Changes for Tomorrows Leaders - Case Study Example

Case analysis Case analysis The case has addressed vital issues that affect the availability of flu medication in America. For instance, the issue of price gouging and hiking influence the way the medicines are availed to the general public. Further, political connection makes some companies that distribute flu drugs to win tenders for the supply or distribution of the same. In this case, public administration can be considered as a form of administrative law, but this concept can be restrictive and narrow thus limiting in its practicability and impact. Public administration relies on many and varied established disciplines like sociology, political science, administrative law and public finance. I think public administration is an integrating science which means it consists of a number of several disciplines working as one, and as such, public administrators should be concerned mainly with theory and practice (Hamel & Breen, 2007). Therefore, I see public administration as a science because knowledge is generated and evaluated according to the scientific principles as evident in the case. Public administration is also concerned with human resource management which is an in-house structure that mainly functions to ensure that public service staffing is done in an unbiased, ethical and values-based manner without favoritism. The basic functions of the HR system will include employee benefits and training of employees. Further, organizational theory in Public administration which is the study of the structure of governmental entities and the many particulars put into them. Administrative ethics in public administration serves as an approach to decision making. Additionally, policy analysis serves as a guide to decision making. More so, public budgeting is the activity within a government that allocates scarce resources among unlimited and varied demands. In this case, the main administrative principles such as openness and transparency, accountability, efficiency and effectiveness reliability and predictability are missing because of biasness (Kumar & Sharma, 2000). I think, without public administration, the government cannot operate and manage own activities effectively and efficiently as required. The administration plays a vital and crucial role for delivering and distributing the public services to all corners of the country. Administration spreads all over the country for supplying the governmental and public goods and services up to the countryside from the urban centers and to rural areas. Public administration is very significant in the management of public service distribution, social change, disaster Management, and management of industrial relationship. These points show that the administration is used all over the sections of country and with a lot of importance. Public administration is not just about efficiency of the system since it also involves ideas of democratic participation, accountability and empowerment of the people. In such a case, the production, sale and supply of flu vaccine are private business; the vaccine that was available for supply was not distributed evenly in the country. For instance, the clinics and hospitals that requested for vaccines from Chiron were neglected while those that ordered from Aventis received the vaccine on time. According to me, this is not right since a portion of the population at risk were not given the vaccine. I think distribution of medication such as flu vaccine should be based on kind of heath care provider rather than on the firm or company that manufacture and supply the drug. It is rational to argue that public officials have little knowledge and comprehension about how flu vaccine distribution are transported and to whom, thus making it hard for the government to take part in the supply of the flu vaccine available as evident in the case. In this case, the administrative health care is an ongoing process of moral or ethical issues entrenched in daily activities. The health care official or administrator has the duty to the organization, self, to clientele served by the company and to the workers who offer services at the organization. I learned from the case that with the growth and expansion of information system, one ethical or moral concern is confidentiality of information. In this case, confidential information goes beyond medical information or data to wider information system that encompasses the company or organization as an enterprise and a workplace. Therefore, it is significant to manage confidential information in health care sector needs decision making technique, ethical awareness and knowledge. When Chiron was denied the license to distribute flu vaccines, the only company allowed to do so was Aventis and this gave them a platform to gouge or hike the price of flu vaccine when the demand was high. This is act according to me is unethical since the organization puts interests first at the expense of the patients. On leadership and management, I think it is necessary to include nurses and other physicians in the decision and policy making process. This is because there is a growing recognition that nurses must participate as decision-makers and leaders throughout healthcare. Nurses are executive leaders in hospitals and health systems, accredited organizations, professional organizations, businesses, universities, and government. Within the nursing faculty, most people feel that skilled nurses and their modern-day practice makes them valuable players in health systems, particularly in leadership positions. While some nurses have executive roles, all nurses are regarded as leaders especially in considering healthcare reforms as well as other developments that intensify people’s needs to empower all staff members, patients, clinics, families, and executives to advance to their practice, enhance their institutions, and support each other to offer the best skills and outcomes possible. Whether patient safety is clear in their titles or not, all executive nurses or leaders play a vital role in patient safety for given institutions. Among those who work in hospitals, a variety of responsibilities lie ahead in assuming the safety and quality of patient care by giving a supportive work environment such as effective systems, a culture of safety, and current technology. Nurses, conventionally take pride in and are compensated for giving solutions to different problems in healthcare in real time (Lewis, 2006). Nurse leaders are rewarded because they are excellent fixers. Most of these executive staff works around broken processes all day long, practices that are regarded as admirable and heroic. Most often, a nurse who calls out system problems or any error is seen as a complainer. The health reform should include a shift from such fixes to a health system where nurses feel comfortable addressing issues as system problems. Executive nurses can help the staff to develop skills and motivate improvement ability at the frontline that authorizes nurses to be equally effective in making systematic enhancements and solving personal problems. Nurses cannot be patient advocates unless they are advocates to the nursing sector itself. In this sense, nursing leadership has a valuable role to play in the reform process as they bring a patient-oriented perspective to issues like benefit packages, a viewpoint that highlights holistic care of the people being served. The same leaders present themselves when important health benefits discussions are going on, because not only are they educated in a wellness model, but involve in the process on daily basis. It is essential for nurse leaders to want influence such discussions and understand what the advantages sets in the public programs before the reform can be implemented (Landy, 2009). I would recommend that a thoughtful evaluation of the capacity of leadership skills offered by nurses to support the health reform is an important consideration to incorporate in distribution of drugs to health care centers. The health reform law signed by President Obama dated 3rd march, 2010 and the Reinvestment Act of 2009 that preceded it is inclusive of numerous initiatives that aim at redesigning the organization, funding it, and delivering health care. Most of these programs such as accountable care organizations and medical homes rely on interventions that are included majorly in the scope of practice of nursing leadership like transitional care and care coordination. In addition, expanding the reach of insurance cover will greatly demand that nurse leadership be involved for basic care system knowledge. The case provides a platform to understand that public policy is established by the law and is often considered as the standards or principles regarded by the courts or legislature as being of significance the issues of the society and the entire country. It is important to note that public policies depend on the rule that an individual should not be permitted to conduct any activity that would tend to harm, damage or injure the public (Sapru, 2006). I would recommend that when implementing policies in order to attain its objectives, it is vital to consider what environment the policy will be applied to and how to apply the setting or environment to the user society. In this case, it is significant to recognize which user community or group should be allocated to a certain policy. Further, it is important to identify configuration settings, which determines the settings or environment for a certain user community. For a policy to be successfully executed, it should undergo an understanding of the use and planning as this will assist in having a clear policy based structure that is easy to execute or implement. In sum, the article has described what usually happen in day to day world of public administration and public policy. The case study has revealed how some organizations like Aventis use their prominence and political connection to influence public policy and administration. References Hamel, G., & Breen, B. (2007). Future of management. Harvard: Harvard Business Press. Kumar, A.,& Sharma, R.(2000). Principles of business management. Atlantic: Atlantic Publishers & Dist. Landy., J.(2009). Work in the 21st Century: An introduction to industrial and organizational psychology. London: John Wiley & Sons. Lewis, P.(2006). Management: Changes for Tomorrows leaders. New York: Cengage Learning. Sapru, R. K. (2006). Administrative theories and management thought. New York: PHI Learning. Read More