Posted: June 27th, 2015

The major problem that faces all the managers of organizations is problem solving and decision making.

Problem solving

Introduction

The major problem that faces all the managers of organizations is problem solving and decision making. Managers and administrators of an organization are expected to make decisions and ensure that everything is in order. Organizations are faced with a number if situations which may hinder their functioning and maybe affect their performance. When such situations arise, it is the managers who are looked upon to make the required decisions. For the best solution for the problem to be reached, it is important for the manager to follow the right procedure of decision making (Maldonato, 2010).

Decision making is not the same as problem solving. However, in problem solving one is required to make a decision (Maldonato, 2010). Problem solving is the process where by one uses generic methods which are applied in an orderly manner so as to find a solution to given problem. Problem solving techniques could be used in areas such as artificial intelligence, in engineering, as well as in mathematics and in medicine (Adair, 2010). The process is mental in nature and it involves the discovery of a problem, then analyzes it and then come up with a solution. The major objective is to overcome obstacles which might hinder the organizational success.

On the other hand, the other hand, decision making is also a mental process that involves selection of the best cause of action among a number of alternatives (Maldonato, 2010). Managers are the key decision makers in an organization. Decisions are used to find a solution to a problem. One has to identify a problem and then develop alternatives from which they will choose the right action. It can be used to define a good leader.

This paper involves a case study where by Dr. Johnson who worked as a medical Director was faced by a number of problems which he was required to come up with the right decision to solve the problems.

Case Study

Charles A. Johnson is a medical director who has worked for the Southeast of Vigilant- Xtra Mile Healthcare which is located in Atlanta, Georgia. His responsibility was to develop as well as manage the medical network of providers and hospitals which were serving the markets in the states of Atlanta. Among the major duties that he was supposed to be carrying out include; recruitment of providers, credentialing of physicians, negotiation of contracts, and promotion of the company’s disease management approaches, as well as maintenance of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) accreditation (McLaughlin & Kaluzny, 2006). On top of that, he was also responsible for reviewing quality and cost data. He was also supposed to organize educational programs by outlier as well as the control of the unit costs in the firm’s medical loss ratio in the market. He had a host of responsibilities all of which he was expected to carry out. The situation was made even worse by the fact that there were few or no people to delegate the work to. For the directors who needed to be coordinated, they had overlapping responsibilities. These posed a big challenge to Johnson.

The major problem that Johnson encountered therefore is how to manage all this responsibilities and get them done within the set time. Despite the fact that Johnson is a good time manager, he was faced with a big challenge managing all these responsibilities. This is among the main challenges that face medical directors. In the case of Johnson, his time was made more difficult by unexpected activities which badly affected his schedule. Among the activities included the supervision of database cleanup, he was also supposed to address an open enrollment administrative glitches, avail himself for audits, as well as deal with issues of supervisory and human relations (McLaughlin & Kaluzny, 2006).

The other problem that is common with the medical directors is lack of management skills. Most physicians do not have the management knowledge and hence they find it difficult manage activities in hospitals. For instance, in the 1980s, Johnson could not agree with his partner n the issue regarding the importance of managed care. He later ended up joining Emory University where he did his MBA. This was an interesting program for him especially due to the fact that it gave him a chance to carry out a project which was about the methods which can be used in the valuation of small medical practices. After completing the program he decided to install total quality management after which he was able to increase the volume of his practice by 83% within a period of one year. He also accepted managed care patients, added new partner as well as two assistant physicians and a nurse (McLaughlin & Kaluzny, 2006). Later, when Johnson attempted to start up a group practice where he was to work with other providers of the service, it failed within six months. The reason as to why this attempt did not work is due to lack of enough capital and management skills by physicians. Most of them are not in the position to work in large organizations. It gives them a challenge since they are not able to handle the amount of work they are expected to do. In addition, they are not able to properly manage time so as to complete their tasks within the given time (McLaughlin & Kaluzny, 2006).

In the year 1994, Vigilant and Xtra Mile Healthcare formed a merger and became one big organization that was known as Vigilant–Xtra Mile HealthCare. It is here that Johnson made a number of observations that were associated with the merger and which hindered smooth learning of the organization. Among the problems the he observed are; most of the data was lost during the data base clean up. As a result, the tax identities of most employees were lost. The tax payers were not informed by that their information had been lost during the clean up. This is a problem that could highly distort the company’s data especially if an employee claimed their ID and be given the wrong provider ID number (McLaughlin & Kaluzny, 2006).

