BSc Nursing Management Module: HRM and Financial Management Essay

This essay, prepared for a BSc Nursing Management module at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, explores the intertwined fields of Human Resource Management (HRM) and Financial Management within the healthcare sector. Part A delves into the fundamental functions of HRM, with a specific focus on workforce planning, analyzing its importance for organizational success and highlighting its key steps, such as analyzing organizational objectives, inventorying current resources, and formulating action plans. Part B shifts the focus to financial management in healthcare, discussing the complexities of managing finances, the chief activities involved, and the strategic importance of financial planning in healthcare settings. The essay also examines the nature of healthcare funding in Ireland, providing an overview of the public and private healthcare systems and the role of the Health Service Executive (HSE). The essay concludes by emphasizing the importance of HRM and financial management in healthcare, highlighting the roles of both in ensuring effective patient care and organizational success. This assignment provides a comprehensive overview of the key concepts and practices in HRM and financial management within the context of nursing management.

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND FINANCIAL
MANAGEMENT

Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Part A.........................................................................................................................................3
Part B..........................................................................................................................................5
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................6

Introduction
Human Resources are a department that is located inside a business, which is in charge of all
the things related to workers. This involves the recruiting, selecting, vetting, hiring, training,
on-boarding, paying, promoting, and the firing of the employees as well as the private
contractors. Human Resources and Finance are typically two different things. Human
Resources focus on the workers as their main assets, while Finance is a language of numbers
and values those assets which can be quantified easily. Human Resources and Finance cannot
be separated, as they both depend on each other to build a successful business. Human
Resources take care of its employees, while the finance makes sure they work hard to provide
more money for the company. If the well being of the employees is not seen, then work
cannot be done properly. In healthcare, Human Resources play an important role which
ensures the proper delivery of the health care and its services to a patient, if needed.
Part A
The department of Human Resource is an important part on an organization. There are four
fundamental functions of a Human Resource
 Planning – Planning is important for an organization to achieve its goals, and the
work to be done, to achieve them. Planning may involve training of employees for
some specific tasks. It also needs to anticipate the hiring needs, the requirement of the
job, its needs, and to determine the sources for recruitment.
 Organizing – After establishing of plans, the HR manager must organize them, so
that work can be done without interference. Organizing involves the grouping of
employees to perform specific tasks, coordination of activities, and to see that the
work is done properly (Rantanen and Faehnle, 2017).
 Directing – The plans are created by the manager of Human Resources, but its
implementation depends on the motivation of the people. The manager must guide, as
well as motivate the employees to make sure the goals are accomplished. Motivation
needs to be done by identifying the needs of the employees, and by planning of their
career, such as boosting their morale, and providing safety.

 Controlling – It is an important task of the manager, as he has to review the results
with the expected outcome. Moreover, he also has to correct any faults that have
occurred (Baker and Cronin, 2015).
Planning
The planning of Human Resource is a process of organizing the needs of the company in the
future including the things required to achieve this, and then determining how they can be
achieved by the present capacity of the Human Resource. It then starts to focus on the
financial status of the company and sets a target.
The planning is a process that helps an organization’s management in encountering the
Human Resources demands in the future, with appropriate supply of people and their
numbers at the appropriate place and time (Parke et al. 2018). It takes further analysis of the
requirements of the HR to begin the process of selection of employees. Planning is essentially
a tool for success, which needs to have strategy. There must be some sort of strategy, with a
long term objective, so that the organization can do its planning properly.
Planning of Human Resources may seem like an easy process, but in reality, it is the most
important and difficult job. One slight mistake can lead to the downfall of the organization
(Mandal and Jha, 2018). The real activity involves the Human Resource manager in facing
many difficulties, due to the current workforce effect of the organization and the pressure to
encounter the objectives of the business.
 The managers of Human Resources anticipate the requirements of workforce, thus
they are not surprised due to the changing events.
 Planning helps in preventing the collapse of the business in this shifting market of
workforce, which has become a usual concern.
 It helps in understanding the needs of the business like the required talent and skills,
professional experience, etc.
 The planning done by the HR is important for the companies in the growth stage, as
they have competition. Therefore their needs are fulfilled to stay afloat, and meet the
objectives.
In short, planning of Human Resources is an uninterrupted process of a systematic aim to
achieve the perfect use of the most precious asset of an organization-employees and quality.

