Introduction
The development of the nursing sector is vital for the enhancement of the health conditions within a community. Setting up a nursing educational organization to facilitate training for the development of skills among students within a particular environment is a strategic move towards satisfying the health needs of a given community. Nursing schools aim at equipping individuals with skills to facilitate their qualification as nursing practitioners, thus aiding in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic and acute illnesses. In this case, the establishment of the Northway College of Nursing is essential for the provision of educational nursing programs to the community surrounding the institution and beyond. This paper will focus on the strategies for the development of the Northway College of Nursing. It will address the functions of the new organization in the provision of educational and training programs in nursing.
Purpose of the Organization
The establishment of any organization should be aimed at the attainment of particular ends through the inputs of its members to deliver desired outputs (Johnson, 2012). Therefore, the development of the Northway College of Nursing is geared towards the accomplishment of certain results. The organization seeks to provide a high standard of nursing education and training programs to provide the community with skilled nursing practitioners. Additionally, the aim of the organization is to ensure that the training and educational programs are in line with the current developments in the healthcare industry through the facilitation of research that seeks to improve the delivery of services by nursing practitioners. Furthermore, the organization strives to enhance patient advocacy by facilitating the patients’ safety in health care procedures.
The Organization’s Target Population
A target population is essential for an organization to plan strategically for its operations and satisfy the needs of the group. The Northway College of Nursing seeks to target individuals that are interested in pursuing their careers in nursing. The target group includes individuals who possess the minimum educational requirements required for enrollment in the nursing school regardless of their background, age, or gender. Additionally, the organization targets the community as a whole in its corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs. This aspect entails efforts put forward by the organization to improve the social, economic, and environmental conditions of the surrounding community.
Stakeholders
The involvement of various parties in the development of a new organization is essential for its growth. In particular, the health sector has to consider different parties that have a direct implication on the effective running of operations through interdependence (Wolf, Hanson & Moir, 2011). The Northway College of Nursing would consider the students, patients, clinicians, medical schools, the government, professional licensing agencies, and associations as the major stakeholders.
The students are the primary stakeholders since they are trained to become the future nursing professionals that would build the image of the institution by employing their high standard skills in medical endeavors. On the other hand, clinicians play a collaborative role with the nursing students through their complementary roles. The patients are major stakeholders since they are the beneficiaries of the skills instilled in the nursing professionals after graduating from the institution. The government plays a significant role in the formulation and implementation of policies aimed at controlling the health sector of which is to be highly considered by nursing educational institutions for compliance. Therefore, considering the key stakeholders is important for the new organization to run successfully.
Vision and Mission Statement
An organization needs vision and mission statements that give it a sense of direction. In this regard, the mission of the Northway College of Nursing is to facilitate professional nursing practice through the provision of quality nursing education and training programs that integrate academic rigor, a supportive environment, and the willingness to serve the society. The vision of the organization is to be regarded as the most academically oriented and student-focused nursing school in the region.
Therefore, the organization’s mission would guide the organizational culture through the formulation of values, norms, values, behaviors, and attitudes that each member is expected to observe.
The Incorporation of the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) Standards
The Council of Chief State School Officers in conjunction with the National Policy Board for Educational Administration (NPBEA) formulated the ISLLC standards for the enhancement of leadership in learning institutions. The known six ISLLC standards have knowledge, disposition, and performance aspects (Sorenson, Goldsmith, Mendez & Maxwell, 2011). The Northway College of Nursing would integrate the first two standards to enhance the leadership of its students.
The first ISLLC standard provides for the promotion of the success of all students by the school administrator who acts as the educational leader through the facilitation of a vision that is shared by the academic community. The second ISLLC standard provides that the educational leader needs to foster a school culture and educational program that can facilitate learning and the professional growth of the staff members (Sorenson et al., 2011). Therefore, the administration of the new nursing school would strive to realize the school’s vision through the creation of a culture that seeks to benefit all the involved stakeholders collectively.
The Organizational Culture
An organizational culture indicates the behaviors that members depict in the organization and the meanings that they attach to the behaviors. In this light, the nursing school would develop values, norms, attitudes, and behaviors to facilitate the attainment of its mission. This end would be achieved by sharing common goals, motivating students and staff towards the goals, supporting each other, encouraging meaningful formal and informal interactions, and the active involvement of the change agents or leaders in the creation of a favorable learning environment. The organizational culture would foster ethics to ensure accountability and interactions of mutual respect (Borkowski, 2008).
Managerial Issues
The efficient management of an institution is essential for the realization of the set goals. A new nursing organization has to ensure efficiency in managerial issues such as enrollment, funding, improving the learning environment, technology, security and safety, maintenance of operations, and staff recruitment and retention (Wolf et al., 2011). Such issues need to be addressed comprehensively for the smooth running of the Northway School of Nursing. Efficient management of the managerial issues would require the application of the principles of management, which include effective planning, coordinating staffing, organizing, reporting, and budgeting.
Encouraging Managers to Advocate for Organizational Culture
The management of the organizational culture is paramount for the realization of the mission and vision of an organization. Change agents or leaders in an organization ought to encourage their juniors to enhance the organizational culture (Johnson, 2012). In this respect, the Northway School of Nursing would encourage the middle managers to promote the organizational culture in various ways. The middle managers need to communicate the mission of the organization to other staff members effectively in a bid to foster the desired values, norms, behaviors, and values. The middle managers need to be encouraged to employ transformational leadership skills that would influence the behavior of other members within the institution. Healthy interactions between staff and students need to be encouraged in a bid to foster personal and interpersonal relationships. Additionally, managing cultural diversity is another aspect that the middle managers need to consider for the promotion of meaningful relationships of individuals from different backgrounds within the organization.
Promoting Employee Support of the Organizational Culture
Providing support to the employees on issues of the organizational culture facilitates its acceptance among all members within a company. The employees that would be recruited need to be trained to pass the organizational culture to them. The administrators ought to lead by example since leadership is about influencing the behavior of the followers towards the attainment of certain ends. Rewarding and providing incentives to employees who engage in activities that promote organizational culture would enhance motivation and conformity. Ensuring that all employees are aware of the organization’s core values would also improve their support of the organizational culture (Borkowski, 2008).
Conclusion
Developing a new nursing educational organization requires strategic planning to ensure its survival and effective provision of services. The target population and other stakeholders need to be considered in the process. The organizational culture facilitates the attainment of the organization’s vision and mission. Therefore, leaders and employees need to be encouraged and supported in a bid to facilitate the promotion of the organizational culture. The incorporation of various standards such as the ISLLC into the operations of a nursing school enhances the growth of both the students and staff members in areas like leadership. Therefore, a new nursing school needs proper planning in a bid to provide high standard training to its students.
References
Borkowski, N. (2008). Organizational Behavior, Theory, and Design in Health Care. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Johnson, J. A. (2012). Introduction to Public Health Organizations, Management, and Policy. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Sorenson, D., Goldsmith, M., Mendez, Y., & Maxwell, T. (2011). The Principal’s Guide to Curriculum Leadership. Newbury Park, CA: Corwin.
Wolf, J., Hanson, H., & Moir, M. (2011). Organization Development in Healthcare: A Guide for Leaders. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.