Changing Scene Of Healthcare Adminstration

This paper will focus on the changing scene of the healthcare environment. The health care industry is a challenging and gruesome environment. Healthcare providers must ensure that patients are provided with the best care. There are many challenges that managers face in an environment that change on a daily basis. Healthcare managers must be ready to face take on these changes so that their organizations maintains a competitive edge. Organizations continue to pursue new challenges so that they can compete in the global marketplace, they often conclude that multidisciplinary teams are needed to develop innovative products and services and respond to customers interested in a broad range of products and services (Liebler & McConnell, 2008).

When a manager is taking on a new task of managing split departments he or she must be able to lead and communicate effectively. A lack of communication can be the main cause a manager fails in their new role. Multidisciplinary teams provide a structure for bringing together employees with the diverse technical backgrounds needed for these tasks. The increasing popularity of team-based organizational structures reflects the widely shared belief that teamwork offers the potential to achieve outcomes that could not be achieved by individuals working in isolation (Liebler & McConnell, 2008).

Healthcare managers that are in charge of split departments must determine what goals the department will need to meet. This can be done through carefully analyzing the specific attributes and qualities of the department. Senior level managers should establish team leaders that can ensure department employees have the necessary resources they need to accomplish the mission. As they restructure around multidisciplinary teams, however, many organizations are discovering that teams do not always produce the desired results. Even when teams fulfill their potential, team members and their organizations may experience unanticipated negative side-effects, such as unproductive conflict and high turnover (Liebler & McConnell, 2008).

Below is a list of task and responsibility that split level department managers will need to conduct, due to changes within the organization.

Approving more time cards

Conducting a larger number of performance appraisals

Providing senior employees with leadership responsibilities over teams

Establishing a diverse environment

Setting performance measures for the employees to meet

Creating new performance standards

Creating new position descriptions

Creating a travel schedule so that management can visit employees at other facilities.

Healthcare managers conduct the following task listed above on a daily basis and these task will change when the new managers is responsible for multidisciplinary departments. The managers will have to understand the basic foundation of each specialty that he or she is responsibility within their department. Employees will need to receive diversity training on an annual or semi-annual term. Managers will need to determine ways in which grievances can be solved without disrupting the work-flow of the organization. The main goal is for a split department manager to achieve is to ensure the mission and the objectives of the organization is achieved while maintain customer and patient satisfaction.

What does this split-department situation do to your efficiency as a manager and how can you compensate for this change?

A manager that is new to operating a split-department can have a low efficiency rate at first. The reason being is that the manager might not understand his or her new role and responsibility. Managers will need to undergo transitional training. This training can be for a month, so that when the new manager takes over their new role, they have a clear understanding of the requirements; they will need to be successful in the new position. The efficiency of the department can also be determined by the number of supervisors the employee reports too.

In many cases, when there is more than one manager, giving the employee guidance on task it can become confusing for the employee and may lead to a deficiency in work performance. Unity of command is increasingly regarded as something of a theoretical ideal in that in many instances it is being abandoned in favor of split-reporting relationships in which a single subordinate reports to two or more superiors (Jacobs, Smith, & Street, 2006). The ability to maintain a split department that has a high efficiency rate will be based on the manager’s communication and leadership skills. Managers who do not communicate with their employees will never witness high efficiency levels within their department.

Newly appointed split department managers will have to deal with resistance. Resistance to change will never be completely eliminated. In many cases employees will need to be flexible and adapt to change as change occurs within the organization. It is critical that managers have full knowledge and understanding of what is happening and why it is happening are the strongest forces the manager can bring to bear on the problems of resistance to change.

On what specific management skill should the newly appointed split department manager be concentrating?

A newly appointed split department manager must possess excellent communication skills. Communication skills are critical in a healthcare organization. Effective communication is about sending a message to a receiver that is clear and understandable. When the receiver does not understand the message being sent the task being requested cannot be successful completed.

Communication in the healthcare environment is critical and can be the determination of life and death for a patient. When information is not passed along correctly patient may receive the wrong prescription or they may have surgery performed on the wrong site. It is important that managers inform employees of the importance of providing accurate and clear communication. In a recent survey of recruiters from companies with more than 50,000 employees, communication skills were cited as the single more important decisive factor in choosing managers. The survey, conducted by the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz Business School, points out that communication skills, including written and oral presentations, as well as an ability to work with others, are the main factor contributing to job success (Mulrennan, 2010).

Case: In need of improvement

Operating deficiencies can deter the progress of the organization. It is critical that managers identify problems as they occur so that they can be resolved at the lowest level. The reason for the massive restructure is so that the department can account for items that are being provided. The following measures listed below will be implemented immediately and management will work as a team to ensure these measures happen in a timely manner. The next re-evaluation of the department will be conducted in 30 days.

