Conflict Management Techniques, Operating Budget - Research Paper Example

? Nursing Management Theories within an organization describe the association between an organization and its surrounding and the inter-associations of various levels of organization. Organizational theories only apply in an open system. The open system view values the association of the organization with its surrounding. The organizational theories include classical, neoclassical, and modern theories of organization. The classical organization theories include scientific management approach, administrative theory, and bureaucratic theory. In a clinical setting, the scientific organization approach remains founded on the idea of planning of job to attain effectiveness, consistency, specialization, and generalization. The Bureaucratic approach sees the clinic as section of a wider community organized in structure as one unit. Aims at bringing different units under one roof. Administrative theory emphasizes on the management goals and their achievement in a clinic (Ziegenfuss, 2007). Neoclassical theory stresses on a person’s or team trend and human associations in assessing output. It explains how clinic staff coordinates to bring out the desired results in an organization. The modern theory consists of three approaches, the systems approach, the socio-technical, and the contingency or situational approach. The systems approach considers the clinic like a system made up of a set of connected dependent branches. Socio-technical approach recognizes the clinic as made up of social scheme, technical scheme and its surrounding. This ensures effective mixing with the surrounding to produce the desired results in a clinic. The contingency approach considers a clinic like institutional scheme connected to the surrounding and that various surroundings need varying institutional associations for efficient functioning of the clinic (Ziegenfuss, 2007). Managerial roles All clinical service managers participate in planning, staffing, organizing, controlling, decision making and directing to some extent. Moreover, they do various functions associated with achieving job and institutional goals that do not easily fall inside the functional grouping. These roles remain described like the behavior or tasks related with a management rank due to its power and condition. Mintzberg’s grouping recognizes (Kelly, 2012): Interpersonal role Informational role Decisional role Interpersonal role In this category, there are three types of interpersonal roles, which include: a. Figurehead: all managers, however, mainly senior managers, remain figure leaders since they participate in figurative and official functions like greeting guests and making dialogues at institutional occasions. The challenge that could remain incurred in this situation is communication barrier and the timing of the communication to suit your audience and make them comfortable. b. Liaison: it entails official and informal within and without contacts; the challenge that could prevail here is the ability to maintain all the contacts and be able to reach them evenly. c. Influencer: comprises of tasks intrinsic in the directing activity, the function of which is to encourage and head. The challenge that may prevail here is lack of enough knowledge and expertise to be able to deal with all the team members in the organization as well as keep them motivated and ready to work. Informational role The informational roles of a manager comprise of the following: Monitor- The manager has to view and follow the flow of information and the progress of the staff to ensure that they all conform to the set instructions and act to directives accordingly. The challenges the managers can encounter here are the other staff viewing them as dictators and completely following up their affairs and thus develop hatred towards them. This will affect the performance of the subordinate workers as well as that of the managers hence leading to low output. Disseminator- the managers have the role of spreading information to their subordinates when necessary to help them stay informed on the current matters and the expectations of the management. The managers may face the challenge of ignorance from some employees, language barrier, and resistance from those staff members who are rigid, those who hate changes. Spokesperson: the manager acts as the speaker on behalf of the management. The manager passes down the vital information from the management to the subordinates for the right actions to remain taken. The manager may encounter the challenge of ignorance from those employees who take everything literally, resistance from the rigid staff, as well as misinterpretation due to language barrier or illiteracy (Knodel, 2010). Decision roles The decisional functions of a manager comprise of the following: 1. Entrepreneur: a manger must have a business mind for him to succeed in any organization anywhere. The manager may encounter diversion in thoughts and opinions from the senior management when attempting to execute the plans. This leads to delay in decision-making and thus affecting the final production. 2. Disturbance handler: managers should have the capacity to handle people of all kinds since human being are not the same and have different opinions concerning a matter. This will help the manager be in peace with his staff and thus ensure high output remains achieved. The challenge a manager may face here is having stubborn or troublemakers as employees in the organization since they will always call the manager to action. This will lead to wastage of time, which could have otherwise remained used to increase productivity level. 3. Resource allocator: a manager should have the capacity of equally distributing resources in the various departments according to requirements. This will ensure that each department will remain effective in the production level. The challenge a manger may face here is working with unfaithful department producers who can ask for more materials of production than needed due to personal interests and gains. 