Walden NURS6221 Complete Course Latest 2021 MAY (Full)

NURS6221 Managing Human Resources

Week 1 Discussion

Organizational Fit

What does it mean to “fit” within an organization? In considering nurse recruits, how important is it for a potential nurse hire to share the beliefs and values of the organization? Yet, is fit important in all areas? In what ways might different perspectives on quality nursing be welcome in a healthcare setting?

These are all questions to consider as you prepare for this first Discussion. As a nurse executive, imagine interviewing three candidates for a specific job. The details of the position are not provided, only an assessment of each candidate’s basic qualifications. Consider your responses and perspectives on each candidate and how the concept of fit factors in your decision making.

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To Prepare:

Review the Learning Resources. Pay particular attention to information that explains the role of nurse executives in recruitment and selection of employees and guidance for determining applicant qualifications, such as stages of ability in developing specific skills.

Consider the following scenarios of three candidates (A, B, and C) to interview. As a nurse executive, how would you view each?

Candidate A has all the necessary competencies but discussion, during the personal interview, suggests that the individual may not be a team player or open to working in a collaborative environment.

Candidate B lacks some of the necessary competencies but demonstrates clear evidence of being a team player and is comfortable in a collaborative environment.

Candidate C went to the same nursing school as you and, as you speak, you realize your social networks overlap as you know many of the same people, professionally and personally. This candidate lacks several of the necessary competencies for this position.

Consider the challenge of assessing both fit and technical qualifications when interviewing candidates and making hiring decisions. Are there situations where there is a tradeoff between fit and technical qualifications? If so, how might such a situation present itself?

Reflect on the potential for rater bias in this scenario. To what extent would you be drawn to the candidate with whom you can best identify? How do you assess the truthfulness of a candidate’s responses to questions? How much would you consider other explanations, such as nervousness, in assessing why the first candidate did not seem like a team player? How do you assess the validity of the interview information, including how you weigh different selection criteria?

Decide which candidate you would hire, and why.

Consider your reasoning for not hiring each of the other candidates.

By Day 3 of Week 1

Post the following:

A brief explanation of which candidate you would hire, and why. Explain what qualities you would give the most consideration and how your hiring decision relates to either good fit or bad fit for the organization. Also, explain your strategies for assessing the validity of interview information and for avoiding rater bias. Be specific and provide examples, with support from the Learning Resources or other current literature.

Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses.

By Day 6 of Week 1

Respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days by explaining how your understanding of bias influences or contributes to potential challenges in hiring applicants for an organization. Describe any possible bias you detect in a colleague’s hiring decision and your reasoning. Support your conclusions with the Learning Resources or other current literature.

 

NURS6221 Managing Human Resources

Week 4 Discussion

Creating Psychologically Safe Healthcare Teams

As you consider necessary qualities for a nurse executive, where do you place the capacity to persuade? Although the position may come with authority to make decisions and give orders, the ability to establish an environment where employees feel free to disagree may be as important, if not more so, than the power invested in your position.

Creating psychologically safe environments within a healthcare setting is one such example.

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Environments are generally fashioned by the people in charge and changing how people react and respond is not as simple as flipping a switch—or even issuing a directive. It often requires providing strong evidence that encourages a change in behavior.

For this Discussion, you will explore the process of creating psychologically safe healthcare teams by considering how you would educate others about the necessity of providing psychological safety and, specifically, how to achieve it.

To Prepare:

Review the Learning Resources on psychological safety. In particular, review the video resources featuring Amy Edmondson, a Harvard professor and expert on psychological safety in the workplace.

Consider the role of team leaders in creating psychologically safe environments, and based on the resources provided, the specific benefits for healthcare organizations.

Reflect on your role as a nurse executive and how you would explain to team leaders and other managers in a healthcare setting their roles in creating psychologically safe environments for team members, including benefits for teams and the organization. Consider possible types of resistance from team leaders and others, and how you would respond.

By Day 3 of Week 4

Post the following:

A brief explanation of how, as a nurse executive, you would make the case to team leaders in a healthcare setting for the importance of developing a culture of psychological safety for team members. Describe how you would present the role of team leaders in creating psychologically safe environments, challenges you might face in working with team leaders on this goal, and how you would respond to overcome those challenges. Cite the Learning Resources or other literature to support your post.

Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses.

By Day 6 of Week 4

Respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days by providing alternative reasoning or approaches to making a case for psychologically safe environments in a healthcare setting and in working with team leaders to achieve that goal. Support your responses with the Learning Resources or other current literature.

