Staff-Development in Healthcare Essay
Changing economic conditions are commonplace in the current global marketplace. With these changing economic conditions come changes in the services needed. This leads, in turn, to a need for staff development to adequately provide these new services. This staff development must be fiscally sound in order for the organization to remain viable while preparing staff members to provide these services. In this assignment, you will interview a health care executive to determine how to navigate this uncertain terrain of economics and staff development.Staff-Development in Healthcare Essay
General Requirements:
Use the following information to ensure successful completion of the assignment:Staff-Development in Healthcare Essay
You will need to set an appointment of approximately 30 minutes with a health care executive. Plan well ahead to ensure that you can secure an appointment and have adequate time to complete the assignment.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
Doctoral learners are required to use APA style for their writing assignments. The APA Style Guide is located in the Student Success Center.
This assignment requires that at least two additional scholarly research sources related to this topic, and at least one in-text citation from each source be included.
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Directions:
Interview a health care executive at any type of health care organization. This should be done in person, by phone, or by video conferencing and not via email exchange. During the interview, ask the executive the following questions:
What was the greatest economic challenge you faced in your position over the last 5 years?
What changes were necessary as a result of that challenge?
What staff development strategies were used to equip staff to adapt to the required changes?Staff-Development in Healthcare Essay
How was the staff development funded?
How did staff react to the change? What were the positives and negatives seen by the staff?
Write a paper of (1,000-1,250 words) that synthesizes the findings of your interview. Do the following in your paper:
Identify the individual who was interviewed. Provide the individual’s name, company, title, and e-mail address.
Summarize the challenge discussed in the interview.
Summarize the changes that resulted from the challenge.
Summarize the reaction of the staff to the changes.
Provide a research-based evaluation of the changes that were made. Were they necessary and appropriate? Why or why not? Did the changes meaningfully contribute to the organization’s sustainability? Why or why not?
Provide a research-based evaluation of the staff development that was conducted as a result of the changes. What staff development strategies were used? Were these appropriate? Why or why not? Was the staff development appropriately funded? Why or why not? (Benchmarks 12.3: Analyze strategies of fiscally sound staff development.)Staff-Development in Healthcare Essay
You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.
Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages.Staff-Development in Healthcare Essay
Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor.
The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument.
What is training and development?
Training and development is a concept in management which allow the organizational activity to be aimed directly at performance of individuals, groups and the organization (Landale, 1999). There are three main activities under the guise of training and development which are interlinked – training, education and development. It is not just the role of the employer to identify training and development needs, the employee also needs to be able to identify their role in the organization and how they can effectively develop themselves (Landale, 1999). Van der Bossche et al (2010) acknowledge that due to the rapid advancements in technology and knowledge require the individual to participate in personal and professional development. The development of talent within the organization is necessary for competitive advantage to exist, it is also necessary for the retention of employees. The organization needs to identify talent and to support the individuals through all their training needs Staff-Development in Healthcare Essay
Staff Training and Development is described as
the necessity to cover the essential skills used in the everyday work situation. Within the promotion of training and development, the individual needs to be focused on the goal of developing their skills, knowledge and understanding of how the organization exists within its environment (Jerling, 1996). If the manager can motivate the employee in their work and can encourage development then the employee will see it in a positive light and will work towards the goals.I I Background
Having effective employees is instrumental to the success of any business organization. This is the case because of the high employee turnover rates and high unemployment rates evident in most countries. Since the 2008 recession in the U.S, other countries of the world have experienced the ripple effects as the world largest economy struggles to recover. The European nations have suffered under the current debt crisis that has shrunk economies in Europe. Other countries in African and Asia have also felt the impact, as their economies are most dependent on both the U.S and European markets for trade. The subject of having effective employees has therefore, gained relevance as employers look for ways to sustain their workers. In an effort to keep their most important asset, organizations are heavily involved in the training and development of employees (Hung &Wong 2007). Training and development has been a tool used by organizations to mitigate the risks of losing employee to other organizations. It has also been used to groom future leaders of the company, as well as assist organizations in saving time and money. This essay shall discuss two theories that discuss employer support and training, as well as the impacts of employee performance in relation to training and development of employees.III Development
Humphry Hung and Yiu Wong have come up with two theories that discuss the relationship between the employer and the workers when it comes to training, continuing education and work study performance (Hung and Wong, 2007). The theories were introduced because of a case study of Hong Kong students who were in school and worked at the same time. The authors then came up with the theories to help explain the student or employee’s performance in relations to their employees and employer relationship (Hung and Wong, 2007). The first theory was the psychological contract theory while the second one was the expectancy dis-confirmation theory. The researchers realized the need for employees to have an education so that they are able to move up the ladder as far as the work force is concerned. The researchers used the employee and employer relations as the subject of research, and came up with a model to explain how training and development can be effectively used in the workplace (Hung &Wong2007). Staff-Development in Healthcare Essay
Psychological contract theory
According to the psychological theory, the employer and the employee have a set of beliefs, promises and obligations that go beyond the formal contract between the two. This psychological contract theory is attributed to the second wave of research in this subject, namely where the basis is a mutual loyalty between employees and organization (Hall and Moss, 1998). The elements of the third wave of research on the psychological contract, which measures the attitudes and perpceptions of employees towards organization are demonstrated below (Robinson, 1996). In other words, once an employer hires an employee, the employee has to abide by certain rules while the employer is obligated to behave professionally. This means that the employees expect to exchange their loyalty and productivity for wages and other forms of compensation (Kimberly 2009).
