Leadership in a Health Organization

Leadership in a Health Organization Introduction The development of existing and future leaders is significant to driving the innovation and change essential to the continuity and sustainability of the healthcare system in Australia. The 2012 publication Leadership for the Sustainability of the Health System released by Health Workforce Australia (HWA) suggests that the â€Å"momentum towards health service redesign must increase, and the workforce reform and innovation necessary to support it must also increase (HWA 2012).† The healthcare system is challenged by diverse and varied complications which limit growth in key areas essential to sustainability. Immense pressure is being applied to the health workforce as Australia’s population ages, the presentation of patients with chronic disease increases, and the expectations of the community become more resolute. Subsequently, new challenges exist such as â€Å"†¦rapidly changing technology; new approaches to training and education; an uneven distribution of the workforce across metropolitan, rural and remote areas; looming shortages in some professions and specialties; entrenched work practices; and constricted professional roles (HWA 2015).† The HWA stated that the â€Å"quality of leadership in the health system directly and indirectly affects the quality of patient care, and is shown to be an important factor supporting best practice (HWA 2012).† Clinical leadership which is effective and progressive is vital in the current Australian setting and in healthcare reform, innovation and change. Whilst many theories exist which emphasise personality, behaviour, context or relationships as key elements impacting the effectiveness of a leader, the Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership propose those which are influential to fostering innovation and supporting the change management process necessary to sustain the Australian healthcare system. Background In a separate publication released by HWA in 2012, the organisation concluded that without nationally coordinated reform Australia is likely to experience workforce limitations in the delivery of high quality health services by the year 2025 (HWA 2012). The National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission (NHHRC) have recommended targeted measures for clinical leadership to enable the development of a long-term health reform plan for a modern Australia (NHHRC 2015). Future healthcare systems will develop, implement and foster a leadership strategy which systematically addresses priorities and is supported by leadership practices which achieve organisational goals, adapt to changes, and stand unwavering in the face of uncertainty (Browning, et al., 2011). The current challenge facing the Australian healthcare system is to instil within the current and future workforce the leadership skills necessary to reach the forecasted future. In my experience, I have come to an understanding that individuals promoted, appointed, or recruited into leadership roles require support, encouragement, and development prior to and after commencement in the roll to ensure that they can be as effective as possible. Further, recruiting practices witnessed within the healthcare sector have indicated that often the most clinically proficient individuals (or, subject matter experts) amongst medical professionals are those promoted into leadership roles with less regard placed upon the individual’s ability to self-reflect, their emotional intelligence, their strategic perspective, their ability to inspire others, or other key capabilities characteristic of an effective leader. â€Å"Credibility is the foundation of leadership† (Kouzes et. al, 2007 p. 37) In an environment where individuals are promoted into leadership roles based on clinical expertise as opposed to the individual’s ability to effectively lead, credibility of those in these positions can be an issue perpetuating negative workplace culture and personal attitudes. Leaders within the healthcare system must develop and maintain a level of credibility to be successful. A team of clinicians is influenced significantly by the level of trust and authority awarded to their leader. Susan Oliver (2006) suggests that a consensus of the workgroup is necessary for a leader to inspire and work with those they lead. However, consensus can be difficult to achieve in a climate where trust and authority are absent and the credibility of the leader is in question. Achievement of consensus is possible with Kouzes et. al (2007) posing that admiration is attained from individuals where the person being admired believes strongly in something and are willing to stand up for those beliefs. Admiration begets trust, confidence and respect which are then precursor to consensus. Further, Kouzes