 

NURS6221 Managing Human Resources

Week 6 Discussion

Improvement vs. Fear Through Performance Reviews

The face-to-face performance review is one part of performance management. Observing an employee, and then sitting down to discuss areas of strength and need is intended to produce constructive outcomes. Yet, too frequently, the reality falls far short.

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When considering performance reviews, “positive” or “negative” does not refer to the substantive evaluation but to how the information is presented and discussed. For example, in a “positive” performance review, negative information is not avoided and, significantly, not communicated in a punitive way or as a reflection on employee character. Rather, negative information is detailed as an opportunity for improvement.

For this Discussion, you will reflect on circumstances and behaviors that can lead performance reviews awry, and how to support a review process with constructive outcomes.

To Prepare:

Review the Learning Resources on performance reviews and appraisals. Pay particular attention to the media programs for potential problems and solutions to consider.

Consider the benefits and drawbacks of performance reviews and appraisals.

What are the characteristics of a positive and effective performance review? What factors create a performance evaluation that contributes to improved performance, rather than injecting fear and self-protection in the workplace? In what ways can performance reviews impact the effectiveness of employees and the healthcare organization?

Draw on the Learning Resources, as well as your own experiences with performance reviews in healthcare settings, to consider how to avoid performance reviews that provoke fear and how to ensure a process that supports performance improvement through openness, honesty, and collaborative problem solving.

Consider insights from your Module 3 Assignment interview to apply to the Discussion, such as examples of criteria used to evaluate employee performance, and if and how that criteria is communicated to employees.

By Day 3 of Week 6

Post the following:

A brief description of factors that contribute to generating fear in employee performance reviews in a healthcare setting. Include examples from your own experience, and/or those of colleagues and other acquaintances, of positive or negative performance reviews. Explain strategies to eliminate fear and to develop and implement constructive reviews that improve performance. Support your post with the Learning Resources or current literature.

Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses.

By Day 6 of Week 6

Respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days by providing additional or alternative factors that contribute to generating fear in performance reviews and/or strategies for reviews that promote improved performance. Include examples and insights from your Module Assignment interview with a nurse executive. Support your responses with the Learning Resources or other current literature.

 

NURS6221 Managing Human Resources

Week 8 Discussion

Differences at Work and “Identity Abrasions”

A more diverse workforce can create abrasive interactions that require your attention as a nurse executive. Miscommunication, misunderstanding, or entrenched and antiquated attitudes and beliefs may result in situations where one employee is offended, perhaps deeply, by others. These “identity abrasions” that occur when ideas and attitudes clash naturally vary but relate most typically to gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and other defining qualities of individuals.

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This Discussion provides examples of conflict situations and offers an opportunity to consider how you would respond as a nurse executive. Given understanding and empathy are key in supporting employees, approach each vignette from the perspective of the individual who feels wronged and what that individual may need in terms of resolution.

To Prepare:

Review the Learning Resources on diversity and inclusion in healthcare organizations.

Your Instructor will identify three “Differences at Work” vignettes as the focus of this Discussion. Read the three case studies and choose one as the subject of your Discussion post.

Identify the issues in your chosen case study and reflect on how a diversity and inclusion perspective might mitigate, address, or contribute to the concept of “identity abrasion” in the workplace.

Consider how this situation might affect organizational performance, staff morale and retention, and/or competitive advantage.

Consider how you would respond if you were the employee in your chosen vignette and what kind of support and resolutions you might seek, or what you would recommend to this individual in terms of responses.

By Day 3 of Week 8

Post the following:

Briefly describe the case study you selected, and explain the elements of “identity abrasion” in the employee’s experience. From the position of the employee, describe what actions and strategies would be most welcome and effective for resolving this conflict situation. Support your post with Learning Resources or current literature.

Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses.

By Day 6 of Week 1

Respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days, preferably one colleague who selected the same case study and one who selected a different case study. For a colleague with the same case study, compare your understanding and analysis of the situation and expand on or propose different strategies or actions for responding to the employee’s experience. For colleague(s) with different case studies, explain your questions or insights on the case study from the colleague’s description and suggest additional or alternative responses. Support your ideas with Learning Resources or current literature.

 

NURS6221 Managing Human Resources

Week 10 Discussion

Incident in the ER

A nurse executive’s leadership in ethical decision making is vital. This is true across the board but never more so than in situations where competing voices and priorities and a sense that timing is critical converge in ways that may be detrimental for a patient and staff.

