Political Competence, Research Paper Example Example

Organizations are affected by external factors including political and legal and healthcare organizations are no different. This is why it pays for healthcare leaders to be politically competent as well as good corporate citizens. A politically competent leader understands what he can and cannot control, what actions needs to be taken, and who are the opponents and friends. The politically competent leader uses this knowledge to build support and formulate strategies to ease opposition. Politically competent leaders understand that the quality of ideas alone doesn’t matter much and one needs cooperation from others to get things done (Harvard Management Update, 2008). This is why they try to be realistic and anticipate opponents’ reactions to build counter-strategy.

To be politically competent, leaders need to possess or acquire certain skills and knowledge. First of all, leaders should have the ability to understand opponents’ point of views and their priorities. Politically competent leaders can also build coalitions by tailoring the message according to what motivates a particular partner/s. They also adopt persuasive techniques that are usually effective in winning a partner/s’ support. And last but not least, they can communicate how the partner/s will personally benefit by supporting the leader (Harvard Management Update, 2008).

Leaders who are also good corporate citizens realize that companies do not only deal with internal and external stakeholders but they are themselves stakeholders. This is why they are committed to ensure that the actions of their corporations leads to sustainable development and do address challenges faced by the societies such as climate change, health care, energy conservation, and efficient management of limited natural resources etc. Leaders who are good corporate citizens understand that effective corporate citizenship is not only good practice but also carry positive rewards for their corporations (Schwab, 2008).

UnitedHealth Group Executive Vice President for Health Services, Richard Migliori delivered a testimony to the United States Senate Committee on Finance in May 2012. In his testimony, Mr. Migliori informed the committee of the innovations in the healthcare sector that could help make the national healthcare system more effective as well as efficient (United States Senate Committee on Finance, 2012). In his testimony, Mr. Migliori demonstrated several traits that showed he is politically competent. First of all, Mr. Migliori didn’t only throw light on the innovations that have been adopted by his company but also provided statistics to convince the committee that it will be beneficial to the national healthcare system as well. Mr. Migliori also addressed the shortcomings in Federal health care delivery systems such as Medicare and Medicaid which showed that he understood the concerns of the committee. In addition, he was generous in sharing his expertise and his company’s internal findings which demonstrated that UnitedHealth Group is genuinely committed to improving the healthcare standards in the society. Mr. Migliori also carefully chose his words so that his suggestions would appear to be objective and not influenced by his company’s interests.

UnitedHealth Group is one of the leading companies in the U.S. healthcare sector and serves more than 75 million people worldwide (UnitedHealth Group). Thus, the company has a huge potential to influence the conduct of other health care companies in the U.S. The company’s actions indeed show that it takes its corporate social responsibilities seriously and has been an exemplary organization for its peers to follow. The company didn’t only win the ClearMark Award for Consumer-Friendly Medicare Education Materials last year (Biomedical Market Newsletter, 2011) but also received the Business Civic Leadership Center’s (BCLC) Corporate Citizenship Award from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce during the same year. The company was recognized for its programs directed at the diabetes epidemic including the Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance (DPCA) (UnitedHealth Group, 2011). Another test of UnitedHealth Group’s corporate citizenship emerged this year and the company passed it in an exemplary fashion. Even before the Supreme Court issued its ruling on the healthcare law, UnitedHealth Group announced that it will continue following some of the requirements mandated by the healthcare law irrespective of the outcome. The requirements mentioned by the company included coverage of adult dependents up to the age of 26, coverage of preventative care, and no lifetime dollar limits on claims. The last requirement is especially beneficial to those fighting expensive chronic illnesses such as cancer (Murphy, 2012). Thus, UnitedHealth Group has once again proven itself to be a responsible corporate citizen and these actions should increase the company’s corporate goodwill.

The recent healthcare regulations will have significant impact on the way healthcare businesses are managed. The healthcare reform is expected to lower healthcare sector negotiating power and, thus, pricing power as well because the U.S. government will increase its involvement in the healthcare sector to ensure affordable insurance for all. Thus, there is a potential of consolidation within the healthcare industry to counter falling average margins and take advantage of economies of scale. The healthcare sector may also develop more uniform insurance policies which could lower the options available to an average citizen. In addition, the management will have an increased focus on cost-cutting and operations efficiency to make up for some of the lost pricing power though scale could increase overall profitability for some healthcare providers.

References

Biomedical Market Newsletter. (2011, June 9). UnitedHealthcare Wins ClearMark Awards for Consumer-Friendly Medicare Education Materials. Biomedical Market Newsletter, p. 98. Retrieved from http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/61441297/unitedhealthcare-wins-clearmark-awards-consumer-friendly-medicare-education-materials

Harvard Management Update. (2008, February 27). Sharpen Your Political Competence. Retrieved August 11, 2012, from http://blogs.hbr.org/hmu/2008/02/sharpen-your-political-compete-1.html

Murphy, T. (2012, June 11). UnitedHealth Plans To Keep Health Care Reforms, Regardless Of Supreme Court Decision. Retrieved August 11, 2012, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/11/unitedhealth-supreme-court-health-care_n_1585920.html

Schwab, K. (2008, January/February). Global Corporate Citizenship. Retrieved August 11, 2012, from http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/63051/klaus-schwab/global-corporate-citizenship

United States Senate Committee on Finance. (2012, May 23). Progress in Health Care Delivery: Innovations from the Field. Retrieved August 11, 2012, from http://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Migliori%20Testimony%20-%20Finance%20Committee%20052012.pdf

UnitedHealth Group. (2011, November 21). UnitedHealth Group Receives 2011 Business Civic Leadership Center’s Corporate Citizenship. Retrieved Auguist 11, 2012, from http://www.uhc.com/news_room/2011_news_release_archive/unitedhealth_group_receives_corporate_citizenship_award.htm

UnitedHealth Group. (n.d.). About. Retrieved August 11, 2012, from http://www.unitedhealthgroup.com/main/AboutUs.aspx