Introduction
An organization is defined as a social entity, which has a purpose or a mission, designed, structured and organized deliberately and has a close connection with its macro environment (Clarity, 2010). An organization has shared elements, which include employees, mission, hierarchy or organization, coordinated efforts and the external environment. The paper reviews the definition of the organizations to identify the five common elements. It will then use the five common elements to analyze the Graceland Memorial Hospital, which is a community-based nonprofit hospital situated in an urban area in Midwest. From the basic definition of the term organization, it is possible to derive the standard elements that make up any group. The paper or the study on the subject matter is essential in reviewing the definition of the term organization to derive the elements that make up the organization. The identification of the components is critical because it will aid in the analysis of the Graceland Memorial Hospital, which is situated in Midwest. The primary goals are to determine whether the Graceland Memorial Hospital fulfills the elements of an organization derived from the definition or not.
Elements of an organization
Employees
An organization is a social entity that consists of individuals or employees. The Graceland hospital has employees and a human resource department that deals with the management of employees. In addition to the employees in the firm, the hospital’s population is also made up of patients and medical professionals who attend to the patients. In addition to the medical professionals and other subordinate staff members. The employees embrace the division of labor and training programs are common in the hospital, just like in other organizations.
Mission
An organization has set goals and objectives that guide its daily activities and need to be fulfilled by all stakeholders. For the Graceland hospital, the primary aim is to provide the best medical care to the Midwest community where it operates. In addition to patient health, the hospital is also determined in providing a safe environment for its employees to ensure that their health is also safeguarded. For instance, it provides respiratory masks to prevent the transmission of communicable diseases among the medical professionals based on the requirements of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) (Asfahl & Rieske, 2010).
Arrangements
Arrangements and the division of labor, based on the organization hierarchy is also another element. In the Graceland Memorial Hospital, the division of labor is identified by the existence of several departments mentioned in the case study. For instance, Ms. Thompson leads the infection control department; Jack Prestwood is the human resource department’s vice president, and Jane Bowers leads the department of the employees’ health. Therefore, it can be depicted that the hospital has the employees at the ground level and management team that heads various departments and activities.
Coordinated efforts
The fourth element of an organization is the coordinated efforts of the workforce. In the Graceland Memorial Hospital, the concerted effort is seen when Prestwood combines the ideas of the various head of departments in regards to OSHA regulations (Asfahl & Rieske, 2010). All the stakeholders are involved in a joint decision-making meeting to give their thoughts on whether a compliance change should be implemented or not. When the first session fails to obtain success due to an objection from a member, a third party is invited to help the management in reaching a consensus (Bender et al., 2000). There is also coordinated efforts where the company liaises with the business that distributes the health equipment. Both the supplier companies and the hospital’s staff organize employee the training programs.
External environment
The last element is the external environment that contains some factors that are beyond the control of the organization’s management. The external environment is mostly characterized by competition from other companies and government regulations. The Graceland Memorial Hospital experiences pressure from other competitor hospitals in the locality. Since it is the leading health care center in the region, it faces the pressure of staying ahead of the competitors. Therefore, there is the need to introduce a compliance change in the hospital, which will ensure that the employees’ safety is guarded since other competitors may have already implemented the change. On the other hand, the company faces the threat of government fines if it fails to comply with the OSHA regulations. Therefore, the Graceland hospital experiences two types of external pressures, which are from the government in the form of fines and competitors since it needs to stay ahead of them.
Conclusion
An organization is defined a social entity, with a purpose or a mission, designed, structured and organized deliberately and has a close link with its macro environment. An organization has shared elements that include the employees, mission, hierarchy or organization, coordinated efforts and the external environment. The Graceland Memorial Hospital situated in Midwest fulfills all the requirements of an organization. It has employees, a mission or a purpose, and combined efforts, arrangements, and the external environment.
References
Clarity, C. (2010). Editor’s comments: Construct clarity in theories of management and organization. Academy of Management Review, 35(3), 346-357.
Bender, D., Manning, H., & Curkendall, J. (2000). Managing health services: Cases in organization design and decision making. Chicago: Health Administration Press
Asfahl, C. R., & Rieske, D. W. (2010). Industrial safety and health management. Prentice Hall.
