Beyond strategy: exploring the brokerage role of facilities manager in hospitals.
OBJECTIVE
Seeks to explore the brokerage role of facilities manager in hospitals, based on the premise that facilities management (FM) is largely concerned with "strategic brokerage". Strategic brokerage is the term coined by Akhaghi to explain the integration of a wide range of support services to ensure the effective operation of the core business of an organization.


METHODS
The research was conducted in the health service sector using a single case study approach to examine the brokerage potential for FM in a hospital in the Sydney Metropolitan area. A social network analysis technique was used to identify and analyse the communication networks of players in a hospital environment. Two general questions guided the analysis. First, what is the brokerage potential within the FM process? Second, where are the opportunities for brokerage?


RESULTS
The results indicate that identifying relationship linkages between different functional units can create potential brokerage opportunities.


CONCLUSIONS
The proposition is made that viewing FM from a brokerage perspective can add value to the delivery of health-care services.
Heng
H K S
HK
Faculty of Built Environment, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
McGeorge
W D
WD
Loosemore
M
M
D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003659:Decision Making, Organizational; D016520:Entrepreneurship; D006302:Health Services Research; D006739:Hospital Administration; D006740:Hospital Administrators; D006746:Hospital Bed Capacity, 500 and over; D006801:Humans; D015274:Interdepartmental Relations; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D008284:Maintenance and Engineering, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration; D008421:Materials Management, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration; D017008:Negotiating; D009517:New South Wales; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D024382:Professional Role