The Healthcare Environment and Culture
Healthcare organizations today have to pay careful attention to their competitive strategy and to the efficiency in their operations. Therefore, the efforts of all employees should be focused on the maximization of benefits for the organization and on improving performance. However, it is not possible if employees do not match the organizational culture of the company. There is a connection between the way people fit into the culture and their commitment. Commitment, on the other hand, is closely linked to the job performance, turnover and absenteeism (Connors, 2011). Low employee commitment will have negative consequences for the company and will be eventually reflected in the overall employee behaviour. Therefore, it is crucial to hire employees, who are able to fit into the culture of a healthcare organization and fire those, who are reluctant to live the values of the company. In this way it will be possible to maintain high performance and remain competitive.
Secondly, improper fit between personality and organizational culture can be detrimental for the career of an employee. It will hardly be possible to fully utilize the expertise and talents in the environment, which does not meet employee expectations and preferences. Moreover, employing people who are not fully committed is unfair to those, who try to do their best to achieve organizational goals. Therefore, it is crucial for healthcare organizations to make sure that people employed are empowered and have the opportunity to perform at their best. If this is not the case, termination of employment in the long run is beneficial not only for the organization but also for the employees (Lachman, 2009).
Unfortunately, legislation limits the flexibility of organizations in hiring and firing employees. It is not possible to fire someone, based on the poor organizational fit. Therefore, employees who do not match the organization have to be kept employed until a legally sound cause can be found to terminate their employment. Moreover, in many cases ethical considerations also play a role in the decision to maintain employees. Firing people creates the problem of leaving people unemployed and sometimes without means for existence. However, extending contracts based on the ethical grounds only postpones the inevitable employment termination and delays the time, when employees can start searching for a job, which would match their preferences in a better way.
It is clear that any radical policy, such as getting rid of people, who do not match organizational culture, is likely to meet resistance and numerous objections. Therefore, in the meeting managers will possibly raise concerns about legal and ethical sides of the decision. However, it is important to emphasize the interests of the company and its customers, which cannot be well protected if employees are not committed to the organization. Hence, it is necessary to get rid of people, who do not want to or cannot do their best for the benefit of the company, in order to remain competitive and to meet customer demand in the best possible way.
References
Connors, T. D. (2011). The volunteer management handbook: leadership strategies for
success. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Lachman, V. D. (2009). Ethical challenges in health care: developing your moral compass.
New York, NY: Springer Publishing.