This Discussion is based on a dramatic scenario that offers two takes on the same emergency room case. As you watch and listen, consider how this Discussion can offer valuable preparation and perspective for high stakes decision making, as well as analyzing factors that influence the decisions of others.

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To Prepare:

Review the readings and videos in the Learning Resources on responding to legal and ethical issues in a healthcare setting.

The focus of your Discussion is the two-part video, Incident in the ER, in the Learning Resources. Follow this approach to viewing and reflecting on each part:

View Part 1. Consider the events portrayed, the particular influences and pressures on the healthcare team, their responses and decision-making process, and your insights on the organizational culture from those actions.

View Part 2. Consider the alternative scenario presented. Apply the same process as you followed in Part 1 to analyze the decision-making process, and consider what can explain the different outcome from Part 1.

Reflect on the legal and ethical issues illustrated in these two scenarios. As a nurse executive, what principles can you garner from this comparison to guide your legal and ethical decision making in a healthcare setting? How would you use your leadership role to guide others in positions of power and decision making on patient care and team interaction?

By Day 3 of Week 10

Post the following:

A brief explanation of the issues and considerations at work in the Incident in the ER scenarios. Explain the lesson(s) you see illustrated in this comparison and the principle(s) that you would identify to guide legal and ethical decision making in healthcare settings. From a leadership perspective, explain your recommendations for nurse executives on safeguards to avoid “incidents” like that portrayed in Part 1 and responses to ensure the outcome in Part 2. Support your post with Learning Resources or current literature.

Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses.

By Day 6 of Week 10

Respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days by agreeing or disagreeing with their interpretation of the scenarios and providing alternative recommendations for responses and actions as nurse executive. Support your ideas with Learning Resources or current literature.

 

NURS6221 Managing Human Resources

Week 11 Discussion

Understanding Legal Mandates

Think drug use by healthcare employees and harassment, sexual or other, of employees in a healthcare setting, and you have two scenarios that are sure to test your knowledge and judgment as a nurse executive with human resource responsibilities. Check yourself, and draw on the perspectives and responses of your course colleagues, with a Discussion of these problem situations.

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To Prepare:

Review each of the following scenarios and choose one as the subject of your Discussion post.

Scenario 1: A star surgeon is a revenue generator and holds significant power within a healthcare organization. The surgeon is also verbally abusive to lower-level staff and threatens with outbursts and inappropriate demands. Staff complaints have been frequent and responses inadequate. Another recent outburst by the surgeon has created renewed demands for effective action.

Note: For more on this scenario, review the document “Mr. Coolidge’s Dilemma” in the Learning Resources. This presentation by text author Bruce Fried is based on a compilation of real situations.

Imagine you are a new nurse executive in this healthcare setting drawn into a discussion on what to do about this surgeon. Consider issues raised by this situation, such as impact on morale, possible assault charges against the doctor, and potential damage to the hospital’s reputation. How do you respond?

If sexual harassment were suspected in the surgeon’s “inappropriate” requests, what legal mandates, such as those under Title VII, would you need to abide by to address this situation?

What ethical principles would guide your response?

What strategies/approaches could support employees impacted by the surgeon?

Scenario 2: A prospective employee tests positive for marijuana on a drug test in a state where marijuana is not legal.

What is your role as a nurse executive in the hiring process?

What are the legal mandates that you need to abide by in this situation?

How would you engage with this prospective employee?

What if this was a current employee? What would guide your response and how would you engage with this employee?

For each scenario, reflect on the issues and considerations that stand out to you. Choose one scenario as the subject of your Discussion post. Keep in mind that you will be required to respond to at least one peer whose post is the scenario you do not select.

Review Learning Resources related to both scenarios, to help you formulate your Discussion post and prepare your response to peers.

Indicate your choice of scenario in the title of your Discussion post, i.e., Harassment or Marijuana Use.

By Day 3 of Week 11

Post the following:

A brief explanation of the issues and considerations at work in your chosen scenario and how you would respond from your position as a nurse executive. Explain your decision-making process, specific actions you would take, and your reasoning. Support your thinking with the Learning Resources or current literature.

Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses.

By Day 6 of Week 11

Respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days, with one response to a colleague who chose the same scenario as you, and a colleague who chose the other scenario. Agree or disagree with their interpretations of their respective scenarios and provide additional or alternative recommendations for responses and actions as a nurse executive. Support your ideas with the Learning Resources or current literature.

