Determining Sustainable Options by William Ragan, PhD
Sustainabilityrefers to the need to consider the future while making decisions in the here and now (Epstein & Buhovac, 2014; Laureate Education, Inc., 2009; Senge, Smith, Kruschwitz, Laur, & Schley, 2008). Leaders in all businesses, including healthcare, have to look beyond profit alone and focus on other important indicators of business health in order to be sustainable (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009; Senge et al., 2008). In this week’s assignment, a brief discussion of sustainability, limits to growth, tragedy of the commons, and scale networks will be conducted.
Corporate business leaders recognize the triple bottom line as a measurable aspect of business sustainability that incorporates fiscal, social, and environmental responsibility (Epstein & Buhovac, 2014). In recent years, healthcare leaders have considered sustainability to be an important part of their business strategy, even during difficult economic times (Carlson & Greeley, 2010; Landers, 2012). Sustainability in healthcare has been especially important as economic problems have emerged within the industry lately, and recent trends have shown that reduced profits and high operating costs have begun to define the industry (Carlson & Greeley, 2010; Landers, 2012). Healthcare managers can choose to incorporate quantitative measures of sustainability in order to track trends within their organization (Epstein & Buhovac, 2014).
Recent regulatory pressure in healthcare has limited growth as both providers and managers struggle to finds a balance between cost and quality (Carlson & Greeley, 2010; Landers, 2012). In hospitals, difficulty managing the balance between cost and quality can result in reduced employee morale and high employee turnover intent (Angermeier, Dunford, Boss, & Boss, 2009; Carlson & Greeley, 2010; Landers, 2012). As with other industries, limits to growth in healthcare include limited resources, competition, seller demands, buyer demands, and barriers to entry (Porter, 2008).
Ever since Garrett Hardin’s 1968 essay The Tragedy of the Commons was published, there has been an increased awareness for sustainability and careful use of limited resources (Rowland, 2009). Rowland (2009) reflected briefly on the value of choosing which assets within an organization to endorse based on the principles of The Tragedy of the Commons, due to the pervasive limited nature of available resources. Rowland also noted that haste was a common problem resulting in rapid depletion of resources in an effort to succeed. In healthcare, limited resources are often carefully regulated, resulting in expensive oversight of management and penalties for noncompliance (Epstein & Buhovac, 2014).
In a scale free network, many nodes have few connections, and few nodes have many connections (Denning, 2004). Other properties of scale free networks are that new nodes appear randomly, and that connections are made to existing nodes proportionally to the number of connections at that node already (Denning, 2004). Denning (2004) noted that older nodes tend to have more connections than newer ones, and that the nature of scale free networks leave the hubs vulnerable to external forces. In healthcare, as well as other fields, scale free networks exist because the aforementioned conditions exist (Denning, 2004). Healthcare managers should carefully examine their strategy for protecting important hubs within their network for the sake of sustainability (Denning, 2004).
If I were going to present my organization’s level of social responsibility to a group of key stakeholders, I would consider using video interviews of patients, managers, and staff members. In the particular hospital where I am employed, our patients vary widely in age, and seem to enjoy discussing the level of care that they receive there. Also, the managers and staff seem to enjoy a variety of available benefits and talk about their love for helping the patients. Greasley (2006) noted that video interviews of patients helped could be used to influence stakeholders while disseminating important information but must be done with high regard for privacy and emphasized the need for consent.
Many factors including regulations, competition, and buyer preference influence sustainability in hospitals (Carlson & Greeley, 2010; Landers, 2012). As a result, it is increasingly important to make choices based in good ethical principles in order to remain sustainable (Epstein & Buhovac, 2014; Laureate Education, Inc., 2009; Senge et al., 2008). Organizational leaders that take into account several important aspects of sustainable practice described herein to increase the likelihood of the organization’s future success.
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Carlson, G., & Greeley, H. (2010). Is the relationship between your hospital and your medical staff sustainable?. Journal of Healthcare Management, 55, 158-173. Retrieved from http://www.ache.org/Publications/SubscriptionPurchase.aspx#jhm
Denning, P. (2004). Network laws. Communications of the ACM, 47(11), 15–20. Retrieved from http://cacm.acm.org
Epstein, M. J., & Buhovac, A. R. (2014). Making sustainability work: Best practices in managing and measuring corporate social, environmental, and economic impacts. (2nd ed.) San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.
Greasley, P. (2006). Filming patient interviews to demonstrate the value of welfare advice in general practice: A strategy for the dissemination of project outcomes. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 9, 245-253. doi:10.1080/13645570600761379
Landers, J. (2012). Pennsylvania hospital emphasizes 'green' design. Civil Engineering (08857024), 82(10), 26-31. Retrieved from http://www.asce.org/cemagazine/MagazineAwards.aspx?id=12884910102
Laureate Education, Inc. (2009). Systems thinking and applications to sustainability Baltimore: Author.
Porter, M. E. (2008). The five competitive forces that shape strategy. Harvard Business Review, 86(1), 78–93. Retrieved from hbr.org/
Rowland, W. (2009). Corporate social responsibility and Garrett Hardin's 'Tragedy of the Commons' as myth and reality. Journal of Corporate Citizenship, 1, 109-116. Retrieved from http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com/default.asp?ContentID=16
Senge, P., Smith, B., Kruschwitz, N., Laur, J., & Schley, S. (2008). The necessary revolution: How individuals and organizations are working together to create a sustainable world. New York: Doubleday.
