Date of Conferral

2014

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Psychology

Advisor

Richard Thompson

Abstract

In hospitals in the United States, the ratio of nurses to patients is declining, resulting in an increase in work demands for nurses. Consequently, organizations face challenges with nurses' organizational commitment. Studies have revealed generational differences, as determined by birth year, in employee levels of organizational commitment in a number of organizational settings. However, there is a gap in the literature regarding the impact of generational cohorts on the organizational commitment of nurses. The purpose of this quantitative, nonexperimental, cross-sectional design was to address whether generational cohorts of nurses differed in their levels of organizational commitment, and to investigate whether licensed practical nurses (LPNs) and registered nurses (RNs) differed in their levels of organizational commitment. A purposive sampling method was used to recruit 132 nurses in Alabama for this study. A MANOVA was employed to test the mean differences in organizational commitment by generational cohort status and nursing degree. Results revealed that generational cohort status did not have a significant impact on nurses' levels of organizational commitment. However, the findings showed that LPNs had significantly lower levels of affective commitment than RNs. This study provided information that may be of use to hospital administrators and human resource managers in communicating the need for flexible incentive packages to address the needs of a diverse workforce. Results from the study may promote social change by providing information about how nurse credentials are associated with their organization commitment. This association is critical for building organizational stability, organizational effectiveness, and nurse recruitment and retention.

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