Managing Health Care Organizations

The Final Project should demonstrate understanding of the reading assignments, class discussions, your own research and the application of new knowledge. It should utilize previous skills developed in foundational health care courses and apply them within the context and viewpoint of health care administrator and his/her role managing health and human services.

For the Final Project, the student will select one of the following topics and conduct scholarly and professional research while integrating course learning outcomes to address a selected topic:

1. Research specific leadership and management traits and theories necessary for managing a multidisciplinary and multicultural health care organization to promote organizational effectiveness.

2. Present how strategic planning, performance improvement, and information systems are interrelated and fundamental to the delivery of quality health care.

3. Examine the financial characteristics of health care delivery along with managing costs, revenues, and human resources.

4. Analyze ethical and legal concepts, including specific federal regulations, required of health care organizations to ensure the delivery of high quality health care that protects patient safety.

Research Requirements

Academic research and papers must meet certain standards of quality that are recognized by the academic community. What constitutes quality academic research?

1. The use of primary (original), credible sources written by experts in the field of study.

2. Ensuring secondary sources are supported by research in primary sources.

3. Making sure all research is relevant and that material used is pertinent to the area of study.

4. In graduate work, the use of peer-reviewed journal articles (journal articles reviewed by recognized experts in the relevant field of study) is required.

5. Keep in mind that educational websites may be appropriate, in some cases, but should be evaluated carefully.

The Ashford University Library offers many excellent databases and other resources to assist you in conducting scholarly research.

What sources are not acceptable for academic research and referencing?

1. Encyclopedias

2. Dictionaries

3. Wikipedia, other wikis, or blogs

4. Websites and other sources that do not provide quality researched materials (do not use credible sources to support the information in the document).

All research must reflect professional academic protocol and must be documented according to APA standards as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

Research Paper/PowerPoint Presentation Format

You may choose to present your research is the form of an eight- to ten-page Research Paper (excluding title and reference pages) or a comprehensive ten to fifteen slide PowerPoint Presentation (excluding title and reference slides), with detailed speaker�s notes. In either case, the content of the assignment must include all of the elements below.

1. Introduction

Describe the issue, why it was selected, the perspective of approach, and the scope of the paper or presentation. In essence, describe in this area what is being covered. Be specific and to the point. This is an important part of the project as it engages the reader and sets the scope of the research.

2. Statement of the Issue to be Investigated

Describe why the issue/topic is a relevant, a problem/issue. It is important to provide literature sources in support of the importance of the need/issue/topic. For example, if you are interested in researching the issue of nutrition in early childhood brain development among American children � cite literature identifying the scope of the problem (for example: the number of malnourished children, the implications of malnourishment on learning and brain development; and long term implications). Overall, what makes this topic/issue so important that you are spending time/energy researching it? What is the impact of the problem if nothing is done to correct the situation?

3. Research Sources

This section documents the relevant research reflecting the topic of the research paper. In this section, paraphrased narratives of the actual research studies are reported and should represent the current research related to the topic area. In general, your research should:

a. Identify your chosen topic and what has happened in the specific research of the topic (describe the study, sample, findings, important points from the discussion in the research article, and any variables that may influence the findings of the research).

b. Discuss any key elements of the topic that may be instructional, legal, ethical, social, etc. (what is projected if nothing is done? what has been tried?). Support this section with relevant resource citations.

c. Provide an analysis of the research articles used, including: explaining what was done in the study, what the target population was, information about who did the research (the author), what was found with the study, and any implications of the findings to your topic or issue.

4. Conclusion

In this section, provide a general, but thorough summary reviewing: why the topic was selected; the problem/issue briefly stated; the approach that was used; findings; and solutions. In this section, a reader should be able to understand the conclusion/summary and have a good idea what the researcher did and what was found.

5. References

The references should be listed on a new page or slide and must be formatted according to APA requirements as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. You must use a minimum of six to eight scholarly sources.

You may choose to present your research in the form of an eight to ten page Research Paper (excluding title and reference pages) or a comprehensive ten to fifteen slide PowerPoint Presentation (excluding title and reference slides), with detailed speaker notes. In either case, the content of the assignment must include all of the elements