Organizational Structure Of Mercy Health In Australia And The United States

“Organizational structure describes the way a company arranges its tasks, work, and people to create a product or service and achieve its goals” (Walston, 2017, p.322). “A similar term, organizational design, normally refers to the alignment of an organization’s structure—including roles and processes for formal reporting relationships—with its missions and goals” (Walston, 2017, p.322).

It is typical of health care facilities to operate as a hierarchical structure with supervisors having a comparatively limited span of control (Walston, 2017). Some health care organizations have a relatively short hierarchy, whereas others have a taller hierarchy. See examples of Mercy Health in Australia compared to that of the United States Department

Olden states that the optimal structure is contingent on the primary purpose of the organization (2019). Functional structures are designed to group people into departments by the function they perform within the organization which makes sense for those with specialized skill sets yet often creates processes that are siloed and are in need of cross-functional liaisons (Olden, 2019). Organizations that are structured divisionally are segmented by groups of business units or customers such as type of facility (hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, outpatient care clinics, etc.) or location (east region, Florida hospitals, etc.) (Olden, 2019). Divisional structures tend to have increased flexibility and higher patient satisfaction ratings yet are not as efficient or effective and duplicates costs when compared to other structures (Olden, 2019). A matrix structure is a combination structure by layering a horizontal structure over a vertical one gaining efficiency due to the vertical integration while maintaining high quality and patient satisfaction from the horizontal integration (Olden, 2019). Horizontal organizational structures group workers trained in a variety of disciplines and has them manage themselves into teams (Olden, 2019). While horizontal structures require significant investment in training and can be ineffective if core processes are not correctly identified at the outset, adaptability, teamwork and patient focus are sought-after hallmarks of this structure (Olden, 2019). Finally, the network structure outsources jobs to other departments as well as to other organizations which allows for access to highly specialized workers and flexibility yet creates possibly disastrous vulnerabilities with partners over which one has no control (Olden, 2019). “Some systems have functioned as