Governing Bodies and Administrators in the Overall Function of Governance - Essay Example

LTC210-Introduction to Long Term Care Administration-Unit 4 Aedric Frechelle of the Explain, in a 3 page essay, the differences inthe roles of governing bodies and administrators in the overall function of governance. According to Pratt (2010), “the governing body is the policy-making arm of the organization” (Pratt, 2010, p.358). Even though it is called by many names such as governing board, board of directors, board of overseers, or board of governors, the name ‘governing body’ is the generally used name when describing these bodies (Pratt, 2010, p.358). Moreover, their responsibilities are barely invariable (Pratt, 2010, p.358). They are a group of individuals responsible for the way the organization functions. In case of non-profit organizations, they represent the community and in case of “for-profit” organizations, they actually are the owners or a representative of community (Pratt, 2010, p.360). While the role of a governing body is “to develop policies and oversee the way the organization operates,” it is the role of the administrator “to execute (or implement) the policies and oversee the day-to-day functioning” (Pratt, 2010, p.365). This is one of the primary differences between the role of the governing board and the role of the administrator. The CEOs (also called as administrators) lead the organization’s administration department in the strategic planning, and during the planning process, they determine the appropriate means of achieving the defined ends. Any organization receiving funds from Medicare and Medicaid are required to have a governing body. The regulatory agencies require the governing body to 1) be legally responsible for the operation of the facility and 2) to hire a qualified administrator. The role of the governing board entitle more than what the regulatory agencies require from them and to expand to other areas. They are directly involved in establishing the organization’s mission, vision, goals, and operational strategies (Pratt, 2010, pp. 360-361). Among the critical responsibilities of the governing board is to select the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or an administrator of the company. This role of the board is critical because the functions of the CEO are far reaching. It is the responsibility of the board to ensure that the CEO is qualified for the position, to evaluate his/her performance and to provide advice when needed, as the CEO is the primary agent in accomplishing the purposes of the organization (Pratt, 2010, p. 362). Another difference between the roles of the board and the administrator is that it is the board that appoints the CEO, and not the other way round. However, the board cannot interfere in the actual operations of the organization, or attempt to manipulate the administrator (Pratt, 2010, pp. 362-363). Making certain that the current goals of the organization, and the policies, are within the range of the legislated mission is one of the roles of the governing board (Pratt, 2010, p.361). Since the process of strategic planning of the mission, vision and goals is ongoing and not static and set, the expectation from the governing board is to be involved in that process and to continue to be involved (Pratt, 2010, p.361). Once the mission, vision and goals are set, they need to continue to monitor the process and prevent any significant deviation. Once the process is completed and implemented, the board will always have “the final say on whether services are added, continued, or discontinued” (Pratt, 2010, p. 362). The administrator is expected to lead the organization, to influence others to work willingly and enthusiastically, allowing the staff to contribute with their skills, achieve professional growth and to achieve the goals set by the board. Hence, the expectations from the CEO and the board are different in this regard. The board needs to provide adequate resources and make the efforts to ensure that the administrator has the necessary tools and adequate personnel to succeed (Pratt, 2010, p. 364). It is the board’s role to ensure that the organization is practicing within legal and ethical standards and their customers are treated with dignity and respect, and are provided with the care of highest possible quality (Pratt, 2010, p. 364-368). Even though it is the responsibility of the board to provide the resources, it is the responsibility of the administrator to assign the roles to the administration staff and to translate the plans into action. This represents another significant difference between the role of the board and the administrator. For a plan to be executed, it needs to be organized by developing or applying organizational structure and deciding what, how, and by whom things will be done. The board is responsible for overseeing the use of the overall resources, but it is the CEO’s role to manage the resources with others in administration department, like the Chief Financial Officer and human resources, in order to execute the plan for the organization (Pratt, 2010, pp. 364-367). The other responsibility of a CEO is that he must keep the governing board informed of the quality and financial effectiveness. This demarcates another difference between the administrator and the board. The CEO needs to educate the board with regular briefings about trends, competition, and any new regulations from the State (Pratt, 2010, p. 369). This will help the board in making plans for the future or in making any adjustments. In return, the governing board would provide guidance and advice to the administrator (Pratt, 2010, pp. 369-370). Finally the board needs to ensure succession for the CEO (in case he/she leaves) and have plans for the continuation of what he had started (Pratt, 2010, p. 363). The continuity of the organization will precede any individual, and arrangements are always good to make in advance. They also make arrangements for the succession of their own board members and for that they need to find the individuals who will continue what they have started as part of the board. The administrator and the governance board are interdependent in their roles, and how good they are at it will determine the success of the organization. 