Organizational Structure and Culture Essay Example for Free

Organizational Structure and Culture Essay Authority structure within organizations is important for the oversight of delegated processes and expected outcomes. Without structure, chaos would impede support, communications, and vision development. Organizational designs vary according to the need of the organization to operate efficiently, to achieve goals, and to support the associates within the organization. The organizational structure style design helps lead the organization in successful endeavors (Sullivan Decker, 2009). Organizational History The history of an organization contributes to the design of the formal organizational structure.  The medical center has a tumultuous history. A new modern building was constructed in 2000 to replace an older structure. The local physicians had no input into the decision or design of the new facility. The organizational structure during that time was a strict parallel design. The physicians reported to the chief medical officer and the Board of Trustees. The physicians jointly decided not to support the new local hospital; the organization began to collapse. The medical center eventually fell into bankruptcy because of the lack of physician support, poor financial management, and unscrupulous use of organizational monies. The court system retained a reconstruction organization in an attempt to rebuild the local hospital. During the time of bankruptcy the parallel organizational structure remained in place, but with less authority of the medical governance branch. The main focus of the organizational structure was financial survival of the organization. An immediate change was needed for the improvement of the dangerously low morale of the health care associates The once country owned, bankrupted not-for-profit-hospital was bought and sold twice before stabilization began to be a possibility. A corporation purchased the hospital and changed it to a for-profit organization. There was very little resistance to the change because the organization had been surviving in chaos. According to Kurt Lewin’s three stage theory of change, the first phase, the unfreezing phase, is an important phase of change. Change is getting ready to happen during this phase. The health care associates of the medical center had been getting ready for change for a few years. The unfreezing phase requires the development of motivation. Motivation was the chance to prosper in a successful business venture while delivering quality care to the community (Kurt Lewin, 2012). Generational Culture The generational culture of the organization had a positive effect on the change. There was a common goal developed, the success of the organization. The generational similarities outnumber the generational differences. According Anick (2008), â€Å"The top reason for happiness in the workplace is the sense of feeling valued† (Table 2. Elements on which members of each generation are mostly similar). The traditional, baby boomers, generation X, and generation Y became involved in the decision making as the new organization structure formed. They shared ideas and offered suggestions for patient care improvement. Informal leaders began to emerge. During the refreezing phase, the stabilization became the norm. The differences in the generational culture became more apparent. More processes, greater accountability, and new required use of technology caused a feeling of less worth for the older generation of health care providers. The younger nurses seemed to adapt more quickly to new systems and techniques. Older nurses began to believe they were less important to the process. The informal leader roles changed. A new information system was installed and education was initiated. This led to more attention on the differences of the generational cultures. Much of the required education was completed on the computer. E-mail is essential for communication within the organization. Some of the traditional generation began to feel left behind. At the end of the first year, many of the health care providers who had survived the previous chaos succumbed to the new advancements and left the organization. Current Organizational Design The current organizational structure of the medical center is a matrix design. The upper administration consists of a chief nursing officer, chief financial officer, and an assistant administrator. This group reports directly to the chief executive officer. The chief executive officer reports to the Board of Trustees. The medical center consists of two distinct campuses, four on-site clinics, and one clinic located off campus. The upper administration is responsible for the organization. The matrix esign is complex and requires good interpersonal skills for dual managers. Each nursing unit has a nurse manager. The nurse managers report to the chief nursing officer regarding any patient care issues. The nurse managers of the behavioral health campus also report to the behavioral health program director for organizational issues. The physicians are under the organizational umbrella for operational regulations but report to the chief medical officer regarding medical patient care. The resource manager has a dual reporting line to the chief nursing officer and the chief financial officer. The matrix requires frequent communication between the dual authorities. Non-management views the frequent meetings as meetings about meetings (Sullivan Decker, 2009) Formal lines of reporting are evident within the organization. The nurse managers report to the chief nursing officer. Managers of departments involving financial business of the hospital report to the chief financial officer. Ancillary and support services report to the assistant administrator. The compliance officer, the pharmacy director and the behavioral health program director report directly to the chief executive officer. The formal lines of reporting are used for recognition of associates, disciplinary offenses, and arbitration of challenges between departments. Patient-Centered Care Environment The organization is creating an environment for client-centered care by the development of a nursing leadership council consisting of direct care providers. The council membership includes seven registered nurses from nursing units with day and night shift representation. The nursing council interviews associates and patients, observes processes, and reports findings to the council. Changes in nursing processes are approved through the nursing council with final approval by the chief nursing officer. The council members were selected using predetermined criteria. The informal leaders of individual departments were chosen for their job performances and their proven leadership skills. The shared governance gives ownership of patient care to the frontline caregivers (Hess, 2004). Organizational Communication Various communication methods are used within the organization. Formal, time sensitive communications are delivered face-to-face or by technology. E-mail and web conferencing are the most frequent used methods for upper administration. Both methods allow quick responses between the communicators. Upper-level management processes the information and decides the best delivery method to the next lower-level management, depending on the subject matter and the expected time frames. Middle management associates attend leadership meetings every two weeks. Management communicates organizational status through these meetings. Plans for future projects are discussed during the leadership meetings. Middle management has e-mail accounts and receives electronic communications on changes. Middle management holds departmental meetings at least monthly to distribute information to the direct care providers. Upper-level management holds open meetings for the direct care providers each quarter. The meetings focus on current organizational trends and plans. Direct care providers ask questions and make suggestions for improvement during the open meetings. Communication boards are placed in strategic areas through the work areas. Information is placed on the communication boards and updated weekly. Questions frequently come from the information from the boards. Conclusion The organizational structure can be descriptive of the culture of the organization. A ridged authoritarian organizational structure defines an organization that does not allow the frontline workers to participate in decisions that affect the organization. The matrix organizational design requires open communication between the leaders of the organization. Added shared governance from the frontline creates more awareness is put on the quality and delivery of the product. Organizational structures vary and are representative of the leadership within.

