Influence of External Drivers and Internal Capabilities on Leadership and Management Practices

Leadership and management

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INTRODUCTION
Effective leadership and management (L&M) practices aims at providing quality
services to community in sustainable, efficient and equitable way. This essay will
discuss the influence of external drivers and internal capabilities on L&M practices. It
will also evaluate the role of cultural factors in affecting leadership styles and the way in
which leaders make health care setting interactive and safe. The essay will analyse the
role of leaders in health care sectors in managing the needs of family members and
carers of patient along with the staff members. Further essay will also discuss the
impact of environmental factors on management decisions and quality concerns
associated with care services.
As support worker, I work for Anchor’s Greenhive care home situated in
Peckham, London which is part of the largest non-profit care service providers. The
care home provides care and housing services to people of age above 55 years. The
old care services aim at ensuring that in the later year’s individuals can lead a safe,
comfortable and healthy life in comfortable environment (Care Homes Owned by
Anchor, 2020). Along with the residential care services it also provides support and care
services to old people with special care needs in case of Alzheimer, Parkinson, physical
impairments, stroke and terminal illness.
As per Xu, (2017) for enhancing quality of care, it is required for care homes that
their management approaches must ensure effectiveness in all resources of service
such as in processing methods, finance, technical and human resources. According to
joint commission analysis reports leadership plays a more significant role in health care

settings than any other service provision because good leaders will lead safe and high
quality patient care services (Harris and Jones, 2018). Management performance is
also determined by evaluation of the macro economic factors. Thus, for improving care
services external factors must also be identified by care home service providers to
assess impact of these factors on care needs and delivery.
Intrinsic factors such as leadership skill and decision making capabilities play
crucial role in operational efficiency of individuals. However extrinsic elements such as
culture can affect the team and individual performance. As per Hofmann and Vermont, (
2020) if care home environment and work culture is not safe and comfortable then it can
have adverse impact on health outcomes of residents. It can also make it challenging
for leaders to work collaboratively with teams. Life style elements can influence the
extent of services provided to users. Like each service user can expect different type of
care from care providers. However, leaders can have financial or managerial constraints
in meeting those needs.
Brexit has been one of the uncertain events which are the major concern for all
industries including health care sector. With the possible change in regulations and
restrictions it is possible that NHS policies may also undergo a considerable change.
Anchor’s Greenhive is already facing problems with staffing. The political instability
and restrictions can enhance the more difficulty in work force management. It is
possible that many skilled individuals from outside UK may not be able to work freely
with the care home (Jeon and et.al., 2017). The political changes can also enhance the
funding challenges which are already a big concern for the leaders.

Covid 19 pandemic has hit the entire world and thus even dominating economies of
world are suffering from them. Many people have lost their jobs and thus it is very
difficult for them to fulfil their health care needs. In such situations it becomes a priority
for the leaders to ensure that cost cutting does not affect the care quality. Organisation
is also facing financial constraints because everyone out is dealing with the same.
Thus there is need to plan expenses and operational activities with more careful and
systematic approach so that this can also be handled.
On social level also pandemic has introduced many changes such as increased gap
between social groups in terms of income level and concepts of social distancing
(Salas‐Vallina, Alegre and López‐Cabrales, 2020). With financial restrictions care home
is also liable to ensure that it follows all regulations and necessary care is taken to avoid
spread of pandemic. This is creating huge financial burden and need of additional
training for staff members so that they can provide safe care. People nowadays are
more conscious about their health care knowledge thus leaders must also train staff
members so that they communicate and share the information with the patient and their
family members with more clarity and accuracy.
Advancement in technologies such as robots or modern assistive devices are able
to monitor the health care needs of patients more effectively. Thus for improving quality
services Anchor’s Greenhive must use modern equipment’s and digital health records.
However, leaders must train team members so that they can understand limitations and
benefits of this technology. Along with the motivation staff members must also be
guided properly so that they can accept these changes (Bowman and Meyer, 2017).

However financial constraints are always a barrier to use technological opportunities for
betterment of services.
For sustainable development leaders at Anchor’s Greenhive are adopting green IT
concepts so that expenses can be reduced and more sustainable solutions can be
used instead of manual paper working. To promote better hygiene also care home
management follow suitable waste management process. This requires regular
monitoring from leaders so that more sustainable practices can be followed. Legislative
factors are the key controlling elements which influences the management decisions.
With the new data privacy regulations practitioners are required to ensure that the
personal data of patients is kept safe and is not leaked (Dent, 2020). It is the
responsibility of leaders to ensure that staff members follow all nursing care standards
so that patient safety is not risked and harmed.
In order to follow the professional code of conduct with greater efficiency it is vital for
Anchor’s Greenhive to identify its internal capabilities so that it can survive against
possible threats and weaknesses which are challenge for management. Anchor’s
Greenhive has very good reputation and thus its service users consider it very trust
worthy fore care of old people and dementia patients. The management has highly
professional and trained staff members which are able to take quick decisions and
respond to such situations (Gopee and Galloway, 2017). Understanding this aspect and
unpredictable needs of old residents care home is operating 24*7 so that service users
can get immediate attention at any instance of time. The leaders have also adopted
creative ways to improve the service quality. For instance, among old people loneliness
contribute greatly in affecting their mental health. Recognising this care home