Collaborative Decision Making Through Shared Governance
Shared governance is one of the newest approaches of leadership that the current generation is embracing in business transactions. The healthcare industry is among the first industries that encourage the use of shared governance in carrying out everyday operations. Collaboration in the health industry is a vital ingredient to organizational success and many companies within the industry appreciate the impact of the approach. Communicating between different stakeholders in the healthcare industry is necessary. As such, organizations use a collaborative mechanism of decision making to ensure that all key people affected by the decisions present their concerns at all levels (Roussel, 2013). The paper presents a case study of a department meeting held by a committee in a healthcare organization.
During the committee meeting, all the members were encouraged to raise their concerns in relation to the topic of discussion. Consequently, people sought to understand one another, thus creating a peaceful process of decision-making. The leader of the committee did not control the interaction of people during the discussions, which allowed members to speak up their mind. However, the members understood the barriers and the limits of interaction during the process of decision-making (Roussel, 2013). The committee has a well-set package of ground rules that guide the behavior of people during the decision-making process.
The process and the methods used to make decisions by the team were quite collaborative. The members focused more on the interest of the team rather than personal interest. Additionally, members agreed on a decision that yielded better results for the team and the organization rather than those that guaranteed success for a few people within the firm. Another approach that the team used in decision-making was relationship building. The leader allowed members to discuss issues that helped people to understand various challenges that different people within the organization faced, thus creating ideal relationships. Consequently, people did not raise negative arguments that would ruin individual relations between committee members. The goal of the team was to make an ideal decision that would improve the quality of service delivery in the department. Although reaching an ideal decision was necessary, the members also considered the process through which the decision was arrived. In other words, the committee focused on both the means and the product of the discussion (Barden et al., 2011). As such, the viability of decision depended highly on the level of agreement between members during the decision making process.
Inclusion and participation were another method that the committee used to arrive at the decisions. An alternative decision that did not receive an eighty percent contribution from the members was considered null and void. Partnership, equity, and accountability are some of the qualities that the team emphasized on throughout the entire process (Barden et al., 2011). Every member was responsible for the success or failure of the decisions made. The process ensured that people were committed to implementing the agreed on decisions regardless of the differences in opinion.
In conclusion, the process through which the committee made the decision was inclusive enough and benefitted the organization in various ways. Collaborative decision-making and shared governance create a sense of ownership among employees. Consequently, inclusion of stakeholders in decision-making helps the leaders to have a clear understanding of the challenges and the needs of different groups of people within the organization (Barden et al., 2011). Further, shared governance raises the level of responsibility among different people in the workplace hence success.
References
Barden, A., Griffin, M., Donahue, M. & Fitzpatrick, J. (2011). Shared governance and empowerment in registered nurses working in a hospital setting. Nurs Admin Q, 35 (3), 212-218.
Roussel, L. (2013). Management and leadership for nurse administrators. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning