Biomedical subjects

P Muller-Smith

Publications and source records attributed to P Muller-Smith.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1999

Hunting for sacred cows.

"Sacred cows" are behavioral patterns that we continue to use even though they may no longer be effective. Their continued use tramples creativity, reduces innovative thought, limits the ability to respond quickly to change, and ultimately becomes costly to individuals and organizations. In less turbulent times, sacred cows were a source of irritation that managers worked around. There is no longer time available for managers to "work around" sacred cows. They must be rounded up and dealt with. It is only by confronting their own sacred cows that nurse managers will find the energy to maintain a caring environment for patients' families and staff.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

PubMed1999

The energy business.

Looking at change as a great opportunity for growth puts a different perspective on the response both managers and employees exhibit. To rekindle motivation and energy in the workplace, the very mind-set of each individual must change. The potential for growth rather than fear of loss creates energy and excitement. It can ultimately lead to a workplace where there is joy and a strong sense of accomplishment.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

PubMed1999

Yet another workplace crisis.

Most, if not all, managers have experienced disappointment when an employee who is very bright and technically competent cannot quite get it together, or has what is usually referred to as "interpersonal problems" or a poor attitude. Such employees can cause major problems. At a time when jobs can be effected by mergers, downsizing, and other changes, people who are technically skilled but have an attitude problem can be seen as problems that take up too much of a manager's time. Understanding another dimension of job competency helps develop technically competent staff with "attitude" problems into truly star performers. This dimension of job competency is referred to as emotional intelligence or EQ. It is this competency that makes even those with average technical skills become the type of an employee that is self-directed and a real asset.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

PubMed1999

How to keep cool in tough times.

Reengineering is no longer an event that has a beginning and an end. It is an ongoing process of change that continues to occur in all types of businesses. Because there is no longer the sense of security that doing a job well will guarantee continued employment, workers have to approach career planning from a different perspective. Moving up the career ladder in a single organization can no longer serve as the benchmark of success. The contemporary approach to success will be more geared toward the ability to constantly reinvent your unique set of job skills that are transferable from one job setting to another, thus ensuring employability.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1998

The game may be the same but the rules have changed!

The job of a manager continues to be one of achieving outcomes through other people. However, in the current work environment, managers are finding that while their scope of responsibility is expanding, the traditional power base used to excourage high performance is shrinking. There are limited rewards a manager can use to gain commitment from their staff. Even if some of those rewards are available, many of the new employees do not see them as motivators. Employees come to the workplace with a different set of expectations. There seems to be a mismatch between the traditional management approach to getting the best from the worker and what the worker wants from their manager. In as much as the workplace and the worker are changing so too must manager's approach to "getting the job done."

Humans↗

PubMed1998

Being the boss is not what it used to be!

Mentoring has a long and varied history. It was a method for helping people grow to competence in a supportive environment. As being a boss continues to have less and less real power associated with the role, the idea of approaching employees as partners in getting the work accomplished makes the concept of mentoring applicable to today's workplace and today's workforce.

Humans↗

PubMed1998

Power shift: creating an empowered workforce.

To do more with less requires being able to empower others so that they are accountable and responsible. In many situations, staff resist empowerment and often make comments to the effect that it is the manager's job to get certain things done--not theirs! In moving toward empowerment, the most difficult first step must be a personal step to gain insight into the type of power the manager uses to achieve outcomes. If in the process of self-examination they find that their personal style of power does not support empowerment, then they must first make a power shift to a style that creates an environment where staff empowerment can be accomplished.

Decision Making, Organizational↗

PubMed1998

Forget authority--go for power.

Real power comes from the ability to influence other people. The organization is constantly changing, and when it gives a manager authority, it does not confer power with it. With authority comes responsibility and accountability. What managers need is power. Power comes from understanding values, and is the key to bridging the gap between authority and accountability.

Authoritarianism↗

PubMed1998

The problem with problem solving.

Although managers will always be responsible for solving problems on a daily basis, expert problem solving will not ensure survival for an organization. It will be more effective in the long run to find out what structural issues support the problems and work toward restructuring. This will be the way to move a unit or an organization in a direction that can and will be successful in creating a future that is resilient to constant change.

