Leadership and Nursing Care Management

This paper aims to analyze the leadership methods, budgeting process, employee recruitment and retention, employee evaluation and management practice of Cambridge Hospitals. The study postulates that Cambridge University Hospital is an equal employer and provides opportunities for career development. There are various strategies of hiring, retaining, and evaluating the employees. The management and leadership strategies aim at driving the hospital toward its vision and objectives (CUH, 2011).

Introduction

                A leader is a person who has authority and is followed by others. Leadership, therefore, is the process of putting up a technique for people to throw in their efforts to make something happen .In a nutshell, leadership is perceived to mean the capacity to put, in order for a group of people to accomplish a common objective. The kind of a leader that an organization has will determine the direction that the organization will take in terms of development. Visionary and exemplary leaders will steer an organization to prosperity and success, while inefficient leaders will drive the organization to disarray and disorder (McGrath, 1962).

            The subjects under a leader will often derive their modes of behaviour from their leader. They always look upon the leader to give them directions and instructions that are aimed at steering the organization forward (McGrath, 1962). In Cambridge University Hospital, Mr. Owen Fritz, is the lead nurse. All the nurses in the hospital receive directions and instructions from him. It is imperative upon the other nurses to follow instructions from the lead nurse because failure to this will cause conflicts and chaos within the hospital. When subjects do not listen to their leader, the organization is bound to split and splinter groups will start to emerge. These splinter groups are bound to create disorder and mistrust within the organization, and due to this, the organization is bound to fail (CUH, 2011).

Leadership and managerial styles in Cambridge University Hospital

            Just like many organization, Cambridge University Hospital employs a leadership strategy that is beneficial and adds value to the organization. Mr. Owen Fritz, the lead nurse, is perceived as a visionary leader by his subjects. His attributes and qualities enabled him to get that position in the hospital. As a leader, Mr. Fritz is all round and flexible and takes his time to listen to others before making a decision.

            As a leader, he has a significant relationship with all the co-workers, and the kind of decisions he makes are beneficial and vital to the organization. The kind of leadership style that Mr. Fritz employs in the organization is participative or democratic style. This kind of style necessitates proper administration as it allows ample decision making by the workers. He does not make decisions on his own; therefore, he consults first before making any move. Consultation is a very essential element in decision making because lack of consultation is perceived as an element of dictatorship (Huber, 2005).

            Efficient leadership strategies are essential in an organization since it defines who the leader really is. The strategies portray the true picture and character of the leader in terms of personal attributes and vision. A democratic leader builds up strategies aimed at developing the staff and developing strategies of staff evaluation. Democratic leadership style makes it necessary to define goals for the staff members and also allows the members of the staff to develop and get promotions. Achievements are distinguished and rewarded accordingly. Highly experienced staff members make it easy for this leadership style to hold, since there is improved coordination and communication in the organization (Huber, 2005).

            Democratic style of leadership is most applicable when team building is required in the organization. When the staff members are needed in decision making process, this kind of leadership is relevant. This kind of leadership style makes it possible for easy problem solving and objective decision making in the organization. The structuring of this kind of leadership style is easier and cheap, even though certain organizations fear to adopt this style because when a simple mistake is made, it can take time to restore the organization back to normal (McGrath, 1962). For this kind of leadership style to be stable, the leader should provide adequate time for the subjects to contribute to the major decision making processes. All their (subjects) views and observations need to be taken to consideration before a judgment is passed.

            Before Cambridge University Hospital adopted the democratic leadership style, several factors were explored. Some of  the factors included the goals, objectives and values of the organization; the personalities and backgrounds of the members of staff; and the background of the leader regarding his/her knowledge of the organization.

Budgeting Process of the Organization

                A budget process entails how an organization constructs and endorses a budget. Budgeting is a long process as it entails distributing expenditure equivalently among the various departments in the organization. In budgeting, capital is apportioned in a manner that enables the organization to achieve its financial objectives. In Cambridge University Hospital, budgeting is set up to cover all the financial shortcomings and also prepare the organization to meet the future investment plans in a focused manner. The practicability of budgeting is in line with the long term strategic plans of the organization. When budgeting is done in an appropriate manner, all the financial goals of the company will be captured. The budget guides the organization to accomplish investment plans since only relevant things are included in the budget (Porter & Olmsted, 2004).

