Application assignment
- 1. Application Assignment CMGT 540 “Interview with a senior Registered Nurse at a Southern California Hospital (referred to as “the hospital”)
- 2. Q&A • From a hospital employee’s perspective, is the Hospital administrative structure set up in such a way where you think it is Click on Video To View Answers effective? Effective meaning the employee’s are happy, the satisfaction scores are high, and the hospital is fiscally solvent? • Does the administration add value to the organization? • If there was one thing about the structure of the Hospital administration you could change what would it be? • *The interviewee will not be shown in this video. You will only be able to hear her voice for anonymity reasons*
- 3. Applying the Readings • It can be assumed that on a general levels, the way the hospital administration interacts with • What are Vertical the managers and employees in the different divisions throughout the hospital is free Linkages?(Daft pp. 93) flowing and for the most part harmonious. It is inferred that Communication is coming from the top , down. Rules, Orders, and regulations all come from the top people in the organization (CEO, CNO, CFO) to the low level managers/supervisors and employees, These regulations and messages are Vertical Linkages and can be seen in this organization.
- 4. Can A Hospital be considered a Matrix Organization? In my opinion hospitals are not set up entirely the same, but have a hierarchical quality to them. I see a lot of different themes within that hierarchal structure and recognize different concepts from our reading. In reference to Matrix forms, hospitals have matrix qualities. For example, within divisions /(units) of a hospital (HR, ICU, Pediatrics, Public Relations, etc) managers have authority within that division as well as having (not equal but close to equal) authority within the organization as a whole. This , in way, can be classified as having a "Matrix” quality. Matrix Forms are “The unique characteristics of the matrix form is that both divisional and functional managers have equal authority within the organization, and employees report to both of them.”(Nohria p. 7). This model allows for a flexibility and changing circumstances including patient flow, numbers of cases in a given day, and how many people are staffed. “The Strength of the Matrix is that it enables the organization to meet multiple demands from the environment. Resources can be flexibly allocated and the organization can adapt to changing external environments.” (Nohria p.7). To the right, is an example of how a hospital may be set up.
- 5. Socialization within a organization “As a component of the forces of production, the hierarchy of authority is a means of collective control for orchestrating large-scale cooperation. . . the progressive socialization of this dimension of organization structure does not consist of flattening the hierarchy in the romantic-reactionary pursuit of a primordial, undifferentiated unity, but consists instead of ensuring that the authority is endorsed from below rather than imposed unilaterally from above (using the distinction developed by Dornbusch and Scott 1975).” (Adler 254) “The structural Marxist perspective suggests that staff functions can play an important role in the socialization of organization structure by distilling and infusing knowledge. Employees might embrace this division of labor so long as staff/line relations are themselves collaborative.” (Adler pp. 255) In the interview there was an overall theme of knowledge and information being passed down through the levels of authority; open communication and collaboration within the act of passing down knowledge different levels of authority is an important way to establish repore .
- 6. References • Adler, P. (2012). "The Sociological Ambivalence of Bureaucracy: From Weber via Gouldner to Marx:" OrganizationScience, 23(1), pp. 244-266 • Nohria, N. (1995). "Note on Organizational Structure." Harvard Business School. Pp. 2-19 • Daft, R. (2007) Organization Theory and Design. Fundamentals of Organizational Structure. (9th ed.), pp. 88-125 • Photo on “Slide 4” Courtesy of: http://goo.gl/WChnu • Photo on “Slide 5” Courtsey of: http://goo.gl/MWSWq