ORGANISING IN NURSING ADMINISTRATION

ORGANISING 

INTRODUCTION

Organizing is a function of management, which follows planning in which the synchronization and combination of human, financial and other physical resources take place. Organizing involves the manager determining how to distribute resources and arrange employees according to set plan. The manager identifies different values after which he or she then delegates authority and assigns different duties to deserving positions and then provides direction to the works so as not to stray from the planned direction. Organizing also includes deciding how information will flow in the organization, how problems will be solved and how decisions will be made. When organising, managers must match an organisation’s structure to its goals and resources.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Organizing

This is the deployment of organizational resources to achieve strategic goals (Daft, 2000).

It is also the process of identifying and grouping of the works to be performed, defining and delegating responsibility and authority and establishing relationships for the purpose of enabling people to work most efficiently“(Louis A. Allen).

 Organization

This is a group of people working together, under formal and informal rules of behaviour, to achieve a common purpose.

It also refers to the procedures, policies, and methods involved in achieving a common purpose. Thus, organization is both a structure and a process.

Managing

Refers to the art of getting people and transformational resources together to achieve a desired objective of an organisation or individual.

Directing 

This is a process in which the manager instructs, guides and oversees the performance of the workers to achieve predetermined goals.

PRINCIPLES OF ORGANISING

1. Specialization

According to this principle, the whole work should be divided amongst the subordinates on the basis of qualifications, abilities and skills. Through this principle, efficiency effectiveness can be achieved.

2.  Scalar Chain

Scalar chain is the sequence of command or authority, which flows from top to bottom whereas accountability flows upwards from bottom to top. The links in the chain are referred to as vertical lines on the organization chart. They link the level of manager with subordinate and clearly shows the divisions of responsibility as organising goes on.

a. Span of Control

It refers to the number of subordinates an officer can effectively supervise. There are a number of factors to be taken into consideration when determining the number of employees that one supervisor can efficiently manage. Some of them are:

Ø Level of managerial experience

Ø  Skill level of employees

Ø Stability of work unit or department

Ø Level of morale among employees

Ø Type of work managed

The following guidelines are also important to remember:

Ø There is a limit to the number of subordinates that a supervisor can effectively inspire, direct and coordinate

Ø The supervisor is responsible for the actions of the subordinates

Ø Too few immediate subordinates will result in over-supervision

Ø Too many will result in under-supervision

Ø It is ideal to have 1:3 at the level of top management, 1:6 at middle management and 1:20 at the bottom.

 

3. Unity of Command

It means no individual employee should be subjected to the orders of more than one immediate supervisor. It also means that every member of the organization should report to only one leader. Everyone should know whom to report to and who reports to them.

4. Hierarchy

This means the rule or control of the higher over the lower. Any organization is like a pyramid that is broadest at the base and tapering towards the top. Organizing, as defined earlier, is the division of functions among a given number of persons. The distribution of functions and responsibilities is both horizontal and vertical. An organization therefore grows both horizontally and vertically.

 

Ø When additional levels are added in an organizational structure it is called vertical growth.

Ø When more functions and more positions are added without increasing the number of levels then the growth is horizontal growth. Vertical distribution creates levels like top management, middle management, supervision, and the level of specific performance.

Disadvantages of Hierarchy

Ø Delays caused by every action must be laboriously taken up the top level of the ladder and brought down to be disposed of.

The general functions of the hierarchical structure are as follows:

Ø Fixing the responsibility

Ø Providing leadership

Ø Making an organization manageable

Ø Determining the level at which decisions of various levels are made

5. Delegation

In every organization, all authority belongs to the head of the organization. Although in practice no head can exercise all the powers legally vested in him. Therefore sufficient discretionary power has to be given to every employee to enable him to do his job. The devise by which authority is distributed is called delegation.

Delegation is the conference of specified power by a higher authority. It is the transfer of certain specified functions by the superior authority to the subordinate.

STEPS OF ORGANISNG

Organising is an ongoing managerial process. When organising managers follow the 4 steps which are referred to as the “Building blocks”:

1. Division of work.

2. Departmentalization.

3.  Hierarchy.

4. Coordination.

Division of work

Division of work is the breakdown of a complex task into components so that individuals are responsible for a limited set of activities instead of the task as a whole. Sometimes it is referred to as division of labour. The great advantage of the division of labour is increased productivity.

Division of labour creates simplified tasks that can be learned and completed relatively quickly. Thus it fosters Job specialisation as each person becomes an expert in a certain job.

Because it creates a variety of jobs, people can choose or be assigned to positions that match their talents and interest. Job specialisation can lead to boredom and alienation (absence of a sense control)

Departmentalisation

Departmentalisation is the grouping into departments of work activities skilled man power that are similar and logically connected. There are many jobs and departments within an organisation and these vary from one organisation to the other.

To keep tract of the complex web of formal relationships in an organisation, managers typically draw up an organisation chart to depict how work is divided.  In an organisation chart, boxes present the logical groupings of work activities that we call departments.

HIERARCHY

Choosing an appropriate span of management control for an organisational hierarchy is important for two reasons. Too wide a span may mean that managers are overworking and employees are receiving little guidance or control. When managers are overworked they tend to ignore or Condon serious errors.

Too narrow a span, is inefficient because managers are underutilized. The span can affect the speed of decision making. In a situation where there are too many managers (Tall hierarchy) to report to in the organisational hierarchy decision making tend to take long. A hierarchy shows hierarchical relationships progressing from top to bottom.

COORDINATION

 Set up mechanisms for integrating departmental activities into a coherent whole and monitoring the effectiveness of that integration. This process is called coordination.

IMPORTANCE OF ORGANISING

Ø Organising helps Organisations to reap the benefit of specialization.

Ø Organising provides for Optimum utilization of resources.

Ø Organising helps in effective administration.

Ø Organising channels for expansion and growth.

Ø Organising achieves co-ordination among different departments.

Ø Organising creates scope for new change.

 

Summary

Organizing is one of the most important functions of management. It has been defined as a process of identifying and grouping of the works to be performed, delegating responsibility and authority and establishing relationships for the purpose of enabling people to work more efficiently. It is an ongoing managerial process where managers lay out lines of authority and responsibility and decide how to coordinate organizational resources.

REFERENCES

Stoner, FAJ at al.  (2007). Management. 6th edition. Pearson Education. Delhi