Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T16:37:16.206Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The impact of supervisor-nurse relationships, patient role clarity, and autonomy upon job satisfaction: Public and private sector nurses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2015

Kate Shacklock ,
Yvonne Brunetto  and
Rod Farr-Wharton
Kate Shacklock
Affiliation:
Department of Employment Relations and Human Resources, Griffith University – Gold Coast Campus, Southport, QLD, Australia
Yvonne Brunetto
Affiliation:
Southern Cross Business School, Gold Coast Campus, Coolangatta, QLD, Australia
Rod Farr-Wharton
Affiliation:
Faculty of Arts and Business, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore, QLD, Australia
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In the Australian healthcare sector, many changes in the public sector have affected nurse management and thereby, nurses. Yet it is unclear whether such efficiency measures, based on private sector business models, have impacted private sector nurses in similar ways. This paper examines four important issues for nurses: supervisor–subordinate relationships; perceptions of autonomy; role clarity in relation to patients; and job satisfaction. The paper uses an embedded mixed methods research design to examine the four issues and then compares similarities and differences between public and private sector nurses. The findings suggest supervisor–subordinate relationships, patient role clarity and autonomy significantly predict job satisfaction. The private sector nurses reported more satisfaction than public sector nurses with their supervisor–subordinate relationships, plus higher perceptions of patient role clarity and autonomy, and hence, higher levels of job satisfaction. The findings raise questions about whether present management practices (especially public sector) optimise service delivery productivity.

Keywords

nursinghealthcare administrationnurse supervisorsjob satisfactionrole clarityautonomyAustralia
Type
Managing skilled healthcare workers
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 18 , Issue 5: Healthcare management: Progress, problems and solutions , September 2012 , pp. 659 - 672
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ackroyd, S., Kirkpatrick, I., & Walker, R. (2007). Public management reform in the UK and its consequences for professional organization: A comparative analysis. Public Administration, 85(1), 9–26.Google Scholar
Adams, A., & Bond, S. (2000). Hospital nurses' job satisfaction, individual and organisational characteristics. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 32(3), 536–543.Google Scholar
Ahn, J. (2002). Beyond single equation regression analysis: Path analysis and multi-stage regression analysis. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 66, 37–42.Google Scholar
Allen, D. (2004). Re-reading nursing and re-writing practice: Towards an empirically based reformulation of the nursing mandate. Nursing Inquiry, 11(4), 271–283.Google Scholar
Basu, R., & Green, S. G. (1995). Subordinate performance, leader-subordinate compatibility, and exchange quality in leader-member dyads: A field study. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 25(1), 77–92.Google Scholar
Behn, R. (2002). The psychological barriers to performance management or why isn't everyone jumping on the performance management bandwagon? Public Performance and Management Review, 26(1), 5–25.Google Scholar
Best, M., & Thurston, N. E. (2004). Measuring job satisfaction. Journal of Nursing Administration, 34(6), 283–290.Google Scholar
Bolton, S. (2003). Multiple roles? Nurses as managers in the NHS. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 16(2), 122–130.Google Scholar
Brown, L., & Barnett, J. (2004). Is the corporate transformation of hospitals creating a new hybrid healthcare space? Social Science & Medicine, 58(2), 427–444.Google Scholar
Butterfield, R., Edwards, C., & Woodall, J. (2005). The new public management and managerial roles: The case of the police sergeant. British Journal of Management, 16, 219–341.Google Scholar
Carrington, K. (2005). Street level discretion: Is there for a need for control? Public Administrative Quarterly, 29(1/2), 139–163.Google Scholar
