Assignment 2: Case Study Budgetary Management
Ash Lodge Nursing Care Organization Company is a focused healthcare organization whose main business is nursing care and support services to the elderly and sick persons. It focuses on maintaining care quality, patient satisfaction, respect, and patient experiences throughout the provision of professional services. Ash Lodge also incorporated a new app aiming to be used to organize the workflow, track patients’ progress, and share updates among caregivers and families. The main objective was to promote better and more efficient ways of delivering services, decrease paperwork, and increase the patients’ satisfaction. The outcome measurements of the program are in the form of indicators such as client satisfaction level, the working productivity of the staff, the response time issue, and the general health statuses of the patients involved. Feedback received, faster operations within the facility, and improving the quality of patient’s lives are some of the ways through which it is clear that the project yielded positive results (Aristovnik & Seljak, 2019). This paper will assess the effects of the app in supporting Ash Lodge’s services, establish its effectiveness based on actual results, and consider the possibility of modifying the app for better performance and treatment delivery.
Body LO3
Budgeting is widely important to ensure the sound fiscal and organizational stance of the organization. It comprises budgeting as well as controlling monetary assets by strategies for some purposes. The generation of budgets and subsequent reporting facilitates decision-making through monitoring organizational spending and assessing performance where there may be a need for an intervention. It is also easy to detect problematic areas that include excessive costs, inefficient resource utilization, and low revenues whereby one can be able to correct such issues through redirecting the funds or modifying its financial plans. Evaluations of the budget consistently are useful to guarantee that relevant appropriations are justified, documented, and consistent with the organizational objectives (Brown & Taylor, 2021).
Budgeting is related to KPIs in that the former provides direction on financial objectives while the latter offers facts used to determine the achievements of these goals. Budget control as a process of managing resources to achieve organizational goals requires KPIs necessary to determine whether the monetary fund has been properly spent. For instance, an organization may find itself in a situation whereby it has overspent in one department and underspent in another so that the will not be in a position to achieve its set goals. Such indicators are a way of assessing the prospects for generating revenue, optimizing costs, and achieving a high return on invested resources. Budgeting thus makes it possible for an organization to compare its actual performance with the financial plans made in advance and possibly, make the necessary adjustments (Carter, 2020).
Several performance indicators can used in analysing the performance of budgeting. Revenue growth shows the change in income over a period by illustrating the capability of an organization to attract funds. Operating expenses expressed about revenue talk about the plan and organization costs reflecting the relation of expenses to earnings. Profit margins are the measures that show the financial reality by identifying the net income compared to the total amount of the organization’s revenues. ROI is used to appraise expenditures to determine their productivity in generating yields. Cash flow evaluates the solvency and capacity to meet the short-term prospects or pay for the debts. Budget variance analyses the difference between the actual spending and the budget allocated for the aim of identifying extra spending or underspending (Harrison, 2022). Cost control ratios are concerned with the relationship between the output and the costs incurred in various activities by the human resource department. These KPIs facilitate the company in measuring performance, cost control, and efficient resource utilization.
The relationship between budgets and KPIs enhances effective organizational financial health and operation. Budgeting that has its based on past activities and future prospectus is controlled by KPIs to understand how the organization is functioning in terms of its strategic plan. In this context, KPIs alert financial performance away from the budgeted figures so that corrective measures can be instituted promptly. Key Performance and Learning Scorecards (KPLS) improve the budget control by incorporating both the financial data and operations (Hope, 2020).
Body L04
Evaluating and preparing for the number of resources required for the provision of services is one of the essential foundations for the performance of Ash Lodge Nursing Care Organization regarding the quality of care offered in the health facility. This is through budgeting-related indicators whereby measures of financial and non-financial indicators known as KPIs point out budgets and services provided. Some of these effectiveness measures include budget variance, cost per patient, and revenue growth which enables efficient resource allocation to enhance the quality-of-service delivery (Jones, 2019). The other type of KPIs that are used is the non-financial KPIs which will include patients’ satisfaction, the ratio of the number of employees to patients, and the number of calls addressed within a specified time. Several measures should be put in place to ensure adequate financial arrangements to facilitate procurement of working rift of medical necessities, remuneration of employees, and facilitating technological input to enhance the quality care of the patients. That is, when the budget is not well managed, the quality of service can deteriorate, and this can result in poor productivity due to the exhaustion of the staff, and poor service delivery to the patients (Lasher & Greene, 2021).
