Leadership & Goverance

Question 1

Administrator

Answer 1

A person who has general administrative charge of the day-to-day operations of an assisted living facility. He or she may be the owner or may be hired by the organization. Licensing and/or certification requirements differ from state to state.

Question 2

Advisory Board

Answer 2

This term has various applications. This board is generally made up of a group of members of a community to relate to top management in various advisory capacities as determined by the organization’s by-laws.

Question 3

Articles of Incorporation

Answer 3

Information filed with a state official (usually secretary of state) by persons wishing to form a corporation. Articles of Incorporation give the corporate name and address, names and addresses of corporate officers, and the purpose of the corporation, and other information as required by a particular state.

Question 4

Authority

Answer 4

The right of power to act, to decide, and to command others.

Question 5

Board of Directors

Answer 5

A group of people who relate to top management of an organization in a governing or advisory capacity as determined by its by-laws. (See also Governing board and Advisory board)

Question 6

By-Laws

Answer 6

The rules that determine the internal management of a board or organization; the official guidelines from which policies and procedures are developed. By-laws are adopted at the time of charter and define the rights and responsibilities of the board and its officers, the membership and its voting privileges.

Question 7

Communication

Answer 7

The exchange of information from one source to another in such a manner that it is understood by the receiving source.

Question 8

Consensus Building

Answer 8

A conversational style of decision making whereby issues and opinions are discussed across a range of perspectives with the objective of reaching a shared opinion or compromise agreement among a group of participants.

Question 9

Controlling

Answer 9

The basic management function that involves the measurement of the performance throughout the entire facility to ensure that organizational goals are being achieved and that corrective action is taken if they are not.

Question 10

Corporation

Answer 10

This term is used to define the form of business that is incorporated under the laws of one of the states. There may be a single stockholder or there may be thousands. A corporation is a separate legal entity from its stockholders and therefore the owners are not personally liable for the debt of the corporation. Most assisted living facilities are operated as a corporation.

Question 11

Delegation of Authority

Answer 11

The process that a manager uses in assigning duties and responsibilities to a subordinate and giving the subordinate the authority necessary to accomplish the assignment.

Question 12

Directing

Answer 12

The management function when the administrator uses his or her position to point out the direction the company is to go to achieve its goals by use of a variety of leadership roles to include coaching, guiding, training, persuading, challenging, and encouraging the personnel to attain those goals.

Question 13

Ethics

Answer 13

A system of moral principles, rules, and standards of conduct.

Question 14

Feeback

Answer 14

The aspects of the communication loop that lets the sender know whether the message was received.

Question 15

For-profit

Answer 15

An institution, corporation, or other legal entity that is organized for the profit or benefit of its shareholders or other owners.

Question 16

Goals or objectives

Answer 16

These are the end points that all organizational activities are directed toward. They should be realistic, verifiable, and attainable.

Question 17

Governance

Answer 17

The people, policies, and processes that provide the framework within which managers make decisions and take actions to optimize outcomes related to their spheres of responsibility.

Question 18

Governing Boards

Answer 18

This term is frequently applied to the governing body. It exercises authority in the governance of the organization. It is responsible for appointing top management, policy making, and ensuring that the policies are administered in a manner and the spirit in which they were written.

Question 19

Heirarchy of needs

Answer 19

Theory of human motivation developed by Abraham Maslow. One of the most widely accepted and earliest explanations of why people act and react the way they do. According to this theory, each person is always in the state of needing something. Exactly what is needed is dependent on what needs have already been met.

Question 20

Influencing

Answer 20

Awareness of the lines of authority and the power structure in the organization is an important aspect of understanding the operating culture. Oftentimes, individuals within an organization try to exert influence over others, to persuade them toward (or away from) a course of action.

Question 21

Job Descriptions

Answer 21

Descriptions that define in writing the responsibilities, requirements, functions, duties, location, environment, conditions, and other aspects of jobs.

Question 22

Laissez-faire

Answer 22

The philosophy of “leave it alone,” or nonintervention.

Question 23

Managing Risk

Answer 23

A program of policies and procedures that is established by the administrator as a proactive means of anticipating problems in the facility that could lead to illness, injury, or financial loss.

Question 24

Management

Answer 24

Is the ability to achieve common goals through the organization and productivity of other people. It involves creating and maintaining an environment in the organization that makes it possible for people to work together to contribute to the accomplishment of the organization’s objectives with the least amount of friction possible.

