Aim: To discuss the theoretical concept of strategic management and explore its relevance for healthcare organisations and nursing management.
Background: Despite being a relatively new approach, the growth of strategic management within organisations has been consistently and increasingly promoted. However, comprehensive definitions are scarce and commonalities of interpretation are limited.
Aims: The overall aims of the paper are to provide an overview of the subject, illustrate the need for further research and to raise awareness of the ongoing limitations of existing knowledge and present these to those involved in skill mix decision making.
Background: Over the last 20 years health care organizations across the globe have seen an increase in the pace of change. The continuing drive towards cost-effectiveness, quality of care and the clinical governance agenda are causing more and more managers to examine closely the mix of staff skills.
In this paper, Frank Crossan argues that the distinction between quantitative and qualitative philosophies and research methods is sometimes overstated, and that triangulation of methods in contemporary research is common. It is, therefore, important to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each approach, and this paper aims to provide the novice researcher with a basis for developing that understanding. A descriptive analysis of the philosophies of positivism and post-positivist thinking in relation to research methodology is presented both as an introduction to the philosophical basis of research, and as a sound basis from which to discuss the 'quantitative-qualitative' debate.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEffective strategic management is the means by which organizations achieve their desired levels of performance. There is a need to explore and describe the relationship between the profession of nursing and strategic management, with particular reference to nurses' participation in the field of strategy development and implementation. This paper aims to 'set the scene' in relation to such an exploration.
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