title: An analysis of the ethical and linguistic content of hospital mission statements.
abstract: An analysis of the ethical and functional linguistic content of Canadian hospital mission statements was conducted. The ethical content analysis identified deontology as the dominant ethical orientation. The functional linguistic analysis revealed a trend toward the depersonalization and objectification of action. Implications for formulating effective mission statements were discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.
authors.forename: William E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Smythe
authors.forename: David C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Malloy
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hadjistavropoulos
authors.forename: Ronald R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Holly A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Bardutz
mesh_terms: D002170:Canada; D032781:Codes of Ethics; D004645:Empathy; D004991:Ethics, Institutional; D006739:Hospital Administration / Q000941:ethics*; D006801:Humans; D008037:Linguistics; D028681:Moral Obligations; D015279:Organizational Culture; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D016134:Organizational Policy; D005791:Patient Care / Q000941:ethics / Q000523:psychology; D014956:Writing