An Overview of Health Care Management

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 An Overview of Health Care Management
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▪ Definition of Management
▪ Definition of organisation
▪ The Need for Managers and Their Perspectives
▪ Management: Functions, and Competencies
▪ Difference between management and leadership
▪ Styles of leadership in healthcare
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 Management
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Management
Management
Planning, organising, directing and controlling: the art of getting things done by and through
people (WHO, 1993: 5).
▪ Whenever group efforts are necessary to achieve anything, there is a need for management.
▪ While it is necessary to ensure that things get done, the manager should never forget that
without people, nothing will get done!

→ Health management is the application of management principles for health care.

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 Healthcare Management
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 Healthcare management is a growing profession with

increasing opportunities in both direct care and non–direct
care settings.

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Direct care settings Non direct care settings

Are not directly involved in providing

Are those organizations that care to persons needing health
provide care directly to a patient, services, but rather support the care
resident or client who seeks services of individuals through products and
from the organization services made available to direct
care settings

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 The Need for Managers and Their Perspectives
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 Health care organizations are complex and dynamic.

 The nature of organizations requires that managers provide leadership, as
well as the supervision and coordination of employees.
 In health care organizations, the scope and complexity of tasks carried out in
provision of services are so great that individual staff operating on their own
could not get the job done.
 The coordination of many highly specialized disciplines that must work
together seamlessly is required.
 Managers are needed to:
 Ensure organizational tasks are carried out in the best way possible to achieve organizational
goals
 and that appropriate resources, including financial and human resources, are adequate to
support the organization.

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 The Need for Managers and Their Perspectives
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 Health care managers are appointed to positions of authority,

where they shape the organization by making important
decisions.
 Decisions made by health care managers:
➢ Focus on ensuring that the patient receives the most appropriate, timely,
and effective services possible.
➢ Address achievement of performance targets that are desired by the
manager.

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 The Need for Managers and Their Perspectives
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 Managers must consider two domains as they carry out various tasks and
make decisions. These domains are termed external and internal domains
▪ The external domain:
➢ Refers to the influences, resources, and activities that exist outside the boundary of the
organization but that significantly affect the organization. Such as community
needs/demographics.
▪ The internal domain:
➢ Refers to those areas of focus that managers need to address on a daily basis, such as
ensuring the appropriate number and types of staff, and quality of care.
 Keeping the dual perspective requires significant balance and effort on the
part of management in order to make good decisions.

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 The six management functions:Function is a broad area of responsibility composed of many
activities aimed at achieving a predetermined objective.
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1. Planning 2. Organizing 3. Staffing

6. Decision
4. Controlling 5. Directing
making

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 The six management functions
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1. Planning: is the process of looking forward. This function requires the

manager to set a direction and determine what needs to be accomplished. It
means setting priorities and determining performance targets. This function
refers to How and Why? For example, developing policies and procedures.

2. Organizing: refers to effective utilization of resources to achieve

organisation objectives. This management function refers to the allocation of
tasks, teamwork assignments, and delegation of authority to meet the
deadline are critical components of this function.

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 The six management functions
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3. Staffing: This function refers to acquiring and retaining human resources. It

also refers to developing and maintaining the workforce through various
strategies and tactics. Provide the qualification needs and to have adequate
staffing maintain smooth workflow.

4. Controlling: This function refers to monitoring staff activities and

performance and taking the appropriate actions for corrective action to increase
performance. (comparing the actual performance with the standards of the
organisation). Controlling involves ensuring that performance does not deviate
from standards.

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 The six management functions:
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5. Directing: to guide, instruct, and oversee employees to achieve

predetermined objectives. The focus in this function is on initiating action in the
organization through 1) effective leadership 2) motivation 3) communication
with, subordinates. Providing guidance to employees to perform to the best of
their ability and capacity.

6. Decision making: making effective decisions based on consideration of

benefits and the drawbacks of alternatives.

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 Management: Definition, Functions, and Competencies
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 In order to effectively carry out these functions, the manager needs to possess
several key competencies.

 Katz (1974) identified key competencies of the effective manager, including

conceptual, technical, and interpersonal skills.