4. Negotiator: a manager should act as the mediator between the subordinates and the management at all times. This will ensure smooth flow of information either downwards or upwards in the organization. The challenge the manager may face in this situation is when the management does not want to cooperate with the manager or when the employees do not trust the manager to remain acting according to their wish when needed to do so. This creates a gap between the management and the subordinates and thus poor relation develops which may lead to low production, strikes in an institution among others (Kelly, 2012). Conflict management techniques Forcing This has in addition the name competing. A person constantly follows their personal affairs despite the opposition from the other party. This can comprise pushing an individual’s viewpoint at the cost of the other or retaining strong opposition to the other individual’s deeds. This technique can offer a fast solution to a conflict as well as rising self-ego and gaining respect when strong opposition or deeds remained a reaction to an antagonism. Contrally, this method can negatively influence ones association with the other party in future, and make the other party to respond in similar manner despite the other party not wishing to remain forceful from the beginning. a. Win-win (collaborating) Also referred to as challenge confronting or challenge evaluating. Collaboration entails an effort to do job with the other party to arrive at a win- win answer to the challenge in hand- the one that majorly contends the queries of both individuals. The win- win advance views conflict management as a chance to arrive at a mutually positive answer. It constitutes noting the underlying matters of the other party and looking for a solution that meets every individual’s issues. This facilitates managing the challenge and strengthening the mutual faith and esteem between the parties involved. However, this method needs dedication from all the individuals involved to search for a mutually agreeable answer and can need extra time compared to the other techniques. b. Compromising This method searches for an expedient and mutually agreeable answer that halfway contends the two parties. The method remains considered faster, may offer a short-term answer when waiting for a long-term solution, and reduces the degree of stress and fever arising from the disagreement. Nevertheless, the method can leave the parties not contended with the answer offered and does not lead to developing faith in future. c. Withdrawing A method in addition referred to as avoiding. This arises when an individual does not follow their personal concerns or those of the other party. The party does not address the disagreement, sidesteps, or just pull out. The advantage of this technique is that when one party is compelling, the other can decide to pull out and forward their reaction up to when one is in a more advisable situation to push back the conflict. On the other side, pulling out can cause weakening of an individual’s stand; failure to act can remain concluded as an accord (Hammeker, 2011). Negotiation as applied in a clinical setting Negotiation is a process through which parties come into a mutual accord when there is a conflict. The situation can remains described as a win- win situation since both parties stand to gain from the answer arrived at. This remains explained as achieving what one requires from other through offering the rest what they need as well. In a clinical setting, a nurse may be in conflict with a patient but negotiate to arrive at an accord. For example, a patient may demand excellent or extra care from a nurse, then the nurse informs the patient that more payments should have to remain paid. The patient agrees to pay extra and the nurse gives her extra care hence they solve their conflict through negotiation (Kelly, 2012). Flow of intra-organizational communication Downward communication This is flow of information from the top management to those in the lower levels of the organization. This communication structure exists mainly in institutions with an authoritarian environment. For example, from the director to the accountant. Upward communication This is communication from the subordinates to those in the higher management levels in an organization. For example, from a clerk to the manager. Lateral or horizontal communication Horizontal communication constitutes the diagonal flow of data, among individuals in similar institutional ranks, among individuals at various levels who lack straight reporting associations. For example, from a production manager to the marketing manager. Principles of organizational design Division of labor An organization should divide duties according to departments and ensure that each department remains allocated the job it can do better according to the people in that department. Allowing people concentrate in their field of interest or where they are strong at remain known as specialization. Unity of command Power should remain clearly pronounced and vested to the right individuals in an organization to avoid conflicts and misunderstanding in future. The line of command should remain well drawn and understood by each member of an organization. Only one individual must remain superior to enhance complete control and dissemination of power in an organization. Authority and responsibility Individuals in an organization must understand the authorities they have very well and stay away from those things they have no power over them. The management and the other employees have various responsibilities and every one struggles to ensure they succeed in their field of interest. The management ensures that they give the lower employees authority to carry out their duties freely and in the right manner. Span of control An organization must not devote itself in doing all the activities even the minor less profitable ones. It should at least outsource some of the activities to other organizations and concentrate on the important ones. In terms of power, an organization should not concentrate all the powers to the top management but distribute it downwards to the other levels. This helps in bringing a sense of belonging and trust in oneself Contingency factors An organization must learn its environment so as not to remain caught up by events in future. It should as well adapt to new technologies to make sure that it remains not left behind and thus scrapped from the market (Knodel, 2010). Health care and employment laws Health care act is the state, national, and local statute, policies, regulations, and various jurisprudence among suppliers, financiers, and vendors to the health care firm and its sick people. Distribution of medical services; in total with stress applied on procedures, guidelines, and transactional lawful matters. A few sections of act it constitutes include contract law, medical law, public health law, medical malpractice, administrative law, and approval. Employment law explains the connection among employees, employers, workers organizations, and the state. These laws include: a. Contract of employment This law applies in every institution as it stipulates the rights and duties of the employee and the employer to each other. Even in a clinical setting, a nurse must enter into an employment contract with the employer. b. Working hours Every organization stipulates working hours for each employee as they are human beings and thus affected by fatigue. This as well applies to the health care system. c. Health and safety Each employee in every institution remains entitled to work in a healthy and conducive environment. This ensures that they remain motivated and highly productive (Hammaker, 2011). Labor management relations This is key since it is the core of each business since poor commercial relations may result to low output and high employee turnover. The major aspects of labor management relations are communication and creation of a conducive