MODULE THREE

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE, JOB DESCRIPTION, AND JOB EVALUATION

OBJECTIVES:

At the end of module three, you will be able to:

1. Differentiate between hierarchical and matrix organizationalstructures.

2. Make a table of organization.

3. Make a job description.

4. Describe the processes involved in job evaluation.

5. Explain each of the four (4) methods of job evaluation.

6. Describe the techniques for team building.

7. Discuss Bale’s method for analyzing group members’ interactions

8. Describe how the principles of group dynamics are used in designing work groups.

LESSON 1 ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

Forms of Organizational Structure

There are two common forms of organizational structures,hierarchical, and free-form. A mixture of both is needed innursing. The hierarchical structure is commonly called a linestructure. This is the traditional structure and is associatedwith the principle of chain of command, bureaucracy, verticalcontrol and coordination, level differentiated by functions andauthority, and downward communication. The line structure isstill used in many nursing organizations because of itsadvantages such as:

It is easy to orient new employees to a line organizationbecause of the simplicity of interpersonal relations;

It is easy to function in a line organization becauseresponsibility and accountability for each function areclearly defined;

It is relatively easy to manage a line organization becauseof the speed with which orders can be transmitted and,generally, the acquiescence of workers to authoritativecommands;

It is well suited to execution of tasks that require largenumbers of moderately-educated workers to perform routineoperations;

The emphasis in line organization on clear-cut workspecialization and role separation makes line structure moreeffective in relatively stable organizations in which thepace of change is slow.

There are also disadvantages especially to the staff. These are:

The small, repetitive, cyclical performance of tasksproduces monotony and worker alienation;

Over-emphasis on specialization leads to communicationdifficulties among specialists;

Structure’s inability to adjust rapidly to alteredcircumstances;

There is a tendency of bureaucratic structure to engenderpassivity and dependency in staff members and to encourageautocratic behavior in managers;

There is lack of coordination and integration betweendivisions or sections of the organization;

There is the tendency for limited use of available knowledgein a bureaucratic setting due to the relative isolation ofemployees from other departments.

A modification of the line structure is the line and stafforganization. This pattern minimizes the disadvantages of theline organization. Here, a simple line organization is altered byproviding management specialists to support and strengthen thetop executives.

The free-form organizational structures are called matrixorganizations. When project team or task force organization issuperimposed upon and built into a fully-functionalizedhierarchical organization, the result is a matrix organization.In a matrix organization, the efforts of numerous specialists arecoordinated both vertically and horizontally (Gillies, 1994).Vertical coordination occurs through the hierarchical chain ofcommand, in that the efforts of several specialized departmentare integrated by the executive who supervises them. Horizontalcoordination takes place through direct interactions amongdiverse members of the patient care team, who represent differentdepartments and occupational groups. The matrix structure isdifferent from hierarchical and the line and staff structures inthat there are fewer levels of hierarchy, greaterdecentralization of decision making, and less rigid adherence toformal rules and procedures. The advantages of matrix nursingorganization structure include (Swansburg, 1993):

1. Improved communication through vertical and horizontalcontrol and coordination of interdisciplinary patient careteams.

2. Increased organizational adaptability and fluidity torespond to environmental changes.

3. Increased efficiency or resource use with fewerorganizational levels and decision making closer to primarycare operations.

4. Improved human resource management because of increased jobsatisfaction with achievement and fulfillment, improvedcommunication, improved communication, improvedinterpersonal skills, and improved collegial relationships.

There are also disadvantages because in matrix organization,there may be:

1. Potential conflict because of dual or multiple lines ofauthority, responsibility, and accountability relationships.

2. Role ambiguity.

3. Loss of control over functional discipline due tomultidisciplinary team approach.

According to Swanburg (1993), the characteristics of a matrixorganization include the following:

1. Maintenance of old-line authority structures.

2. Specialists’ resources obtained from functional areas.

3. Promotion of formation of new organizational units.

4. Occurrence of decision-making at the organizational level ofgroup consensus, the middle management level.

5. The matrix manager exercising authority over the functionalmanager.

6. Cooperative planning of program development and allocationof resources to accomplish program objectives.

Organizational Charts

Organizational charts, also called schemas, are graphicrepresentations of the organizing process in an institution.These charts show reporting relationships and communicationchannels as well as distribution of responsibilities. Line chartsshow supervisor and supervised relationships from top to bottomof the nursing organization. Staff charts show the advisoryrelationship of specialists or experts who are extensions of thenurse supervisors.

