James K. Elrod’s research while affiliated with Willis-Knighton Health System and other places

Derived from the Latin word communicare, a term which denotes sharing or imparting, communication is defined as a process through which two or more parties exchange information, making use of mutually understood language, symbols, and other expressions to successfully convey meaning and understanding. It is not merely a volley of information cast upon others; reception and understanding also are required. Not surprisingly, communication is an integral component of successful healthcare operations, necessitating intensive attention on the part of healthcare providers to develop and maintain thoughtfully planned mechanisms permitting productive dialogues to take place. It is especially important in healthcare environments, given the diverse backgrounds and roles of staff members, their exposure to equally diverse patient populations, and the overall sensitivity of health and medical operations. Healthcare establishments dedicating concerted efforts and investments toward communication will reap numerous benefits associated with the proliferation of efficient and effective interactions, fostering the accomplishment of institutional missions. This chapter discusses communication in healthcare organizations, directing attention to this important component of organizational behavior and management.

Decision-making is the process of selecting a course of action from among available alternatives for purposes of addressing a particular matter or concern. It is one of the primary responsibilities held by managers, occupying a significant portion of their time, regardless of their level within institutional hierarchies. Nonmanagerial employees also are responsible for making many decisions. Decisions have the potential to profoundly impact health and medical establishments. This impact can be positive, in cases where good decisions are made, or negative, in cases where bad decisions are made. Given the competitive nature of the healthcare industry, constantly changing environments, and sensitivities associated with delivering health and medicine, healthcare providers must be extremely careful to avoid missteps associated with poor choices. As such, they must strive to consistently make good decisions that collectively plot clear and expedient pathways toward mission fulfillment. Improved decision-making begins with acquiring a thorough understanding of the concept. Associated knowledge, outlined in this chapter, can help to guide healthcare managers as they go about making decisions on behalf of their given establishments, bolstering their potential to make choices which advance operations and foster excellence in the delivery of health and medicine.

Power is an obscure but vital component of organizational behavior and management, serving as a foundational element which supports virtually the entirety of all other components of the discipline, including leadership, motivation, organizational structure and design, conflict management, and more. At its core, power serves as an instrument of order, ensuring that institutional operations are productive and prosperous, free from the ravages of disruption and chaos. Given its importance, healthcare providers must endeavor to acquire a comprehensive understanding of power, its various facets, methods for operationalizing the concept in the workplace, and related insights. As power can be used in both positive and negative fashions, special care must be taken by the individual wielding power to be disciplined, ensuring that applications of power center on advancing institutional missions, rather than self-serving ambitions. Healthcare managers who consistently deploy the positive face of power are assets to their institutions, situated to productively influence others within their given organizations. Prowess on this important front should be considered mandatory for anyone holding positions of authority in health and medicine. This chapter addresses power and its many facets, shedding light on this important topic.

Conflict is a common and enduring feature of health and medical organizations, requiring vigilance in its evaluation and management. Healthcare providers must endeavor to resolve conflict efficiently and effectively, carefully handling its functional variants and eradicating its dysfunctional kinds, allowing operations to thrive. This necessitates developing a thorough foundation of knowledge regarding conflict, its various types, common responses to conflict, and its typical sources. It also requires designing and maintaining productive strategic frameworks and protocols for managing stalemates and other forms of contention occurring in the halls of medicine. Knowledge of conflict and conflict management skill sets must be possessed by more than those occupying the upper echelons of health and medical organizations. Such proficiencies must also be held by those lower in organizational hierarchies, as conflict touches the entirety of institutions. By fielding healthcare organizations featuring staff members skilled in addressing conflict, the stage is set for operations to flourish, affording lasting benefits for all. This particular chapter explores the concept of conflict and its management, permitting healthcare providers to understand associated fundamentals and put them into practice to ensure harmony and realize enhanced performance.

Strategy is defined as a directed course of action which seeks to identify, pursue, and achieve a desired outcome, usually involving the securing of one or more competitive advantages. It is long-range in focus and dictates the overall direction of organizations for enduring periods of time. Few elements of organizational life are as impactful as strategy on institutional operations. Complexities associated with the healthcare industry and the ever-changing environments of health and medical institutions demand that providers carefully plot courses aimed at reaching desired destinations. Without an understanding of where an establishment is going, coupled with a roadmap for actually getting there, organizational pursuits are nothing more than exercises in futility. Through strategy, healthcare providers are afforded with critical tools and techniques permitting them to guide their institutions through often tumultuous circumstances and situations to successfully achieve their missions and realize their associated aspirations. Behind every successful healthcare organization, one will find capable strategists responsible for guiding and directing their given institutions to points of prosperity. This chapter aims to assist readers in acquiring associated skills and abilities.

