Resource Management Consultancy - Essay Example

Resource Management (Consultancy) One of the major characteristics of the business operations is the active presence of a series of variables which have the power to influence the whole firm’s performance in accordance with its size and its management structure. The reason for which the last two elements can have such a strong pressure to the corporate entity is because they are commonly used as criteria for the firm’s strength into the market. In the above context one of the areas that needs an extended research regarding the business establishment and operation, is the resource management. Current paper is deal with the nature and the content of the above ‘business activity’ in terms of firm’s everyday operations but also its strategic management for the future. The area which is mainly examined here is the healthcare industry/ nursing profession). Most commonly ‘resource management’ is connected with a firm’s strategic planning, but we can distinguish as well points of interaction with the rest parts of the business, like the use of the raw materials, the relationships between the employees and the evaluation and the use of time schedules with regard to specific business projects (or just its daily operation). When speaking for ‘resource management’ we usually refer to a series of elements which are ‘represented’ as a total by this complex of words. More specifically when using the above term we can refer to: a) the management of the people working in the business either in the lower levels - standard employees – or to the higher positions, like the executives. From the connection of these two ‘human resources categories’, human resource management can be linked with the leadership management (which refers specifically to decisions involved the highest levels of corporate governance), b) the evaluation and the use of ‘time’ in the daily business activities. Time can have a strong influence to the business performance and this statement can be explained by the role of time to the sequence and the succession of the corporate activities. The existence and the completion of the above activities are (in a direct way) depended by the time which is offered for every particular project. In this context, the understanding of ‘time’ as a major element of the corporate entity as well as its use from the person to whom such a responsibility has been delegated should be characterized as ‘priority’ – mainly when designing the corporate strategy, c) the management of the materials given as well as of the services offered (or the products sold) in a way that the quality in every of the above occasions is secured. The issue of quality is of a major importance particularly because it can have a significant consequence to other peoples’ lives (those of customers but also the employees of a business), d) the resolution of every problem which may arise during the business activities in an effective and cost-saving manner. In many firms the conflict management has been delegated to an autonomous department offering quick and appropriate answers to the issues that are brought in front of the authorized corporate team for evaluation. Conflict management is directly connected with the resource management as almost every decision made regarding the use and the development of a specific ‘business resource’ is usually the reason for disputes between the business and its clients but also the people that consist the ‘body’ of the corporation (employees and team of leaders/ strategic planners). In relation to this issue, we should not consider any business decision or activity as ‘wrong’ or as ‘object of dispute’ but we should rather appreciate the goals and the mission of the specific business and set the borders of the rules involved to its operation. Another business activity which would be incorporated to the resource management is marketing, i.e. the presentation of the services/ products which are being sold to the public usually by using specific advertising techniques which have to be ‘connected’ with the area of the market in which these services/ products belong. In the above terms, leadership, marketing and quality management interact with the strategies used in resource management. In fact, the design and the application of the latter have to obey to the standards and the needs of the former. More specifically, leadership has a direct effect to the design and the structure of resource management strategies. The reason for this is that the ‘leadership’ i.e. the strategic management team has the responsibility for the business planning as a whole. In this way it is the factor that creates the resource management strategies in accordance with the firm’s needs but also the personal views of the people participated (the strategic managers). (Boatwright, K.J., Forrest, L., 2000) As for the marketing, this is the ‘vehicle’ for the presentation of the strategies related with the resource management to the public in general. Again the interaction is close and with a mutual character. Rules of marketing influence the decisions of the resource management as to their finally applied structure and on the other hand, the directions included to the resource management strategies constitute an element of limitation for the methods of marketing that will be used regarding a specific product/ service. The above assumptions remain the same when referring to the area of Healthcare because although the latter contains some elements of exceptional character, its general position in the market (this of the services/ products – in case of drugs – industry) cannot be ignored and the rules that govern all the similar commercial activity retain their validity. Quality management also interacts with resource management to the level that the latter needs to be formulated in order to secure the effective