The following measures will be taken in order to improve the current structure of the department.

A justification will be written as to why another processing aide is needed.

The current work load will be analyzed to determine whether the justification for another processor is appropriate.

An inventory management program that is replicated from the department of veteran affairs regulations will be created.

Only a 30 day inventory level will be maintained in stock.

The inventory specialist and the manager will conduct an inventory every month.

Appropriate re-order levels will be set so that items will not complete run out.

Management will develop a plan for organizing the current work environment so that space can be utilized effectively.

Once the new guidelines are implemented, managers must monitor the implementation of the change to ensure it will work long-term. A new work method, dependent for its success on willing adoption by individual employees, can be introduced in a burst of enthusiasm only to die of its own weight as the novelty wears off and old habits return. New habits are not easily formed, and the employees need all the help the manager can furnish through conscientious follow-up (Liebler & McConnell, 2008).

Classic management functions

Manager at all levels have five basic management functions that they must follow in order to successful operate an organization. These functions have been used for many years and have enable managers to be successful. When these functions are used incorrectly organizations will suffer from lack of productivity.

Planning is the first management function. This is a critical function and involves developing the mission and what goals the organization is going to accomplish. Managers must plan for the success of the organization by evaluating all areas of the organization. Through this evaluation managers will be able to determine what areas are weak and strong. An example of planning would be when healthcare managers are moving an entire department to another floor. Managers will need to plan the move with engineering and IT so that work stations and furniture gets moved to the correct location (Marquis, & Huston, 2008). Planning the move of an entire department will require constant communication on the immediate supervisor’s part. He or she will need to keep employees constantly informed on the status of the move.

Organizing is the second management function. Mangers will need to use the organizing function when trying to plan effectively. When managers are planning to move one department to another floor, they must create a timeline so that the move will be organized according to a schedule. This timeline will provide employees with a start and end date of the move. Manager can also organize a schedule on what section will be moving first and who will be moving last.

Staffing is the third management function. It requires filling and keeping filled with qualified people all positions in the business. Recruiting, hiring, training, evaluating and compensating are the specific activities included in the function (Marquis, & Huston, 2008). Managers will need to ensure they are interviewing and hiring qualified candidates for the positions they have vacant. An example of staffing is when a logistic manager is conducting performance appraisals on his or her employees. Managers who conduct performance appraisal will be keeping employees informed on the progress they have been making while working for the organization.

Directing is the fourth management function and requires influencing people’s behavior through motivation, communication, group dynamics, leadership and discipline. It is critical that managers have excellent leadership and communication skills. Senior level managers who have the responsibility of directing junior mangers will need to communicate with them on a regular basis, so those employees are aware of the organizations status.

Healthcare managers can also provide leadership training to those mid-level managers who might be having a difficult time leading and communicating with their employees. The purpose of directing is to channel the behavior of all personnel to accomplish the organization’s mission and objectives while simultaneously helping them accomplish their own career objectives. An example of directing is when a team leader directs their subordinate to accomplish a task within a specific timeframe. In order for the manger to be successful with direct leadership authority they must provide the employees with the necessary resources they will need to accomplish the mission.

Controlling is the fifth management function. Managers can develop performance standards in order to implement this function. Controlling is a four-step process of establishing performance standards based on the firm’s objectives, measuring and reporting actual performance, comparing the two, and taking corrective or preventive action as necessary. Managers are responsible for controlling the daily operations of their departments. In many cases when an employee cannot control a problem from erupting they will normally involve their manager. All managers must have the capability of solving problems that may arise within the organization.

Since planning is an active pursuit, how can doing nothing be indicative of planning to fail? Managers are required to plan for worst case scenarios. When managers do not plan for the problems they may foresee in the future they have set the organization up for failure. The reason being is that when these problems occur managers will not know how to handle or solve the problems. Therefore the problem will escalate and may eventually cause harm on the organizations operations.

What is one legitimate example of organizing that the department manager may never encounter or may perhaps encounter only once in a great while? And one example of organizing that the department manager may employ multiple times in a normal workday? The department manager may have to organize an event that will allow multiple disciplines to come together and work on their customer service or team building skills. An example of organizing that the department manager may employ multiple times in a normal workday is when a manager organizes the employee’s workload for that day or the next day.

What is the management function most closely associated with teaching, guiding, and motivating workers? Directing is the management function that is closely associated with teaching, guiding and motivating others. It is important that managers provide guidance and direction over their employees so that the daily task of the organization can be accomplished in a timely manner.

In conclusion the healthcare industry is constantly changing. Healthcare managers must train their employees to adapt to change so that productivity can continue to increase. The five management functions that were explained earlier can be used to strengthen any organization from the ground up. Communication and leadership skills are essential if managers are going to succeed in training and maintain a workforce that can satisfy patients and employees.