Asian Nursing Research 12 (2018) 99e105

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Asian Nursing Research

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Research Article

Effects of the Educational Leadership of Nursing Unit Managers on

Team Effectiveness: Mediating Effects of Organizational
Communication
Eun Ha Choi,1 Eun-Kyung Kim,2, *, * Pil Bong Kim3
1
Department of Nursing, Chungbuk National University Hospital, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
2
Department of Nursing, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
3
Department of Community Mental Health Care, Chungcheongbuk-do Regional Mental Health Welfare Center, Cheongju, Republic of Korea

articleinfo
abstract
Article history:
Received 7 December 2017 Purpose: This study identifies the effects of the educational leadership of nursing unit managers on
Received in revised form team effectiveness and the mediating effects of organizational communication satisfaction; it highlights
2 March 2018 the importance of educational leadership and organizational communication and provides the data
Accepted 22 March 2018 needed to enhance the education capacity of managers.
Methods: The participants were 216 nurses working at unit with nursing unit managers of staff nurses at
Keywords: a
communication tertiary hospital located in Cheongju city, South Korea, and nurses who had worked for more than 6
leadership months at the same unit. This study was conducted using questionnaires on educational leadership,
nurse administrators team effec- tiveness, and organizational communication satisfaction. Data analysis was performed with
a t test, analysis of variance, Scheffe´ test, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and simple and multiple
regression analyses using SPSS, version 23.0. Mediation analysis was tested using Baron and Kenny's
regression analysis and a Sobel test.
Results: The mean score for the educational leadership of nursing unit managers was 3.74 (±0.68); for
organizational communication satisfaction, 3.14 (±0.51); and for team effectiveness, 3.52 (±0.49).
Educational leadership was significantly positively correlated with team effectiveness and
organizational communication satisfaction. Organizational communication satisfaction demonstrated a
complete mediating effect on the relationship between educational leadership and team effectiveness
(b ¼ .61,
p < .001) and was significant (Sobel test; Z ¼ 7.40, p < .001).
Conclusion: The results indicate that the educational leadership of nursing unit managers increases
communication satisfaction among nurses; this supports the idea that educational leadership can
contribute to team effectiveness. This suggests that the educational leadership and communication ca-
pacity of nursing unit managers must be improved to enhance the performance of nursing
organizations.
© 2018 Korean Society of Nursing Science, Published by Elsevier Korea LLC. This is an open access article
under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Introduction
Modern hospital organizations are promoting specialization,
segmentation, modernization, and informatization to provide high-
quality health-care services that meet customers' expectations. In
addition, hospital organizations are making efforts to improve
their
* Correspondence to: Eun-Kyung Kim, RN, PhD, Department of Nursing,
Chungbuk National University, 1 Chungdae-ro, Seowon-gu, Cheongiu, Chungbuk
28644, Republic of Korea.
E-mail address: kyung11@cbnu.ac.kr
*
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0986-5217
management efficiency. In this rapidly changing medical environ-
ment, these organizations are focusing on strengthening their core
competencies and improving their relations to increase produc-
tivity [1]. In particular, middle managers play the most pivotal role
in enhancing their efficiency.
Middle managers in nursing organizations drive the achieve-
ment of the goals of each nursing unit and hospital, as well as
improvement of performance. In particular, a nursing unit
manager is the core manager of a nursing unit and has the
responsibility and authority to understand the purpose and
structure of the hospital and nursing department and to direct,
coordinate, and evaluate nursing resource management and the
performance of nursing activities [2]. In addition, nursing unit
managers can significantly