operation of the former. More specifically, the strategies designed and applied in the context of resource management, are the most important ‘means’ for the achievement of quality in services/ products offered to the public for use/ consumption. One the other hand, the above strategies – because of their extension of application in the corporate environment – are the most important route for controlling the decisions made in the area of the quality management (evaluating if they meet the requirements that have been set by the corporate strategic management team and the rules (legal and ethical) set by the state towards the people’s protection from potential unauthorized or illegal corporate activities). In the above context, the need for a change (in the strategies designed or other particular corporate activities) is appeared as absolutely necessary. If such a condition occurs, the resource management strategies need also to be reconsidered under the current corporate reality but also the trends and the demands of the market. Lewis K. (2000, 128) recognized that ‘human and organizational factors are commonly identified as causes and contributors to failures and difficulties in implementing planned changes’. The study of Lewis is – in fact – referred to the change management i.e. to the decisions and the actions involved the implementation and the application of corporate planning (or activity) which is differentiated from the existed one and which has to follow the framework that has been created from the appearance of new conditions (political, financial or social ones) to the firm’s environment. Lewis examined (2000, 128) ‘the implementation of quality programs in four organizations’. The main purpose of her study was ‘to provide empirical evidence of key communication problems common to planned change implementation’. For the above reason she examined the following factors: ‘a) creating and communicating vision, b) sensemaking and feedback, c) establishing legitimacy and d) communicating goal achievements’ From her research she came to the following conclusions (2000, 40): ‘a) the method that the implementers and the lower-level employees use to create a vision during a planned change is crucial for understanding how change programs come to have a purpose in organizations and gain the commitment of important players, b) questions related to the importance of informal communication about change programs and its impact on the formally communicated information would be insightful. There is enough evidence to date to suggest that receivers of formal change communication formulate their own ideas about what a change means and what its purposes might be’. The cases that were examined by Lewis illustrated that ‘sometimes strategies fail to be acknowledged, sometimes produce ironic results, and sometimes produce the intended result. What is less certain are the exact predictors of these outcomes, c) The degree to which communication successes or failures play a role in determining the fate of change programs will be important for practitioners to know. According to some evidence in these cases communication, even if done well, does not guarantee continued good results’. According to Lewis, ‘communication failure is merely a correlate of poor planning and ill-conceived change programs’. Lebrasseur, R., Whisell R. and Ojha A. (2002, 152) examined the interaction between the leadership, the quality management and the organizational learning. Their research was referred to certain Canadian Hospitals. According to the results of their study, ‘while the external regulatory and political context of the organization applies pressure for Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) implementation, it is the internal context that either facilitates or hinders this change agenda’. Moreover, the found that ‘the role of the CEO centres on aligning the hospital’s strategy, structure, culture and CQI program. As a result, this alignment gives organizational members the time to learn new cognitions and behaviors through a number of reinforcing iterations. In this context, diffusion of initiatives may take place as some members share their new ideas and actions with others in both formal and informal groups’. According to the assumptions made by the above researchers the role of the internal environment is crucial for the application of the actions indicated by the change management. However, such a conclusion could be opposed by the fact that the establishment and the operation of every firm is based on certain rules and conditions which cannot be considered as being generally inactive. In these terms, although personal views are very important for the change management in order to be guided to solutions generally accepted (in the business environment) the implications of every decision made should be examined under the criterion of the business development (which will also create for its employees a secure position in the corporate entity). Of course the financial aspect of any plan will be considered before the application of every proposed strategy (Groessi, E.J., Cronan, T.A., 2000). The potential help that may be offered has also to be taken into account (Hutchison, R.R., Quartaro, E.G. ,1993) When examining the role and the content of resource management we should take into account the fact that its components tend to differentiate in accordance with a series of variables that are related with the business operation. Anson B.R. (2000) studied the influence of change specifically for the Healthcare Marketplace. Under these conditions she found that human resource management could be recognized as having a very important role, even to be characterized as ‘management’s strategic partner’ and a ‘change agent’ (2000, 21). The main object of her study was the location and the evaluation of the elements of cultural change. In