Case Study Analysis 2

Background Statement

Communication is an important component of healthcare management because it helps leaders to share and agree on important issues that are affecting their organization. However, it is important for today’s leaders to differentiate between the ack of proper communication and micromanagement in an organization (Pavithra et al., 2022). Employees usually feel comfortable working in an environment where there is effective communication and where the leader gives them an opportunity to participate in decision-making (Usman et al., 2021). The case study involves micromanagement issues in Nursing Unit with a capacity of 32 patients. The key partners involved in the issues presented in the case study are the supervisor, a newly appointed Assistant Nurse Manage, and the Nurse Manager. Employees of the Nursing Unit report to work at different times. The Assistant Nurse Manager is proposing a redesign of staff roles. However, the supervisor does not participate in the meetings that are held to discuss the redesigning idea because he is not informed when such meetings are planned.

When the results of the meeting are presented to everyone, the supervisor has learned that the proposed changes will affect the job duties of every employee. The lack of stakeholder involvement in decision-making affects performance and can compromise healthcare quality and patient safety (Jankelová & Joniaková, 2021). The supervisor has noticed that the assistant nurse manager demonstrates a lack of respect when addressing the clerical staff. He also finds out that the nurse manager and the assistant nurse manager are not willing to involve him in the implementation of the suggested changes. The employees have complained of micromanagement by the assistant nurse manager only 2 days into their new duties. However, the nurse manager is not interested in holding a meeting with the supervisor to discuss staff concerns. It is evident from the case study that the assistant nurse manager and the nurse manager are taking full control of the decision-making process and the employees’ work.

Major Problem and Secondary Issues

Leaders of an organization will find it important to involve their subordinates in decision-making when they clearly understand the roles that each party plays in ensuring organizational success. The major problem in the organization is micromanagement as evidenced by the nurse manager’s move to take full control of important processes together with the assistant nurse manager. The nurse manager and the assistant nurse manager do not involve the supervisor in decision-making when discussing issues surrounding redesigning of staff roles. The two leaders fail to recognize the fact that the supervisor oversees the activities and performance of the clerical/administrative staff in the nursing unit and would be the best person to provide guidance regarding how best the staffing roles should be redesigned. Ridder et al. (2020) define micromanagement as a management style where the leader exerts excessive control over subordinates. Micromanagers usually question the competencies of their followers and will hardly involve them in decision-making concerning issues that are affecting the organization. In the given case study, just 2 days into their new roles, the staff in the Nursing Unit are already complaining about micromanagement by the assistant nurse manager. The nurse manager is unwilling to involve the supervisor in discussing the staff’s concerns, claiming that the supervisor is not being assertive enough with his staff.

Micromanagement in the Nursing Unit is mainly attributed to the lack of organizational policies that clearly define the roles of various stakeholders and that state how important matters should be approached. According to Pavithra et al. (2022), well-developed organizational policies around human resource management have helped to curb negative unprofessional behaviors such as micromanagement. Organizational policies and regulations provide strict directives that should be followed when handling human resource issues. Micromanagement in the Nursing Unit has resulted in the lack of employee satisfaction. Both the supervisor and employees have expressed dissatisfaction with the micromanagement approach applied by the nurse manager and the assistant nurse manager. The lack of staff satisfaction affects employee productivity which eventually compromises healthcare quality and patient safety.

Role

Managers, in their respective positions, can influence reforms in their organizations to address management issues that have negative impacts on organizational performance and patient outcomes. A senior manager is best positioned to address the micromanagement issue in the Nursing Unit. A senior manager in a healthcare organization directs and controls departmental activities ensuring that nurse managers involve their subordinates in decision-making to enhance both staff and patient satisfaction (Wang et al., 2022). The senior manager will help the nurse manager and the assistant nurse manager to understand their roles in motivating their subordinates and respecting their autonomy in making important decisions regarding issues that affect staff and patients. The main advantage of serving as a senior manager to address the micromanage issue in the Nursing Unit is that it will be easier to convince the nurse manager and the assistant nurse manager from this position. However, it is disadvantageous in that differences in ranks might slow down the process as the nurse leader and the assistant nurse leader struggle to establish a meaningful relationship with the senior manager (Fernandopulle, 2021). However, through effective communication and respect, the senior manager can work effectively with the nurse manager and the assistant manager to address issues that are currently affecting operations in the Nursing Unit.

Organizational Strengths and Weaknesses

Nursing units serve as branches that make a healthcare organization complete. In this respect, leaders of various units need to perform their roles effectively to support the organization to realize its objectives (Wang et al., 2022). The strength of the organization lies in the fact that it has disintegrated its operations into units and has assigned leaders the role of steering those units. For example, in the Nursing Unit described in the case study, the organization has identified a nurse leader, an assistant nurse leader, and a supervisor to help run the operations of the unit. It is the expectation of the organization that these leaders will perform their roles as desired to help it realize its mission.

