Behavioural Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Behavioural Studies - Essay Example The definition highlights that organisational stakeholders will have similar overall goals and objectives but there will be some key differences not only in the importance placed on each but also how the organisation achieves them. An organisation's stakeholders can include an almost endless list of employee's, suppliers, customers, shareholders etc that can be broken down and sorted into various groups with independent goals and objectives designed to meet their own view of effective organisational behaviour. An example of stakeholder conflict can be seen at The Countryside Agency, a government body with the aim of 'improving the quality of the Countryside for those who use it and the quality of life for people in rural communities'. Simply by dissecting the aim of the body it is possible to see that there are clearly conflicting interests at an organisational level because it is trying to satisfy two major external groups at the outset by balancing the needs of those who live in Th e Countryside with those who visit it. Internal stakeholders such as the finance department view their role as ensuring that any public money that has been spent was justifiable and recorded and stored accurately. This is often to the annoyance of the Policy work areas who feel stronger about improving the countryside than the bureaucratic process of justifying and recording public spending often seeing the financial procedures as a time consuming hindrance. This conflict means that each stakeholder will have a different view of whether the organisation is successful or not and will have different solutions to what they individually see as being the key obstacles to success. When looking at how the management of people can contribute to effective organisational behaviour, development and good health through leadership it is important to establish the differences between management and leadership. Some theorists hold the opinion that leadership is one area of the management role and in order to be a successful manager they must possess some leadership skills by default. The argument for differentiating between leaders and managers was started by Zaleznik (1977, 2004) in 'Manager and Leaders: Are they different' where he argued "the difference between managers and leaders lies in the conceptions they hold, deep in their psyches, of chaos and order". A more recent argument suggests that "a manager can be regarded as someone who by definition is assigned a position of leadership in an organisation" (Buchanan and Huczynski, 1985). This definition suggests that managers are in positions of leadership but may not necessarily be leaders. The definition therefore suggests that leadership is in some way an extension of the management function. In 'what leaders really do' Kotter (1990, 2001) argues that "Leadership is not necessarily better than management. Rather leadership and management are two distinctive and complementary systems of action. Each has its own function and characteristic activities". In the article Kotter identifies what he sees as the key functions of leadership and management. Management roles are concerned with "bringing a degree of order and consistency to key dimensions like the quality and profitability of products" (Kotter, 1990, 2001). Key aspects of the management

Measuring performance standards Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Measuring performance standards - Research Paper Example This paper will discuss the hospital’s patient falls, hospital acquired infection, and patient satisfaction regarding data collection. It includes other examples of data management and display tools in performance and quality improvement and their use in healthcare. Patient Falls The term ‘fall’ of a patient describes â€Å"a person coming to rest inadvertently on the ground or at a lower level† (Registered Nurses Association of Ontario, 2007, p. 2). Whether the resulted injury is mild or severe, health institutions recognize how it affects the patients and could lead to other complications, aside from the current illness the patient possesses. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (2010), falls represented nearly 47% of all safety reports and aggregated events in 2003 comprising about 11% of all root cause analyses. The statistics is relatively high and consequently calls for immediate prevention. In order to properly monitor and prevent the patient falls, the hospital needs data designed to assess this problem. According to the Veterans Health Administration National Center for Patient Safety (n.d.), there are three simple rules to carry out proper measures: (a) the data should contain a numerator and a denominator to determine the ratio of patient falls and persons to assist intervention; (b) the data should â€Å"specify the time in which the information [is] collected† (p. 70), making the range of time for each set of data equal, which is one of the factors of accuracy; (c) the data should mention measurement strategy (as cited in Joint Commission Resources, Inc [JCR], 2006). Appropriate strategies are a vital part of a reliable patient falls’ data (as cited in Joint Commission Resources, Inc [JCR], 2006). Furthermore, a reliable data is a product of a long-term research. For example, Morse’s (2008) research about patient falls where it took her â€Å"32 years to collect enough data† (p. xi). Therefore, a data collection that ranges in weeks would not be reliable, but consistent data collection for a period of predetermined years would provide a solid base to design interventional strategies. Hospital Acquired Infection Hospital acquired infection is one of the dangers originated by poor sanitation of hospital equipments and improper use and disposal of hospital waste. The World Health Organization (2002) stated, â€Å"infections acquired in health care settings are among the major causes of death and increased morbidity among hospitalized patients† (p. 1). Since these infections affect both developed and underdeveloped countries, all medical centers should be aware of its prevention. The American Hospital Association Resource Center (2010) recorded about 42,000 adult patients acquired infection during their hospital stay. It is, then, reasonable to apply appropriate measures to prevent such incident. Prevalence and incidence data provide the best way to mon itor hospital-acquired infection. The data should contain all the records that reported incidents of infection to assure reliability. In that way, there will be accurate surveillance about the improvement of the hospital with regard to these cases. In some countries, including the United States, data reporting of hospital-acquired infection is mandatory and reported on a quarterly basis (Horton & Parker, 2002). Patient Survey Satisfaction One of the determinants of the quality of service is patient satisfaction. As Shelton (2000) explained,