Various Internal and External Stakeholders and the Duty of Loyalty to Them, on the Example of the Hospital

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Different categories of stakeholders can be identified in the case study. Ideally, organizations must have both internal and external stakeholders (Coombs & Holladay, 2012). The five thousand employees in the hospital are the first important internal stakeholders. The president of the hospital must recognize their importance.

Basically, the management must adequately consider their welfare. As indicated, the hospital also has two thousand admitted patients. All the patients admitted within the medical facility are external stakeholders. This is because they form part of the community of the facility. They depend on the services of the facility. Apart from this, they also reside within the facility. The various unit managers within the facility also form part of the internal stakeholders.

Notably, the doctors and nurses are also internal stakeholders of the medical facility. The board of trustees has an important role in guiding the internal affairs of the facility. Therefore, they are internal stakeholders. There are other notable external stakeholder groups. These include the Regional Director, Compliance Manager and Executive Committee. These groups act as external oversight on the operations of the medical facility.

Other important external stakeholders include the community organizations and corporations. As the president of the facility, the doctor has important obligations to all the stakeholders. This is regardless of whether they are external or internal. The president has to ensure that all the employee welfare issues are effectively met. He also has the obligation to provide a secure and hospitable working environment for these employees.

The president must ensure all systems operate to guard the health and wellbeing of the patients. As external stakeholders, the patients and all customers have the right to access quality care. The president must endeavor to ensure effective treatment procedures are adhered to.

The patients and customers are important stakeholders because they are the source of revenue for the facility. Therefore, they are legally entitled to quality service (Halbert & Ingulli, 2011). This is the role of the president. The president has the responsibility to present progress reports and attend to the demands of the board of trustees.

As internal stakeholders, the board must be informed on the general welfare of the facility. It is important to present compliance reports and evaluation results to the regional compliance committee. This is another obligation that must be undertaken by Dr. DoRight. Lastly, the doctor has a crucial responsibility to be answerable to the community organizations and corporations.

These external stakeholders are also important and must be attended to. As indicated, they also have reasons to indulge in business with the hospital. Generally, all stakeholders have significant roles to any organization. It is important for the management to sufficiently address the needs of all these stakeholders. This ensures an effective flow of operations and business processes (Halbert & Ingulli, 2011). Leaders have basic duties that must be undertaken to ensure the satisfaction of all the stakeholders.

The Potential Conflicts in the Duties of Loyalty Owed To Internal Stakeholder Vs. An external Stakeholder

Adequate stakeholder satisfaction is important. This is regardless of the kind of stakeholder. Most organizations presently face challenges in balancing their stakeholder satisfaction. Indeed, trouble must ensue when there is lack of proper stakeholder management strategies. The importance of balancing the interests of all stakeholders is eminent. This is because diverse stakeholder groups possess varied priorities (Halbert & Ingulli, 2011).

There are a number of external and internal stakeholders identified from the case study. Patients and customers may demand improved quality health care services. On the other hand, the employees may have interests in pushing the management to increase their remuneration rates.

From this scenario, it can be noticed that different stakeholder interests might lead to a standoff in work processes. Several times, there have been cases of employee strike and rebellion due to internal factors. These might include poor remuneration and working environment.

Several employees have complained about poor quality work life within organizations. The different interests emanating from the stakeholders might cause uncertainties for the management. The intrusion of external bodies such as regulatory institutions into an organization’s operations might be destructive. There are instances where these external stakeholders might intervene to champion for the welfare of the internal stakeholders (Jennings, 2012).

For instance, the labor unions normally lobby for adequate employee welfare within organizations. In the case study, the regional compliance organization might also intervene. The basic aim might be to ensure improvement of quality care. This initiative might be beneficial to external stakeholders such as patients and other customers. Due to their demand, the management might decide to increase the employees’ salaries. Consequently, this is bound to have negative financial implications on other external stakeholders.

As indicated in the case study, the patients and other customers might be financially affected. There are instances where the demands of a given stakeholder override the demands of others. These are important considerations to be given priority by the management. In order to obtain high dividends, some external stakeholders might expect the organization to gains huge revenues.

On the other hand, there are stakeholders that may insist on quality of service. As internal stakeholders, workers may demand appropriate working environment and pay. This is in order to deliver high quality services. Other external stakeholders such as community organizations and corporations might also present unique demands.

For instance, they might require knowing how the organization responds to emergent issues. These might include environmental issues and matters concerning compliance to various standards of operations (Jennings, 2012). Indeed, there might be conflict of interest emanating from the management’s obligations to different stakeholder groups.

Comments on the Doctor’s Fulfillment of Ethical Duty

All employees are ethically bound to fulfill the basic duties delegated upon them (Kanniyakonil, 2007). Overseeing the basic operations within diverse departments within the hospital include some of the doctor’s duties. In the case study, this is inclusive of legal and patient advocacy issues. Patients as external stakeholders deserve the right to enjoy quality treatment and care. The basic duty of the doctor was to guard the interests of the patients.

