DOI
https://doi.org/10.25772/YH2A-YG91
Defense Date
2021
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Department
Health Related Sciences
First Advisor
Dr. Jeffrey Legg
Second Advisor
Dr. Robert Adams
Third Advisor
Dr. Timmerie Cohen
Fourth Advisor
Dr. Christine Reid
Fifth Advisor
Dr. Ernie Steidle
Sixth Advisor
Dr. Elwin Tilson
Abstract
Sonographers are skilled medical professionals who operate specialized equipment that utilizes sound waves to create images of the body. Radiologist and physicians depend on sonographers to summarize their findings by creating a preliminary report that is sent, along with images, to them for diagnosis and treatment purposes.
Organizational commitment is described by John Meyer and Natalie Allen, through their organizational commitment three component model, as a mindset reflecting a desire, a need, or obligation to maintain membership in an organization. Specifically, affective organizational commitment is the desire an employee demonstrates that allows them to remain with their employer because of an emotional attachment, a sense of fitting in, or them identifying with the organization’s goals and values. Employees demonstrating a higher score in affective commitment are happy with their work-life experience, typically demonstrating a good attendance record, better job performance, and display organizational citizenship behavior crucial to their organization’s success. Contrarily, employees with higher continuance commitment scores are driven more by the costs associated with leaving. Those who demonstrate more of a sense of obligation to an organization influenced by experiences both prior to and upon entry into an organization will demonstrate higher scores in normative commitment. Subsequently, employees with higher scores in continuance and normative commitment tend to possess behaviors different than those with high emotional attachment.
Although the three components of commitment presumably increase the likelihood that employees will remain with their employing organization, employees’ motive for remaining, reflecting behaviors, and productivity levels will differ based on which component is possessed in higher amounts by the employee. The purpose of this study was to identify three organizational commitment components of sonographers in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States by documenting and revealing the following: scores on each of the commitment components, the relationship between each commitment component and certain sociodemographic variables and the effect perceived organizational support has on the organizational commitment components of sonographers.
Using a multiple component survey (Affective Commitment Survey, Continuance Commitment Survey, Normative Commitment Survey, and the Survey of Perceived Organizational Support collectively), this quantitative, cross-sectional design measured the organizational commitment scores of 110 sonographers and determined the impact of sociodemographic variables and perceived organizational support using means, standard deviations, stepwise and mixed hierarchical multiple regression analyses. The results of these analyses showed sonographers in the study’s sample having a continuance commitment, affective commitment, and normative commitment score of 4.62, 4.30, and 3.46 respectively. Results also showed living in Pennsylvania, years at current organization, being a registered cardiac sonographer, and being single were significant variables that contributed to the variance of organizational commitment scores of sonographers. After accounting for the variance in each commitment component influenced by the sociodemographic variables, the results showed the support a sonographer perceived to receive from their employer explained over 50% of the total variance in their affective and normative commitment score. The results of this study did not show perceived organizational support as influencing a sonographer’s continuance commitment score.
In conclusion, by documenting the scores of each organizational commitment component and identifying variables that contribute to a sonographer’s organizational commitment it provides a complete picture of the connection employees have with their employing organization. These results also could possibly answer questions about a sonographer’s performance, work behavior, and attendance record.
Rights
© The Author
Is Part Of
VCU University Archives
Is Part Of
VCU Theses and Dissertations
Date of Submission
12-14-2021