Organizational Setting
For a future healthcare management position, my first choice would be health information systems, followed by home health care and lastly hospice care. Health information systems come first because it supports data-informed decision-making, therefore, enhancing the planning and organization of national health programs to promote the achievement of universal health goals. Home health care comes second since it is limited to patients receiving medical services at home and therefore has a small impact on the healthcare sector. Hospice care is last because the services provided are not meant to cure but to help the patients lead quality lives before their death.
Leadership
Effective Leader
I will give a situation of a leader with a managerial position in the healthcare industry. An effective leader has to be competent in planning for the organization based on priorities, organizing activities, acquiring and maintaining staff members, controlling staff activities, and directing and making effective decisions for the organization ( Thompson, Buchbinder & Shanks 2012). This leader was exemplary because he displayed all these skills in management. The manager promoted teamwork among employees, therefore, encouraging health workers to cooperate in providing services. He also managed the talents of the staff ensuring that his subordinates provided services in their areas of specialization hence giving quality services. Additionally, he was knowledgeable about healthcare policies, therefore, being in a position to influence them positively to help the health organization and limit hostile impacts. The manager also used a participative leadership style giving subordinates a chance to take part in decision making hence making rational decisions that promoted the development of the healthcare organization. Furthermore, he displayed leadership protocols including professionalism, reciprocating trust, confidence, risk-taking, and admitting fault, especially when corrected by colleagues. Moreover, he ensured employee motivation by pacesetting, acknowledging, and rewarding good performance hence promoting the provision of quality services in the healthcare organization.
Ineffective Leader
In this case, I will base it on the situation of a manager of an organization outside the healthcare industry. This manager was weak as he practiced autocratic leadership by exercising coercive power where employees were not involved in the decision-making process hence making uninformed decisions. The manager was also incompetent because he could not plan the activities of the organization efficiently. He did not take into consideration the priorities of the organization but considered his interests. Moreover, he was not good at staffing the organization since he could not employ and maintain skilled personnel, besides, he fired employees who held different opinions from his.
The manager was also poor at controlling, directing, and motivating staff members. As a result, there was a poor performance at work since employees never felt appreciated whenever they did a commendable job and did not, therefore, have the morale to work efficiently in promoting the development of the organization. Furthermore, the manager did not have suitable leadership protocols in that he was arrogant, despised his subordinates, did not admit fault, and was never empathetic to his employees. Consequently, the organization ended up falling due to the poor services provided and lack of cooperation among the staff.
Motivation
Healthcare managers need to put in place strategies that will increase employee engagement and motivation in healthcare since this has an impact on staff and patients. As a healthcare manager, I would improve employee engagement in the organization by hiring and training great leaders who would impact participation through direct and effective communication with employees hence enabling a constructive work environment. I would also facilitate open and free communication among the staff members. Open communication is achieved by ensuring that staff members are informed and updated on matters concerning the organization and facilitating direct access to the executive or leaders in the organization (Luoma 2006). To further enhance employee engagement, I would show employee recognition by ensuring that the excellent work of staff members who go out of their way to see to it that patients are provided with appropriate services are not only acknowledged by the patients but also by their colleagues. I would also enhance employee engagement by providing opportunities for employee professional advancement through coaching, mentoring them, and allowing them to attend other learning programs, therefore, strengthening their engagement levels and promoting patient satisfaction.
Employee motivation in an organization can be increased by providing a conducive working environment for employees, providing an assurance link between employee effort and the outcomes, and promoting fairness and equity (Freshman & Rubino 2002). As a healthcare manager, I would ascertain this and also put into consideration Maslow’s hierarchy of needs by ensuring that employees’ physiological, security, social, esteem, and self-actualization needs are met to ensure that employees are motivated to grow and perform at a greater level. Besides these, I would ensure an adequate supply of medical resources to enable employees to serve patients effectively without undergoing frustration that may result when they are unable to save a patient’s life due to lack of resources. Additionally, I would promote teamwork among the employees by ensuring a positive relationship between them, therefore, keeping them motivated when providing services to patients.
To further motivate the health workers, I would guarantee chances for their career development by supporting them in acquiring new knowledge through attending seminars and other coaching activities that would enable them to learn new skills and further attain job satisfaction. Moreover, I would ensure that health workers are compensated appropriately for the services they offer by giving them reasonable salaries and promotions where necessary.
Cognition and Organizational Behavior
Cognition is the basis for learning, acting, and other human activities. People tend to perceive information differently. Therefore, open discussions within an organization enable members to exchange ideas hence acquiring new knowledge which results in the development of the organization. Cognition entails sensemaking where members of an organization share their assumptions and perception of situations with others, inspiring individuals to adjust their mental ideas, therefore, promoting learning and organizational change (McGinnis 2007). As a manager, I would use cognition to improve communication and teamwork by understanding the thinking and behavioral doctrines of employees and organizing them in a way that compliments their diverse mental styles, therefore, enabling them to interact and work together efficiently. Furthermore, I would ensure that the team employees work with is made up of members who perceive situations differently and share their ideas, therefore, resulting in well-thought-out decisions that will have been challenged by those with different opinions.
Conclusion
Different organizational settings have different impacts on the healthcare sector. An effective leader promotes the development of an organization whereas an ineffective leader leads to the downfall of the organization. Healthcare managers should put in place strategies that will ensure that employees are motivated therefore increasing their engagement in service provision. Organizational change and learning is brought about by cognition which also promotes communication and teamwork in the organization
References
Freshman, B., & Rubino, L. (2002). Emotional intelligence: a core competency for health care administrators. The health care manager, 20(4), 1-9.
Luoma, M. (2006). Increasing the motivation of health care workers. Capacity Project Technical Brief, 7.
McGinnis, S. K. (2007). Organizational behavior and management thinking. Introduction to Health Care Management, 37.
Thompson, J. M., Buchbinder, S. B., & Shanks, N. H. (2012). An overview of healthcare management. SB Buchbinder, & NH Shanks, Introduction to Health Care Management, 1-16.
Wolf, J., Hanson, H., & Moir, M. (Eds.). (2011). Organization Development in Healthcare: A Guide for Leaders. IAP.