This theory may be regarded to be limited in delivery of depth of investigation of relations between organization and employees (Robinson and Morrisson, 1995). This suggests that recent research has failed to acknowledge the fact that psychological contact theory is more multi-dimensional as opposed to what has been presented in the research (Trunley and Feldamn, 1999a).
As a result, there were two kinds of contents presented, namely transaction al and relational. Transaction al content involves measurable economic exchanges between the two parties. For instance, an employee works 40 hours a week for a paycheck at the end of the week. Relational contents are based on trust and long-term relationships. In such a case, an employee can delegate a certain role to the employee based on trust (McConnell 2004). In the study, three principles can emerged. First, there is interaction at an individual level, mutual relationship between the two parties and finally tactical exchanges. Most people believe that the relationship between the employee and the employer is based on personal ties because the employer is an embodiment of the organization, and the experience of their interaction dictates the success of an organization (Hung &Hing 2007).
On the other hand, some believe that there has to be a mutual relationship between the employer and the employee for organizations to succeed. The mutual obligation is based on the belief that the employer is obliged to the employee in return for a commitment. Finally, the tactical exchanges occur between the workers in which case, the employee insists on a mental connection between the two parties (Kimberly 2009). The significance of the psychological contract theory is that it attempts to explain the employee’s behavior in regards to how he is treated by the employer. In other words, the employee relationship to the employer is imperative to matters regarding how employees react when subjected to training by organizations. The development of the employee dictates the performance of the employee in the continuing work-study. The research found that students who had a good working relationship with their employer performed well in their training and education compared to those who had a bad relationship (Hung &Hing 2007).
Another limitation is attributed to the assumption, that psychological contact theory fails to address the specifics of individual work behavior (Robinson, 1996a). From methodological perspective, this theory was developed on the basis of employee’s self-appraisals. As a result, it failed to include the actual supervisor’s appraisals, which are perceived to be quite crucial in delivery of objective opinion on the subject of job performance (Keeney and Svyantek, 2000).Staff-Development in Healthcare Essay
Expectancy dis confirmation theory
The expectancy dis confirmation theory is similar to that of consumer dissonance. Only that in this case, it deals with the employee, as opposed to the consumer. The theory was brought about from the comparison of a worker and a consumer when dealing with their products. An employee is believed to have positively dis confirmed their role in the organization when their perceived performance exceeds their expected performance (Roughton&Mercurio 2002). The opposite is true and referred to as negative dis confirmation. Negative dis confirmation occurs when an employee believes that their expectations exceed their perceived
The ability for the organization to be able to sustain effective staff training and development in the workplace is a necessity in the global market. The purpose of this paper is to reflect on training and development in the workplace (Venkatesh and Goyal, 2010). Other considerations which must be taken into consideration when discussing this topic are in relation to the culture and structure of the organization as well as the importance of communication and the impact of the leadership styles on the overall behavior of the organization (Venkatesh and Goyal, 2010). The global market has allowed the transfer of skills and knowledge through migration and the internationalization of organizations.
