Organizational structure in healthcare is a system that denotes how activities are carried out within an organization to achieve the goals of an organization
Purpose
Organizational structure in healthcare is a system that denotes how activities are carried out within an organization to achieve the goals of an organization. It defines lines of authority, scope of responsibilities, roles, how decision-making occurs and who makes them, and how communication flows within it. Inherent in these structures is the concept of how power is wielded and managed. In addition, certain leadership styles align with some structures better than others. How effectively these styles are used is related to how power is wielded and managed by those who use them. Recognizing and understanding these relationships helps the nurse leader to navigate and communicate within the organization more successfully.
The purpose of this assignment is twofold and includes (1) an exploration of the concept of management of power within organizational structures and the leadership styles used within them (CO 2,3); and (2) an opportunity to engage in scholarly inquiry through inclusion of empirical, scholarly evidence that supports the paper’s content (CO 4).
Course Outcomes
Through this assignment, the student will demonstrate the ability to:
- (CO 2) Synthesize management and leadership theories with a caring, holistic, collaborative approach in preparation of nurse administrator roles; utilizing critical thinking, communication skills and therapeutic intervention strategies, of the professional role related to health outcomes. (POs 2, 5)
- (CO 3) Compare and contrast the effect of organizational structures, e.g. organizational charts, standards, resources, philosophy, procedures, and culture on work processes and organizational and patient outcomes; utilizing critical thinking, interprofessional collaboration, communication skills and strategies of the professional role. (POs 1, 2)
- (CO 4) Apply the use of research in the evaluation of healthcare outcomes; utilizing critical thinking skills, and interprofessional research strategies. (PO 4)
Preparing the Paper
Case Scenario
Holyfield Healthcare Systems and Jonesville Regional Hospital, each with different organizational structures are merging. The senior leadership, of which you are a part, must decide on the overarching organizational structure that will be used for the newly formed healthcare system. This will impact the distribution of power that includes lines of authority, chain of command, and how operations will be carried out. Before the new structure can be adopted, a thorough exploration of the two existing structures, with attention paid to how power is distributed and wielded, must occur. In addition, leadership styles and their impact on power management within each organization will be explored.
Overview of Organizational Power: For this assignment you will begin by providing an overview of the types of organizational power, how power effects the health of an organization, and the impact of power on the work environment.
Organizational Structures and Power: From the four major organizational structures, Line, Matrix, Service-Line, and Flat, you will identify which one is currently used at each of the two healthcare systems (Holyfield and Jonesville). Then you will compare the characteristics of the two organizational structures*. The comparison will include a description of how power is distributed, managed, and wielded within each of the organizational structures. Then you will select one of the two structures to use at the newly merged system and provide substantive, evidence-based rationale for your choice. *Shared governance and the Magnet Model are not considered organizational structures for this assignment.
Leadership Styles and Power: Of the five major leadership styles**; authoritarian, democratic, laissez-faire, situational/contingency, and interactional; choose one used at each of the existing healthcare systems (Holyfield and Jonesville) and describe its characteristics. You will discuss how each leadership style is supported by the organizational structure chosen earlier for that system. As part of the discussion, you will include how power is distributed, managed, and wielded by each style. Finally, you will discuss your preference for the leadership style that is supported by your chosen organizational structure and provide evidence-based rationale for your choice. **Transformational and transactional leadership are broad types of leadership within which several of the styles fit. Your focus is to be on the styles, not the two broad types.
Requirements
- Use the following format outline/template to complete your assignment. Bold type used here is for emphasis only. Follow the most current edition of the APA manual guidelines for headings.
- Introduction (no heading)
- Statement of paper’s purposeOverview of paper’s content
- Types of organizational powerImpact of power on health of organizationImpact of power on work environment
- Identify, compare, and contrast two organizational structures of the scenario facilitiesDescribe how power in distributed, managed, and wielded within each structurePreferred organizational structure (of the two) for merged system with evidence-based rationale
- Compare two leadership styles supported by and used within the structures of the scenario facilitiesHow is power distributed, managed, and wielded by the two leadership styles within the preferred structure describedPreferred leadership style (of the two) for the merged system with evidence-based rationale
- Conclusion (heading, centered)
- Recap of paper’s purpose
- Summary of what was covered
- Introduction (no heading)
- A minimum of three (3) scholarly sources, no older than 5 years must be used for the paper. These should be relevant to nursing and should represent the majority of evidence provided in the paper. Other sources, such as textbooks, may be used in addition to these; however, they will not be counted as part of the scholarly source requirement.
- The paper should contain all elements required under the guidelines and provided by the outline.
- The outline provided should be followed for organizing the paper. Only level one headings are required. Remember, the introduction does not have a heading.
- A maximum of four (4) pages, excluding title and reference pages, is required.
- Microsoft (MS) Word is required for completing the assignment per Chamberlain policy. The paper should be written in third person, active voice. Refer to “Guidelines for Writing Professional Papers in Graduate Programs” found in the Student Resources Central of the course.
- The assignment is graded on quality of written communication using standard English grammar, sentence structure, use of scholarly evidence, and organization based on the required components. Quality is also measured by completeness of required content elements of the assignment
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