Abstract
It is doubtless that performance is essential in any organization, for effective achievement of set goals. Even though healthcare systems are sometimes ignored with regard to emphasis on performance monitoring, they equally require proper management like other business systems.
This proposal focuses on performance management systems in hospitals. In essence, the proposal will cover several segments, including but not limited to description of the business contact, identification of the problem to be addressed, research findings collected through interviews, and plausible recommendations.
Introduction
Performance is a core aspect of any organization. This is mainly based on the fact that the manner in which tasks are performed determines the results being expected.
In other words, poor performance leads to poor results, while effective performance of tasks can propel an organization to greater performance heights. As an essential sector of the economy, healthcare requires excellent working structures that are designed to augment the realization of better results.
This calls for a proper performance management system, to ensure that tasks are performed, according to existing goals (Aubrey, 1999).
While this is the case, most hospitals are faced with the challenge of monitoring performance due to lack of a system that addresses the problem.
This challenge further emanates from the fact that some hospitals operate with paper-based systems, which limit the productivity of employees and the ability of the human resource managers to monitor performance effectively. For instance, a manual system, which makes use of paper, affects the number of appraisals completed daily.
Based on this, hospital managers are unable to attain their appraisal targets, which end up affecting the overall performance of an institution (Aubrey, 1999). Another problem observed in the healthcare system is poor job descriptions and evaluation tools.
Most hospitals operate with systems that have outdated tools, which lack connection. This means that most of operations within the health sector are not aligned.
Besides the ineffective nature of such systems, it is essential to note that they have other disadvantages like wastage of time, since paper-work creates unnecessary tasks, which could be automatically be sorted out using a well-designed system, which focuses on the need to monitor performance effectively (Aubrey, 1999).
The hypothesis of this proposal is that, good performance management systems are essential in enhancing excellent performance in hospitals and the entire healthcare system.
To test this hypothesis, findings on how hospitals embrace performance will be analyzed, with a major focus on the nature of the system applied, coupled with limitations and advantages of these systems, in realizing goals.
This will be carried out through interviews with managers of various hospitals and employees, in order to have a clear picture of how the sector is influenced by the existing performance management system.
Methodology
Several methods will be employed to gather relevant information about performance management system and how it influences the overall success of healthcare in the country, state or an individual hospital. Primary and secondary methods of research will be applied.
Primary methods will mainly involve interviews, where several people will be interviewed, concerning the problem at hand. Among those who will be interviewed will be human resource managers from several hospitals with employees.
Responses from the interviewees will play a major role in creating an understanding of how performance management is carried out within these institutions. From this, the survey will also seek to explore the effects and challenges of running hospitals, using the current systems of performance management.
By interviewing human resource managers, it will be possible to have clarity of the issue since challenges emanating from these issues mainly affect the human resource department.
Furthermore, relevant information will be gathered from books, journals and the internet, with the aim of compiling documented views about the issue. This will allow a comparison of perspectives taken by different authors and their research findings.
In selecting these materials, only authentic and up-to-date references will be considered. This is to ensure that the information gathered about performance management system in hospitals is current and reliable.
Most of these books and journals will be obtained from college and public libraries. Moreover, online libraries and articles from reputable sites will be considered.
Results
There will be a wide-range of results, based on the data, which will be collected through the above described methods. It is expected that the results will focus on the state of the current performance management system and its shortcomings in the daily management of hospitals and the entire healthcare system.
Of importance will be findings on how success and growth is hampered by this system. For better understanding of data, which will be collected, there will be need of analyzing it, by use of statistical methods of data presentation and analysis.
For instance, graphs and tables will be essential in establishing trends among various hospitals. Additionally, gadgets like electronic calculators will be needed when computing the data.
Discussion
From the results, which will be obtained from surveys and other methods, the pathetic state of the current system will be evident together with its negative impact on the effectiveness of affected hospitals.
Generally, inefficient performance management systems affect the ability of a hospital to monitor its delivery of services to the public. By using manual principles, it is impossible to deduce the rate of service delivery and make necessary comparisons between different departments of the institution.
Ineffective performance management systems equally undermine the efforts made by employees, since job descriptions and evaluation tools are not aligned with the objectives of the hospital in serving its clients (Aubrey, 1999).
As a result, it is not possible to have a clear performance record for employees, for the purpose of acknowledging their outstanding efforts and abilities. This may significantly affect their morale to give their best.
Evaluation
The research will focus on a very sensitive area of management, which is crucial in determining the performance of not only hospitals, but also other institutions.
Among other advantages, the study will be based on factual information, which is important in making decisions. The inability to interview more people, may promote biasness, thus undermining the survey.
Importantly, findings from this study will be essential in making necessary management changes and in streamlining the entire healthcare system through the alignment of job descriptions with evaluation tools.
Some of the challenges, which are likely to be encountered, include insufficient time to interview a large number of human resource managers from different hospitals.
Recommendations
From the research, hospitals with inefficient performance management systems will consider making changes and adopt a better and effective system. This will be crucial in promoting excellence in healthcare.
Reference
Aubrey, C. D. (1999). Bringing Out the Best in People. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional.