Governance: Dualistic Board Structure
GOVERNANCE
In Germany, they have adopted a dualistic board structure which is different from the board structures in the U.S. Research the German dualistic board structure and complete a 2- to 3-page comparative analysis of Germany’s dualistic board structure and the board structure(s) in the United States. Answer the following questions in your comparative analysis:
If the U.S. were to adopt a concept/attribute from Germany’s dualistic board structure to apply to board structures in our health system, what would it be and why? What would be the benefits?
Is a dualistic structure of governance viable for non-profit organizations? For-profit organizations? Why or why not?
SLP Assignment Expectations
Conduct additional research to gather sufficient information to justify/support your comparative analysis.
Limit your response to a maximum of 3 pages, not including the title or reference pages.
Support your analysis with peer-reviewed articles, using at least 3 references. Get additional information on how to recognize peer-reviewed journals
SLP Module 4 – Governance
Student’s Name
Institution
Course Number and Name
Instructor’s Name
Date
SLP Module 4 – Governance
The main aspect that differentiates German boards from boards in the U.S. is the dualistic board structure. While boards in the U.S. are unified, discharging both supervisory and managerial responsibilities, boards in Germany tend to be two-tier: there is a management board tasked with organizational decisions and a supervisory board that monitors the decisions of the management board (Block & Gerstner, 2016). A major feature of the German dualistic board structure is the representation of key stakeholders in supervisory boards. As informed by Block and Gerstner (2016), legislation in the country requires that up to half of the seats in the supervisory board are reserved for employees. In contrast, there are no seats for stakeholders like employees on American boards. Therefore, an attribute that could be applied in board structures of the American health system is the inclusion of key stakeholders such as nurses.
Nurses are key stakeholders in the American healthcare system, and their inclusion in healthcare boards is bound to be transformational for the sector. Due to their experiences with patients, nurses are well-positioned to offer valuable input that can transform the healthcare system for the better. As Walton et al. (2015) pointed out, nurses have expert knowledge regarding the best ways of providing safe and high-quality care. Furthermore, they are uniquely positioned to analyze data sets and incorporate patient experiences to generate solutions that can be considered by the board (Walton et al., 2015). In addition, nurses are used to balancing the power of stakeholders and interests in their advocacy and participation in policy creation (Smith et al., 2021). In essence, given their unique position as key stakeholders in healthcare, the inclusion of nurses on boards can improve health outcomes and the American healthcare system in general. Just like the German dualistic board structure favors the input of key stakeholders, the American health system can benefit from the input of its key stakeholders, such as nurses.
The dualistic structure of governance is suitable for both nonprofit and for-profit organizations. One of the major advantages that come with...