CC BY
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DOI https://doi.org/10.18551/rjoas.2017-06.27
THE EFFECT OF ROLE AMBIGUITY TOWARDS THE PERFORMANCE OF NURSES THROUGH ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT: A STUDY ON REGIONAL GENERAL HOSPITAL OF DR. SAIFUL ANWAR, MALANG, INDONESIA
Almanshur Fauzan*
Doctoral Program inManagement Science, University of Brawijaya, Indonesia
Troena Eka Afnan, Sudiro Achmad, Rahayu Mintarti
Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Brawijaya, Indonesia
*E-mail: almanshurf@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT
This study is aimed to analyze and test (1) role ambiguity towards Organizational Commitment and (2) the effect of role ambiguity towards the performance of nurses in Dr. Saiful Anwar Hospital, Malang, Indonesia, mediated with Organizational Commitment. The respondents of this research are all nurses in Emergency Room Installation of Dr.Saiful Anwar Hospital Malang. Eighty (100%) responses displayed on the questionnaires are prepared to measure the variables that were analyzed. In this study, quantitative analysis with structural equation modeling (SEM) based on variant or component that is PLS (Partial Least Square) is used to verify the relationship between the variables. The results of this study are as follows: (1) Role ambiguity has a significant effect on organizational commitment; and (2) Role ambiguity has a significant effect on the performance of nurses.
KEY WORDS
Role ambiguity, Organizational Commitment, Nurses Performance
A nurse is a caring professional who provide health services in the hospital with the approach of the bio-psycho-social and spiritual that is comprehensive. The service is intended for individuals, families, and communities whether they are sick or healthy in which it covers the whole process of human life. According to Swanson (1991), caring is a treatment technique in connection with the value of one's feelings about commitment and responsibility. Several cases related to the phenomenon of health services in the hospital are due to the low performance (productivity) of the nurses.Wirawan (2009) stated that 83% of nursing care services of one hospital in East Java is still low. The development of nursing services is currently left far behind compared to the development of other medical services. Nursing is the largest profession in thehospital. Over 75% of all service activities are performed by nurses and that nurses are actually a vital role compared to other medical personnel (Ministry of Health RI, 2001).
The level of nurses performance is influenced by factors from the nurse itself including knowledge and skills, competence, work motivation, and job satisfaction. Mangkunegara (2005) described that there are several factors in the achievement of the performance such as the ability and motivation. On the one hand, the nurse is responsible for the administrative, physical, anxiety, complaints, and self-defense mechanisms from illness, tension, and boredom in the patient. Regional General Hospital (RSUD) of Dr. Saiful Anwar Malang as one means of health services seeks to improve the quality of health services on an ongoing basis and can be accounted for a professional, effective, efficient, and modern hospital. According to Kahn et al. (1964), role conflict, role ambiguity, and role overload are conceptualized as a stressor that could impede a person's performance. The emergence of this role stressor is a matter of considerable influence, not only for nurses in relation to the pressure of work, organizational commitment, confidence, and a decline in performance but also for the organization that affect the quality of work that is not in line with expectations as proposed by Fogarty (2000) and Almer & Kaplan (2002).
The success of the work and performance of individuals in the field of employment is determined by the level of competence, professionalism, organizational commitment, and job satisfaction (Setyawan, 2008). Organizational commitment contributes greatly to both individuals and organizations in achieving success. There are many factors that play a role in encouraging the creation of organizational commitment. Helena and Praveen (2008) said that organizational commitment is an important factor to achieve maximum company goals. Khatibi et al,. (2009) believed that a conflict in an organization will happen if the organization has a low organizational commitment. Several things that can cause a failure in providing services within quality standards are role ambiguity, role conflict, and role overload. A dualism while performing different roles indirectly triggers a workload because nurses do not have sufficient time to display maximum performance for all roles.
Based on the explanation above, the problems of this research can be formulated as follows:
• Does role ambiguity affect the organizational commitment of nurses?
• Does role ambiguity affect the performance of nurses through organizational commitment?
LITERATURE REVIEW
Role theory is more focused on the relationship of people in work environment with three main dimensions, namely harmony in the role, alignment between roles, and role differences in the work (Solomon et al., 2008). Kahn et al., (1964); Viator (2001) suggested that the theory of role dynamics is based on the stages of therole such as the process between the role transmitter and the individual. Rizzo et al., (1970) proposed that role ambiguity indicates an ambivalence of expectation ambiguity due to a lack of information about the roles and tools required to perform the task. Employees, in this case, do not understand the methods used to carry out the work. Role ambiguity may imply the absence of information relating to the evaluation of work monitoring, career advancement opportunities, thescope of responsibility, and individual's hopes (Katz & Kahn, 1978 in Viator 2001). The research of Hall (2004) explained that role ambiguity is regarded as the starting point of individual's psychological empowerment. Staw (1991) said that a work commitment can be defined "as a working definition, commitment is the binding of the individual to behavioral acts." The organizational commitment that shows the individual bond with the organization, its position is increasingly important because it has a macro impact on the organization and society (Mathieu and Zajac, 1990). The definition above illustrates that commitment is a bond to a particular action. Sukma (2012) wrote that nurses are someone who cares, nurtures, helps, and protects people from illness, injury, and aging process. According to Mangkunegara (2005: 67), work performance is the work of quality and quantity achieved by an employee in performing their duties in accordance with the responsibilities given to him.
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Gibson et al. (1997) found that role ambiguity is the lack of understanding of the rights owned by the nurse, privileges, and obligations of a person to do the job. Individuals may experience role ambiguity if they feel thelack of clarity in accordance with the job expectations such as lack of information needed to complete a job or clarification of the work tasks. This is similar to role conflict, role ambiguity can also cause discomfort in the work and can lower the motivation to work because it has a negative impact on a person's behavior such as work stress, workers displacement, decreased job satisfaction in which it can degrade the overall performance.