An organizational culture is a mindset, expressed through and influenced by tangible and intangible means, which characterizes an institution and its operation. More simply, it could be described as a philosophy of operation embraced by an organization and expressed through both visual and nonvisual means. Organizational cultures exist in all establishments, and they have a significant bearing on institutional performance. An organization’s culture, if well devised and properly managed, affords health and medical institutions with a strategic asset and key competitive advantage. Importantly, organizational culture educates and enlightens personnel regarding perspectives and practices deemed to be appropriate and acceptable, providing direction as duties and responsibilities are being completed. This is especially important in health and medical settings, as direct oversight often is not possible. Not unlike guidance systems used by rockets journeying into space, ensuring that they stay on course, a productive organizational culture helps healthcare establishments stay on course by creating an institutional mindset that guides employees and their associated decisions and actions. This chapter dedicates attention toward understanding organizational culture in healthcare institutions, complete with guidance on how to foster the development of cultures that are productive.

Organizational change concerns the alteration of operations within an institution. It typically is prompted by circumstances and situations encountered in external and internal environments, with organizations maneuvering themselves in a manner to accommodate or adjust to these influences. Great skill is required to proficiently address change in healthcare organizations. At face value, change-related activities in institutions might seem to be somewhat problem-free endeavors, but that is not the case. In fact, change is almost universally described as being difficult. Success requires intensive knowledge of change processes, keen surveillance abilities, problem-solving prowess, and implementation acumen, among many other things. Since change is a pervasive and enduring feature of organizational life, healthcare managers cannot evade responsibilities for handling change. Its level of prominence is so pronounced that many institutions seek to proactively guide and direct change initiatives by engaging in a formal process known as change management. Given the perpetual change associated with the healthcare industry and its many establishments, health and medical providers must endeavor to develop skill sets that help them to navigate this tumultuous environment. This chapter sheds light on change in health and medical organizations, aiding healthcare providers in understanding its impact and management.

Management is defined as a range of activities (i.e., planning, organizing, staffing, directing, coordinating, reporting, and budgeting) which are carried out by formally appointed individuals (e.g., chief executive officers, vice presidents, directors, managers, supervisors) for purposes of aiding organizations in realizing their missions. It essentially serves as the action component of organizational behavior—the formal study of human behavior in organizations—operationalizing associated discoveries aimed at understanding workplace aspects and interactions in a bid to generate top performance. Of all administrative tools, management is the preeminent driving force of healthcare establishments, with excellence being essential for the best outcomes. Across the pages of this chapter, management is discussed in detail, directing attention toward a range of aspects, including its features and characteristics, the source of authority from which managers derive their power, the general principles of management, and the activities of management, all within the context of health and medicine. Attention also is directed toward the critical need for healthcare managers to acquire leadership skills in order to maximize their impact in their given healthcare establishments. Anyone holding or contemplating acquiring a position of authority in health and medicine must possess a firm understanding of management. This chapter provides assistance in acquiring associated acumen.

Ethics are moral principles, values, and beliefs which govern the actions and behaviors of individuals, with associated mindsets providing them with guidance regarding what is good or bad and right or wrong. As health and medical organizations are collections of individuals entrusted with carrying out associated operations, great care must be taken to ensure that each employee acts in an ethical fashion. This requires vigilance on the part of healthcare establishments, necessitating the development of a formal code of conduct, staffing practices which emphasize ethics, ethics training programs, and systems of accountability and control which foster ethical behaviors. Entrusting employees to operate in an ethical fashion without supplying direct and comprehensive guidance is a formula for disaster, as individuals are products of their own respective histories, leading to different views of what does and does not constitute an ethically appropriate action. As such, proper investments must be directed toward instilling within employees the ethical mindsets espoused by healthcare providers, leading to consistent behaviors, especially when ethical dilemmas present themselves. This chapter explores ethics in health and medical organizations, providing healthcare managers with tools and techniques that foster all-important ethical operation. The related topic of social responsibility is also explored, rounding out discussions.

The organizational structure of an establishment refers to an institution’s hierarchy, depicting its chain of command, arrangement of departments, and associated reporting relationships within the organization. Organizational structure activities, including organizational chart assembly, represent the most notable pursuits of organization design, a component of organizational behavior and management which focuses on the process of formulating, implementing, and evaluating institutional structures, activities, and operations in a manner which facilitates the fulfillment of an organization’s mission. When healthcare organizations are established, a full range of decisions and actions concerning institutional structures and work processes are required. As they mature, these operational facets must evolve to accommodate any changes encountered. While options abound for structuring and designing organizations in manners desired, as with anything, prudent decisions must be made in order to realize success. The better designed a healthcare establishment, the better able it will be to perform. By deploying the knowledge and skills conveyed in this chapter, healthcare providers will be able to aid their given institutions in harnessing the power of organizational structure and design, affording opportunities to execute operations successfully, ultimately leading to mission fulfillment.