Hospital Restructuring↗

PubMed1997

Learning to learn: step one for survival in the new paradigm.

New challenges require new approaches and many of the suggested solutions are in conflict with how we were taught in our formative years. Team work in high school and college was mostly found in sports-related activities. Collaboration in a classroom was not encouraged and could be viewed as cheating. We did not learn to share knowledge in a group nor to group problem solving, yet we are told that those are the very skills we need to have to survive in today's workplace. The first step to success is to look at how we were taught to learn and make the shift to learning in a different manner.

Cooperative Behavior↗

PubMed1997

The problem with accountability.

Accountability is an issue that creates stress and frustration for managers at all levels within an organization. With the current trends to "push decision-making down" and "empower people" to run more efficient units or departments, many managers are finding most of their efforts are not yielding the intended results. Employees are not embracing new responsibilities and accountability. They seem to find it another burden added to what they report as already too much work. What can be done to manage this dilemma? Interestingly enough, the solution may have to start by taking a journey into self-awareness.

Decision Making, Organizational↗

PubMed1997

Learning to lead the liberated.

The historical relationship between employer and employee has changed dramatically in the past few years. Incentives that were once available to motivate staff are no longer a part of the managers' reward "power." Employees recognize that their manager has little control over many things that impact them, and what they are looking for in the way of security and certainty is not being provided by managers. This fundamental shift in relationship has caused those in management to search from new methods to lead their employees.

Humans↗

PubMed1997

The fourth turning.

As history has a way of repeating itself, looking at the past can offer some insight into the future. If, as the authors of the discussed book point out, the country is soon facing a crisis, we can prepare for it rather than waiting for it to happen. During the unraveling of an old culture when chaos is the order of the day, the opportunity for participating in the development of a new order is open to anyone willing to invest in the future.

Culture↗

PubMed1997

You cannot be a leader unless someone is willing to follow.

Managers are often expected to fill the role of leader and manager because both of these roles help an organization achieve their intended outcomes. In many situations managers are also leaders but there are equally as many situations when they are not. The expectation that managers will always be leaders and that the roles are synonymous or interchangeable presumes that each role can be defined by describing the traits or behavior of an individual who fills the role. This does not account for the qualities of interaction between leader and followers that must take place if leadership occurs. Managers can manage without willing followers: leaders cannot.

Humans↗

PubMed1997

Like herding cats.

In an effort to be a good manager, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that knowledge workers require a unique approach from their manager. Because nurses are independent and capable individuals that prosper in an environment that recognizes them as knowledge workers, nurse managers often find that traditional management techniques are not sufficient. Trying to manage all of the nurses on a unit as a single group is much like trying to herd cats. It might be less frustrating for the nurse manager to lead gently rather than manage with a firm hand. Warren Bennis suggests that this approach may provide a valuable key to successfully managing in a world of constant change.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

PubMed1996

It's time to answer the wake-up call.

The dramatic change in the work world of every industry including health care is creating anxiety and stress among workers. According to many authors, this is merely the tip of the iceberg in relation to what will come. The way we must do our work is changing at breakneck speed. Resisting it will not stop it, fearing it will not help. Learning to respond quickly and recognizing that technology will only replace the routine and systematic processes can restore the energy necessary to meet the challenges ahead.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1996

Core culture: the key to successful paradigm shifts.

The core culture of an organization is a major force to be recognized when trying to implement any type of change. Those changes that do not fit well with an existing culture will be strongly resisted. The very culture that may have to undergo change to survive the many paradigm shifts occurring in health care were the basis for past successes. The ability to recognize the core culture of an organization or unit will provide the manager with valuable information when the plan calls for implementing change.

Humans↗

PubMed1996

Managing in the new millennium.

The management theories that have defined the science of management are no longer effective for managers who are faced with a daily paradox. The problems which challenge managers often present two issues; both have some basis in truth, both are valid, and both present a contradiction when efforts are made to solve them. The option is not to choose one issue over the other, but rather search for a way to balance and integrate the truth and validity of each: to manage the paradox.

Forecasting↗