Governing Board Responsibilities

Essay by lcdavenportUniversity, Master'sA-, January 2010

download word file, 5 pages 0.0

Effective governance is one of the core problems of all organizations. Governance is the toughest link to maintain between the patient's caregiver and the community. Relationships with stakeholders have to be implemented in a very specific way. Certain jobs must get done, and only a group representing stakeholders can do them. Somebody must hire a CEO; reach consensus on the mission, vision, and values; establish short-term goals; resolve the inevitable strategic debates and conflicts; and mind the store.

The governing board represents the stakeholders and makes a series of decisions on their behalf. In the process, it resolves conflicting views. The critical decisions are:1.Selecting and working with the CEO.

2.Establishing the mission, vision, and values.

3.Approving strategies and an annual budget to implement the mission.

4.Maintaining the quality of care5.Monitoring results for compliance to goals, laws, and regulation.

The governing body is responsible for ensuring that there is a strong governance system in place.

It permeates the organization and everyone has role in good governance. Good governance typically requires:•Strong, visionary leadership•Sound strategy•Effective policy•Sensible and clear delegations of authority•Effective monitoring of organizational performance•Clear systems of accountability•Strong risk management systems.

In large private sector companies with multiple shareholders, the power to control the strategy and direction of the entity usually is vested by the company's owners in the Board of Directors. Community-owned organizations are usually structured as companies limited by guarantee. The owners are members of the organization, and there are various mechanisms for appointing a board to lead the company in the interests of the members as a whole. Clinical governance is commonly discussed in the health care sector as if it were a new and distinct governance responsibility. There has been inadequate attention paid to clinical governance in health care - there has been...