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anr.2018.03.001
p1976-1317 e2093-7482/© 2018 Korean Society of Nursing Science, Published by Elsevier Korea LLC. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ( http://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
100 E.H. Choi et al. / Asian Nursing Research 12 (2018) 99e105
affect the efficiency of overall hospital organization and the quality
of patient care. Therefore, nursing unit managers should have
management capabilities that can play a key role in professional
performance and in improving the capabilities of staff nurses.
Nursing unit managers devote much time to educating patients,
family caregivers, nursing staff, nursing students, local residents,
and organizations, as well as coordinating and cooperating with
various departments inside and outside the hospital. The educa-
tional leadership of nursing unit managers focuses on identifying
nurses' abilities and attitudes and managing activities and educa-
tion programs to improve tasks and nurses' job performance,
knowledge, and attitudes and to develop their professionalism to
provide patients with quality nursing. The educational leadership
of nursing unit managers has a positive effect on organizational
performance and team effectiveness, which can increase nurses'
job satisfaction and decrease their turnover intention. Its impor-
tance has recently been emphasized [3].
The nursing unit is an independent unit operated by the nursing
unit manager and is affected by complex factors such as the envi-
ronment of each unit, characteristics of team members, diversity of
resources, and interactions among organizational members [4].
These factors also affect team effectiveness. Rapid and smooth
communication between team members is essential for the team
effectiveness of a nursing unit [5,6].
Organizational communication refers to the interactions be-
tween organizational members to cooperatively achieve organiza-
tional goals [7]. Organizational management can also be referred
to as communication management, and communication plays a
cen- tral role in the operation of an organization [8]. According to
the results of previous studies on organizational communication,
organizational communication satisfaction contributes to
achieving goals and to organizational development by increasing
the job satisfaction of organizational members [5,9e11].
Nursing unit managers must possess outstanding communica-
tion skills. Strong communication skills are important components
of effective leadership. A successful organization is one with col-
lective efficacy and a capability to develop and use resources to
accomplish goals that matter to all staff members through agreed-
upon processes [12].
In previous studies, it was proved that the educational leader-
ship of the leader is an important factor for enhancing the team
effectiveness [3] and that there is a positive correlation between
organizational communication satisfaction, job satisfaction, orga-
nizational commitment, and organizational effectiveness [13e17].
However, the present study is limited to the relationship between
the educational leadership, organizational communication satis-
faction, and team effectiveness of the nursing unit manager at the
time when goal achievement and team performance are empha-
sized in nursing units.
This study aimed to identify the effects of organizational
communication satisfaction on the relationship between the
educational leadership of nursing unit managers and team effec-
tiveness to improve understanding of the importance of educa-
tional leadership and organizational communication and provide
the basic data required to enhance managers' education capability.
Methods
Study design
This is a cross-sectional descriptive study that aimed to inves-
tigate the effects of the educational leadership of nursing unit
managers on the team effectiveness of a nursing unit and the
mediating effects of organizational communication satisfaction.
Setting and sample
The participants of this study were staff nurses working with
nursing unit manager for more than 6 months in a university
hospital with educational mission in the Cheongju city. For the
multiple regression analysis, the sample size was estimated at a
power of .95, significance level of .05, medium-effect size of .15,
and through 13 predictor variables using G*Power 3.1.9.2, a
program for statistical power analyses. The minimum number of
samples required was calculated as 189 participants. Thus, 250
question- naires were distributed in anticipation of missing
questionnaires. Of these, 242 completed questionnaires were
collected (response rate: 96.8%). Ultimately, after excluding 26
questionnaires (dropout rate: 10.4%) with incomplete data, the
study analyzed data from 216 participants, which met the
minimum number of participants required for statistical testing.
Ethical considerations
Data collection was conducted after approval of the
Institutional Review Board of Chungbuk National University
(Approval no. CBNU-201704-BMSB-426-01) belonging to the
researcher to pro- tect the human rights of the research
participants. Researchers visited the nursing department at one
hospital to request participation and to explain the purpose of this
study and the contents of the questionnaires. A pre-educated
research assistant visited each nursing unit and explained the
purpose of the study to the staff nurses. Furthermore, data
collection process, guarantee of anonymity, autonomy of the
decision to withdraw, confidentiality, and data storage and
handling were explained to the participants. Nurses completed a
self-administered survey after consenting in writing to voluntarily
participate in this study. Each completed questionnaire was
collected in a sealed envelope to ensure confi- dentiality. Collected
questionnaires were coded, input into the computer, and stored in
a lockable cabinet.
Measurement
Educational leadership
Educational leadership was measured using a tool revised by
Ahn [3], which was based on the Principal Instructional Manage-
ment Rating Scale developed by Hallinger and Murphy. This scale
comprised 12 items, with three subscales, including task
improvement activities, professional development, and education
course management. Each item was rated on a five-point Likert
scale ranging from “1¼ not at all” to “5 ¼ very much agree.” A
higher score indicated that nurses had a higher perception of the
educational leadership of their nursing unit managers. This scale
was approved for use by the developer of the tool. In a study by
¼ a .94. Cronbach a
Ahn [5], the reliability of this tool was Cronbach
in this study was .96.
Team effectiveness
Team effectiveness was measured using a scale originally
developed by Hoegl and Gemuenden [18] and modified by Kim
[19]. The scale comprised 16 items, with three subscales on per-
sonal growth, job effectiveness, and job efficiency. Each item was
rated on a five-point Likert scale ranging from “1 ¼ not at all” to
“5 ¼very much agree.” A high score indicated higher team effec-
tiveness. The scale was approved for use by the developer. The
reliability of each subscale was determined in a study by Kim [19]
and was as follows: Cronbach a¼.89 for personal growth, .90 for
job effectiveness, and .80 for job efficacy. Its reliability in a study
by Lee [20] was Cronbach a ¼ .93, and in this study, it was .90.
In
 E.H. Choi et al. / Asian Nursing Research 12 (2018) 99e105 101

