The Context in which Health and Social Care Managers Operate is as Important as the Decisions they Make - Essay Example

Management also finds its application in the social and health care industry because it is a versatile discipline. Managers are present at almost every level of a health care providing facility. This brings us to the context of management at a health care facility. Managers in a health care industry, also referred to as healthcare administrators, perform the typical functions expected of a manager. These functions include planning, leading, directing and controlling the involved health care services.

Healthcare managers work closely with other medical service professionals like physicians and economists in ensuring effective delivery of healthcare services to the society. In their practice, healthcare administrators base their professional duties to healthcare policies operating within a given social setting. According to Stephen (2007), health and social policies guides health professionals in their healthcare provision responsibilities. At this juncture, it is procedural to understand management from an academic perspective.

According to Armstrong (1999), scholars with potential of developing their careers in the healthcare administration industry receive training concerning theories, practices and policies within the actual healthcare management environment. These educational processes include evaluation of different cases, which aims at helping a student to develop an insight on the application of management theories in real life situations. This brings us to the context of the case study. The case on Ellen’s story provides an illustration on how management applies during actual delivery of healthcare services.

Ellen finds herself in a nursing home after developing a health complication. On arrival at the nursing home, Ellen had given up on her life. She was unable to respond to her needs and decided to life a life of dependency. However, healthcare providers at the nursing home helped Ellen to recover. Ellen recovered upon completion of her stay at the nursing home. Ellen is in a position to perform some of her hobbies and economic activities which includes knitting. In addition, Ellen came out confidently and started engaging in social activities like sports.

The underlying issue in this case concerns the provision of healthcare and the management activities that facilitate effective delivery of healthcare to the society. According to Armstrong (1999), efficient management services during healthcare service delivery is responsible for the successful recovery of Ellen. Ellen was in a compromising state of desperation when she entered the nursing home. Medical providers acknowledged that Ellen would require intensive and time consuming healthcare in order to help her recover.

Upon acknowledgement of this fact, the responsible professionals, who included the facility administrators and nurses decided to commit their efforts towards helping Ellen recover. This context illustrates a situation concerning the effectiveness in healthcare management and quality service delivery to the society. In the context of Ellen’s case, the main contextual factors with respect to the underlying subject of healthcare are healthcare administration and quality of services delivered to the involved parties.

The entire case highlights the elements of management and service provision. Since this essay deals with the aspect of management, we will appraise these contextual factor