Change Management at Parkway Nursing Care - Case Study Example

Concepts of Change Management The case of Parkway Nursing Care by Student’s name Code+ course name Professor’s name University name City, State Date Concepts of Change Management Introduction Change is inevitable in contemporary management practice. With the advancements in technology, demographic changes, socio-cultural modifications and general dynamics of the world-family conflicts, change can be said to be unavoidable (Adrian & Philip 2006). Since change is inevitable, it is justified to conclude that any institution that is not receptive to change is bound to be extinct. Institutions in all fields must undergo change. As such, change management is a key area of study since it is only through change management that organizations can accept change. Institutions in the medical and health field undergo changes mainly because of changes in demographics. One such institution is Parkway Nursing Care. Established forty years ago, the institution has more than 200 units and up to 30000 members of staff. The main problems that the institution is facing include: poor inter-shift communication, overworked staff, lack of contingency planning, inter-worker conflicts, excessively demanding patients and too much physical job that is associated with injuries. This paper seeks to explain the major concepts of change management and the application of such theory in light of the Parkway Nursing Care case. The fundamental concepts of change management Kotter has described the various concepts of change management as being inter-related. He explains that such concepts rely on one another for the successful attainment of sustainable change. One of the main and fundamental concepts of change management is the change agent. The change agent as a concept refers to that event, process, party or individual that ensures that the change process is sped up (O'Connor 1993). The concept of the change agent is referred to as the catalyst of the change process. The change agent is necessary because without such catalysts, the change process becomes too slow and experiences much resistance. The average employee has the tendency to resist change. Resistance to change has been associated to such reasons as fear of the unknown and the employee-employer conflict. The second concept in the management of change is the concept of the change sponsor. The change sponsor has been described as the party that has the capacity to ensure the enactment or rather the implementation of change. Without the change sponsor there will be no effective change since the process of attaining change will be maimed by the inability of the other parties to change (Ayse 2003). A good example of a change sponsor is the party, institution that funds the introduction of innovative and novel equipment to be used n such an institution as a hospital or any healthcare facility. The sponsor to change is perhaps the most important concept because in the absence of the sponsor, the process of introducing change will be paralyzed. It is worth noting that the sponsor to change is not necessarily the initiator of the proposed change. Another important concept of the process of managing and introducing change is the concept of the change advocate. The change advocate is that force, person or party behind the desire for change. Typically, a change advocate is the party or person that champions for change and campaigns for innovative ways of going about things but does not have the ability to effect such change (Cox T. 1994). In most cases, the advocates for change are the departmental heads that have perfect knowledge of the processes of production and going about various duties. Such managers may desire change a great deal but do not have the capacity to come up with the change without the intervention of other parties. As such, the best they can do as change advocates is to advice the top management to initiate the change. They bear the duty of enlightening the top management on the importance of such change through demonstrating the positive impact that such change can have on the performance of the employees and the overall productivity of the organization. In a nutshell, the change advocate must justify their propositions. The concept of a change manager is also one that plays a paramount role in the introduction and monitoring of change. The change manager is the authority that is entrusted with the duty of overseeing the proper implementation of the change process. The manager acts as a project manager in this process (Dianne & Amrik 1998). The change manager leads the rest of the stakeholders through the change process. He or she is the counselor and rusted with the duty planning change through coming up with the amount of change, the scope of the process as well as the time to be taken in transferring the organization from the current state to some future desired state. Typically, the change manager is the change consultant of an organization. He is in charge of such things as the logistics necessary for effective implementation of the proposed change. The manager is as well the party in charge of ensuring the acceptability of the change. He performs departmental evaluation prior to the actual process. Such evaluation is likely to reflect the likely outcomes of the change. Another key concept is the change advisory board. This is an organizational select committee that is headed by the manager of change. The change manager chairs all the meetings of the board and conducts the meetings in accordance to the standards of the organization (Linzmayer 2004). The change advisory board comprises of the change manager, delegates from various departments, and a representative of the shareholders, an external professional expert and various technicians who should be adequately professionally qualified in their respective field. The board advises the strategic managers on the ways of handling the various responses of employees since it is so much likely that the employees may react negatively towards the introduction of change. Yet another important concept in the process of managing change is the concept of change participants. Participants in the process of change are all those parties that are likely to be affected by change. These are usually the employees of an organization. They take part in the process of implementing change so that they can familiarize themselves with the new procedures (Jeanne 1994). It is from this concept that the last concept comes. The last concept in this process is the concept of driving and opposing forces. Such forces arise out of the various attitudes of the employees. The optimistic employees are driving forces. On the other hand, the pessimistic and paranoid employees are the resisting forces. The two opposing forces may give rise to positive conflicts. The positive conflicts are likely to accelerate the change process. In the event that the friction between the two forces yield negative and bitter conflicts, the change manager should find