The Managers Role in Change Management - Essay Example

The manager’s role in change management Name Institution Date The manager’s role in change management Summary of change The health care manager of today occupies a very challenging position: the way of maintaining a competitive frame within the market of health care at the same time as leading an organization via steady change. There is rapid change taking place as organizations of health care strive to implement new technology like the electronic health record (EHR), institute plans of pay-for-performance, and implement initiatives of quality improvement (Thompson, 2010). The massive changes in the industry of health care are due to strong consumer and economic pressures. In order to handle this change and assist employees’ transition towards new methods of performing things, managers require change management skills and knowledge. Introduction Internationally, services of health care face a significant question in terms of provision of excellent quality, safest health care possible to the highest number of individuals, in the manner that is cost efficient and most effective. In handling this matter managers and health care services have used models, strategies and theories drawn from various fields and industries. Change is regarded an essential element of constant quality improvement (Dovey, 2008). Whichever improvement methodology entails introducing change as well as evaluating its impact. With regards to health care the necessity for system change has been there to encourage the provision of quality care that is safe as well. Basically, the concentration on system change has been linked to the development of various improvement strategies and tools like EHR. Additionally health services are initiating system change in reaction to risk areas recognized via review of adverse occurrences. Comprehending change management is actually very imperative for the people involved in introducing system change. Therefore this paper will discuss the manager’s role in change management. Discussion According to Thompson (2010) it is imperative to consider the way the process of change will personally affect people. This is because change necessitates that individuals carry out something they never did before. Generally people are the most significant supporter, risk, barrier and resource when change is managed. The improbability of change is able to provoke powerful emotions, with most individuals facing some sense of loss and grief as they set free the old and accept the new (Campbell, 2008). A variety of emotions might be displayed through the people affected by the process of change like anger, acceptance, elation, frustration, despair, and enthusiasm. The kind of emotion encountered will rely on whether the employee accepts the change unwillingly or willingly, the consultation degree that happened and the encouragement offered by leadership. Acknowledgement of the variety of change reactions will assist the manager of change process react appropriately to the expressed concerns. Additionally, understanding the occurrence of these emotions might help the manager to initiate change in a way that anticipates, appreciates and reacts to concerns (Porter-O'Grady & Malloch, 2007). Campbell (2008) argued that the staff may: not know the rationales why change is essential; feel that some other significant issues should be dealt with first; disagree with the planned change, or think that there are better ways of achieving the outcome; not agree about the way the change should be initiated; have a feeling that there is criticism regarding the methods they carry out things involved in the process of change; have a feeling that the planned change had been done before and no impact was felt; and have a feeling that they will have to do extra work due to the changes. The issue then is how managers of change process can apply this knowledge to enhance the possibility of success of the intended change like EHR implementation (Thompson, 2010). Because improvements rely on peoples’ actions, ultimately it narrows down to winning minds and hearts (Dovey, 2008). People will not react effectively to just being commanded to change, neither can the manager supervise the staff to guarantee compliance. In order to succeed, a process of change management ought to encompass a communication strategy that is effective. Every stakeholder ought to have chances to express their attitudes and views as an element of the process of planning. Majority of improvement involves changing mindsets. It also involves having the techniques, tools and confidence to collaborate with co-workers to undertake something different (McAlearney, 2010). Additionally, it involves understanding the likelihoods of thinking in a different way and seeking to make realistic improvements for staff and patients. Communication needs to have effect in some outline with everyone affected by the intended change, consumers, staff, and external and internal stakeholders (Bond et al, 2010). It is argued that early communication together with consultation, as the implementation of change is still within the planning phase, will facilitate getting individuals interested and ready to take part in the process of change. Through this, they will actually have some project ownership as well as an interest in the success of the process (Thompson, 2010). Stakeholders may have diverse involvement levels. At different phases of the process implementation they are able to be active participants, consulted, informed or collaborated with. It is important that stakeholders be provided with a lot of information, such as baseline data, the change’s objectives, and need to be engaged in anticipating issues and establishing solutions (Griffith, 2009). In health