2/14/2023

LEARNING UNIT 2:
LABORATORY MANAGEMENT:
ORGANIZING

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Laboratory managers
have four fundamental
tasks: to plan, organize,
direct and control a range
of activities in the
Iaboratory
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Organizing
‘ Organizing is the process of structuring activities, materials, and personnel
for accomplishing predetermined objectives.

- Encompasses:
i. Time management
ii. Organizationalchart
iii. Policies
iv. Procedures
v. Workfiow
vi. Staff

Time management
° Time is an irreplaceable commodity, and a manager’s time is a
Iaboratory resource that must be used thoughtfully. A good manager
must aiways be conscious of how time is expended, personally and
in Iaboratory processes. That is the concept of organizing.
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Time management

1. Time management is the process of organizing and pianning how to

divide time between different activities.

2. Time management is a technique for using your time more

effectively. Organize your professionai and personal tasks based on
how urgent and important they are, and take care of the most
urgent and important first, followed by activities that are not urgent
but still important.

3. Time management refers to managing time effectively so that the

right time is allocated to the right activity.

Time management

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Benefits OFTime Management

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Time management
' Time management system allows a manager to:
° Minimize time wasted on nonproductive issues
' Be prepared for meetings
' Be aware of existing commitments
‘ Understand the capacity to take on new assignments and when to
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- Plan each day’s work efficiently and effectively
' Make certain that no
project (large or small) is neglected
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Organizational chart
' An essential mana ement tool is the organizational chart An organizational
chart shows hierarc ical relationships between functional areas.

‘ It is a visual depiction of the organization It helps to clarify workflow, reporting

lines and areas of responsibility by explicitly listing delineated work areas, be it
by dfvision, or laboratory.

' The chart specifically indicates positional authority.

' Authority implicitly accompanies a position on the organizational chart, and its
location on the chart implies a degree of consent by direct reports.

. The organizational chart is a contract of sorts as it unambi uously Illustrates the

structure of the organization and the relationships among t%e people within it.

Organizational chart

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Homework

Investigate and set-up an organogram of the organization you have

been placed in for Clinical Laboratory Practice IV

Line Organizational Structure

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Policies
' An effective organization has
policies that express behavioral
expectations within the workplace. Policies are the ”laws" of the
laboratory. Little different from laws in a society, policies must be
fair and equally applied to everyone in the organization.

- These policies must be made known to each employee, and there

should be some expectation that employees be required to read
and understand those policies that are applicable to them.

° Policies should be reviewed on a regular schedule to ensure that

they are current and realistic within the changing environment.
Outdated policies should be updated or replaced as appropriate.
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Policies
° All policies have seven basic characteristics:
They must be well thought out;
Flexible enough to be applied to both normal and unusual situations;
Acceptable to those who apply them;
Consistent;
Objective;
Clear and communicated to those individuals to whom they apply; and
\lO’IU‘lbUJNH- Continuously re—evaluated and changed when necessary.

Policy document
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Procedures
. Procedures are plans that estabhsh a re ulred method of handlin future
activities‘ They are guides t9 actiqnLrather gain to thinkjng, and they etail the
exact manner In which certaln actwmes must be accomphshed.

' Procedures are formal steps to guide an employee through a specificjob task.

' Procedure is a written, sequential course of action to be taken to achieve a

desired outcome.

' A laboratory manager must maintain current, concise procedure manuals for all
processes that are performed in the Iaboratory.
‘ The book of Iaboratory procedures should be continuously reviewed and revised
by a team of experts to ensure that they are up to date and in compliance with
the most current regulations

Procedures
° The standard operating
procedures (SOP) manual is a very important
tool in the Iaboratory.

' An up—to-date SOP manual ensures that procedures performed by

the technical staff are consistent with the industry and of the highest
quality.

° Managers use the procedure manual to train the laboratory

technologists, and technologists use the procedure manual as a
reference when performing laboratory methods, which constantly
change as technologies develop
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Workflow
Laboratory manager must be a master of all the interconnected processes within the
laboratory.

These processes are logically sequential and they are accomplished in such a way that
one process or step must be completed before the
next can begin.

This is known as workflow, or organizing tasks in a particular way to accomplish a

specified result

Analysis of workflow within a laboratory often identifies inefficiencies that can be

corrected, resulting in a more productive process.

This analysis should include an evaluation of equipment, technology, information

services, computer systems, physical layout, and location of resources

Workflow

An important tool for analyzing workflow is the flowchart.

Process design flowcharting is a fact-gathering technique used to

make the effort of a task visible by writing down what is done.

A flowchart graphically illustrates the relationships between

necessary tasks.

By writing down the steps in a task, you can often identify areas of
overlap, redundant effort, and opportunities for improvement.
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Staff
‘ Successful Iaboratory is dependent on good Ieadership, and good Ieadership is
dependent on the quality and Ioyalty of employees. The selection process is
critical in matching people and their skills with the appropriatejobs

- A manager must ensure that efficient staffing is maintained at all times. The
best equipped laboratory will not function at top efficiency if it is improperly
staffed.
° Too many full-time employees can result in excess capacity and unduly high
wage expenses.
- Too few full-time employees can result in excessive need for overtime, which
is another unnecessarily high wage expense.
' Overworked employees, regardless of how well they are paid, will eventually
burn out

Staff
- Accurate staffing must be linked to the organizational chart, taking into
consideration how each laboratory component serves the ultimate
mission of the laboratory as a whole.

- Staffing should be a topic of discussion in the strategic planning process.

' A well—thought—out strategic plan considers staffing, and the resulting

carefully considered staffing models enable a manager to make long—term
predictions about future staffing needs.
' Plan-based staffing decisions remove much of the guesswork, thus
allowing a manager to stay ahead of staffing issues and providing lead—
time to hire and train efficiently.

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