title: The Perceptions and Expectations Toward the Social Responsibility of Hospitals and Organizational Commitment of Nursing Staff.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The labor rights of medical workers in hospitals in Taiwan have been a key issue of discussion and controversy in recent years. Generally, poor work conditions and manpower shortages in hospitals have resulted in a vicious circle of severely overworked medical and healthcare staff and chronically low staffing and retention rates.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study employed corporate social responsibility as the conceptual framework of the social responsibility of hospitals to examine the perceptions and expectations of nurses toward the social responsibility practices of the hospital where they serve and to explore the relationship between these perceptions and organizational commitment (OC).
  
  
  METHODS
  The participants were all nurses who were employed by one medical group in southern Taiwan. Two hundred forty anonymous questionnaires, which included scales that were designed to measure the social responsibility of hospitals and OC, were distributed. Two hundred twenty-seven valid questionnaires were returned. Exploratory factor analysis was used to validate the dimension of the social responsibility of hospitals, and hierarchical multiregression analyses were used to verify the relationship between the perceptions of nurses with regard to the social responsibility practices of the hospital where nurses serve and OC.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were considerable differences between participants' perceptions and expectations toward the social responsibility of hospitals. The nurses with high perceptions toward the social responsibility practices of the hospital where they serve tended to have relatively high OC. Senior nurses who had high perceptions of the legal and rational, ethical, and economic dimensions of the social responsibility practices of the hospital where they serve exhibited relatively strong affective commitment. Nurses in junior positions who had high perceptions of the practices of ethical responsibilities exhibited relatively strong continuance commitment. Senior nurses who had high perceptions of the legal and rational, ethical, and discretionary dimensions of the social responsibility practices of the hospital where they serve exhibited relatively strong normative commitment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A friendly and humane work environment in hospital settings facilitates the implementation of social responsibility, which has been shown to foster higher levels of organizational identification and job performance among nurses and other hospital employees.
authors.affiliation: 1PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Social Work, Chia Nan University of Pharmacy and Science 2PhD, Professor, Department of Healthcare Administration and Medical Informatics, Kaohsiung Medical University and Investigator, Research Education and Epidemiology Center, Changhua Christian Hospital 3PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Healthcare Information and Management, Ming Chuan University 4PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Oral Hygiene, Kaohsiung Medical University 5MS, Director, Nursing Department, Kaohsiung Municipal Ta-Tung Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University 6MS, Senior Executive Officer, Superintendent Office, Kaohsiung Municipal Hsiao-Kang Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University.
authors.forename: Sheng-Che
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Hsieh
authors.forename: Herng-Chia
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.forename: Ya-Hui
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Hsieh
authors.forename: Pei-Shen
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: Li-Chin
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Wei-Chou
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Chang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D005260:Female; D006739:Hospital Administration; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009732:Nursing Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000523:psychology*; D015279:Organizational Culture; D010558:Personnel Loyalty; D012941:Social Responsibility; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013624:Taiwan; D017132:Workplace / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000523:psychology*