care, implementing change calls for dedication from the individuals that the proposed changes will affect. Two essential aspects for the manager to consider include motivation and resistance. Change can be very successful, and a lot of individuals will be dedicated to the change, once they believe that change will improve things (Bond et al, 2010). Hence, identification of helpful motivators is imperative for the manager. A win-win state for everyone is the best situation because change management is thought to have a positive impact for everyone. Encouraging discussion and debate concerning the necessity for change via data presentation may facilitate creation of an urgency sense. People seem to drift away from an issue and towards a state that is improved. Managers are able to influence this process as well as creating a positive planning scenario and support employees to contribute innovation and creativity to the planned change (Griffith, 2009). Health professional workforce has been established to work very effectively once there is: recognition of various skills and values in the team; influential and great level support and endorsement; effective leadership that seals the gap involving staff and management; training in team processes and communication; suitable resources and infrastructure; and prospect to reflect and appraise (Dovey, 2008). Resistance is regarded a natural, inevitable and universal human process reaction to any change that another person considers as a good suggestion, and resisting improvement or change does not mean that someone id narrow-minded or bad (Wiggins, 2009). One of the fundamental concerns within management of health care is change management and professionals in health care are required both to obtain and uphold the expertise required to perform their professional responsibilities, and everyone is obligated to carry out only those responsibilities that are in their competence (Thompson, 2010). Furthermore, change takes place constantly around us. People may wish to support it, take part in it, be passive, or be uninterested to it. The rate of change has definitely increased drastically. Change management is about dealing with the involvedness of the change process. It involves planning and executing operations, strategies and tactics, evaluating and making certain that the intended change is meaningful and relevant (McAlearney, 2010). Change management is a compound, dynamic as well as challenging process. It is not always a choice involving people-oriented solutions or technological but a mixture of all. Successful change process has been determined as unfreezing old characteristics, initiating fresh ones, and hence re-freezing them. Change might be constant, sporadic, irregular, or rare. Expected change facilitates preparation time, while irregular change is more complex to react to successfully. Because changes within health care take place so quickly, they are hence less prone to be expected. The only current competitive advantage that is sustainable is the capacity to change; adjust; and grow; thereafter doing it better compared to the competitor (McKee et al, 2008). Rates of failure are connected to a couple of different elements like absence of vision and dedication from the senior management, restricted incorporation with other processes and systems within the organization, and ill-perceived plans of implementation (McKee et al, 2008). If healthcare organizations expect to have a higher degree of success within their efforts of development, executives and managers must have a better outline for reflecting on change as well as knowledge of the fundamental issues which go together with management of change. Even if there is endorsement of change, staffs want to comprehend why change is taking place and the way that change will affect them. Layoffs or other changes in the organization can result in confusion, insecurities, paranoia and anger under change’s auspices (Thompson, 2010). Promoting change can be both fatiguing and demanding for the manager. Creating change calls for the manager to confront the model, and necessitates determination against the norms and habits of conventional behaviours (Holtz, 2008). Making change to happen consumes time and calls for the dedication of time on the manager’s part. The manager ought to understand the values that are important and concentrate on transforming those in opposition to reacting to all invitation for the planned change. The manager ought to be patent concerning what is significant and develop reactions and proactive measures accordingly (Griffith, 2009). Organizations that use big numbers of experts will not do well in case they become excessively bureaucratic. It is stated that hierarchical and bureaucratised organizations are not very flexible and are less open to change. Additionally, they are less expected to empower employees (Thompson, 2010). An organization may not get complete value from its skilled workers if it maintains that they only do the things they are instructed to do (Thompson, 2010). Hence, managers need to learn the way of managing change, instead of change controlling them so as to progress with success. The best way to manage change is to introduce a method that corresponds with their situation and requirements (Gopee & Galloway, 2009). The fact is that in management, change will constantly take place. Moreover, managers should comprehend the process of change and matters that come with it so as to have the capacity to lead as well as manage change and enhance efforts effectively (Holtz, 2008). Managers must also learn to rise above obstacles and deal with the turmoil that is present naturally in the compound change process. Managers should assist employees as well as other stakeholders’ framework and create effective teams