Commitment

Commitment refers to the work, belief, and loyalty that a person gives to a system or organisation (Oxford Popular School Dictionary 2008:79). Commitment refers to an individual’s identification with, and involvement in, the organisation, characterised by a strong belief in, and acceptance of the organisation's goals and values and a willingness to exert considerable effort on behalf of the organisation (Rawat 2011:144).

 Organisational commitment

Organisational commitment is a state in which an employee identifies with a particular organisation, and its goals and wishes in order to maintain membership with the employing organisation (Robbins et al 2010:63). Organisational commitment is based on behaviours and/or attitudes that involve the relationship that an employee has with

an organisation (Moneke & Umeh 2014:155). Commitment is the expression of continued dedication to a common purpose and to achieving goals (Mullins & Christy 2013:710). Employees will not be able to commit themselves to the values of the organisation if they experience organisational conflict or disagreement (Tyson 2015:318). Employees may be committed to their employing organisations if they feel confidence in their employers’ commitment to them (McKenna & Beech 2014:173). Commitment is further viewed as representing loyalty to the organisation and a desire for involvement in an organisation (Ambad & Bahron 2012:75). A study conducted by De Gieter, Hofmans and Pepermans (2011:1563) on job satisfaction and organisational commitment reveals that nurses who are satisfied with their jobs are less likely to leave and that the stronger the nurses’ commitment to their organisations, the less turnover will be experienced. According to Mellish et al (2010:6), commitment means to accept the values and responsibilities that are part of nursing. These values include observing ethical norms and standards, concern (caring) for the person in need of care; and cooperation with other members of the health team. This means that nurses must accept responsibility for the maintenance of their own competences by attending relevant in-service training and workshops organised by the supervisor.

In clinical practice supervisors should facilitate the setting and maintenance of standards for high quality patient care by ensuring that employees display commitment to the standards, by self-evaluation against the set standards and by encouraging nurses to provide the best possible quality patient care using the available resources (Mellish et al 2010:129). Commitment can also be viewed as part of the psychological contract which is an unwritten contract between management and employees, whereby management offers challenging and meaningful tasks and employees reciprocate with loyalty and commitment (McKenna & Beech 2014:11). Without committed and empowered employees, the organisation can never provide good service, or reach its full potential (Blanchard 2007:4). When employees have access to empowering structures such as opportunity, support and formal and informal power, there is a possibility of them becoming motivated and more committed to the organisation. whereas employees who do not have access to such empowering structures and have to deal with a lack of resources feel powerless and become less committed to the organisation’s objectives and to their work (Faulkner & Laschinger 2008:216).

According to Robbins et al (2010:63), there are three dimensions to organisational commitment, namely affective commitment, continuance commitment and normative commitment.

 Affective commitment:

According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English for Advanced Learners (2009:28), affective means having an effect on the emotions. Affective commitment refers to an employee’s intention to remain in an organisation because of a strong desire to do so (Newstrom 2015:236). Affective commitment is also viewed as the employee’s emotional attachment to the organisation and a belief in its values (Robbins et al 2010:63). The employee’s attachment to the organisation is seen through an increase in job involvement, attendance, performance, job satisfaction, low rates of attrition and decreased intention to leave the organisation (Smith, Andrusyszyn & Laschinger 2010:1007). Employees who experience low affective commitment are more likely to miss work and engage in counterproductive behaviours such as theft, sabotage and aggression (Morrow 2011:19).

Managers can enhance affective commitment by communicating to employees that they value their contributions and that they care about their well-being (Quick & Nelson 2013:118).

 Normative commitment

According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English for Advanced Learners (2009:943), normative refers to the establishment of a set of rules or standards of behaviour. Normative commitment is perceived as an obligation to remain with the organisation; employees believe that they owe it to the organisation. For example an employee who is heading a new project or idea may remain with an employer because the employee feels that if he or she leaves the organisation the project will not be continued or will not succeed (Robbins et al 2010:63).

Affective and normative commitments are related to lower rates of absenteeism, higher quality of work, and increased productivity and performance. Performance can be increased by providing in-service education and training of employees.

 Continuance commitment

Continuance commitment refers to an employee’s tendency to remain in an organisation because he or she cannot afford to leave, the employee focuses on the economic value of remaining with the organisation rather than to leave. Employees under this type of commitment believe that they will lose a lot of benefits if they leave because the employee feels that the salary paid to him/her is according to the type of work that he or she is performing and if the employee leaves the organisation the family will lose because the family’s needs will not be met or he/she might lose the chances of being promoted to a higher position (Robbins et al 2010:63).

 Professional commitment

Drey, Gould and Allan (2009:741) describe professional commitment in addition to organisational commitment. Professional commitment can be seen in employees’ attitude to their work and their behaviour in relation to commitment. A high level of commitment is associated with the profile of nursing and the extent to which nursing is esteemed by patients and the public. Employees who experience high levels of professional commitment take pride in their occupation and strive to perform better and they are likely to be more satisfied at work (Drey et al 2009:741). Professional commitment can be promoted when an employee identifies with the leader and follows his/her example, working as hard as the role model to complete the delegated task. The commitment of the manager will engender commitment in the employee (Griffin & Moorhead 2014:381).

Application to Kanter’s Theory

Employees commit themselves to their organisation with the aim of identifying themselves with the organisation that they work for; and by accepting the organisation’s goals and values (Rawat 2011:144). Managers should enhance the commitment of employees by giving them autonomy to make decisions about work methods and allow them to determine their work outcomes (Ambad et al 2012:78). Promotion of organisational commitment will encourage employees to be more productive and will commit themselves to the organisation’s goals. The promotion of organisational commitment is in line with Kanter’s Theory which indicates that empowerment of

employees is achieved by creating organisational commitment where employees are able to identify with the organisation and work towards the performance of their duties (Chegin & Kheradmand 2013:1048).