The Secret of Being An Effective Manager in an Organization

Firstly, a manager is a person with managerial skills and authority. He or she gets things done through other people. Being effective is the result of the manager’s involvement and working relationship and doing the right things. Most of the managers working career will involve working with people. People are the core and vital resources of the organization. The productivity of the organization depends very much on how the manager utilizes its human resources in the organization. Therefore, people working in the organization must be given due care and respect. People either build or destroy the organization. Basically, people here refer to doctors, nurses, carpenters, plumbers, painters, cleaners, etc… in the context of a health institution. I have learnt to work with these people to carry out my plans and discovered to be very effective in my responsibilities as a manager over the last 10 years.

Secondly, people working in the organization must be motivated. Without motivation, workers generally don’t perform to the required standard. Thus, what is motivation? Motivation is the willingness to exert high levels of effort to reach organizational goals conditioned by the efforts ability to satisfy some individual need (Robins, 2009). Therefore, motivation creates tension resulted from an unsatisfied need. This need drives a person to perform an activity in the organization. This performance resulted in achieving the goals of the organization and eventually satisfying the needs of the organization. Therefore, hiring and employing motivated staff in the organization is very vital for growth and productivity. "You should first get the right people on the bus and then figure out where to drive it - not the other way around." Jim Collins

Here are few tips on how to be an effective manager!

1. TREAT STAFF WELL.

Subordinates have to be treated with diligence. The manager has to stay friendly as well as maintain a level of distance with his staff. It’s a tricky ground to tread. The staff looks up on the manager as their leader. They expect maturity, rationality and understanding from their superiors. Further, doing simple things can greatly motivate workers. For example, calling people by their first name, chatting about their families for a while or even a general inquiry about their well-being, brings in a feeling of belongingness. Small gestures of this type help in building up of a cordial relationship.

2. THINK LIKE A WINNER
A manager has to handle two situations, "The Winning" and "The loosing". The crux is to think like a winner even when all the odds seem against you. It is necessary to equip yourself with all the tools of a winner. Always remember that winning and loosing rotate in a cycle. If you have been loosing from a long time you are very near the winning edge. For example, if the operational grant is not released on time and the account is in deficit balance, operate as if you have a million kina in the bank account.

3. RECOGNIZE THE DIFFERENCES
All the employees in the organization vibrate to a different pace. A treatment that motivates one may demotivate the other. Understanding the difference in temperament in between the individuals is important.

4. SET REALISTIC GOALS
Be realistic and simple and set goals you can achieve. Think big and dream of big plans but start at a low profile. Setting too high a task creates a feeling of non-achievement, right from the beginning itself. The goals set should be such which seem feasible to the employees to be achieved. A slightly higher target than expected provides a challenge. Do not make big promises which you can not deliver and lost your integrity. For example, a colleague promised to build five staff houses, a new water supply system and new solar system for the hospital in one year and achieve nothing.

5. PREVENT DEMOTIVATION
A job of the manager is to motivate people. His/her task requires him/her to punish and penalize people. This might create resentment in the mind of the staff members, which may affect the productivity of the workforce. Henceforth, care should be taken, that punishment and penalties are used as a controlling technique and that they do not demotivate

6. JOB-FINANCIAL ENRICHMENT AND SMALL JOB CHANGES ARE HANDY
To make job more effective and to break the monotonous routine, small task additions and minor changes are always welcome. Even small suggestions of the manager seem valuable to the employees. A few challenges in the same job can enrich it. For example, a committed receptionist should be asked to do payroll, asset inventory and other administrative duties instead of just answering phone calls all her working life.

7. NON FINANCIAL REWARDS
Monetary rewards have always had a high motivational capacity. But non-monetary rewards are equally helpful. A thank you note, a letter of appreciation or even few words of praise can help smoothen the creases between the different levels of management.
You have to be very clever to do simple things! And try as much as possible to find out from your staff before they run away!

Lutheran Health Services Roles in the Remote Districts

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is truely the land of the unexpected, with its rugged terrain,fast flowing rivers and  risky geography. Unlike any other countries on this planet earth, PNG is blessed to have two worlds, the urban and the rural world. A land with a total inhabitants of 7 million people and 800 languages with a diversified culture. About 87% of these population lived in the rural districts. Given this geographical context, it makes it almost difficult for the government to deliver adequate essential services to its rural population. As such, the majority of the rural population are denied access to adequate government services like schools, health facilities, roads, clean water supply and sanitation and employment opportunities among others.