The main weakness that can prevent the organization from successfully addressing the problem is the lack of an employee transition plan indicating how staff can leave one role and move to the next one. Currently, the Assistant Nurse Manager is proposing a redesign of staff roles in the Nursing Unit. After the discussion between the nurse manager and the assistant nurse manager, the employees are directed to assume their new roles without onboarding. Although the organization can succeed in addressing the major problem related to micromanagement, it can still find it challenging to streamline its work processes due to the lack of an employee transition plan (Chau et al., 2022). The senior management is charged with the responsibility of ensuring that the leaders of the Nursing Unit can work smoothly to implement reforms that will enhance both staff and patient satisfaction.

Solutions and Recommendations

The organization can implement three different solutions to address the problem of micromanagement. One of the solutions is to develop an organizational policy that clearly defines the roles of various leaders including how stakeholder engagement should occur. The other solution is to have a conflict resolution strategy to give those who are micromanaged an opportunity to present their concerns and seek justice. The organization can also consider providing management training to its leaders to enhance their self-awareness regarding micromanagement, its impacts, and how to address it. The three approaches are supported by research evidence. For example, in a review conducted by Mookerjee et al. (2022), the researchers discovered that the best way to solve micromanagement in a healthcare organization is to approach it from the micromanager, the micromanaged, and the organizational perspectives. These can be achieved through enhancing self-awareness, using conflict resolution strategies, and developing a strong organizational policy to direct leadership behavior. The senior manager has the capacity to influence the implementation of these three solutions. Out of the three solutions, the organization should develop an organizational policy that clearly defines the roles of various leaders including how stakeholder engagement should occur (Mookerjee et al., 2022). Implementing this solution will be advantageous because it will generate a long-term solution for the facility. However, implementing it is disadvantageous because it might take time to yield observable results.

Evaluation

Evaluation is the best way an organization can assess the effectiveness of a strategy. The specific metric that will be used to measure success is the number of complaints from the supervisor and other employees regarding micromanagement by the nurse manager and the assistant nurse manager (Mookerjee et al., 2022). When the chosen solution is effective, the organization should record 0% complaints concerning micromanagement. The measurement should begin immediately after an organizational policy is developed and it should be done weekly. The baseline, target, and timeframe for the metric are 100%, 0%, and 1 month respectively. Essentially, at the end of 1 month following the creation of an organizational policy, the organization should record 0% complaints from the supervisor and other employees concerning micromanagement by the nurse manager and the assistant nurse manager.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Chau, J., Lo, S., Lam, S., Saran, R., & Thompson, D. R. (2022). Critical elements in nursing graduates’ transition to advanced practice roles and their perceived impact on patient care: an exploratory, descriptive study of graduates’ and their managers’ perceptions. BMC Nursing, 21(1), 122. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-022-00907-0

Fernandopulle N. (2021). To what extent does hierarchical leadership affect health care outcomes?. Medical Journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 35, 117. https://doi.org/10.47176/mjiri.35.117

Jankelová, N., & Joniaková, Z. (2021). Communication skills and transformational leadership style of first-line nurse managers in relation to job satisfaction of nurses and moderators of this relationship. Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 9(3), 346. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9030346

Mookerjee, A., Li, B., Arora, B., Surapaneni, R., Rajput, V., & Van de Ridder, M. (2022). Micromanagement during clinical supervision: Solutions to the challenges. Cureus, 14(3), e23523. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.23523

Pavithra, A., Sunderland, N., Callen, J., & Westbrook, J. (2022). Unprofessional behaviours experienced by hospital staff: qualitative analysis of narrative comments in a longitudinal survey across seven hospitals in Australia. BMC Health Services Research, 22(1), 410. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-022-07763-3

Ridder, J., DeSanctis, J. T., Mookerjee, A. L., & Rajput, V. (2020). Micromanagement creates a nonconducive learning environment for a teaching team. Journal of Graduate Medical Education, 12(5), 639–640. https://doi.org/10.4300/JGME-D-20-00926.1

Usman, M., Ghani, U., Cheng, J., Farid, T., & Iqbal, S. (2021). Does participative leadership matters in employees’ outcomes during COVID-19? Role of leader behavioral integrity. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 646442. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.646442

Wang, B. L., Batmunkh, M. U., Samdandash, O., Divaakhuu, D., & Wong, W. K. (2022). Sustainability of nursing leadership and its contributing factors in a developing economy: A study in Mongolia. Frontiers in Public Health, 10, 900016. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.900016