Chan, C.-P. (2001). Implications of organizational learning for nursing managers from the cultural, interpersonal and systems thinking perspectives. Nursing Inquiry, 8(3), 196–199.Google Scholar
Cohen, J. (2006). The aging nursing workforce: How to retain experienced nurses. Journal of Healthcare Management, 51(4), 233–246.Google Scholar
Cowin, L. (2002). The effects of nurses' job satisfaction on retention. Journal of Nursing Administration, 32(5), 283–291.Google Scholar
Creswell, J. W., & Plano Clark, V. L. (2007). Designing and conducting mixed methods research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Crumpacker, M., & Crumpacker, J. (2007). Successful planning and generational stereotypes: Should HR consider age-based values and attitudes a relevant factor or a passing fad? Public Personnel Management, 36(4), 349–369.Google Scholar
Currie, G., & Procter, S. (2002). The interaction of human resource policies and practices with the implementation of teamworking: Evidence from the UK public sector. The International Journal of Human Resource Management 14(4), 581–599.Google Scholar
Ferlie, E., Pettigrew, A., Ashburner, L., & Fitzgerald, L. (1996). The New Public Management in Action. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Fogerty, T. (1994). Public Accounting Experience: The influence of demographic and organisational attributes. Managerial Auditing Journal, 9(7), 12–20.Google Scholar
Gagne, M., & Deci, E. L. (2005). Self-determination theory and work motivation. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26, 331–362.Google Scholar
Gee, C. (2007). The contribution of the Australian private sector hospitals sector. Asian Pacific Journal of Health Management, 2(1), 41–46.Google Scholar
Gerstner, C., & Day, D. (1997). Meta-analytic review of leader-member exchange theory: Correlates and construct issues. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, 827–844.Google Scholar
Ghauri, P., & Grønhaug, K. (2002). Research methods in business studies: A practical guide (2nd ed.). Harlow, England: Financial Times Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Goris, J., Vaught, B., & Pettit, J. (2000). Effects of communication direction on job performance and satisfaction: A moderated regression analysis. Journal of Business Communication, 37(4), 348–368.Google Scholar
Graen, G., & Uhl-Bien, M. (1995). Relationship-based approach to leadership: Development of leader-member exchange (LMX) theory of theory over 25 years: Applying a multi-level multi-domain perspective. Leadership Quarterly, 6(2), 219–247.Google Scholar
Grapentine, T. (2000). Path analysis vs. structural equation modeling. Marketing Research, 12(3), 13–20.Google Scholar
Gray, A., & Phillips, V. (1994). Turnover, age and length of service: A comparison of nurses and other staff in the National Health Service. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 19(4), 819–827.Google Scholar
Hawthorne, L. (2001). The globalisation of the nursing workforce: Barriers confronting overseas qualified nurses in Australia. Nursing Inquiry, 8(4), 213–229.Google Scholar
Hoggett, P. (1994). The politics of the modernisation of the UK welfare state. In Burrows, R. & Holmes, G. (Eds.), Towards apost-fordist welfare state? London, England: Routledge.Google Scholar
Hoque, K., Davis, S., & Humphries, M. (2004). Freedom to do what you are told: Senior management's autonomy in an NHS Acute Trust. Public Administration, 82(2), 355–376.Google Scholar
Johlke, M. C., & Duhan, D. F. (2000). Supervisor communication practices and service employee job outcomes. Journal of Service Research, 3(2), 154–165.Google Scholar
Kanter, R. (1977). Men and women of the corporation. New York, NY: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Kelly, J. (2005). The dilemma of the unsatisfied customer in a market model of public administration. Public Administration Review, 65(1), 76–84.Google Scholar
Kingma, M. (2001). Nursing migration: Global treasure hunt or disaster-in-the-making? Nursing Inquiry, 8(4), 205–212.Google Scholar
Kirkpatrick, I., & Ackroyd, S. (2003). Transforming the professional archetype? The new managerialism in UK social services. Public Management Review, 5(4), 511–531.Google Scholar
Larsen, A.-C. (2005). In the public interest: Autonomy and resistance to methods of standardising nurses' advice and practices from a health call centre in Perth, Western Australia. Nursing Inquiry, 12(2), 135–143.Google Scholar
