Contrast of Healthcare and Unions, Research Paper Example

Healthcare organizations are systems that put together the various health services to manage illness, offer treatment and preserve health to individuals and the society as a whole. An example of a healthcare organization is World Heath Organization (2009) which is an agency by the United Nations acting as a public health researcher and coordinator worldwide. The organization’s constitution expresses its mission which is to see to it that all people have attained a level of health that is highest possible. It also states that the major task it has is to fight disease concentrating more on those that are infectious and to help the progress of general health of individuals in the world.

A union can simply be described as the coming together of people with a common purpose. These combinations are formed by people who are in a confederation, political parties, school students who have a mutual interest or are expecting a mutual benefit. A union can therefore be an organization formed by employees with an aim to talk for the purpose of reaching an agreement about an issue and this happens mostly with the employer. In some organizations, it is a condition to first join a union so that one can secure a job in that particular organization. Examples of these unions are trade union, student union, labor union, industrial union among others.

Spencer and Mills (2005) states that the socially permitted purpose of a healthcare organization is to offer care that is centered on the patient at a favorable cost to people occupying a certain area. He also states that leadership is an important aspect while guiding these organizations to accomplish their goals and states some key elements that are important in healthcare organizations leadership. There has been a conflict of interest in the goals of a healthcare organization in the past on whether to fully concentrate on offering quality services or to mind the costs incurred. The organization has with time to achieve the two goals that are interrelated and can sometimes be conflicting.

Unions are formed because of different reasons and this therefore implies that different unions will have different objectives. For instance, trade unions are concerned with the welfare of its members who are usually employees of certain firms. The unions use their leaders to negotiate with the employer on behalf of the members in the union. Petrozavodsk State University (2009) states that the primary objectives of the trade union of their employees are to first protect its members’ interest and rights socially, economically and in terms of labor, secondly to provide members of the union with social and legal protection, lastly to coordinate and associate efforts of members to achieve overall goals of the trade union.

Just like any organization, healthcare organizations also have trade unions. A good example is UNISON (2009) whish is said to be the largest healthcare trade union in the UK. The health members in the organization range from nurses, healthcare visitors to the various subordinate staff in the health centers. The role of this union is to advice members at work, helping them in different ways, to represent them where necessary and to air their concerns ensuring that all the matters affecting health workers nationwide are highlighted.

There have been instances where the unions and the healthcare organizations find themselves opposing each other. This happens when a union campaign interferes negatively with the reputation of a healthcare center by informing the public about poor services offered to patients. Another scenario would be where the employees planning for a union meeting and they interfere with their productivity because they do that during working hours. These problems can be solved by having an open meeting in the entire organization and setting rules that straighten up these issues. This way the unions will not be setbacks to the healthcare but an advantage.

References

Petrozavodsk State University (2009). The trade Union Organization of employees and instructors. Retrieved on October 18, 2009 from http://www.petrsu.ru/Structure/profcom_e.html

Spencer, E. M. & Mills, A. E. (2005). Value Based Decision Making: A Tool for Achieving the Goals of Healthcare. Netherlands :Springer

UNISON. (2009).The Health Workers’ Union. Retrieved on October 18, 2009 from  http://www.unison.org.uk/healthcare/

World Health Organization (2009). Health care. Retrieved on October 18, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care