Training and development are important to how the organization can compete in the market, if the organization can sustain their employees through training and development they will be able to compete in the market. The effectiveness of employees will prove to be a valuable asset to the organization and it is important that the organization holds on to their employees (Klein, 1998). It has been argued that the resources of an organization are the key sources of competitiveness. There is a need to examine the background of the organization – culture and structure to see how these can determine how the organization perceives training and development opportunities within the organization.
This theory has also proved to have some limitations attributed to it. This implies that it has been a subject to limitations imposed on the methodological approach. This implies that there have been some concerns reported in relation to the measurement of expectations that have been met (Irving and Meyer, 1999). This implies that direct measurement which is utilized in prediction of the discrepancy between the expectations in relation to the job and actual behavioral intentions (Irving and Meyer, 1999).
Strategic Management
Strategic management is an essential process which needs to be considered in any organization. Thompson & Martin (2005) explain the process as being concerned with organizational actions and activities which identify and deal with threats, opportunities etc in both the internal and external environment. How strategic management is managed shows how well the organization can adapt to change and how training and development will be welcomed in the organizational context. Lamb (1984) states that strategic management assesses competitors of the organization and sets goals and strategies which can be seen in the context of training and development and how the organization views the importance of its employees.
One of the most important strategic processes is the practice of retaining employees. It is best practice to keep the skills and knowledge available to the organization to remain competitive and to be able to recruit the most talented individuals in the market. If an organization has the pick of the talent through their recruitment process they can sustain their competitive advantage which will allow them to compete consistently. The type of culture is reflected through the recruitment and selection processes as well the organizational structure and culture. If an organization can effectively train and develop their workforce as well as retain their employees. Performance management and a competitive incentive program me can enhance the ability of the organization to select and recruit the individuals they want to recruit to positions and not just because they have to fill the position (Phillips & Pullman Phillips (2002).Staff-Development in Healthcare Essay
Lambin (2000) defines the strategic process as allowing management to identify advantages and disadvantages. It will be important to identify the advantages and disadvantages of training and development further on in this paper but it is extremely necessary that these are identified so that the organization can identify the skills and knowledge which they require in their organization. The human element to the resources of the organization are extremely important, Armstrong (2006) cites that the skills and competencies identified within the human resources process need to meet the future demands and challenges of the organization and the environment. It will be necessary for the organization to meet the pressures from the competitive environment and it should be prepared for this. Most organizations would not be able to function effectively in their environment without sustaining effective training and development in their workplaces. It is important that employees can be motivated into performing and target meeting.
Organizational Culture
The culture of the organization is an integral factor of organizational activity. Holbeche (2006) believes that there are issues linking corporate social responsibility, accountability and the stakeholder environment. The culture of the organization will impact on the behavior of the employees in reference to how they behave, their work attitudes, the ability to embrace change and how the organizational objectives are achievable or not. Motivational theory is extremely important (Alderfer, 1969, Vroom, 1964, Maslow, 1943, Herzberg, 1966) link the goals of the organization to the performance and achievement of personal goals which in turn can be fueled by how skilled and knowledgeable the individual is. The culture of the organization can be linked to success through the achievement of the competitive advantage. Deal & Kennedy (1982) believe that the most important factor for the success or failure of the organization is the culture.
Culture by its very nature is implicit of behaviors within the organization. Leadership and management are also essential to the understanding of culture and how it affects all mechanisms within the organization (Rabey, 2003). This is also essential to the concept of training and development within the organization as the development of management within the organization, as the leadership role needs to grow both personally and professionally thus the impetus is on the development through training and development. The leader plays a role in the development of the organization and if this individual is in tune with the development and training of the human resources, the organization will embrace this concept. Schein (2004) reflects that the leadership and culture are inseparable. Structure is also important to the training and development environment within an organization. The more rigid the hierarchical structure the less likely the culture will embrace training and development practices. While many organizations realize the need for progressive training and development it should be noted that not every organization is a learning organization (Schein, 2004).Staff-Development in Healthcare Essay
Leadership
It is necessary to understand leadership as a concept before attempting to evaluate training and development. The development of the leader, according to Pedlar et al (2003), is that the concept is based on examined assumptions. There is no single definition of a leader, however, there are many attributes attached to leadership such as an ability to adapt, to make decisions, to be flexible and to be able to recognize skills within themselves and within others. The ability of the strategic manager is to be able to create an environment where employees want to participate and make a significant contribution to their role in the organization. It is through this communicative process that the leader can identify the development requirements of the employee. The employee should be able to trust the judgement of the leader to allow them to participate in any program mes for development and learning within the organization (Rabey, 2003).
