Tema e Rolit

8/17/2019 Tema e Rolit

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ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR AND I~IUMAN PERFORMANCE 6 99--110 (1971)

R o le C l a r it y N e e d f o r C l a r it y S a t is f a c t io n

T en sio n a n d W i t h d r a w a l 1

T H O M A S F L Y O N S 2

Medical School The University o] Michigan

I n a m ailed-questionnaire stu dy of 156 staff registered nurses, perc eive d

role c lar i ty was re la ted negat ively to voluntary turnover , propensi ty to

leave, and job tension, a nd p ositiv ely to wo rk satisfaction. T he correlations

of role clari ty with voluntary turnover, propensi ty to leave, and work sat is-

faction were nonsignificant for nurses classified as low on a need-for-clarity

index; the correlations were significantly higher for nurses with a high need

for clari ty. The correlat ions between role clari ty and job tension were

significant for both subgroups. The concepts of role clarity, the rigidity of

role specifications, and the conditions of role specificity, as opposed to

t h e

processes of role specification, were discussed with regard to organizational

the or y an d organizational change.

T h e c o n c e p t s o f r o le s p e c if i c it y a n d r o l e a m b i g u i t y o r ro l e c l a r i t y h a v e

b e e n d i sc u ss e d u n d e r v a r i o u s l a be l s b y a l m o s t e v e r y m a j o r o r g a n i z a t i o n a l

t h e o r i s t ( t t i c k s o n , 1 9 6 6) . Y e t , a s H i e k s o n p o i n t s o u t , t h e r e is n o u n -

a n i m i t y a m o n g t h e s e w r i t e rs a b o u t t h e e ff ec ts o f v a r y i n g d e g re e s o f s p e c -

i f i c it y o r a m b i g u i t y o f m e m b e r r o le s . M o r e t h a n m o s t , th i s to p i c i s

a p p a r e n t l y o v e r - d is c u s s e d a n d u n d e r - r e s e a r c h e d . T h e r e h a v e b e e n s u r p r i s -

i n g l y f e w d i r e c t i n v e s t i g a t i o n s o f t h e s e c o n c e p t s a n d e v e n f e w e r s t u d ie s

o f t h e i r b e h a v i o r a l , r a t h e r t h a n a t t i t u d i n a l , c o r r e l at e s .

S o m e t h e o r is t s h a v e s u g g e s te d i n c re a s e d m o t i v a t i o n a n d s a t i s f a c t i o n

a s b e n e f i t s o f l o w e r s p e c i f i c i ty o f o r g a n i z a t i o n a l r o l e s ( A r g y r i s , 1 9 60 ;

B a r n e s , 1 9 60 ; L i k e r t , 1 9 61 ; M c G r e g o r , 1 9 6 0; a n d , t o s o m e e x t e n t, B e n n i s ,

1 9 5 9) . O t h e r s h a v e s u g g e s t e d t h a t l o w e r s p e c i f ic i ty m a y b e a c o n d i t io n f o r

g r e a t e r i n n o v a t i o n ( B e n n i s , 1 9 59 ; B u r n s S t a l k e r , 1 96 1 ; F r a n k , 1 9 6 a ;

t i n g e , 1 96 5 ; T h o m p s o n , 1 9 6 5) . O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , t h e r e i s a l so t h e p o s s i -

This research was supported by the Kellogg Foundation.

-~H elp during the data-collection phase was provided b y the Bureau of H osp ital

Adminis t ra t ion and the Center for Research on the Ut i l iza t ion of Scient i f ic Knowl-

edge, Th e U nivers i ty of Michigan. T im e

f o r n l y s e s n d

writ ing was provided by

the Ind ust r ia l Rela t ions Center, Iow a Sta te Un ivers ity . Michael J . K ava nag h

n d

James M. Thomas p rov ided va luab le comment s on an ea r l i e r d ra f t . I am indeb ted

also to the nurses and adminis t ra t ion of the hospi ta l which unfortunate ly must

remain anonymous .

99


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1 THOMAS ,IF. LYONS

bility of greater anxiety and tension of members resulting from ambigu-

ous roles (Burns & Stalker, 1961; Presthus, 1958; Sullivan,

1953 .

The concept of role clarity or ambiguity can be operationalized in at

least two ways. First, it can refer to the presence or absence of adequate

role-relevant information due either to restriction of this information or

to variations of the quality of the information. This would be an opera-

tionalization of

objec t ive

role clarity. Role clarity or ambiguity can also

refer to the

subjec t ive

feeling of having as much or not as much role-

relevant information as the person would like to have. Both types of

measures of role clarity have been found to relate to satisfaction and

reduced tension. Neel (1955) found tha t workers who reported having

inadequate information about plant activities or about their own position

in the eyes of their foremen also reported more nervousness than workers

having a clearer picture. In the most comprehensive field study of role

ambiguity, Kahn, Wolfe, Quinn, Snoek, and Rosenthal (1964) found th at

ambiguous role expectations (subjective) were associated with greater

tension and less job satisfaction than were clear role expectations. Also,

ambiguous role evaluation was associated with greater tension, but not

with job satisfaction. Raven and Rietsema (1957) varied both the clarity

of a laboratory group's goals and the clarity of the paths to those goals.

Clarity of goals and paths was associated with greater satisfaction with

the tasks. There was more general tension reported in the unclear situa-

tion, but the difference was not significant. In another experiment, using

telephone operators, Cohen (1959) varied the clarity of the goal path.