addition, in this study, the reliability of each subscale ranged from
.75 to .88.
Organizational communication satisfaction
Organizational communication satisfaction was measured using
a tool originally developed by Down and Hazen [21] and modified
for nursing organizations by Park [5]. The tool comprised 24 items
for eight subfactors, including organizational perspective, organi-
zational integration, personal feedback, supervisor
communication, subordinate communication, media quality,
horizontal communi- cation, and communication climate. Each
item was rated on a five- point Likert ¼ “1 not at
¼ scale ranging from
all” to “5 very much agree.” A higher score indicated higher
organizational communi- cation satisfaction among organizational
members. The tool was approved for use in advance by the
developer. The reliability of the tool in a¼study by Park [5] was
Cronbach a .80. Cronbach a in this study was .91.
Data collection
The data collection period was from July 24 to August 25, 2017.
The purpose of the study was explained to the nursing unit man-
agers who were asked to cooperate in the data collection process.
Research assistants were trained in advance on data collection
methods. The data were collected with only those nurses who
agreed with participating in the study. Nurses completed the
questionnaire in a meeting room in units for privacy. The average
completion time was approximately 15 minutes.
Data analysis
of current work unit, 56.9% were working in general wards,
including internal medicine and surgery departments, and 43.1%
in special units, including the intensive care unit, emergency room,
and operating room. The average clinical career of nurses was
5.26 years, and the clinical career in the current work unit was
3.41 years on average.
Differences in educational leadership, organizational
communication satisfaction, and team effectiveness according to
demographic and job characteristics
Table 2 provides the results of the analysis of the differences in
the educational leadership, organizational communication satis-
faction, and team effectiveness of nursing unit managers according
to their demographic and job characteristics. The overall mean
score of educational leadership, organizational communication
satisfaction, and team effectiveness were 3.74, 3.14, and 3.52,
respectively.
The nurses who worked at general units showed statistically
higher score of educational leadership of nursing unit managers
(F ¼4.03, p < .001), organizational communication satisfaction
(F ¼
5.05, p < .001), and team effectiveness (F¼ 2.94, p < .004)
than those who worked at special units. Organizational commu-
nication satisfaction was higher for new nurses with less than 1
year than nurses with more than 1 year of total clinical career
(F ¼4.71, p .010).
¼ In addition, organizational communication
satisfaction was higher for nurses with less than 1 year than
nurses with more than 1 year of current work unit clinical career
(F ¼ 8.98, p < .001).

