1. Health workforce management
Dr. Rizwan S A, M.D.,

2. Health workforce management
„The problem with people is that they're only human‟

3. Take home messages
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
People are not ‘things’
One person can’t do everything, team work is best
Good leadership helps a team perform better
Staff should be trained to attain highest standards
Good communication will solve most problems
Supervision is indispensable
Conflicts will always arise, the trick is not to let them
interfere with work
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
3

4. Health workforce management
1. Introduction
3. Leading a health
team
Leadership
Sharing objectives
Motivating
2. Health team
4. Organizing health
team activities
5. Controlling &
assessing work
Job descriptions
Controlling
Norms & standards
Coordinating
Communicating
Delegating
Meetings
Supervising
Training
Assessing
Managing
performance
Records & reports
Conflict resolution

5. References
• On being in charge - WHO
• RCH manual for medical officer - NIHFW
• Epidemiology and management for health care for all
- P V Sathe
• World health report 2006 - WHO
• Contemporary public health: policy, planning,
management - J. P. Gupta
• Managing health services - Nick Goodwin
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Dr. Rizwan S A
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6. Introduction - 1
• Public health workforce: people whose job is to protect and
improve the health of their communities
• 80% of health budget is spent on salaries and staff benefits,
hence people matter more than things
• Managing people is more complex than managing things
• Things don’t think, answer back, are insensitive
• People like to feel useful and appreciated and become
discouraged when ignored or unjustly criticised
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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7. Introduction - 2
• To keep people satisfied at work, the work must be interesting
and stimulating
• Working conditions, relations among team members and
between the community determine work satisfaction
• Person in-charge of a health team should be sympathetic and
helpful to the workers and maintain a relaxed and happy
working atmosphere
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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8. Introduction - 3
• Better health care depends on efficient management, but
management depends on people and good management can
help a team work together harmoniously and efficiently
• Five ways of achieving this
–
–
–
–
–
Setting and sharing objectives
Encouraging good personal relations
Distributing tasks
Coordinating activities of the team
Applying sound organizational principles
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Dr. Rizwan S A
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9. Health team - 1
• Health team: group of people sharing a common health goal
and objectives determined by community needs, to the
achievement of which each member contributes according to
her competence and skill and in coordination with others
• The team includes all those working together, even clerks,
drivers, cleaners in addition to the technical staff
• Health team exists for the community
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Dr. Rizwan S A
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10. Health team - 2
• No one person can acquire all the necessary skills and so
people have to work together to get the work done
• To work well as a team, the leader and other members need
skills of leadership and organization
„Behind an able man there are always other able men.‟
- Chinese proverb
• Characteristics of teamwork
–
–
–
–
Common binding purpose/goal
Clear understanding of each other’s functions
Pooling of knowledge
Joint responsibility for the outcome
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Dr. Rizwan S A
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11. Leading a health team
Leadership
Setting and sharing objectives
Motivating the team
Delegating
Supervision
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Dr. Rizwan S A
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12. Leadership
• Ability of a manager to influence and induce subordinates to
work with confidence and zeal for the achievement of
organizational goals
• Theories of leadership
– Trait theory: Leaders are born, not made
– Behavioural theory: Leadership depends on behaviour of the
leader
– Contingency theory: Leadership depends also on subordinates,
the task, the workplace situation things right;
„Management is doing
leadership is doing the right things.‟
- Anon
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Dr. Rizwan S A
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13. Hersey and Blanchard's situational leadership theory
Meri Marji
- E.g. Government
servant
Kya? Kaise?
Kab? Kyun?…
Bhagwan
barose!
E.g. Intern
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Mein hoon na!!
Dr. Rizwan S A
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14. Team & Leader
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Dr. Rizwan S A
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15. Example - 1
Problem
Category
Solution
Intern keeps reading during
Bhagwan
peak OPD hours,
Unable and
barose!
he is not interested,
Unwilling
E.g. Intern
manages patients badly.
Be firm and strictly
monitor
New lab tech in PHC,
willing to work but does
not know things
Pair up with an experienced
tech for few days,
check progress, show support
CRHSP, AIIMS
Unable
Kya? Kaise?
butKab?
Kyun?…
Willing
Dr. Rizwan S A
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16. Example - 2
Problem
Category
Solution
You are a new medical
officer, you find that a
Meri Marzi
senior PHN does not do any Able - E.g.
