The Health Service Manager - Assignment Example

1. 1. Discuss the influence of systems theories on the role of the health service manager? Systems theories in health service System theories focus on total work organization as well as inter-relationships of organization structures and human behaviors in producing various variables that are needed. Borrowing from the theory, the service manager ensures the incorporation of all the parties that interact in the health service delivery. This includes other organizations, individuals, groups, communities and the larger social system. Having an understanding of the importance of all these elements, the manager ease or facilitate the working together of a range of health disciplines that include professional from social services and local authority as well. The health service manager therefore has a duty to play in incorporation of all stakeholders in an organization 2. ‘Strategic managers look out beyond the organization boundaries.’ Discuss this influence on health care management? Openness of a Health Organization Different forces like dramatic change in regulatory rules, advancement in technology are bringing about transformation in health industry. Health manager’s roles have been influenced by some environmental factor, influences that they have to adapt to as they achieve aims and objectives of the organization. Moving beyond organizational boundaries has enabled the health service managers reshape their business models. In addition to that, more performance has been witnessed in service provision. Further to that, Managers are able to engage clients, consumers and citizens through the new technological changes. Due to this, there has been more patient accountability and coordinated patient care. Through this, all the partners that interact in the service delivery are able to share in rewards, risks, improved efficiency and quality. With these practices, transparency in health management has been enhanced. 3. Discuss the internal and external challenges facing health care managers? Challenges Facing Health care Managers There are internal and external challenges that health service managers face in the course of their service delivery. These include lack of adequate skilled labor, very many processes and systems that are inadequate as well as processes that are satisfactory. Other internal challenges that these leaders face include role conflicts, lack of recognition and influence. From external organization environment, Public opinion subjects these leaders to work pressure through criticism with people sometimes having unrealistic expectations from them. These leaders also have to deal with government directives which includes having cleaner hospitals, an issue that may be hindered by lack of finances to hire more employees 4. Discuss the benefits and challenges for the clinician-manager? The benefits and challenges for the clinician-manager Medical clinician manager role has been on increase in Australia. They bring a lot of value to health organizations. These managers bring their clinical knowledge and expertise in the decision making role and act as managers and their clinical peers. In other words, they bring the business health to the practice of health. These officers face a number of challenges at managerial position. One is that they come into these positions with little or no adequate management training. They also face a challenge of striking a balance between managerial and clinical work. They tend to take clinical work more seriously and term it as their’ real work’ at the expense of their managerial role. 5. ‘Health care organizations are different from other industries’. Discuss this statement in reference to the role of the health care manager. Differences between Health Organizations and other Industries Unlike other industries where productivity is measured in terms of profits made and units made, productivity measures in health care is different. Here, the quality of service is the key driver and productivity measure. In the former, it is possible to automate the production line while in health care it is work force that is the key determinants. Professionalism in health care service delivery is very necessary. The health manager has to ensure that there is proper management of these workers so as to optimize on quality 6. ‘Health care is constantly changing’. Discuss these changes in health care and their impact on the health service manager? Impacts of Change on Health Service Manager Roles There is a rapid change that has been witnessed in health care organizations and the health sector as a whole. Some of these changes include adoption of electronic health care records in many hospitals, institute pay for performance and many others. These changes affect employees in many ways. These changes have also touched on the roles of healthy service managers. There has been an increased emphasis on accountability and outcome. Due to the technological advancement, the role of the health service managers is continually under scrutiny from the public. The leader has to therefore be effective in engaging the public about the organization operations. There has also been closer relationship between managers and clinicians .In the recent days, clinical officers have been taking up managerial positions bringing their expertise to the managerial level 7. Briefly describe the key characteristics of health care organizations as professional service organizations. Discuss the implications for the role of health service manager? Characteristics of health care organizations as professional service organizations As professional service entities, health care organizations are unique in terms of the workers that they have who are distinct in their practice. The staff members are specialists, highly knowledgeable and their practice hard to challenge. Further to that, they are highly professionalized following an acceptable code of conduct set by professional bodies. In addition to that, there