Decentralization

Decentralization refers to the degree to which authority withinan organization is delegated downward to its divisions, branches,services, and units. Decentralization of authority includesdelegation of all the management components of planning,organizaing, leading, and controlling. Flat organizationalstructures are characteristic of decentralized management.Because of the participatory management characteristic ofdecentralization, many management titles and positions are eithereliminated or decreased.

The Informal Organization

Every formal organization has an informal one. The informalorganization can pose a problem in an institution as it cancreate conflicting loyalties restricted productivity, resistanceto change, and management plans. On the positive side, theinformal organization, meets the employee’s needs forrelationships, friendships, for sharing interests, hobbies,experiences, and feelings. It meets their need to belong. Theinformal organization can also help serve the goals of the formalorganization. It should not be controlled but instead, the wisemanager should exercise tolerance and understanding.

Informal organization should be encouraged and nurturedespecially if they:

1. Provide a sense of belonging, security, and recognition toemployees.

2. Provide methods for friendly and open discussions ofconcerns.

3. Maintain feelings of personal integrity, self-respect, andindependent choice.

4. Provide an informal and accurate communication link.

5. Provide opportunities for social interaction.

6. Provide a source of practical information for managerialdecision making,

7. Are sources of future leaders.

Steps in Analyzing Organizational Structure

There are six steps in analyzing the organizational structure ofa division of nursing. Analyzing organizational structures areused when there is a major organizational problem, such asfriction among departments’ heads over authority, staffingproblems, and so forth.

1. Compile a list of the key activities determined by themission and objectives of patient care. It must beremembered that when there are changes in the institution’smission, philosophy, objectives, the organizationalstructure should be reviewed and analyzed. Once the list iscompleted, it is analyzed and grouped according tosimilarities or kinds of contribution they make, such as:

Results-producing activities related to direct patientcare, such as the nursing process.

Support activities, which may include audit, advice,and teaching.

Hygiene and housekeeping activities.

Top management activities, including managing people,marketing, innovation, audits.

2. Based on the work functions to be performed, decide on theunits of the organization. Decide which kinds of decisionswill be required and who will make them. All decisionsshould be placed at the lowest kevel and as close to theoperational scene as possible.

3. Decide which units or components will be joined and whichwill be separated. Join activities that make the same kindof contribution.

4. Decide on the size and shape of the units or components.

5. Decide on appropriate placement and relationships ofdifferent units or components . this will require relationsanalysis.

6. Draw or diagram the design and put it in operation. Thiswill result in an organizational chart or schema.

JOB ANALYSIS, JOB EVALUATION, JOB DESCRIPTIONS

Job Descriptions. A job description provides a definition ofthe responsibility and authority involved with each position. Itis also a contract that includes the job’s function obligationsand tells the person to whom the worker is responsible( Swanburg, 1993) It is written report normally prepared by a jobanalyst outlining duties, responsibilities, and condition of theassignment.

A job description is a description of a job and not of aperson who happens to hold the job. Job descriptions are based onthe functional needs of the agency. ( Tomey, 1992)

The purpose of writing a job description, in addition torecording data for a job evaluating are too:

a) Facilitate wage and salary administrationb) Provide a basis for manpower planningc) And assist with recruitment, selection , placement,

orientation, and evaluation of employeesd) Clarify relationships between jobs to avoid overlaps and

gaps in responsibility e) Help employees analyze their duties so that they will

have a better understanding their jobsf) Establish lines of promotion within the department

( Swanburg,1993)

Format. Each job description should include the followinginformation: job title, job code, summary statement ofjob purpose, function, and span of responsibility,listing of principles and subsidiary duties, and personalrequirement or specifications for employees.

Job description should be written in a standardizedoutline. To eliminate confusion among workers andmanagers, each job should be referred to only one title.For example, if the nurse educator, the educationspecialist and staff development instructor titles referto the same position in an institution, only one of thesetitles should be consistently used. The ideal title briefand descriptive of a job. For example, head nurse, ICU.