et.al (2007) states that persons who aim to become leaders must be persons of principle if they want people to willingly follow them. The principles, values, and ethics that leaders innately possess or adopt will dramatically influence their level of credibility. Consensus would be difficult to achieve in a leadership situation where the incumbent has poor moral values, inconsistent standards, or unclear principles. For leaders to attain consensus and impact change, those they lead must be able to recognise, support, and adhere to the level of authority held by the leader. The level of authority associated to a leader is significantly different to the level of authority associated to a manager. Whilst the same person can occupy these two roles concurrently, there is a vast difference in the connotations of a â€Å"leader† and that of a â€Å"manager†. Maxwell (2011) presents the argument that leadership is a process as opposed to a position. In his work, he continues with stating that management at its best is when things stay the same whilst â€Å"leadership deals with people and their dynamics, which are continually changing† (Maxwell, 2011 p. 10). For managers to be effective leaders they must be honest and be able to do what it is they say they will do (Kouzes et.al. 2007) Kouzes et. al (2007) and Maxwell (2011) indicate in their writings that the credibility of leaders is fundamentally grounded in their behaviour characteristically driven by deeply held beliefs. Leaders must be able to commit to a set of values and function consistently within them to be effective. Ewens (2002) states that clinicians cannot elude the recognition of effective leadership as an important element of the healthcare environment. This critical element within the system is rooted deeply in an institutional need for strong leaders to exist, for them to be able to model desired behaviour, build credibility and â€Å"align actions with shared values.†( Kouzes et. al 2012 p. 96) â€Å"†¦By Imagining what might be possible† (Kouzes et. al, 2012 p. 104) Visionary leaders are needed within healthcare organizations to encourage and nurture employees, establish and maintain relationships, and stimulate multidisciplinary teams. Further key accountabilities are applied as the context, nature, situation, and environment are considered in application of the associated skills attributed to a visionary leader. Future healthcare leader will need to recruit talented individuals who can be developed into visionary leaders who have the potential to foresee and apply innovations and solutions which drive transformational change (Browning et.al 2011). Fostering leadership talent is achieved through diverse methods; however, healthcare organisations should adopt a comprehensive strategy for the sustained retention of potential leaders. Browning et. al (2011) continues to state that â€Å"healthcare organizations need comprehensive strategies for identifying, hiring, developing and retaining leadership talent.† Workforces which are culturally rich employ personnel which foster the established culture with reciprocal benefit. Exploration of personal and individual beliefs, motives, and interests is among the transactional activities undertaken by effective leaders. Those leaders which inspire are those who are able to clearly convey their vision of the future, lead change management processes within organisations, and align the efforts of the workforce with the mission statement of the business. Further, inspirational leaders have the capacity to inspire their constituents into achieving results which are greater than expected (HWA 2012). Challenging Inspirational leaders are faced with challenges just as is the lay manager. â€Å"Clinicians should have an insight into leadership styles and responsibilities in order to gain a deeper understanding of the attributes required of being, or supporting, ‘leaders’ within the organization† (Oliver 2006 p. 39). The Australian healthcare system is faced with challenges driven by the increasing population, aging workforce, and demanding societal expectation. However, how these challenges present in the workplace will be varied and diverse depending upon the local context. Browning et. al, (2011) stated that political, regulatory and marketplace factors drive forces which impact on healthcare reform resulting in uncertainty towards the future healthcare landscape. Change is inevitable in the current climate of technological advances, social networking, and immediate access to information. Effective leaders within the healthcare sector will be able to address the challenges ascribed of change. Further, leaders provide access to knowledge, skills, and the environment where change occurs whilst mitigating risks of the process and learning from unsuccessful attempts (HWA 2012).

