Different requirements that can influence policymaking
Competing needs refer to the different requirements that can influence policymaking. These needs can be conflicting, making it challenging to create policies that address them all. In healthcare, competing needs can involve the workforce, resources, and patients, among others. For instance, the needs of the workforce may require that policies are created to improve their working conditions, pay, and benefits. On the other hand, patients may need policies that ensure quality care, accessibility of healthcare services, and affordability. "Collaboration between neighboring competing health systems that share a select group of complex patients is an effective way to stabilize care, decrease health care system overutilization, improve healthcare delivery, and reduce the costs of associated care." (Hardin et al., 2018)
In nursing, short staffing is a significant concern that impacts patient care quality and nurse job satisfaction. The competing needs that affect short staffing include patient demand for quality care, nurses' need for workload balance, and the organization's need for profitability. "The nursing profession continues to face shortages due to a lack of potential educators, high turnover, and inequitable workforce distribution." (Haddad et al., 2022). For instance, if the organization is understaffed, the workload can be overwhelming for the available nurses, leading to burnout and stress. Additionally, inadequate staffing can compromise the quality of care provided to patients, resulting in adverse outcomes.
Policies can address competing needs by balancing the interests of all stakeholders. For instance, the policy can require that the organization hires more nurses to address the staffing shortage while also ensuring that nurses have a manageable workload. Additionally, policies can ensure that nurses are adequately compensated, which can lead to job satisfaction and reduced staff turnover. In this way, the competing needs of the workforce, patients, and organization can be addressed simultaneously.
In conclusion, competing needs can affect policymaking in healthcare. Ansell et al. (2019) emphasizes the need for policies to be designed in a way that “connects actors vertically and horizontally in a process of collaboration and joint deliberation.” In nursing, short staffing is a significant concern that impacts patient care quality and nurse job satisfaction. Policies that balance the interests of all stakeholders can address competing needs, such as the need for quality care, workload balance, and profitability.
Capitalism results in economic growth because it feeds innovation through competition. China has developed an increasingly free market economy. The Soviet Union was innovative whenever they were involved in competing with the United States, but for products only distributed within their nation, it was always the bare minimum. The “invisible hand” of competition, brings the market to a natural equilibrium according to Adam Smith. Competition supports individual growth as well, and eventually results in more specializations of work.
An important distinction between capitalism and communism is the idea of equal opportunity verses equal outcome. Capitalism supports the idea of equal opportunity, but this automatically results in an unequal outcome because of the varying amounts in which different people are willing to work. Communism on the other hand supports the idea of equal outcome. There should be no wealth gaps in a communist state because it doesn’t matter how much work a person puts into succeeding, they end up with the same result. There is no competition, and there is no opportunity for growth.
China was primarily communist before for the majority of the 20th century, but they began transitioning into a mixed economy during the 90’s. They’ve experienced great economic growth due to this transition. In 1990, China’s GDP was 360.585 billion USD, and in 2011 12.238 trillion USD (China, 2017). The gross nominal income, GNI, per capita has also grown from 330 USD in 1990, to 8, 690 USD in 2017 (China, 2017). The new plan for China is to focus on innovation and becoming a leader in technological advances. “Made in China 2025” is a plan set out by Xi Jinping to change the Chinese economy to a mixed economy instead of a controlled economy (Amadeo, 2018). They are recognizing the relationship that innovation and competition have in furthering the economy. China’s plans to evolve into a mixed economy with more privatized markets will turn China into a more economically balanced nation.