Why the University of Texas Science Center is One of the Best Places to Work
Why UT Health Science Center at Houston is a Top Work Place in Houston What makes an organization a great place to work? A great place to work is one that inspires the passion of workers and gives a free rein to their talent. Workers are turned on by what they do and who they work for or with. In my opinion, a great place to work is also a place where people are able to apply their gift to the fullest, where they can develop, nurture and apply their skills and knowledge in ways that permit them to consistently generate excellence.
The Houston Chronicle has listed The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UT Health) as one of the best places to work. This organization was created by the U. T. System Board of Regents and is located in the world renowned Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas. UT Health brings together the Dental Branch, the graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, the Medical School, the School of Public Health, the School of Nursing, the School of Biomedical Informatics, the UT Harris County Psychiatric Center and the Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases.
This organization led by Larry R. Kaiser, M. D. , offers bachelor, graduate and professional degrees, Coordinating Board approved certificate programs, joint/dual degree programs and clinical training sites. There is $217. 6 million expended in sponsored projects and over 900 research projects in progress. UT Health is also involved with patient care in which there are 853,704 patient encounters at Medical School Outpatient Clinics, 88,649 patient visits at Dental Branch Clinics, more than 60 outpatient and inpatient sites and over 900 medical and dental residents providing care.
This institute is made up of 1,529 faculty, 3,762 staff and 3,969 total students. The financials for UT Health would include $838 million annual operating budget, $111. 5 million endowments (book value), $225. 1 million unreimbursed charity care provided and $2. 5 billion annual economic impact on Houston (The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 2004-Present). Company values are more important than we think. They are vital to the overall success of a business.
Without company values there is no foundation in which employees can build their success. They have become an ethical foundation for business. The website for the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (2004-present) describes the mission of the Human Resource Department, as a strategic partner, is to recruit, develop, and retain the high caliber diverse workforce necessary for UT Health to achieve its mission and goals. Smith stated, “At UT Health, employees and customer service are valued.
The goal is to increase the knowledge and motivation of its employees whether you are full or part time, temporary, contract or a volunteer so that the employees can better serve the customers and contribute to the overall success of the organization” (personal communication, December 8, 2010). When employees see that the organization they work for values them and are willing to develop their employees to be the most knowledgeable and skilled employees to further their career, it makes the staff more willing to go above and beyond for their organization.
Rewarding employees for outstanding performance is a great way to get employees to put their best foot forward. Workers like to see that their hard work is appreciated. According to Ezine Articles (2007), “Organizations realize that they cannot simply expect their employees to do their best work, day after day, year after year, without some sort of meaningful acknowledgement. They understand that to get the most from their people, they’ve got to recognize their accomplishments in ways that have an impact, that serve to reinforce hard work and encourage continued creativity and innovation. UT Health Science Center performs performance appraisals on all employees. “The performance appraisal process identifies employee contributions and workplace behaviors. The primary reason for appraising performance is to provide feedback and to encourage employees to perform at their best so that the organization can reach its mission and goals. Rewarding employees relative to these efforts and contributions reinforces their behaviors in a manner that increases the likelihood that they will achieve their own personal as well as organizational goals” (The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 2004-Present).
Shorter stated, “Employees are rewarded for outstanding performance by awards, time off and merit increases. Awards may consist of special prizes, certificates, paid lunch, the flexibility to work from home or the afternoon off. Compensation is also given to those who have achieved grand results” (personal communication, December 8, 2010). A management style is a method of leadership used by managers. Management styles influence staff motivation and performance. Co-workers and managers are very friendly and supportive (University of Texas Health Science Center Reviews in Houston, TX, 2009).
According to Smith (personal communication, December 8, 2010), the management style at UT Health is very open. Management gives staff the responsibility to complete the task given to them which must be completed on time; however, he gives them the freedom to complete the task using their own work methods. There is minimal involvement from management as staff is trained and trusted to do their job but management is there for any support, coaching or mentoring. Employees who believe their company trusts them to do the job in which they were trained to do sometimes increases the motivation of the staff.
Management ultimately has the final say so when it comes to making decisions but he will asks views and beliefs of his staff to involve them in the process. Growth should be included in any organizations goals. One way to obtain growth is to focus on employees. Companies should help employees operate at peak performance and grow their careers. According to the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (2005-2006), “Growth plans include recruiting and retaining exemplary and diverse faculty, staff, and student body.
The plan to do this by developing a strategic marketing plan for UT Health in order to enhance and promote the reputation of UT Health with the expectation of improved recruitment of students, faculty and staff, requesting special item funding for recruiting nationally and internationally recognized faculty and researchers and supporting the new Diversity Council in its efforts to oversee attention to diversity in the recruitment and retention processes as well as cultural adjustments to foster diversity in the institution.
Progress measurement of this growth plan will be by recruitment of 10 to 20 new faculty for the World’s Best Scientists initiative and the increase in number of women and underrepresented minority faculty and staff. ” By hiring employees with a diverse background, leaders can encourage the involvement of all team members to offer suggestions which in turn leads to differing ideas to flow freely. The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (2005-2006) also states continued progress in advancement of UT Health is inextricably linked to progress in the recruitment and retention of faculty.
This is an overarching priority since success of the institution is largely based on the productivity ad achievement of the faculty. Faculty success in turn is linked to recruitment and retention of excellent administrators, staff and students. The way progress will be measured for this objective is by appointment of outstanding individuals to key leadership positions at UT Health, improvement in faculty and staff retention and turnover rates, progress in faculty promotion and tenure as measured by the number of faculty advancing in rank and gaining tenure and increase in number of faculty, staff and administrators.
Smith stated, “The University of Teach Health Science Center at Houston plans by research and reports information. Overall, most employees are happy working with UT Health. This company offers stability, grand benefits, recognition, opportunity and great work/life balance. Some challenges at UT Health would be obtaining the funding to support the growth plan in place and too many of the resources of the Health Science Center are being used for administrative salaries and positions. Organizations should take pride in their employees.
Showing value and interest in staff can lead to many great opportunities for a company to become one of the top leaders in that industry. When employees are happy customers are happy which can lead to being named one of the top companies to work for as is The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. References Bywater, L. (2007, May). Reward Your Employees for Outstanding Performance: Top Five Ways to Reinforce Excellent Work. Retrieved from http://ezinearticles. com Glassdoor. (2009, March). University of Texas Health Science Center Reviews in Houston, TX. Retrieved from http://www. lassdoor. com/Reviews/ The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. (2004-Present). About the University. Retrieved from http://www. uthouston. edu/index/about. htm The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. (2004-Present). Human Resources. Retrieved from http://hr. uth. tmc. edu/ The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. (2004-Present). Performance Appraisal. Retrieved from http://hr. uh. tmc. edu The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. (2005-2006). Priority: Enhance Educational Excellence. Retrieved from http://www. utsystem. edu/OSM/compacts
