Collaborative Decision Making Through Shared Governance

Collaborative Decision Making Through Shared Governance

Introduction

Members gather, share ideas, deliberate, and decide issues based on their solutions. Several health practitioners apply collective decision-making model in tackling professional matters. This strategy ensures all parties in the medical profession are involved in policymaking and planning. The management in such organizations has to seek opinions of all stakeholders before proceeding with the course of action. This paper is a summary of an organization meeting written to express how firms practice shared governance and the interaction of the members.

The organization secretariat comprises the Chairperson, vice-chairperson, secretary, and the treasurer who undertake constitutional roles. The committee executive also has a member representative. Chairperson is the overall head of the organization. He or she oversees the execution of duties by the members and officials as provided for in the constitution. The Chairperson provides the guidelines and unity for the group. The chair also maintains order within the firm and outside. He or she is the official representative of the organization to the external world, negotiating funding, partnerships, and interacting with the government officials.

The vice-chair deputizes the Chairperson. He or she undertakes all duties and responsibilities in the absence of the Chairperson. The vice-chair undertakes all duties mandated by the group constitution and roles assigned by the group. Secretary takes accurately and keeps all records obtained from meetings and from members. He is responsible for all official communication within and outside the organization. The vice-chairperson collects, organizes and disseminates agenda for meetings. He is the custodian of all group documents and ensures operations of the firm comply with the law. The secretary is also an advisor to the firm on legal matters. The treasurer acts as the custodian of group finances. He or she prepares and records all financial information. Treasurer prepares budgets, monitors usage of funds releases the reports, and advises the firm on financial matters. The Chairperson, secretary, and treasurer are mandatory signatories to the group accounts. During financial audits, the treasurer releases the books of accounts for the same.

The watchdog initiative is a group in the health institution focused on ethics and social values in the facility. It points out unethical issues in the operations and provides advice to the firm on the ethical aspects of decisions made by the firm. It operates on some aspects, including medical, environmental, and organizational ethics. It ensures the organization operates within the parameters of The Code of Medical Ethics of the American Medical Association, among other regulations. In its dispensation of duties, the committee conducts audits on the environmental impacts of the firm operations. It also checks on the conduct of the health practitioners and provide recommendations based on the ethical problems noticed. It uses universal principles, environmental ethics, and organizational values. It is independent, and the results treated discretely.

The members interacted freely and openly shared varied opinions. It consisted of members from different sections of the health facility and even the neighboring community. Deliberations were objective as recommendations aligned towards solving the problems. The members strictly followed the rules of the meeting. They extensively exhausted different perspectives before taking the agenda to vote. Members practiced a high level of decorum both in speech and in conduct.

The meeting depicted shared governance in the process, which affected the general operations of the facility and inclusion in membership. The conversations focused on solutions and collectively accepted views from different disciplines and perspectives. Members participated actively, giving independent opinions and met reasonable resolutions through mutual acceptance. Based on the process, shared governance is most effective.