Abstract
BackgroundEthical leadership plays an important role in improving the organizational climate and may be have an effect on citizenship behavior. Despite the growing emphasis on ethics in organizations, little attention to has been given this issue. The purpose of this study was to identify ethical leadership, an ethical climate, and their relationship with organizational citizenship behavior from nurses’ perspective.MethodsIn this descriptive correlational study, 250 nurses in twelve teaching hospitals in Tehran were selected by multistage sampling during 2016–2017. The data were collected using Ethical Leadership Questionnaire, Hospital Ethical Climate Survey, and Organizational Citizenship Behavior Scale.ResultsThe findings showed a significant correlation between ethical leadership in managers, organizational citizenship behavior (P = 0.04, r = 0.09) and an ethical climate (P < 0.001, r = 0.65). There was a significant correlation between an ethical climate and nurses’ organizational citizenship behavior (P < 0.001, r = 0.61). The regression analysis showed that ethical leadership and an ethical climate is a predictor of organizational citizenship behavior and confirms the relationship between the variables.ConclusionApplying an ethical leadership style and creating the necessary conditions for a proper ethical climate in hospitals lead to increased organizational citizenship behavior by staff. To achieve organizational goals, nurse managers can use these concepts to enhance nurses’ satisfaction and improve their performance.
Highlights
Ethical leadership plays an important role in improving the organizational climate and may be have an effect on citizenship behavior
As in many other countries, nurses in Iran are exposed to challenges such as short staffing, heavy workload, undefined responsibilities, shortage of equipment, and low pay [2], poor social status, and the difficulties of negotiating the gap between theory and practice [3], all of which influence the provision of high quality nursing care [3]
Conscientiousness, humility and courtesy, civic virtue, and sportsmanship are signs of the presence of Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) [8]. These voluntary extra-role behaviors may form on the basis of an ethical climate (EC) perceived directly or indirectly by the personnel [4]
Summary
Ethical leadership plays an important role in improving the organizational climate and may be have an effect on citizenship behavior. As in many other countries, nurses in Iran are exposed to challenges such as short staffing, heavy workload, undefined responsibilities, shortage of equipment, and low pay [2], poor social status, and the difficulties of negotiating the gap between theory and practice [3], all of which influence the provision of high quality nursing care [3] These conditions require a willingness to perform tasks beyond the defined duties and responsibilities, a phenomenon referred to as the “concept of organizational citizenship behavior” in the related literature [4, 5]. Conscientiousness, humility and courtesy, civic virtue, and sportsmanship are signs of the presence of OCB [8] These voluntary extra-role behaviors may form on the basis of an ethical climate (EC) perceived directly or indirectly by the personnel [4]
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