Death Row and Women :: Feminism Law Culture Essays

Death Row and Women In Hamurabi Law, if someone is accused of murder they must take a leap into the closest river. If the accused drowns, the accuser shall take possession of his house. If the accused emerges unhurt, then the accuser is put to death and his house is given as compensation to the accused. While the system of capital punishment in the United States is not quite as random, it has its own problems that can oftentimes cross the fine line between arbitrary and absurd. The discrepancy between white and colored male inmates is often the subject of debate regarding this issue, and while that subject certainly does deserve notice, little attention is paid to women as a group on death row. It is interesting to explore how society represents and identifies with women on death row in a completely different manner than men or even other minority groups, even though they face similar discriminations in other facets of life. Why is it that we are able to see females not as killers, but first as women o r mothers? Our preconceived conceptions of â€Å"motherhood† and â€Å"womanhood† make a great difference in how we perceive female criminals, and in certain cases can be the difference between life and death. According to statistics from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, of the 455 criminals on death row in the state only 7 of them are women . This should tip us off to the manner in which we treat female criminals, even in the most pro-death penalty state in the country. Overall, women account for one in eight of people arrested for murder in America, but this ratio sinks to only one in seventy people currently on death row . This discrepancy must be a direct result of something, and is most probably attributed to society’s perception of women that place these female criminals as women first, killers second. â€Å"It’s a reflection of society’s view that women are less prone to evil than men are†, claims Jenni Gainsborough of the ACLU National Prison Project. We also seem to feel sorrier for women than we do men, and assume that if a woman has committed a crime it is because she has faced abuse in the past (usually inflicted by a man). This is true to s ome extent as it is claimed that 95% of women in prison were victims of abuse , but the point is that we generally stress the importance of female abuse while oftentimes neglecting abuse endured by their male counterparts.

Have people become overly dependently on technology Essay

A lot of people will deny the fact that technology isn’t a dependency. Technology realistically is something our generation believes we cannot live without. Even though technology benefits our lives greatly, sometimes it’s too much. Technology governs us from the moment we wake up, with an alarm, to the moment we want to lay down and relax, with some television. For example the moments I have forgotten my phone at home I feel a sense of emptiness, I even feel imaginary vibrations from time to time. Read more:  Dependent on Technology Essay â€Å"I’ll just Google it†. I can’t even begin to count how many times I’ve heard people say that phrase. It’s such a convenience to type something in our phone or computer and in seconds get the answer we were looking for. Before you would have to actually find a library and read on the subject now it’s just a click away. Technology to me is like a crutch on learning. I have friends that don’t even pay attention in class or do anything in school and when you ask them about home work their answer is ill just Google it when I get home. Our generation has become boring in a sense. Our idea of fun is texting, tweeting, posting and editing pictures. Very rarely do you see anyone out playing a sport or actually interacting as a group, except maybe in a club and even with that you see them detached from society and on their phone. Also, dating is done now days on a computer. I can’t begin to name how many sites there are to find a partner. Good morning texts are a sign of being â€Å"romantic† in our generation, there is no such thing as an actual loving gesture. You don’t get to know someone anymore by going out on dates or talking face to face now all the interaction is done by texting, when you actually get to see the person you read all you need to know because of the constant texting. If you give me and address and I don’t have my cell phone with my GPS I will never get to where I have to be. Almost no one now days can get from one point to the other without a GPS. Unlike our generation, my mother’s generation for explain, you can give them an address and most of them will  know how to get to the address with no problem. They did not need to depend on technology. After my research on this topic it’s become very, but very clear that our generation definitely lets technology run their lives. Imagine something happens and all technology was terminated, I don’t know where we would put our self with the dependency we have with our phones, computers, GPS, and televisions. Yes, technology make life easier and faster but sometimes easier and faster isn’t the best thing.

Of The Plaid Prohibition And A Motley Bunch Of Other Factions

B rotzmanskrieg, from as early as when the Underground and the RGA were considered as the only contenders, was justified through the prospect of accumulating what wealthy spoils could be taken from the opposition. Though it remained as an ideological war over the question of whether the works of the Wise Man was of benefit to the Underground, prior to the formation of the RGA, the introduction of the Plaid Prohibition and a motley bunch of other factions with differing viewpoints and ideals changed both the RGA and the Underground’s approach to Brotzmanskrieg. Factional control of a holding for the sake of mounting future evangelization efforts was just not enough. In essence, the amount of success attained by any of the factions was based†¦show more content†¦Despite not having as much stressed importance to the factions, insofar as they were emphasized before the School Year of the Steamroller, secondary aspects within Brotzmanskrieg proved to have a strategic value unique to their own circumstances. The most important were the ACP (Anomaly Causing Phenomena) sites and their resulting spawn of Anomalies, whether for gain or for denial of access (in the case of the Ostracized), the privilege (if applicable) for the factions to spread their respective faiths, and the opportunity of uninterrupted logistics provided by the Teleport Anomaly and the much later Teleportation Transponder. Lesser valued ones were the Caravaneer trade routes that expanded nationwide since the Great Leaps Westward, the backing of the Dweller cities and technical oriented minor powers, and the colleges and universities. Since not all factions shared the same view on the strategic value of the aforementioned secondary aspects, as a result these aspects of Brotzmanskrieg were to be seen as being secondary to control of the local Jackbooter trade, but were still nonetheless have its own importance in measuring success or even defeat. Even though being weighed as having the least amount of strategic value, in