Improving Business Performance of a Hospital - Case Study Example

Improving Business Performance Introduction Operational change is the change which affects the organization’s production, quality of services, and overall growth. In order to ensure effective business growth and performance improvement, an organization must focus on its operational activities. Operational activities are those which are the business’s core activities and they contribute the most to the company’s profitability. The organization which will be assessed in this report is a local hospital. The hospital is a general hospital with all kinds of treatments available except for the complicated and specialized treatments which require highly professional doctors and equipment. The hospital works on funds from the government along with some charities. The hospital is currently operating at a medium level. It is a non-profit organization which is working for the high quality services that can be provided to the patients. Currently, they have enough funds to work on the border line and provide services to the patients. The hospital has an administration department which looks into all the patients’ records and keeps track of the day-to-day activities that take place in the hospital. The hospital ensures nurses training programs, their enhanced roles and responsibilities. The finance department handles the funds efficiently and ensures that the funds are distributed wisely in all departments. Overall, the hospital has been doing really well but there are definitely certain changes that would be important to improve the performance. Discussion After the deep analysis of the organization, three operational areas have been identified that require change. The first change is required at the administration area where the patients’ records are saved and tracked for future use. This area has been messed up as the employees in the administration block aren’t enough for the amount of work which they have. There are a few workers who handle the reception, the records, the appointments, and doctors’ timings. Systems are present to keep a track of the patients’ records but the employees are not trained enough to handle the systems properly; thus problems occur. The second operational change which is needed in the organization is the enhanced role of nurses. The roles and responsibilities of the nurses have been a topic of consideration since the past few months and the managers have been working to improve this. Nurses have become the most important part of a hospital as their responsibilities and duties have increased. In this hospital as well, there have been issues with the handling of the patients and the separate role of doctors thus nurses should be given an upgraded duty chart and training session to allocate their duties wisely. The third operational change which is required in the organization is the position of the emergency department. Hospitals need the emergency departments to be quick and vigilant with the handling of patients, required treatments to be given, and ensuring that the needs of patients are fulfilled in the least possible time. The emergency department and staff members have been unorganized and the process is rather slow which is why the overall performance of the organization lowers. In order to improve the overall performance, the emergency department must be handled efficiently and effectively. Operational change in this organization is highly important as good quality services and facilities are essential to save patients’ lives and serve the community. Managers and leaders often do efforts to apply operational changes to the organizations but the problem begins when they have to find a starting point for this change. Every change for the better is dependent on effective leadership where the leader sets frameworks for the goals and outcomes which are desired. The leader then brings these goals and objectives together and uses the correct balance of skills, resources, and methods to achieve them. A change plan is then created and implemented (Hussain, 2000, p. 43). For the first operational change in the administration department, the method which should be used to assess and implement the change is organizational chart. Organizational chart is an operational technique that an organization uses to organize its management in a better way. Managers are hired in every organization to manage and supervise the work and organizational needs such as roles and duties of employees. Organizational charts ensure that every employee is given specific tasks for which they will be answerable and responsible. The charts also help the managers and employee to keep a track of their duties and their leaders. Organizational charts make job descriptions for every position and employee in order to ensure that no position is left unassigned (Sims, 2002, p. 274). Thus, organizational charts will make it easier for the administration staff to check and remember what their duties are. The administration department has an unorganized system for which organizational charts will provide an easier way. Managers would be able to specify tasks and employees will be answerable for those only. This way every employee will do the duty assigned to him only without any confusions or any one employee being over or under worked. Moreover, in order to solve the problem of the administration department, it is also important for the managers to give training sessions to those employees who are responsible for handling the computer systems (Sims, 2002, 274). Patients’ records and keeping track of the details is very important to ensure that the hospital is running smoothly without any problems from the administration. The second operational change which is required in the organization is the roles and responsibilities of the nurses. One of the key operational management techniques is strategic human resources planning. It is used instead of hiring and firing frequently which is disadvantageous for the organization’s growth. Strategic human resources planning help to manage the hiring, firing, recruiting, training, and managing of employees (Hernandez, 2009, p. 86). For the change of nurses’ roles, it is important to adopt a strategic human resources planning as it will ensure that the nurses that are hired are trained and qualified enough for the advanced duties. As the nurses’ roles are being changed greatly throughout the healthcare industry, it is important for the human resource managers to hire qualified nurses. Degrees and trainings for nurses are becoming common which should be a criterion to hire nurses. Moreover, the existing nurses should be given training that would help them to