The summary statement in the job description should bewritten in such a way as differentiate the job from all othersin the department. It should be written in such a way asdifferentiate the job from all others in the department. Itshould indicate reporting relationship to other jobs. Thesummary statement of a nurse educator position in the surgicalunits might required “ plans, executes and evaluateseducational programs for the staff nurses in the three surgicalunits. Serves as educational and clinical resource person tothe head nurse”

Job specification are the enumeration of necessary anddesirable personal qualities that an applicant should posses inorder to execute the job satisfactory. They include neededknowledge, skills, attitudes, temperament and experience.According to Gillies ( 1994), a good rule thumb to follow in

writing a job description is to explain the job’s duties,responsibilities and conditions in enough detail, with suchspecificity that an uninformed outsider would have nodifficulty in visualizing the job tasks or understanding thepurpose and significance of the job activities.

Job Evaluation. Job evaluation is needed in creating asound wage salary and career ladder systems. In order to ensurefair salary structure for the department of nursing, the nursemanager must be able to evaluate and “ cost out” variousnursing jobs according to the methods used by the personnel andfinancial experts. Jobs evaluation requires job analysis andjob description.

Job evaluation can be defined as systematical method ofappraising the work of each job in relation to all other jobsin organization ( Belcher, in Gillies, 1994). The purpose ofjob evaluation is to determine the relative worth of each jobas a basis for equitable pay differentials. The objective ofjob evaluation is to identify those job factors or conditionsthat place one job higher than another in a value hierarchy andto measure the number and degree of these factors present inthese job.

The first step in job evaluation is job analysis. Jobanalysis is the process of investigating each job from twostandpoints a). the duties and responsibilities associated witheach job and b). the skills and personal attributes required toperform the job satisfactorily. Thought job analysis, themanager can determine what the worker does in a particular job,how does it, why he does it a he does, and how much skill isrequired to do it Following is an illustration of a bipartiteapproach to job analysis (Gillies, 1994 page 138):

JOB CHARACTERISTICS PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS

Job Duties Knowledge

Job Responsibilities Skill

Job Contact Personal

Figure 4 Bipartite Approach to Job Analysis.

The following aspect are studied in analyzing any job: a)procedure to be executed, b) equipment to be used, c) subjectmatter to be dealt with, d) problems to be handled, e) scopeand responsibility associated with the job, f) amount ofdiscretions allowed in making decisions, standards of jobperformance, g) magnitude of workload, h) number and type ofsupervisory and reporting relationship, i) length of trainingperiod required, j) working condition and hazards, k) andpromotional opportunities associated with successful jobperformance.

Methods of Job Evaluation: There are four methods by which job evaluation is carried out. These are:

a) Rankingb) Job Classificationc) Factor Comparison, andd) Point System

Job ranking is the simplest and the least precise. Ranking consists of arranging jobs in hierarchy of complexity from highest to lowest. It does not reveal the degree of difference invalue of between jobs at various points in the hierarchy. The advantage of the ranking method is its ease and speed of use. In

job classification, the number of job grades and decided, each job grade is defined, and appropriate pay range is assigned for each job grade. The description of each job grade should indicate the general type of work and the level of responsibility involved. Grade descriptions should be sufficiently detailed and precise toensure that similar jobs will be grouped together and that groupsof job will be differentiated according to the number and level of compensable factors present A bench mark job should be identified to typify each job grade. To qualify as bench mark job, a position must be: numerically important as far as the total work force is concerned; must be fairly stable in job content over a long period of time; must be well known to the managers, line workers, personnel experts, and job analyst who constitute the Job Evaluation Committee, must be possible to describe clearly and concisely, must be representative of wide range of jobs. An appropriate monetary value is assigned for eachbenchmark job on the basis of prevailing market rate. Job classification method is favored by many managers because it differentiates between jobs and because it is easy for both employees and managers to comprehend.

