Edwin Arnold

Managing human resources to improve employee retention.

Managers face increased challenges as the demand for health care services increases while the supply of employees with the requisite skills continues to lag. Employee retention will become more important in the effort to service health care needs. Appropriate human resource management strategies and policies implemented effectively can significantly assist managers in dealing with the employee retention challenges ahead.

Improving productivity through more effective time management.

Effective time management has become increasingly important for managers as they seek to accomplish objectives in todays organizations, which have been restructured for efficiency while employing fewer people. Managers can improve their ability to manage time effectively by examining their attitudes toward time, analyzing time-wasting behaviors, and developing better time management skills. Managers can improve their performance and promotion potential with more effective time utilization. Strategies for improving time management skills are presented.

Raid Elections: Another Problems for Unions?

One of the problems confronting the American labor movement is the raid election. In a raid election an outside, or challenger, union attempts to increase its membership at the expense of an incumbent union. This article examines the extent and outcomes of raid elections as well as the legal environment of such elections. In addition, the results of a survey of employers involved in raid elections are presented.

Personality conflicts and objectivity in appraising performance.

A daunting challenge for any health care manager is to be involved in a personality conflict with an employee and then maintain objectivity in appraising that employees performance. This article explores the relationship between personality conflicts and performance appraisal. Types of perceptual problems, such as recent behavior bias and horn effect, are discussed. Methods for involving input from appropriate individuals other than the manager and ways managers can improve objectivity in appraising performance are covered.

Improving Organizational Climate for Excellence in Patient Care

Managers in health care organizations today are expected to achieve higher-quality patient care at a lower cost. Developing and maintaining a positive organizational climate can help improve motivation and foster higher employee performance. In turn, this will help the organization deliver better patient care at a lower cost. This article offers metrics for assessing organizational climate, analyzes barriers to a positive climate, and explores strategies that managers can use to build the type of climate that fosters high performance.

Inappropriate selection of first-line managers can be hazardous to the health of organizations.

Inappropriate selection decisions that occur when individuals are hired or promoted into first-line managerial positions without full consideration of their qualifications can create major problems for health care organizations. This article examines the perceptions that employees may have regarding new managers who are ineffective and the problems resulting from inappropriate selection decisions and offers suggestions for avoiding these problems.

The department manager and effective human resource planning: an overview.

Department managers in health care organizations play a pivotal role in ensuring the success of human resource (HR) planning. This article describes HR planning and its importance to the organization and department managers. Organizational support necessary for effective HR planning is also covered. The HR planning process is examined. Managerial responsibilities such as interviewing and performance appraisal and their relationship to HR planning are discussed.

Improving safety management in health care organizations.

This article explores reducing workplace accidents and resulting injuries through the introduction of better safety management programs in health care organizations. It examines the benefits of such programs and discusses causes of accidents. It presents components considered necessary for inclusion in an effective accident prevention program.

Managing effectively in the downsized organization.

Many health care institutions have downsized in recent years for a variety of reasons including cost savings and the need to be proactive in restructuring the organization for more effective performance. In a downsized organization, top management must develop new strategies to enable line managers at all levels to operate effectively. New policies for human resource strategic planning, selective hiring, employee empowerment, training and development, reduction of status distinctions, sharing of appropriate information with employees, and paying for performance must be implemented.

Determinants of Certification Election Outcomes in the Service Sector

Our research examines union certification election activity in the service sector over a fourteen-year period and shows that unions in this sector consistently win a greater percentage of their elections than their counterparts in the goods-producing sector. Only a small percentage of the service sector workers select representation, however. Furthermore, the results support our model of election outcome determinants that in cludes environmental, bargaining unit, and organizational influences.