The ambiguous condition resulted in more reported anxiety. In a com-

munications-network experiment Collins, Davis, Myers and Silk (1964)

found that Ss who learned the relationship between their behavior and

the group reward mechanisms were more satisfied than those who did

not. Wispe and Thayer (1957) found in a field study that role ambiguity

was related to feelings of threat. 3 Shepard (1969) reported a high negative

relationship (R = -- .47) for industrial workers between job satisfaction

and an index of perceived meaninglessness in work. The index was

composed of items negatively scored for perceived connections of the

worker's work to the iobs of others and to the larger organization (e.g.,

to

what extent do you know how your job fits with other jobs in the

company ). Baird (196.9') used psychometric methods in a study of the

roles of graduate students in ten academic departments. Analyses of the

scales in one factor, labeled Conflict and Lack of Clarity, indicated that

The Wispe and Thay er measure of role ambiguity, the discrepancy betwe en

the focal person s and others assignments of responsibility for functions of a

position, is more a measure of role disconsensus than of either objective or subiec tive

role ambiguity.


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R O L E C L RI T Y 1 1

s t u d e n t s ' s c o re s o n t h e s c a le s o f r o le s t r e ss a n d p s y c h o l o g i c a l w i t h d r a w a l

w e r e h i g h e r , a n d s c o r e s o n m o r a l e w e r e l o w , w h e n p r o f e s s o r s a p p e a r e d

to be unc l ea r and conf l i c t i ng [p . 20 ] .

T h e r e i s a l s o s o m e e v i d e n c e t h a t t h e e f f e c t s o f r o l e a m b i g u i t y o n a t -

t i t u d e s a r e m e d i a t e d b y d i ff e re n t ia l n e e d s o f o r g a n i z a t io n a l m e m b e r s

f o r c l a r i ty . W o l f e , S n o e k a n d R o s e n t h a l (1 96 1) a n d K a h n e t a l (1964)

f o u n d t h a t r o le a m b i g u i t y w a s h i g h l y r e l a t e d t o e x p e r ie n c e d t e n s i o n o n l y

f o r t h o s e w o r k e r s w h o h a d h i g h n e e d f o r c o g n i ti o n .

R o l e a m b i g u i t y h a s b e e n f o u n d t o b e r e l a t e d a ls o t o g r o u p a n d i n d i v i d -

u a l p e r f o rm a n c e . T o r r a n c e (1 95 4) c o n c l u d e d t h a t u n c l e a r s it u a t i o n s a n d

u n c l e a r g r o u p s t r u c t u r e s w e r e d e t r im e n t a l t o t h e s u r v i v a l o f A i r F o r c e

c rews dow ned in ene m y t e r r i t o ry . Sm i th (1957) foun d unc l ea r ro le s i n

l a b o r a t o r y g r o u p s r e s u l t e d i n l e s s g r o u p p r o d u c t i v i t y i n a d d i t i o n t o l e s s

sa t i s f ac t i on and i nc reased d e fens iveness . I n n ine o f t he e l even s tud i e s

r e v i e w e d b y L o c k e (1 96 8) p e r s o n s w i t h h i g h l y s p e c if ie d g o a ls p e r f o r m e d

a t s i gn i f i can t l y h ighe r l eve l s t han pe r sons w i th t he more gene ra l goa l

o f d o i n g t h e i r b e s t .

R o l e a m b i g u i t y w a s n o t f o u n d b y K a h n a n d h is a s so c i a te s (1 96 4) t o

b e r e l a t e d t o a n o t h e r f o r m o f b e h a v i o r , n a m e l y b e h a v i o r a l w i t h d r a w a l

a s m e a s u r e d b y f r e q u e n c y o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n w i t h r o l e s e n d e r s . T h e y

i n t e r p r e t e d t h e i r m o d e s t c o r r e la t io n s t o b e t h e r e s u l t o f t h e t w o o p p o s i n g

t e n d e n c i e s o f a t t e m p t i n g t o r e a c h c l a r i t y b y i n c r e a s i n g c o m m u n i c a t i o n s

a n d o f a t t e m p t i n g t o a v o i d t e n s io n b y w i t h d r a w i n g f r o m th e s i t u a ti o n .

T h i s p r e s e n t i n v e s t i g a t i o n i s c o n c e r n e d w i t h t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p s b e t w e e n

ro l e c l a r i t y and r epor t ed sa t i s f ac t i ons , t ens ions , p ropens i t i e s t o l eave , and

t h e a c t u a l v o l u n t a r y w i t h d r a w a l o f s t a f f r e g i s te r e d n u r se s h a v i n g d i ff e re n t

n e e d s f o r c l a r i t y . T h e r e s e a r c h w a s c o n d u c t e d i n a l a r g e c o m m u n i t y - g e n -

e ra l hosp i t a l . The hosp i t a l con t ex t p rov ides a good se t t i ng t o t e s t t he se

re l a t i onsh ips .

