Managing the new technical employee

We live in an age of information. Almost every element of society is dominated by information and the need for information. No person can expect to thrive in the future unless he or she knows and understands information processing, particularly computerized information processing. The growth of medical informatics in the health care field is a further indication of the pervasiveness of the information age. With this technology, however, comes a new and very different cadre of employees. Physician executives who desire to succeed in this new and changing world will have to understand how these employees are different and how management must change to accommodate them. Marilyn Kennedy begins the understanding process in this column.

Managing diversity

The U.S. work force is becoming increasingly diverse as the 20th century approaches. Statistics prove that most organizations are experiencing gender, culture, and age diversity within their labor forces. All managers and leaders must accept this diversity and work to handle it effectively. This article examines the current literature concerning management of diversity and its implications for the health care profession. Gender, culture, and age diversity and the potential problems that may arise with each are also addressed. Reasons to manage diversity are offered, as well as methods of managing diversity for both the manager and the chief executive officer.

Flexible management: strategies for the changing workforce

In the year 2000, managers will supervise employees whose career aspirations differ drastically from their own. Success not only will be measured by salary and status, but will be tied to a person's family relationships. Twenty years ago, most managers were not concerned with the family problems of their subordinates. This notion is now out of date. The family responsibilities of staff have a direct effect on the company's productivity. An employee who is worried about the care of an elderly parent, or concerned with the safety of a preteen home alone after school, is unlikely to give full attention to the task at hand. Flexible management is a cost-effective way of dealing with these issues. Managers who have the skills to be flexible and the strategies to work with employees for a win-win situation will reduce distractions and tardiness and gain productivity and loyalty.

What do women want? Practices must meet the new and emerging needs of female physicians

A call for change is issued by the author, Susan Cejka, for medical practices to start addressing critical needs for their female physicians. She tackles some of the myths about what women in the practice want and sheds light on the realities. Cejka also offers some suggestions of what medical practices can do to better serve their female physicians.

Special report. Human resources

A new survey reveals the changing shape of human resource departments. Why call in management consultants? Shirley Giles reports. The standard payroll system is being challenged by moves towards integrated payroll and personnel programs. Barbara Millar examines staff support schemes. Trusts are tightening up on relocation packages.

The clinical laboratory of the future: re-aligning the human resources

The first article in this series focussed on the laboratory process as a complete entity. Reengineering this process results in a totally new way of delivering value to the user of the laboratory services. Current thinking and assumptions about an organization, roles, procedures and skills are set aside and a new framework developed. The people are a key component in any change process and their involvement is essential for the project to succeed. Communication, understanding, participation, skill development and ultimately new roles are all part of an exciting personal development opportunity.

Signs of the times

For the MT who experiences downsizing, it usually means hitting the keyboard faster and compromising quality.

Managing people: the breakfast menu

Discusses an exploratory study of the impact of NHS reforms on the management of staff. Argues that "management" has moved from a view that staff should be provided with a secure and comfortable working environment to "labour" being viewed simply as a factor of production. The result seems to be an unprecedented sense of alienation among significant numbers of NHS staff. Proposes possible ways forward. The first focuses on the "means", accepting that the "ends" of the NHS will, for the foreseeable future, be dominated by the market. The second examines more closely the market-driven, business "end" or purpose and challenges the unitary view of the NHS Trust as a coherent business entity. Beyond these short- to medium-term responses, concludes that a return to a somewhat more flexible and less hard-edged human resources philosophy is a longer-term investment as the labour market tightens and skilled staff become scarcer in the later 1990s.

Futurism and the health care supervisor

In countless ways, the United States is looked at as a model by much of the world. In the new corporate environment, decision making must be fast and accurate, dictating in turn that accurate information must flow faster. Information systems can absorb the side effects of change and interactive process developed to assess, define, and agree to a new set of work relationships. The strategic use of information and information systems is a mindset to which all members of the organization need to acculturate themselves. It should be set in each of the work teams, the organization, and its managers as a way of thinking, not merely a job or a task at hand. Experimenting with alternative designs and various management techniques in the 1990s may lead to a prosperity in the next century. Futurism may help us get there.

Revolution in management development

There can be few important areas of working life that have seen more changes in fashion and style than the process of management. Anyone who has been close to management and management education over the last 25 years will have been washed over by a constant stream of new theories, techniques and 'guaranteed solutions' aimed at all aspects of how we manage people, finance and resources. Many of the things coming out of this process have proved valuable and are now permanent features of the way we manage our affairs.

The post-capitalist executive. Interview by T George Harris

For half a century, Peter F. Drucker has influenced senior executives across the globe with his rare insight into socioeconomic forces and practical advice for navigating often turbulent managerial waters. In his latest contribution to HBR, Drucker discusses the impact of the ideas in his latest work, Post-Capitalist Society, on the day-to-day lives and careers of managers. Drucker argues that managers must learn to negotiate a new environment with a different set of work rules and career expectations. Companies currently face downsizing and turmoil with increasing regularity. Once built to last like pyramids, corporations are now more like tents. In addition, businesses in the post-capitalist society grow through many and varied complicated alliances often baffling to the traditional manager. Confronted by these changes, managers must relearn how to manage. In the new world of business, information is replacing authority as the primary tool of the executive. And, Drucker advises, one embarks on the road toward information literacy not by buying the latest technological gadget but by identifying gaps in knowledge. As companies increasingly become temporary institutions, the manager also must begin to take individual responsibility for himself or herself. To that end, the executive must explore what Drucker calls competencies: a person's abilities, likes, dislikes, and goals, both professional and personal. If executives rise to these challenges, a new organizational foundation will be built. While a combination of rank and power supported the traditional organization, the internal structure of the emerging organization will be mutual understanding and trust.

