tool included 3 questionnaires. To analyze the data, descriptive statistical methods as well as t-test and ANOVA and Pearson correlation coefficient were used in SPSS software version 22. Results. The mean score calculated for communication skills was 3.30(±0.53) while it was 3.44(±0.81) for organizational performance, both of which were estimated to be relatively strong. According to the statistical test, there was no significant relationship between total communication skills' score and the total score of organizational performance. However, some communication skills had weak correlations with performance factors. Conclusion. This study did not find a significant association between communication skills and organizational performance, whilst management literature suggested otherwise. We suggest that in addition to setting training courses to strengthen communication skills for hospital managers, studies should be designed to identify the mediating factors of this variable with organizational performance. Background Communication is a vital management skill that might influence all the activities of managers in organizations. Therefore, it is presumed that using communication skills effectively can help improve organization performance in order to achieve its goals. This study was conducted to determine the relationship between managers’ communication skills and nurses’ organizational performance in educational hospitals. Methods This was a descriptive-analytic research using correlational analysis method. The research population included managers and nurses in 5 educational hospitals of Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences in Ahvaz city of Iran, with a sample size based on the Cochrane formula of 39 managers and 195 nurses. Proportional stratified random sampling method was used in the present study. Data collection tool included three questionnaires. First, a demographic questionnaire including age, gender, marital status, education, job history etc. Second, Barton communication skills' questionnaire that was covering verbal, auditory and feedback skills. Third, Hersey and Goldsmith organizational performance questionnaire which assessed performance on the basis of seven factors including ability, clarity, help, incentive, evaluation, validity, and environment (known as seven factors ACHEIVE model). The face and content validity of Barton’s questionnaire were confirmed by 8 university professors of the Department of Health Services Management and the School of Nursing and the Hersey and Goldsmith questionnaire was analyzed and confirmed by 8 professors and experts in the field of management sciences.The questionnaires distribution followed a randomized proportional method in hospitals. Cornbrash's alpha coefficient was calculated 0.80 for Barton questionnaire and 0.86 for Hersey and Goldsmith; and both showed acceptable reliability. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistical methods, including mean, standard deviation, frequency and frequency percentage as well as inferential statistics including t-test and ANOVA and Pearson correlation coefficient in SPSS software version 22. Results Most managers were over 40 years old and the nurses were between 30 and 40 years old. Most managers were female and had 11 to 15 years’ work experience. Most of the participant nurses had less than 10 years’ job experience. The mean score was calculated 3.30(±0.53) for communication skills and 3.44(±0.81) for organizational performance; and both were estimated as relatively strong. According to the statistical test, total communication skills' score did not show a significant relationship with total score of organizational performance. However, some communication skills had weak correlations with performance factors. There was a positive and significant relationship between the listening skill with the ability (r = 0.27, p<=0.001) and validity (r=0.18, p=0.012) factors. In addition, verbal skill demonstrated a positive and significant association between the verbal skill component and clarity (r = 0.14, p=0.04) and environment (r=0.18, p=0.011) factors. Finally, total score of communication showed a weak but statistically significant correlation with ability (r=0.24, p=0.001) and clarity (r=0.15, p=0.044) factors. Conclusion This study did not show a significant association between communication skills and organizational performance, whilst management literature suggested otherwise. In our study, some inconsiderable associations were found between communication skills and performance factors. Therefore, we suggest that in addition to setting training courses to strengthen communication skills for hospital managers, studies should be designed to identify the mediating factors of this variable with organizational performance factors. Practical Implications of Research Due to the inconsiderable relationship between auditory and verbal skills with some factors of organizational performance, more research needs to be conducted to find out how communication skills work between managers and nurses in order to develop hospital performance. Ethical Consideration All ethical principles and considerations of the committee of research of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences are observed in this study with the code of ethics IR.AJUMS.REC.1397.864, and the data were collected after the consent of the statistical population of the study had been obtained. Conflict of Interests The authors of the article stipulate that there is no conflict of interest. Acknowledgement This research has been done with the financial support of the Student Research Committee of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences with the number 97s39. The authors thank and appreciate all managers and nurses for cooperating and completing the questionnaires.