Title: Secretariat
Author:
Section/SPIG: Health Administration
Issue Date:
Nadim A. Haddad, MD, MPH, a recent member of the HAS Web and IT Committee, is currently a Senior Lecturer and Coordinator of Academic Development Projects, Office of the Dean, Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut. During the past three decades, he occupied the positions of Chair and founder of the Department of Health Services Administration, School of Public Health, American University of Beirut; senior healthcare management positions in university extension programs; and chief executive officer in the private sector industry with operations in the Middle East and the United States.
The purpose of this article is to introduce the concept of a secretariat and propose a venue for its application in the Health Administration Section.
What is a secretariat?
Secretariats in international, governmental, public and not-for-profit institutions carry out diverse administrative functions pertaining to programs and policies laid down by their parent organizations.
Perceived as an ‘administrative arm’ of its parent organization, a secretariat acts as a ‘standing body’ for the purpose of maintaining continuity of operations in the face of ever-changing electoral and political appointments that come and go over the years.
A secretariat operates within the framework of pre-set policies and procedures that are organization-specific. The backbone rests in its role as the custodian of all documents pertaining to the parent organization. Whereas historically documents were initially filed in ‘hard copies’, they are now electronic. Information technology therefore is now part and parcel of its operations. Building Web sites is one of the effective communication tools.
What is the definition of a vision statement?
Managers versed in balanced scorecard methodology define an organization’s vision statement as a powerful tool that provides everyone in the organization a shared mental framework that articulates an abstract future to what lies ahead. A meaningful vision statement is a ‘word picture’ of what an organization intends to become in 3-5 years.
What is the venue for application?
The writer perceives the ‘Web Site and IT Committee’ (or, for short, “W/IT Committee”) as the venue for application of the concept of a secretariat. The vision statement of the secretariat is an operating ‘work unit’ within the organizational framework of HAS held responsible for:
1. Designing appropriate IT architectures to support HAS operations.
2. Application of IT tools, including Web site technology for the purpose of effective communication and e-learning.
3. Collection of data on operations, analysis of findings, and preparation of performance reports.
4. Conducting internal processes for the purpose of evaluation and monitoring of performance against HAS’s stated mission, vision and principles.
5. Assessment of outcome as a result of activities carried out by HAS for the benefit of the community served.
6. Designing strategic and tactical plans aimed at full achievement of HAS’s mission and vision.
Comments and suggestions are welcome.
[Editor's Note: The other members of the W/IT team are: Jorg Westermann, Co-Chair, Laura Larsson, Co-Chair, Bud Nicola, Laurie Fitts, and Vonna Henry. You will be hearing more from us as we re-invigorate the current Web site.]