the case (a midsize private hospital in the New York metropolitan area) which was analyzed in her paper, the main target of the management was ‘to improve efficiency in patient care, while maintaining or improving patient outcomes and patient satisfaction’. Under these terms ‘success would be measured by: 1) clinical outcomes, such as reductions in patient falls, injuries, bed sores and medication errors; 2) patient and employee satisfaction and 3) reduced cost of patient care/ increased operating margins for the hospital’ (Anson, 2000, 24). In order to achieve the above targets Human Resource Management designed a specific project which was mainly characterized by the following: ‘a) it was patient-centered, b) it enhanced the collaboration (treat others as customers and support creative and innovative strategies), c) it continued the organization’s focus on outcomes, d) it provided support to employees and e) it managed to balance centralized and decentralized decision making (Anson, 2000, 25). Moreover, ‘the hospital management committed itself to making the significant investments necessary to train or retrain staff to fill new positions’. In this context, human resource management succeeded in achieving the following very important targets: ‘a) to help employees prepare and market themselves for internal positions and b) to help them to pursue career options outside of the organization if they choose that route’. As tools towards that direction HR ‘implemented a series of on-site classes, including English as a second language and computer skills, and compiled a course-book of relevant off-site offerings’. HR also dealt with patient – care management to develop training programs aimed at improving managerial skills such as delegation, team dynamics, conflict resolution and change management’ (Anson, 2000, 28-29). The above work of Anson shows that the role of HR management is very important for the evaluation of a series of resources (to the extent that these resources are used by the employees and for the needs of their work). However the study of Anson does not refer to the role of the communication of the employees (as an aspect of human resources management) for the problems that tend to skills appear simultaneously. Keigher S. (2000, 27) noticed that ‘social workers are constantly confronted with new problems, usually while developing and capacities to respond to the preceding one’. According to Keigher, this phenomenon could be explained by the fact that ‘sometimes the technologies required are too much, so that both crises and opportunities fly at practitioners so fast it is difficult to tell which is which’. Moreover, the above problem has created the need for ‘increasingly comprehensive evaluations, ever bigger data sets as well as insight-rich descriptive, qualitative analyses clarifying micro-, mezzo- and macro- processes’. In this context the use of case management and its ‘twisted sister’ managed care, has become indispensable to areas like ‘the probation management, public assistance, child welfare along with mental health and home care’ (Keigher, 2000, 227). The recognition and application of case management is mostly take place through the services by the social work. The use of human resource management is not limited to the location and the evaluation of a firm’s particular resources. It can also be extended to the area of cooperation between businesses. Lajara B.M., Lillo F.G. and Sempere V.S. (2002) examined the role of human resource management to the alliances made in the market area with a special reference to the factors that can operate as variables for success and failure. They found that ‘an essential requirement for the success of the cooperation scheme is that the participating companies have the internal capacities needed for the performance of the activity that is the object of the agreement’ (Lajara, B.M., Lillo, F.G., Sempere, V.S. (2002, 34-35). Moreover, they state that human resource management is mainly referred to the following ‘performance areas’: ‘1) leadership and employee motivation and 2) HR practices (recruitment and selection, training performance appraisal and compensation management)’. They also noticed that there are two points that need particular attention during the procedure of cooperation: ‘1) regarding the problem of assignment, each firm must provide the specialized executives and engineers agreed to during negotiations, 2) it is important to rotate the executives assigned to the alliance (as reasons for such a proposal they state the following: a) to favor organizational learning, b) to avoid becoming too dependent on a specific individual who can turn out to be irreplaceable, c) because the executives assigned to the alliance may have problems ith conflicting demands from their parent firms (particularly in cases of international joint-ventures) and so on’ (Lajara, B.M., Lillo, F.G., Sempere, V.S. 2002, 36-37). Under these conditions – according to the above researchers - ‘strategic alliances are becoming one of the main tools available for firms attempting to improve and maintain their level of competitiveness’. In order for such an alliance to be successful there are a series of requirements that need to be met. More specifically, the human resource management, the ‘management and leadership system’ and the corporate culture have been recognized as the main factors for the success of such an effort. One of the other elements of resource management, this of the time management has been examined from many researchers as for the nature and the extension of its application. On the other hand, Davidson J. (1995) proposed a series of points that include – according to his view –‘conventional time management wisdom’. These points are (Davidson, 1995, 80): ‘1) The issue of handling paper. The conventional wisdom related to this problem is: ‘Handle each piece