Newman, K., Maylor, U., & Chansarkar, B. (2002). The nurse satisfaction. Service quality and nurse retention chain: Implications for management of recruitment and retention. Journal of Management in Medicine, 16(4/5), 271–292.Google Scholar
OECD. (2005). Ageing and employment policies – Australia. Paris, France: Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.Google Scholar
Parker, J. M. (2004). Nursing on the medical ward. Nursing Inquiry, 11(4), 210–217.Google Scholar
Petty, M., McGee, G., & Cavender, J. (1998). A meta-analysis of the relationships between individual performance. Academy of Management Review, 9(4), 712–721.Google Scholar
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J.-Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879–903.Google Scholar
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Paine, J. B., & Bachrach, D. G. (2000). Organizational citizenship behaviors: A critical review of the theoretical and empirical literature and suggestions for future research. Journal of Management, 26(3), 513–563.Google Scholar
Rankin, J. M. (2010). The nurse project: An analysis for nurses to take back our work. Nursing Inquiry, 16(4), 275–286.Google Scholar
Rhoads, G. K., Singh, J., & Goodell, P. W. (1994). The multiple dimensions of role ambiguity and their impact upon psychological and behavioural outcomes of industrial salespeople. Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management 14, 1–22.Google Scholar
Riccucci, N. M. (2005). Street-level bureaucrats and intrastate variation in the implementation of temporary assistance for needy families policies. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 15(1), 89–111.Google Scholar
Secombe, I., & Smith, G. (1997). Taking part: Registered nurses and the labour market in 1997. Grantham, England: Grantham Book Services.Google Scholar
Seibert, S., Silver, S., & Randolph, W. (2004). Taking empowerment to the next level: A multiple-level model of empowerment, performance, and satisfaction. Academy of Management Journal, 47, 332–349.Google Scholar
Sparrowe, R., & Linden, R. (1997). Process and structure in leader–member exchange. Academy of Management Journal, 22(2), 522–552.Google Scholar
Spector, P. E. (1994). Using self-reported questionnaires in OB research: A comment on the use of a controversial method. Journal of Organisational Behavior, 15(5), 385–392.Google Scholar
Spreitzer, G. (1995). Psychological empowerment in the workplace: Dimensions, measurement and validation. Academy of Management Journal, 38(5), 1442–1465.Google Scholar
Spreitzer, G. (1996). Social structural characteristics of psychological empowerment. Academy of Management Journal, 39(2), 483–504.Google Scholar
Spreitzer, G. (2007). Taking stock: A review of more than twenty years of research on empowerment at work. In Cooper, C. & Barling, J. (Eds.), The handbook of organizational behaviour. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Steane, P. (1997). Oils ain't oils! Strategy across sectors. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 10, 461–470.Google Scholar
Tregunno, D., Peters, S., Campbell, H., & Gordon, S. (2009). International nurse migration: U-turn for safe workplace transition. Nursing Inquiry, 1(3), 182–190.Google Scholar
Wayne, S., Shore, L., & Linden, R. (1997). Perceived organisational support and leader exchange: A social exchange perspective. Academy of Management Journal 40(1), 82–111.Google Scholar
Willis, E., Toffoli, L., Henderson, J., & Walter, B. (2008). Enterprise bargaining: A case study in the de-intensification of nursing work in Australia. Nursing Inquiry, 15(2), 148–157.Google Scholar
Winch, S., Creedy, D., & Chaboyer, W. (2002). Governing nursing conduct: The rise of evidence-based practice. Nursing Inquiry, 9(3), 156–161.Google Scholar
Wong, W. H. (2004). Caring holistically within new managerialism. Nursing Inquiry, 11(1), 2–13.Google Scholar
Yrie, A., Hartman, S., & Galle, W. (2003). Examining communication style and leader-member exchange: Considerations and concerns for managers. International Journal of Management, 20(1), 92–100.Google Scholar
Yukl, G. (2006). Leadership in organizations (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson-Prentice Hall.Google Scholar