It is also necessary that the leader can identify any developmental needs in their own career progression. If the leader is forward thinking they will bring the organization into line with the requirement of the selection and recruitment process to enhance the competitive nature of the organization. The performance of the individual is impacted by the authority figure in the organizational relationship and can be highly influenced by the use of incentives.
One such incentive which can be used to motivate the employee is that of training and development opportunities. These types of incentives are extremely important in today’s global environment with the internationalization of organizations and the free movement of the workforce. The more skilled the workforce, the more ability the employee has to dictate their position within the organization. This position allows the employee to hold some power over the authority figure as they can determine where they want to go in terms of their career and their development. Communication is key to this process so that the employee knows what kind of training is available to them and for the leader to be able to communicate the type of training which may best suit the employee. It is important that the leader can apply self development to themselves before they apply it to the individuals within their organization and there should be an ethos throughout the organization on lifelong learning.
Learning Organization
In today’s global environment the concept of lifelong learning is extremely important and it is necessary for all employees to keep their development and learning up to date. The availability of learning to employees should be a per-requisite to any organization who profess to be a global leader. It is necessary for all employees to keep their skills, resources and knowledge updated so that they can compete in their business market. The markets while very dynamic and complex are also extremely competitive, and organizations are always looking for the right individual to take up a position within the organization, who will ultimately enhance their competitive advantage (Lambin, 2000).Staff-Development in Healthcare Essay
Lifelong learning as a concept is not new, however, the concept of learning within the organizational context is very new. This allows the individual to learn around their own experiences. Both the organization and the individual should be in synch with each other to allow their goals to be achieved. The service which the individual can apply to their customer greatly leaves a mark on the organization as to how proficient it is in dealing with its customer. The ability of the organization to provide professional training for their employees will successfully promote the organization as well as the role of the employee. It is necessary that lifelong learning should be promoted more readily in today’s global markets due to the expansion of business and the free movement of employees to other countries.
Lifelong learning can be provided throughout the organization and does not necessary mean that it must be formal, it can be on the job training, but it should be used to encourage and motivate the individual. It is important to understand that the concept of lifelong learning is not without it disadvantages and within many organizations the facility is very much available. However, it is up to the individual to decide that they wish to partake in any program me, and also up to the manager to put the employee forward for training and development. This is very much about communication. Depending on how free flowing communication is, depends on the availability of these facilities. If the employee does not push for these opportunities they can hardly be expected to be handed the opportunity. However, the manager must communicate that these opportunities are available to the employee and explain the positive features for the employee.
It is also necessary that the vision and politics of the organization match the service and opportunities which can be given to employees. The need to preserve the abilities of employees within the organization has become increasingly important, especially for the organization to retain the skills, knowledge and resources which it currently holds. Lifelong learning can in effect change the labor market and the direction which the organization is heading. Smith (2001) identifies the need of an organization to be progressive, to allow the individual to gain more knowledge throughout their career and to persuade the individual to use the resources available to them for educational and growth purposes.Staff-Development in Healthcare Essay
Benefits of Training and Development
Training and development is a particularly helpful feature to the organization as well as the individual. The process allows both the organization and the individual to grow alongside with the global market. It allows the individual within the organization to recognize that they should be motivated to perform their job to the best of their ability because they can feel more valued by the incentives which they can receive from the organization. There are many benefits to the organization and the employee but it should also be recognized that there are also disadvantages to this.
Lifelong learning does not necessary mean that the employee has to go off site on participate in in-house training, it also means a variety of opportunities within the organization such as job rotation, secondment etc. These types of roles allow the employee to try out the role but also it means that they can avail of training in other positions within the organization. This type of training can also motivate the employee as it can be seen as a performance reward for their hard work. It would seem in today’s environment, the emphasis would be very much on a culture of performance equals rewards. Other types of training and development include attending classes and online courses.Staff-Development in Healthcare Essay