Correlation between educational leadership, organizational

Analyses were conducted using SPSS, 23.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk,
communication satisfaction, and team effectiveness
NY, USA). The general characteristics of the participants were
analyzed using descriptive statistics. Cronbach a values were
Table 3 shows the correlation between the educational leader-
measured to ensure the reliability of the instruments. Differences
ship of nursing unit managers, organizational communication
in educational leadership, team effectiveness, and organizational
satisfaction, and team effectiveness of the participants. Education
communication satisfaction were analyzed using an independent t
leadership was significantly positively correlated with team effec-
test and one-way analysis of variance, and a post hoc analysis was
tiveness (r ¼.46, p < .001) and organizational communication
performed using the Scheffe´ test. Pearson's correlation
satisfaction (r ¼.66, p < .001); and organizational communication
coefficients
satisfaction was significantly positively correlated with team
were calculated to examine the relationship between educational
leadership, team effectiveness, and organizational communication effectiveness (r ¼ .62, p < .001) (Table 3).
satisfaction. The mediating effects of organizational communica-
tion on educational leadership and team effectiveness were
analyzed using Baron and Kenny's three-step test procedure for Table 1 Sociodemographic and Work-Related Characteristics of Participants (N ¼ 216).
mediating effects [22], which employs simple and multiple
regression analyses. Finally, the statistical significance of the
mediating effects was tested using a Sobel test. Characteristics Categories n (%) M ± SD
The results of testing the assumptions of the regression analysis Age (yrs) ≤25 49 (22.7) 29.20 ± 5.75
before testing the mediating effects of organizational communi- 26 to ≤30 115 (53.2)
cation satisfaction showed that all the following conditions were 31≤ 52 (24.1)
Marital Single 177 (81.9)
met: the DurbineWatson index was 1.70, indicating no residual
Married 39 (18.1)
autocorrelation; the minimum value of the tolerance limit for the Education College 31 (14.4)
variables was 0.62 or greater than 0.10; and the maximum value of Bachelor 170 (78.7)
the variance inflation factor was 1.61, which was smaller than 10, ≤Master 15 (6.9)
indicating that multicollinearity was not a problem. In addition, Religion Yes 71 (32.9)
No 145 (67.1)
the results of the residual analysis confirmed the linearity, Current work unit General units 123 (56.9)
normality, and homoscedasticity of the model. Special units 96 (43.1)
Total clinical career (yrs) ＜1 23 (10.6) 5.26 ± 5.86
Results 1 to ＜5 117 (54.2)
5≤ 76 (35.2)
Current work unit clinical career (yrs) ＜1 38 (17.6) 3.41 ± 3.84
Characteristics of the study participants 1 to ＜5 133 (61.6)
5≤ 45 (20.8)
A descriptive analysis was conducted to analyze the general
Note. M ¼ mean; SD ¼ standard deviation; yrs ¼ years.
characteristics of the participants (Table 1). The mean age of the Special units include intensive care unit, emergency room, operating room, and
participants was 29.20 years, and 81.9% were unmarried. In terms emergency unit.
102 E.H. Choi et al. / Asian Nursing Research 12 (2018) 99e105

Table 2 Differences in Team Effectiveness, Organizational Communication Satisfaction, and Educational Leadership According to Sociodemographic and Work-Related Characteristics
(N ¼ 216).
Characteristics Categories Educational leadership Organizational communication satisfaction Team effectiveness

M ± SD t or F(p) M ± SD t or F(p) Scheffe´ M ± SD t or F(p)

Scheffe´ Scheffe´
Age (yrs) ≤25 3.71 ± 0.69 0.13 (.877) 3.22 ± 0.49 2.32 (.101) 3.55 ± 0.44 0.22 (.80)
26 to ≤30 3.76 ± 0.61 3.16 ± 0.46 3.50 ± 0.49
31≤ 3.71 ± 0.82 3.02 ± 0.61 3.53 ± 0.53
Marital status Single 3.74 ± 0.69 0.09 (.931) 3.16 ± 0.49 1.31 (.198) 3.50 ± 0.47 —0.99 (.332)
Married 3.73 ± 0.67 3.03 ± 0.58 3.59 ± 0.56
Education College 3.58 ± 0.73 1.45 (.238) 3.01 ± 0.52 1.22 (.298) 3.52 ± 0.44 0.18 (.833)
Bachelor 3.75 ± 0.67 3.16 ± 0.50 3.51 ± 0.50
≤Master 3.93 ± 0.73 3.20 ± 0.59 3.59 ± 0.48
Religion Yes 3.76 ± 0.74 0.36 (.720) 3.15 ± 0.55 0.11 (.916) 3.54 ± 0.50 0.48 (.634)
No 3.73 ± 0.65 3.14 ± 0.49 3.51 ± 0.48
Current work unit General units 3.90 ± 0.66 4.03 (<.001) 3.28 ± 0.47 5.05 (<.001) 3.60 ± 0.48 2.94 (<.004)
Special units 3.53 ± 0.65 2.95 ± 0.49 3.41 ± 0.48
Total clinical career (yrs) ＜1a 3.95 ± 0.86 1.23 (.293) 3.41 ± 0.49 4.71 (.010) a>b,c 3.69 ± 0.51 2.00 (.138)
1 to ＜5b 3.72 ± 0.60 3.15 ± 0.44 3.52 ± 0.44
c
5≤ 3.71 ± 0.74 3.05 ± 0.58 3.46 ± 0.54
Current work unit clinical career (yrs) ＜1a 3.88 ± 0.78 1.71 (.183) 3.40 ± 0.49 8.98 (< .001) a,b>c 3.68 ± 0.46 2.96 (.054)
1 to ＜5b 3.74 ± 0.61 3.13 ± 0.46 3.50 ± 0.45
c
5≤ 3.61 ± 0.79 2.94 ± 0.56 3.44 ± 0.58
Total (M ± SD) 3.74 ± 0.68 3.14 ± 0.51 3.52 ± 0.49

