The Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice, Coursework Example

Lesson 3

There are several recognized factors based on motivational theories that contribute to employee motivation. Two such theories are known as the two-factor theory and the need-based theory of motivation. The two-factor theory states that certain factors in the workplace create job satisfaction while others create job dissatisfaction. It is therefore the responsibility of the manager to enhance job satisfaction while decreasing job dissatisfaction to a reasonable extent. Some of the factors that contribute to job satisfaction include knowledge that the work that one is doing contributes to the overall result of the project, that one’s thoughts and participation is considered valuable to the company, and that there is a potential to either get promoted or receive a raise for work well done. When these factors are not present, employees generally become dissatisfied (Hyun, 2009).

The needs-based theory of motivation states that motivation closely follows Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. The hierarchy denotes that every individual needs things in a specific order, and that each need must be achieved in order to go on and reach the satisfaction of a higher need level. The first needs that individuals must achieve are physiological, which relates to human health and the basic needs such as food, clothing, or shelter. If employees cannot afford these, then they will not be motivated in their workplace. The next needs, in order of height on the hierarchy pyramid, are safety, social, esteem, and self-actualization. Independently of salary, managers can help workers achieve these needs by fostering a positive organizational culture (Neher, 1991).

One common myth concerning motivation includes the belief that managers can motivate employees. However, this is not true. Managers must give employees tools so that they can motivate themselves. Ultimately, managers cannot control their employees so this is an important consideration. Second, money and fear are not always good motivators. While money can prevent people from getting less motivated, it won’t make them more motivated. Raises and promotions should therefore only be used as a reward for good work. Fear often works for a short period of time, but prevents progress from occurring past a certain point because it will actually decrease an employee’s willingness to perform. It is also essential to ensure that managers understand that the same things that motivate them will not necessarily motivate their employees. The best managers know their employees well so they know what will be able to help push them. This knowledge will help resolve this issue.

The leadership of a healthcare organization would be able to assist a nutritional services worker that is new to healthcare with the mentoring necessary for him or her to be successful in this new position. Because the new worker already has the skills that are necessary for this particular field, it is important for the individual to be trained in a manner that allows these skills to be translated to healthcare. It would be the responsibility of the leader to set up an adequate training program for the employee that supports this need in a manner that is tailored specifically to the individual’s experience. Furthermore, the leadership should inspire the employee by drawing connections between the past work and the current work, noting how this new work will help increase the health of patients.

To help an imaging tech who just left training, it is important for the hospital leadership to determine why the individual entered this field. Furthermore, it is important to allow this individual to discover that he or she is good at what they are doing. A major problem with inexperienced individuals is that they tend to give up quickly. However, if support is provided to this individual, he or she will quickly learn that the work is what was expected, and having less and less mistakes occur will make the employee feel good about the work that is being done. This is essential to keep this individual motivated.

A certified nursing assistant with 20 years of experience should be made to feel valuable to the team so she continues to perform well. An essential way of doing so would be for the leadership to demonstrate that they respect her opinions and by providing her with additional responsibilities. She will feel that she is helping the team if she is asked to train and supervise others, and respect is essential to make her feel motivated and that she should continue to be a member of the hospital staff.

Lesson 4

In order for the nursing team to rectify this issue, it is important for them to retrieve a list of the patients who were supposed to be given the imaging exam in addition to the inpatients. By determining what times which patients were seen by the doctor, the nursing team can use this information to sort them to the correct location. This process would be made easier by implementing the use of an electronic health record system so this information could be more predictable to the team in the future.

Most of these meetings should be focused on how to increase the communication by the imaging and inpatient team. More patients will be seen more quickly if this is organized so it will be an overall benefit to the hospital. These efforts will increase significantly by computerizing hospital records so that the two departments can communicate with one another by e-mail and transfer records using this same process as well. It is also important to consider that the scheduling system for the appointments should be done on the computer, which will allow the hospital staff to coordinate who should go where at which time, in addition to checking which patients are expected in which area. If this information becomes confused, the staff of each department simply has to check to determine the appointment time for a patient, and they can be sent to the appropriate location accordingly.

It is important to emphasize patience during the stages of development for members of a team. It is necessary to consider that these individuals must learn a lot of information to become productive, and this will ultimately pay off for the organization as a whole. Furthermore, it is also necessary to provide these individuals with support, providing thorough explanations of important processes. It is important for managers to understand the gaps in knowledge that these teams may have in addition to how to fill them so that they can make this process as painless as possible

Lesson 5

Some of the barriers to effective communication differ depending on whether written or oral communication is being utilized. When people are communicating through written messages, it is important to understand that the tone that individuals are using may not be interpreted correctly, which can lead to a misunderstanding. Furthermore, written communication is more likely to have spelling and grammar errors, which contributes to both a lack of understanding of the message’s content in addition to demonstrating a lack of professionalism. When people communicate orally, one of the major factors that contributes to a loss of communication is failing to adequately provide details for a situation that one is discussing. This is important because the context of a sentence needs to be provided for it to be truly understood. Furthermore, individuals occasionally talk at too low of a volume or too quickly to be head. Effective communicators must be aware of what they are saying in addition to how they are saying it to make sure that their message is appropriately conveyed.

To effectively communicate the employees concerning the new compensation plan, it would be necessary to provide them with a well-written memo that would be communicated through e-mail and be left on their desks. This dual communication method will ensure that the employees will be able to retrieve the message. Furthermore, the note should take care to provide any additional details and information regarding the salary changes that were not provided in the scenario. Providing these individuals with contact information if they have any related questions would also be beneficial

It is important for leaders to take organizational politics into consideration because in order to promote employee welfare, they must have an adequate understanding of how people in the workplace interact, and this is true whether the individuals are leaders or lower level workers. In order for the organizational culture of a workplace to be enforced, it is essential for these leaders to understand how to strengthen this message through their actions. Undermining it can be a major downfall for the business. Furthermore, understanding organizational politics can help foster progress for the company. It is important to know who is in charge of which aspects of business in addition to which member of staff knows the most about particular jobs.

References

Hyun, S. (2009). Re-examination of Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory of Motivation In the Korean Army Foodservice Operation (MS thesis). Iowa State University.

Neher, A. (1991). Maslow’s theory of motivation: A critique. Journal of Humanistic Psychology , 31 , 89112; Rauschenberger, J., Schmitt, N., & Hunter, J. E. (1980). A test of the need hierarchy concept by a Markov model of change in need strength. Administrative Science Quarterly. 25 , 654670.