 

NURS6221 Managing Human Resources

Week 2 Assignment

Recruitment and Selection Plan

Think back to an experience, either recent or particularly memorable, in securing a position in a healthcare setting. How did you become aware of the position? Was the job description an accurate representation of the duties and responsibilities of the position? What was the interview process like and were there aspects you would recommend changing? When you were hired, did you feel this was a position that you would want to retain and in which you could grow?

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This Assignment will involve you in following key steps in the recruitment and selection process. No doubt you have experienced this process from the candidate’s perspective. In keeping with your human resource functions as a nurse executive, for this Assignment, you will consider the recruitment and interview process from the hiring perspective. As you do, consider how you can apply your own experiences and insights, in combination with the Learning Resources you use, to develop the most effective recruitment and selection plan that strengthens a healthcare setting with high-quality employees.

Note: There are two parts to this Assignment. Both Parts 1 and 2 will be due on Day 7 of Week 2. Plan your time accordingly. Access and review the document, Recruitment and Selection Plan: Guidelines and Worksheet (located in the Learning Resources), for support in completing the Assignment. The preparation steps this week are intended to guide completion of Part 1 of your Assignment.

Part 1: Job Description Analysis

To Prepare:

Review the Learning Resources on human resource management and recruitment, job analysis, and job design.

Identify a job description from your current healthcare organization or where you have previously worked. Choose a job description that will enable you to determine the type of employees you are looking for as well as the selection criteria.

Based on the job description, develop a recruitment and selection plan. For Part 1, you will focus on developing and refining the job description. Consider:

What are the responsibilities of this job?

What are the competencies and KSAOs (knowledge, skills, abilities, other attributes) required for this job?

How would you evaluate a candidate to determine fit for this position, both in terms of technical competencies for the job and fit with the culture and values of the organization?

How could the job description be improved to ensure a successful hiring process?

Consider how you could use social media, such as LinkedIn or online employment recruitment sites, to maximize the field of qualified recruits.

If you are on LinkedIn, explore how the site functions as a recruitment source. If you are not on LinkedIn, create a profile for this Assignment, and then begin your research.

Identify and explore recruitment websites (e.g., Indeed, ZipRecruiter, CareerBuilder) that have been used to recruit for this type of position. Depending on the job, also explore discipline-specific websites where jobs are advertised (e.g., Nurse.org, ANA’s Career Center). Pay particular attention to how jobs are presented to interested job seekers.

Part 1 Assignment: Job Description Analysis

In 2–3 pages, include the following:

Explain the role of the nurse executive in developing job descriptions and why it represents an essential human resource management function.

Analyze the job description you have selected as the focus of your Assignment. Include the source of the job description and critique the job description for clarity and accuracy.

Explain how well the job description defines the required employee attributes for the job and how it could be improved. If information is available, describe how the tasks and competencies associated with this job may have changed since the job description was conceived.

Write a new or revised job description that reflects your analysis and which you would use for advertising the position and recruiting candidates for the job.

Explain how you would use social media and online job search technology to maximize presentation of the job description and reach a broader share of potential recruits.

Describe two examples of how jobs similar to your chosen position are presented to interested job seekers from the social media and online job sites you visit.

Part 2 Assignment: Interview and Selection Plan

Based on the job description you created or revised in Part 1, design an interview and selection process for that job. In 3–4 pages, include the following:

Describe the ideal candidate for this job, and explain the sources of information you would use in evaluating applicants.

Explain an overview of your process to identify, and select that candidate.

Focusing on the interview, explain:

Who within the healthcare organization would be involved in the interview process, and why

Pre-interview guidance and preparation for interviewers and recruits

How interview outcomes would be compiled

How differences in interview ratings would be resolved

List five essential questions you would ask in an interview to evaluate key employee characteristics for this job. For each question, explain what you would look and listen for in the candidate’s response.

Explain how you would measure a candidate and assess the recruit’s fitness for the position.

Analyze your interview and selection process for potential challenges, and explain how you would address those challenges to improve the process and outcomes, including retaining good employees.

By Day 7 of Week 1

Note: There is no Assignment due in Week 1.

Reminder: The College of Nursing requires that all papers submitted include a title page, introduction, summary, and references. The Sample Paper provided at the Walden Writing Center provides an example of those required elements (available at http://writingcenter.waldenu.edu/57.htm). All papers submitted must use this formatting.