As K ah n and h i s a s soc i a t e s (1964) hav e sugges t ed , t h r ee gene ra l o rgan i -

z a t i o n a l c o n d i t i o n s s i g n i f i c a n t l y c o n t r i b u t e t o r o l e a m b i g u i t y : o r g a n i z a -

t i o n a l c o m p l e x i t y , r a p i d o r g a n i z a t i o n a l c h a n g e , a n d m a n a g e r i a l

p h i l o s o p h i e s a b o u t c o m m u n i c a t i o n . T h e i n c r e a s e d s i z e a n d c o m p l e x i t y o f

an o rgan i za t i on w i th g r ea t e r d i f f e r en t i a t i on and spec i a l i za t i on o f l abo r

m a y e x c e e d a n i n d i v i d u a l ' s s p a n o f c o m p r e h e n s i o n . R o l e a m b i g u i t y t e n d s

t o b e in c r e a s e d b y o r g a n i z a t io n a l c h a n g e i n t e r m s o f : (1 ) g r o w t h w h i c h

m a y r e q u i r e r e o r g a n i z a t io n ; (2 ) t e ch n o l o g i c a l c h an g e s w h i c h m a y r e q u i r e

c h a n g e s i n t h e s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e s , o r a t l e a s t c h a n g e s i n t h e w a y w o r k i s

p e r f o r m e d ; a n d (3 ) f r e q u e n t p e rs o n n e l c h a n g e s w h i c h p r o d u c e a m b i g u i t ie s

fo r t he pe r son t r an s f e r r e d and a l so fo r h i s a s soc i a te s . R es t r i c t i o n o f t he

f low o f comm unica t i on , i n t en t ionM or no t , is ano the r c on t r i bu to r to ro le

a m b i g u i t y .


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102 T H O M A S ~ . L Y O N S

T h e s e c o n d i t i o n s a r e n o t u n c o m m o n i n h o s p i t a l s . I n f a c t , s e v e r a l i n -

v e s t i g a t o r s h a v e d e s c r i b e d t h e n u r s i n g p r o f e s s i o n i n t h i s c o u n t r y a s

h a v i n g a b l u r r e d i m a g e ( B e n n is , 1 9 59 ; H a a s , 1 9 6 4 ). R e c e n t t e c h n o l o g -

i ca l , med i ca l , and soc i a l changes appea r t o have r e su l t ed i n new and

u n c l e a r d e m a n d s a n d d e f in i ti o n s f o r t h e p r o f e s s i o n a s a w h o l e a n d f o r t h e

ind iv idua l nu r se i n t he hosp i t a l (Benn i s , 1959 ; Haas , 1934 ; Re i s sman

& Ro hre r , 1957 ; Saun de r s , 1954) . R ev an s (1964) has sum m ar i zed h i s

o b s e r v a t i o n s a n d s t u d i e s o f E n g l i s h h o s p i t a l s i n t e r m s o f a p o t e n t i a l l y

r e g e n e r a t i v e p r o c e s s i n w h i c h c o m m u n i c a t i o n f a i l u r e s m a g n i f y u n c e r -

t a i n t y a b o u t m e m b e r s ' o w n r o l e s , k n o w l e d g e , a n d s o o n , a n d t h i s u n c e r -

t a i n t y i n c r e a s e s a n x i e t y w h i c h i n h i b i t s c o m m u n i c a t i o n a n d s t a r t s a n o t h e r

cyc le .

T h e h y p o t h e s e s t e s t e d in t h i s s t u d y a r e : (1 ) g r e a t e r ro l e c l a r i t y is

r e l a t ed t o ( a ) m ore s a t i s f ac t i on w i th t he j ob and o rgan i za t i on , ( b ) le s s

t ens ion , ( e) l es s p ro pe ns i t y t o l eave t he o rgan i za t i on , and (d ) l e s s vo l -

u n t a r y w i t h d r a w a l ( t u r n o v e r ) f r o m t h e o r g a n i z a t io n ; (2 ) t h e m a g n i t u d e

o f t h e r e l a ti o n s h i p s p r e d i c t e d in H y p o t h e s i s 1 w i ll b e s ig n i f ic a n t ly h i g h e r

f o r t h o s e n u r s e s w i t h a h i g h e r n e e d f o r c l a r i t y a b o u t t h e i r j o b s .

M E T H O D

Site and esponden ts

M ai l e d ques t i onn a i r e s we re comi .le ted by s t a f f reg i s t e r ed nu r se s i n a

l a rg e ( o v e r 4 0 0 b e d s ) c o m m u n i t y - g e n e r a l h o s p i t a l d u r in g t h e la s t

q u a r t e r o f 19 65 . T h e r e w e r e 1 33 r e s p o n d e n t s ( re s p o n s e r a t e 7 8 % ) w h o r e -

m a i n e d w i t h t h e h o s p i t a l f o r t e n m o n t h s a f t e r q u e s t io n n a i r e a d m i n i s -

t r a ti o n . I n a d d i ti o n , 2 8 n u r s e s c o m p l e t e d t h e q u e s t io n n a i r e ( r es p o n s e r a t e

8 0 % ) w h o h a d l e ft t h e h o s p i ta l f o r v o l u n t a r y r e as o n s u p t o t e n m o n t h s

p r e v i o u s o r s u b s e q u e n t t o q u e s t i o n n a i re a d m i n i s tr a t io n . T h e r e w e r e n o

d i f f e r ences i n r e sponse d i s t r i bu t i ons fo r pe r sons t e rmina t i ng p r e - and

p o s t - d a t a a d m i n i s t r a t i o n . N u r s e s c l a s s i f i e d a s v o l u n t a r y t u r n o v e r s w e r e

t h o s e w h o i n d i c a t e d t h e y w e r e f r e e t o s t a y o r le a v e b u t c h o s e t o l e a v e .