Government
work. Sulks at you.
but Unwilling
servant
Upon enquiry you find
that….
Call her to your chamber,
speak to her gently,
discuss about a problem
and ask for ideas, gain
confidence
A Resident with good
Able
public relations, knowledge
Mein hoon
and na!!
and skill base, sincere in his
Willing
work, reliable
Appreciate and provide
occasional guidance
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Dr. Rizwan S A
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17. Setting and sharing objectives
• People work well together when they agree with one another
and take part in setting the objectives
• People who are not involved in objective setting waste
resources
• People who are opposed to set objectives may obstruct work
• Local objectives must be set in consultation with Community
members, Health workers, Patients, Ministry of health
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Dr. Rizwan S A
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18. Motivating team members
• Motivation is an inner impulse that induces a person to act in a
certain way
– Level 1: obtain the necessities of life – food, clothing, shelter,
rest and safety
– Level 2: satisfy social needs – companionship, love and position
of respect
– Level 3: personal satisfaction and pursue ideals
• A leader should understand what encourages and what
dissatisfies„Leaders must be close enough to relate to others,
people at work
but far enough ahead to motivate them.‟
- John C. Maxwell
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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19. Maslow’s need hierarchy theory
Self
actualisation
needs
Esteem needs
Awards,
promotions
Social needs
Team work, social
events
Security needs
Job security,
retirement benefits
Physiological needs
CRHSP, AIIMS
Comprehensive
health care
Salary
Dr. Rizwan S A
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20. Causes of motivation
• Achievement: wise leaders will help their workers achieve by giving
clear instructions, suitable training and facilities
• Recognition: leaders should be willing to praise when praise is due
• The work itself: a good leader will try to keep dull, repetitive tasks
to minimum and assure workers of the value of their work
• Responsibility: a good leader tries to increase worker’s sense of
responsibility rather than diminish it by criticisms
• Advancement: a leader should encourage people to increase their
skill and knowledge and train them for promotion
• Self-improvement: leaders can help workers by challenging them
with questions at work, help them themup whom it is due, giving high
„Withhold not good from set to research, by
quality supervision it is in the power of thine hand to do it.‟
when
- Proverbs 3:27
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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21. Causes of dissatisfaction
• Inefficient administration: leaders who fail to pay salaries on time,
to distribute supplies on time
• Incompetent supervision: a supervisor who cannot help in a
difficult diagnosis will lose respect
• Poor personal relations: workers should be treated fairly, should be
consulted about their work.
• Poor leadership qualities: people respond to much better to
example than to exhortation, without personal authority that comes
from integrity, the authority of the position will not impress others
• Low pay: absolute level is less important than relative level
• Bad working conditions: a good leader ensures good working
conditions and in its absence inspires by example
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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22. Delegating authority and responsibility
• Delegation means giving another person the power to make
decisions
• Advantages
– It saves time for other duties
– Workers in the field must be able to make decisions
– Saves long delays that occur when awaiting decisions from a
distant authority
– Allows workers to enjoy their work and become more skilful
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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23. Cons of delegation
• If wrong decisions are made, work may suffer
• A bad leader may pass on all the work to members with very
little for himself to do
• A leader may delegate work to people with insufficient
experience
„As a manager the important thing is not what happens when you are there,
but what happens when you are not there.‟
- Anon
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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24. Rules for delegation of authority
• Be clear about exactly what is delegated
• Select the right person
• Tell others about the delegation
• Do not interfere unless asked to
„Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority,
• Give support as needed and monitorpolicy is being carried out.‟
and don't interfere as long as your progress
- Ronald Reagan
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Dr. Rizwan S A
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25. Styles of supervision • Autocratic: Do as I say! It
tends to humiliate people and
make them irresponsible
• Anarchic: Do what you like!
(jaise chal raha hai, vaise chalne
do na! ya tumhari marzi!)
• Democratic: Lets agree on
what we are to do – helps
people grow, to become
responsible and show initiative
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Dr. Rizwan S A
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26. Can you tell?
