Strategic Management Applications for Strategic

Strategic Management

Applications for Strategic Management Theory: A Nursing Home Case Study

An internship at a nursing home provides an excellent avenue for examining first hand the real-world applications of the concepts and theories of strategic management and organizational behavior. The many different areas of operation and levels of personnel involved with the day-to-day operations of the nursing home made it clear that a strong structure and a conscious management strategy was a necessary part of making this institution effective. This particular nursing home had a fairly authoritarian style of leadership, and this actually served the institution well as it allowed for clearly defined roles and a maximum level of efficiency (Huber 2006). This also made the interactions between various departments quite clearly defined, with a concrete and detailed system in place for all functions and interactions that made things run quite smoothly, though it certainly detracted from innovative behaviors and attitudes (Huber 2006; Griffin & Moorehead 2009).

The authoritarian mode of leadership and organizational structure that was a part of this institution's operations and functions also makes it very suitable for analysis according to systems theory, which is more mathematical in nature and thus somewhat less capable of predicting changes in loosely run organizations more subject to the whims of human individuals (Garner et al. 1990; Griffin & Moorehead 2009). The interactions of the many departments within the nursing home could be fairly easily modeled in a manner that clearly shows the interconnectedness of these departments, and the effects that each part of the nursing home system has on the other (Garner et al. 1990). This system is perhaps best explored form the administrative perspective.

In a top-down view, which is generally the perspective from which authoritarian structures are deigned and controlled, the business office can be seen as the point of central planning and focus within the nursing home (Huber 2006). The nursing and social services departments have their own objectives and leadership, but these departments and the resources available for the achievement of these objectives are coordinated and controlled by the business office. The business office ensures that there are sufficient resources for the day-to-day operations of these departments, that is, while any major changes or shifting trends requiring a commensurate shift in resources must take place through direct coordination between departmental leadership and the business office. Again, this maintains a strong efficiency in operations, but creates a lag in innovation and response to change, neither of which are hugely detrimental to the organization in the short-term but which could potentially lead to a lack of competitiveness in the long-term (Griffin & Moorehead 2009).

There are many other support departments that exist in the nursing home and maintain its functionality, and that are part of the overall system. Laundry, outdoor activities, housekeeping needs, and dietary departments are all separately organized within the overall structure of the organization, with distinct expectations, roles, and procedures defined for each department. The coordination of the timing of the various operations these departments perform is coordinated by the operations management office, which is directly responsive to the business office. It is in this way that the authoritarian structure of the organization is preserved (Huber 2006).