TOOLS FOR LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT PROBLEM SOLVING

Chapter 2 skims over three theoretical approaches to decision-makingùwhat the authors refer to as the "traditional" process, the managerial decision-making process, and the nursing process (Marquis & Huston, 1996, pp. 30-31). The authors also briefly discuss some of the factors that cause decision-making to be a process that is somewhat unique to each individual. The "critical elements in problem solving and decision making" then are identified. Oddly, identifying the problem is not identified as one of the critical elements. The authors then devote several pages to what is essentially the summarizing of dozens of volumes of literature on management decision-making.

The authors state that this chapter is to introduce the reader to "problem solving, decision making, and critical thinking" (Marquis & Huston, 1996, p. 28). The authors do not state what the specific purpose of the chapter is. If "introducing" concepts is the purpose of this chapter, then the authors fulfilled their purpose. If the purpose is to teach the reader to be able to apply the decision-making approaches and techniques mentioned in the chapter, then the authors failed to meet this objective.

What the authors overlooked completely is the group decision-making process which is increasingly important in health care environment. Group decision-making is especially relevant for professional nurses who are assuming greater decisio

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el selection process. Further, with respect to staff planningùassessing staff requirements, the presentation in the chapter were woefully inadequate if the intent was that the reader should, upon completion of reading the chapter, be able to make such a determination. CREATING A MOTIVATING CLIMATE: A CHAPTER CRITIQUE Chapter 14 covers the issues of motivation activities by leaders. Unfortunately, the authors tend to skim over the issues to the extent that it is unlikely that the reader would be able to develop and implement an effective motivational program within a health care organization. The authors do differentiate between intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. In their discussion of motivational theory, however, so much ground is covered in so few pages that the reader is left with a spinning head, as opposed to an understanding of how to go about motivating organizational personnel successfully. Again, the authors state no purpose or objective for this chapterùChapter 14. Rather, they state that the chapter "examines motivational theories that have guided organizational efforts and resource distribution for the last 80 years" (Marquis & Huston, 1996, p. 292). In fact, no such examination was presented in this chapter
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Approximate Word count = 2246
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)

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