Chapter 17 NURSING MANAGEMENT IN THE LOCAL PUBLIC HEAL TH SYSTEM Uosalincla C. Cr11:,,.-1.,·on1shaw INTRODUCTION Mana J-',clllc11t is the "'sci of intcrnclivc proccssl!S throu Ah which t-hc 11tili1. ation of rcso11rcc:-i l"l!Sll Its i II I ltc a(:c"m pl ishml!nl of c1rwmi1~1t ionnl ohjcctiv1:s" (Rakich, 1. ong~1 anrl 0°D1>11c,van. 1977;6). i\n·tmlin R to !{;1st nnd Rosenzweig, nrnni,gcmcnt is the primary force within an or R:1ni:i::1linn that coordinates the activities of the sul,systcms and relah:s them to it.,, 1;11viro11mc11l ( 1979:7). Mnna~c mc11t is ;. 111 imporla11l function in public health nursing. Public health nurses parlicipntc in the mana~emcnt or their hcallh centers and public health progrnms to improve people's accc.-;s to,,,ncl q11ality of, health services, that will hopefully lead to heller health outcomes for the comnnmity. There nrc three levels--top management, middle management and first level mnnn~emcnl or,mpcrv1s 1on. Top management is responsible for selling the orgnni;o. ation·s goals. objet:Livcs,md policies. Those in midclle management, on the ol her hand. develop the necessary departmental objectives and procedures to achieve ol'}Zanizational goals. St1peruisio,i (first level managem ent) is the-rirst level of 111nnai;cmcnt in the ()rgnni7~-ition nnd is concerned ";th cncouragin~ the members nf n work unit lo contribut e positively toward :iceomplishing lhc organization's goals and objcc:tivcs··. Supervisors manage those who produce an organization's goods ;111cl services (Rue and Byars, 1996:3-4) and are responsible for directing the work of suburdinatcs. In :,mull organizations such as local (municipal) public health organization, the distinction between lop management and middle managem ent, and between middle manage ment and supervisory level may be blurred. Ln fact, there may just be two levels: top and first level. The 'higher· management functions reside in the top local officials and the operational or day-to-d ay concerns are v. ;th the supervisors (such as public henlth nurses). MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS The management functions are planning, organizing, staffing, leading or directing and controlling. Planning m cans forecasting, e. 5timating or projectin g what is most likely to occur in the future. In first level management, planning involves determining how to achieve the mandate orworkoftbe unit, which is the deliveryofhealthservicesand implementation 419--