Change Management Within the Public Health Context - Essay Example

? An Evaluation of Two Leadership Theories and their Application In Practice Regarding the Change Management and Innovation within the Public Health Context Name: Institution: An Evaluation of Two Leadership Theories and their Application In Practice Regarding the Change Management and Innovation within the Public Health Context Introduction The effective adaption to change has in recent times gradually become a very common agenda for most business organizations in sectors and industries as diverse as public health, social, educational, governmental and cultural. The later decades of the recent twentieth century are commonly touted as going down in history as the ears of perpetual change. The need for change is seen to essentially be quite multifaceted across the different sectors as is exemplified by occurrences such; the development of new technological innovations that have the effects of changing how public health is operated, the entry of new competitors into a marketplace that subsequently ends up sweeping away all the established customers of the given organization, the formulation of new regulatory demands that affect the manner in which services and products are delivered and the changing and growing expectations of the modern day customers who are found to more knowledgeable and demanding. It can convincingly be argued that the more traditional way of doing business is not applicable in the modern day environment as some of its tools such as rigidity, functionalism and bureaucracy have all become outmoded and are commonly perceived as being change management obstacles. It is important that businesses are continuously able to continue functioning in an effective manner as various new capabilities and way of doing business are seen to continue emerging. Resources and capabilities such as IT systems (Abramowicz and Fensel, 2008), management characteristics, people and the organizational procedures are found to be at the heart of all organizations in the public health sector and are found to be greatly susceptible to change. In order to be able to conduct a critical evaluation of, and subsequently understand the use of leadership theories in change management, it is important to first understand what exactly is meant by change management. Change management can essentially be defined as the proper application of structured tools and processes that serve to aid groups or individual in successfully transitioning from a current state to a future state in a manner that allows for them to achieve a specific desired outcome (Creasey and Hiatt, 2003). By using appropriate leadership theories, managers and leaders in the public health sector can be able to use the framework provided by change management to effectively manage the effect of various new business processes, cultural changes and organizational structure changes within a given public health organization. The Use of Leadership theories in Effecting Change Management in Public Health The designing and creation of change management processes within public health can arguably be seen as a role that should be conducted by the leaders within it. Leaders are tasked with the responsibility of attempting to try and bridge the gap between the change strategy decision processes and the reality of eventually implementing proposed changes within the organizational structure and workforce. By learning how to apply the right leadership style for the particular given situations, leaders can be able to become more effective in their change management. Although there are a number of several leadership theories that can possible by used to effect change management by leaders within public health, the use of the transactional and transformational leadership styles can at times be found to be most effective in effecting change within the public health setup. The Transactional Leadership Style The transactional leadership style is based on the contingency that punishment or reward are contingent upon performance, it is also seen to mainly be characterized by the creation of clear structures that are used by the transactional leader to make it clear to their subordinates of exactly what is required of them (Barman, 2009), the potential rewards they stand to gain in the event that they follow their given instructions and orders, and possible punishments in the event that the instructions and orders are not complied with. Although possible punishments are not always mentioned within the structures, they are nevertheless relatively also well understood as the structures is designed to incorporate formal systems of discipline. The early stage of transactional leadership generally involves the negotiation of a contract where by giving the subordinate a salary and other benefits, the company as symbolized by the transactional leader is able to gain authority over the subordinate. In the event that a transactional leader happens to allocate some duties to the subordinates, the subordinates are considered to be fully responsible for performing the assigned duties regardless of whether the subordinates are able to perform the duties or not. In the event that things happen to go wrong, the subordinates are considered personally be at fault and is subsequently punished much in the same manner as they are adequately rewarded for their success. In transactional leadership, leaders are seen to primarily use the management by exception theory that essentially works on the premise that in the event that something happens to be operating as per the set expected performance, then it essentially does not require any attention from the transactional leader. While exceptional performance beyond the set expectations is granted praise and reward, corrective action is similarly applied to any performance that is below expectation. According to Fairholm and Fairlholm,(2009), Transactional leadership is arguably an economic exchange relationship in that nothing is seen to bind the leader and the follower in any mutual and continuing pursuit of any higher purpose beyond the particular agreed upon transaction. Transactional leadership is seen to be exclusively concerned with the relationship between the leaders and their followers and transactional leaders thus focus on attempting to negotiate extrinsic exchanges as well as on controlling the followers’ actions follow theirs. As a result of the dependency of transactional leadership on contingent reinforcement, good transactional leaders are found to be good negotiators, are aggressive, authoritarian and constantly attempt to seek maximum benefit from the economic relationship that they happen to have created. The main limitation of the transactional leadership style is the rational man assumption. The assumption generates the perception that the follower is