 

NURS6221 Managing Human Resources

Week 4 Assignment

Impacts of Employee Empowerment and Psychological Safety

Note: You will begin this Assignment in Week 3, and it will be due by Day 7 of Week 4. Plan your time accordingly.

How does healthcare compare with other fields in markers, such as employee empowerment and engagement? Investigating that question is one purpose of your Module 2 Assignment, for which you will interview three employees in different fields, with one individual in healthcare. You will also consider the theme of psychological safety, which you will explore in more detail in Week 4.

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As you begin your Assignment, reflect on your own experiences and perceptions of a typical work environment within a healthcare setting. As a nurse executive, you will have greater influence over how the nurses you lead function within that environment. Recall examples from the Learning Resources of benefits when nurses are empowered and engaged. Consider how you can use the information you gain through this Assignment to develop your leadership skills, with the goal of providing support that is constructively impactful for nurses, patients, and a healthcare organization.

To Prepare:

Choose and secure the agreement of three individuals you know well (i.e., family and friends) to be interviewed on the topics of employee empowerment, engagement, and psychological safety in the workplace. One person you interview must work in a healthcare setting.

Review the Learning Resources on employee empowerment, engagement, and psychological safety in the workplace. Consider definitions that clarify these concepts and which you can explain to your interview subjects in enlisting their participation and guiding responses.

Access and review the document Employee Interviews: Guidelines and Questions, located in the Learning Resources, for guidance on planning, conducting, analyzing, and comparing the interview responses.

Note: You are required to submit the signature of each person you interview to confirm the individual’s agreement to participate. Fill in Page 1 of the Employee Interviews: Guidelines and Questions document, print the page, and obtain the signatures. (There is a place for all three signatures on Page 1.) Scan and submit Page 1 as a separate Word file with your completed Assessment.

Conduct a brief (20–30 minutes) phone or in-person interview with each individual. Speak with each person separately so that you have three sets of independent views to compare. Questions to ask are provided in the Guidelines document. Note the questions are repeated in a section for each interviewee. Take notes in the document, or record the interviews with each person’s permission.

When you have completed all three interviews, review each individual’s experiences and sense of empowerment, engagement, and psychological safety at work. Compare and contrast the responses with the goal of arriving at clear conclusions on how the degree of employee empowerment, engagement, and psychological safety influences job performance, satisfaction, and morale.

Compare the responses of the individual who works in healthcare and your own experiences in professional practice in healthcare to the responses of your interviewees working in other areas. Consider conclusions you can make about employee empowerment, engagement, and psychological safety in healthcare compared with other professions.

Consider quality care and safety issues in healthcare and the relationship among psychological safety, employee empowerment, and engagement as positive or negative factors.

Consider strategies nurse executives can apply to improve or enhance employee empowerment, engagement, and psychological safety within healthcare settings.

Assignment:

Based on your three interviews and drawing on current literature, and from the perspective of a nurse executive’s role in supporting employee job performance and satisfaction, write an analysis that addresses, in 4–5 pages, the following points:

Describe the three employees you interviewed, including their industries and job titles.

Explain your working definitions of “employee empowerment” and “employee engagement” that are the basis of the interviews.

Summarize how the interviewees characterized the culture of employee empowerment and engagement within their organizations.

Analyze how employee empowerment and employee engagement within healthcare organizations compare with other industries.

Explain your working definition of “psychological safety” that is the basis of the interviews.

Summarize how the interviewees characterized the presence, absence, and/or degree of psychological safety within their organizations.

Analyze how psychological safety within healthcare compares with other industries.

Analyze how degree of psychological safety, employee empowerment, and engagement are positive or negative factors for quality care and safety issues within healthcare.

From the position of a nurse executive, explain at least two leadership strategies you would recommend for actions to improve or sustain psychological safety, employee empowerment, and engagement within healthcare organizations. Speak generally, or specifically, to your current healthcare organization or one where you have worked in the past.

By Day 7 of Week 3

Note: There is no Assignment due in Week 3.

Reminder: The College of Nursing requires that all papers submitted include a title page, introduction, summary, and references. The Sample Paper provided at the Walden Writing Center provides an example of those required elements (available at http://writingcenter.waldenu.edu/57.htm). All papers submitted must use this formatting.

Note: You began this Assignment in Week 3 and it will be due by Day 7 of Week 4. Plan your time accordingly.

As you wrap up your analysis of the three interviews you completed, draw on the information and perspectives gained through the Learning Resources and Discussion, this week, to assess psychological safety in each workplace. As a nurse executive, you will have new avenues for making a difference for staff and p