According to Dunn, authority is the key to managerial job. As a nursing manager, I have a duty to ensure that all activities in the institution run flawlessly. To realize this, I need to exert formal authority as it best suits my way of operation. Authority can be said to be a manager’s official power to influence decisions and to command the compliance of subordinates through use of policies, directives, objectives, and communication in the dispensation of his/her duties in an organization. The preference to exert formal authority is based on the fact that it adequately utilizes line authority, staff authority, and team authority.
Line authority is important in compliance with the chain of command in an organization and for purposes of administrative and authoritative roles in the activities of the department. As a nursing manager, there is that vested authority in the position and therefore one is endowed with the responsibility to manage a team of nursing professionals and is expected by the top management to deliver effectively. This is very important since the reports I will present as a nursing manager are vital to the decision making of the organization.
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Staff authority is critical because the position involves dealing with experts whose counsel is important in line authority and management. The staff representatives provide scientific, technical, technological and informational aspects of expert advice and support which is crucial for the effective management of the organization. In attaining effective authority in staff management, a nursing manager must ensure that the pillars of authority are observed as a culture in the department. These pillars include the manager’s charisma, the rules and regulations, and the tradition of the organization. Thus, according to the formal authority theory, the manager must ensure that the subordinates work in compliance with the authority that is delegated to that position from the top management. This compliance will be aided by the culture of the three pillars.
Team authority must be a part of the nursing manager’s power as nursing involves work teams who operate on shared goals and based on the unity of command. Team authority expands the span of control and is effective in accomplishing patient care tasks. In discharging the authority, the nursing manager must operate within acceptable community practices, lifestyle, and mires. These include the legal, political, social and economic considerations and professional ethics which bind one to act in accordance with the contractual obligations.