E x c l u d e d w e r e t h o s e n u rs e s w h o l e f t f o r u n a v o i d a b l e r e a s o n s : r e t ir e m e n t ,

dea th o r d i s ab i l i t y , p r egna ncy , hom e d ifficultie s, and hu sba nd s mo v ing to

jobs i n o the r c i t i e s . Al l r e sponden t s were i den t i f i ed fo r f o l l ow-up by coded

que s t i onna i r e s and were a s su red o f t he con f iden t i a l i t y o f t he i r r e sponses .

T w o t u r n o v e r s a n d t h r e e s t a y e r s d i d n o t c o m p l e t e a l l f o u r i t e m s c o m p o s -

i n g t h e n e e d f o r c l a r i t y i n d e x a n d w e r e d r o p p e d f r o m t h e a n a l y s e s ,

l eavin g a f ina l sam ple s ize of 156. 4

~ A m o r e d e t a i l e d d e s c r i p ti o n o f t h e s i t e a n d t h e s a m p l e c a n b e f o u n d i n L y o n s

1 9 6 8 ) .


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ROLE CLARITY 103

Measures

The classification of

voluntary turnover

has been discussed above. A

Satisfaction Index was composed of the sum of responses to two measures:

(1) Considering yo ur job as a whole, how well do you like it? with

five alte rnat ives and (2) On the whole, what do yo u th ink of this hos-

pital as a place to work? with seven alternatives. The correlation was

.44 between these two measures.

Propensity to leave

was measured by

an index of three items, each with five alt ernatives: (1) If you were

completely free to choose, would you prefer to continue working in this

hospital or would you prefer not to? (2) How long would you like to

stay in this hospi tal? and (3) If you had to quit work for a while

(for example, because of pregnancy), would you return to this hospital?

These questions were asked only of nurses employed in the hospital at the

time of the survey. Correla tions between items were r12 ----.75; r 3 ~ .59;

and r~3----.54. A

Tension Index

was composed of responses about the

frequency of feeling bothered by nine work-related factors. The nine

items were chosen from a longer list used by Kahn et al. (1964), and six

of the nine were used with others in the Indik, Seashore, and Slesinger

(1964) Index of Job -Re lat ed Strain. The wording of the items were:

How often do you feel bothered by:

(1) Being unclear on just what the scope and responsibilities of your

job are.

(2) Not knowing what opportunities for advancement or promotion

exist for you.

(3) Not knowing what your immediate superior thinks of you, how she

evaluates your performance.

(4) The fact that you can't get information needed to carry out your

job.

(5) Not knowing just what the people you work with expect of you.

(6) Feeling that you have too heavy a work load, one that you can't

possibly finish during an ordinary workday.

(7) Thinking that the amount of work you have to do may interfere

with how well it gets done.

(8) Feeling that you have to do things on the job that are against your

better judgement.

(9) Thinking that you'll not be able to satisfy the conflicting demands

of various people over you.

The response categories for the tension items were: never, rarely,

sometimes, rather often, and nearly all the time. Responses to each item

were coded from 1 to 5 and summed. The possible range was from 9 to

45; the actual range was from 10 to 38 with a mean of 22.0. All cor-

relations between component items were positive. The median interoor-


6/12

104

T H O 1V iA S F L Y O N S

r e l a t i o n w a s . 3 6 ; t h e m e d i a n i t e m - i n d e x c o r r e l a t i o n w a s .5 9 ; t h e s p l i t -

h a l f r e l i a b i l i t y o f t h e i n d e x w a s e s t i m a t e d t o b e .70.

A Ro l e C l a r i t y I n d e x

w a s c o m p o s e d o f f o u r f i v e - a l t e r n a t i v e i t e m s :

(1 ) H o w c le a r a re y o u a b o u t t h e li m i ts o f y o u r a u t h o r i t y i n y o u r

p r e s e n t f o b ? ( 2) D o y o u f ee l y o u a r e a l w a y s a s c l e ar a s y o u w o u l d

l i k e t o b e a b o u t

h o w

y o u a r e s u p p o s e d to d o t h i n g s o n t h i s j o b ? ( 3)

D o

y o u f e el y o u a r e a l w a y s a s c l e a r a s y o u w o u l d l i k e t o b e a b o u t

w h a t y o u h a v e t o d o o n t h is j o b ? a n d (4 ) In g e n e r a l , h o w c l e a r l y

d e f i n e d a r e t h e p o l i c ie s a n d t h e v a r i o u s r u l e s a n d r e g u l a t i o n s o f t h e

h o s p i t a l t h a t a f fe c t y o u r j o b ? A l l i n t e r c o r r e l a t i o n s o f t h e s e it e m s w e r e

p o s i t i v e w i t h a m e d i a n i n t e r e o r r e l a t i o n o f . 3 6 . T h e s p l i t - h a l f r e l i a b i l i t y

f o r t h e i n d e x w a s e s t i m a t e d t o b e . 70 .