The approaches utilized at Ash Lodge Nursing Care Organization in setting its budgets are good and those that need improvement. A strength is that budgeting is realistic since it is based on the previous financial records and anticipated needs in the future, and proper planning of funds is done. Moreover, including participants in the process, for example, healthcare providers and financial directors, results in a more realistic budget (Young, 2025). However, there are limitations in the form of potential oversights that include additional, or increased, expenditures such as a medical emergency that may involve using spare parts or staffing shortages for additional money. They include the problem of fixed budgets where there is a limitation of making regular changes when other operational requirements are valued (Robinson, 2023).
Budgeting at Ash Lodge is uniquely characterized by strong oversight and tracking; further, it have also highlighted the importance of proper reporting and timely corrective measures. One of the methods is the setting up of real-time financial control that would help in monitoring actual expenditure and planned spending. This is because every financial audit helps reveal such issues at an early stage and corrective action can be taken immediately. Having the department heads involved in the budget review also ensures that sthe financial decisions made are closely in line with the department’s goals in terms of service delivery. Also, the performance dashboards with incorporated KPIs, like the time spent by a patient and service productivity, enable informed decisions and changes (Sandiford et al., 2023).
In the area of service delivery, interventions are an important factor that needs to be considered. In the case where the problem of budget deficits or insufficiency is an issue, then resources should be shifted from other less important areas would effectively fill the gaps and enhance quality patient care services. For instance, when there is a surge in patient traffic in the facility, then extra funds can be incurred from administrating expenses to hire more staff to avoid compromising on service delivery. Also, the constant professional development of the staff dealing with the organization’s finances makes it possible to improve the flow of funds and utilization of resources as well as the adoption of cost-cutting measures in an organization. Besides, using contingency funds within the budget can also help with such risks as an increase in patient admission during flu seasons, among others (Segal & Summers, 2022).
Conclusion
Budgeting is an important factor that cuts across any organization to establish quality service delivery in an organization and this applies to Ash Lodge Nursing Care Organization. These financial and non-financial KPIs indicated include cost efficiency, patient satisfaction as well as staff productivity where it has a strong correlation with the budget. As for the strengths, budget planning incorporates data analysis, and the involvement of other stakeholders is easier; the weakness, on the other hand, includes unpredicted expenses and budget flexibility. Annual and periodic reports also play an essential role in the efficient management of the operating budget as they create the need for proper tracking and reporting of the performance of any cog in the system’s operations, thereby, necessitating the need for continual monitoring and rectifying any unforeseen performances that may have affected financial balance. From the above three recommendations, overall changes in resource allocation, human resource capacity building in financial management, and risk management planning support healthy financial sustainability and organization effectiveness. It means that with the help of KPI matching to budgeting as well as the use of proactive actions Ash Lodge can improve the quality of patient care and utilize resources effectively. In sum, appropriate management of a budget enables financial viability, efficiency in the delivery of services, and, therefore, patient care.
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References
Aristovnik, A. and Seljak, J. (2019) 'Performance budgeting: Selected international experiences and some lessons for Slovenia', MPRA Paper, University Library of Munich, Germany.
Brown, J. and Taylor, K. (2021) Budgeting in Healthcare Organizations: Strategies for Effective Financial Planning. New York: Health Administration Press.
Carter, K. (2020) 'The performance budget revisited: A report on state budget reform', Legislative Finance Paper, National Conference of State Legislatures.
Harrison, G. (2022) 'Performance-based budgeting in California state government: A blueprint for effective reform', Public Budgeting & Finance, 42(1), pp. 45-67.
Hope, R. (2020) 'Rethinking the economics of rural water in Africa', Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 36(1), pp. 171-190.
Jones, L. (2019) Financial Management in Healthcare: Navigating the Regulatory Environment. London: Routledge.
Lasher, F. and Greene, D. (2021) 'College and university budgeting: What do we know? What do we need to know?', in Paulsen, M. and Smart, J. (eds.) The Finance of Higher Education: Theory, Research, Policy, and Practice. New York: Agathon Press, pp. 11-36.
McNicholl, D. and Hope, R. (2024) 'Reducing uncertainty in corporate water impact: The role of results-based contracting for drinking water supply', Briefing Note, University of Oxford and Uptime Global.
Robinson, M. (ed.) (2023) Performance Budgeting: Linking Funding and Results. 2nd edn. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Sandiford, P., Gorter, A., Rojas, Z. and Salvetto, M. (2023) A Guide to Competitive Vouchers in Health. 3rd edn. Washington, DC: World Bank Group.
Segal, G. and Summers, A. (2022) 'Citizens' budget reports: Improving performance and accountability in government', Reason Public Policy Institute Policy Study, (292), pp. 1-25.
Young, R.D. (2025) 'Performance-based budget systems', Public Policy & Practice, 15(1), pp. 12-29.