Their plan ensures shortage of manpower, and focus what fits best between jobs and
employees.
Planning is done properly by:
 Finding and attracting the most skilful employees.
 Selection of the best candidates, their training and giving them rewards
 Dealing with disputes and coping during absence.
 Promoting and firing employees, as needed.
The planning of Human Resource is a process of selecting the perfect candidate for the
perfect job. This process is conducted for the development of the objectives of an
organization, and to achieve those objectives. There are six steps in the planning of Human
Resource.
Analysing the objectives of the organization – The objectives that are to be fulfilled in the
future is to be made clear. This includes different fields like finance, production, expansion,
marketing, and sales. Thus, it shows the work needed to do, to achieve its goals.
Inventory of the Human Resource at the present state – For an organization to be
successful, the HR have to analyze its present state, which may include employees,
workforce, experience, and skills (Shantz, Alfes and Arevshatian, 2016). Analyzing them
helps the HR to determine its weakness, and the assets needed to complete its future goals.
Meeting the requirements of Human Resource – The Human Resource may need more
employees at a certain time due to work overload, and incompetence. It is the job of HR to
select the deserving candidate for the betterment of the organization.
Estimation of manpower – The demands of Human Resource must be compared sometimes,
which will enable them to add employees, and remove some of them. Proper use of training
and the development program can also be done to increase the skills of the employees.
Formulating action plan for Human Resource – The planning of the Human Resource
depends on if there is a need for new employees, or if some needs to get fired (Ramadevi et
al. 2016). According to this, finalization of the plan takes place, with the recruitment and
training of new employees, or some of the employees getting fired.

Reviewing of work, monitoring and regular feedback – It includes the implementation of
action plan for the Human Resource. HR is allocated, by meeting the requirements, and their
resources are refurbished from time to time. It is managed well, and the inventories are
monitored to meet the requirements of HR. The comparison of the expected outcome and the
results are done to ensure that work is done properly, and if not, the requirements of the
employees are updated.
Part B
Financial Management in the health service
Managing finance of a heath service is a very difficult thing nowadays. Management of
finance in any industry includes various periodic operations like negotiating and making cash
obtainable for all the employees. In the higher level of the company, the management
provides the leadership team members with important information that helps them prepare for
the times ahead by making plans (Willcocks and Wibberley, 2015).
The main goal of a finance management in the health services is taking risk and managing
money in a way, which helps to attain the organization’s goal in financially safe way
(Finkler, Smith and Calabrese, 2018). In this way, an organization is financially stable, and
thus they give efficient health services to all its patients. There are some chief activities that
are involved in the healthcare management financially of an organization which includes
planning and its evaluation, investment plans, financial decisions, management of capitals
and contracts, and managing the financial risks (Neprash et al. 2015).
The management looks over all the possibilities to make the health care more effective. It
looks over the patients, and the money spent for them. For example, if a hospital finds out
that due to the more space of emergency rooms, of other hospitals, people have stopped
coming to their hospital, then they plan to expand their emergency room. If a certain drug,
which is usually bought less, is now needed in abundance, they order for more drugs of the
same kind. This is the importance of financial management in a health service.
They have to make a solid plan of investing in the long run, so that they can reap the benefits
if needed in the future. They usually invest in big companies which are most likely to stay
afloat and make lots of money. Thus, during emergency, like expansion of hospital, they can
quickly take the money back and do the important work. Though investing big and in long

run is a risk to be taken, it is made sure that no money is lost, and work can be done in time
(Sujan et al. 2017).
The financial management has also an important task to raise the required funds for
expenditure, which may include fundraising, loans, internal funds and grants. They also look
at the cost of investment or debt, and the benefit they incur. The final call on finance is made
by the senior manager of the financial management (Zietlow, Hankin, Seidner and O'Brien,
2018). For example, during the expansion of hospital, the senior manager may bring in
someone to determine how much space can be made for expansion, and the expenditure
required. Then they may conclude on a decision to use the money from the investments to
make the renovation successful.
The management team also manages the working capital of the health care, which are the
organization’s present assets negative the liabilities. Assets also include cash, receivables,
inventories, and securities. Capital managing is very important to reduce costs, and to make
sure the health care runs uninterrupted.
Health Services in Ireland
The health services in Ireland are considered like a complete system, which has both public
hospitals, which are funded by the government, as well as the private hospitals. People living
in Ireland for a minimum of one year are eligible to public health care services that are
managed by the HSE (Health Service Executive) (McCormack and McCance, 2016). The
public health services are managed by the Irish government, and the money is paid from
health service payments and household expenditure. A very large amount of the expenditure
goes to the hospitals and the ambulances, as a part of health service providers. The medicine
industry and the rehabilitation centres receive long term support financially.
The public health service in Ireland is one of the largest health care services to be funded by
the government (Statista.com, 2019). It is free for everyone, but certain services require fees,
like car accidents, drugs etc. There are some people, who cannot afford to pay for their
checkups due to the fees. They can apply for a Medical Card that was introduced by the
health services to give a chance to those who cannot pay. Almost everything is free due to the
Medical Card. Drugs require only a small amount of money, thus giving the people relief
from extra expense.

Most of the hospitals, in Ireland, run from the funding of the government and HSE. Some
medical schools and private organizations run from the voluntary funding of the public.
Ireland health services focus on the health of the people in the lowest cost (Haider, 2017).
Conclusion
This is the ultimate task of the Human Resource department in any organization. Without
them, an organization would fails, businesses would collapse, and people would not have any
job. The Human Resource thus takes care of the business, as well as the business.
The financial management in health services is an important task, as it is needed to take care
of the patients, and they can act accordingly during emergency. Managing of a hospital
financially is a very important task. In Ireland, The health services are one of the best in the
entire world, as they offer free treatment to the public, and focus on their health more, than
their money.

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