Over the last two years this graduate has studied and taken courses to earn herself a bachelor’s degree in Science and Health Administration/Health Information Systems. The courses that have been studied range from Organizational Behavior and Introduction to Health and Disease to Economics: The Financing of Health Care and Database Concepts to the final course of the program Health Administration Capstone. Throughout this course of learning the graduate has learned how to use the Microsoft programs of PowerPoint, Excel, and Project.
She has learned to work with a learning team and trust strangers to do their best work to earn the best grade. The graduate has also learned time management to do all the required readings and assignments and still be a good mother and wife. The main objective of most of the classes was to teach the graduate the components of management and leadership in a health care setting. In this paper the subject is to examine the components of management and leadership skills the graduate has learned throughout the last two years.
Management in any setting is the area that keeps the job environment stable. Management abides by a set of parameters of organization, planning, controlling, and directing. Not only that, but the person must also possess leadership skills. The graduate has learned to be a leader in the learning teams when she is usually a follower. The main management skill she has learned while attending class is time management. One has to complete the required work in a successful and well-organized manner just as a manager at a health care facility would.
Without time management, everything would fall behind schedule and the facility would suffer to the point where it could go out of business. Time management also has to be used at home so that life does not suffer too. A fine line needs to be followed to be an effective manager at work and a wife at home. Managers try to be friends with employees and that does not work because when the time comes to lay down the law, the employee does not take the manager seriously. One should keep personal and work life separate. Open communication is the next item important to management.
Management follows the rules and ways of doing tasks set forth by the corporation. The management is the one who has to keep the personnel on the right track with following the rules. When communication is not first-rate within the organization, the workers stress and when stressed with a job some people choose to leave. This means if there is a high-turnover ratio in the workplace that something is not right and needs to be fixed. Management is the first place to look because they are the authority figure in the establishment. When management is not working effectively as a leader then management will be replaced.
In the learning teams taken by the graduate, open communication was always written into the learning team charter. Without communication between the team members, the work would not be done and grades would suffer. Management’s job is to control and problem-solve situations that arise. The graduate learned over the course of the last two years that situations do arise when relying on others to complete work within a learning team. A situation arose in one class where a classmate did not do her part of the assignment, and it was too late have someone else complete it.
The instructor was notified of the situation and luckily points were not lost on the member’s that finished the assignment. This can relate to a work environment in which those who work and excel at his or her job will be acknowledged with praise and recognition. If praise and recognition do not exist, an employee will not work hard to succeed. The graduate has learned this through watching her husband at work by being fortunate enough to visit throughout the day to see how his company operates. One has seen firsthand ow devastated an employee can be when promised a bonus for doing his job correctly only to be denied that bonus when payday rolls around. The employee is not going to want to succeed for the company when the employee is lied to and mistreated. The way the graduate would problem-solve this is to have a meeting with the unhappy employee and see where the communication wires were crossed and work to make the situation correct. This would fall under the management’s ability to perform under stress. A good manager will be able to perform under stress without missing a beat.
The next step one learned is ethical standards. Management requires excellent ethical standards and expects the manager to do what one believes in and not fall into peer pressure. Management follows the rules of the establishment and should not bend those rules, especially under pressure. Treat others how one wishes to be treated is a golden rule that should be followed at work, home, anywhere. According to Healthcare Management, 2010, management works behind the scenes doing: • General office management duties • Budget management Working with doctors to create the best possible experience for patients and establishing standard operating procedures for managing patient information • Oversee the staff and in some cases take on duties similar to a human resources position Management is involved in almost every step of the work environment. One has learned that she has to be flexible and take charge to become a good manager. This will be hard to overcome because the graduate is a shy person, but she will have to overcome her weaknesses to become a remarkable manager.
Leadership. Health care organizations can be complex, which makes leadership important. Leadership differs from management because leadership involves following one’s instinct instead of the rules of the organization. Technologies are constantly changing as well policies and procedures at the organization are ever-changing. This makes leadership challenging. A way to do well with leadership is to continue education through development programs after graduation because “what you learned in school is not enough to carry you throughout your career” (Dolan, 2004, p. 6).
This will help improve leadership skills and stay on top of the newest changes occurring in the health care field. On-the-job training is another way to improve leadership skills. One will continue education after starting a new job because it will not only help advance in the company but will also help in being able to mentor another employee. These classes have allowed the graduate to meet people from all over the world. She has stayed in contact with one person in particular and each pushes the other to do the best and continue to achieve set goals.
A leader needs to be put where her skills are best used to succeed. One has a large family to care for. One of the best skills this leader has is organization. Another area of skill one possesses is influence on others. Leaders must have organizational skills, influence on others, and responsibility for the outcome of the goal. The organizational skills will help save time, especially when time is of the essence, the influence on others will help keep the team on track, and one does not like to fail so the outcome should always be positive.
Conclusion. These classes have put this quiet Midwestern woman into unfamiliar territory. This was done to take a chance and inspire ones children achievement of a degree from college is possible, no matter how long it has been since high school. This is a leadership role that one has taken to achieve a set goal and be able to provide to the family finances. If someone would have asked this graduate in January 2009 if graduating was possible, she would have said no. The mutual respect from team members and the appreciation to finish this set goal pushed the graduate to finish what she started.
Management skills come naturally the graduate thanks to the lifestyle she lives and the details she had to ensue with taking care of her elderly parents before they passed.
References
Dolan, T. (2004, May). Commit Yourself to Lifelong Learning. Healthcare Executive, 19(3), 6. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM Global (Document ID: 625514181). Healthcare Management (2010). Healthcare Management Career Overview. Retrieved from http://www. guidetoonlineschools. com/careers/healthcare-management