Computers in my Life :: Personal Narrative Writing

Computers in my Life Fun, relaxation, money, can you get all that with only one tool? The answer is yes. What is the name of that magical instrument? Technology's greatest invention, Computers. They are sophisticated equipment that performs three main tasks: accept structured input, process it according to prescribed rules and produce a result as output. They come in a remarkable rage of sizes and shapes, and have different abilities and application. They can be a bunch of equipment with little or not use, or a powerful instrument if you know how to use it. They play a very important role in every American's life, specially mine. In today's society, computers are necessary; they are used in all kinds of jobs. They are used in Science fields like Math and Medicine, but they are also used in fields like mechanics. Imagine, even for someone that fix cars a computer is necessary. Computers have a very respected place in our world today; new generations are using them for everything: to learn, to commun icate, to do research, etc., and old generations have become to accept them as well; even though they always reject any changes. Anyway there are people that while reading this essay thinks: "I do not see it; I really do not understand how can computers be so useful and how?" Oh! Well. In my special case, computers are more than a simple tool; my life changed since the first moment they came into it. They turn my mind around completely; it was like a perfect match. Since the first time I sat in one, I knew they will become an undeniable part of my life. It has been five years since then and I my opinion remains the same. I have in fact discovered many more uses for them. Three of those uses are: a method of relaxation, a tool to work and very practical and a useful instrument that makes my life easier. First, computers are my best method of relaxation when my stress is maximum. They provide me with entertainment; for example, when I use a graphic program like Paintbrush to create a design, or when I use a word processor like Microsoft Word to create a sign I want to put in my room. I can get very creative and even design posters, conniving words and pictures, that later I can use to decorate my room.

Impacts of Social Media Marketing Essay

With the emergence of internet-based social media it has made it possible for people to communicate with thousands of other people around the world about products and the companies that provide these goods and services to them. Accordingly, the impact of consumer to consumer communications has been tremendously heightened within the marketplace. Many people would argue that social media is a hybrid element for promoting a company and its products, considering that in the traditional sense it allows companies to speak directly to their customers, while in a nontraditional sense it enables customers to talk directly to one another. The information, timing, and volume of social media-based conversations that occur between consumers are outside of a managers’ direct control. This goes against any traditional integrated marketing communications where there is a high sense of control from the manager. Thus, it is the managers’ responsibility to learn how to shape a consumers discussion in a manner that is consistent with their organizations mission statement and performance goals (Kerin, Hartley & Rudelius, 2009). Traditional Marketing Traditional marketing techniques involve direct mail, trade shows, television, radio broadcasting and social events which are still very prevalent and are still heavily used by many companies around the world to market products and the services offered by their companies. Marketing through television provides companies mass exposure to a wide array of individuals with a mass message. Many businesses don’t realize that television can often be one of the most cost-effective forms of advertising. The advantages of television are that it has everything needed to catch the attention of your projected audience: audio and visual. Community based television stations which are often looking for advertisers and are more willing to accommodate advertisers because of a less rigid schedule. Newspapers and classifieds are becoming increasingly popular and is a great way to target clients at a reasonable cost. The yellow pages have become a commonplace for companies who want to locate their specific business needs. Another way for businesses to market is with brochures, these are a great way of advertising a business. Depending on the type of business, brochures can be extremely useful. For a business that is in the industry of travel or tourism, brochures are a must, and there are multitudes of places where they can be displayed for customers to view. If a business is in a different type of industry it may be a little more difficult to find locations to display brochures, except to use them in mail drops, as handouts at trade shows and conventions, or for a direct mail out to potential customers. If a company is a manufacturer or supplier, it will need to provide their brochures to a distribution network. Brochures are a great way to market, but a company should make sure they are a cost-effective use of your time and investment, and if a company is going to produce brochures, they should know ahead of time how and where they will distribute them. Social Media Marketing Social media marketing represents low cost tools that are used to combine technology and social interaction with the use of words. These are typically internet based. Social media gives marketers a voice and allows them to communicate with their current customers and potential customers. Companies are able to personalize their brand and it gives them a way to spread their message in a relaxed and conversational way. Many people used to think Facebook was just for teens and young adults. Companies did