Free Hospital Software Solutions Management Structure Case Study Case Study Example

Abstract

Hospital Software Solutions is an integrated software solutions firm in Kenya specializing on software solutions for the hospitals. The company based in Ottawa was founded in 1999 by ten partners. The company saw an opportunity based on state cuts on hospital spending and established a viable business plan for the idea. Initially, the company progressed slowly due to the skepticism of the technology deployed. In addition, the technology was new and most doctors were not adequately conversant with software operations (Ebner, 2007). The technology boom was fast arriving. However, the health sector did not appear conversant with the trends. The business experienced a lull period which was rather propelled by the new market urges to integrate systems to create efficiency and cut costs. Most hospitals were grappling with spiraling costs and budget cuts for the industry (Blaauw, 2003). The challenge initiated adoption of technological solutions by the health sector. Hospital Software Solutions was at the heart of the boom and experience rapid expansion in the years that followed. The company bought out competitors and expanded in the United States of America (USA), Europe and the United Kingdom (UK). The company had an undefined management structure from the beginning and overlapping employment roles for different employees. The case study evaluates the prior performance of the firm in relation to an employee in relating of the core issue of the management structure. The employee sees a need to enhance the firm’s operations but has conflicting ideologies on who to approach based on personal relationships among staff. The final choice is not expressed but the challenges confirm the imbalance of the management structure.

Overarching theme

The firm is faced with an undefined management structure with various employees’ job responsibilities overlapping. The firm considers working the old way that guaranteed success will succeed in its current form today. The business fails to recognize the business has grown and the job profiles should reflect the change. The partners initially worked hard to propel the business forward. The partners input were important and strategic decisions were passed by the partners. However, centralized decision making for big or globalized firms becomes tedious. A firm operating in more than one country cannot make decisions centrally as countries have distinct features relating on the precise industry.
Moreover, work overloads are observed as partners miss out on important family gatherings and work for long hours in the business to clear workload. Employees focus on individual tasks and communicate rarely. Team works are rare. Therefore, the firm fails to maximize employees’ abilities through generation of ideas, efficiency in decision making, maximizing output, demotivated employees and a lull in business. The hierarchy does not realize this since the focus is on continuity of the business unlike efficiency, growth and enhancing employee satisfaction. Furthermore, the company lacks a proper communication pattern through which to communicate to employees. The company uses a closed door policy rarely successful in technology startups owing to the changing innovations daily. Technology is an advancing industry and innovation is key for the progress or revenue maximization of any business in the industry, especially in Canada (.A. Kopec, 2001). The challenges in the management structure forced employees overlap other employees’ duties due to allocation of tasks covering more than one’s are specification. As one of the employees put it “do your work and keep yourself busy”. The employees were distressed and lacked a formal structure to communicate to superiors.

Context of the case

The company had matured by the year 2005 experiences strong revenues flows. The company had matured to a globalised firm with operations in Canada, United States (US), United Kingdom (UK) and Europe. However, actual operations in the firms were done similar to the past when the firm operated as a small company. The company was planning to recruit more staff to keep up with the work load. One of the job placements was the project management portfolio. MacLachlan had previously exited university earning a Honours in Business Management from the University of Western Ontario. McLachlan was an excellent student in the University and anticipated a better job unlike friends engaged in data entry jobs. The project management employment opportunity at the Hospital Software Solutions was the best opportunity for MacLachlan. The interviews progressed well with the vice president for customer care and human resources as well as the manger for customer care impressed with MacLachlan. Interestingly, both vice presidents had to step out often in the middle of them interview to answer calls.
However, MacLachlan considered the job perfect. Later, an offer was tabled to MacLachlan which was adequately accepted. However, the company later sort to change her job profile on a new created job profile. Though reluctant at first, MacLachlan accepted the offer. However, the drama was not over, MacLachlan was also requested to join earlier than than the contract adduces. MacLachlan declined and joined on the actual day the contract was to start. The employee experienced difficulties working for the company relating inadequate education on the company’s workings, lacked an immediate supervisor, ranging tasks not within the employee’s job specification and complete frustration on completion of the tasks. The overlying problem was the undefined management and worker related structures defining the job roles of different employees.