The other problem that was noted was that too much time was taken to get things done in the organizations. In fact, most of the physicians were never comfortable with the length of time taken. This was a problem that was made worse when the size if the organization increased after the merger. For instance, for a substantial group to be recruited into a network, it could take as long as a whole year.

The other problem was that most medical practitioners had difficulties working as managers in the management team (McLaughlin & Kaluzny, 2006). They were not able to influence the rest of the group. Among the duties that they were required to carry out as managers were to influence the rest of the group, taking orders as well as speaking where necessary. In addition, they would be required to make decisions such as those regarding disease management. The other decisions that they were supposed to make were those related to the legal department as well as decisions related to the public. This was observed to give the practitioners some hard time. They had some different policies before and this something that they needed to change and adapt a new policy and culture that would assist in effective management of the large organization. The other management issue was with the insurance organizations. They knew little regarding the management practices as well as running the hospitals and as a result, it would not be appropriate for them to try integrating them.

There was a high turnover of medical directors in the industry. The reason cited by Johnson for the high turnover is due to lack of mentorship. He said that the industry was experiencing a lose – lose situation where employees were coming in going. This is a situation that has to be dealt with. In fact, it affects the performance of any organization. It is also costly due to the numerous costs of recruiting replacements for the gone practitioners. In addition, performance is low since the organization is not able to maintain the experienced employees (McLaughlin & Kaluzny, 2006).

Generally it can be concluded that the main problem that affected the organization was poor management. The medical directors do not have management skills and as a result they find it heard performing management functions. In addition, they found it difficult to manage in large organizations.

List the alternatives

The major challenge that now faces Johnson is to try and over come these problems. He has to make decisions which will aid in overcoming the problems. If the best solutions are found, the overall organizational performance will be improved. The medical practitioners will be able to make decision on their own as well as manage the rest of the employees with in the organization. The solution to the problem should be mainly aimed at improving managerial skills of the medical practitioners and physicians. The solution can be chosen from among the following alternatives;

One of the ways that the organization can use to improve the management skills of the medical practitioners is through offering them training. Training can be offered in different ways. First, the organization can organize programs within it where employees will be going and get lectures on the topic of management. This can be done in form of seminars whereby employees will be attending during given time maybe weekends and in the evening after work. It can make arrangements for employees to be closing offices early enough so that they get time to attend the seminars. Employees can also be given handouts on management where they will learn the best skills in the practice. The methods described here are referred to as on job training methods. It is where employees are trained within the organization. It is advantageous in that it is cost effective and time saving (Rothwell & Kazanas, 2004). In addition, the method is also advantageous in that employees are trained in the real working conditions. So, they have the opportunity to learn as they practice.

The other method of training that can be applied on employees is the off job training. This is where employees are offered training away from the organization. In this kind of training, seminars and conferences are offered away from the organization (Saks, Haccoun, Belcourt & Belcourt, 2010). In most cases the seminars are organized by the managers. The method is mostly used on new employees. It has a disadvantage to the organization in that it is costly. In fact, the method can only be cost effective if the number of employees to be trained is large and the training will take a short time. If training is offered for a short time, it will mean that the training may not be so effective.

The other alternative that the organization can have is employing new employees who have the expertise in management. In that instant, the organization will have medical practitioners who will concentrate fully on medical practices and managers who will concentrate fully on management issues. This alternative will encourage specialization. However, this will be too expensive for the organization. On the other hand, it will take too much time to come up with the right structure.

Medical practitioners can also pursue a formal education in management. The organization can give them a chance to attend a college or a formal institution where they will acquire managerial education. It is important to note that it is not possible for all the practitioners to attend college at the same time. Therefore, they will have to be released in turns till all of them get the skills. This will mean that during training, there will be frequent shortages of practitioners in the organization since there will be the group that has been released to attend the learning institutions. This might lead to under performance of the organization during that time due to the temporary shortages of practitioners. Further, this will be expensive to the organization. It is not cost effective. It is also time consuming due to the amount of time required to educate all the employees.

