Question

Find a scholarly article on stakeholders. In two to three pages, critique the article, relating it to a personal experience and a time when stakeholders were important in a negotiation you were involved in. Please include references

Answer 1

Balancing stakeholder needs in the evaluation of healthcare quality improvement aims to show readers that the benefits of taking a multifaceted approach to involving as many stakeholders as feasible, specifically in the quality improvement sector of healthcare, can improve outcomes. By balancing the needs of stakeholders, they express benefits including “adherence to ethical standards, [assurance] that all legitimate interests take part, more useful and relevant evaluation information and better political buy-in to improve impact” . From consulting more stakeholders to finding additional leverage, Leviton and Melichar write that they are able to produce greater results and imply that this method would be useful in areas where multiple stakeholders exist.

In the healthcare field, quality patient care is of utmost importance. Though the patient is the primary stakeholder in this, there are many others involved. The article suggests involving others including program beneficiaries and evaluators, organizational leadership, policy groups, community groups, and experts in the field. Those that might even adopt their strategies, such as other QI teachers, would benefit from their project. By evaluating potential conflicts that could arise, they are able to increase their starting BATNA. They know there will be a need for information exchange so taking that into consideration helped determine who to answer and in what sequence. All levels of engagement amongst the stakeholders tends to produce better results.

Being a supervisor over an area with close to a dozen different intertwined functions, involving as many stakeholders as possible will usually always benefit the team in the end. Just this week, I was discussing some possible layout changes in an area that is generally worked by the same two guys. This conversation stemmed from a complaint from someone who does not directly work there but does bring work to the area. Initially I went to the two that worked in the area and discussed the current state. I wanted to make sure I had a complete understanding of why things are the way they are today. In hindsight, asking my team leader would had produced a better answer and eliminated any feeling that he had of me stepping on his toes. As we discussed the layout of this area, there was mention of various people involved in the talks leading to this point. This included many people that work in areas affected by this one, or other stakeholders.

The importance of including all of them in seeking to improve this area is highlighted in the article summarized above. Some of these stakeholders include employees who used to work in that area, analysists that search for inventory there, my manager, the internal customer to their area, and those that feed work there. Obtaining their thoughts and ideas will lead not only to better results, but also something that the article did not mention, empowerment. Employees that feel like they have a say or feel their opinion is relevant and sought out will likely perform at a higher level than their counterparts. Engaging them in area that affect their duties or that previously had a hand in the pot shows the value I place on them. With only being at this job for a week, I am in no position to tell anyone what is best.

Though I am in the process of working through the details in this area, nothing has been solidified. One benefit of including many stakeholders that I have seen thus far is discovering another issue that potentially is running rampant through the whole department. There seems to be a lack of communication, for various reasons, that has led to some of this frustration. Solving the layout issue is only a small portion of the battle. Without involving different stakeholders, the lack of communication would had not been highlighted, leading to even more issues down the road.