PLANING NURSING WORKFORCE

Planning Nursing Workforce



Planning Nursing Workforce

Introduction

Workforce diversity (WD) is the operative management of various demographic characteristics such as race and gender in the workplace. It is a widely researched area; however, the majority of the literature is based on studies conducted in large international organizations. Within the healthcare industry, the main focus in the literature has been in hospitals or healthcare consortiums. There is a lack of research specifically related to WD in nursing homes, yet there is a need to understand how WD manifests in nursing homes because these facilities have several distinct characteristics that are unlike other organizations. The status of today's nursing home is characterized by racial inequalities in the distribution of staff across the tiers of power and leadership. It is important to examine WD in nursing homes in order to understand if and how diversity should be managed in nursing homes and how race and power influence nursing home operations. The overall objective of this topic is to explore the concept of planning for nursing workforce.

Workforce Diversity Definition

The researchers known as Hays-Thomas in 2004 defined WD as various demographic characteristics that influence approval, performance, liking, and advancement in the workplace has a lot of importance in history. When managing diversity in the workplace, leaders can capitalize on the differences among their employees and use them as assets to the company. Therefore, diversity management entails enhancing relations between diverse workgroups so their collective differences foster innovation and knowledge that results in successful outcomes. Diversity management is not only a method for cultivating a diverse workforce, but it can also empower workgroups and bring about organizational change (Ancona, 1992, 341).

Theories suggest that diversity can affect workforce outcomes

There are a number of different theories on diversity, all derived from basic in-group/out group psychology. The three most commonly cited theories are 1) information and decision making theory, 2) social identification and categorization theory, and 3) similarity/attraction theory.

Information and decision making theory

Information and decision making theory predicts a positive relationship between diverse workgroups and outcomes. In terms of delivering information and making decisions within groups, this theory posits that diverse workgroups possess more ingenuity, ideas, and knowledge. Although it may be more difficult to interact and collaborate with diverse group members initially, theorist Sulman and colleagues in 2007 found that in the midst of the disagreements there is originality and novelty. The influx of information that emerges from the diverse workgroup can compensate for any adversities that arise within the workgroup. One caveat of the information and decision making theory to consider is that the research on the theory is not based on racial diversity. Studies using this theory examined banking and technology industry workgroups with members varying in education, age, experience, and levels of expertise and found that the diverse groups were more innovative (Beaver, 1995, 9).

Social identification and categorization theory

The social identification and categorization theory posits that in order to maximize self-esteem, people make comparisons with ...