Question 25

Mission Statement

Answer 25

A statement of the purpose of an organization and its reason for existing. It is usually rather brief (less than a page) and does not present detailed information about the day-to-day operations of the organization.

Question 26

Negotiated Risk

Answer 26

A process of negotiating the way that services are going to be provided in dealing with exceptions, unusual circumstances, or problem situations outside the regular practices and service plans.

Question 27

Not-for-profit

Answer 27

An organization operated solely for social welfare, or for any other purpose except for profit; no part of the organization’s income is payable to, or is otherwise available for the personal benefit of, any proprietor or member.

Question 28

Ombudsman

Answer 28

A person trained to provide advocacy and liaison for elderly residents of healthcare facilities regarding the actions of an administrative nature that affect the resident’s health, safety, welfare, or rights. The Ombudsman Program is nationally funded by the Administration on Aging and administered by state agencies.

Question 29

Organizational Chart

Answer 29

A diagrammatic representation of the organization. It displays the lines of formal communication, and authority. It also graphically represents the framework of the organizational structure and the relationships of the different positions and departments to one another.

Question 30

Organizing

Answer 30

A basic management function through which the formal structure of the organization is established to facilitate the development and allocation of authority and resources throughout the entire organization. It involves the grouping of people and activities, the assigning of roles, and the delegation of authority.

Question 31

Participative

Answer 31

A management style that encourages managers to share their knowledge and opinions and work together to produce change and organizational results.

Question 32

Partnership

Answer 32

This term is used to define a business that is owned by two or more persons associated as partners. One or more partners are usually involved in the management of the business. Partners are personally liable for the debt of the business.

Question 33

Policies

Answer 33

These are the general statements that guide the thinking and decision making of the assisted living facility staff. Because they are guides for decision making, policies must allow for some discretion to be exercised by the decision maker.

Question 34

Procedures

Answer 34

These are step-by-step guides to action that establish a required method for handling future activities.

Question 35

Quality Assurance

Answer 35

A planned and systematic pattern of all actions necessary to ensure that services conform to established technical requirements or standards.

Question 36

Quality Improvement

Answer 36

A method of evaluating and improving processes of resident care that emphasizes a multidisciplinary approach to problem solving and focuses not on individuals but systems of resident care that might be the cause of variations.

Question 37

A broad term that encompasses both quality assurance and quality improvement, and describes a program of evaluating the quality of care using a variety of methodologies and techniques.

Answer 37

Quality Management

Question 38

Rules by which a statute is specifically implemented on a day-to-day basis by an administrative agency at the federal, state, or local level. A law that has been coded and advertised and is to be monitored by a specific regulatory agency.

Answer 38

Regulations

Question 39

Representing

Answer 39

The management function of being the spokesperson for the assisted living organization to residents and their families, government entities, other health-related organizations, and the public.

Question 40

These are specific commands that spell out required action or nonaction. They allow no discretion at all.

Answer 40

Rules

Question 41

This term means exploring the options available to a resident in a facility and the risks involved with each option when making decisions pertaining to the resident’s abilities, preferences, and service needs, thereby enabling the resident and, if applicable, the resident’s representative or designee, and the facility to develop a service plan or negotiated risk agreement that best meets the resident’s needs and seeks to improve the resident’s quality of life.

Answer 41

Shared Responsibility

Question 42

Short-term or operational planning

Answer 42

This is the process of deliberating and selecting goals for a specified period of time, usually a year. These plans must be coordinated with the facility’s strategic plan to ensure continuity of the goals and objectives.

Question 43

A principle of management that states that there is a limited number of people that a manager can effectively supervise.

Answer 43

Span of management

Question 44

Staffing

Answer 44

Assigning a person to the execution of the process or an activity.

Question 45

Strategic planning

Answer 45

The process that an organization uses to reevaluate its mission, identify its long-term and short-term goals, and select its strategies and policies for achieving those goals.

Question 46

Strategies

Answer 46

These are the general plans of action and deployment of resources that focus on the attainment of the goals of the assisted living facility.

Question 47

Teams

Answer 47

A team comprises any group of people linked in a common purpose.

Question 48

Team Building

Answer 48

Team building is a planned effort made to improve communications and working relationships by way of any planned and managed change involving a group of people. Team building is most effective when used as a part of a long-range strategy for organizational and personal development.

Question 49

Vision Statement

Answer 49

A statement giving a broad, inspirational image of the future that an organization is aiming to achieve.