Issues at Kaluyu Hospital: Case Study
1. The case of Kaluyu hospital highlights a slew of anomalies in organizational culture and practices that demoralize employees. First and the foremost, there is a lack of transparency in rewards and performance system. The credit of the patient care usually goes to the doctors despite the fact that nurses do all the work. The partnership of doctor and nurses, one of the fundamentals of quality care, is in trouble. Research reveals that these types of conflicts often lead to serious long-term issues. If it continues unabated, it is likely that the organization will witness high turnover, low job satisfaction, absenteeism, and low engagement of nurses. Eventually, the quality of patient care will reduce, and the hospital will lose the trust of the stakeholders. All in all, the conflict will prove costly to the organization because of the decreased productivity of employees.
Secondly, communication is improper at the hospital. Employees exhibit a tinge of fear as they approach their superiors. Sometimes, it even leads to extreme behavioral awkwardness as juniors leaving the cabin of seniors in a hurry. Obviously, the hospital sans an open-door policy, and seems to have placed a rigid vertical structure that has obliterated team working and collaboration among employees. There is a display of toxicity in attitudes and behaviors as employees are indifferent towards each other. Researchers have conceded that the worst impact of lack of communication and collaboration falls on the patient safety as there are high chances of medical errors. It also prolongs the stay of patients in the hospital and leads to the inefficient utilization of resources thereby enhancing the overall cost of business.
Finally, there are overt maladies in the overall culture of the hospital. While hospitals must show exemplary cleanliness, the situation at Kaluyu is beyond imagination. Employees wearing unwashed clothes, dud refrigerators, and absence of proper feeding areas for mothers reflect that employers have not maintained even basic amenities for employees. These factors have probably caused disengagement and aloofness among employees as many are seen in a hurry to end their shifts, and a lot remain unengaged in meetings and conferences. It goes without saying that the combined effects of these demotivational aspects span employees as well as the business as a whole. While dissatisfaction and turnover are some explicit concerns for employees, the business and profitability are expected to nosedive in short of quality care to patients.
2. The motivational issues at the hospital are closely reflected in Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory. Maslow seems apt in stating that there is a hierarchy of needs and people tend to move from lower-level needs to attaining higher-level requirements. While Maslow states that the safety needs remain at the second stage of the triangle, Kaluyu hospital has important lessons to learn. That is, it is the duty of employers to proffer its employees an environment that is free of fear, risks, and threats. A secure working environment is a motivator for them. Unfortunately, this aspect is missing in the hospital as there prevails a feeling of fear and insecurity when it comes to approaching the seniors.
Maslow's five-stage pyramid is apt for Kaluyu's policymakers to understand that there is a dearth of motivating factors to achieve a lower level of satisfaction, not to talk of higher satisfaction that is represented in recognizing employees' accomplishments, imparting opportunities to socialize, and promoting a healthy working ambiance.
Undoubtedly, the model has a special relevance in this case because it presents a simplistic model of how the organization can move step-by-step in motivating its employees. Taking a cue from the Maslow's perspective, policymakers at the hospital can categorize the motivational needs of employees and go from lower sectors in the pyramid to higher levels. For example, the present case reflects that the hospital does not fulfill even basic needs as per the Maslow's model. So, it is imperative that the organization fulfills safety needs first by ensuring a threat-free and fear-free ambiance to employees. Later on, policies can be charted out to enhance social needs and esteem needs.
Not only from the employees' perspective, but the model also has its relevance in furthering the interests of patients. Researchers opine that the application of Maslow's model in healthcare implies a comprehensive care of the whole person and emphasizes the restoration of the pre-illness functioning of body, mind, and the spirit. Once the basic needs of the patients are fulfilled, the staff can focus on the overall quality of life and emotional needs. It will restore the stakeholders' trust in the organization that has plummeted down because of a plethora of cultural and structural flaws.
While the model begins with the most primary basic needs, these very needs are compromised in the Kaluyu hospital. As such, the theory imparts a good practical solution to the issues that the hospital is facing as of now.
3. Considering the communication failure at the hospital, it is crucial to adopt a strategic communication system that ensures an open and transparent dialogue between nurses, patients, and doctors. The breakdown of communication between nurses and physicians, and between seniors and juniors severely deteriorate the patient care.
As far as the communication between nurses and physicians is concerned, it is imperative to adopt standard policies and procedures bounded by formal communication strategies. For example, the hospital can adopt a transparent approach to performance and reward policies. There are several indicators of gauging the performance; 360-degree feedbacks and self-evaluations can be rolled out to have a comprehensive view of an individual's performance. Placing proper systems in place will not only mitigate the tensions between the nurses and doctors, but it will also enhance the communication between them.
The senior-junior relationship is another area where communication breakdown is visible. As the sense of fear prevails, it is clear that there are less support and encouragement from the seniors. To ameliorate the situation, participative leadership must be adopted. While leaders will extend support and motivation to their team members, it is likely that their juniors will reciprocate by exhibiting more loyalty, engagement, and job satisfaction. Thus, participative leadership style and formal standards form the linchpin of communication policy at the hospital.
References
Jackson, J., Santoro, M., & Ely, T. (2014). Improving patient care through the prism of psychology: application of Maslow's hierarchy to sedation, delirium, and early mobility in the ICU. J Crit Care , 438-444.
Kaur, A. (2013). Maslow's need hierarchy theory. Global Journal of management and business studies , 1061-1064.
Keller, K. B., Eggenberger, T. L., & Belkowitz, J. (2013). Implemeting successful interprofessional communication opportunities in health care education: a qqualitative analysis. International Journal of Medical Education , 253-259.
Patton, C. (2014). Conflict in health care: A literature review. The Internet Journal of Healthcare Administration .
