Organizational Structure in White Memorial Hospital

Running head: Organizational Structure in White Memorial Hospital 1
Organizational Structure in White Memorial Hospital
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Organizational Structure in White Memorial Hospital 2
Introduction
Organizational structures define the way tasks in an organization are allocated and
organized within the hospital. Lim (2017) suggests that it defines the management pattern in the
organization highlighting different levels of hierarchy in the organization and the relationship
between each of them. This structure is used in most organizations but it carries strengths and
limitations.
Organizational Structure in White Memorial Hospital
One strength of the structure is that it allows for specialization where people with similar
skills and roles are grouped thus improving efficiency and performance. Such employees hone
themselves thus leading to an in-depth knowledge and skill development (Ahmady, Mehrpour, &
Nikooravesh, 2016). Healthcare professional are allowed to specialize in one area of the
healthcare system and perfect their skills thus making them better. The hospital reaps these
benefits through increased service delivery that is realized in the number of satisfied patients.
Productivity is increased since the health professional work in functional specialized
areas. For example, each professional with particular specialization is paired with a colleague in
the same area to improve results since they can consult on issues (Johatch, 2014). When
healthcare organizations use efficiency as a strategy for their output, the benefits are increased
patient handling time which in turn leads to customer satisfaction and increased productivity.
The functional nature of the structure allows communication from one level of the
organization to another. Since subordinates report to their superiors, it makes it easy for
communication to flow from one level of the organization to another (Rabbinz, 2012). Further,
departmental communication in functional units is easy since employees understand each other
and the specialization language that they use to communicate with each other. Weber believed

Organizational Structure in White Memorial Hospital 3
that when the structure is organized in a bureaucratic structure, it becomes easy to manage
communication since the chain of command is a straight line that allows easy flow of
communication.
Another strength that the structure presents to the organization is balancing workload
between different departments in the organization. By grouping similar tasks, the facility can
balance work between different departments by ensuring that those with similar tasks work to
achieve the best results (Lim, 2017). For example, when nurses coordinate themselves, they can
distribute tasks amongst themselves thus making it easy for them to achieve the required targets.
When employees are organized in functional groups, workload are also organized along that line
in the hospital thus creating an easy flow of tasks between departments in the facility.
However, the functional approach has management challenges since it is a rigid way of
managing the organization. Too much bureaucracy creates bottlenecks that make it difficult for
the organization to manage organizational change (Corkindale, 2011). There is also the challenge
of coordinating the departments since despite the fact that employees are grouped in functional
units, they observe a chain of command that makes it difficult to coordinate different.
Bottlenecks are part of the rigid nature of the structure since they delay decision making (Bai,
Feng, & Feng, 2016). In turn this whole process delays decision making since consultations have
to be made.
The structure has been criticized for failing to work in emergency situations. Hospitals
like White Memorial Hospital handle different levels of emergency especially as the upgrade
takes place. Such situations call for the health profession in charge to make life saving decisions
based on professional standards without having to consult higher authority (Bai, Feng, & Feng,
2016). The nature of the structure and mode of operation denies such opportunities to