Introduction
Retirement homes are set up to provide quality essential care to the people who cannot effectively take care of themselves the group that is between 55.years and above. Roundal wright retirement homes has some management concerns that have been raised by the residents, these concerns need to be resolved so that the residents live comfortably and also get the value for their money. Among the issues raised is lack of adherence to safety standards for instance when the lift is not big enough to cater for people with wheelchairs. In addition, parking problems were also a concern the parking was not big enough to accommodate everyone and also some of the residents did not know how to go about in parking their vehicles and they ended up using two parking spaces. Concerns were also raised in the dinning over the menu and queuing in the dining.there is also some minor concerns raised regarding to electrical and plumbing where the electrician does not come when a problem is reported.
The problems raised by the residents are typical to those of any other retirement home; however it does not mean they are lesser problems and hence ways must be found to make sure that all the issues raised either by residents or staff are solved to make this home one of the best in the region. Functions of a retirement home should be providing quality services to the residents this is ultimately the core duty of these homes. Making sure that all the residents needs are met through the support of the management, staff, social workers and also some other individuals who are not necessarily part of the staff like a spiritual guide. The primary function of retirement homes is to keep the resident clean, healthy and motivated. This is an implication that there has to be a qualified physician in a retirement home.
Safety standards fulfillment is another of the roles. Retirement homes should comply with federal requirements in regards to social work services. A nursing home must fulfill the safety standards.. The elderly need special care and attention, safety standards include knowledge on how to provide professional care to the residents who maybe bedridden, and some of them may be immobile. It also includes drills on safety relating to fire and other catastrophe’s. Safety standards may also include knowledge on handling of spills and contaminations.
Knowledge on how to treat resident is also important. They should be treated a high level of dignity and respect, and also the staff should treat be confidential with the information they have, they should not discuss any information with other unauthorized personnel or other resident. Retirement homes like should also hire qualified staff from various disciplines like managers, physicians and cooks who have professional knowledge on their fields. This is important because it shows people to concentrate on their departments and avoids a situation like the housekeeper taking over the work of a cook to buy supplies.
Findings and analysis
Parking space problem
There were a lot of complaints particularly about parking where the residents think that there ought to be extra served spaces for each of their cars. However, the practicality of finding a solution to this problem to solve seems not to be that easy. The fact that land is a limited and roundel wright retirement home has many residents makes it tough for everyone to get a reserved space all the vehicles plus those of the visitors (Wilbur S. Smith, 2010).
There are varied ways in which management should improve parking management for staff, residents and visitors. Hence there are ways in which parking complaints can be reduced if not ended. Roundal Wright retirement homes are very big establishment with many residents, so complaints are bound to surface, that, however, should be solved by the management. The residents have complained that Mavis had her own reserved parking space. Being the housekeeper, she is entitled to have a parking space so that she conveniently performs her duties in the home.
Delay in taking action
Another complaint raised by some residents includes Mavis not responding and acting upon their concerns. The elderly must be loved, and it for Mavis to ignore their complaints they will not feel wanted which may in turn be detrimental to their wellbeing both directly and indirectly. Housekeepers of this homes should be very free with the residents reason being that the residents will feel wanted and share their problems. It is, therefore, a concern that the residents grievances are not being taken seriously.
Dining hall problem
Dining hall is another major concern, some of the issues raised in this department include being served cold food the food prices are exorbitant, and not enough variety in the menu queues is very long, and some of the residents are too old to queue. Mainly the dining hall problems are the ones that have caused a high turnover among residents in the last 12 months. Each group wants to have their own preferred menu when they arrive. It seems that there are no consultations when some decisions are being made.
The chef says, however that queues are as a result of residents preferring to take their food at the same time. The chef also complained that Mavis had taken over the purchase of all the kitchen supplies which, as a result, compromised the quality of supplies and also the quantity has reduced (Control, 2010). Cleanliness is another problem according to the residents. The weeding is not carried out the toilets are dirty. Overall there is lack of communication among stakeholders in this home leading to low quality services hence a high turnover of residents.
Low quality services
Residents in Roundal Wright retirement home have a negative view of the services provided to them. They are not getting value for their money. One can easily get the perception of low quality services or even no services in some areas like carrying out weeding in the grounds.
Analysis
While carrying out analysis of the situation in Roundal Wright retirement home one is required to carry the following procedures. Collect information from other homes that provide homecare services so as to provide a basis for comparison which is also known as a comparative analysis. This type of analysis provides a more rational approach with regards to cost and other variables. More important is that comparing figures will help in making an important decision such as to where to add more resources.
It is clear that this retirement home is aiming to cut its costs. However, cutting cost should not be at the expense of quality of service provided to the residents (Control, 2010). The quantity of supplies is also affected negatively as a result of Mavis Long trying to make an impression that she is not using many resources.
