A Matter of Life or Death - Essay Example

Case study: A Matter of Life or Death Executive Summary The many problems staring Reddix, the most important is the lack of integration between the departments. For this purpose a new information system will be implemented in the organization that will be provide access to all patients related, employee related, cure related and new technology related information. The medical professions can learn and share new information through this platform as well. However to bring about this change, a complete structured and systematic action plan will be utilized. When deciding what needs to be changed, employees should be communicated with and involved in the process by asking their advice. The change will be reinforced by giving rewards of monetary and emotional sense. Challenges lie ahead for Reddix however using the change management model and the application of knowledge at the hospital, Reddix can quickly overcome its problems are become a self-reliant hospital once again. Introduction This report will analyze the problems at Reddix hospital and suggest strategies to make the changes at the workplace better for the employees and the patients. The different change models will be discussed and applied to the case at hand. Problems of change and solutions to overcoming these problems will be given. Later a knowledge management plan will be outlined which would highlight the tools that should be used to make the hospital a learning organization. Methodology The problem facing Reddix hospital will be solved in two parts. In the first part, the change process of implementing the new information system will be discussed along with the motivational tactics to use. In the second part, the proper management of knowledge will be discussed involving certain applicable tools for the hospital. Change Strategy Change, according to the Institute of Industrial Engineers, is a muscle that develops to abundantly enjoy the dynamics of the life set before us. When change takes place, it is awkward at first but after an adjustment period it becomes okay. This adjustment period varies with every individual. According to Tech-FAQ, change management is a set of processes that is employed to ensure that significant changes are implemented in an orderly, controlled and systematic fashion to effect organizational change. The goal of change management is to make sure that change is not being resisted by employees and is being properly incorporated. To make the process of change smoother, a structured and systematic approach should be used. One model used in most situations is called the AKDAR model; Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability and Reinforcement (Hiatt, 2006). This model can be readily applied in Reddix’s case. First there is a need to create the ‘Awareness’ by sharing the knowledge of why the change is taking place. This may include telling the employees about the drastic actions required to bring the hospital back to its reputed self. Managers use the concept of ‘burning platforms’ which includes communicating with the employees hard facts of the organization that will alarm the employees. After the employees are made aware of the need for change, a ‘Desire’ is created in the employees to opt for change themselves. Motivation is a tool used here to build that desire. Then the managers at Reddix must be given the ‘Knowledge’ and explained the process of bringing the change at the hospital. This will be by telling the employees that new information systems will be placed that will make their lives easier and also the benefits that are expected out of the new system. Then the ‘Ability’ to make the change happen should be taught by changing behaviors and implementing new skills. Once the change has taken place, and the employees have settled to the new systems, the change should be ‘Reinforced’ to sustain the new processes so that the employees don’t go back to their old behavior. Another similar yet more widely understood model was developed by Kurt Lewin (Lewin, 1999). His model comprised of 3 phases; unfreezing, moving and refreezing. The ‘Freezing’ part covered the Awareness and Desire of the ADKAR model. The ‘Moving’ part covered the Knowledge and Ability part while the ‘Refreezing’ part is covered in the Reinforcement part. Other models include the Empirical-Rational model where change is managed according to the people who are assumed to think rationally and have selfish objectives; Normative-Reeducative model where it is assumed that all people are social beings and they are concerned with their social outlook; Power-Coercive model assumes that people are scared of their bosses and all other higher authority; and Environmental-Adaptive model which assumes that people quickly forget bad things that have happened previously and adapt readily to new circumstances and situations which suit them. Since there are many assumptions taken, there is no single change strategy for all situations. The best practice is to choose mix of strategies to handle different situations. But which mix to choose depends on factors like Degree of Resistance, Target Audience, Risk, Time Frame, Availability of Expertise and Dependency on employees (Fred, 2006). Throughout the change process, the employees are always a source of opposition (Kotter, 1996). The doctors at Reddix might not want to learn a new computer system and thus resist change. The high level medical staff might not want to enter any new information each day and thus resist change. All these resisting forces may not be removed, however they can be reduced. Training should be provided to help reduce the prejudice attitude that is held by the employees. Policies of the hospital should be altered to fit the new goals. The employees should be involved when making new policies, thus making them feel that they are a part of a group and their comments may be useful as McClelland (1985) said that affiliation to the organization is a very important source of motivation. Some things that the managers should keep in mind before implementing any sort of change are that the manager should ensure that the existing culture and the perception of the employees is not resistant to change. Employees should feel satisfied with their jobs rather than performing their job just to take their salary home. Herzberg (1959) said that hygiene factors such as job satisfaction, security, salary if present would not motivate but if absent (in our case) would cause de-motivation. The work environment must be kept informal where all employees can easily talk to each other and share their ideas (Mayo, 2003). The employees must be given due recognition for the effort and rewards like increased responsibility through job enlargement and job enrichment, profit sharing schemes, giving promotions etc. will help to motivate them. Knowledge Strategy Knowledge is important for the comprehension of the information at hand. Without applying the concepts learnt though the information, the true essence of learning cannot take place (Frappaolo, 2006). An organization such as the Reddix hospital comes across new information daily. Developments in the field of medicine that discover new ways to cure a disease need to be known as soon as it is tested. To apply any of these new discoveries, it needs to be understood and then practiced. Such knowledge is usually tacit, meaning that it is hard to learn and comes through doing it. A person cannot be expected to teach another person exactly how to ride a bike. Basic knowledge of how to paddle the wheels can be given, but it is the experience of actually riding the bike that a person really learns to ride it. In a setting such as Reddix hospital there are a lot of things that cannot be taught. A professor can explain some symptoms are caused by some diseases, but a doctor can only truly know the disease if he/she sees the patient and symptoms himself/herself. Another such example can be when a surgeon is operating on a patient. The surgeon is taught how to hold the knives and cut at certain points, but without actually practicing the method on several patients, the true knowledge of the surgery can never be known. The success of an organization can come if it manages to convert such tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge. For Reddix this is extremely important since its current position isn’t that good in the industry. With the shortage of doctors and nurses, every medical professional must be taught all the skills and everyone should be able to handle even the unknown conditions. The senior management at the hospital needs to emphasize on motivating the employees into turning their knowledge and expertise into something explicit and objective so that the rest of the employees and care givers can share the knowledge and be able to benefit from it. The employees are a vital source of information for any organization and they are usually called as the intellectual assets of the organization. Reddix must not allow its employees to quit the hospital as they already have some knowledge and once they leave, they take their knowledge with them (Krogh, 1998). Apart from usability feature of the information system integration at Reddix, a Knowledge Management (KM) system must be also integrated to decrease the occurrence of serious medical errors. This system would store all the best practices of the industry as well as the hospital’s own procedures and practices. With most countries facing a shortage of quality doctors and nurses, thus increasing the stress on each individual at the hospital, it is extremely important to have the knowledge sets in place so that any new employee can use it and cure the patient as quickly as possible. There are some ways though which tacit knowledge can be converted into implicit knowledge and the rest of the employees can share that knowledge. Communities of Practice Communities of practice are groups of like minded people who are involved in similar professions and they discuss their professions for the purpose of learning from the experience of others. This way the experiences of others are also exchanged thus any new discoveries made can be learnt (Weil, 2004). Intranet The new information system at Reddix hospital involves setting up an integrated network. Having a local website where hospital staff can ‘chit chat’, exchange information and learn from others is a great idea to share knowledge. Documentation The staff at the hospital can be asked to write all their procedures of attempting to cure a person so that when another employee reads that, he/she knows exactly what was done and can learn the best practices though it. It can also give an opportunity to learn from any past mistakes and correct it in the future. Mentoring Learning from a role model is always inspiring and there is nothing better than having a full time mentor who guides, solves and trains the employee at each and every step. Conclusion & Recommendations The situation at Reddix looks very bleak with the NHS barking at it heels to improve operations. At such a difficult time, a change policy will be implemented to give the desired results for Reddix. This change management policy will implement a new information system that will integrate all the departments of the hospital thus providing a common platform where all the employees can communicate and discuss the problems at hand. The change will be implemented using the ADKAR model and giving certain incentives to the employees to accept the change and help it along its way. The knowledge management policy will also be implemented in the hospital which will contribute in providing the organization with a learned workforce is more committed to cure its patients. References 1) Frappaolo, C. (2006). Knowledge Management . Capstone; 2 edition. 2) Herzberg, Frederick (1959), “The Motivation to Work”, New York, John Wiley and Sons 3) Hiatt, J. M. (2006). ADKAR: a model for change in business, government and our community. Prosci Research. 4) Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading Change. Harvard Business School Press; 1 edition. 5) Lewin, K. (1999). The Complete Social Scientist: A Kurt Lewin Reader. American Psychological Association (APA); 1 edition . 6) Mayo, Elton (2003), “The Human Problems of an Industrial Civilization: Early Sociology of Management and Organizations”, 1 Edition; Routledge 7) McClelland, David (1985) “Human Motivation”, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 8) Nickols, Fred (2006), “Change Management 101: A Primer”, Available at , Accessed on November 29, 2007 9) Weil, M. O. (2004). The Handbook of Community Practice. Sage Publications, Inc; 1 edition. Read More