            Just like many organizations, the budgeting process in Cambridge University Hospital is initiated from the Finance Department. The Finance Department designs spreadsheets that aim at guiding the departmental head to put in order a good quality budget. After the Finance Department has designed the spreadsheets, the hospital Administrator sits in a meeting with the various departmental heads, who submit their budget estimates for the next financial year. After that, the Finance Department works out the costs estimates of the various proposals submitted by the departmental heads as they prepare the budget. After the budget is completed, it is forwarded to the hospital administrator and other top managers for evaluate and endorsement. The last stage of the budget process is the approval of the budget. The hospital administrator agrees to the request by the Finance Department concerning the list of expenditures proposed (World Health Organization, 2005).

            Budgeting plays a very vital role in the organization as it sets out economic objectives to steer the organization forward. The budget has to be endorsed by the administration before being implemented. Different departments have different needs; therefore, the budget is not the same for each department. A proper budgeting ensures that the organization’s goals and policies are preserved and maintained. This is beneficial to the organization since the hospital is viewed by the society to be playing a major role in restoring health and promoting safety in the society.

Staffing Policies

            Cambridge University Hospital offers a competitive field in terms of job creation and opportunities. Every staff is deployed to a department in which they play their roles objectively. Each department has a leader or a head, thus, all the workers who are under a leader report to that specific leader. Before a person is selected to be a departmental head, he/she should have adequate experience and appropriate leadership capabilities. Cambridge University Hospital is an equal employer, and any person who fits the specific recruitment requirements is offered equal opportunities. Job trainings are offered for the members of staff to improve their experience and exposure. Seminars and workshops are also applied sometimes so as to bring the workers up to date with the current innovations in the health sector.

Recruitment and Retaining of Staff

            Cambridge Hospital has made a good rapport with Cambridge University, and this has helped to advance its candidate pool. Occasionally, Cambridge Hospital advertises for vacancies that exist within the institution via professional associations, newspapers, or internet. Sometimes, the hospital provides opportunities for the employees to engage in seminars or workshops where they can meet potential future employees. Another policy of recruitment by the hospital is to first consider the internal candidates, meaning that, when vacancies occur, the human resource department will first check whether any internal employees meet the requirements to fill up the vacancies before sourcing from somewhere else. This helps in raising the motivation for the staff as they have a sense that their skills and contributions to the organization are recognized and welcomed in the hospital. There is an interview process that aims at exposing the true self of the potential employees. The potential candidates that make it up to the interview always have a similar job experience and working environment in an identical organization, thus they are usually assessed as per their past contributions in their parent organizations.

            Cambridge University Hospital is a great employer and due to this, its employees have a sense of superiority as they always boast about the way the hospital pays them well, offers a good working environment, and provides on-job-trainings. When other potential employees get to know about this, they get attracted to the organization, and end up seeking employment in the same hospital. In Cambridge University Hospital, the employees too are engaged in the recruitment process of new employees. They can be called upon to help in examining the eligibility of potential employees and make suggestions on who-fits-where. Sometimes they are included in the interview panels to help in selecting the best suited employees. The employees who are involved in interviewing new candidates always assist the new recruits to settle fast in the organization. This fosters growth and continuity by encouraging commitment to work.

            Additionally, Cambridge University Hospital provides an attractive salary package to its employees. The salary package is far much better than the competitors’ packages. This is a strategic move aimed at catching the attention of the best employees in the job market. The salary package will not only attract the employees, but will also give them a strong reason to stay in the organization. The hospital has an excellent breed of employees because they always check their references keenly. This is aimed at averting future trouble with the staff. A background check is done to ensure that the potential candidates are legitimate and are for real. The benefit of this is to ensure that the human resource department hires workers who can really be instrumental in fostering the growth prospects of the hospital.

            The website for Cambridge University Hospital is designed in a way that it exposes the mission, vision, objectives, morals, and services of the institution. Thus, everything about the hospital is summarized just within one page. In the website, there is a ‘careers’ section that advertises the vacancies that exist within the organization and how interested persons can apply for such vacancies. Therefore, the potential workers do not need to physically come to the hospital to inquire about the vacancies, instead, they can just check up on the website at home. Through this strategy, the hospital has employed a large number of workers.

