The Culture of Any Organization - Term Paper Example

? Organizational Structure and Culture of the Nursing of the Concerned 4 June Organizational Structure and Culture There is no denying the fact that the culture of any organization is to a great extent dependant on its structure. The structural features of any organization tend to be formal in their scope, tend to be inflexible, tend to center around contingencies and are conceptualized and retained through documentation, and to tend to have formally or informally, well defined rewards, punishments and rights that determine the individual or group behavior in that organization (Cunneen, 2008). In the context of the topic under consideration, the chosen health care organization is the Good Samaritan Hospital. The organizational structure at the Good Samaritan Hospital is flat. In the organization there is no provision of intervening management between the managers and the staff. The central idea governing the organization is that the experienced and well trained staff members are better equipped to take on the spot decisions if they are extended a greater autonomy and are involved in the overall decision making (Cunneen, 2008). In this organization the staff is seldom supervised by any intervening layers of management. Though this hospital is a large organization, it is possible to accommodate a flat organizational structure owing to the existence of varied independent units. The decision making process here is decentralized and encourages ample involvement of the employees. The flat structure of this hospital is the key to its supporting environment that fosters a client centered care. Greater autonomy extended to the employees necessitates ample emphasis on learning and training (Cunneen, 2008). The employees here feel that they are amply empowered to innovate and resort to out of the box thinking that directly bolsters the quality of patient care (Cunneen, 20080. The staff has a direct access to the requisite resources required to extend an improved patient care with ample opportunities to develop as a professional. The staff is positively encouraged to look for the viable improvements and opportunities and resorting to new procedures and innovations aimed at improving patient care receive minimal resistance. The staff members are always encouraged to understand the patient needs and requirements are expected to take ownership of the issues and problems mentioned by the patients. The Management Information System resorted to at the Good Samaritan Hospital has well defined goals that are to enhance and streamline communication amongst employees, to bolster the organizational goals and objectives, to facilitate the exchange of complex information across the organization, reduce expenses by curtailing manual activities and to develop an objective system for saving and organizing information (Stanford, 2007). As, at this hospital, there are minimal intervening levels of management, the staff deployed at the specific units is required to report directly to the specific unit in charge. This speeds up the decision making processes and facilitates autonomy and a relaxed work environment (Stanford, 20070. However, the problem with this information structure is that as the entire unit members are required to report to the unit in charge, the bosses and managers here are required to take care of too many things. Going by the fact that the Good Samaritan Hospital has a flat organizational structure, it automatically facilitates a more open communication as compared to many other health care organizations. However, with so many staff members reporting to so few managers, many a times this communication approach give way to much chaos (Stanford, 2007). The Hospital Director has an open door policy and any employee can approach the top management with ease and convenience. However, as this hospital is expanding with time, the Director has empowered his PA to manage communication and to filter and classify the communications reaching his office. It could be assumed that many a time the Director must be finding it difficult to prioritize the varied concerns. In the context of decision making, the organizational structure of this hospital being flat, both the management and the staff resort to an adaptable and flexible approach (Stanford, 2007). A high degree of flexibility assures that the staff members are mostly free to take decisions on as needed basis, which makes it much easier to help and serve the patients. Going by the fact that the individual staff members have more power, with minimal interference from the superiors, the staff members have the convenience to take decisions immediately and on the spot, as and when the need be (Stanford, 2007). The decision making processes at the Good Samaritan Hospital suffer from minimal bureaucratic hassles, thereby according much ease and freedom to both the staff members and the customers. No wonder the staff here is very agile and highly mobile. As is evident from the organizational chart of the Good Samaritan Hospital, the reporting protocols in this prestigious healthcare institution tends to be more horizontal. The approach of the organization towards reporting and communication is team based, with minimal of hierarchies. There is one director that comprises the top management with specific units being supervised by respective supervisors. The staff members deployed in a particular unit is expected to report to the respective unit supervisors. The supervisors of the varied units at the hospital report to a single Director with no intervening managers expect the Director’s PA who is expected to prioritize the access of varied supervisors. As the Director and the supervisors do not afford to deal with all the challenges in the organization on their own, ample stress is laid on the delegation of varied responsibilities and issues. To put it in a more pragmatic context, the flat organizational structure at the Good Samaritan Hospital is in direct response to the needs and requirements of the social pool it intends to serve. The hospital is over stressed and a need to get every decision authorized and sanctioned by the senior managers will not only curtail the effectiveness of the organization, but will hamper the quality of patient care. Hence, a flat organizational structure allows for prompt and effective decision making during the rush hours and allows the organization to make an optimal use of the scarce resources at its disposal. However, it goes without saying that during some emergencies, the lower staff do feels the need to have inputs and advice from the supervisors and it does manage to get it. Yet, things get difficult when the patient density at a specific unit tends to get high. Sometimes, the supervisors end up being crowded with a lot many requests for help and assistance. There is no denying the fact that most of the supervisors at the varied units are comfortable with the optimal employee participation in organizational decision making and employee empowerment. However, there are some old time supervisors, who though being repositories of experience and information, are affiliated towards a more authoritarian approach towards management (Cropanzano &Kacmar, 1995). The approach of these supervisors goes contrary to the natural flow and inclinations of the organization and gives way to counterproductive organizational politics 9Cropanzano & Kacmar, 1995). These senior supervisors also hesitate from delegating responsibilities to the new staff members, which restricts the skill enhancement opportunities accessible to them. The flat organizational structure of the Good Samaritan Hospital is in consonance with its aims and objectives and the requirements of the community it serves. Still, the old timers should be discouraged from pursuing a leadership approach that is contrary to the natural flow of the organization. Besides, initiative should be taken to delegate more responsibilities to the new staff members. This will fast augment the talent pool at the disposal of the hospital and will enhance the quality of patient care. References Cropanzano, Russell S & Kacmar, K. (1995). Organizational Politics, Justice and Support. London: Praeger. Cunneen, Patrick. (2008). Organizational Structure. New York: Blackhall Publishing Ltd. Stanford, Naomi. (2007). Guide to Organization Design. New York: Economist Books. Read More