An organization chart is a diagram that is drawn to clearly show the formal arrangement of its department and the way its segments interrelate with each other.
The structure helps the hospital to delegate duties to all its employees. It is paramount to delegate these duties so as to avoid wastage of human resources for example a disorganized hospital structure may result in some nurses lying idle in the hospital premises. Human life is very valuable and there is no room for mistakes when handling it, thus portraying the importance of a well-organized organizational structure (Loveridge & Cummings, 2006).
The organizational structure is also responsible for dividing activities; this prevents any confusion in the performance of duties hence avoiding any conflict that may arise when if the duties were not delegated accordingly. This organizational structure also helps in the overall management of the hospital; this makes it easier to follow up on nurses’ progress and their performance levels. The hospital thus is able to monitor the nurses, this results in optimum services. There are some limitations in the organization structure as it doesn’t show all the needed information in an organization. This includes information regarding the informal structure in the hospital organization, yet the informal structure is of more significance when compared to the formal sector (Marquis & Huston, 2008).
The organization structures vary from hospital to hospital; large hospitals have complex organizational structures as compared to small organizations. The common categorical grouping in an organization structure includes the organization services, the informal services, the therapeutic services, and the support services. All of which have to work together to deliver optimum services.
The type of organizational structure of Hartford hospital can be defined as shared governance (Caramanica 2004). This term denotes the concepts of equalitarianism and shared professional accountability as the ruling prince piles of organization of this hospital setting. In the frames of a health care organization, this model presupposes partnership relationships between systems and services. It is an example of a successful replacement of the authority-based principle of governance with an accountability-based model.
This structure creates an environment of support for client-centered care, allowing greater access of management and staff to each other. Joining their efforts for setting the strategies and shifting emphasis from competition to collaboration, the medical workers can concentrate on their clients’ needs and expectations for providing high-quality health care services. The nursing hierarchy has been flattened significantly, defining the roles and accountabilities of the participants of the structure more precisely and minimizing the risks of committing inadmissible professional mistakes because of lack of organization. Handling the managerial and organizational problems, nurses can focus on meeting their primary goal of satisfying the needs of the patient population.
The use of the innovative automated information systems in the hospital allows enhancing the effectiveness of the cooperation strategies among the staff for decreasing the impact of the human factor on the intervention outcome and minimizing the risks of committing a mistake because of information deficiency or misunderstanding.
The organizational structure of the hospital is aimed at involving all the representatives of the staff in the decision-making process, providing them with plenty of opportunities to express their opinions, toeak, and to be heard. As a part of the hospital’s philosophy, this aspect allows uniting the efforts of the personnel for setting the goals and achieving them. Through partaking in the development of the strategies is not a must, it is a natural process that is predetermined with the peculiarities of the organizational structure of the institution. Willing it or not, all nurses to a greater or smaller extent contribute to the philosophy of the organization by communicating with their colleagues even during their daily routine work.
The productive communication between managers and nurses and managers are intended to enhance the effectiveness of the work of the organization. Because of the implementation of the model of shared governance, the role of the nursing manager or administrator has been changed to that of controlling and supporting the nursing staff. The staff is expected to be aware of their functions and responsibilities, excluding the demand for the outer overcontrol of the personnel. At the same time, reducing the distances between the various levels of the organization, and making the direct communication of the managers and nurses possible, the model of shared governance allows taking advantage of professional communication, making it more productive.
Flattening the nursing hierarchy, this model does not diminish the importance of both formal and informal lines of reporting for the purpose of meeting the demands of professional accountability. Participating in the processes of decision-making within the institution, all the nurses are enabled to take chances of further professional growth and career promotion. Given the role of legitimate leadership to the staff nurse, this approach presupposes a high level of self-control and accountability of individual nurses.
The social institutes and cultural context have a significant impact on the development of the health care strategies appropriate for meeting the demands of contemporary society and coming up to the expectations of health care clients. The contemporary evidence-based practice requires reviewing the existing literature on particular issues before making some concrete decisions and proceeding to the realization of the health care plans in practice. Considering the current level of development and the recent achievements in the sphere of nursing is important for choosing the most effective organization models and strategies. The cultural aspect is significant for considering the patients’ preferences and integrating the principles of the client-centered health care into the philosophy of the institution.
The historical processes of the replacement of the authority-based model with the accountability-based one is related to the issues of the generational differences between the representatives of various age categories working on different positions in the staff. Getting accustomed to the obsolete model of organization of the institution and the working process itself, the representatives of the older generation may have difficulties in adapting to the realities of the transformed model, new priorities of the institution and new accountability principles.
Still, the proper organization of training and the working process will be helpful for raising their awareness of the benefits of the innovative approach to the structure of the nursing hierarchy, distribution of the functions and responsibilities and fulfilling the principle of accountability within the hospital setting.
The implementation of the model of shared governance at Hardford hospital setting has proven to be effective for meeting the requirements of the client-centered approach to providing the health care services. Further involvement of the nursing personnel in the processes of decision making along with flattening the nursing hierarchy is recommended for HArdford for improving its structural organization.
References
Caramanica, L. (2004). Shared governance: Hartford hospital’s experience. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 9 (1). Web.
Loveridge, C. & Cummings, S. (2006). Nursing Management in the New Paradigm. London: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Marquis, B. & Huston, C. (2008). Leadership Roles and Management Functions in Nursing: Theory and Application. New York: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.