Note. M ¼ mean; SD ¼ standard deviation; yrs ¼ years.

Table 3 Correlations Between Educational Leadership, Organizational Communication

Satisfaction, and Team Effectiveness (N ¼ 216).
Variables Educational Organizational
leadership communication
r (p) r (p)
Educational leadership 1 not to be significant with respect to team effectiveness (b ¼ .09,
Organizational communication .62 (<.001) 1 p¼.188), indicating that the complete mediating effect of organi-
Team effectiveness .46 (<.001) .66 (<.001)
The mediating effects of organizational communication satisfaction
on the relationship between educational leadership and team
effectiveness
Table 4 provides the results of the regression analysis
conducted to verify the mediating effects of organizational
communication satisfaction on the relationship between the
educational leadership of nursing unit managers and team
effectiveness. In the first step, the results of the regression analysis
using educational leadership as an independent variable and
organizational communication satisfaction as a mediator
¼
variable were significant (b .62, p < .001), supporting
educational leadership as a reasonable explanation for the 38.0%
of organizational communication satis- faction. In the second step,
the results of the regression analysis using educational leadership
as the independent variable and team effectiveness as the
dependent¼ variable were statistically signifi- cant (b .46, p < .001),
supporting educational leadership as a reasonable explanation for
the 21.0% of team effectiveness. In the third step, regression
analysis was conducted with educational leadership and
organizational communication satisfaction as pre- dictive factors
and team effectiveness as the dependent variable to investigate
the effect of organizational communication satisfaction on team
effectiveness. The results showed that only organizational
Table 4 Mediating Effect of Organizational Communication Satisfaction on the Relationship Between Educational Leadership and Team Effectiveness (N ¼ 216).
communication satisfaction was a significant predictive factor of
team effectiveness (b ¼.61, p < .001). In other words, when the
Team organizational communication satisfaction was set as a mediator
effectiveness
variable in this step, the standardized regression coefficient of
r (p) educational leadership declined from .46 to .09, and it was found
1 zational communication satisfaction was able to explain 44.0% of
team effectiveness (Figure 1).
A Sobel test was performed to verify the significance of the
mediating effects of organizational communication satisfaction
[23]; the mediating effects of organizational communication
satisfaction on the relationship between educational leadership
and team effectiveness were found to be significant (Z ¼ 7.40,
p < .001).
Discussion
The results of this study showed that team effectiveness
increased as nursing unit managers exercised more educational
leadership and organizational members were more satisfied with
organizational communication. These results suggest that the
educational leadership of nursing unit managers can achieve
nursing unit goals and improve performance.
Leadership is the interpersonal influence that leads to achieve-
ment of goals through communication. Leader's role in achieving
organizational goal largely depends on how well they
communicate [24]. The nursing unit manager demonstrated
educational leader- ship such as guidance, encouragement, and
information providing for improving the job ability of the staffs and
improved the team effectiveness of the nursing unit through the
communication pro- cess toward attainment of the goal with the
staffs.

