The Case
ABC Day Care center is an institution that supports and offers day care services for 30 young adults between the ages of 16 and 25 years. This institution has been operating for five years now and deals with individuals who are suffering from sexual health, substance abuse, mental illness, and other physiological and psychological disorders. The employees at this institution are highly experienced and qualified and comprise of:
- A social worker
- A nurse
- A youth Worker
- A psychiatrist
These individuals work together to meet the needs of their patients.
However, the institution is currently facing an operational crisis due to the reduction of its working hours. It is evident that the overall quality of services offered at the center will be reduced due to the limited time that the personnel will perform their respective roles. Additionally, the old manager who encouraged all staff members to participate in decision making has been replaced with a new one that has taken away this right from staff and views them as subordinates creating tension within the work place. This has affected the quality of work, increased medical errors, and reduced the number of patients at the facility.
Theory Analysis
From a critical point of view, it is evident that the management of ABC Day Care has drastically changed; this negatively affected its operation, performance, and administration. Due to the changing environment institutions are operating in, financial constraints became one of the main challenges (Cloffi 2000). The management usually comes up with different means of addressing this problem. In the case of ABC Day Care, the management resulted in reducing the operating hours of the staff. Despite the fact that many institutions that used this approach became successful in the long-run, the manner in which ABC Day Care implemented the change was neither effective nor efficient, especially after considering the introduction of a new manager who changed the organizational values and culture of the institution, which caused a lot of friction within the work place. Therefore, the main problem the ABC Day Care is facing does not arise from reduced hours but from the poor management of the institution itself.
The Belbin’s Team Role theory is the best approach that can be used to solve the challenges that this institution is facing. This theory was put forward by Meredith Belbin and aims at enhancing the strengths and eliminating the weaknesses of individuals working together to achieve a common vision (Northouse 2015). From the description of the scenario, it is evident that teamwork is the greatest strength the employees of this institution had. At this level of operation, the employees had a favorable working environment and communication among them was effective, hence, encouraging them to do their best in order to achieve the set goals and objectives. However, the reduction in working hours and the introduction of a new manager changed everything.
In this respect, the management needs to apply the theory so that it can effectively utilize the limited resources available at the facility (Cloffi 2000). The management needs to put in place measures that will enhance communication at all levels, encourage all employees to be involved in the decision making process, and create a favorable working environment that will not only encourage the employees to work effectively but also give them a sense of belonging and loyalty towards the institution. By doing so, the management will develop a strong team that strives hard to meet the needs of its patients. In the process, it will be able to realize the set goals and objectives of the institution through effective and efficient utilization of the available resources.
References
Cloffi, J 2000, ‘Nurses’ experiences of making decisions to call emergency assistance to their patients’, Journal of Advanced Nursing, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 108-14
Northouse, G 2015, Introduction to Leadership: Concept and Practices, Sage, New York