Cambridge University Hospital has succeeded as a result of its efficient strategies adopted in recruitment process. These strategies foster growth and accountability of workers, which are very instrumental to steer the hospital in a positive direction. Cambridge University Hospital creates a working environment that caters for the needs of current employees and the future possible employees, thus, it offers an exciting and interesting working environment .

Evaluation of Staff

            Staff evaluation is an exercise conducted by the hospitals to check on the efforts contributed by each employee toward the realization of the hospital’s objectives and missions. This is aimed at keeping the employees on track with the organization’s efforts of becoming the leading employer. Before evaluating the employees, the hospital always evaluate itself first in terms of its goals, values, or mission. This move is aimed at improving the morale of the workers as they are motivated. Evaluation of staff is all about checking the progress of the employees and verifying that all resources are available to support the staff in achieving the hospital’s goals.

            Evaluation as a process helps to keep the staff on their toes as it provides a competitive edge within the organization. Individuals who do not perform well cannot be offered promotions or in some cases, they are given early retirements or even demoted from superior posts. Everybody must deliver because one of the many goals of the hospital is for all the workers to work as a team. Therefore if a weak link is found, then the individual is considered to be underperforming in the organization which in reality slows the hospital down in terms of performance or execution of tasks.

            Evaluation of staff is helpful as it necessitates improvements of areas that are perceived to be of no benefit to the organization, for instance, the workers have a chance to put across areas the areas that need improvement or polishing. Thus, it is incumbent upon the organization to listen to the cries of their staff so as to keep the organization on its toes.  Evaluation is also necessary since it builds the notion of team effort to all the players in the organization. Since a staff member will not accept to be left behind, everybody will strive to be at the top, in order to fight for the limited promotion positions.

Management Style

Cambridge University Hospital has adopted a ‘Management by Objectives’ approach, whereby it develops committed employees who are aware of their roles and services and the mission of the institution. Therefore, the employees are motivated to work hard to achieve the mission and objective of the institution. This management approach sets out SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time bound) objectives to the employees and it also improves communication and coordination as feedbacks are received constantly. There is also constant participation of all the employees as they are involved in setting targets or goals to be achieved by the institution, so one does not feel left out.

Specialization is the main focus in the organizational structure. Each department consists of a group of employees who have the same skills or specialization. The top management, mainly the director, is the overall coordinator of the institution. Therefore, the roles people play in this institution is the main basis of classification to the various departments. The chain of command is straight and efficient and there is a great chance for the employees to develop both vertically and horizontally in the organizational tree.

The employees are so attached to the values of the institution which makes them have a strong culture. This is because the values are so precise and the employees have no difficulty in embracing them. The management is strong and efficient and provides quality leadership. No employee is more equal than the other, thus they are all treated equally and fairly with much respect. The directors are all available and reachable. The employees are committed to their work and they strive to maintain the values and the morals of the institution at all times.

            I would consider myself very lucky if I get a golden chance to work in Cambridge University Hospital because the working environment is very nice. The hospital is an equal employer and pays good salary to the staff members.

Summary

            Cambridge University Hospital employs a leadership strategy that is beneficial and adds value to the organization. Efficient leadership strategies are essential in an organization since it defines who the leader really is. The strategies portray the true picture and character of the leader in terms of personal attributes and vision.

            In Cambridge University Hospital, budgeting is set up to cover all the financial shortcomings and to prepare the organization to meet the future investment plans in a focused manner. The practicability of budgeting is in line with the long term strategic plans of the organization. When budgeting is done in an appropriate manner, all the financial goals of the company will be captured. In addition, Cambridge University Hospital offers a competitive field in terms of job creation and opportunities. Every staff is deployed to a department in which they play their roles objectively. Each department has a leader or a head, thus, all the workers who are under a leader report to that specific leader. Evaluation of staff is helpful as it necessitates improvements of areas that are perceived to be of no benefit to the organization; for instance, the workers have a chance to put across the areas that need improvements or polishing.

            Cambridge University Hospital has adopted a ‘Management by Objectives’ approach, whereby it develops committed employees who are aware of their roles and services and the mission of the institution. The management is strong and efficient and provides quality leadership. No employee is more equal than the other, thus they are all treated equally and fairly with much respect.