Step Independent variable Dependent variable B b (p) t Adjusted R2 F p

Step 1. Educational leadership Organizational communication satisfaction .46 .62 (<.001) 11.43 .38 130.66 <.001
Step 2. Educational leadership Team effectiveness .33 .46 (<.001) 7.60 .21 57.72 <.001
Step 3. Educational leadership Team effectiveness .06 .09 (<.188) 1.32 .44 84.64 <.001
Organizational communication satisfaction Team effectiveness .58 .61 (<.001) 9.39

Sobel test: Z ¼ 7.40, p < .001.

 E.H. Choi et al. / Asian Nursing Research 12 (2018) 99e105
Figure 1. Mediating effect of organizational communication satisfaction on the rela-
tionship between educational leadership and team effectiveness *p < .001.
In this study, the mean score for the educational leadership of
nursing unit managers was 3.74 (out of 5 points), higher than the
3.11 found in a study by Ahn [3], in which nurses working at four
general hospitals in the same area were surveyed using the same
tool. This difference can be attributed to the fact that the present
study site was a university hospital and tertiary hospital trying to
accomplish an education mission, which meant that nursing unit
managers in this nursing organization faced higher demands to
educate nurses, nursing students, nursing assistants, patients, and
caregivers than those in general hospitals, and they endeavored to
faithfully fulfill this corresponding role. In the field of education, a
principal's educational leadership had a greater effect on the
effectiveness of a school organization than transformational or
managerial leadership [25]. In addition, knowledge-sharing efforts
to increase organizational competitiveness emerged as an impor-
tant issue. The results of a study on hospital organizations [26]
indicated that the effects of nurses' knowledge management on
organizational effectiveness highlight the importance of educa-
tional leadership.
The results of this study showed that organizational commu-
nication satisfaction was significantly higher in nurse with short
clinical career. If newly employed nurses or new nurses
transferred from other wards are introduced into a different ward,
they require a certain period of work orientation according to the
nature of the nursing task. As a result, the time nursing unit
managers spend on education has increased, which naturally has
enhanced the orga- nizational communication satisfaction of staff
nurses. Also, staff nurses working in general units had significantly
higher educa- tional leadership, organizational communication
satisfaction, and team effectiveness than staff nurses working in
special units. The results showed that the number of unit nurses
managed by a unit manager was larger than that of general units in
special units of research hospital and that staff nurses in general
unit had more education and interaction time with unit manager,
which may have influenced organizational communication
satisfaction and team effectiveness.
Educational leadership in the education field maintains the
educational conditions of an organization, maximizes support to
improve teaching and learning effectiveness, and promotes the
growth and development of those being educated. According to
the Korean Hospital Nurses Association [27], the ratio of new
nurses with less than 1 year in a clinical career to total nursing
staff at tertiary hospitals was 14.8% on average, and the turnover
rate of new nurses with less than 1 year in a clinical career was
very high at 29.8% on average. This suggests that for these nurses,
the educational leadership of nursing unit managers is needed;
education is essential to improve the competencies of staff nurses,
103
and nursing unit managers must satisfy their education needs.
When, staff nurses gain confidence through their education and
communication, their job satisfaction and job commitment will
increase, which will contribute to organizational performance
[28].
Nursing unit managers are responsible for setting the tone and
creating a climate conducive to teaching and learning. Because
nursing unit managers can play a pivotal role in driving the
continuing professional development of the unit nurses [29].
Educational leaders not only provide nurses with opportunities for
professional development, but they also share the necessary in-
formation to encourage and support nurses in their efforts to
achieve organizational goals. A successful organization is one with
collective efficacy and a capability to develop and use resources to
accomplish goals that matter to all staff members through agreed-
upon processes [12].
Nursing unit manager can provide feedback to each other
through collaboration during staff development. Professional
development must be constructed in ways that deepen the dis-
cussion, open up the debates, and enrich the array of possibilities
for action [17]. The results of this study indicate that the mean
score for organizational communication satisfaction was 3.14 (out
of 5 points), similar to the 3.17 found in a study by Lee [13]
involving nurses. These results suggest that nursing unit managers
need to make efforts to create a ward culture that enables more
free communication with staffs. It is a unit manager's
responsibility to establish strong lines of communication with and
among leaders and staffs. In addition, unit manager should
monitor the effec- tiveness of practices and their impact on staff
