What health care managers do: applying Mintzberg's structured observation method.
Rebecka Arman1, Lotta Dellve, Ewa Wikström
1PhD candidate, School of Business, Economics and Law, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Journal of Nursing Management
|August 22, 2009
Summary
First- and second-line health care managers spend nearly half their time in meetings, with significant individual variations in daily activities. Understanding these time use patterns can inform effective management strategies.
Area of Science:
- Healthcare Management
- Organizational Behavior
- Time Management Studies
Background:
- Many Swedish healthcare managers report challenges with time management.
- Effective time allocation is crucial for successful healthcare leadership.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore and describe the time utilization patterns of first- and second-line healthcare managers.
- To provide a detailed analysis of managers' daily work activities.
Main Methods:
- Employed structured and unstructured observations for in-depth analysis.
- Studied ten first- and second-line managers across diverse healthcare settings.
- Analyzed the duration and frequency of various work activities over 3.5 to 4 days per manager.
Main Results:
- Observed considerable individual variation in managers' time use.
- Managers spent a significant portion of their day in meetings (average nearly 50%).
- A large proportion of time was spent with subordinates, with minimal time (<1%) spent with superiors; 16% allocated to administration, and little to strategic work.
Conclusions:
- Individual differences in time use suggest potential for targeted interventions.
- A clear description of managerial activities is foundational for developing effective nursing management practices.
- Findings highlight opportunities to optimize time allocation for improved managerial effectiveness.
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