No wonder why PNG still has a low literacy rate, high maternal mortality, low living standard,collapse in the health system and low life expectancy comapred to other neighbouring Pacific island countries. None-the-less,the presence of churches and  their work in the districts is a great relief and beneficial to the rural population. The churches delivered vital services in health, education, agriculture and water supply where government services are unreachable. They reach people right into the remotest parts of the country.The Churches Health Services (CHS) is a significant partner with the government to provide basic health services mostly to the rural areas.Further, CHS provides more than 64% of the rural health services. They provide mostly Aidpost, Urban clinics, Health Centres, Health Centres and Rural Hospitals. In addition, CHS also run five General Nursing colleges out of the seven colleges and all the Community Health Workers (CHW) training schools in PNG.



A mother seeking treatment at Braun Memorial Hospital in Finschhafen

Among other churches that provide health services in PNG, Lutheran Health Services (LHS) is one that must be commended for delivering quality health services to the rural majority and the urban disadvantaged. Despite setbacks and challenges with limited resources, the Lutheran Health Services continues to provide high quality health services and is truely a silent achiever. Patients that have gone through their health facilities have experienced and truely saw Jesus Healing Ministry in action. You will find some highly skilled, qualified and dedicated yet humble doctors, nurses, administrators and laboratory technicians in their health facilties. Mind you,these professionals are paid much lower than the government counterparts,but humbly continue to provide quality health services. The Lutheran Health Services are located in  the Highlands, Morobe, Madang, Sepik and Niugini Island. They also provide one General Nursing School and two Community Health Worker training schools.



Transporting medical supplies on a hired PMV to Mindik HC in Finschhafen

Despite poor road access in the districts, LHS strive to provide a health service that is easily accessible, affordable, and appropriate to the rural majority and urban disadvantaged. They do whatever it takes to improve the health status of the rural people. The accessibility to health services in a LHS health facility is very simple in nature. Not so much process and procedures are required when a patient enters their health facility. LHS undoubtedly plays a very significant role by providing the much needed health services in the remote districts. .

University Is Not A place For Clever People

It's a common mentality that university is a place for clever people. Typical people on the street view university as a place for people who are very intelligent and posses unique skills and abilities that enable them to enter a university. This mentality is typical for those that have gone through the formal education system. For instance, one that passess Grade one  through to secondary school and university. To date, many Papua New Guineans(PNG) believe this concept as  a reality.  Rather university is not a place for clever people. Its a place for those who have a high committment and determine to study hard and live a different life. Its also a place for people who have a right attitude and sees ordinary things in an extraordinary way.

There are also many that have gone through the informal education system like College of distance education(CODE),Department of open and distance learning(DODL), Matriculation etc... and are occupying higher places in the social structure in our society.There are many real personal testomonies of people who have gone to universities and graduated with degrees in various discipline despite being termed as a "school leaver" or drop out from the formal education system in PNG. There was one guy I know personally who failed in Grade 8 and went through the informal education system and entered university of PNG and graduated with Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS). He is now a practicing medical doctor in PNG. There was also a carpenter who also studied medicine and is a medical doctor. As such, can you say that university is a place for clever people?

I am also a testimony of such commitment and determination to achieve a purpose in life. I droped out of Grade 10 in 1988 and unable to secure a placing in the tertiary institution and university. I was out on the street with the street boys doing what a street boy would do. I indulged in drug, stealing, break and enter and selling ciggarettes to make ends meet. After three (3) years  of been on the street, I realised that I can become a better person only if I made a personal comittment and determined to have a good life.I praise God for the wisdom given to me at that time to started thinking seriously about a better life.

From scratch,I enrolled with CODE and upgraded my marks in 1991. I did extremely well and was accepted a placing at Lutheran School of Nursing in Madang in 1992. I successfully completed my nurse training in 1995 and was employed with the Lutheran Health Services (LHS) and posted to the remote Menyamya district of Morobe province in PNG. While employed, I enrolled with DODL at the University of Technology in Lae and completed my Adult Matriculation(Grade 12 certificate). A year later, I studied Health Management at Divine Word University(DWU) in Madang and graduated with a Bachelor of Health Management in  2010. In the near future, I am looking forward to pursue a Master of Science in International Management and possibly a Ph.D before I retreat from public life.

So there you are.  University is not a place for clever people. I would like to encourage those that are pushed out of the formal education system that its not the end of your life. By all means, you can make it to a university, if you have the right attitude and made a commitment to study hard and is determine to live a different life.

Welcome

Hellow everyone. This is my first post using blogger.
I hope to write things about myself, my work, and my everyday activities.

I hope that you can come and check my bloggs whenever you can.

Thank you