Personnel management in Finnish social and health care

• Published in: International journal of health care quality assurance incorporating Leadership in health services Vol. 20; no. 3; pp. 184 - 194
• Main Authors: Kokkinen, Lauri, Konu, Anne, Viitanen, Elina
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Emerald Group Publishing Limited 01.01.2007
• Subjects: Data Collection; Delivery of Health Care - manpower; Employees; Feedback; Finland; Health administration; Health care; Health care industry; Health facilities; Health Facility Administration; Health services; Hospitals; Human resource management; Humans; Leadership; Line managers; Managerial skills; Middle management; Middle managers; Municipalities; National Health Programs; Organizational change; Personnel administration; Personnel Management; Primary care; Social care; Social services; Social Work - manpower; Statistical analysis; Studies; Subordinates; Verbal communication; Finland; Personnel administration; Leadership; Middle managers; Health services; Social care; Finland
• ISSN: 1751-1879; 1751-1887
• DOI: 10.1108/17511870710764032

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to examine components of good personnel management and how they come true in accounts of social and health care managers.Design methodology approach - The data were obtained by means of a postal survey sent to middle-line managers in positions above the first-line management level in the responsibility area of Tampere University Hospital. The questionnaire was sent to 703 managers; 433 sent in responses indicating a response rate of 62 percent.Findings - Middle-line managers considered themselves as interactive, responsibility-sharing and understanding leaders, but found shortcomings in the leadership style of their superiors. Only 18 percent of the middle-line managers received feedback and only 42 percent received support from their superiors when needed. There were significant differences between genders, activity sectors and professional backgrounds in the responders' accounts concerning personnel management practices.Research implications limitations - The results of this study reliably describe how middle-line managers consider things to be, not necessarily how things are in reality.Practical implications - The findings confirm the assumption that the importance of personnel management is still not perfectly understood in the upper management levels of the social and health care sector. At the same time the self-evaluations of middle-line managers implied an ambition towards better personnel management.Originality value - This study identifies components of good personnel management from literature and uses them as the basis for analysing the data.