Concepts of leadership and management in health services; Chapter 1
Author(s) | |||
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Griffiths University, School of Public Health, Gold Coast, Australia | CAPHRI School of Public Health and Primary Care, Maastricht University, Nederlands |
ISBN 978-1-107-48639-3.
Bibliogr.: p. 13-15
Learning objectives How do I: • defi ne management and leadership in healthcare organisations? • distinguish between the functions of top-level, middle-level and fi rst-line managers? • understand the concept of power and how it is used in management and leadership? • determine the skills I would need for effective running of healthcare facilities? Introduction Intense debate surrounds the differences between the roles, functions and even superiority of leadership and management (Lease, 2006 ). Leadership is not something wholly different from management; indeed, it is a component of management and a responsibility of management, especially for senior managers. The present situation in health systems suggests that effective managers need to be effective leaders, and that the most effective leaders are also good managers. Defi nitions Most people think they know what management is. However, if they are asked to explain or describe the term management, they will give different answers. Some of them will say that it is a science; others will argue that it is an art; still others will vote for its being a practice. In addition to these answers, they will give examples of successful entrepreneurs like Jack Welch or world-class companies like Apple. It is also tough to explain differences between management and leadership. In many non-English-speaking countries, there is no term for leadership. This suggests that common words like management and leadership could have confused meaning for many of us. Therefore, it is important to discuss the defi nitions and functions of management and leadership. Organisations Why do we need management? Let’s say that someone has been asked to prepare a health promotion project highlighting the dangers of skin cancer. If they decide to do everything by themselves, most likely they will not need to think about planning, organising and controlling. However, the situation changes if fi ve or six fellow staff members join th