enhance their duties and roles being more responsible and efficient. Nurses today have more duties than they did before as doctors don’t have the time for small tasks such as putting the drip or injection, or handling more than one patient at a time. Managers and trainees should prepare the nurses for a more advanced role in the healthcare. Through strategic human resources planning, an organization will be able to handle its employees and nurses in regard to their training, roles, tasks, job specifications, and also hiring. This would also lead to the required operational change of enhancing the role of nurses. Human resources are the most important department of an organization which ensures that the staff members and employees are compatible with their job specifications and they have received the required trainings and guidelines (Hernandez, 2009, p. 86). The third operational change which is needed is the change in the management of the emergency department. The emergency department needs change as it is unorganized and mismanaged up to a great extent. The method which can be used to assess and implement this organizational change is compliance. Compliance is a critical area of the operational change management. It refers to being compliant with the rules, regulations, strategies, methods, objectives, and techniques in the organization. These include a wide range of elements from employee policy guides, establishing safety guides, paying taxes on time, preventing discrimination at the time of hiring, managing objectives, ensuring workplace rules are followed, and day-to-activities are taking place on time (Buono, 2010, p. 138). Ensuring compliance in an organization simply requires coping up with all the activities taking place and all the objectives and policies that are pre-decided. This method requires the managers to be vigilant and in touch with all the happening in the organization. It is a very important thing for a successful organization that all the policies, strategies, and objectives are connected with one another. Managers have to ensure that the employees are working as per the policies of the business, the funds are allocated according to the strategies, and the services are given in accordance to the guidelines, laws, and workplace rules (Buono, 2010, p. 138). In this hospital, once the strategies, policies, and every other rule are followed, the departments and the services for the patients will improve simultaneously. The emergency department of the hospital requires the administration department, the doctors, the nurses, the managers, and the whole system to work together in order to ensure successful and efficient results. Thus, this operational change requires compliance as the main method to implement the change. There must be adequate and effective compliance needed for the improvement for the services and facilities for patients. Thus, the three required changes in this organization are the administrative roles, the advanced duty of nurses, and the change in the operations of the emergency department. All three changes are highly needed in order to ensure improved performance but the most important change which must be implemented is the enhanced role of nurses. This change will be applied through the use of strategic human resource planning which is an important tool itself. The strategic human resource planning will ensure not only the role and training of the nurses but also the roles and responsibilities of the administration department and every staff member included in the emergency department. The strategic human resources planning is a tool for the business which is beneficial for all departments as the employees of the organization are the most important asset, especially in a health services based organization (Deb, 2006, p. 122). The human resources department is responsible for all the planning and strategies based on the needs of the employees and the needs of the organization. It their responsibility in a hospital to ensure that which doctors is present on which days and what their duties are. They take care of the nurses and their trainings which are essential and also the other employees in administration, finance, and the IT department. Hence, the operational change which is most important in this hospital is the change in the role of nurses which is applied through the strategic human resources planning technique. In order to implement the organizational change, there has to be a certain approach which will be adopted. Radical change and continuous improvement are the two approaches which can be applied for the organizational change. This part of the paper will assess both the approaches that can be applied in regard to the advantages and disadvantages of both methods. Radical operational change is that approach in an organization which is brought by major innovations in the business operations. Radical changes are usually adopted by businesses which are going through hard times or major turning points such as slipping profits, stagnant sales, or a merger with another company. Radical changes are hence, large scale and they take place in long periods of time. Many factors can lead to radical changes including some environmental factors. When a product is not coping up with the changing trends and the consumer tastes, radical change may be applied to redefine the product in the market and reconnect with its customers (Sims, 1998, p. 64). Radical change can be beneficial as it can completely change the direction in which the company is heading. This is especially beneficial for the companies that are seeing a downward trend in their profits. This type of change bring innovation in the company as the company adopts new practices, policies, strategies, and practices which helps them to regain their position. A company which is already on a successful pathway and profit sustainability should not go for the radical change (Sims, 1998, p. 64). Continuous or constant change in a company may be demoralizing and confusing for the employees as well as the customers thus a radical change is a safer way. Many business owners want constant change in order to cope with the frequently changing trends, tastes, and also business employees. Constant changes may also be poorly planned and may in return hurt the organization whereas radical changes are carefully planned and prepared. A team of experts sits to decide the strategies and policies that would be implemented for the change. In order to adopt a radical change, the employees and members of the organization must have good communication, teamwork, and planning techniques. These three factors must be present if an organization wants to go through radical