Management Theories and Organizational Styles in Healthcare

Introduction to Healthcare Management

Healthcare organizations are generally complex and dynamic, requiring managers to provide leadership in addition to supervision and coordination of healthcare workers. This complexity and dynamism stems from the fact that these organizations were created to accomplish objectives that exceed the capacity of any single individual. The scope and complexity of activities conducted to deliver services is so extensive that no individual staff member can function entirely on his or her own ("Understanding Healthcare Management," n.d.). Therefore, the management of healthcare organizations must ensure that tasks are performed in the most suitable way to achieve organizational objectives through effective management of both financial and human resources. Providing appropriate leadership to these organizations requires an understanding of organizational theories as well as management theories and styles.

Organizational Theories

Organizational theories are concepts that explain an organization and its structure. They are generally classified as either classical or modern organizational theories. Classical organizational theories mainly focus on the formal organization and address concepts for enhancing management efficiency ("Organizational Theories," n.d.). The most common classical theories include Weber's bureaucratic approach, Taylor's scientific management approach, and administrative theory.

Taylor's scientific management approach focuses on the planning of work in order to achieve efficiency, specialization, standardization, and simplification. In contrast, Weber's bureaucratic approach views the organization as part of the wider society, grounded in principles of structure, rationality, democracy, specialization, and predictability and stability. Administrative theory examines an organization with regard to the accomplishment of tasks and includes principles of management—particularly management functions and the role of committees.

Unlike classical organizational theories, modern theories are based on the concept that an organization is a system that must adapt to environmental changes. Under these theories, an organization is defined as a designed and structured process in which people interact toward specific objectives. Modern organizational theories include the systems approach, which regards an organization as a system of intertwined and mutually dependent sub-systems, and the socio-technical approach, which holds that every organization is composed of people, a technical system, and an environment. The final modern organizational theory is the contingency or situational approach, in which organizational systems are interconnected with the environment and require different organizational relationships depending on circumstances.

Management Theories and Styles

Management theories and styles describe the ways in which an organization manages its workers and their various work activities. Because management styles differ based on factors such as the nature of work activities, the attributes of employees, and organizational culture, the popularity of particular management styles continues to rise and fall in response to changes in the modern business environment. Management theories, like organizational theories, are similarly divided into classical and modern categories, and the key distinctions between them parallel those previously discussed in the context of organizational theory.

There are five common management styles that have become prevalent across the corporate environment. The first is the authoritarian management style, in which a manager at the head of the organization decides all policies. In this style, employees are assigned specific tasks to complete by senior management. In contrast, a democratic management style provides workers with flexibility so that the team can work and grow together. The paternalistic management style differs further in that it focuses on meeting individuals' social needs, drawing on Maslow's hierarchy of needs ("Management Theories & Styles," n.d.). The autocratic management style involves unilateral decision-making by the manager with minimal or no input from workers. Finally, the laissez-faire management style differs from the others in that employees exercise control over their own areas within the business, with only peripheral involvement from the manager.

Most Relevant Organizational Theory

The organizational theory that most closely resembles the healthcare organization under discussion is the socio-technical systems approach—a modern organizational theory. This theory is the best fit because the healthcare facility is composed of people, a technical system, and an environment. As a result, the organization's processes and operations have been primarily oriented toward the use of knowledge, tools, and techniques to generate services that promote the well-being of individuals and the broader environment. The social system—that is, the individuals within the healthcare organization—uses the technical system (knowledge and tools) to promote the health and well-being of consumers and users, who constitute the organization's external environment.

References

"Management Theories & Styles." (n.d.). MBA Online Program. Retrieved February 28, 2015, from http://www.mba-online-program.com/management-theories-styles

"Organizational Theories." (n.d.). FAO Corporate Document Repository. Retrieved February 28, 2015, from http://www.fao.org/docrep/w7503e/w7503e03.htm

"Understanding Healthcare Management." (n.d.). Chapter 2. Retrieved February 28, 2015, from http://samples.jbpub.com/9780763759643/59643_CH02_5289.pdf