not see much value for the social media site. That is all slowly changing though. Several companies are using Facebook to market their products and are seeing great success. Consider the following statistics provided between September 2008 and February 2009 the number of Facebook users between the ages of thirty five and forty four increased by 51%, user among the ages 45-54 jumped up 47 % and user ages 26-34 increased by 26 % more then half of Facebooks 140 million users are out of college. Clearly, social media is no longer just for the college student. Facebook is used as a marketing tool because it is easy to gain new clients, promote new products and services while offing deals and sales and staying in touch with your customers (Zarrella , 2009). Social media can be used to provide an identity for the products and services that a company has to offer. It can also create relationships using social media with people who might not otherwise know about a company’s products or services or what our companies represents. If a company wants new customers and retain their current ones they must establish a good relationship. Social media can be used to associate one’s self with their peers, which could be serving the same target market. It could also be used to communicate and provide an interaction with the consumers a company is looking for. Conclusion There are many advantages to using social media as a marketing tool for a company. However a company cannot just depend on social media alone to market their company, they must integrate it with other vehicles of marketing. While social media can create awareness for a company, it may not be the right form of advertising for a company. Companies must be consistent with any form of marketing that it chooses to use. The role that social media plays in the marketing of a company is to use it as a communication tool that allows a company access to those interested in their product and makes the company visible to those who do not know what services and products a particular company has to offer. It can be used as a tool to create a personality behind a company’s brand and create relationships that otherwise may never have happened. Social media cannot only create repeat-buyers for companies, but also customer loyalty. The fact that social media is so diversified and it can be used in several different ways, ways that best suit the interest and the needs of a company shows that it is a good source of marketing for any business (McAdams, Neslund & Zucker, 2008). The form of marketing that a company uses really comes down to what type of audience the company is trying to attract and what they can ultimately afford to spend on adverting and marketing for the company. Any of the marketing techniques work a company just has to be consistent with the form they choose to use. Social media marketing is the way of the future and is not going to go away anytime soon. References Zarrella , D. (2009). The social media marketing book. Kerin, R. A., Hartley, S. W., & Rudelius, W. (2009). Marketing. (9 ed.). McGraw-Hill/Irwin McAdams, T., Neslund, N., & Zucker, K. D. (2008). Law, business, and society. (Ninth ed.). McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Essay on Health Care Center for the Homeless Changing...

Case Study Health Care center for the Homeless: Changing with the times Part I: Case Analysis A. size up the key problems/opportunities raised by the case Just as one bad apple can ruin the whole basket, an organization with one large problem can see the effects of that problem damage its entire organizational strategy. In the case of Health Care for the Homeless (HCCH), the lack of a strong marketing direction is what hinders this organizations ability to meet their organizational goals. The first problem can be summarized as a need for brand orientation. By definition, brand orientation puts the image and value of the brand at the core of all activity in order to affect more positive and effective outcomes. Currently, the†¦show more content†¦Finally, the last problem identified is the need for HCCH to widen its scope. If HCCH applied for a federal change in scope, from a health care facility for the homeless to one addressing community wide needs, this would allow HCCH to report this full client base to the government for increased fundin g. However, in light of its organizational problems, the situation surrounding HCCH has many opportunities. First, increased funding looks promising; as $875 billion dollars has of late been approved with the Affordable Care Act to challenge the unacceptable status quo of health care in all of America. Second, HCCH is in a good position to be repositioned- meaning that HCCH’s core values of service, equality, and trust are important values to its stakeholders and will only better be reinforced through an effective rebranding. The rebranding itself is of course the third opportunity as the professional advice sought generated enlightening ideas and will guarantee a quality solution. By leveraging these opportunities and strategically managing and mitigating its problems, HCCH has the potential to create a viable marketing plan that will help keep it moving towards its organizational goals. B. Identify the main strategic alternatives There are multiple strategic alternatives that are available for HCCH to employ. Ranging from: Narrowing the patientShow MoreRelatedStrategies And Activities1279 Words   |  6 Pagesutilized will include health education, regulatory activities, and environmental change. Activities to facilitate the process will include resume building/writing workshops, skill building courses, mock interview trials, and a homeless transportation service. These activities are aimed at empowering homeless individuals with the necessary resources needed to overcome current barriers they face in employment attainment. 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