Internal and external factors that impact a nursing organization and its ability to change
Internal and external factors that impact a nursing organization and its ability to change
Discussion 1
Changing Factors & S.M.A.R.T.
Internal and external factors that impact a nursing organization and its ability to change
The nursing organization is a dynamic environment that experiences several challenges. A variety of factors affect service delivery in nursing organizations (Manomenidis, Panagopoulou, & Montgomery, 2019). Accordingly, good leadership and teamwork in the sector can make a significant difference in tackling these challenges. The leaders need to perform constant evaluation processes to determine the factors affecting the organization’s success and ability to change. These factors generally fall into two categories; internal and external factors. By understanding these factors, the nursing organization can provide better patient care.
The internal factors define the environment in which healthcare services are offered and the required resources for adequate service provision. Several factors are immediately evident when looking at internal challenges in an organization (Manomenidis, Panagopoulou, & Montgomery, 2019). These include communication, leadership and management styles, organizational culture and structure, employee competence, staffing, working environment, and collaborative care approach. The primary barrier to the success and ability to change in an organization is organizational culture. It focuses on the organization’s values, norms, assumptions, and beliefs. Quality healthcare provision depends on practical values that support the practice.
On the other hand, the external factors include technological, legal, economic, and social-cultural elements. The nursing organization should be aware of the technological advancements in care delivery (Manomenidis, Panagopoulou, & Montgomery, 2019). Such knowledge ensures that the staff is equipped with the necessary skills to use such technology and remain competitive. Additionally, the nursing organization is affected by social-cultural elements. These encompass society characteristics like diversity and preferences. Therefore, nursing staff should deliver culturally competent care that ensures quality care to everyone despite their affiliation. Moreover, the role of the government is expanding and is a primary external factor affecting healthcare organizations.
Describe the characteristics of S.M.A.R.T. goals
Goals and objectives play a vital role in the progression of an individual’s life and career. SMART is an acronym that highlights the characteristics of excellent objectives and goals (Ajibade, 2021). These goals are essential in tracking an individual’s professional progress and establishing a framework for career advancement. SMART goals identify what an individual should do, the conditions to do it, and the standards to be followed in the process. Similar to other long-term projects, a solid plan is essential in managing professional paths. SMART goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
An individual should be specific and clear when setting goals and objectives. According to Ajibade (2021), Each goal provides an indication as to the expected outcome, along with the proposed interventions required to meet the patient’s problems/needs, all of which must be patient centered. Objectives should always determine the who, what, why, where, and when to specify what needs to be done and when it will be completed.
Secondly, goals and objectives should be measurable and focus on observable outcomes and actions. An individual should always find a way to measure progress (Ajibade, 2021). Setting measurable goals provides an opportunity to maintain motivation and celebrate victories. Therefore, goals should always have clear milestones and a defined finish line.
Thirdly, a SMART goal should be achievable. While goals should be challenging, they should be within an individual’s reach (Ajibade, 2021). If there are inadequate resources and tools to realize the goal, it will fail. Furthermore, the goals should be relevant and instrumental to the individual and mission of an organization. Setting irrelevant goals can waste time and kill an individual’s motivation. Therefore, while aiming for the stars, individuals and organizations should always keep their goals rooted on the ground.
Lastly, SMART goals should be time-bound. Individuals and organizations should always ensure a specified and reasonable timeframe to achieve their goals (Ajibade, 2021). Deadlines ensure that goals have the maximum effect. A target timeline and a milestone for goals better indicate progress. Furthermore, setting timeframes is a form of motivation and can help determine if the organization or individual needs to increase their efforts.
References
Ajibade, B. (2021) Assessing the patients needs and planning effective care. British Journal of nursing, 30(20), 1166-1171. https://doi.org/10.12968/bjon.2021.30.20.1166
Manomenidis, G., Panagopoulou, E., & Montgomery, A. (2019). Resilience in nursing: The role of internal and external factors. Journal of nursing management, 27(1), 172-178.
Discussion 2
Changing Factors and S.M.A.R.T.
An organization may be subjected to a number of pressures affecting its performance both internally and externally. With the changing environment, these factors determine its ability to successfully implement change. Part of enhancing organizational performance and achieving the desired objectives is working to achieve Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound (S.M.A.R.T) goals. This paper will discuss some of the external and internal impacts of change and the characteristics of S.M.A.R.T (Aghera et al., 2018).
Internal factors are those aspects or issues affecting the organization from within. One of the internal factors that have an impact on the organization is Leadership. Change in leadership can be a great reason for bringing change to the organization. For example, when a new leader steps in, they may come up with their own ways to take the organization to its success. They may have a new vision and new strategies which means a new way of doing things. Organizational culture is another factor that has a strong impact on the organization. Culture is important in the success of an organization as it contributes to the performance of the company which may include productivity and employee morale and motivation while working towards the achievement of the goals and objectives. In case a new leader fails to understand the organizational culture well, it has a great impact on other internal factors such as the vision and mission of the company, organizational performance, employee morale, and productivity which affect the organization functioning and its ability to change (Warrick, 2021).
External factors, on the other hand, are the conditions affecting the organization from its surrounding. Organizations must know how to adapt to the challenges they face and find opportunities that will help them to implement changes and enhance organizational success due to factors such as competition, changes in customer demands, and the general rapid changes in the environment. an organization needs to be on a close of watch of political factors, events and economies and change according to what the situations demand. Economic growth, for example, can be a wonderful opportunity for the business hence organizational expansion. Moreover, factors such as the technological factors may affect the organization as with the changing technologies, organizations need to adjust to not only improve their performance towards their goals but also keep up with the competitions which is another factor greatly affecting organizations and their ability to change (Deszca, Ingols & Cawsey, 2019).
However, sometimes an individual or an organization may be working very hard but to no avail. It may be difficult to make any improvements or the vision towards the targeted goals may be close to impossible. Maybe the right thing to do should be setting S.M.A.R.T goals. There are several advantages of mainstreaming the S.M.A.R.T method such as program capacity building and independence in progress monitoring towards the desired outcome and achievement of objectives. The process of obtaining S.M.A.R.T goals involves clarifying ideas, focusing on the efforts, and productively using the available time and resources for achievement (Aghera et al., 2018).
On being specific, the goals should be clear to help in focusing efforts on the things that will contribute to success. Having specific goals involves finding answers for the five W questions: what, why, who, where, and which. In terms of measurable, goals should entail numeric or descriptive quantities and qualities to help track progress and remain motivated and meet deadlines. Moreover, goals should be attainable and realistic such that it should not be something impossible to achieve. R in SMART is for relevant goals which means they should link to other goals or the goals’ strategic intent. Each goal should have a specific and reasonable target date or time. Having a deadline provides a target to work towards and focus on which, in S.M.A.R.T, is represented by the letter T (Aghera et al., 2018).
References
Aghera, A., Emery, M., Bounds, R., Bush, C., Stansfield, B., Gillett, B., & Santen, S. A. (2018). A randomized trial of SMART goal enhanced debriefing after simulation to promote educational actions. Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, 19(1), 112-120. https://doi.org/10.5811/westjem.2017.11.36524
Deszca, G., Ingols, C., & Cawsey, T. F. (2019). Organizational change: An action-oriented toolkit. Sage Publications.
Warrick, D. D. (2021). Leaders build cultures: Action steps for leaders to build successful organizational cultures. Journal of Leadership, Accountability and Ethics, 18(1), 1-18.
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