through development of new organizational framework and building a mutual vision that centers on reliable employees’ output (Tolson et al, 2009). Such motivated and informed leadership is essential and critical for the success of the organization. Establishment of a clear vision concerning the change process direction is another crucial aspect for guaranteeing successful change (Mason et al, 2012). Assessing and monitoring change process outcomes are important for the manager to determine if or not the process of change has fulfilled its intentions. Because change is ongoing in an organization and related modifications are happening, it is imperative for the manager of the process of change to record and concentrate on the arising issues as a result of change (Holtz, 2008). This will assist avoid them in the coming years with the intention that the new system of administration will help to handle the change in appropriate and best way. The means to initiating change and ongoing improvement is the successful information exchange between process and people, a mixture of human dimensions and business towards a mutual objective (Gopee & Galloway, 2009). Prior to leading employees through change, managers in health care need to understand the present consumer, business and economic pressures that drive change within health care (Ellis et al, 2008). Comprehending the factors that drive the various transitions within change in health care will help health care managers to develop the dedication needed to withstand the storms in front when most important change is instituted at work (Summers et al, 2009). Together with a dedication to principal change, managers in health care are required to advertise the basis for the loosening of the present system of health care and build one response towards the present and future marketplace’s demands (Kubica, 2008). Health care managers are able to assist employees maintain their productivity in the course of a major change. Perceptions of employees on loss must be acknowledged. Workers attach meaning and value to the thing lost or activity and this connection has a moving impact on job performance and self esteem (Black, & Earnest, 2009). This is why it is important for the managers to identify the workers that are going through losses. Additionally, health care managers should determine the definite losses, which are affecting workers and acknowledge the implication of the loss for the worker (Thompson, 2010). Managers should be ready for the process of grieving since it always happens. A couple of employees, particularly the ones who are quieter and very introverted, might hold back their emotions. In the long run, this will have a great impact of their job performance (Koo & Miner, 2010). Managers should get involved in empathic and open communication with workers in the course of the whole change process. It is imperative to recognize employees’ feelings, and permit them to convey these feelings. Feelings’ communication is considered a helpful venting action for workers, which assists them with their loss. The manager should listen closely, keenly and attentively to the distress of the employees (Kubica, 2008). This helps the employees to adjust more effectively. Moreover, health care managers need to educate the employees on relevant topics like: procedures of humane termination; skills of change management; conflict management; stress management; team building; negotiation; and provide education and training classes to acquire new skills (Black, & Earnest, 2009). Once health care managers are sincere about change, workers are obligated to cope with the certainty that their jobs might not be protected. When employees get steady, open and direct communication they are able to start taking charge of their individual career security (Koo & Miner, 2010). Through discussion of the new work environment realities, employees can start to get security within their talents and skills, instead of the employer. Thompson (2010) states that organizations of health care are going through a revolution in characterizing their operation as a provider of human service. Consumer, political, and economic pressures are forcing health care organizations build new methods and structures of service provision (Summers et al, 2009). These trends and pressures are bringing about powerful organizational change in health care organizations that will just rise in the future. The way managers introduce, execute and support initiatives of change is important to each health care institution’s position as well as success within the market place. Change execution need to be a main concern in both preparation and implementation stages of the major change introduction in organizations of health care. Successful execution implies coping with issues of people concerning change (Thompson, 2010). Appreciating and understanding management of change research and executing successful strategies will guarantee an institution remaining a competitive actor within the market place of health care (Swayne et al, 2008). Effective changes begin with health care managers acknowledging and working via their personal responses to change. Managers should lead their employees by primarily assessing their feelings, symptoms, as well as strategies of coping (Thompson, 2010). Employees ought to have self-belief in their managers’ capacity to influence and encourage them in the course of the rough times of change. Applying the various interventions discussed in this paper will assist in restoring, maintaining and increasing motivation, output and a feeling of direction to workers and the organization of health care (Edmonstone, 2008). A part from just dealing with change, the organization can prosper and excel during the unpredictable periods. Once the