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In the past few decades, there has been a major shift in human resources management in line with new paradigms in labor force management. Human resources management studies have revealed that employees are the most important asset for any organization as they are more dynamic and influential in productivity compared to physical assets such as machinery. In a health care organization, human resources management strategies influences quality of services delivered to patients and can be linked to patient satisfaction. Strategic human resources strategies are important for healthcare organizations to deliver high quality services.  Studies have linked the quality of human resources management in hospitals with patient satisfaction (Kharti, Jack, McKune and Brewer, 2006). This implies that hospitals with prudent human resources management strategies are likely to fulfill the needs of patients compared to hospitals without such strategies.

Fault in human resources management in a healthcare organization results to problems patient satisfaction. This can be clearly illustrated from a survey that was carried out in Fayetteville VA hospital that was ranked as one of the worst  in job satisfaction in 2009 (Ramsey, 2009).  A survey that was carried out among patients and employees in the hospital rated it lower than other seven counterparts VA hospitals operating in North Carolina and Virginia. The validity of the surveys can be ascertained by the fact that results were reflected in two recent government surveys of the hospital.

Fayetteville VA Medical Center serves veterans in the region. Fayetteville VA Medical Center is a Clinical Core Level III facility with 90 beds and 69 beds for long-term care units. It serves a population of about 155,000 people in North Carolina with two community-based outpatient clines one in Jacksonville and the other in Wilmington. However, the hospital facility does not handle specialized medical conditions and therefore veterans seeking specialized medical care have to be referred to Durham VAMC or to other facilities.  This has been considered to be one of the factors that rate the hospital low among other healthcare facilities in the area. However, the effectiveness of the hospital in delivery of healthcare care has been constrained by human resources management issues that have created unmotivated workforce (Ramsey, 2009).

Fayetteville VA Medical Center has experienced high employee turnover in the recent past owing to a number of human resources issues.  In the survey, it was revealed that every year, most employees leave the hospital to other healthcare organizations because of a number of reasons (Ramsey, 2009). This has affected the quality of healthcare service delivered in the hospital and patients are not satisfied with the quality of care they receive.

In the survey, it was revealed that veteran adocates, employees, and patients in general are more frustrated with the results of the survey, which paints a grim picture of the hospitals ability to provide medical services to its clients. However, the problem and Fayetteville VA Medical Center should not be looked merely on basis of the results of the survey but rather the implications and reflections of the survey.  It is evident that the problem with Fayetteville VA Medical Center is a human resources problem that emanates from low morale in the workforce.

In the survey, the hospital ranked lower marks in 12 of the 13 categories that had been included (Ramsey, 2009).  Although low marks sometimes may not be translated to quality, there is a direct link between patient survey and the quality of services patients are receiving from the medical facility.  The management denied the results of the survey but obviously, it was reflection of the state of the hospital.

About 87 of the 850 employees working at Fayetteville VA Medical Center responded to the survey (Ramsey, 2009). Evidently, the most negative surveys in the questionnaire came from the employees ranging from doctors to janitors.  The lowest score from employees came in different areas like rating of promotion opportunities, relationship to the senior management and working conditions in the facility.

It is obvious that management has a hand on the issue.  The survey revealed that more employees were not satisfied with their jobs. Although management attribute this to 63  minority population who make up the staff, it is important to note that prudence in human resources management strategies are not gauged by  how  an organization takes care of the majority but how it treats the minority (Ramsey, 2009). However, senior management was also indicted in the survey.  It is therefore evident that senior management has failed in their duties to deliver employee concerns.  Management has failed in looking at the needs for employees to increase their satisfaction and lower employee turnover.  Employee satisfaction is central to effective running of any hospitals because service delivery in healthcare organization is all about human interactions.

Employees in the survey pointed out that there have been longstanding issues of favoritism and retaliation. VAs office of inspector general found that the previous director at Fayetteville VA Medical Center had preferential treatment issues that were reflected in 2004 and 2004 personnel moves (Ramsey, 2009). In the recent past, Dr. Barbara Wilson had been fired after she filed suit against the senior management with Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Her firing was considered a retaliatory act and other employees believe that she was given a raw deal.

The situation at Fayetteville VA Medical Center can be explained using Maslow theory of hierarchical needs. This theory outlines that employees are likely to be motivated when their low level of needs are met and hence motivated to work hard to achieve the next level (Tutor2u, 2010). In this case, employees believe that their efforts are not being appreciated and even after working hard, management is imposing preferential treatment on promotions.

Using Maslow theory, it is important for management to note that employees need to believe that their lower needs have been fulfilled to be motivated to deliver quality services (Tutor2u, 2010). From the survey, patients replied that doctors were treating them with contempt as if they were dirt.  This doctors attitude toward patients emanates from the fact that doctors do not feel the need to increase their efforts because there is no reward.  They think that their current level of needs in terms of appreciation of the competitiveness of their skills is not being appreciated and hence no need to put in more efforts to climb with ladder.

The current director of Fayetteville VA Medical Center, Triplett, argues that the hospital has taken steps to improve employee satisfaction to deal with the situation (Ramsey, 2009).  The most important step that has been taken by the facility has been setting up a new employee satisfaction committee mandated with coming up with different ways to motivate employees. To deal with the problem, the hospital needs to come up with strategies that will make employees feel more appreciated and a part of the hospital. The hospital must put in place a promotion program that will ensure that promotions are based on merits. In addition, the hospital should introduce other monetary and non-monetary programs as short and long term measures to motivate employees.