essentially a person who is largely motivated by simple reward and money and hence tends to have a predictable behavior. The main psychology of this leadership style is found to be behaviorism and includes both the Classical Conditioning of Pavlov and the Operant Conditioning of Skinner. Transactional Leadership in Change Management Transactional leadership is seen to be focused on the present and is quite effective at keeping organizations running in a smooth and efficient manner. As opposed to transformational leadership that constantly seeks to try and promote positive change within an organization, transactional leaders try to maintain stability within an organization. Setting of clear attainable change management short-term goals: Transactional Leadership is commonly characterized by the setting of clear short-term objectives and goals that are designed to be easier for organization’s employees to fulfill in addition to their being less daunting. The followers and employees of a transactional leader find that they are highly motivated by the short-term change management goals that are seemingly more easily attainable. These short-term goals are seen to provide employees with a sense of autonomy as the easily attainable goals generally require less micromanagement as employees clearly understand what exactly is expected of them and are able to work in an independent manner so as to be able to achieve the various short-term goals that have been set for them. By setting up a series of short-term goals and objectives, leaders in public health can be able to easily implement changes and innovations that would have otherwise been quite difficult to implement all at once. The gradual implementation of change can also allow the leaders in assessing the impact of the change or innovation on the entire system as a whole and make the necessary changes so as to optimize its effectiveness (Hellriegel and Slocum, 2007). Clear Structure: Employees and other subordinates that happen to be working under transactional leadership in change management are seen to have the advantage of having a well structured system. In addition to knowing exactly what is expected of them in their obligations and duties at all times, they are seen to also know then the system’s chain of command. The creation of a clear structure can be used by leaders in public health to help health worker and other stuff members better understand what the change involves and their exact duties and responsibilities in effective this change (Barman, 2009). Control of Rewards: Effecting change management in public health by using transactional leadership can arguably be done in an effective manner as in addition to the employees being knowing the consequences of their not following the orders they are also seen to be motivated to work towards the development and implementation of change so as to benefit from the possible rewards. Transactional leadership rewards employees for good performance by giving employees something that they will find to be of value. These incentives can variously come in various forms and can range from substantial financial gains to points that can either be added to a given employee’s paid time off or alternatively be redeemed for any of a number of various prizes. The promise of rewards is seen to continually motivate employees to try and perform their best in their duties so as to reach a positive outcome (Lussier, 2012). The Transformational Leadership Style Fairholm and Fairlholm,(2009), point out that transformational leadership can be considered to be a personal attribute of leaders as opposed to its being just but a formal aspect of organizational design and structure. Transformational leaders therefore, become models for others to follow. They inspire positive change and energize all their followers to try and become their best selves. The greatest self concern of transformational leaders is with the very idea of moral leadership as well as its influence power and potential capacity to inspire and change people. Authentic transformational leaders are found to be intensively engage in the moral uplifting of their followers and as such, they share mutually rewarding visions of success that serve to greatly empower them and cause them to be able to transform these visions into realities (Odom, 2010). Transactional leaders are aware of not only their weaknesses, but also their strengths. They are also critically aware of just how to fully compensate for their weaknesses while exploiting all their strengths. Fairholm and Fairlholm,(2009), argue that while transformational leaders are seen to not exactly be the mirror image of transactional leaders, they can however be perceived to be enriched transactional leaders. Transformational leaders are in essence transactional leaders who are found to be quite charismatic in a manner that serves to push collaborators to be able to go further than what has formally been demanded of them. Transformational leadership essentially starts with the development of a vision that provides a clear view of the future and serves to convert and excite the leader’s potential followers. The vision may either be developed by the leader, or alternatively by an appointed senior team or it may even emerge as a result of a broad series of discussions. It is important for the leader to be able to buy into the vision so as to be able to sell it to his followers. After the formulation of the transformational leadership vision, the next step is seen to primarily entail the selling of the vision. Selling a vision takes a lot of commitment and energy. It is often seen that relatively few people will immediately undertake to buy into a radical vision with some others joining more slowly as compared to others. Transformational leaders ensure that they take every opportunity and use all available means to ensure that followers buy into the organization’s vision. Of note is that, transformational leaders should constantly ensure that they maintain their personal integrity and be careful in their creation of trust as followers will tend to buy into the transformational leader if they find that the leader’s character is full of integrity. Transformational leaders are also found to ensure that they stand up and are always visibly leading their followers by setting an example by their own actions and attitudes. The Use of Transformational Leadership in Change Management Transformational leaders are seen to possess a number of key characteristics that can enable them to be able to effectively use transformational leadership in effecting change management within any organization within the public health sectors. Some of these key characteristics that enhance the use of transformational leadership in effecting change management are seen to include: Idealized influence: Transformational leaders have the innate