A N e e d - f o r - C l a r i t y I n d e x ( n C ) c o n s i s t e d o f f o u r q u e s t i o n s , e a c h w i t h

f iv e a l t e r n a t i v e s : (1 ) H o w i m p o r t a n t is i t t o y o u t o k n o w ,

in detai l ,

w h a t y o u h a v e t o d o o n a f o b ? (2 ) H o w i m p o r t a n t is i t t o y o u t o

k n o w , in de ta i l , how y o u a r e s u p p os e d t o d o a f o b ? (3 ) H o w i m p o r t a n t

i s i t t o y o u t o k n o w ,

in detai l ,

w h a t t h e l im i ts o f y o u r a u t h o r i t y o n a

f o b a r e ? a n d (4 ) H o w i m p o r t a n t is i t t o y o u t o k n o w h o w w e ll y o u

a r e d o i n g ? A l l i n t e r c o r r e l a t i o n s o f i t em s w e r e p o s i t iv e a n d s i g n i fi c a n t;

m e d i a n r = .38 . T h e s p l i t - h a l f r e l i a b i l i t y f o r th e i n d e x w a s e s t i m a t e d

t o b e . 8 2 . T h e p o s s i b l e r a n g e w a s f r o m 5 t o 2 0 . T h e a c t u a l r a n g e w a s f r o m

7 t o 2 0 . T h e d i s t r i b u t i o n w a s h i g h l y s k e w e d , w i t h a m e d i a n o f 1 7 , i n d i c a t -

i n g a h i g h a v e r a g e d e g r e e o f e x p r e s se d im p o r t a n c e . T h e s a m p l e w a s

s p l i t a t t h e m e d i a n i n t o g r o u p s a s n e a r l y e q u a l i n si ze as p o s s i b le , r e s u l t -

i n g i n a L o w n C g r o u p o f 8 8 a n d a H i g h n C g r o u p o f 6 8 .

F o r t h e t o t a l s a m p l e , c o r r e la t i o n s o f t h e n C I n d e x w i t h th e o t h e r

m e a s u re s w e r e: r - - - - - - . 0 2 w i th V o l u n t a r y T u r n o v e r ; r = - - . 1 4 w i t h

P r o p e n s i t y t o L e a v e ; r ---- + .13 w i t h t h e S a t i s f a c t i o n I n d e x ; r = - - . 0 9

w i t h t h e T e n s i o n I n d e x ; a n d r ---= - t- .0 8 w i t h t h e R o l e C l a r i t y I n d e x . N o n e

w e r e s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t .

RES ULTS AND DIS CUS S ION

T a b l e 1 c o n t a in s t h e c o r r e l a t io n s o f t h e R o l e C l a r i t y I n d e x w i t h v o l -

u n t a r y t u r n o v e r , a n d t h e i n di c es f o r p r o p e n s i t y t o l e av e , w o r k s a t i s-

f a c t i o n , a n d t e n s io n . F o r t h e t o t a l s a m p l e a l l c o r r e la t i o n s a r e s a t i s t i e a l l y

s i g n i f i c a n t a t b e t t e r t h a n t h e .0 1 l e v e l a n d i n t h e ~ p re d ie te d d i r e c t i o n .

F o r t h e L o w n C g r ou p , o n l y t h e r e la t io n s h i p b e t w e e n t h e R o l e C l a r i t y

I n d e x a n d t h e T e n s i o n I n d e x w a s s i g n if ic a n t. F o r t h e H i g h n C g r o u p ,

a ll c o r r e l a ti o n s o f t h e R o l e C l a r i t y I n d e x w i t h t h e o t h e r m e a s u r e s w e r e

s i g n if i c a n t a t b e t t e r t h a n t h e .01 le v e l. N o t o n l y w e r e t h e c o r r e l a t i o n s

a l l h i g h e r f o r t h e H i g h n,C g ro u p t h a n f o r t h e L o w n C g r o u p , b u t a l s o

f o r t h r e e o f t h e f o u r m e a s u r e s t h e H i g h n C c o r r e l a ti o n s w e r e s i g n i f i c a n tl y


7/12

R O L E C L A R I TY 1 0 5

h i g h e r ( f o r v o l u n t a r y t u r n o v e r , p r o p e n s i t y t o l e a v e , a n d s a t i s f a c t i o n ) .

The d i f f e r ence be tween co r r e l a t i ons d id no t r each s i gn i f i cance fo r t he

Te ns ion Ind ex ( .10 > p > .05 ).

To t he bes t o f t h i s au tho r ' s kn ow ledge , t h i s r e sea r ch i s t he f ir s t r ep or t

o f s u b j e c t i v e r ol e c l a r i t y r e l a ti n g t o b o t h o b s e r v e d w i t h d r a w a l b e h a v i o r

a n d t h e r e s p o n d e n t s ' a t t i t u d i n a l o r a f f e c ti v e s t a t e m e n t s . T h e d a t a a l so

ex t end t o a d i f f e r en t popu l a t i on i n a d i f f e r en t t ype o f o rgan i za t i on , t he

f i nd ings o f Kahn et al. t h a t r o l e a m b i g u i t y i s h i g h l y r e l a t e d t o r e p o r t s o f

t e n si o n , a n d t h a t t h i s r e l a ti o n s h i p t e n d s t o b e m o r e p r o n o u n c e d f o r t h o s e

wi th h igh need fo r c l a r i t y .

T A B L E 1

CORRELATIONS WI TH ~=~OLE CLAR ITY ~NDEX FOR TOT2~L SAM PLE LOW n C NUR SES

A Nn H m g n C N U R s e s

L o w n C H i g h n C

T o t a l s a m p l e n u r s e s n u r s e s

V o l u n t a r y t u r n o v e r - . 2 1 ' * - . 0 0 - . 3 5 *

P r o p e n s i t y - t o - l e a v e i n d e x - . 2 7* * - . 0 1 - - . 4 5 **

S a t i s f a c t i o n i n d e x . 4 4 ** . 2 0 . 5 4 * *

T e n s i o n i n d e x - . 5 9* * - . 4 0 ** - . 6 9* *

N ' s = 1 4 0 - 1 5 6 fo r t o t a l s a m p l e ; 7 8 - 8 8 f o r l o w n C ; 6 2 - 6 8 f o r h i g h n C .

