Organization commitment and personnel retention in the military health care system

Abstract

The question of how sufficient numbers of military health care providers can be maintained to meet an increasing demand on their services in the face of the all-volunteer service provides the focus for study. This thesis addresses the personnel retention issue through a model of organization commitment developed for a synthesis of research findings in related areas of organization psychology. The model is tested upon an existing pool of survey data drawn from the three military medical services. Discriminant analysis is employed to segregate the sample into degrees of commitment to determine the most successful predictors of retention and motivation. It was found that an individual's length of service and the perception of the command's concern for human resources were consistently more powerful predictors than the concern for salary, status, and educational opportunities. Profiles of the four categories of commitment are developed which provide insight into which individuals can more likely be retained in service. The profiles suggest areas in which organizations can move to improve upon retention and motivation. It is concluded that the concept of organization commitment discloses a broader range of effective policy choices than models presently available.