Therefore, in reporting the issue of illegal procedure, the doctor adequately fulfilled his ethical duty. It is critical to note that failure to report this incidence could amount to negligence. This is because patient advocacy and legal concerns include some of the roles outlined in the doctor’s responsibility schedule.

The patients and other external customers have the right to access quality care. This is because they pay for these services. Therefore, an employees’ negligence that may cause loss of life remains culpable. Consequently, the management must also fulfill their important responsibilities.

Monitoring and reporting progress to relevant committees must be executed adequately. Clearly, it is observable that Dr. DoRight acted within his ethical duties by forwarding the report. Robust measures must be adopted to minimize patient harm. Additionally, the sustainability of these measures should also be ensured.

This helps to enhance patient safety and quality care even in the future. Strengthening the role of the middle level and departmental supervisors is important. These middle level managers must be encouraged to upscale their monitoring systems for patient safety (Kanniyakonil, 2007). All staff must undergo capacity building on patient quality care and teamwork.

The hospital’s managment must also draft a safety procedure and standard policy document. This must be communicated to all staff engaged in patient quality care. Inclusion of all stakeholders in decision making processes is critical. This provides vital resources including monetary or alternative policy options. It is crucial to conduct an opinion survey amongst the medical staff. This is to enable the managment to identify the basic reasons for the ineffective procedures.

Generally, it will be necessary for the facility to adopt strategic management processes. Particularly, quality management is important. This is because it provides the relevant monitoring and quality assurance tools required for effective processes. Other management processes such as culture transformation and performance contracting remain applicable (Coombs & Holladay, 2012). These processes are crucial.

This is because they will enhance the level of responsibility and accountability amongst staff delivering quality medical care. Engagement of quality control measures is critical in preventing illegal procedures within the hospital. Other practices including medical injection safety and patient satisfaction surveys are critical. Lastly, there must be adequate systems, facilities and infrastructure necessary for high quality medical service provision.

The Deontology Principle and the Ethical Dilemma Faced by Dr. DoRight

The deontological principles stress on an individual’s fidelity to basic duties. All individuals charged with specific responsibilities must learn to understand these obligations (Kanniyakonil, 2007). The practice of personal duties must be done to the latter. This is irrespective of a person’s cadre or ole within an organization.

The comprehension of all the basic regulations surrounding a person’s obligations is important. Individuals should also recognize that there is moral achievement in complying with the basic duty requirements. Immorality is eminent within individuals who fail to comply with the principles and procedures of their duties. Therefore, it is important for all persons to be aware of their duty requirements. The linkage of the principle of deontology with God is eminent.

Basically, there is a perception that God describes individual obligations for all persons. This illustrates the core of this principle. Consequently, those who follow their duties and obligations to the latter are obedient to God. According to this principle, this is the essence of morality (Coombs & Holladay, 2012).

The case study can be analyzed through deontological principles. Notably, Dr. DoRight performs in regard to the respect of his outlined duties. Therefore, he is morally right. His act of reporting the illegal procedures also indicates that he is obedient to God.

The doctor obeys the moral principles as dictated by the requirements of his duty. Although he fails to receive the report, his initial intervention into the crisis is vital. The basic reason for his action is to fulfill the moral obligations attached to his duty. The deontological moral approach emphasize on the need to understand the reason behind certain actions.

Principally, appropriate motivations must accompany moral actions within all human environments (Kanniyakonil, 2007). The principles of deontology do not provide room for subjective feelings within individuals. The determination of roles in an objective and subjective manner is critical. Therefore, application of these principles in the case study is appropriate. The doctor loses the aspect of objectivity when he fails to insist on the reception of reports.

The utilitarianism principle and the Ethical Dilemma Faced by Dr. DoRight

Utilitarianism principle assumes a normative approach to ethics. In this principle, the consequences of an individual’s actions are vital (Sheng, 2004). The principle may be applicable to policies within organizations. The consequences of any decision are deemed to have greater implications to external parties. In this consideration, the impacts of actions on individuals are less regarded. The interests of the larger population must be considered before any action.

The principle was developed by two economists, John Stuart and Jeremy Bentham (Sheng, 2004). Generally, the principle underscores the fact that individuals mostly prefer actions that favor their happiness and well being. It may also relate to groups. Individuals tend to initiate actions or make decisions that satisfy many people.

As indicated in the case study, Dr. DoRight is reluctant to push for the report from the compliance managers. This is because the number of employees surpasses that of the suffering patients. Notably, his complacent attitude creates an appropriate platform for the benefit of employees. They continue with their illegal procedures that increase the susceptibility of the patients. This is a pure illustration of the utilitarian principle.

References

Coombs, W. T., & Holladay, S. J. (2012). Managing corporate social responsibility: A communication approach. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.

Halbert, T., & Ingulli, E. (2011). Law and ethics in the business environment. Mason OH: South Western Educational Publ.

Jennings, M. (2012). Business: Its legal, ethical, and global environment. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.

Kanniyakonil, S. (2007). The fundamentals of bioethics: Legal perspectives and ethical approaches. Kottayam: Oriental Institute of Religious Studies, India, Dept. of Publications.

Sheng, Q. (2004). A defense of utilitarianism. Lanham, MD: University Press of America.

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