* * p < . 0 1 .

T h e w r i t in g s o f so m e t h e o r i st s ( C o h e n , S t o t l a n d & W o l f e , 1 9 5 5; K a h n ,

W ol f e , Qu inn , SHock & R ose n tha l , 1964; K a t z & Sa rnof f, 1954; M as low ,

1943; M ur ph y , 1947 ; Su l l i van , 1953) im ply t h a t t h e need fo r c l a r i t y

is a gene ra l need , and t he r e l a t i onsh ips foun d he re migh t be app l i cab l e

t o o t h e r p o p u l a t io n s i n o t h e r s it u a t io n s . T h e f a c t t h a t f e m a l e n u r s e s

in a hosp i t a l s e t t i ng p rov ide f ind ings s imi l a r t o m a l e man age r s i n bu s i -

nes s sugges t s a ce r t a i n amoun t o f gene ra l i t y .

H o w e v e r , b o th o f t h e s e s a m p l e s s h ar e s o m e im p o r t a n t c o m m o n e h a r a c -

berist ics: both are on t he l ine i n t he i r wo rk ; t he c r it e r i a f o r e f f ec ti ve

o r d e f i c i e n t p e r f o r m a n c e a r e f a i r l y c l e a r - c u t , h i g h l y - v i s i b l e , a n d q u i c k l y

e v i d e n t ; t h e w o r k o f b o t h g r o u p s i s c o m p l e x , i m p o r t a n t t o o t h e r s , a n d

h i g h l y i n t e r d e p e n d e n t o r g a n i z a t i o n a l l y ; a l s o , b o t h g r o u p s w o r k i n s i t u -

a t io n s w h e r e t h e r e is a l m o s t n e v e r a n e x c es s o f re l e v a n t t a s k i n f o r m a t i o n

( a l t h o u g h o t h e r , i r r e l e v a n t i n f o r m a t i o n m a y b e o v e r l y a b u n d a n t ) .

W ou ld s im i l a r f ind ings occur in popu l a t i ons no t sha r ing a l l o f t he se s i t u -

a t i ona l cha rac t e r i s t i c s ; a s f o r examp le , i n s t ud i e s o f i ndep end en t r e sea r ch

sc i en ti s ts , c r ea t i ve a r t s peo p l e , l ong- r ang e s t a f f p l anne r s , o r low er - l eve l

e m p l o y e e s p e r f o r m i n g s i m p l e , r e p e t i t i v e w o r k u n d e r h i g h l y p r e s c r i b e d

cond i t i ons? Ba i rd ' s (1969) r e sea r ch on t he g r ad ua t e s t ud en t r o l e sugges t s


8/12

106 THOMAS F LYONS

t h a t s i t u a t i o n a l l y , t h e t h e o r y i s f a i r l y r o b u s t . H o w e v e r , a s W a l k e r a n d

G u e s t ( 19 5 2 ) a n d o t h e r s h a v e su g g e s te d , t h e r e m a y b e s o m e p o i n t w h e r e

j o b s b e c o m e s t r u c t u r e d t o s u ch a d e g re e t h a t t h e y b e c o m e u n b e a r a b l e .

O t h e r m o d e r a t o r v a r i a b l e s s u c h a s u r b a n - r u r a l d i f f e r e n c e s ( H u l i n &

B l o o d , 1 96 8) m a y b e n e c e s s a r y t o a c c e n t u a t e t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p s i n t h e s e

s i t ua t i ons .

N e v e r t h e l e s s , f o r t h e n u r s e s a n d m a n a g e r s i n t h e s e s t u d i e s t h e r e a r e

s o m e v e r y p r a g m a t i c i m p l ic a t io n s . A l th o u g h t h e r e l a t io n s h i p s w e r e r e -

d u c e d f o r t h e L o w n C g r o u p , t h e y w e r e n o t r e v e r s e d . T h i s i s s i m i l a r t o

t h e r e s u lt s ¥ r o o m (1 96 0) f o u n d w h e n h e c a te g o r i z ed w o r k e r s o n n e e d - f o r -

i n d e p e n d e n c e a n d a u t h o r i t a r i a n i s m m e a s u r e s w h i le s t u d y i n g t h e r e la t i o n -

s h ip s b e t w e e n p a r t i c i p a t i v e d e c is io n m a k i n g a n d p e r f o r m a n c e a n d

s a t i s f a c t i o n . H i s d e p e n d e n t w o r k e r s w e r e n o t d i s s a t i s f i e d w h e n i n v o l v e d

i n p a r t i c i p a t i v e d e c is io n m a k i n g . I n t h e p r e s e n t s t u d y t h e n u r s e s w i t h

l o w e r n C w e r e n o t u p s e t w h e n t h e y s a w t h e i r r o l e s a s s t r u c t u r e d . I n

s h o r t, t h e d a t a s u g g e s t t h a t i n c re a s in g t h e d e g r e e o f r o le c l a r i t y w i l l m a k e

t h o s e w i t h a h i g h n C m o r e c o m f o r t a b l e w i t h o u t d r i v i n g o u t o r d i s s a t i s -

l y i n g t h o s e w i t h l o w n C . T h e o p t i m a l a d m i n i s t r a t i v e a c t i o n w o u l d b e

t o c o n c e n t r a t e e f f o r t s o n t h e h i g h n C g r o u p b u t e v e n a b r o a d , u n d i f -

f e r e n t i a t e d e f f o rt w o u l d n o t a l i e n a te o t h e rs . I f a h o s p i t a l a d m i n i s t r a t o r

i s c o n c e r n e d w i t h v o l u n t a r y t u r n o v e r , p r o p e n s i t i e s t o l e a v e , t e n s i o n s ,

a n d d i s s a ti s fa c t i o n s , h e m i g h t d o w e l l t o p r o v i d e i n f o r m a t i o n a n d r o l e

s t ruc tu r e fo r t he nu r se s , e i t he r s e l ec t i ve ly o r on a gene ra l bas i s .