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Dr. Rizwan S A
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27. Choice of supervision
• Choice of supervision depends on
– Job factors
Complexity, difficulty of job, need for quick decisions,
consistent results, creative work
– Personnel factors
Skill, reliability, experience of the workers, willingness to
accept responsibility and make decisions
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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28. Adapting supervision styles
• Good supervisors adapt styles according to needs
• Democratic style
– For work that requires creativity
– With competent, reliable, experienced people and those who are willing to take
responsibility
• Authoritative style
– For tasks that require coordination and consistency (dealing with large numbers
of people)
– For tasks such as emergency or controlling epidemic
– Workers who have little understanding of the goals, have limited
experience/skills and unreliable
– Where staff can be closely supervised and controlled
– Not suitable in rural health work where workers work in isolated health posts
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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29. Organising health-team activities
Job descriptions
Norms and standards
Coordinating activities
Communication
Conducting meetings
Training staff
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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30. • Distribution of tasks among members of the team is an
important function
• Work should be arranged in such a way that members use their
individual skills and talents and there is no ‘overwork’ or
‘underwork’
• Job description is a means of helping to distribute tasks
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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31. Using job descriptions
• A job description states
– Objectives, activities and programmes of the post
– Authority of the worker
– Responsibilities of the worker
• The purpose of job description is to define exactly to all
members their work
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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32. Uses of clear job description
• Clearly explains what each workers is expected to achieve
• Prevents arguments between people, prevents gaps and overlaps
• Can identify areas for training
• Serve as a basis for evaluation
• However they should be used flexibly, guidelines rather than too
strictly or literally
• Thus workers should be ready to help with one another’s work
when necessary
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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33. Contents of job description
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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34. How to outline duties?
• Training and tradition
• Interpretation by the person who holds the job – it is very
useful to ask workers to list their duties and discuss with them
• Requirements of programme and services
• Since rural health work keeps changing, supervisors should
keep job description under constant review
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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35. Example of a job description
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Dr. Rizwan S A
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36. Using norms and standards
• A job description does not say how much a health worker must
do or how well
• Norms and standards translate health objectives and targets of
health teams to amounts of work and quality of care expected
• They can be applied to work, performance, productivity and
behaviour. E.g. no. of deliveries conducted by the ANM, birth
complications rate, performance over time
• Can be used to compare workers
• However, workers cannot be regarded as machines with
predetermined production mechanisms, they can set their own
standards
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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37. Coordinating activities
• It means bringing activities into proper relation with each other
so as to ensure that everything is being done and no two
people are trying to do the same job
• Components
– Distributing authority
– Channels of communication
– Arranging work so that right things are done in the right place, time,
way and by the right people
• A coordinated activity is orderly, harmonious, efficient and
successful
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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38. Organizational principles to achieve
coordination
• Objective: group objective must contribute to overall objective
• Definition: clearly defined tasks for groups
• Command: clearly identified person in charge
• Responsibility: person in charge
• Authority: each person should have authority equal to responsibility
• Span of control: person in charge should control not more than 6-10 people
• Balance: activities of the groups should balance out
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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39. Checklist for coordination
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Dr. Rizwan S A
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40. Communication
• Why is communication important?
– Personal relations within a team are important and can be made
worse by poor communication
• Principles to maintain good communication
– All members should be free to express their views
– A message should be expressed clearly
– The leader should ensure that the communication sent was
received and executed
– Conflict „The single biggestshould be managed in a is that will
or disagreement problem in communication way
achieve constructive results it has taken place.‟
the illusion that
– G B Shaw
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Dr. Rizwan S A
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41. Managing space to assist communication
• A big group is better divided into small groups of 6-7
• Table may hinder communication, esp. avoid long or U-shaped
tables
• Do not place tables in a way that emphasizes rank order unless there
is a reason
• Seating arrangements should reflect the purpose of meetings
• Adapt seating arrangements to the purpose, not the purpose to the
seating arrangements
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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42. Two people or
one person & small group
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Dr. Rizwan S A
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43. Small group (5-10)
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44. Large group (10-50)
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Dr. Rizwan S A
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45. Conducting meetings
• Regular meetings of health teams are necessary, to make
decisions on a new project, or educational activities
• Preparing for a meeting
– Purpose: Brief summary of what is to be achieved, agenda
– Subject: Each person should have as much information as possible
about the subject to be discussed
– Type and size: Small or large, invited only or open, formal or informal
– Place, time and duration
– Who is convening and organizing
– Announcements about the meeting
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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46. Excuse me Mr. Chairman, but before
we close may we know why we came
here?
