Improving Organizational Performance in Health Care - Literature review Example

Name: Professor: Course Title: Due Date: Introduction One thing that can never be disputed in the world today is the fact the level of interaction among the people of different races, cultural backgrounds and languages has gone a notch higher. This is a scenario that could be attributed to a number of factors such as migration, refugee movement, relocating of work stations, business activities and many other factors. The effect of this is the creation of a society which comprises people of different beliefs, perceptions and values and which influence the way they relate with others. While this trend could be considered to be a positive thing because of diversity of experiences and knowledge, it is also emerging that this trend is of major concern. This is because of the different interests, values and perceptions. This makes it difficult to reconcile the cultures of different groups. This problem is more experienced in the health care sector even though it could also be an issue in other sectors like education. This is because people of different cultural backgrounds hold different views towards health care services and the manner in which they should be provided. This problem is so common in Australia given the composition of the people. This has proved to be a major challenge when providing health care services to people of different cultures. This forms the basis of this task which will be to look at education related program in order to improve on multicultural performance in a working environment. Area of organizational performance that is of concern According to Marquis and Huston (2012, pp. 256) every organization is structured in such a way that it is able to deliver on its mandate by attaining its predetermined goals and objectives. This is well explained in the concept of organizational theory. As explained by Gian and Day (2010, pp. 74), organizational theory helps provide a way of thinking on how an organization should be structured so that it can be able to deliver on its functions and processes. Further, organizational theory provides a platform upon which different perspectives to explain different and complicated business situations are based. The ultimate objective of doing this is to help the service providers to design various systems and processes that will help improve on organizational performance and meet the expectations of the consumers. This is more explained in the neoclassical organizational theories which explain how different organizations should respond to the emerging challenges in the contemporary society. This scenario could very well apply to health care sector and the provision of health care services to the patients from different cultural backgrounds. While working with Medical One, it came clear to me that multicultural of the people living in Southern Australia, is the biggest challenge many health care settings are experiencing today. This is because despite the fact that the facility has one of the most qualified and experienced practitioners in the area, dealing with patients from different cultural backgrounds, remains to a top challenge. This is because people of different cultures perceive health care services and its process of provision different which many of the practitioners are not well experienced with. This in many occasions causes some conflicts between the patients and the health care practitioners. This is because many of the patients tend to dictate the kind of service they want and how their situation handled even it is not professional. Medical One is one of the leading health care service providers South Australia and Victoria. The institution also has 9 centres located both in Melbourne and Southern Adelaide. The institution is well vast in such areas as general practitioners, pathology, physiotherapy, podiatry, pathology, pharmacy, dentistry and radiology as well as visiting specialists. With all these services available, it means that the institution can attract patients of all kinds and from various cultural backgrounds. In case the practitioners are not able to handle them, then there is a high chance that the performance of the institution will be compromised something that is contrary to its goals and objectives that are founded on an institution’s philosophy. The philosophy of the institution is to work together as an energetic and integrated team to create a positive and supportive environment to deliver well-being. In clear terms therefore, what is being said here is that education related to multicultural need to be improved if at all the institution is to enhance and sustain their multicultural performance. To ensure that this outcome is attained an elaborate and all inclusive program must be adopted as shown in the next part of this analysis. Steps required in implementing the improvement process of this aspect Hospitals more than any other institutions, have very complex organizational structures. This is because of the diversity of services they offer and the various expectations that the business serve. The link of the two is expected to happen where diversity of knowledge, experiences and skills possessed by the practitioners matches the expectations of various patients who are from different cultural backgrounds. According to Gian and Day (2010, pp. 96), this is attributed to the fact that in hospitals there are patients with individual values and who expect that the practitioners be in a position to them. According to the Australian Bureau Statistics Report of 2011, in Australia, 27% of the population which is 5.3 million represents people who were born overseas but now live in Australia. From the same report, 20% of the population which is 4.1 million people has at least one parent born overseas. Finally, the report also indicated that 53% of the population which is 10.6 million people was born in Australia with both