2. The five functions of administration are: planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling. Apply these functions to your job and explain what each of them requires of you. If you are not in a management position, choose a specific job for your discussion. Planning As supervisor for a managed care organization (MCO), it requires analyzing the internal factors affecting my department’s ability, and determining the appropriate means to achieve its mission and goals. For example, at present, my department is about to launch a new Medicare Advantage Program (MAP). Since we don’t have a director, it was assigned to me to develop the strategic plan for deciding how the department will work, how the communication with the other departments would be and how the day-to-day operations would be conducted. As part of my planning, I needed to evaluate alternatives, develop the strategies and implement them. The VP of the company gave me the task of planning and developing the daily operations of the department. This meant that it was up to me to develop the “how, what and when” of the operation, and to demonstrate it to her for adjustments and final approval. I also developed all the policies and procedures (P&P) of the department as well as the workflows and reporting structure. Organizing As part of my assignment is to develop the organization structure, my responsibility is to decide which staff will do what. For example, functions like the communication within departments, what the staff will do once they receive their new members, expectations of the organization from each of the staff, how to use the electronic records, troubleshooting any issues that the staff encounters etc., will be organized according to the staff. I would be delegating part of task to the staff that is proficient with computers. In turn, they would give me any additional information, or inform me if they encounter any issues like problem in entering the data, computer glitches or any communication gaps they might have with other departments. Since I am the person assigned to the task, I would collect all the information of how the department is working and present it to the VP along with my suggestions on what actions are needed to be taken. If the problem is already resolved, I would still present the issue and explain what strategies I used to resolve it. Staffing I am directly responsible for hiring (or firing) the staff, requesting new positions to be opened, evaluating the staff performance and for overall personnel management. Part of my responsibility is to develop their job description and the expectations from them within the department. I am also responsible for providing the new staff with the policies and procedures. I need to make sure that they understand what their position entitles, and the ‘dos and don’ts’ of the job. Since the nurses in our company are unionized, I also have to deal with their union representative. I keep files on all my nurses that contain the records of the conversations I had with them, important occurrences/incidents, education and feedbacks provided, and any other details that I think are relevant and important to be noted. Leading One of the important advices that I got in my life was to ‘lead by example,’ and that’s what I try to do. I do not ask my staff to perform what I would not perform myself. I am the first to get to the office and the last to leave. The staff knows my dedication to the organization as they know that I just do not say things, but I demonstrate with my actions. Since my ascension to management has been progressive, I have noticed how the staff is always paying attention to their leaders, and how they behave when they perceive the leader is weak or how they behave when they respect their leader. It has been a learning experience, because now I can use those lessons to my advantage and project, lead and influence the staff the way I think is most beneficial to the organization and to them. For example, when we had the worst storm in decades, in the whole company, my staff was the only one that showed up at work and did not miss a day. It is not because I am a perfect boss, but it is because I had created loyalty in them that they felt compelled to show up at work and support me and the organization. The relationship between the supervisor and the employee should be one of trust and loyalty and when one of those characteristics is missing, the relationship changes. It’s never the same. Thus is very important to cultivate and protect them. Controlling Part of my responsibilities is to demonstrate if the planning and execution is working in achieving the goals, how effective the organizing has been and if I need to do changes or modifications. In the company, we have similar products to our new program. Those products will be the baseline for deciding how effective we have been taking into consideration the variables, and in this case the variables are the differences between programs. Controlling gives us the opportunity to modify our program to meet the needs of the organization, and to fulfill the mission, vision and goals of the new program and the organization. There is always a need to know how well we are doing, if corrections would be needed, if we are missing one of the targets etc. The most effective way to know that is by pulling the reports. Based on the reports, strategies can be modified and new ways could be developed in order to achieve the goals. Blame is not attached to any of the reports as it is just a mirror of how the team is doing and how it can do better. 