St Elizabeths Organizational Structure and Mission

.....organizational structure. Please make specific reference to pages 160-168 in your textbook Advancing your Career. In your opinion, is the structure of your organization effective or ineffective? Please defend your position -- what is working or not working and state specifically ideas which would make it more effective.

Elizabeth's organizational structure would best be described as an adhocracy, or an organic organizational structure that is relatively fluid and dynamic (Nunnery, 2012, p.161). Different components of the organization attend to various needs of elderly adults and persons with disabilities, spanning from long-term care, adult daycare, hospice care, and other supportive services such as assistance for elders experiencing abuse at the hands of their caregivers. An organic rather than a bureaucratic structure is needed because there is often overlap between the different services required by patients. Some patients may begin with a need for treatment of a specific ailment like a fall in rehabilitative care services, but then later need supportive therapy in the form of adult daycare. As patients transition between different components of the organization, dialogue between the various providers is helpful to ensure high-quality care. The fact that organizational components are not isolated from one another, as is typical of a matrix structure, is also useful, since this ensures no information is lost and providers are always communicating with one another. Thus, I believe the structure of St. Elizabeth's is very effective, particularly given the diverse range of services it provides.

Q2. If your organization has a Board of Directors who is on the Board-- are they elected? How long do they serve? If your organization does not have a Board do you feel one would be beneficial? If so defend your position.

Members of the St. Elizabeth Board of Trustees are elected. Because this is a not-for-profit organization, the leadership board is called a board of trustees versus a board of directors. This is to clarify that the mission of the organization is for charitable purposes and the primary focus of the Board is serving the needs of the patients, not enriching shareholders. The board still ensures that the organization is well-run and uses its resources wisely and thus I think that having an official Board is useful and necessary, particularly given the complexity of the organization and the diverse needs of the patients it serves.

Q3. What is the mission, vision, and strategic plan of your organization? Is it readily available? How are employees educated on the mission, vision, and strategic plan? Who is involved in developing the mission, vision, and strategic plan? How often are the areas updated?

St. Elizabeth's clearly states its vision on its official website as follows: "To be the organization where RI seniors come first." Its stated mission on its official website is to "provide exceptional, quality care in a variety of settings." During orientation, all employees are briefed in St. Elizabeth's vision and mission in a more detailed fashion, including the ways in which it strives to offer high-quality care in different settings, depending on the diagnosed needs of the patient. Its vision and mission has remained relatively unchanged throughout the duration of its existence. St. Elizabeth's does not include a strategic plan on its website, but it does offer an annual report which consists of a list of donors who have been particularly generous and details about new developments at the organization, including expanded services for seniors and additional efforts to improve environmental sustainability. The annual report does not provide the financial details and advanced planning of a strategic report but rather acts as a resource to inform contributors to the organization and employees of the organization's progress. The annual report would seem to function more as a marketing resource than an actual informative document.

References

Nunnery, R. (2012). Advancing your career: Concepts in professional nursing (5th ed.).

F.A. Davis Company.

St. Elizabeth's Community. (2017). Official Website. Retrieved from:

http://www.stelizabethcommunity.org/