change. If these are not present, there will be confusion and distortion which hinders successful change. Communication and teamwork are the most important factors as they allow managers to share with their employees what they are expecting from them and why they expect it from them. Experienced and educated employees in an organization not only support the change but also understand it. Radical change is beneficial as it also serves as a purpose to bring the employees together for a purpose and motivate them towards something new and innovative. Managers have a duty to ensure that the plan is solid and smooth (Sims, 1998, p. 64). The other approach is continuous improvement which is adopted in those organizations that undergo continuous change or improvement. Organizations which continually try to improve their products and services come in this category. Organizations may implement small changes and gradually improve or they may go for the big improvement (Moseley, 2012, p. 555). Continuous improvement can have many benefits for the organization that adopts it. It is a source of acknowledging problems as a company which adopts this approach tends to seek ways of constant solutions for the issues regarding their products and services. This way the business stays in touch with the problems and solves them continually. Through this the suggestions are always heard and the criticism turns into constructive criticism. Such organizations take every criticism and problem as an opportunity to improve (Moseley, 2012, p. 555). Through this approach, the organization is also able to build the confidence in workers as they feel that their work is being appreciated and is meaningful. Continuous improvement is promoted in the organization as it motivates the employees in a way and brings innovation to the company. Moreover, continuous improvement techniques also bring success to the organization as no business can prosper overnight (Moseley, 2012, p. 555). Gradually policies and methods are applied which ensure business growth and success. Organizations adopting the continuous improvement technique are also more promising for the customers as the customers believe that the company considers their feedbacks and suggestions and apply them for improvement. Thus such businesses have more trusted clients and customers. Continuous improvement also ensures continuous innovations as operational changes are frequently applied making the business innovative (Moseley, 2012, p. 555). Even though the continuous improvement technique has advantages, it also has disadvantages. This approach requires the employees to be flexible and ready to accept change, and for this there is also a need for continuous training so that the employees can cope up with the changing business strategies and policies. Moreover a frequent changing environment requires time and money, and the process can be lengthy at times. Such companies are also highly risk taking companies and continuous decision-making may result in wrong decisions and negative suggestions may be harmful. The organization which is discussed in this paper is a hospital which is a non-profit making organization. The operational change that it required is the change in the nursing roles and duties. The method which was used to implement this change is the strategic human resources planning so that the employee duties and needs could be fulfilled. Using strategic human resources planning is very important for the hospital as the administration and the emergency departments are unorganized due to the mismanagement of the employees. The efficient human resources planning can improve the performance of the employees and improve the overall performance of the hospital especially the role of nurses. However there are two approaches to achieve overall improved performance in the hospital; radical change and continuous improvement. Both the approaches are different and have their own advantages and disadvantages. In this case, the approach which should be used to change the role of the nurses is continuous improvement. This is because the human resources sector must be continuously operative and must keep a track of all the activities of the employees. For employees, continuous motivation, attention, and encouragement is required in the shape of promotions, rewards, incentives, training sessions, etc. thus continuous improvement approach should be applied in this organization. Recommendations and Conclusion Both the approaches of improvement are good in their own position but in my recommendation I would suggest continuous improvement to be the approach that most organizations should adopt especially this one. This hospital is operating on a normal pace with good number of patients being served and treated every day. Patients come in for all types of health issues and the professional doctors are some of the best who visit them and provide them with the best treatment and medication. However, the problem arises in the management of the organization which causes problems. Thus, this organization needs a push for the improvement of the current performance. A radical change would mean a big improvement which would require time and money. So the most appropriate approach for improvement would be the continuous improvement which would initiate the process of improvement and allow a continuous short-term improvement policy. Continuous improvement would allow the hospital to be steady on the improvement and profitability. Conclusively, the organization chosen in this report is a hospital which works on government funds and charities. There are several changes that are required in the hospital for administrative and human resources purposes but the most important change is the role of nurses as nurses hold a significant position in the hospitals nowadays. The method through which the operational change will be implemented is strategic human resources planning and the approach which is used for improvement is continuous improvement. References Hussain A. 2000. Managing Operational Risk in Financial Markets. UK: Butterworth-Heinemann Sims R. 2002. Managing Organizational Behavior. USA: Greenwood Publishing Group Hernandez S. 2009. Strategic Human Resources Management in Health Services Organizations. UK: Cengage Learning Deb T. 2006. Strategic Approach to Human Resource Management. India: Atlantic Publishers & Distributors Buono A. 2010. Consulation for Organizaitonal Change. USA: IAP Sims R. 1998. Accountability and Radical Change in Public Organizations. USA: Greenwood Publishing Group Moseley J. 2012. Fundamentals of Performance Improvement: Optimizing Results Through People, Process, and Organization. USA: John Wiley & Sons Read More