are unionized with some of the professional bodies like AMA and ANF playing a union role as well. The health service manager must have and respect these values of the health of workers to be effective in their managerial work 8. Discuss consumer participation and the role of the health services manager? Consumer participation Consumers are important stakeholders in any health organization. Their participation in health delivery has been on an increase. They are very instrumental in the shaping the delivery of the organizational health care services. In health sector, consumers are actively involved in making decision about their care and management of their personal care. They put health organization on their toes more because they have high expectations and are more informed and involved in their health care. Consumers are the ones that say whether these services are to satisfaction and always taken to be right. To meet their needs, the manager directly collects information and feedback from consumers and act on them. 9. Discuss the various customers that may exist in health care and the role of the health service manager? Customers in a Health care There is a range of customers that play different role in a health organization. They are groups or persons that can be affected or affect organizational project or strategy. These customers can either be internal or external to any given organization and have varied level of influence. Contractors, Employees, consumers themselves and general community as well as the government are important organization customers. The manager should be at the front line in identification and ensuring that these customers are treated equally and fairly. In addition to that, this leader should manage these parties to the organizational benefit. 10. Briefly describe different forms of customer participation. Discuss possible implications of these for health care? Forms of Customers Participation These customers participate differently in an organization. Among them are service providers that includes unions, contractors, unions, public or private providers and not for profit organization. The government is a chief financier to health organizations besides giving other support services. Consumer themselves are important customers who have to be regularly consulted in everything that related to their health. With the increase with many health reform projects, the identification management and consultation of these customers is important for their success. These stakeholders are essential for the delivery of quality health care at any given time. 11. Discuss the role of the health service manager in addressing current and future issues in human resource management? Roles of Health Service manager in Human Resource management There are different roles that the health service manager plays in the human resource management. The first one is decisional role. In this function, the manager deals with problems as they rise. Further to that, the manager discusses in order to gain benefit at all levels. Secondly, the manager plays informational role which need Dissemination and Spokes person role. In the former, the manager provide information to employees while in the latter, the manager represent them inside and outside the organization. Besides the two major functions, the manager takes the interpersonal role. This includes hiring, motivating, training and disciplining of employees. 12. Discuss the tensions between organizational and individual staff requirements in relation to job design. Tension between Organizational and Individual Requirements On the organization side, a job design is meant to match the personnel to the organizational demand. There is always tension between the personal and the organizational need. Workers always use pressure to meet their personal needs through work. If work meets those needs, one is more motivated to work but if it fails to meet these needs, a worker will seek this satisfaction elsewhere. To maintain these workers, the organization should ensure that these workers meet maximum satisfaction from their jobs. This will entail giving good salaries, career development and other various motivations. 13. Job redesign efforts in healthcare always fail.’ Discuss this statement and the role of the health services manager. Why job Redesign Efforts Fail Job redesign is driven by desires to reduce labour shortages, reduce medical errors and as a strategy to reduce costs in an organization. In most cases, this practice end up failing due to e way it is introduced to workers and implemented. One reason for such failure is inability to define the entire professional and management jobs as not all professionals are fit for managerial positions. Besides that, job redesign faces resistance from workers due to the interruptions that it causes. Job redesign involves moving employee from one department to another, an action that may not be very welcome by workers. One other issue that is common in the work redesign is recruitment of clinical officers into managerial positions. In most cases, they end up failing to balance between the two roles as they tend to concentrate more on clinical work. 14. “All health organizations should be designed to be client-centered”. Discuss. Health Organization should be Health Centered This is all about Health serves Organization working actively with all stakeholders to ensure that their health information, system as well as services meet consumers need. Patient centered approach lead to improvement in quality, safety and cost effectiveness and improvement in staff and patient satisfaction. Every organization need to partner with patients so as to ensure that care is patient or client-centered. One asking consumers about their preferences and needs and working towards meeting them HSO also need to have a shared decision making tools to aid consumers make clients make decision about their care and health. The organizations should also apply communication strategies designer to preferences and needs of clients. These steps will maximize on clients needs and satisfaction to all stakeholders in health service delivery. 