Management in News: Management Problem in Health Care Organization, Research Paper Example

This assignment shall evaluate on the how health care organizations are acting to avoid problems caused by Unions. The essay is based in the Journal “Health Care Organizations Act Now to Avoid Problems with Unions” the Journal was published by Houston Business Journal which was published on July 04, 2008.

Unionized employees have been a challenge to the management in almost all sectors of the economy and health care organizations have not been exceptional. Although formation of Unions in health cares organization has helped the workers not to be exploited by their employers. Over the years Unions have gradually accumulated powers which they have misused by over stepping their mandates and pressurize managements to bow down to their demands. Therefore, they have been holding the organization at hostage with their demands which they want to be fulfilled. Most of the demands are self centered and are meant to benefit the employees alone without taking in to considerations welfare of the organization and sustainability of their demands and how the organization would benefit from it (Shortell, & Kaluzny, 2006).

It is such extreme advances by the unions which has resulted the managers of health care organizations decide on mechanism to avoid such problems in the future. It’s the role of the managers to ensure that they lead the organization they have been entrusted on in the most professional way as they would. Under their leadership the organizations are meant to realize profits and improvement of its procedures and delivery of goods and services. For such leadership to be realized the managers needs to be in good terms with the employees and reduce on instances of conflicts as it has been the tradition with the unionized employees.

According to Wichard, 2001) Unions have been victims of their own success, and have championed for the increment of their salary such that their wages were above what is being paid to nonunionized staff. Due to such increase in payment of wages the services which are offered in departments with many unionized employees are much more costly compared to those being done by nonunionized employees. Because the administration of the organization has to pass over the extra cost on employment being paid to the unionized employees, this has made services to be costly without any added value to them. Hence, patients being serviced by such organization view them as being unreasonably charging services high.

The top level managers are expected to resolve the problem by involving stakeholders such as legal counsel to provide legal advice and public relation personnel to develop strategies which would solve the Union problem once and for all. The appropriate strategies to be developed and implemented are; Educating community stakeholders and management team on the viability of Unions and how they would be used to improve service delivery in health care organizations.

The other reason why unions have been victim of their own success is that they have declined in value of their merit. The unionized employees in the organization would not be able to advance more beyond the terms stipulated in the union contract. The management can not also be able to restructure their human resource by eliminating those who are ineffective to make the labor force more productive (Raisio, 2009). The management have also witnessed that the unionized employees have become very comfortable and protected such that they have lost the initiative to work hard.

They should also ensure that they educate key members of medical staff and the hospital board members on the tactics of the Union. By educating them they will be skilled to make Unions be of much benefit to health care organizations. Despite of the fact union ensure that the employees are not exploited by their employers it also promote team work and cohesiveness of the employees which would be very instrumental if they are channeled properly.

The managers should also increase on positive publicity of Unions and their roles to win back the confidence of stakeholders who would have thought that the problems of unions would not be solved fully. By use of the strategies the managers will be able to motivate the employees in order to resolve the union problems which have been affecting health care organizations.

The role of the managers is vital in management of the problems as they are bestowed with the responsibilities of managing the organizations prudently for them to be profitable and be able to meet the needs of the patients. The managers are the one who are entrusted by all stakeholders to ensure health organizations are well managed and meet their needs as well.

Therefore, the resolutions of the union problems would be formulated to addressing how the management of the organization would be more in administration of the unionized employees and be able to control them. As it is at the moment the management can not sack those who are not productive or restructure the employees that easily as their contract supersede any decision which the managers would make in regard to their employment. The development of the employees needs also to be improved to promote the skills and operations of human resources because unionized staffs can not be able to advance more beyond the terms stipulated in the union contract.

References

Raisio, H. (2009). Health Care Reform Planners And Wicked Problems: Is The Wickedness Of The Problems Taken Seriously Or Is It Even Noticed At All? Journal of Health Organisation and Management, 23(5): 477-93

Shortell, S & Kaluzny, A. (2006). Health Care Management: Organization Design and Behavior. New York: Delmar Publishers

Wichard, W. (2001). European Union Enlargement: Consequences and Problems. German Policy Studies, 1(4)”, 385