of paper once’, 2) Reducing clutter. The conventional wisdom here is stated as: ‘When in doubt, throw it out’, 3) Being more efficient. The advice given here is: ‘Speed reading, listening, learning’, 4) Beating the competition. As a conventional wisdom here the following assumptions are stated: ‘Work smarter, not harder’, 5) Managing your schedule. Conventional wisdom: Use sophisticated scheduling tools, 6) Staying informed. As a conventional wisdom in this case it is stated that one should ‘read key executive publications’’. As a general advice Davidson states that one before making a decision should think if this is necessary (in terms that it can really create a difference). According to his view we should ‘get the habit of making fewer decisions each day – the ones that count’ (Davidson, 1995, 80). Burns L.R. examined an ‘alternative’ method of management that could be applied in hospitals, this of the ‘matrix management’. As described in this study ‘matrix management can be typically viewed as the endpoint in a sequence of lateral coordinative arrangements. More specifically, it encompasses the entire series of efforts to lay one or more new forms of departmentalization on top of an existing form’ It is also stated that ‘the hierarchical overlay is a defining characteristic of matrix programs’ (Burns, 1989, 349). From a similar aspect, Barnett, D.J., Balicer, R.D., Blodgett, D., Fews, A.L., Parker, C.L., Links, J.M. (2005, 561, 564) made a research on the application of the Haddon Matrix to Public Health Planning. This Matrix is said to ‘be used for more than two decades in injury prevention and response strategies’. It is also described as ‘a grid with four columns and three rows. The rows represent different phases of an injuty (preevent, event and postevent), and the columns represent different influencing factors (host, agent/vehicle, physical environment, social environment). The above two ‘forms’ of management in the area of Healthcare are just mentioned as ‘existing methods’ of management in hospitals, without ignoring or limiting the importance and the role of the resource management which is referred in any case in different managerial activities and is not strictly designed for the area of Healthcare (whereas the other two forms of management have created for specific needs and can only be applied under certain circumstances). The research for the requirements and the consequences of the resource management can be characterized as a rather difficult task as it has to take into account all the particular variables that tend to influence this type of management no matter of the specific industry sector. When this issue is referring especially to the Healthcare area, the alteration of the methods used and the relevant results produced (regarding the application of the resource management) has to be considered as absolutely necessary. The necessity for such an explanation can be produced by the presentation of the ‘unique’ elements that characterize this area as well as from its close relationship with the people’s lives. The structure and the organization of the institutions that belong to the specific industry could be another point of justification for such an assumption. In general terms, the design and the operation of resource management do not seem to be differentiated in an absolute level, however every time that decisions and actions related with this type of management need to be applied, there should be made provision for the elimination of all the possible negative consequences – to the point that are related with the personal health which should be an absolute criterion of evaluation of this strategy when it is applied in the Healthcare area. References Anson, B.R. (2000) ‘Taking Charge of Change in a Volatile Healthcare Marketplace’, Human Resource Planning, 23(4): 21-33 Barnett, D.J., Balicer, R.D., Blodgett, D., Fews, A.L., Parker, C.L., Links, J.M. (2005) ‘The Application of the Haddon Matrix to Public Health Readiness and Response Planning’, Environmental Health Perspectives, 113(5): 561-579 Boatwright, K.J., Forrest, L. (2000) ‘Leadership Preferences: The Influence of Gender and Needs for Connection on Worker’s Ideal Preferences for Leadership Behaviors’, Journal of Leadership Studies, 7(2): 18-32 Burns, L.R. (2002) ‘Matrix Management in Hospitals: Theories of Matrix Structure and Development’, Administrative Science Quarterly, 34(3): 349-363 Calladine, N.L (1996) ‘Nursing Process for Health Promotion Using King’s Theory’, Journal of Community Health Nursing, 13(1): 51 Davidson, J. (1995) ‘Six myths of time management’, ABA Banking Journal, 87(3): 80-81 Groessl, E.J., Cronan, T.A. (2000) ‘A Cost Analysis of Self-Management Programs for People with Chronic Illness’, American Journal of Community Psychology, 28(4): 455-469 Hutchison, R.R., Quartaro, E.G. (1993) ‘Training Imperatives for Volunteers Caring for High-Risk, Vulnerable Populations’, Journal of Community Health Nursing, 10(2): 87 Josten, L., Strohschein, S., Smoot, C. (1993) ‘Managing Uncompensated Home Care’, Journal of Community Health Nursing, 10(3): 149 Keigher, S.M. (2000) ‘Communication in the Evolving World of Case Management’, Health and Social Work, 25(4): 227-232 Lajara, B.M., Lillo, F.G., Sempere, V.S. (2002) ‘The role of human resource management in the cooperative strategy process’, Human Resource Planning, 25(2): 34-46 LeBrasseur, R., Whissell, R., Ojha, A. (2002) ‘Organisational Learning, Transformational Leadership and Implementation of Continuous Quality Improvement in Canadian Hospitals’, Australian Journal of Management, 27(2): 141-159 Lewis, L.K. (2000) ‘Communicating Change: Four Cases of Quality Programs’, The Journal of Business Communication, 37(2): 128-145 Ringer, R.C., Boss, R.W. (2000) ‘Hospital professionals’ Use of Upward Influence Tactics’, Journal of Managerial Issues, 12(1): 92-104 Read More