working environment. Communication helps in enhancing good relations within the organization and thus facilitates a good correlation and association among the employees and their employers. A good working environment ensures that productivity remains high and workers have favorable working conditions. This gives employees a sense of trust and confidence and thus they remain highly motivated and ready to actively get involved in production activities and thus increase production and hence the profits of the organization (Kelly, 2012). Resource management techniques The most common and main resource allocation method is resource leveling. The method targets at smoothing the available resources minimizing both extra stocks and shortages. The purpose is to accomplish 100 percent consumption; however, that is simply impossible when measured through significant measures and prone to restrictions. In preservation, resource control is a set of actions concerning to sustaining natural schemes integrity. The wide expression used for this kind of resource management is the natural resource management (Knodel, 2010). An organization’s budget process The budget procedure is the manner in which an institution goes around constructing its budget. The process involves a few steps, which include: I. Write the budget down- this will facilitate forming a measurement point against that one can follow the progress and forms a check to assure efficiency in the procedure. II. Decide who must remain included and when- it constructs buy-in and the procedure remains equipped through those with straight knowledge “in the dugouts”. III. Establish a yearly time- frame- the purpose is to ensure review and recommendation of the budget regularly prior to the new financial calendar. IV. Write down particular practices with particular role assignments- this will ensure that every individual get busy on their role to make sure that it remains accomplished before the deadline. V. Make sure the budget line materials and accounting line materials are in accord- the items in these budget lines should match otherwise a mismatch indicates an error thus extra task for the administrative staff charged with the responsibility of assessing the budget draft. VI. Establish databases, patterns, and equipments that support insertion of all significant budget materials and ensure “what if” situations- this ensures thorough assessment and evaluation of the budget before it remains approved. VII. Adopt rules for conforming to budgets, handling discrepancies, approval power, and more- this will help in knowing and focusing on the main targets of the organization. Therefore, nurse managers as key staff members in an organization must participate in budgeting process to provide vital data, which should constitute the budget plan from the particular department. For example, they should present the total budget of items needed in their department, what needs to remain added to improve the section among others (Kelly, 2012). Nursing turnover costs the organization so much since they have to recruit new members who will need to undergo some training. The period the nurses will not be within the services of the remaining few will diminish and thus clients will feel uncomfortable. The solution to this could remain listening to nurses grievances adequately and in time and corrective measures taken immediately. Retention of nurses will imply that they have satisfaction in the payments and the working environment. This may force the institution to flex their budget unwillingly to increase the salaries at unexpected time. The solution to this could remain the management reviewing the salaries of the nurses regularly according to their performance, and in addition rewarding them accordingly. Recruitment calls for involvement of resources, money and time as well as personnel, which could have remained useful somewhere else in a constructive manner. This may remain looked into through an institution remaining ready all the time and remaining open to its employees so that if any wants to leave the institution can inform them in time so that they prepare adequately to cover the void (Kelly, 2012). Operating budget Operating budget remains defined as a detailed estimation of the total projected revenues and expenses based on projected sales income in a certain period, mainly a year. Capital outlays remain exempted since they constitute fixed costs. The budget in a clinical set up constitutes income budgeting; related fixed and variable costs: for example, permanent nurses’ salaries as fixed costs. Further, semi-variable costs like costs for buying clinical equipments, reliable revenue, and transient income like admission fee into the clinic, direct costs and indirect costs like telephone cost, internet, and non-cash budget component like depreciation of clinical equipments should have account for as well. This budget ensures the smooth running of the clinic throughout the proposed budget period (Finkler, 2008). Capital budgeting Capital budgeting is the procedure through which the industry decides which fixed investments to undertake. These schemes remain anticipated to bring cash flows over many years. A capital budgeting conclusion criterion must fulfill the following situations: Should take into account the total of the scheme’s cash flows Should take into account the Time Value of Money Should throughout lead to the precise conclusion when deciding among Mutually Exclusive Plans Time Value for Money is the idea through which money remains believed to increase in future because of its possible earning potential, thus any sum of cash is worth more immediately it remain obtained. A clinic may invest their money now in buying expensive clinical equipment and the money will have earned interest in future thus more valuable. The concepts applied in calculating the time value for money of the clinical equipment include: Payback Period Net Present Value (NPV) Internal Rate of Return (IRR) Equations Variance analysis Variance analysis is the technique of breaking down discrepancies to offer management extra data concerning the causes of the discrepancy. Discrepancy remains the variation between budgeted and real results. The variation may have groupings as favorable and unfavorable variations. Discrepancy remains composed of two items: price variance and quality variance. Variance analysis offers further data that is of aid choosing causes of these variations (Finkler, 2008). References Finkler, S. A., & McHugh, M. L. (2008). Budgeting concepts for nurse managers. St. Louis, Mo: Saunders/Elsevier. Hammaker, D. K., & Tomlinson, S. J. (2011). Health care management and the law: Principles and applications. Clifton Park, NY: Delmar/Cengage Learning. Kelly, P. (2012). Nursing leadership & management. Clifton Park, NY: Cengage Learning. Knodel, L. J. (2010). Nurse to nurse. New York: McGraw-Hill Medical. Ziegenfuss, J. T. (2007). Customer friendly: The organizational architecture of service. Lanham, MD: University Press of America. Read More