The problem of sharp disposal can be of great concern to the management of a hospital. Being a part of a general waste management, which might include biological waste and contaminated materials, sharp waste is of distinctive concern, due to the regularity of waste accumulation, regardless of the sizes of the hospital. In that regard, such problem is a top priority concern for the Joint Commission of the Patton-Fuller hospital, where the current disposal practices require improvements in terms of efficiency and cost-reduction. The present paper provides a problem-solving plan for a team of four members, commissioned to develop a plan to improve sharp disposal in the aforementioned hospital, as well as providing communication guidelines outlining leadership positions and eliminating competencies’ confusion.
The first stage in the stages of decision making can be seen in defining the goal and understanding the problem, where in this case the problem can be seen in the organizational aspect, resulted in the improper division of competencies in the team and the lack of communication. Accordingly, the goals can be defined as raising the efficiency of the sharp disposal process through creating a creative team climate, which will be oriented toward the problem and in which the tasks and the competencies will be divided among the team members, while the responsibility will be shared (Harris & Sherblom, 2008).
Examining the constraints to solving the problem, it can be stated that basically, they are related to the communication process between team members, which might have resulted from the personal differences between them. In that regard, these constraints are internal as they are causing the initial problem at first place (Harris & Sherblom, 2008). The personal characteristics influencing the process can be seen in such aspects as family problems of the chief compliance office manager, the age and education factor of the manager of operations, who is not taken seriously for that matter, and temper problems with the director of infection control, for which he is not liked by other team members. In that regard, the lack of communication can be seen as a major barrier related to these characteristics constraints. Thus, it can be assumed that resolving the discrepancies among team members is directly related to the decision making process in this case, as the issue of efficiency can be related to the project management and the administrative costs.
There are not many alternatives in this case, specifically considering that replacing the employees is not an option. However, a few alternatives can be outlined as follows:
- The reliance on an external company which will manage the disposal procedures.
- Managing each member of the team independently, where each member will be supervised, and would be assigned the tasks independently of the others, and such would be the reporting format of each member.
- Each department managing its waste independently, eliminating the need for a specific team to perform such task.
Weighing the alternatives, it can be seen that some of them exclude the necessity for a team formation and in that regard, might raise the costs upper limit, as well as reduce the efficiency factor. Thus, it can be assumed that establishing a communication ground between team members might be the best solution that should be adopted in this case.
The method of promoting the development of an effective plan for sharp disposal can be stated through stimulating the team’s creativity and communication, which can be performed through a variety of ways, which not necessarily exclude each other. One of the ways of achieving the aforementioned is in creating a creative communication climate between the team members. Simple strategies to achieve the aforementioned can be seen through the following:
- Promoting equality between team members – such step can ensure that experience, status, age or other variables are omitted in team’s discussions and decisions.
- Showing and promoting concern for team members – The neutrality cannot be effective considering the fact that personal problems were among the major hindrances of effective cooperation in the team.
- Emphasizing the orientation on the problem – such approach would promote the group to cooperate in reaching their objectives, rather than assigning the roles and tasks to each one. In that regard, such step will support the equality approach among team members.
Additionally, it can be seen that the promotion of creativity in the team might be hindered by the fact of viewing the problem from a different perspective. In that regard, the usage of metaphors and associations might be helpful in helping each member to recognize his contribution to the plan, while not reducing the importance of the contribution of the others. In that regard, the competencies of each member should be identified as vital to the plan, without which the plan would not be implemented.
The importance of team communication can be outlined through the fact that its absence was the main problem in the presented case. Thus, by eliminating communication constraints and promoting the creativity among team members, the cooperation will be facilitated, and the objectives of the team will be reached.
References
Harris, T. E., & Sherblom, J. (2008). Small group and team communication (4th ed.). Boston: Pearson Allyn & Bacon.
WHO (2003). Waste Disposal in Clinical Procedures at Resource Limited Health Care Facility. World Health Organization. Web.