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Hierarchy of Needs and Progressive Health Care
Sarah Logan
Department of Accounting, Liberty University
BMAL 500
February 26, 2022
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Abstract
In this research I examined the problem with where I work of retaining and hiring staff.
The solution for this problem has become more impetrative with current labor trends. A
detailed explanation of the companies in Progressive Healthcare, Inc are provided so that the
need for a solution is shown. Also, solutions are presented to the reader for consideration.
While the conclusion discusses the biblical implications and whether a solution should be
pursued.
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Step 1
Progressive Health Inc is a holding company that employs me as a staff accountant. I
work with payables and reconciliations of the check register with outgoing payments.
Progressive Health Inc is a medium sized company that employs about 1000 employees across
the United States and Canada. These nine companies provide health care services for
manufacturers, hospitals, airlines, and other businesses. All these companies use the same type of
job costing since they are serviced based. Job costing is completely based on labor. And
Progressive Health, Inc would be classified as service producing company. Progressive Health,
Inc provides highly skilled healthcare labor to other companies and hospitals. The cost pool for
the services in the allocation would be labor only. Expenses incurred are billed back to the client
directly or through the management fees charged. (I know this because I also invoice the clients
at the end of the month when closing the month).
According to Langvardt and associates (2019), “a well-designed cost management system
accumulates and reports costs that are relevant to the decisions that mangers make.” For
Progressive health, the well-designed cost management system is to pass all expenses and labor
onto the client with Progressive Health, Inc making a lucrative profit. All these companies are
labor based. Labor is completely what the revenue of all the companies is based on.
The Breakdown of the Companies.
The companies under the Progressive Health Umbrella are Progressive Health Solutions,
Progressive Health LLC, Central Management, Progressive Health Aviation, Integruis,
Progressive Health Health Spot, Progressive Health of Indiana, Procare Health Spot and Union
Hospital. Progressive Health LLC and Progressive Health Health Spot provide medical clinics
and services in house to manufacturers. The clinics provide basic healthcare and have physical
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therapy for the workers. Worker comp issues and worker injuries can be handled in house. This
speeds recovery time for employees to return to work. It also limits the costs of worker injuries
since treatment can be handled quickly without delay. We provide these services to over twenty
manufacturers. Some examples of our clients are Toyota, Lazy Boy and Aloca. Progressive
health of Indiana and Union Hospital provide staffing solutions for hospitals and clinics. Nurses,
nursing techs, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech therapists are some of the
staffing that is provided. The two main clients of these companies are Deaconess Hospitals and
Union hospital. Progressive Health of Indiana and Union provide the staffing for the two
hospitals and their clinics. The hospital merely provides the building and supplies for several
departments that we staff. These two companies are by far the most lucrative companies under
the umbrella. So lucrative that another company has approached the main holding company and
is in the process of a merger. A merger that will help them launch the new company and
Progressive Health nationally into staffing hospitals and clinics. The companies under the
umbrella and the services they provide are listed. Integruis provides medical billing solutions for
smaller hospitals with collections. Central Management provides management services for a
small hospital in Western Kentucky. Procare Healthspot is the employee Clinic for Progressive
Health Inc and the all the companies under the umbrella. Here employees can see a provider at
no cost and are provided medications at no cost to them. I receive all my medication from them
but one. I now pay only $40 a year for all my medications. Progressive Health Solutions is a
pilates studio in Georgia ran by a world-renowned Pilates instructor. (This would probably be
the only company that has expenses such as rent and utilities that are expensed. My the world-
renowned Pilates instructor is one of the partner’s wives). Even these companies only provide
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services and do not produce a physical product. Within the companies there are over a hundred
cost centers that are charged, but the vast majority of cost is attributed to labor.
When I invoice the companies at the end of the month all expenses, but labor is passed
onto the clients directly or indirectly. For example, Union hospital is not charged for the internet
we provide our staff. It is indirectly expensed under our management fees. Deaconess
Henderson’s internet service is directly expensed on the invoice which Deaconess pays. Any
material expense is generally charged back to the company we provide services for. The only
expense that Progressive Health pays is labor and then the client is charged for that service also.
The only cost pool present is labor with all the companies within Progressive Health, Inc. It is
literally a very clever business model that is lucrative. Lucrative business models are important
in the business world today, Per Hussey and Ong (2019),
mangers will need to know the key methods and techniques of strategic cost analysis no
matter which sectors they are in be it manufacturing, service or the nonprofit sector. The
interaction of the organization’s activities, the influences of the external world, and the
responsibilities of mangers need to be captured in financial terms to be enable mangers to
plan, control and make decisions (Hussey & Ong, 2019).