Communication
There is a communication problem between the administrators and other groups. This problem is clearly outlined by the cook’s declining to tell Mavis Long of the predicaments that he is facing after she took over the purchasing of supplies. The cook has 10years experience prior to him working in this institution. I would assume that the cook knows better when it comes to kitchen matters; therefore, this would attest to there being a problem in communication. Still in matters communication one would form an opinion that complaints made to Mavis long is not acted upon either by the management or by her. Therefore, all these complaints should be solved presently or in the future.
Limited resources
There are limited resources in this retirement home. It is evident because the housekeeper is trying to cut cost and this can also be said to labor. The fact that the queue is disastrous when the residents are taking the food means that there is a shortage of labour, weeding in the grounds is not done and also toilets are not clean means that Roundal Wright retirement homes could do with more staff to effectively carry out this services. The best quality assessment tool to analyze the situation in this home would be through observation because the are no recorded data to use in analyzing the situation.
Staff competence
It is clear that some staff in this facility lack competence or enough skill to perform certain duties. Homes for the elderly ought to have staff who are diligent in whatever they do. The cook has had ten years prior experience, but one wonders why he can serve cold meals to the residents. On the other hand, Mavis long shows clearly that she does not know how to handle administrative duties. The fact that there are complaints against her from the staff and residents shows that her leadership is below par. Furthermore, the complaints raised by the residents either do not reach Mavis Long or she decides to ignore them.
Poor relations
Poor working relations are evident between Mavis Long and cook, and it shows that there are no consultative decisions that are made. The residents make complaints which are not acted upon. The management is not hands on because if was, they should have known that there are many concerns raised by the residents (Clampitt, 2010).
Conclusion
Poor service delivery amongst others is the main cause of the turnover that has been happening in the last few months. There is a need to improve communication flow to the highest chain of command because there has been no information reaching the highest level of command. There is a poor relationship between the housekeeper and the residents. There is too much focus on cost cutting, which is resulting to the poor service delivery. On the other hand, food is overpriced and also lack of variety on the menu are some of the causes of dissatisfaction and turnover. Management has been sloppy on their dealing with overall administrative functions leaving it to the housekeeper.
Recommendations
Hiring competent staff
The home should add additional staff who are competent to complement the existing ones. The seems to be a lot of complaints especially on service delivery, which can be rated as poor. If more staff is hired the complaints on service delivery would be over, the dining hall queue would move fast and also issues to do with cleaning of the toilets and weeding the ground would be over. What type of staff? This is a question worth answering because quality and competent staff is what is required. People with experience in this field.
The main reason why they should bring in people with experience is because they would know how to relate with residents and also to respond to issues when they arise. Cost of running the home would rise but, on the other hand, turn over would reduce and perhaps there would be an increase in number of residents in the long run. Management change would also go along the way because the residents would want a person who acts on their concerns. One waitress should be hired to serve food to the residents who are either too old or immobile.
Departmental overhaul
It would be positive to overhaul the departments especially the kitchen. Many complaints come from this department. From serving cold food, long queues to not enough variety on the menu. Increase the budgetary allocation in this department so that there is additional variety on the menu. Bring in more staff, in this, to provide quality and efficient services. Quality service provision is very important for any business enterprise to remain a going concern. However it is basic knowledge that this will increase the cost of running the home. One of the ways of reducing the added cost is by changing the suppliers and going for the ones that sell their products cheaper. The dining hall should also be managed by one of the staff members to manage the queues and make them orderly and also take food to those who are too old.
Effective communication
The owners of Roundal Wright retirement home should establish a communication chain that ensure that all the grievances raised by either the staff or the residents effectively reach them. There has been so many complaints that only reach the housekeeper without the owners being aware of the complaints (Clampitt, 2010).
Parking management
Innovative solutions should be created to deal with this problem like imposing a parking fee to minimize and limit the number of cars coming into the compound. Increase the parking facility by designing in a favorably to accommodate many cars.
Change purchasing methods
The housekeeper took over the work of the cook when she decided to take over purchasing of food items. To prevent the purchase of the low quality products, this duty should be left to the head cook. This is because he knows the right quality and quantity of items that he will need. When purchasing is done by the cook, he will be having knowledge on the items required that are required to prepare a specific meal, unlike the housekeeper. However, there should be change of suppliers because the current suppliers sell their goods at high prices leading to expensive meals. When buying the products competitive bidding should be encouraged to come up with goods that are cheap and hence the price of a meal will go down.
References
All, E. C. T. M. I. M. S. o., 2011. Effective Communication: The Most Important Management Skill of All. London: Pan Macmillan .
Clampitt, P. G., 2010. Communicating for Managerial Effectiveness: Problems, Strategies, Solutions. 4th ed. Kansa: Sage.
Control, F. a. B. C., 2010. Food and Beverage Cost Control. 5th ed. California: John Wiley & Sons.
Voets, A., 2009. How to Reduce Costs and Increase Market Share Through Rationalization of the. Nordestedt: GRIN Verlag.
Wilbur S. Smith, C. S., 2010. Parking spaces, community places finding the balance through smart growth solutions.. New York: DIANE.
Wright, A., 2012. Managerial Effectiveness. The New York Times, IV(2), pp. 76-79.
