Nursing Organizational Structure

Roussel (2013) states that the structure of an organisation ought to meet the need of the organization as documented in its mission statement, philosophy, vision, values and objectives. In order to achieve these goals there has to be an orderly flow of communication in the organization; Roussel recognise that most organizations already have a functioning organizational structure. Furthermore, in the profession of nursing the structure which is most often used is the pyramid or hierarchical type.The hierarchical structure also called a line structure is the oldest and simplest type of management. Its principles incorporate the following “chain of command, bureaucracy and a multitiered hierarchy, vertical control and coordination, levels differentiated

333) ”. Besides, leadership styles are a very important function of leadership; in fact, it consists of various behavior patterns used by the leader to influence and motivate employees. The following are the different types of leadership styles, as espoused by DuBrin: participative, allows members to share in decision making; autocratic, not concern with group members; situational, quick and decisive response to situations; transformational, brings about a change in the organizational culture and subculture; charismatic, the ability to influence others and transactional, reward or punishment is hinged to performance. The most appropriate leadership style that reflects the contemporary nurse manager is without a doubt autocratic. Also influencing leadership is power. DuBrin (2009) states that power has the ability to influence decision making and control resources. While Marrelli and Hilliard (2004) states that “power is not static; it is not a place”; however, if power is misused it can be destructive to staff and organization. To better understand how power influence leaders in the execution of their duties it has been subdivided into five types, they are as follows: the first is legitimate, this type of power is derived from a position of authority; while the second is reward, this is where the leader has control over rewards; the third is coercive, this power gives the leader control over punishment; the fourth is expert and is derived from knowledge, skills and experience; whilst the fifth and final power is referent which comes from being trusted and respected by workers (DuBrin, 2009). Certainly, the type of power used by the manager which resonates amongst workers on the unit is legitimate