The correct business model is imperative for success. Progressive Health’s business model is
based only on health care labor and various insurance costs. Protecting labor cost are imperative
for Progressive Health. If the labor costs are considered high for Progressive health to make a
profit; they will pull out of that division. Which they just did down south in a few rural areas in
Mississippi. The manufacturing in the area would not pay enough to cover the costs of the
clinics. Progressive Health never thought they would make a profit in the area. But they expected
to break even. The clinics in the plants were open with the expectation to branch out into the
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hospitals in the area. That did not happen as planned. The manufacturing clinics were
significantly in the red. Progressive Health closed the clinics.
The Problem
As anyone can see Progressive Health is completely labor based. Post Covid, labor is a
resource that is in high demand. Many factors have contributed to this demand. The great
resignation has left several industries scrambling to find employees to fill vacancies. Covid has
created staffing shortages in healthcare workers that were already stressed before the pandemic.
And most importantly, during Covid people learned to make do with less. Less stress, less
expenses and less work became the normal during covid. Covid created a psychological shift for
the American worker. Progressive Health, Inc and their companies are completely dependent on
the labor of health care workers. And healthcare workers are burnt out. Progressive health is
currently having an issue finding enough skilled health care workers to fill their current contracts
with their clients.
Progressive Health is owned by two partners. They are the decision-makers on all policy
and contracts. The partners are easily approached and generally care about their employees. But
they are hesitant to increase wages for healthcare works. In Mississippi, premium wages were
offered to the workers in the clinics with the manufacturers. Worker retention was a problem
from the beginning. Massive amounts of capital were invested in these clinics hoping to open up
the market in Mississippi. (This strategy had worked before). The recent failure in Mississippi
has made the partners hesitant to offer premium wages to entice potential workers. Better wages
are not the only answer to the current scenario. The partners also have the recent merger with
U.S. Physical Therapy. This merger will be completed by the end of 2022. Per the partners, labor
cost cannot go up.
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Step 2
Maslow Hierarchy of needs explains much about human nature. “Maslow’s theory might
be one of the most powerful perspectives on humans’ growth. It suggests that people have a
strong desire to realize their full potential, reach their self-actualization and find meaning in life
(Louca et al. 2021). For the most part people want to better themselves and their families.
Progressive Health wants to succeed. Progressive health’s primary goal is to make money.
Progressive Health does not take into consideration Maslow’s Hierarchy on a daily basis. We
have the bare minimum of holidays off. One example, I was made to work Christmas Eve this
year. Being new I could not take paid time off or unpaid time off for the first 90 days. I am
accountant there was not a need for me to be there on Christmas Eve. Progressive Health should
be more flexible and meet the needs of their employees. Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs are not
taken into consideration with the business model.
Acevado in their article, “A personalistic appraisal of Maslow's needs theory of
motivation: From "humanistic" psychology to integral humanism examines Maslow’s Theory in
relation to the business world and motivating employees.” Acevado feels that Maslow’s
hierarchy of needs is not a viable model in business and management.
In particular, the theory’s philosophical under currents have not been adequately
appraised. It is urgent to determine whether we – as business educators- have been
exposing a model that is insistent with proper humanistic principles that must inform
business and management (Acevado, 2018).
Acevado makes several more points, but he brings up one more point that I think is extremely
relevant to Progressive Health, Inc. “The human person is part of the natural world and interacts
with it, but is neither reducible to nor determined by it. Whereas animal groups are made of
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individuals, human societies are communities of human persons.” Acevado goes on to stress that
each individual is unique and like no other. Maslow Hierarchy can never explain each person.
For example, I was not blessed with children. My peer was. She needs Wednesday afternoons off
to take her children to therapy. I go home at lunch every day to let my senior dog in kidney
failure out to the bathroom; so, she does not have to hold it for 8 full hours. My peer and I have
different wants and needs in our schedule for very different reasons. Even our personalities are
different because we have different focuses. Her priorities are completely different from mine.
But we both need a bit of flexibility in our schedule. Acevado, also states that, “Managerial
theories and approaches that reduce personality to individuality are inconsistent with proper
anthropological and ethical business principles. Adopting those individualistic theories may
ultimately undermine organizational effectiveness (2018).” My peer’s and my needs do not need
to be looked at individually but overall. Employees need flexibility because we are human
person’s living in communities with multiple wants and needs. Human societies are multi-layer
and highly complex. Meeting the needs of the individual in the modern society is multi-layer and
highly complex but not individualistic.