Time management is a problem that affected the organization. The major reason as to why Johnson could not properly manage time was due to the many activities that were arising outside the planned activities which were already too much for him. The medical practitioners also had difficulties managing time and other activities in the large organization. In addition, they found it difficult to make decisions and this could result to delays and poor performances. This could be improved if a good alternative to educate them is picked from the above suggested options. The organization is supposed to select an alternative that is effective in that it will help the medical practitioners acquire the best skills. The alternative should further be cost effective. It should save money for the organization as well as time. The major goal aim in picking up an alternative should be to pick the best alternative that will yield the best for the practitioners and yet be cost effective and time saving.

Best alternative selected

Form the alternatives generated the best one would be to offer in job training to the organization’s medical practitioners. This is where the practitioners will be trained within the organization while they are still practicing the same. This form of training is more favorable since it has more benefits to the organization as compared to the rest. First, it is possible for the workers to learn within the actual work environment. Therefore, they have the chance to practice whatever they learn. This will help them develop them develop more competent knowledge and skills since they have they learn both the theoretical part of management and practice at the same time. At the end of the program, these managers will be best suited to serve in the organization and offer the best performance.

The program is also cost effective. The organization is able to educate the employees at a relatively low cost as compared to other methods of training such as the off job training. In off job training, costs such as those incurred on seminar have to be incurred (Saks, Haccoun, Belcourt & Belcourt, 2010). There may also be travelling cost as well as catering costs. All these will be saved when the organization uses the on job method of training employees. The other benefit that the method will have is that it is possible for the trainers to be guided in their work. They are guided in their work by either a colleague or by a supervisor. It is beneficial in that it will help the trainee carry out his duties and tasks in a standard manner. They can be observed by the supervisors as they perform their duties and given feedback based on the observations. The medical practitioners have the opportunity to be mentored by the supervisors. The mentor will discuss the performance with the trainee and will advice them where they are not capable of doing the tasks. This will enhance the learning of new skills (Rothwell & Kazanas, 2004).

This would be the best alternative since it gives the medical practitioners a better ground on which they can learn and practice at the same time. Mentoring has been mentioned as one of the problems and this method of learning offers the opportunity for the employees to be mentored. They will be able to acquire the best skills since they get theoretical training and at the same time they practice whatever they learn. They learn in the real work environment hence they will have vast knowledge on the area they work on (Rothwell & Kazanas, 2004). When an employee spends time with the expert, they are able to see and observe whatever the expert is doing and carrying out the tasks. This also enhances the learning. It is said that if one sees something, it is much better than when they just read it. They will not forget easily if they have seen it and so this offers the ultimate learning method.

Conclusion

Problem solving is one of the most important activities in an organization. It is what will keep the organization moving if confronted with a situation that hinders its performance. In addition, the economy today is dynamic and therefore the organizations should also be dynamic. For them to be dynamic, they should have managers and employees who have the ability to solve problems and make the right decisions. Problem solving involves making the right decisions. Therefore, one has to follow the right procedure in the process. The process involves identification of the problem, and then the possible alternative solutions to the problem are developed. The decision maker then assesses all the alternatives to find the one that best fits as the solution to the problem. He picks the best alternative and it is implemented and monitoring may follow to ascertain the progress (Maldonato, 2010). If it does not work, another alternative may be tried out till the right solution is found. In the case study in question, the problem that seems to confront most medical practitioners is lack of managerial skills. However, it can be addressed by following the right procedures to select an alternative.

References

Adair, J. E. (2010). Decision making and problem solving strategies. London: Kogan Page.

Maldonato, M. (2010). Decision making: Towards an evolutionary psychology of rationality. Brighton [u.a.: Sussex Academic Press.

McLaughlin, C. P., & Kaluzny, A. D. (2006). Continuous quality improvement in health care. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett.

Rothwell, W. J., & Kazanas, H. C. (2004). Improving on-the-job training: How to establish and operate a comprehensive OJT program. San Francisco, Calif: Pfeiffer.

Saks, A. M., Haccoun, R. R., Belcourt, M., & Belcourt, M. (2010). Managing performance through training and development. Toronto: Nelson Education.