The Pareto Principle, Research Paper Example

Pareto’s Principle basically states that a small number of reasons are responsible for a large percentage of the effect; this ratio is usually 20% of the cause to 80% of the effect, or 20:80. Normally in healthcare management, this would mean that 20% of a person’s efforts would generate 80% of that person’s results (Hafner, 2001).

Pareto’s Principle, or Pareto’s Rule, as it is also called, has helped many to help maximize resources and streamline workflow in many kinds of situations. For instance, if there was a long waiting time in the emergency room and this was the cause for the majority of patient complaints, Plato’s Principle should be used to help with quality improvement in solving the issue. This would be more beneficial than trying to solve every single complaint at once because that would most likely not correct the most important issues and there would be more complaints generated from the initiation of programs to correct all of the complaints at once.

Pareto’s Principle can be applied to basically any situation in life, regardless of the profession (Juran, 1994). The most important thing to realize is that 80% of the work, investments, money, etc. is being represented by about 20% of the group, community, individuals, or whomever the situation comprises. From a managerial perspective, this is a wonderful way to prioritize business and use the limited company resources to your advantage while accomplishing objectives and meeting goals in order to boost a company’s productivity.

References

Hafner, A. W. (2001, March 31). Pareto’s Principle: The 80-20 Rule. Retrieved from Ball State University : http://www.bsu.edu/libraries/ahafner/awh-th-math-pareto.html

Juran, J. M. (1994). The Non-Pareto Principle. The Juran Institute.