quality of their being greatly internally driven visionaries that are able to perceive the clear picture beyond political exchange and technical competence (Quinn, 1985). Transformational leaders are seen to also possess the innate ability of being able to quickly realign and adapt their perspective to suit the varying dynamics of an ever changing environment; this characteristic allows transformative leaders to be able to effectively lead and manage change within any organization both within and outside of public health. Inspirational motivation: Transformational leaders are able to influence the current organizational culture through their decision making, actions, personal attitude and modeling, this is seen to subsequently serve to enhance the employee’s cultural values and perceptions in a positive manner (Argyris, 1976; Bass et al. 2003). In their decision making, transformational leaders are seen to commonly adopt a Kantian Capitalism Perspective which stresses on not using any employees or followers as a possible means to aid in the attainment of a goal (LaRue, 2006; Greenfield, 2004). They ensure that their respective organizations do not in any way regard their employees as simply being a means towards a certain given end without the free and full consent of the concerned employees (Bass and Alvio, 1990). As a result of this trait, transformational leaders are seen to be able to ensure that the organization’s workforce develop virtuous characteristics and behaviors like good ethics, trust, honor and honesty which can greatly aid organizations in public health during the process of change management. As transformational leaders are seen to adhere to the humanistic ideals of their virtue-driven leadership style, employees are seen to also be focused and committed to improving these virtues within themselves as well. This is seen to naturally result in a general reinforcement of positive outcomes including better employee attendance rates, better morale, a greater degree of job satisfaction as well as higher productivity levels among the doctors, nurses and other members of staff within a public health institution (Greenfield, 2004; LaRue, 2006). Legitimate power is another key component of inspirational motivation that is seen to commonly be used by transformational leaders. Transformational leaders are able to use legitimate power in controlling the entire change process within an organization (Bass and Steidlmeier, 1999). This legitimate power is seen to be obtained by transformational leaders as a result of their commitment to relatively very high levels of ethics, integrity and character that is seen to be instilled in the organization and employees through the shared vision created by the transformational leader. Transformational leaders are also seen to highly appeal to all their followers as a result obvious passion and sincere commitment to their vision which is found to emanate throughout the entire organizational culture. It is this passion, sincerity and commitment to their vision that is seen to provide an appeal to all the followers in addition to enhancing the cultural change process towards the attainment of a more positive outcome. Intellectual stimulation: Transformational leaders are able to provide intellectual stimulation to their followers by encouraging their follower’s creativity and innovation. These leaders are found to generally be quite willing to abandon the more ineffective systems and processes in addition to taking risks that could serve to benefit the organization in the long-term. By encouraging the development of an organizational mindset that actively advocates for all organizational participants to have the legitimate right to participate in the organizational decision making, transformational leaders are seen to positively influence intellectual stimulation which can aid an organization in developing creating new ideas that can be used in the change management process (Chakraborty, et al., 2004; Burns, 1978; Lea, 2004). Individualized Consideration: Transformational leaders are seen to constantly attempt to try and understand their employee’s shared values, norms, cultural perceptions and beliefs and the effect that these have on the employee’s productivity and performance during the actual change process (Braga, 2002). A sound understanding of the various cultural influences of an organization’s employees is seen to be an integral factor in effective change management as it is seen to assist the transformational leader in public health to effectively integrating the emotional and mental participation of their employees in both the organization’s various decision-making processes and day-to-day operations. In order to be able to successfully accomplish this task, transformational leaders are found to be willing to generally be willing to adopt a more paradigmatic perspective that keenly emphasizes on the actors and systems approach. This approach is seen to add a number of useful new dimensions of understanding pertaining to the role that organizational culture and individuals happen to play in the overall change management process (Weick, 1987; Whitmore, 2004). Conclusion Although both transformational and transactional leadership are seen to be quite useful in effecting change management in public health, it can be seen that the transformational leadership style is generally better geared towards effecting change within an organization as compared to the transactional leadership style which is seen to mainly be focused on the maintenance of systems and processes within an organization. However, both of these two leadership styles can be used by leaders in public health as they each have a number of key traits that cause each of them to be quite useful in the implementation of change management within an organization. Various transactional leadership characteristics such as; the setting of clear and attainable change management short-term goals, the control of rewards and the formulation of clear structures as well as transformational leadership characteristics such as idealized influence, inspirational motivation, individualized consideration and intellectual stimulation can all be seen to be important tools in effecting change management not only in public health but also in other sectors. Bibliography Abramowicz Witold and Fensel Dieter. 2008. Business information systems : 11th international conference, BIS 2008, Innsbruck, Austria, May 5-7, 2008, proceedings. Berlin ; New York : Springer. Argyris, C. (1976). Leadership, Learning, and Changing the Status Quo. Organizational Dynamics, 4(3), 29-43. Barman, K. 2009. Leadership management: achieving breakthroughs. New Delhi : Global India Pub. Bass, B. M., & Avolio, B. J. (1990). Developing transformational leadership: 1992 and beyond. 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