learning [17]. In addition, nursing unit managers should develop
career develop- ment education programs to promote employees'
morale and support them through horizontal communication.
The mean score for team effectiveness was 3.52 in this study.
These results were similar to the overall mean score of 3.50 found
in a study by Lee in which nurses were surveyed using the same
tool [20] and somewhat lower than the 3.62 found in a study by
Kim [19] on office workers at large companies. Therefore, team
effectiveness appears to be a matter of assessing not only the
achievement of a team's goals but also whether team members'
ability is improved during the team's work. The latter is an
important factor for team effectiveness.
A team's success varies depending on the level of goal
achievement, task performance methods, and the capabilities of
team members. One of the characteristics of high performing
teams is team members with the right expertise. To be a high-
performing team, team members must be satisfied with them-
selves and improve their knowledge and skills during the course
of their work. Staff developments should focus on content
knowledge, provide opportunities for active learning, and there
should be an overall coherence of the staff development activities
[17]. If the abilities of team members are improved through
educational leadership of unit manager, they will work more
efficiently and eventually achieve team goals [20]. Therefore,
nursing unit managers should identify team members' abilities
and attitudes and confirm whether their personal growth oppor-
tunities are reflected in their work. These should be applied so
that nurses' job performance, nursing knowledge, and attitudes
can be improved in the process of providing quality nursing
suitable for patients.
The results of this study also significantly correlated the
educational leadership of nursing unit managers as perceived by
nurses with team effectiveness and organizational communication
satisfaction. As the educational leadership of nursing unit
managers perceived by nurses was higher, team effectiveness was
also higher in this study, similar to the results of previous
research [3]. In
104 E.H. Choi et al. / Asian Nursing Research 12 (2018) 99e105
addition, these results are aligned with those of previous studies
involving nurses [13e15], indicating that as employees were more
satisfied with organizational communication, their organizational
commitment was higher.
On the other hand, the results for verifying the mediating
effects of organizational communication satisfaction on the
relationship between the educational leadership of nursing unit
managers and team effectiveness indicated that the effects of
educational lead- ership on the team effectiveness of staff nurses
differed according to organizational communication satisfaction.
This implies that the organizational communication satisfaction as
perceived by nurses mediated the educational leadership of
nursing unit managers and team effectiveness, thus affecting team
effectiveness. In other words, the educational leadership of
nursing unit managers can increase staff nurses organizational
communication satisfaction to enhance team effectiveness. Nursing
unit managers who demon- strate educational leadership
communicate repeatedely with their members and identify their
concerns [17]. Also, unit managers work together in teams,
engaging in the process of performance that promote deep team
learning, leading to higher levels of staff achievement [30].
The results of this studyconfirmed that the educational
leadership
of nursing unit managers affects team effectiveness via the organi-
zational communication satisfaction of staff nurses. These findings
suggest that the educational leadership of nursing unit managers
can contribute to team effectiveness by activating communications
with nurses and increasing their satisfaction. If nurses' team
effectiveness increases, nursing performance will improve
accordingly, and the quality of nursing services will be enhanced to
increase patient satisfaction and ultimately maximize the
efficiency of hospitals. Therefore, the educational leadership of
nursing unit managers is an important factor affecting
organizational performance.
Conclusion
The present study found that the educational leadership of
nursing unit managers affected organizational communication
satisfaction among nurses and that organizational communication
played a mediating role in increasing team effectiveness.
Therefore, nursing unit managers can increase team effectiveness
through education and training to enhance their effective
educational leadership competencies and organizational
communication with nurses.
Recommendations for future research
First, more studies are needed to verify the effects of
educational leadership using diverse samples. Second, it is
recommended that further studies include various factors that
affect educational leadership. Third, programs should be
developed to improve the communication satisfaction of nursing
organizations, and studies to verify these effects should be
conducted.
Conflicts of interest
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
Acknowledgment
The authors would like to thank the hospital for its sincere
cooperation in the present study and the nurses for their
participa- tion in the survey for the development of the nursing
organization.
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