A grade classification system for hospital personnel might group nursing jobs in the following manner: (Gillies, 1994 p145)

Grade 16: High level administrative activities, with a largemeasure of discretionary power in planning, budgeting, directing,and controlling the activities of a large work force of diverse levels and types of workers several geographical locations (Master’s level preparation: Director of Nursing)

Grade 15: Experienced practitioner and midlevel manager, with responsibility for planning, organizing, staffing, supervising, coordinating, and monitoring the work force of an entire nursing specialty division. (Master level of preparation: Divisional Director)

Grade 14: Highly skilled subject specialist with department-wide responsibility for care planning, problem solving, research,and patient and staff teaching, with advisory rather than commandresponsibilities towards other staff members. (Master’s level of preparation: Clinical Specialist)

Grade 13: Skilled practitioner and first level manager with total responsibility for day-to-day planning, direction, evaluation of the efforts of a primary work group on a single patient unit with direct supervisor responsibility for a staff of25 to 30 employees. (Bachelor’s degree: Head nurse)

Grade 12: Professional care giver with considerable responsibility for independent decision making relative to the adaptation of hospital routines and procedures to the care of specific patients, but little responsibility for the direction ofother health workers. (Bachelor’s degree: Staff nurse)

Grade 11: Highly skilled technical care giver with some responsibility for programmed decision making with the limits of well-defined protocols. No responsibility for the direction of other workers. (Diploma state: Nurse)

Grade 10: Low level technical specialist with narrowly defined responsibility for caregiving under direct supervision ofa professional worker. (Practical Nurse)

Grade 9: Ancillary worker with responsibility for carrying out orders for the unskilled specs of nursing care. (Nursing Aide)

Group Work and Team Building

Groups. A group can be defined as an entity consisting of several individuals having collective perception of their unity and a tendency to act in a united manner toward the environment.

All group objectives are two types: 1) achievement of some specific group goal and 2) maintenance of strengthening of the group itself. (Cartwright in Gilles, 1994 p150)

Group Communication. In all work groups such as committees, project team conference groups, workshop and seminar groups, the work of the group is accomplished through communication of ideas and opinions among members. However, communication within a groupis different from a simple one-to-one interchange because of the greater number of person involved. As the size of discussion group increases as for example, from six to twelve, the degree ofconsensus achieved through discussion decreases markedly especially when time is limited. Furthermore, the larger the group, the more skill is required from the leader to assist the group to achieve consensus.

Aside from the number of persons involved, there are other factors that influence communication within a group. According toMcDougall (I GIllies, 1994 p152), group syntality or “togetherness” is another factor that makes group communication different from individual communications. Group syntality develops from the strong pressures exerted toward uniformity of behavior and attitude among group members. These pressures for togetherness are of such magnitude as to cause some members to discredit their own perceptions and judgment in order to move toward majority opinion when faced with a conflict situation.

Reasons for joining the group is another factor that influence communication within group. An individual may join a group because she admires certain people in the group and wants to be with them, or an individual may join a group because she sees membership in the group as means toward a desired end. Not only are some members attracted to a group because of liking for certain group members, but once assimilated into group, new member also tend to act a (agree with) those group members whom they especially admire. Social power of group members also

influences communication within a group. Social power can be defined as the ability to impel others to act in a certain manner. Differences in social powerange status among group members affect both the number and type of communications initiated by each.

Leadership styles influence communication within group.Communication within a group with a democratic leader will be different from a group with either an autocratic leader or odd whose leadership is laissez faire.

Another factor that controls communication among group member is the configuration of the communication network. A communication network is the system of communication channels within a group that determines the direction of message flow among members. The table of organization creates a formal communication network. An informal communication network can alsobe created within a group as when one habitually takes the same seating position relative to each other, in a circular arrangement.

Group Interaction. Bales and Slater developed a method for analyzing the interaction of group member by which communication act may be classified into one of 12 categories:

1. Shows solidarity, raises another’s status, gives help or reward;

2. Shows tension release, jokes, laughs, shows satisfaction;

3. Agrees, shows passive acceptance, understands, concurs, complies

4. Gives suggestions, directions, implying autonomy of other

5. Gives opinions, evaluations, analysis, expresses feeling or wish;

6. Gives orientation, information, repetition, confirmation;

7. Asks for orientation, information, repetition, confirmation;

8. Asks for opinion, evaluation, analysis, expression of feeling;

9. Asks for suggestions, direction, possible ways of action;

10. Disagrees, shows passive rejection. Formality, withholds help;

11. Shows tension, asks for help, withdraws from field;

12. Shows antagonism, deflates other’s status, defendsor asserts self.

Behavior in categories 4,5 and 6 are considered problem-solving behavior accounts for about half of all communication acts. Categories 1,2 and 3 are positive reactions, while categories 10,11 and 12 are negative reactions.

