RELATIONSHIP OF ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE TO ROLE CONFLICT AND ROLE AMBIGUITY OF TOP LEVEL NURSE ADMINISTRATORS.
Contributors: University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Published: 1991
Number of pages: 121
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Psychology, Industrial.
Description: This study described the relationship of organizational structure to role conflict and role ambiguity of top level nurse administrators. Organizational structure variables included reporting arrangement and scope of responsibility. There were 151 nurse administrators who participated in the study.

Independent variables of interest included reporting arrangement and scope of responsibility. A supplemental analysis was conducted using personal demographic data.

The theory of role dynamics guided the study. Data were analyzed via the application of a one-way analysis of variance.

Based on the findings, the null hypotheses that there were no statistically significant differences in the relationships between reporting arrangement and role conflict and role ambiguity scores in the nurse administrator reporting to the chief executive officer and the nurse administrator reporting to another superior were rejected. Research data demonstrated that role conflict and role ambiguity scores were statistically significantly lower at alpha =.05 for nurse administrators reporting to the chief executive officer than for nurse administrators reporting to one of the groups of superiors other than the chief executive officer. The null hypotheses that there were no significant differences in the relationships between scope of responsibility and role conflict and role ambiguity scores of top level nurse administrators having responsibility for nursing services exclusively and the nurse administrator having responsibility for nursing services plus additional clinical and non-clinical areas were not rejected.

Findings obtained from this study have implications for reducing role conflict and role ambiguity for top level nurse administrators. Both role conflict and role ambiguity scores tended to be higher when the nurse administrator reports to a superior other than the chief executive officer. Study findings also have implications for role expansion for nurse administrators since research data showed no significant differences in role conflict and role ambiguity scores in nurse administrators having responsibility for nursing services plus other areas, both clinical and non-clinical.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-06, Section: B, page: 2998.

Thesis (D.S.N.)--UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM, 1991.

School code: 0005.