The focus of this research is the behavior that appears to be a manifestation of commitment by using behavioral approaches. Salancik (2006) defined organizational commitment as a force that makes individuals encouraged to act on trust. The commitment of this organization is proved by the existence of activities and involvement. This research is
interesting because the impact of role stressors(role conflict, role ambiguity, and role overload) on the performance of nurses through organizational commitment and self-efficacyis still doubted. Through the mediation variables, it is expected that there is a treatment or repair so that the influence of role stressor towards the performance of the nurses can produce a positive and functional relationship (eustress).
The Influence of Role Ambiguity Towards Organizational Commitment. Ervina (2013) stated that in achieving its goals effectively and efficiently, an organization will require high levels of organizational commitment within its employer. Khatibi et al. (2009) added that a conflict in an organization will arise if the organization has a low organizational commitment. Fogarty et al. (2000) on the other hand proved that the organizational commitment variable is able to separate the aspects of functional (eustress) and dysfunctional (distress) from role stressors to job outcomes so that through the two aspects of role stressors and burnout, a remedial action is necessary to be done. Based on the above explanation, the research hypothesis is:
H1: Role ambiguity has an effect on the organizational commitment of the nurses.
The Influence of Role Ambiguity on the Performance of Nurses through Organizational Commitment. The research of Vijaya and Hemamalini (2012) and Glissmeyer et al. (2012) showed a positive correlation between role conflict and role ambiguity towards the organization or job expectations. In contrast to the findings of Boles et al., (2003), the role stressor is not significant as a predictor but it has a positive also insignificant effect. Stressor has an important position in relation to the productivity of human resources, funding, and materials. Besides influenced by factors that exist within the individual, stressors (role ambiguity, role conflict, and role overload) in this study are influenced by the mediating variables, namely, organizational commitment. Stressor on nurses as a result of the work need to be conditioned in the right position so that their performance is also in an expected position. Based on the explanation above, the second hypothesis of the study is:
H2: Role ambiguity has an effect on the performance of nurses through organizational commitment
The approach in this research is conducted by using positivism paradigm in terms of theanalytical approach that is the quantitative research. Quantitative research is an appropriate research aimed to develop the knowledge through the test of proposed hypotheses, measurements, and observations, as well as to test the Creswell's theory (2006). The scope of the research is focused on the observation of various problems that arise and affect the performance of nurses in Regional General Hospital (RSUd) Dr. Saiful Anwar, Malang, East Java, especially the nurses who are placed in the Emergency Room Installation (IGD). The target population of this research is all nurses in the IGD of RSUD Dr. Saiful Anwar, Malang amounts to 80 people who are limited based on specified inclusion criteria. The samples are part of the population to be studied or part of the number of characteristics possessed by the population. In this study, the use of quantitative analysis by using structural equation modeling (SEM) based on variant or component which is PLS (Partial Least Square ) is to verify the relationship between variables.
Figure 1 - The Conceptual Framework
RESEARCH HYPOTHESES
METHODS OF RESEARCH
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The result of the first hypothesis is that the path coefficient of -0,401 from role ambiguity to organizational commitment is significant (t=5,660; p=0,000). Furthermore, role ambiguity has a high effect on organizational commitment so that hypothesis H2 in this study is accepted. High role ambiguity will have an impact on organizational commitment and also contribute to lower job satisfaction and organizational commitment. In the research of Fogarty et al., (2000), it is explained that the organizational commitment variable is able to separate the aspects of functional (eustress) and dysfunctional (distress) of role stressors on job outcomes so that through this aspect of role stressors, remedial action is necessary. As found by Ho et al. (2009) and Christina et al. (2011), job rotation is one of the solutions to reduce stress as well as to increase job satisfaction and organizational commitment of the nurses. The issues relating to the stressor factors will gradually be increasingly recognized thus the adjustments will quickly be done.
The result of the second hypothesis is that the path coefficient of -0,401 from the role ambiguity to organizational commitment is significant (t=5,660; p=0,000). Means that the coefficient of 0,185 of the organizational commitment to the nurse's performance is significant (t=6,332; p=0,000). In several studies, there is a positive correlation between role conflict and role ambiguity towards the organization or job expectations. Specifically, in the studies involving nurses who averagely a civil servant (PNS), it is unlikely that nurses will decide to leave the hospital and move elsewhere because the procedure is not easy. However, please noted that role conflict, role ambiguity, and role overload has a negative effect on the nurses' performance when the two different roles are implemented at the same time. These results are in line with the research of Ahmad & Taylor (2009), Mathieu and Zajac (1990), Cohen (1992).
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS
From the research, it can be concluded as follows. First, individuals who are value committed can be expected to have the behavior that helps organizations pursue their goals no matter whether it is the role expected by the organizations or not.
Second, nurses who are able to complete and implement a variety of challenges and supported by the skills of the individual will commit a higher organizational commitment. Generally, role ambiguity has a highly negative impact on organizational commitment.
Based on the results of the research, the suggestions that can be proposed are:
Nurses who work in the Emergency Room Installation of RSUD Dr. Saiful Anwar, Malang is expected to continue to improve its performance by maintaining a balance of commitment and confidence so that the pressure or conflict remains at a low level. One of which is to make adjustments so that the conflict will have no effect on employment.
It is expected that the management role of RSUD Dr. Saiful Anwar would pay more attention and maintain the level of commitment and confidence of the nurses in Emergency Room Installation as well as the nurses in all sections or units so that optimal services can be delivered. One of the ways is by making regulations or policies related to the commitment and confidence of the nurses so that the stressor issues could be reduced massively.
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