Organisational Structure Of Whitlam Memorial Hospital

Advantages and disadvantages of the current organisational structure

Discuss about the Building Organisation Capacity in Healthcare.

Whitlam Memorial hospital is one of the best and profitable health care facilities existing in Sydney. The hospital provides various types of services to the patients in the regions of Sydney, which includes emergency service so that the customers can be protected. The main stakeholders of the centre are the community in which the health care centre is located. Currently, Whitlam Memorial hospital has over 130 beds in the centre. However, with an increased growth of population, the requirement of the beds is more in the centre. The essay focuses on the manner in which the organisational structure of Whitlam Memorial hospital can be developed. The current organisational structure is analysed and the advantages and disadvantages of the structure are analysed. A link is established that highlights the importance of mission, vision and objectives of an organisation and the manner in which organisational structure can affect it. Recommendation about the adoption of a different organisational structure is provided to Whitlam Memorial hospital. The thesis statement includes organisational structure is important to ensure effective ways to manage objectives, vision and mission.

An organisational structure is considered as a system that makes formal links between the tasks and responsibilities of an organisation. The actions and resources of an organisation are defined by the organisational structure (Mancini, 2017). Organisational structure helps in improving the capabilities of an organisation and the potential opportunity for job satisfaction. However, organisations in the health care centre adopt a different structure as compared with other business organisations. This is mainly because the health care structures tend to follow a systematic manner of work (Marquis & Huston, 2015).

As observed by Olden and Diana (2009) most health care centres follow a bureaucratic organisational structure that helps it to monitor the progress of the employees and provide them with roles and responsibilities. The advantage that can be derived from following this type of structure is that employees can understand their direct boss and no such confusion remain about their loyalty and reporting. This provides employees with an opportunity to understand the roles and responsibilities they have in the organisation and the expectations of the managers. In the case of Whitlam Memorial hospital, this advantage can help the health care centre to improve the performance of the employees.

However, this organisational structure has a certain disadvantage as well. The fact that decisions are taken in the top-level management provides a sense of frustration for the employees. Employees may feel that they are de-motivated due to the lack of participation in the decision-making process. This can be a negative consequence for organisations as employees are the main assets and are an important stakeholder (Bosch, 2017).

Importance of mission, vision and objectives

Apart from this, another disadvantage is the fact that communication is weak in this structure. The fact that communication only flows from top-level to bottom-level provides a disadvantage for the organisations. As stated by Khanafer et al. (2015) communication is important to understand the problems that are faced by the employees. Whitlam Memorial hospital follows this bureaucratic structure and is faced with problems particularly in the communication department. The lack of communication that exists between the nurses and doctors can be a huge negative factor for the health care centre.

Formulating a proper business plan is required for organisations so that it can generate profit and remain competitive in the business market. Hence, it is essential that an organisation maintain a proper vision and mission that can help it to remain competitive. At the same time, a proper goal can help an organisation align itself with the mission and vision (Braithwaite & Westbrook, 2005). In the case of Whitlam Memorial hospital, the mission statement of the health care centre includes being big in the market and serve the stakeholders such as the community. It also sums up the value that the managers tend to follow.

As stated by Braithwaite et al. (2006) the vision statement determines the future of an organisation. It helps in declaring the purpose of an organisation and the market share or reputation it needs to achieve in the future. The difference between the mission and vision statement is that the mission statement formulates the purpose of an organisation whereas the vision statement provides the aim of the organisation in the future. The vision statement of Whitlam Memorial hospital is aimed at developing effective health experts that can provide assistance to any type of emergencies. The necessary changes that may be required in the centre can be analysed from the vision statement of  Whitlam Memorial hospital.

In order to ensure that the mission and vision of an organisation are achieved gaols need to be formulated that highlights the effectiveness of an organisation (Bos & Brown, 2014). The organisational goals and objectives help an organisation to maintain the mission and vision so that success can be gained in the market. The goals set up a challenge for the employees and at the same time ensure that the organisational mission and vision remain intact. The goal of Whitlam Memorial hospital is to ensure that teams are formed that are high in efficiency and skills. This can help the centre maintain its reputation in the suburban region of Sydney and fend off competition in the market.

Recommendation for a different organisational structure

Hence, the mission, vision and goals of organisations are aligned with one another and are interdependent. This can help organisations to remain competitive in the market. The development of an organisation takes place internally as well. Thus, a link can be established between the current organisational structures of Whitlam Memorial hospital and its mission, vision and goals. The top-level managers of the health care centre help in setting up the goals for the centre. This includes challenging the employees and ensuring that they attain the necessary mission and vision. Based on the structure of the centre, the structure can be developed that can help Whitlam Memorial hospital to understand the pros and cons of the bureaucratic structure. The internal capabilities of the health care centre can be developed based on the organisational structure that Whitlam Memorial hospital possesses. Hence, the formation of mission, vision and goals of Whitlam Memorial hospital are dependent upon the organisational structure of the health care centre.

Every organisation need to be structured in different ways so that effectiveness of the structures can be analysed. The characteristics of the organisational structure are different and provide an opportunity for success. Whitlam Memorial hospital needs to analyse the current structure it has and try to make changes based on the limitations that exist. In this regard, it can be said that Whitlam Memorial hospital can adopt the organisational structure of divisional structure. Howitt et al. (2014) stated that divisional structure breaks down organisations into different departments.

The analysis is based on increasing the number of beds of Whitlam Memorial hospital from 130 to 250. With the adoption of the divisional structure, the centre may be able to attain the vision. Thus, some of the advantages of divisional structure can be analysed hat includes establishing a positive relationship with the stakeholders. According to Duffield, Kearin and Leonard (2007), the divisional organisational structure is used in organisations that provide a variety of services. It can help Whitlam Memorial hospital to access a large number of products and help in maintaining the flexibility in the centre. Therefore, Whitlam Memorial hospital can gain a competitive advantage in the market by adopting this organisational structure.

However, there are certain limitations as well in the application of the divisional structure. One such disadvantage is the fact that the divisional organisational structure cannot identify the inefficient workers in an organisation. This can be a huge negative factor particularly in trying to gain a competitive advantage in the market. Like the bureaucratic structure, the divisional organisational structure also has problems in terms of communication (Johnson, 2009). The communication gap is generally among the employees that work in the same post but at different departments. As such, an example can be made that highlights the disadvantage of communication in this structure. In the case of Whitlam Memorial hospital, the managers of the service department of one department may not have communication with the service department of a different department. Apart from this, the adoption of a divisional organisational structure may be more cost-effective for the health care centre.

Conclusion

Hence, organisational structure is required for maintaining effective mission and vision of an organisation. The limitations and advantages of the organisational structure that is followed by Whitlam Memorial hospital can help the centre to align with its goals. Organisational structure helps in analysing the support system that can be provided for attaining the goals. The cons of the bureaucratic structure can be aligned with the cons of the divisional structure and because of this Whitlam Memorial hospital need to select the organisational structure based on the capabilities it possesses.

Reference

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