3. Why is information technology of such importance to long-term care organizations? In your answer, list its benefits and explain how “IT” is used in long-term care organizations. There are many reasons why information technology (IT) is of such importance to long-term care organizations. The following are some of them: Competition Technology offers huge advantages to those using it over those who do not Keeping up with changes in regulations and financing Computerized record keeping Electronic reporting to reimbursement and regulatory agencies Integrated management information systems Source: Study Notes, Unit 4 IT also provides the opportunity for better coordination of care. Having the patient’s clinical information and insurance history readily available saves time when transferring information, and also reduces the errors. It helps the providers to operate more efficiently and effectively, and it is cost effective as it avoids duplication of services and allows the providers to optimize care (Study Notes, p. 8). IT has the ability to improve research into both clinical and administrative methods, improve the way care is delivered and increase “the ability to provide consumers with information that they need to make care-related decisions” (Pratt, 2010, p. 418). IT is not fully implemented in the long-term care industry due to many factors like resistance to change to electronic records, low appreciation of the value of electronic records, or due to the high cost. However, in recent years the attitude has been changing and the expectation is for long-term to achieve the full benefits of IT (Study Notes, p. 9). 4. Explain, using examples, how marketing differs from public relations and community relations? Marketing, public relations and community relations have many similarities and the differences in them are subtle. Marketing is focused on sales, conducting market research, participating in the strategic planning process, and evaluating customer satisfaction. Community relations involve participation in community activities in order to be considered a good neighbor. Public relations focus on creating a positive image or to reinforce it (Study Notes, p. 10). For example, a long-term care organization would develop marketing strategies to attract customers by advertising in the media, on internet, in non-competing health care organizations etc. Also, one of the most effective (in my personal opinion) ways of advertisement is when physicians sponsor the organization in their personal practice and to their patients. Marketing products such as cups, pens, pads, toys etc., and many such things are very effective in bringing new customers. In case of community relations, the subtle difference is about bringing services to the community to strengthen the relations or establish a relationship. For example, a long-term care organization could provide a free health clinic to the community. The purpose is to impact that community in a positive way and to prevail in the minds of that community. When it comes to public relations, the approach is slightly different because the purpose is to create a positive image, or repair the image of the organization, and to avoid bad publicity. One classic example is when an artist or a recognized athlete uses public relations to repair his/her image after a difficult situation involving drugs, offensive comments or behavior takes place. Usually, they release a statement saying that the comments or situation was taken out of the context. In some cases, an extending apology is given or donations to charity are made. 5. What are the characteristics of leaders most commonly desired by people? The characteristics of the leaders that are most commonly desired by people are honesty, forward-looking, inspiring, and competence (Kouzes and Posner, 2007) Honesty Employees want to know that they are being treated fair, that their leader is genuine, and trustworthy, and that they can count on their leader during the difficult times. There is an unspoken contract between leaders and followers which entails that the followers will allow an individual to lead them if they can trust him/her to be fair and honest. When the leader is honest, he/she will earn the followers trust. It takes time to develop that trust, “but it can be lost in an instant” (Pratt, 2010, p. 380). Forward-looking Leaders are expected to have a sense of direction, to know where they are going and where they are taking the organization. It is understandable that a sense of stability is needed and the only way it could be acquired is by knowing where the organization is heading. It is a joint venture and both the parties need to know where they are heading (Pratt, 2010, p. 381). Inspiring Leaders are expected to inspire others, to motivate their staff and to make them believe that they can do things which they had previously thought impossible to do. Leaders empower the staff to go above and beyond their limitations by inspiring them to contribute to the organization with new ideas, or by doing their jobs more efficiently. The leader could be compared to a coach who knows that his/her team has the skills and is prepared for the challenge but also knows that they need to be inspired continuously (Pratt, 2010, p. 381). Competent It is important for the leaders to be competent and know what they are doing. It is difficult to follow a leader who doesn’t know, or who has a limited knowledge of his profession. For example, a leader who is in charge of operations, but who does not know about strategic planning or how to handle a budget, would not function properly as a leader. It does not mean that the leader has to know everything. It is just that leaders must know their limitations, what they can do and what they cannot do (Pratt, 2010, p. 381). Reference Kouzes, J.&Posner, B. (2007). The Leadership Challenge (4thed). San Francisco, CA: Jossey- Bass. Pratt, J.R. (2010). Long-Term Care: Managing Across the Continuum (3rded). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett. Zemans, J.R. (n.d.). Study Notes: Unit 4. Retrieved from: http://www.sjcme.edu/ Read More