A Public Administration Quandary : Health Care Costs Vs. Employee Satisfaction

Herzberg’s two factor theory of motivation at the workplace shows the difference between two factors of motivation. The two factors being satisfiers, which are the main causes for job satisfaction (motivation), from hygiene factors which are the main causes for job dissatisfaction (demotivation to stay in the job). Examples of motivating factors are achievement, recognition, responsibility and the work itself. Hygiene factors include: working conditions, salary, relationship with colleagues, supervision, etc. An organisation needs to influence satisfiers through performance management using range of tools such as: job descriptions, supervision, performance appraisals, continuous development/training, rewards and career development.

Leaders in the public sector are expected to maintain a level of morality and integrity which serves the interests of society, while at the same time demonstrates personal responsibility, diplomacy, and truthfulness. Therefore, when attempting to arrive at appropriate ethical decisions, public administrators must possess the capacity to exercise moral imagination. However, moral imagination is not enough. Responsible administration in the public sector also requires acting based on the “right”

Herzberg showed that to truly motivate an employee a business needs to create conditions that make him or her feel fulfilled in the workplace.

The management of an organization plays an integral part in determining the direction and performance of the organization. The manner in which the management of an organization is handled has a profound effect on the organization. The success of an organization is dependent upon a flexible and skilled management and workforce. The management of an organization is responsible for shaping up the organizational behavior and ultimately the culture within the organization. Public management faces a multiple of challenges and opportunities, how the management deals with these issues translates to efficiency in management. The personal judgments and skills of public managers can make a significant impact in public management. If

As a Healthcare administrator there are many different challenges to be faced. Being the backbone of any company in general is a hard but rewarding task. On a day-to-day basis healthcare administrators have to deal with the bulk of the problems wherever they work. The people in these positions deal with things ranging from unethical doctors, to hiring and firing the janitor. The topic this paper is going to focus on is the type of issues healthcare administrators deal with when going through the process of employment for their doctors.

This case was prepared by Associate Professor Marc L. Lipson. It was written as a basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation. Copyright  2010 by the University of Virginia Darden School Foundation, Charlottesville, VA. All rights reserved. To order copies, send an e-mail to sales@dardenbusinesspublishing.com. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of the Darden School Foundation.

I'm not too familiar with this field of public administration. However, I'm curious to read any research that you might currently have and perhaps even your class project if it relates to this subject.

This case was prepared as a basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation. Copyright © 1983 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical,

than to illustrate effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation. Copyright  2010 by the University

According to Herzberg, individuals are not satisfied with lower-order needs at work, for example, those associated with minimum salary levels or safe and pleasant working conditions. Theses individuals look for the gratification of higher-level psychological needs such as achievement, recognition, responsibility, advancement, and the nature of the work itself. Motivation-hygiene theory, based on the presence of one set of job characteristics or incentives lead to worker satisfaction at work, while another and separate set of job characteristics lead to dissatisfaction at work. Moreover he found that job characteristics related to what an individual does is the nature of the work he performs, having the capacity to gratify such needs such as achievement, competency, status, personal worth, and self-realization, leading to satisfaction. However, the absence of such gratifying job characteristics does not lead to dissatisfaction. Instead, dissatisfaction results from unfavorable assessments of such job-related factors as company

In this analysis we will review a case titled “The Dilemma at the Public Service Department.” We will be discussing different issues, amongst them are: opinions on the honesty, malfeasance, misfeasance, nonfeasance, accountability, competence, and why these particular responsibilities are identified. We will also discuss certain trade-offs made by the commissioner’s loyalty to the department as well as the governor, and public interest. We will also be discussing three barriers when it comes to deciding how the governor will be approached, along with the basic elements that are recommended in strategic management planning.

To become a public administrator, you must have the ability to work with different people from different background, different age groups, and various economy classes. A Public administrator cannot be biased towards one group of people and turn around and be favorable towards the other. As an administrator, you have to be transparent to everybody that you encounter, even people that you will be working with, and people that you are working for. According to the publication, “Ethical Dilemmas in the Public Service,” by the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management, describes that the ethical issue that government officials face in any organization is nepotism and bias. The reason why this event occurs is that some of the individuals in the public administrative positions are not transparent in the workplace and are also influenced by personal gain.

212). For workers to be both satisfied and happy with their job, some particular motivation qualities have to be present, such as recognition, achievement, responsibility, and organization’s advancement. Herzberg had added to the list some physical aspects including salary, physical working conditions, benefits, technical quality supervision, challenging, and company policy (Miller, 2006, p. 32-33). The two characteristics sets must be present for employees to be happy, satisfied and deliver their best, their absence could interpret to workers who are unsatisfied, unhappy and unproductive, as it is in Initech. A good example is when Peter tells Bobs “If I work my ass off and Initech ships a few extra units, I don’t see another dime. So where’s the motivation?”

According to Herzberg, the factors leading to job satisfaction are distinctly different from those that lead to job-dissatisfaction. Therefore, the managers who seek to eliminate factors that create job-dissatisfaction can bring about peace at the workplace but cannot motivate the employees. These factors are termed as hygiene factors comprising administration, supervision, working conditions, salary and wages etc. While absence of hygiene factors will lead to dissatisfaction, mere presence of these factors will not satisfy (i.e. motivate) the employees. In order to motivate the employees, managers must resort to ‘motivators’ (those factors that motivate the employees towards better performance) such as recognition, challenging assignment, responsibility, opportunities for growth and self-fulfillment etc.

The study, as reported in the journal, was using Herzberg’s Hygiene Factors and Motivators to examine (a) what motivates employees in the retail industry and (b) their levels of jobs satisfaction. Tan & Waheed (2011) stated that the survey was done by way of convenient sampling to select sales personnel from women’s clothing stores at Bandar Sunway shopping mall located at Selangor, Malaysia. One hundred and eighty selected sales personnel of heterogeneity were surveyed by a questionnaire written in English. The questionnaire included a series of statements and questions pertaining to determinants of job satisfaction. The survey candidates were requested to indicate their degree of agreement to each. According to the researchers, linear regression analysis was performed to test the relationship between Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory and job satisfaction and further analysis was done evaluating the relationship between money and job satisfaction.