ways of dealing with such circumstances. The key issues at Parkway Nursing Care The problems at Parkway Nursing Care are many and touch on every aspect of the nursing home. In its current status, it has various needs and the key need is the need to grow. The need to expand is prompted by the fact that the Baby Boom generation is now becoming senior citizens. This increases the need for more medical care services. Much as this may imply the need for more staff members, the government is keeping check on the staffing activities of the institution. This is the root cause of almost all the problems. One of the major problems at Parkway Nursing Care is the lack of contingency planning. This is evidenced by the problems of replacing workers when they are on official and non-official leave. Such lack of contingent plans has caused various conflicts among the workforce. Another problem is the poor inter-shift communication. The institution uses bulky books to record the events of the various shifts. As such the employees resuming shifts do not have the time to go through the events of the previous shift. This is cause for inconsistencies in the activities of the workers. According to Bobby Reed, a nurse’s aide in the nursing home, there is a problem of too many patients. The patients may actually not be many in Parkway Nursing Care but the imbalance in the patient-nurse ratio exaggerates the issue. This problem is rooted in the government’s restrictions on staffing. The bed capacity of the units is too big for the workforce considering the fact that the nurses also need time for their families. Further to this problem, Dalton Maneti, a graduate trainee says that the hospital has a problem of excessive demands from the patients. Bureaucracy and red tape management style is a serious problem in Parkway Nursing Care. Bureaucracy is both a problem in itself as well as a cause for more problems. This is seen in a comment made by a nurse in the case study. The nurse says that the management does not give them the time to give their own views which in the nurse’s opinion are more relevant than those of the management. This, according to the nurse has caused delays in the delivery of services as well as gross inefficiency. Associated with this problem is the problem of lack of an appropriate system through which the employees air their grievances and suggestions to the management. The institutional statistics indicate that Parkway Nursing Care has a problem of too much physical work that has resulted in many cases of physical injuries. According to Carmen Frank, an employee in Parkway Nursing Care, the injuries can cause a worker to stay away from duty longer than usual. This causes conflicts among the workers as they think of others as being lazy and weak. According to other nurses, there is a rampant problem of schedule rigidity. Such rigidity enhances the problem of work-life conflict. Strategy for changing the work practices of Parkway Nursing Care From the above mentioned problems, there is a serious need for change in the organizational culture of Parkway Nursing Care. The change should be in such a way that it doesn’t appear as a complete overhaul of the system but rather as a rejuvenation in the commitment to the core values and mission of Parkway Nursing Care. As a change consultant, I would introduce change after proper analysis of the various classes of workers. This is because they are the change participants and their reactions matter a lot. I would widely consult with the participants and establish one way through which I can introduce change in a way that will provoke minimal resistance. After the wide and detailed consultation, I would come up with a qualified team of change representatives. This would constitute the change advisory board. The board would advise me on the various ways of eliminating bureaucracies as a de-freezing measure. For there to be proper implementation of change, there ought to be relaxation of the current restrictions (Diefenbach 2007). I would gradually replace the bureaucratic structure with a more participative approach. This one would be a structure that allows the employees to give their suggestions. The employees will then be able to determine the decision making process. In my strategy, I would employ proper planning with regard to time, scope, amount and extent of change. The involvement of the employees all through the implementation process ensures zero or minimal resistance (Jeanne 1994). My strategy would definitely make the supervisors and departmental heads the champions and advocates of change. These will influence the workers to accept and support the change. Having the managers as the agents of change will be of great importance in process of implementing change since they are the influential figures in the institution. As a way of mitigating the chances of resistance, I would first enlighten the stakeholders on the need for the change in culture and work practices. I would focus on the benefits of changing the work practices and the management style. Conclusion In conclusion it is worth noting that from the foregoing, Parkway Nursing Care needs serious reconstruction efforts as far as the organizational culture is concerned. This will be done through addressing the various problems in the work practices and the management styles. The recommendations that can help in transforming the situation are: replacing the analogue system of communication with a reliable digital form, coming up with ways of replacing the manual way of going about the physical aspects of the work, instituting a suggestion system through which the employees can communicate their views to the administration, finding effective ways of contingent planning and conflict resolution. These are effective solutions that are bound to make the culture of Parkway Nursing Care a more accommodative one. References Adrian, N. C. & Philip, H. 2006. Space and Time in Organizational Change Management. Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 19 Issue: 5 Pp. 545 - 557 Ayse S. 2003. Internal Change Agents' View of the Management of Change Problem. Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 16 Issue: 5 Pp. 480 - 496 Cox T. 1994 Cultural Diversity in Organization: Theory Research and Practice. San Francisco. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc Dianne, W. & Amrik S. 1998. Resistance: A Constructive Tool for Change Management. Management Decision, Vol. 36 Issue: 8, Pp.543 - 548 Diefenbach, T. 2007. The Managerialistic Ideology of Organisational Change Management. Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 20 Issue: 1 Pp. 126 - 144 Jeanne A. 1994. Quality Management and the Process of Change. Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 7 Issue: 2 Pp. 06 - 14 Linzmayer, O. 2004 Apple Confidential 2.0: The Definitive History of the World’s Most Colorful Company. San Francisco. William Pollock Publishers O'Connor, C. 1993. Managing Resistance to Change. Management Development Review, Vol. 6 Issue: 4, Pp. 342-354 Read More