15. Briefly describe some of the types of teams used in health care. Discuss the role of the health service manager in teamwork. Types of teams used in health care. Teams in a health organization can be arranged in terms of functions or production line. On the basis of function, workers that perform the same task are grouped together. On top of the team is the CEO under whom medical director. The general administrator is answerable to medical director and junior workers in the same line of operation answers to him On the basis of product line management, every department is actually assigned to an end product or service with each division or product line with its respective strategic aspect of management. The health service manager play a key role here as is the top of the hear achy 16. Discuss relationships between different organizations in health care. Health organizations The three types of health organization are private, public and not for profit organization .A public HSO give service to community and is government funded while private HSO is make profits that are returned to shareholders. These organizations cooperate at all levels through conferences and other exchange programs. Private and not for profit HCO are more efficient in most developing nations while public HCO are more equitable and provide a more evidence based care. With the increased pattern of diseases, constant increase in prices the increased use of a sophisticated diagnosis technology, these organizations end up partnering with at all levels. 17. Discuss how the health services manager may be involved in the integration of health care. Integrating Health care Organization The Health manager is best-positioned play in integration of health service. This due to the fact that the variety of roles that the leader take. The manager carries out the resource management role, operational management function, financial management functions and project management. All these roles touch on every area of health care service delivery and thus can act as a unifying factor in the provision of health service. HSM act as a link between the internal and external organizational stakeholders. 18. Identify potential sources of resistance to change within healthcare organizations? Resistance to Change Change is unavoidable in a health organizational set up. There are many forces like technological advance that drive these changes. These changes are many times not welcome by organization staff members. Generally speaking, people like maintaining current situation. Additional pressure that comes with change is one reason for this resistance. Employees also feel insecure with the change of terms. They are at times not sure whether they are expected to do more for the same or less pay. Any changes that come with reduction in pay face a lot of resistance. Employees are also not comfortable with change that reduces their skills. 19. Discuss the role of the health service manager as a change agent. Health Service Manager as a Change Agent Health service manager is an important change agent. The senior employee is increasingly involved in various health reforms activities. These are stakeholder’s identification, engagement, analysis and management. Acting as a link between all these parties, the manager is the arch mobiliser for all internal and external factors needed in reforms. The leader at the authority given is in a position to prepare employees for change. It is the health service manager that creates an environment that make the organization employees own up these changes. Proper communication and being on the front line in embracing and campaigning for these changes really help 20. “Bureaucrats fail to make decisions”. Discuss this statement within the health care context. Bureaucrats fail to make decisions According to Bureaucrats, there are seven principles that guide organization operations. All these as required in the theory, tie the actions of employees on decision-making matters. There is too much red tape and paper work. Employees are thus neglected of their human factor and are treated as machines not able to make independent choice. This is hard to employ in a health care set up as one is expected to make critical decisions relating client’s health. A health care field is driven by anticipation and implementation of this system into such system would cause resistance to change 21. “We do not need more managers”. Contrast alternative perspectives to management. We do not need more managers A health organization does not need more managers to deliver in its service delivery. More managers come with additional expenses to an organization that acts as an extra burden. As has been seen, clinical managers do not deliver in managerial position as they struggle in striking a balance between their clinical duties with managerial work which they view as their secondary role. On the other hand, if an organization has both operational HR and strategic HR, there is a conflict of interest due to overlapping of roles. All these tells us that more managers are not needed 22. Discuss the issues of nursing staff shortages from both an operational HR and strategic HR perspectives? Nurses Shortage Operating HR look at the immediate need while strategic HR is concerned with long term goals. An operating HR is concerned with the number of nurses needed in the organization. Strategic manager on the other hand will be concerned about the skills needed against demand. Various roles played by these, managers are: Operationa: Poor patient care, increase work load, develop stressed and sickness, performance issues, staff turnover absentizm, conflict . Strategic: Work force planning, vision and mission will be affected, enough educational courses to train the nurses, placement of staff ensuring that customer satisfaction at all levels Read More