Health Manpower Management

Mark C. Hackett

1996 Health Manpower Management

doi: 10.1108/09552069610153062pmid: 10164226

National Health Service (NHS) Trusts are struggling to determine a long‐term strategic direction for their organizations in response to the competitive pressures generated by the NHS reforms. The development of long‐term strategic direction and the methods to implement them are presenting real challenges to the Trusts which have inherited service configurations based on bureaucratic planning frameworks rather than service configurations suited to a more competitive environment. Examines the strategic choices available to these organizations; explores the importance of identifying positive strategic choices; and discusses the advantages and disadvantages in the context of the NHS internal market.

John Edmonstone

1996 Health Manpower Management

doi: 10.1108/09552069610153071pmid: 10164227

Relates performance appraisal in the National Health Service to performance management and emphasizes the need for integration of diverse management initiatives. Identifies the multiple purposes of appraisal and a number of perennial issues. Outlines rules of thumb for enabling appraisal systems and states that these form the basis for specifying success (and failure) criteria for the design of appraisal systems. Stresses the importance of the context within which appraisal exists.

Ian Cunningham; Jeff Hyman

1996 Health Manpower Management

doi: 10.1108/EUM0000000004138pmid: 10164222

In recent years, empowerment of National Health Service (NHS) Trust employees has been given substantial political and managerial support. Examines the extent to which the commitment and morale of staff in two NHS Trust hospitals has altered following the introduction of a raft of techniques under the empowerment label. The researchers interviewed substantial numbers of staff with managerial responsibilities, personnel specialists and conducted written surveys seeking employee opinion. Reports the findings which confirm that, under empowerment, the work of both managers and staff has become more intensive but managers claim that their commitment has risen, while for non‐managerial employees, severe problems of commitment to the Trust, declining morale and high stress were exposed. Identifies reasons for these difficulties which were the salience of budgetary and operational priorities; lack of training; resistance to the implementation of empowerment and recognition that little real authority was being devolved to employees. Concludes that the limited effects attributable to empowerment could be explained by its association with harder‐edged manpower policies introduced to meet financial and competitive pressures. Under favourable contextual conditions, empowerment may exert more positive effects.

George E. Kempton

1996 Health Manpower Management

doi: 10.1108/09552069610153080pmid: 10164223

Describes a major programme of change embarked on by Kingston Hospital NHS Trust, UK in 1992 to deliver care to its patients more effectively and efficiently. Reports on the training strategy which was required to facilitate this important organizational change and establish it as the new culture at Kingston Hospital.

Sandra Meadows

1996 Health Manpower Management

doi: 10.1108/09552069610153099pmid: 10164224

Discusses the building blocks required for National Health Trusts in the UK to move effectively towards local pay determination as part of an overall coherent reward strategy. Concludes that the current preoccupation with purely the pay part of the reward strategy, combined with the absence of many of the other required building blocks, may well result in an extremely patchwork approach to reward and will leave the National Health Service in the position where it has lost the advantages of a national system, while failing to achieve the benefits of local pay determination.

Philip Gill

1996 Health Manpower Management

doi: 10.1108/09552069610153107pmid: 10164225

Explores the strategy of managing workforce diversity as a possible response to skills shortages within the UK National Health Service. Stresses that, if health care organizations truly wish to harness the diversity of their workforce, ways must be found of understanding personal motivations and creating employment opportunities which, as far as it is reasonable, meet these needs and expectations. Emphasizes that failure to adopt such an approach could alienate, possibly permanently, sectors of the potential workforce.