Group Dynamics. In designing work groups, the manager should:

1. Apply the principles of group dynamics appointing individuals to group membership, chairing work groups, and serving as group members in an appointedor a voluntary capacity.

2. Weigh the effect of group size against the need for representation of certain groups, since consensus isdifficult to achieve in group with more than 10 to 12 members.

3. Consider the probable effect of each candidate’s position in the formal communication network on the number and type of her communications within the group.

4. Consider the possible effect of various seating arrangement on establishment of chance related

communication networks and should alter positions when necessary to improve message flow through the group.

5. Classify communications according to the method of Bales and Slater into task-oriented or group-oriented behaviors when serving as group leader.

6. Practice those task-oriented and group-oriented messages with which she is still at ease.

Team Building. Team building activities involves identifying work group problems, identifying solutions and developing action plans, implementing the plans, and evaluating and monitoring the outcomes.

Teams are working groups. To be considered a team, a group must have some stability of membership and common purpose. The members work interdependently; they function as interrelated parts of the whole team. A group whose member work independently of each other with little communications, coordination, or sharedresponsibility, are not working as a team.

Teams can be classified according to composition, purpose, leadership, and function. (Tappen, 1996)

As for comparison, some teams are made up of people in only profession, as for example, the medical team. Others are made up of people at different levels within a particular profession, such as the nursing team which consists of registered nurses, midwives, nursing, and assistants. The interdisciplinary team is made up of people from different professions, such as the physicians, nurses, social workers, physical therapists, nutritionists, a psychologist, and patient educator.

The purpose of the team is often reflected in its name. For example there are surgeon teams, intravenous teams, primary care teams, cardiac care teams, and code team.

A team can have a leader who is designated, emergent, or situational. One or more leaders can exist at any one time in a team. The designated leader is one who has been deliberately chosen either by the team or by an administrator who has some authority over the team. The emergent leader is one who evolves from the group by acting as the leader consistently enough to become an actual leader of the team. Emergent leaders often arisewhen the designated leader is weak or when the team has no designated leader. The situational leader emerges from group in response to a particular situation or need.

Teams can also be categorized according to the way in which they function. Teams can be classified according to their stage of development (forming, storming, morning, performing or adjourning), or degree of maturity. Another classification of function closely related to the style of leadership concerns the way members of the team relate to each other. This may be collegial or hierarchical. When the relationships are collegial, every member is accorded equal worth as an individual and recognition is based n their contribution to the team. In contrast, hierarchical relationships are based on each team member’s status and position.

Steps in Team Building. Effective teas do not just happen. Team building requires specific knowledge and skill. The following are the steps in the team building as suggested by Tappen (1996):

1. Select team members. In selecting team members, the following are to be considered: (a) ability to contribute to both the task and the relationship aspects of team functioning; (b) there should be an appropriate mix of people and skills in a team; (c) stability of membership to maintain the team.

2. Set goals, There is a need to clearly define the purpose of the team.

3. Define roles. Role clarification is essential to smooth team function. If roles are vague and ambiguous, conflict may arise, especially if the team is interdisciplinary the roles should be consistent with the defined goals and roles.

4. Develop team identity and cohesiveness. Cohesion is needed to develop commitment to the goals of the team and the willingness of team members to engage in the sharing and support function of the team. Identity and cohesiveness can be done by: (a) defining to the members the purpose and functions ofthe team (b) the new team needs to stake out its territory, which established team holds and often expands its territory, which is not only geographic but also functional and psychological; (c) cohesiveness is also develop by increasing the number of links among team members. Holding regular meetings increases theses connections. (d) Esprit deCorps is a shared spirit, a feeling of enthusiasm that characterizes the team as a whole. This has something to do with the leader’s own enthusiasm andenergy, it is also developed when member’s need are met.