As s t a t ed ea r l i e r , o rgan i za t i ona l t heo r i s t s have been ca t egor i zed

(H ickson , 1966) a s adv oc a t i ng d i f fe r ing degrees o f r o l e spec i f ic i t y o r

s t r u c t u r e a s o p t i m a l . R e s e a r c h h a s b e e n m u s t e r e d t o s u p p o r t t h e

b u r e a u c r a t i c , m e c h a n i s t i c , r o u t i n i z e d , W e b e r i a n , s t r u c t u r e d - p e r c e p t u a l -

f ie ld , s c i en t i f i c - t a sk -d e t e rm ina t i on o r i en t a t i on t o ro l e spec i f i c i t y wh i l e

o t h e r fi n di ng s h a v e s u p p o r t e d t h e o p e n - s y s t e m s , f le x ib le , n o n p r o g r a m -

r e e d , o r g a n i c , u n s t r u c t u r e d , p a r t i c i p a t i v e , s e l f - a c t u a l i z i n g , T h e o r y Y

o r i e n t a t i o n . H o w e v e r , r a t h e r t h a n t h e r e s e a r c h o n r o l e s p e c i f i c i t y a n d

c l a r i t y be ing con t r ad i c to ry , i t i s pos s ib l e t ha t t he p ro b l em l ie s i n t he

unc l ea r con cep tua l i za t i ons i n t h i s a r ea .

Fo r exam ple , a t f i rs t g l ance , it m igh t s eem tha t t he im pl i ca t i ons o f

t h i s a n d t h e K a h n

e t a l

r e sea r ch , i nd i ca t i ng t he des i r ab i l i t y o f c l ea r l y

def ined ro les , conf l i c t wi th the impl ica t ions of research (e .g . , Likerb ,

1961, 1967; Lowin , 1968; Vroom, 1960) indica t ing the des i rab i l i ty of

i n c r e a si n g s u b o r d i n a t e p a r t i c i p a t i o n ; t h a t is , r e d u c i n g th e s p e c i f ic i ty

o f r o l e p r e s c r i p t i o n b y a l l o w i n g e m p l o y e e s m o r e c o n t r o l o f t h e d e t a i l s o f

t he i r own t a sk s (Hickso n , 1966, p . 231 ) . One d i f fe r ence be tw een au to -

c r a t i c and pa r t i c i pa t i ve dec i s i on mak ing i s t he l ocus o f i n f l uence on

t h e s e t t i n g o f g o a l s a n d g o a l - p a t h s , p r e s u m a b l y i n c l u d i n g t h e s p e c i f i e a -


9/12

ROLE CLARITY 1 7

t i o n o f m e m b e r ro l e s a n d ta s k s . M a i e r 1 96 5) h a s p o i n t e d o u t t h a t

p a r t i c i p a t i v e m e t h o d s m a y u s e m o r e t i m e t h a n a u t o c r a t i c m e t h o d s f o r

m ak ing dec is ions , b u t t h ey u se l es s t ime fo r t he ex p l ana t i on and c l a r i fi -

c a t i o n o f t h e s t e p s n e c e s s a r y t o c a r r y o u t t h e d e c i s i o n s i n c e t h e g r o u p

m e m b e r s k n o w t h e f a c t s a n d f a c t o r s t h a t w e r e c o n s i d e r e d i n a r r i v i n g

a t t h e d e c i s i o n , k n o w w h a t t h e g o a l i s a n d k n o w t h e i n f o r m a t i o n r e l e v a n t

t o w o r k i n g o n t h e p r o b l e m . I n a h i g h l y i n t e r a c t i v e i n f l u e n c e s y s t e m s u c h

a s L i k e r t p r o p o s e s , o p t i m a l l y t h e i n t e r a c ti o n p r o c e s s p r o v i d e s f o r t h e

s h a r in g o f r o l e - s t ru c t u r i n g i n f o rm a t i o n . T h i s p a r t i c i p a t i v e p r o c e s s m a y

b e m o r e m o t i v a t i n g s in c e t h e r o le p r e s c r ip t i o n s a n d p r o s c r i p ti o n s a r e

s i t u a t i o n a l l y l e g it im i z e d a n d a r e p a r t l y i n fl u en c e d b y t h e r o le o c c u p a n t s

t h e m s e l v e s r a t h e r t h a n u n i l a t e r a l l y p r e s e n t e d i n v a r y i n g d e g re e s o f

c o m p r e h e n s i b i l i t y t o t h e r o l e o c c u p a n t s b y h i g h e r a u t h o r i t i e s . I n s h o r t ,

t he degrees o f spec i f i c i t y and t he c l a r i t y o f r o l e s a r e

c o n d i t i o n s

t h a t m a y

b e a t t a i n e d b y t h e p r o c e s s e s o f e i t h e r a u t o c r a t i c a n d u n i l a t e r a l d e c r ee

o r p a r t i c i p a t i v e i n t e r a c t i o n .