Players and stakeholders

The actual management structure did not offer actual job profiles for different employees. The ten founders actually undertook the actual duties or jobs tendered by the firms. The structure confirms decentralsation of certain roles such as finance, sales and customer care, legal affairs, human resource and research and development. The company maintained a more customer experience model based on the business emphasis on customer care. The company’s major product sales are information technology solutions for the health sector. However, based on the closed communication policy, one wonders how the founders communicate actual scope of a project tendered. However, MacLachlan’s experience changing roles reveals a lack of communication amongst the senior management and an unclear recruitment policy. Derek Chow (Vice president, customer care) initially in MacLachlan’s contract requested the employee to work on data cleanups and data entry jobs in the meanwhile. However, Allan Densmore had described MacLachlan a completely different role. The employee was further retributed on ignoring company rules on data entry and whispered among senior staff the employee’s work was disappointing. This is clearly show by Chow’s reply on requested feedback by MacLachlan.
Furthermore, the employee was not at ease working with April Worthington, the employee’s supervisor at the time. The employee was frustrated with the closed communication policy in the firm. However, actual failures in the system saw senior staff claim the employee’s poor work was the reason. However, the employee had discovered a problem with the firm’s database and had come up with a detailed solution to the problem. Interestingly, the employee’s difficult working relationship with Worthington and Chow made it difficult to unravel the findings to the senior workers. The company’s chief executive, was a better option, though the senior would be angry the employee bypassed the correct protocol on the matter. The text does indicate what the employee does but shows a difficult work environment enhanced by unclear management structure.

Situation

The senior were interfering with MacLachlan’s job description. The actual difficult working relationship with senior staff is proving of this. The worker is continuously frustrated even on minor duties such as data entry. Interestingly, the firm initially offered the employee a contract on project manager but later shifted the job description to Team Lead Customer Care. The overlying challenge for the firm is unclear structures for the workers to work upon and unclear duties. The senior staff overlaps duties due to the fact that decisions are made by the top managers. The employee’s attempt to create efficient structures is thwarted by senior staff unwilling to backtrack to the old ways of doing things. The closed door policies deny employees to engage the management on the challenges experienced while working (Puck, 2007). Further, senior are fearful of engaging in efficient management ways fearing reprisals for such decisions only undertaken by the partners. The chief executive officer though easy to relate with offers no clear vision or motivation to the staff. These further the actual challenge on job descriptions for different positions in the firm.

Analysis

The business is struggling internally to match efficient levels and employees are feeling the weight on the problem (Men, 2012). The partners are busy performing actual duties similar to when the firm was a small company. This has disrupted the actual vision advancement supposed to be offered by the partners on the actual trend of the firm. The management is unable to solve the problem as reduced role on decision making inhibits implementation of solutions ailing the firm. However, the senior staff is content on status since the firm has continued strong financial results. Contrastingly, lower cadres’ employees such as MacLachlan are completely overworked, cope with multi tasks covering different departments and are thwarted on efficiency created. This leads to lack of motivation amongst the workers leading to lower productivity. Dismissal of the previous manager on customer care is questionable, either relating to company politics or uneasiness amongst senior staff in working with Nardi.

Commentary

The company should evaluate the structure of the business to become efficient. Precisely, the firm should describe worker profile on specific job profiles for r every employee working in the business. The business should consider decentralization of duties and decision making to enhance efficiency in the business (Deutsch, 2010). Decentralization of roles offers proper job roles for each employee in the business. Furthermore, the company should implement an open communication model to enable employees communicate with senior on issues affecting the business and the workers in general. Conclusively, the company should conduct an evaluation on the employees already employed and evaluate productivity and efficient worker numbers for the business. Implementation of the strategies mentioned will enhance the efficiency of the firm, easier decision making and proper workers’ productivity.

Lessons learned

Decentralization of duties enhances effiency in a business.
Clear management structures enhance higher productivity for the workers.
Open communication model enhances higher productivity amongst workers.

References

Ebner-Priemer, U. W., & Kubiak, T. (2007). Psychological and psychophysiological ambulatory
monitoring: A review of hardware and software solutions. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 23(4), 214.
Blaauw, D., Gilson, L., Penn-Kekana, L., & Schneider, H. (2003). Organisational relationships
and the ‘software’of health sector reform. Centre for Health Policy. School of Public Health. University of Witwatersrand, South Africa.
Deutsch, E., Duftschmid, G., & Dorda, W. (2010). Critical areas of national electronic health
record programs—Is our focus correct?. International journal of medical informatics, 79(3), 211-222.
Puck, J., Rygl, D., & Kittler, M. (2007). Cultural antecedents and performance consequences of
open communication and knowledge transfer in multicultural process-innovation teams. Journal of Organisational Transformation & Social Change, 3(2), 223-241.
Men, L. R. (2012). CEO credibility, perceived organizational reputation, and employee
engagement. Public Relations Review, 38(1), 171-173.
A. Kopec, J., Ivan Williams, J., To, T., & C. Austin, P. (2001). Cross-cultural comparisons of health status in Canada using the Health Utilities Index. Ethnicity and Health, 6(1), 41 50.