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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47. A good meeting is successful
communication
• The success of a meeting depends on quality of communication
• If the purpose was to pass on information or explain something, the
speakers should ensure whether this has been successful (by
questions and discussion)
• It the purpose was to seek views, the chairman should summarize
the views and obtain agreement
• Quarrels and shouting are often due to poor communication, they
„The most important thing in communication is
can be minimised when people understandsaid.‟ other clearly
to hear what isn't being each
- Peter Drucker
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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48. Role of chairman
• Keeps the meeting to its main purpose, gives everyone fair
chance, controls timing, keeps order
• 3 simple rules
– No rudeness or personal remarks
– Chairman must have absolute right to control the discussion, rule
out irrelevant remarks and bring an end if necessary
– Everyone should be stimulated to take equal part, discouraging
talkative persons and stimulating hesitant persons
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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49. Controlling time in meetings
• Questions and discussions should be kept to definite time limit
• If decision cannot be reached within time limit, it is advisable
to postpone the attempt, which gives more time to think and
prepare
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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50. Committee meetings
• A special type, a committee is a group of people appointed by
another person or group for a special function
• 2 types
– Advisory committee: Advises somebody who has the power of decision
– Executive committee: Has certain powers of decision on its own
• Reasons for appointing a committee
– Responsibility is shared
– Reasonable range of knowledge and opinion consulted before decision
is reached
– Eliminate self-interest, bias and prejudice in decisions
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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51. Committee rules & procedures - 1
• Powers and duties: What are the responsibilities and what is their
authority
• Membership: Rules for appointing members, filling vacancies, coopting members
• Voting rights
• Arrangements for meetings: how often, who may call, advance
notice
• Procedure (how to conduct business): how decisions are reached,
by majority or two-thirds or unanimously
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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52. Committee rules & procedures - 2
• Chairman
– Appointed or elected
– Convenes meeting, decides agenda, leads meeting, signs the
‘minutes’, calls members to speak, puts motions for voting and
passes them as rejected or accepted
• Secretary
– Appointed or elected
– Records main events, names of members present, visitors, those
absent and their messages, exact wordings of decisions,
summaries of discussions, date of next meeting
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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53. Committee rules & procedures - 3
• Order of business
– Chairman calls meeting to order (announces names of absentees
and their apologies, introduces new members, recognises guests)
– Secretary reads previous meeting’s minutes
– Members propose additions/corrections to minutes
– After all modifications, chairman moves to approve minutes,
voting takes place and approved
– Discussion proceeds according to agenda items and decision
made on each item
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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54. Training staff
• Human resources are the most expensive form of health
resource, hence they should have high standards of
performance
• Purpose of training
–
–
–
–
To improve competence
Maintain a positive attitude towards work
To reduce sense of inadequacy
To ensure that community gets quality care
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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55. Training strategies
• Continuing education
– A system that gives opportunity to continue learning, both for personal
career and benefit of health services
– Help to adapt performance to new developments
– Still inadequate in many countries, carried out in piecemeal
• In-service training
–
–
–
–
–
Is associated with supervision, service and problem related
Concerned with local needs
Deals with training needs as they arise
Deals with problem solving in health care
Training focussed on priority health problems
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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56. Training process
Training
need
analysis
Training
objectives
Training
delivery
What are
the training
needs for
this person
and/or job?
Objective
should be
measurable
and
observable
Techniques
include onthe-jobtraining,
action
learning
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
Training
evaluation
Measure
reaction,
learning,
behavior,
and results
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57. Assessing training needs
• Task analysis
 A detailed analysis of a job to identify the skills required,
so that an appropriate training program can be instituted
• Competency analysis
 Careful study of competency level to identify a deficiency
and then correct it with a training program, or some other
development intervention.