 The term competency refers to a state in which an individual has the adequate
ability or qualities to perform certain functions

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 Management: Functions, and Competencies
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 Conceptual skills:
 Are those skills that involve the ability to critically analyze and solve complex problems.
 Examples: a manager conducts an analysis of the best way to provide a service or determines a
strategy to reduce patient complaints regarding food service.
 Technical skills:
 Are those skills that reflect expertise or ability to perform a specific work task.
 Examples: a manager designs and implements modifications to a computer-based staffing model.
 Interpersonal skills:
 Are those skills that enable a manager to communicate with and work well with other individuals,
regardless of whether they are peers, supervisors, or subordinates.
 Examples: a manager counsels an employee whose performance is below expectation or
communicates to subordinates the desired performance level for a service for the next fiscal year.

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 Management Positions: The Control in the Organizational Hierarchy
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 Management positions within health care organizations exist at the lower,

middle, and upper levels; the upper level is referred to as senior
management.

 The hierarchy of management means that authority, or power, is delegated

downward in the organization, and lower-level managers have less
authority than higher-level managers, whose scope of responsibility is
much greater.

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 The hierarchy of management
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 Management Positions: The Control in the Organizational Hierarchy
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▪ Vertical structure:
 The most common organizational structure for health care
organizations is a functional organizational structure, whose key
characteristic is a pyramid-shaped hierarchy that defines the functions
carried out and the key management positions assigned to those
functions.

 The traditional structure.

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 Management Positions: The Control in the Organizational Hierarchy
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 Other administrative structures have been adopted by health care organizations,

usually in combination with a functional structure. These include:

1. Matrix or team-based models. This type of structure is often useful when skills
need to be shared across departments to complete a task and can allow companies
to utilize a wide range of talents and strengths.

2. Service line management models. Service-line management is a system in which

a hospital is divided into specialist clinical areas that are then managed, by
clinicians, as distinct operational units. Service-line management enables clinicians
and managers to plan service activities, set objectives and targets, monitor
operational activity and manage performance

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 Leadership versus Management
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▪ Though sometimes used interchangeably, these are two different concepts.

▪ In any business setting, there must be leaders as well as managers. But are these
the same people? Ans: Not necessarily
▪ There are leaders who are good managers and there are managers who are good
leaders, but usually neither case is the norm.

❖ Leadership is being able to see the present for what it really is, see the future for
what it could be and then take action to close the gap between today's reality and
the preferred future of tomorrow (Cummings, 2012).

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 Leadership versus Management
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▪ In today’s dynamic workplace, organizations need leaders to cope with new

challenges, and transform organizations in order to achieve a competitive
advantage in the marketplace.

▪ In addition, organizations need managers to maintain a smoothly

functioning workplace, and to utilize resources effectively.

▪ Finally, a well balanced organization should have a mix of leaders and

managers to succeed.

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 Styles of Leadership in Healthcare
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1. Coercive.
2. Participative.
3. Pacesetting.
4. Coaching.
(Buchbinder, Shanks, & Kite, 2019)

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 Coercive leadership (Autocratic)
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▪ Coercive leadership style power is used inappropriately to get a

desired response from a follower.
▪ This very directive format should probably not be used unless the
leader is dealing with a very problematic subordinate or is in an
emergency situation and needs immediate action.
▪ In healthcare settings over longer periods of time, three other
leadership styles could be used more effectively: participative,
pacesetting, and coaching.
▪ May contribute to rapid turnover.

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 Participative leadership (Democratic)
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▪ Many healthcare workers are highly trained, specialized

individuals who know much more about their area of expertise
than their supervisor.
▪ Healthcare workers will respond better and be more productive if
the leader is participative in his or her style.
▪ Asking for their input and giving them a voice in making decisions
will let them know they are respected and valued.

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 Pacesetting leadership
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▪ In a pacesetting style, a leader sets high performance standards for his or

her followers.

▪ This is very effective when the employees are self-motivated and highly
competent.

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 Coaching style
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▪ A coaching style is recommended for the very top personnel in an

organization.

▪ With this style, the leader focuses on the personal development of

his or her followers rather than the work tasks.

▪ This should be reserved for followers the leader can trust and those
who have proven their competence

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 Styles of Leadership in Healthcare
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▪ Most good leaders use a mix of styles.

▪ For example, a leader may take an autocratic approach to

implementing some changes, such as requiring compliance with
handwashing protocols, while taking a democratic or participatory
approach to other decisions, such as developing methods to decrease
surgical site infections.

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Thank You!
October 2024