Step 3
Kroeger (2002) and his colleagues talk about type watching and personality traits in their
book Type Talk at Work. He breaks people into different categories that explain their
communication styles. But even he states that “there are not any absolutes.” What should
Progressive Health, Inc. do to fill the gap in hiring and retention of staff when “there are not any
absolutes?” First, I believe that a multilayer solution is necessary to solve the problem. But
secondly, should Progressive Health, Inc even attempt to solve the problem? Is the company
willingly to attempt to solve the problem?
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This would be against the partner’s wishes but Progressive Health, Inc will need to
become competitive across the board with salaries. All salaries in the company should be
examined. All salaries should be raised to the industry standard. Especially, nursing techs and
lower paid jobs should be industry standard. Without the bottom tier of employees, other more
important jobs will not be able to succeed. Bonuses should become standard. Hiring bonuses are
a necessary expense in healthcare today. These hiring bonuses need to be tied to at least a two-
year retention contract. Retention bonuses need to be standard. Monthly bonuses need to be
obtainable by the mid-level performing employee. (I have worked for companies before where
bonuses were not obtainable. Not having obtainable bonuses will destroy morale and employee
retention will decrease). Per Kinicki (2021), Maslow’s need hierarchy, breaks people’s needs
into five basic categories. In modern societies, people have more than five basic needs. I think a
employer needs to provide flexibility in employment. Progressive Health, Inc needs to offer more
flexibility with employees needs. Progressive Health cannot ever plan for every employee need.
But, they do need to have the flexibility to accommodate them. For example, my peer makes up
her time on Wednesday afternoon throughout the rest of the week. I take care of my senior dog
on my lunch. If I need to take longer, I make the time. Some would say that a child’s therapy
appointment is obvious and does not need accommodation. My peer has not been at the job for a
year; she does not qualify for FMLA. Others would say a pet is not important. But the pet is
important to me. The company needs both of us to do our jobs to succeed. The company has to
offer us flexibility in order to retain us. My boss offers us flexibility. The company on the whole
has to do make flexibility with employees the rule and not the exception. And lastly healthcare
workers have become exhausted by the pandemic. The benefit package needs to be better. My
insurance is the same offered to the healthcare workers. It is high for me a single person. The
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family plan is even higher. Plus, the deductible for me is $4500 for the cheap plan that I pay 150
for a month. I know that this may be standard for employment but to attract and retain healthcare
workers more is needed.
Should Progressive Health attempt solving the retention and hiring issue in the company?
I do65 not know really. They are merging much of their business with another company. This
company may want to handle things completely differently. The may have solutions in place to
attract more employees. But, Progressive Health needs to recruit talented and skilled employees
in order to fulfill their contracts with their clients. It is really a catch-22. There is not a right
answer.
Conclusion
In Mark 8:36, Jesus asks his followers, “what good is it for someone to gain the whole
world yet forfeit their soul (2012).” Progressive health provides staffing medical staffing and
services for hospitals, airlines, and manufacturers. This staffing is critical to running smoothly
and caring for patients. The cost of Progressive Health providing this staffing and services are
high. These costs are usually passed onto patients and worker comp claims. Is Progressive Health
losing their soul to bring more expense to an already expensive fact of life? No, smaller hospitals
and manufacturers do not have the means or knowledge to cultivate highly skilled staff.
Progressive Health does. Progressive Health lightens the burden of providing these services and
healthcare providers. Employers and hospitals can focus more on their missions and productions
than hiring staff. But, Progressive Health need to focus more on providing higher salaries, better
bonuses, better benefit packages and more flexibility to their employees.
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References
Acevedo, A. (2018;2015;). A personalistic appraisal of maslow's needs theory of motivation:
From "humanistic" psychology to integral humanism. Journal of Business Ethics, 148(4),
741-763. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2970-0
Kinicki, Angelo. (2021). Organizational Behavior: A Pratical, Problem-Solving Approach.
McGraw-Hill.
Kroeger, O., Thuesen, J., & Rutledge, H. (2002). Type Talk at Work. New York: Dell Publishing.
Langvardt, A., Barnes, J., Prenkert, J., McCrory, M. & Perry, J. (2019) Business Law: The
Ethical, Global and E-Commerce Environment. McGraw-Hill Education.
Louca, E., Esmailnia, S., & Thoma, N. (2021). A critical review of maslow's theory of
spirituality. Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print), 1-
17. https://doi.org/10.1080/19349637.2021.1932694