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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58. Competency analysis
Current
competency
level of the
employee
Competency
Gap
Competency
Assessment
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
Required
competency
level for certain
position
Training and
Development
Program
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59. Assuring competence of health teams
• Selection and recruitment
• Assessing competence and performance
• In service training approaches
• Relating the training system to health care
„A good manager is a man who isn‟t worried about his own career but
rather the careers of subordinates‟
– H.S.M. Burns
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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60. The educational process
• Defining learning objectives
• Setting criteria and designing methods for assessing
achievement
• Selecting learning methods
• Organizing learning experiences
• Providing conditions in which active learning can take place
• Developing and using training resources
• Reinforcing learning experience with supportive supervision
• Evaluation management consists of showing average people
„Good
how to do the work of superior people‟
– John D. Rockefeller
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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61. Steps in educational process
„The art of choosing men is not nearly so difficult as the art of
enabling the chosen ones to attain their full worth.‟
- Napoleon Bonaparte
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Dr. Rizwan S A
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62. Controlling and assessing work
Controlling and maintaining work standards
Assessing performance
Records and reports
Dealing with problems & conflicts
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Dr. Rizwan S A
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63. • After the objectives and duties of a health team have
been defined and team members carefully selected,
trained and instructed, control measures can be
devised to ensure that the team’s work programme
proceeds as expected and maintain expected amount
and quality of work
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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64. Controlling and maintaining work
standards
• Necessity
– To ensure that work is done according to the objectives and within the
allotted time and resources
– To enable supervisors to identify deficiencies in workers' abilities and
arrange for proper training
– To enable supervisors to recognize and reward good work and
recommend for promotion
– To ensure that resources are adequate and properly used
– To enable identification of causes of work deficiencies
• Good control should be
– Timely, Simple, Minimal, Flexible
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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65. Methods of control in a team
• Instructions
– Must be clear enough to be understood by all concerned
– Must be practicable and within the capacity of those meant to
carry them out
– Adequate resources to carry them out
– Must be stated in a way that results can be easily assessed
• Work schedule
– Shows what a worker/team is to do and when
– They let the supervisor know what team is doing what on a
particular day and time and enables individuals to make the best
use of time
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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66. How many of you
have gone thru this?
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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67. Visits by supervisors
• In supervision nothing beats a direct visit, esp. for rural health
• Personal visits assures workers that the team leader is someone to
whom they can turn for help whenever they need
• Provides an opportunity for exchange of ideas and in-service training
• Each visit should have a definite purpose and long enough to complete
that purpose
• Should ask
– What targets they are aiming at and whether they consider them
practicable
• It is helpful to have a checklist
• Surprise visits are not good practice, it suggests that the supervisor
„A desk is a dangerous place from which to view the world.‟
does not trust the workers, they should be encouraged to prepare for
- John Le Caré
the visit
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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68. “My supervisor knows that I am here and that what I do is important enough
for a regular visit to review my work”
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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69. Assessing work performance
• Based on clear statement of objectives, that are relevant, feasible,
measurable and agreed by the workers
• Determine the level of achievement by the team
• Purpose of assessment is to help discover the strengths and weaknesses
of workers and the potential for growth and further training needs
• Assessment should be continuous
• Supervisor must help workers to respond to helpful criticism and
improve performance
• The immediate supervisor who sees the health worker most often is the
best person to make the assessment
• A checklist is very useful
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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70. Sample checklist for assessment
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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71. Finding work deficiencies
• There are several reasons, many are not workers’
faults
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Insufficient training
Insufficient resources
Lack of clear job description, instructions
Lack of reward, promotion
Team members not working well
Supervisor not encouraging enough
Personal worries
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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72. Why performance appraisal?
• Appraisal provide information upon which promotion and
salary decision can be made
• Appraisal provide an opportunity for a manager and his/her
subordinates to sit down and review the subordinate’s workrelated behavior, and then develop a plan for corrective action
• Appraisal provide a good opportunity to review the person’s
career plans in light of his/her exhibited strengths and
weaknesses
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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73. Performance management cycle - 1
Performance planning
(Setting Performance
Targets)
Feed back
Regular review and
Monitoring
Corrective Action
 Training &
development Plan
 Salary/Bonus
adjustment
 Career development
CRHSP, AIIMS
Performance appraisal
and evaluation
Dr. Rizwan S A
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74. Performance management cycle - 2
Defining
performance
targets
Defining the performance standards
means making sure that you and your
subordinate agree on his/her duties and
targets that you expect
Appraising
performance
Appraising
performance
means
comparing your subordinate’s actual
performance to the standard/targets set in
step one
Providing feedback
for development
Providing feedback means discussing
plans for any development that is required
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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75. Problems in performance appraisal
Lack of
standard
Poor
feedback to
employee
Poor
measures of
performance
Irrelevant or
subjective
standards
Negative
communication
Failure to apply
evaluation data
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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76. Performance appraisal element - 1
Performance appraisal
elements has two main
categories
Competencies: It represents soft
or qualitative aspects of
performance (process)
Performance Result: Hard or
quantitative aspects of
performance (result)
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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77. Performance appraisal element - 2
Competencies score
Overall score
Performance score
Will determine the employee’s
career movement, and also the
reward to be earned
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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78. Records - 1
• Consist of information kept in the health unit about the work
of the unit, health conditions of the community, individual
patients and administrative matters
• Records should be accurate, accessible, available when needed
and contain useful information
• Records are an administration’s memory, they help supervisor
to
 Learn what is taking place, make effective decisions, assess
progress towards goals
CRHSP, AIIMS
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79. Records - 2
• Before asking health workers to make records, supervisors should
ask themselves following questions
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–
–
–
–
–
Will this information be used?