change execution is addressed properly and the human part of change is coping appropriately, organizations of health care will become reinforced and poised organizations that will assertively and effectively meet the obstacles that are expected to occur in the competitive market place (Edmonstone, 2008). Finally, William Bridges and John Kotter are two leaders in the developing change management field that have philosophies and theories which can be useful to the managers in health care (Thompson, 2010). For instance, according to Kotter, change involves both a situational and emotional factor, and approaches for managing each one of them are expressed within his 8-step framework (urgency development, creating a guiding team, building a vision, enabling action, communicating for buy-in, making short-term wins, do not let up, and finally making it stick) (Campbell, 2008). Bridges on the other hand talks about change at a very granular, personal level, implying that change in a health care institution suggests that people ought to switch from one personality to a fresh personality once they are engaged in the change process. For Bridges, transitions take place in three steps: endings, the zone that is neutral, and beginnings (Campbell, 2008). Conclusion In conclusion, this paper has discussed various issues in relation to the manager’s role in the change management in health care. It is stated that there exist global changes taking place, which drive every organization to change consequently so as to progress. These changes in general have brought about issues in the concerned organizations. Solutions are needed to overcome whichever arising issues as a result of the change which continue to take place. And so as to maintain the functioning of the organization in accordance with the plan, employees and managers’ skills and knowledge need to be upgraded; essential training about technology changes ought to be provided. People who are concerned in the process of change need to record every arising issue and plan a decisive solution for the organization’s better future. Changes within the practice of health care are welcome in case they enhance safety and quality, or save money. On the other hand, it is vital to tailor delivery of health care to the local population’s needs and create programmes of awareness and understandable communication involving the organization and public is important and greatly needed. Furthermore, the pace of change within health care is increasing, not lagging and the strong forces which transform healthcare are able to produce enormous potential for the people who are able to apply effective techniques of survival instantly and simultaneously prepare for success ultimately. To achieve this, a health care organization ought to connect the forces that drive change and apply them to its benefit. Lastly, the change within health services involves incremental progress on existing capacities of the organization, further empowerment to the agents of change and constant support to the leaders of change. Reference Campbell, R., J. (2008). Change management in health care. Health Care Manag, 27(1), 23-39. Thompson, J., M. (2010). Understanding and managing organizational change: implications for public health management. J Public Health Manag Pract, 16(2), 167-73. Wiggins, L. (2009) ‘Managing the ups and downs of change communication’, Strategic Communication Management, 13(1), 20-23. Black, A., & Earnest, G. (2009). Measuring the outcomes of leadership development programs. Journal of Leadership & Organisational Studies 16(2): 184–96. Bond, D., Dent, F., Gitsham, M. & Culpin, V. (2010). A perspective on leadership: towards a relational leadership framework. The Ashridge Journal (4): 23–30. Dovey, K. (2008). Addressing structural inhibitors of change in public health sector organizations: a South African case. Journal of Change Management 8(1): 37–56. Edmonstone, J. (2008). Clinical leadership: the elephant in the room. International Journal of Health Planning and Management 24(4): 290–305. Koo, D., & Miner, K. (2010).Outcome-based workforce development and education in public health. Annual Review of Public Health 31: 253–69. Tolson, D., J. Bennett, et al. (2009). "Facilitating collaborative development in practice." International Journal of Nursing Practice 15(5): 353-358. Griffith, J., R. (2009). Finding the frontier of hospital management. Journal of Healthcare Management, 54(1), 57-73. McAlearney, A., S. (2010). Executive leadership development in U.S. health systems. Journal of Health-care Management, 55(3), 206-224. Kubica, A., J. (2008). Transitioning middle managers. Healthcare Executive, 23, 58-60. Swayne, L. E., Duncan, W. J., & Ginter, P. M. (2008). Strategic management of health care organizations. San Francisco, Calif: Jossey-Bass. Mason, D. J., Leavitt, J. K., & Chaffee, M. W. (2012). Policy & politics in nursing and health care. St. Louis, Mo: Elsevier/Saunders. Ellis, J. R., & Hartley, C. L. (2008). Nursing in today's world: Trends, issues, & management. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Porter-O'Grady, T., & Malloch, K. (2007). Managing for success in health care. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby. Summers, K., Sorkin, A. L., & Farquhar, I. (2009). Investing in health: The social and economic benefits of health care innovation. Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Gopee, N., & Galloway, J. (2009). Leadership and management in healthcare. Los Angeles: SAGE. McKee, L., Ferlie, E., Hyde, P., & Great Britain. (2008). Organizing and reorganizing: Power and change in health care organizations. Basingstoke [England: Palgrave Macmillan. Holtz, C. (2008). Global health care: Issues and policies. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Read More