5. Guide decision making. The different ways in which decisions are made by a group include default, authority, minority vote, consensus and unanimous consent. Decision by default is the result of a group’s failure to reach a decision. Silence or lackof response from the team is taken to mean consent. Decision made by a minority are those made by a small number of people on the team, usually a dominant subgroup. When decisions are “railroaded” this way, it is often presented by the rest of the group. Majority made by talking a poll of the entire

team are acceptable to most people. Decisions made by consensus are those in which the team are acceptable to most people. It seeks to gain every member’s agreement on the issue. Unanimous consent is a decision that reflects genuine agreement of every team member on an issue.

6. Influence group norms. Norms are those unwritten rules that prescribe acceptable behavior in the group. Once a norm is established within a group, itcan be difficult to change. Norms that support creativity and flexibility and resistance would affect the team responds to a new assignment. Norms supporting open communication over suppression of feelings and disagreements affect the way conflicts are handled.

7. Encourage open communication. Open communication is essential to the development effective working relationships within the team and with outside groups.

8. Manage conflicts. As a general rule, conflict is neither to be avoided nor stimulated. Too much conflict or unresolved conflict reduce the team’s effectiveness and eventually immobilize the team. Onthe other hand, suppressed conflict continues to grow underground and is more difficult to resolve when it eventually surfaces.

Motivating the Individual Employee. The five basic needs that can be used by the manager as motivators are the following according to Kafka (Tappen, p309)

(a) Economic security(b) Control or the ability of the employee to

influence the situation

(c) Recognition or attention or visibility(d) Personal self-worth(e) Belonging

A different approach to motivation is based on an analysis of the goals that are set and responses to the degree to which they are met. (Evans, Tappen, p305). In the first stage, employeefaces a new task and accepts a goal that has been set by the manager, by the employee or by both. Accepting the goal has several effects. It directs attention to the task, mobilizes and sustains efforts and stimulates thinking about ways to meet the goal. A difficult goal is generally thought to increase motivation unless it is considered unrealistic or impossible to achieve. The effort to reach the goal occurs in the second performance stage of the cycle. At the third stage both employee and the manager evaluate the degree to which the original goal was met measuring it in terms of degrees of success or failure. In fourth stage, the reasons for success or failure are analyzed.These include the amount of effort put into meeting the goal, thedifficulty level of the task, the employee’s skill level and how much luck was involved in achieving success. In the fifth stage, the employee’s satisfaction and feelings of effectiveness comes as a result of effort, ability and luck. At this point the cycleis complete and the employee faces new goal, the cycle begins allover again but this time it may be with increased satisfaction, self-confidence and motivation or with the same or less motivation depending on the results of the previous experience.

QUALIFICATION POINT SYSTEM FOR JOB GRADING

Numerical values are assigned to qualifications to establish consistent compensationbases for all levels of positions in the nursing department. Once point values have beenassigned to various job factors, they can be added to determine a grade. The grades for

various job can be ranked, and job-to-job comparisons can provide a basis fordetermining pay.

Qualifications

Education

Less than a high school diploma 10

High school diploma20

High school diploma plus a special training course30

Associate degree or three years in work-study program and 40passage of accrediting examinations

Baccalaureate degree and passage of accrediting examinations 50

Master’s degree in area of specially needed for the position 60

Doctorate in area of specially appropriate for the position 70

Mental Skills

Work is simple and repetitive and is performed according to instructions 10

Work involves a variety of duties that are performed according to procedures 20but requires alertness to identify needed changes

Work involves a variety of complicated duties and some independent 30

actions in adapting procedures to specific situations

Work involves planning, organizing, implementing, and evaluating 40 actions related to patient care

Work involves development of policies and procedures, organization of functions, 50development of staffing patterns, and budget preparations.

Manual Skills

Work involves the normal manual skills, such as lifting, pushing, folding, writing, filing 10

Work involves above normal manual skills, such as accurate measurements, 40administration of medications and treatments, manipulation of instruments, typing, bookkeeping

Work involves considerable manual skill, such as administering complex treatments 50 and manipulation of complex equipment.