T h i s d i s t in c t i o n b e t w e e n t h e c o n d i t i o n of ro le Spec i f i c i ty and the

p r o c e s s of ro l e spec i f i ca t i on migh t be use fu l i n specu l a t i ng abou t t he

c l a im e d a d v a n t a g e o f m o r e o rg a n is m i c , p a r t i c i p a t i v e o r g a n i z a ti o n s w i t h

r e s p e c t t o o p p o r t u n i t y f o r a n d e a s e o f i n n o v a t i o n . I t s e e m s r e a s o n a b l e

t h a t t h e m e c h a n i s t ic , a u t o e r a i i c p r o c e s s o f r o le s p e c if ic a t io n w h i c h m a y

i n c l u d e r o l e l e a r n i n g b y r o t e r a t h e r t h a n b y r e a s o n , i n d e e d m a y b e

m o r e r e s i s t a n t t o c h a n g e w h i l e m o r e p a r t i c i p a t i v e s y s t e m s w h i c h m a y

r e l y m o r e o n re a s o n s t h a n o n r o t e m a y b e a b l e t o a d j u s t m o r e r a p i d l y

t o c h a n g e a n d e v e n t o i n i t ia t e i n n o v a t i o n i n t h e f a c e o f c h a n g in g

e n v i r o n m e n t a l d e m a n d s .

In v i ew ing o rgan i za t i ona l i nno va t i on w i th r e spec t t o ro l e spec i f ica t i on ,

i t m a y b e u s e f u l t o d i s t in g u i s h a l so b e t w e e n t h e

c l a r i t y

of the ro le spec i f i -

c a t i o n a n d t h e p e r m a n e n c e o r r i g i d i t y of t he spec i f i ca t i on . Empi r i ca l l y ,

w e m i g h t e x p e c t c l a r i t y t o b e s o m e w h a t r e l a t e d t o p e r m a n e n c e s i n c e

t i m e i s r e q u i r e d t o c o m m u n i c a t e a n d t o l e a r n : W i t h i n l i m i t s , a r e l a t i v e l y

s t a b l e s p e c i f i c a t i o n w i l l h a v e m o r e o p p o r t u n i t y t o b e l e a r n e d t h o r o u g h l y ,

o t h e r t h i n g s b e i n g c o n s t a n t . H o w e v e r , t h e d o c k e t s o f h i gh c o u r ts a r e

f i l l e d w i t h l o n g - l i v e d b u t a m b i g u o u s l a w s a n d r u l e s , a n d o n t h e o t h e r

h a n d , m a n y t e m p o r a r y g r o u p s d e v e l o p d e a r - c u t n o r m s t h a t g o v e r n

m e m b e r b e h a v i o r f o r t h e s h o r t e x i s t e n c e o f t h e g r o u p s. I t is p o s s ib l e t o

d i s ti n g u i sh c o n c e p t u a l l y b e t w e e n t h e c l a r i t y a n d t h e p e r m a n e n c e o f

r o l e s p e c i f i c a t i o n s . T h e d i s t i n c t i o n m a y b e u s e f u l i f t h e l a c k o f i n n o v a -

t i venes s o f t r ad i t i ona l o rgan i za t i ons i s r e l a t ed more t o t he r i g id i t y o f

t he i r r o l e spec i f i ca t i ons t han t o t he i r c l a r i t y p e r s e I f pa r t o f r e s i s t a rme

t o c h a n g e o n t h e p a r t o f o r g a n i z a t i o n a l m e m b e r s i s f e a r o r a n t i c i p a t e d

d i s l i ke o f new and uns t ruc tu r ed ro l e spec i f i ca t i ons wh i . ch t hey migh t


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1 0 8 T H O M A S F L Y O N S

feel will be permanent, then perhaps resistance can be reduced by the

introduction of change with as much structuring as possible a n d where

possible, assurances of the modifiability of the new roles if necessary

after some definite time period. If the distinction is useful, it may be

possible for an organization to have clear but temporary role specifica-

tions and innovation with less confusion and member resistance.

For future research on role theory in organizations and for discussion

of theories of organizations and organizational change it may be useful

to make conceptual distinctions between clear and ambiguous roles,

between the products and the processes of role specification, and between

the clarity of role specification and the permanence of the specifications.

SUMMARY

The perceived role clarity of 156 staff registered nurses was related

negatively to their voluntary turnover, propensity to leave, and lob

tension and positively to their work satisfaction. When the total sample

was dichotomized on the basis of their expressed need for clarity, the

correlations of role clarity to voluntary turnover, propensity to leave,

and work satisfaction were nonsignificant for the low need-for-clarity

nurses and significantly higher (and statistically significant) for the

high need-for-clarity nurses. The correlations between role clarity and

job tension were significant for both low and high need-for-clarity

groups and the difference between correlations for the two groups failed

to reach significance.

Implications of the concepts of role clarity or role ambiguity, role

specificity, the conditions of role specificity as opposed to the processes

of role specification, and the rigidity or permanence of the role specifi-

cations were examined to attempt integration of existing research and

theory on organizations and organization change.

REFERENCES

ARGVRIS, C.

Understanding organizational behavior.

London: Tavistock, 1960.

BAIRD, L. L. A study of the role relations of graduate students. Journa l o ] Educa-

t ional Psychology 1969, 66, 15-21.

BARNES, L. B.

Organizational sy ste m s an d engineering groups.

Boston: ttarvard

Business School, 1960.

BENNIS, W. G. Leadership theory and administrative behavior: The problem

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