What part will it play decision making and evaluation?
Can this be accurately collected?
Will it be accessible?
Reasonable cost?
Only because of routine?
• Supervisors should make sure that the workers understand the
reasons for collecting the information required
„The problem is people don't keep good records.
• Special forms are often better records, they'd save money.‟ standardized
used to record information in a
If people kept
manner and save time
- David Mellem
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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80. Reports
• The information communicated to other levels of health
service, is an important management tool for influencing
future actions
• Reporting forms are often standardized and distributed in
advance
• Workers should be trained to prepare reports according to
instructions
• Copies should be made and one retained as record
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81. Dealing with problems and conflicts
• Solving staff’s personal problems
– Personal worries are varied and may interfere with work, a good
supervisor tries to understand those problems
– A worker who feels that a supervisor does not care and is
unsympathetic may feel resentful and angry and affect quality of
work
„The quality of our lives depends not on whether or not we have
conflicts, but on how we respond to them.‟
-Tom Crum
CRHSP, AIIMS
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82. Dealing with disputes - 1
• The commonest cause of dispute is confusion, caused by people having
different ideas about what is to be done and how it is to be done
• It can be minimised by
– Frequent meetings of members
– Allowing people to express views openly and letting the whole group decide
what should be done
– Sharing agreed objectives
– Clear and detailed job descriptions
– Clear instructions and procedures to follow
– Distributing tasks fairly
– Creating work schedules and distribute work fairly
• Common cause of argument is jealousy and favouritism
„People are disturbed not by things,
• A supervisor must be just and viewand never of them.‟staff in public
but by the fair they take criticise
– Epictetus
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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83. Dealing with disputes - 2
• Conflict is simply a recognition of and expression of difference
• Traditional view
– All conflicts are harmful
– Indication of management failure
• Behavioural school of thought
– Conflicts are logical as people differ
– Not always detrimental; could be constructive
• Types of conflict
– Functional: enhances and benefits the organization's performance
„Conflict harms or hinders combat is optional.‟
– Dysfunctional: is inevitable, but the achievement of organizational
goals
- Max Lucado
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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84. Settling disputes - 1
• Reasons for dysfunctional conflicts
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–
–
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Unclear job descriptions
Aggressive nature of individuals
Poor communication
Task interdependence
• Conflict resolution
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–
–
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Clear job descriptions
Closely related jobs to be assigned to same group/ individual
Improved„Every personal communication between
inter fight is on some level a fight
differing „angles of vision‟ illuminating
Better understanding of self and others the same truth.‟
CRHSP, AIIMS
– M K Gandhi
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85. „A good manager doesn‟t try to eliminate conflict; he tries to keep it
from wasting the energies of his people.’
– Robert Townsend
CRHSP, AIIMS
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86. Settling disputes - 2
• A serious argument can affect morale and performance of whole team
• Must be stopped quickly and reconciled
• People involved should be interviewed separately and all facts made
known
• All efforts should be made to discover the true cause of argument
• People involved should be asked separately on how to resolve the
argument and whether they are willing to be reconciled
• If a solution can be found that is acceptable to all concerned, productive
and friendly relations can be re-established
• If not, the best solution is to persuade them to „agree to differ‟ – to
„He who has learned to disagree without being disagreeable has
acknowledge the differences in valuable secret of astop arguing about
discovered the most their views but to diplomat.‟
them
- Robert Estabrook
CRHSP, AIIMS
Dr. Rizwan S A
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87. Take home messages
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
People are not ‘things’
One person can’t do everything, team work is best
Good leadership helps a team perform better
Staff should be trained to attain highest standards
Good communication will solve most problems
Supervision is indispensable
Conflicts will always arise, the trick is not to let them
interfere with work
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88. Thank you!
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