The changing role of volunteerism

As the number of Americans who volunteer grows, the definition of "volunteer" is becoming more broad. In addition to the traditional volunteer opportunity, there are community service, student internship, and court-ordered service programs, all of which pose a set of complicated managerial questions for those charged with designing and running volunteer programs. Today, volunteers' motives may extend further than the simple desire to help their neighbor. For example, given the tough job market, some individuals are volunteering as a possible bridge to employment, and are eager to learn skills and gain experience that they might transfer to a new work setting. The growth in the number of volunteers is not without its down side, however. As governments have cut back on service programs, some responsibilities traditionally assumed by government are being shunted to volunteer organizations, an inappropriate solution. Although volunteer programs deserve support, governments cannot be let off the hook. Volunteers cannot and should not replace paid staff. There are a number of exciting and innovative approaches to recruiting, managing, and motivating volunteers. Some programs are responding to the new kinds of volunteers by restructuring the volunteer opportunity to make it more accessible to those who work from 9 to 5. Others are responding to the diversity of the communities they serve by seeking training in cultural sensitivity and recruiting volunteers from the community. Whatever the volunteer opportunity, the screening and placement interview is a crucial first step. It should be used to clarify expectations--of the volunteer and of the volunteer administrator. Once volunteers are on board, the key to managing and retaining volunteers is to recognize what motivates the individual volunteer--whether it is the desire to acquire job-related skills, to socialize, or simply to learn new things--and to provide the volunteer with these opportunities. Continuing education, training, and feedback are essential ingredients of any volunteer program. Another key to retaining volunteers is appropriate recognition. Although volunteers may appreciate the traditional pin or letter of thanks, volunteer administrators should explore other means of recognition that are tied in to the individual volunteer's motives for volunteering in the first place. Involving volunteers in the development and refinement of the volunteer program and considering their suggestions for improvements are important ways of keeping them involved and signaling recognition of their expertise and value.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Managing change: the human aspects of the NHS

Whatever ministers actually decide about London following the Tomlinson report, the changes are likely to be large-scale and affect many staff and patients. Therefore how well those changes are handled becomes crucial to their success. The NHS has much to learn from other industries and organisations that have been through similar changes. Firstly, there needs to be an overall strategy for the change, rather than individual units trying to manage their own parts of it in an ad hoc way. Secondly, how well those made redundant are treated is an important factor in maintaining the morale of those who stay behind. For those affected by changes the NHS needs to provide full information, imagination, time, emotional and practical support, and money. Though decisions need to be made quickly, their implementation should take as much time as is necessary.

Managing the multicultural laboratory, Part I: Tools for understanding cultural differences

This article will help laboratory managers better manage their culturally diverse employees by explaining what is meant by "culture" and by presenting a research-based model for assessing the different values, attitudes, and behaviors exhibited by those of different cultural backgrounds. The useful cross-cultural data presented come from an exciting research analysis compiled by Dutch social psychologist and management consultant, Dr. Geert Hofstede. This multi-national corporate study compared the cultures of more than 40 nationalities using four different cultural characteristics. As members of an empirically based profession, laboratory professionals should welcome some hard data about a soft subject. This model will enable laboratory managers to understand their own cultural biases and will interpret some of the attitudes and behaviors of those with different national or ethnic backgrounds. By understanding the elementary principles of culture and by replacing outdated stereotypes with educated generalizations, clinical laboratory managers can take a vital step toward becoming effective multi-cultural managers.

Women as a business imperative

In 1989, Felice N. Schwartz's HBR article "Management Women and the New Facts of Life" generated a huge debate over the rules established by corporations in their handling of women executives. Now in "Women as a Business Imperative," Schwartz follows up with practical insights about the costs companies incur in passing over qualified businesswomen. In the form of a memo to a fictional CEO, Schwartz describes how the atmosphere within most companies is corrosive to women and must change. Preconceptions harbored by male senior managers about women are so deeply ingrained that many men are not even aware of them. Yet senior managers must help women advance. Those companies that accept their responsibility to make radical change--both in women's treatment and in family support--can improve their bottom lines enormously. Treating women as a business imperative is the equivalent of creating a unique R&D product for which there is great demand. Most companies ignore child care and other family concerns. Many companies hire women to ensure mere adequacy and avoid litigation. Women's ambitions and energies are stifled by such businesses at the same time that women have demonstrated their competence and potential in the best business schools. High turnover results. However, the restraints that now hold women back can be loosened easily. CEOs and other senior managers must support their female employees by (1) acknowledging the fundamental difference between women and men--the biological fact of maternity; (2) allowing flexibility for women and men who need it; (3) providing training that takes advantage of women's leadership potential; and (4) eliminating the corrosive atmosphere and the barriers that exist for women in the workplace.

Gay and lesbian educators: past history/future prospects

Although lesbians and gay men in education have been an invisible population, modern computer information retrieval techniques provided a mechanism to investigate the history of case law on gay and lesbian teacher dismissal and credential revocation. This legal framework was then augmented by social history gathered from newspapers and articles, and interviews with the parties involved in the legal or political debates. After presenting a history of the emergence of legal rights and political influence, the author discusses current trends in the employment rights and personal freedoms of gay and lesbian educators.

Healthy work for all 2000?

Proposes that there are sound commercial as well as ethical reasons for health organizations to create “healthful” jobs and working conditions. Describes specific actions for health organizations to take to design jobs and work to benefit the organization in terms of efficiency, effectiveness and health promotion.