Human resource management in hospitals: A contested arena for jurisdiction

Abstract

During the past 10 years, financial pressures on health service providers have led to a quest for more efficient service delivery and many consequential changes to the organisation and utilisation of staff. This study investigated the organisational responses to such pressures by four major South Australian hospitals and the level of involvement of hospital human resource staff in the staffing issues associated with strategic planning. With one exception, there was little contribution from qualified human resource professionals to staffing decisions involving medical and nursing personnel and little value was placed on their potential input by other professional groups. If, as suggested by writers on strategic human resource management, human resource practice is moving toward a more strategic approach, then there is a large credibility gap for human resource staff to overcome within the South Australian health service.

People management practices in the public health sector

“…They also noted that there often existed contested ownership within the senior management structures with some hospital managers not willing to allow a strategic role for the HRM department. In the Australian part of the study Patrickson and Maddern (1996) found little evidence of strategic HRM taking place. Instead they found that hospital HR departments largely carried out a regulatory "personnel" function.…”

How empowerment and social support affect Australian nurses' work stressors

“…Previous studies have identified nursing as a stressful occupation (Schroeder & Worrall-Carter 2002;Stordeur, D'hoore & Vandenberghe 2001;Healy & McKay 1999). Among the unique sources of stress in nursing are: high work overload (largely due to difficulties in the recruitment and retention of nurses); stress derived from shift work and associated work/family-balance issues; role conflict associated with the dual responsibilities of administration and patient care; inadequate resources; and the perceived status of nurses as second-class citizens in health care organisations (Fitzgerald 2002;Stordeur, D'hoore & Vandenberghe 2001;Santamaria 2000;Patrickson & Maddern 1996). The Nurse Recruitment and Retention Committee Report (Victorian Government Depart-ment of Human Services 2001) concluded that nursing is increasingly becoming a physically and mentally exhausting occupation and nurses are no longer prepared to work under the resultant stress.…”

Workplace change and the internal labour market: evidence from the NSW hospital industry

“…However, the majority of the literature has tended to focus on individual aspects of workplace change only, such as the rise and rationales for part-time work. The attention of Australian researchers has primarily been focused on the increasing use of private sector practices in the public hospital sector (eg, Patrickson and Maddern 1996;Stanton 1999).…”