Responsibility for resources

Personnel

Supervises no one10

Supervises fewer than 10 people20

Directs up to 25 people30

Directs up to 50 people40

Directs up to 100 people50

Directs more than 100 people60

Finances

No responsibility for the budget10

Responsible for budget up to $10,00020

Responsible for budget up to $25,00030

Responsible for budget up to $100,00040

Responsible for budget over $100,00050

Effort

Mental

Requires little thinking or judgment10

Requires some alertness while performing repetitions tasks according to directions 20

Requires mental effort for problem solving30

Requires considerable mental effort for decision makingand problem solving 40

Requires continuous mental effort for dealing with the most difficult situations 50

Physical Light work requiring little physical effort; usually

needed 10 Light physical work, use of light materials; frequently

seated 20 Sustained physical activity; seldom seated

30 Considerable physical effort, continuous activity,

lifting 40

Working conditions Good working conditions: light, ventilation, freedom

from 10 disagreeable elements such as dirt, heat, wetness, ordors, noise

Average working conditions with occasional exposure to 20

disagreeable elements and danger Fair working conditions with frequent exposure to

disagreeable elements and danger 30 Poor working conditions with continuous exposure to

40disagreeable elements and danger

Figure 6: Sample Job Descriptions

Clinical Nurse (CN1)

The clinical nurse I supports the philosophy of primary nursing by planning and coordinating nursing care for a group of

patients within his/her district. It is the CN I’s responsibilityto direct auziliary personnel for full implementation of the planof care. The CN I supports the management of the unit and uses resources persons and or materials when the need arises. He/She has the satisfactorily mastered the basic skills requires to workon the assigned unit. The CN I’s scope of nursing practice is focused on his/her assigned group of patients and does not extendinto administrative aspects of the unit at large.

CLINICAL NURSE IV (CN IV) INIT CLINICIAN

The CN IV is an advance clinical nurse who supports the practice of primary nursing on the unit, as well as hospital-wide. He/She is recognized within the specific area, as well as thoughout the hospital, as being proficient in the delivery of complicated nursing care. The CN IV has mastered the many facets of nursing care required at the CN II and CN III levels. This qualification is validated through the acquisition of national certification in the appropriate specialty area.

The CN IV coordinates and directs emergency situations, seeks out learning opportunities for the unit staff and serves asa resource for all aspects of nursing care delivery.

The CN IV collaborates closely with physicians on the unit for the implementation of the plan of care.

This may be facilitated through assessing special equipment needs, as well as planning multidisciplinary programs.

The CN IV works closely with the nurse manager in planning unit goals and objectives and unit specific orientation programs,as well as assisting with the staff performance evaluations.

The CN IV acts a liaison between his/her unit and the Department of Nursing Education and Patient Education.

Figure 7

STRATEGIES FOR MAXIMIZING ACCOUNTABILITY

The success of a strategy to maximize accountability is dependent on the intent and theroughness with which it is used as well as the involvement of people at all levels.

Some approaches are suggested below:

Hold an open presentation and discussion of the nurse manager’s requirements for successful goal accomplishment atany given point in time including a review of external forces and internal problems shown by past performance.

Discuss a broad analysis of changes in performance required to meet the demands of reality.

Conduct an analysis of how everyone in the department can contribute best to the organization effort-carried out face-to-face at all levels.

Request statements from each patient unit of the goals and standards to which it commits itself. This includes an analysis of the help the unit feels is needed to accomplish its goals, such as information feedback, staff resources, policy or procedure changes, and equipment and staffing needs.

Answer the following and submit your typewritten answers/reactions to your professor

1. Observe a health care organization. Make an analysis of it in terms of

a) Structureb) Organizational schemac) Strengths and weaknessesd) Presence/absence of informal organizations

2. Write your own job description based on your present responsibilities and tasks. Compare it with the official jobdescription for the position you are now occupying. If thereis no development one, based on what you think it should be for the position. Use the suggested format.

3. Describe the processes involved in job evaluation. Compare these with how job evaluation is done in you institution.

4. Describe the steps in team building. Compare with how team building is fostered in your place of work.