their parents born Australia (ABS, 2011). The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are also among this group. In simple terms, this report is confirming that Australia’s position is composed of different cultures and whose values and which influence their expectations are quite different. Like in many other hospitals, this is one challenge that Medical One experiencing not only among its staff but also among its patients. In this regard therefore, to ensure that diverse expectations of both the practitioners and patients are attained, strong leadership that should oversee the implementation process of the required education policy should be put in place. The ultimate objective of implementing this education program is to help address the issue of multicultural performance at Medical One is to try and accord the staff with the opportunities to learn how to deal with different hurdles related to culture in their workplace. As indicated by Yukl (2013), this is particularly important in addressing such cultural issues as cultural competencies and language access as well as reducing disparities experienced in the process of providing the health care service to a very diverse customer base. Because of the complexities involved in the process of implementing the education program to address the challenge of multicultural in workplace, should follow a certain sequence. These are the specific steps that should be adopted by any health care setting and in particular Medical One. However, some caution need to be exercised because of the financial and other organizational based challenges that may turn out to be a barrier to the implementation process. In addition to this, there is also the aspect of leadership. Leadership according to Marquis and Huston (2012, pp. 266) needs to be adequate and supportive of the process. This is because leadership is critical in incorporating all the stakeholders in the process and also allocating adequate resources that will support the implementation process. The following are the specific steps that will be adopted by Medical One in implementing this aspect of education in order to improve in multicultural performance. Step 1: The first and most important step that must be observed by Medical One in the implementation process is the creation of a change team. This is a team that must comprise the team leaders and the staff with the specific authority, expertise and credibility as well as the motivation to drive the implementation process. Step 2: Defining the area of concern and which need to be improved for understanding by all the team members. Step 3: Defining the aims of the team in terms of the intervention. This will be done in relation to who, when and where. Step 4: Designing the team’s steps intervention in order to show how to go about achieving its predetermined aims. Step 5: Developing a plan that will be used to test the effectiveness of the team’s steps of intervention. This is important in determining whether the aims have been achieved or not. Step 6: Developing an implementation plan. This will help determine the training needs of the team members. This is to ensure that they are competent in driving the implementation process. Step 7: Developing a plan that will be used for sustained improvement in multicultural performance. This is to support the continuous assessment of the implementation process. Step 8: Developing a communication plan Step 9: Putting everything together including the generation of the action plan. This will include the required time and resources. Step 10: Reviewing of the team’s action plan with the key leaders in generate ideas and identify any other possible barriers to the program implementation process. In general, all these steps are key to the implementation process of the education program to improve on multicultural performance at Medical One because they are interdependent. The approach best suited to improving performance in this instance According to Crisp Swerissen & Duckett (2000, pp. 99) there are two broad categories of approaches that could be used in improving performance of an area in a health care setting. The first category of approaches is practitioner-based approach. This approach comprises several steps which include delegating to an officer, delegating to patients, minimizing data recording time, keeping readily available a variety of information needed in decision making and delegating the plan of action. The other category of approach is the systems approaches. The main approaches in this category include: quality improvement approach, redesigning of care approach, physical examination and patient education and involvement. However, what is more important in determining the choice of a particular approach is the instance at hand. This is because each approach is fit to handle a particular instance in a health care setting. Now, given the circumstances of the situation at Medical One, the approach of patient education and user involvement, is the most suited. Patient education and user involvement is an approach to improving performance in a health care setting by focusing the attention of the hospital on creating awareness of issues that affect the provision of health care services to the patients. This is a very important approach in the case of Medical One because it will help the patients understand the process of providing health care services and the impact of ethical considerations to it. According to Mick & Mark (2005, pp. 320) patient education and user involvement seeks to highlight the professional considerations that guide the provision of health care services. This is particularly important in ensuring that when it comes to sensitive issues and that touch on the patients’ values, there is consensus on how to go about them. Further, in using this approach, the patients will have the opportunity to highlight on the various problems that they experience when handled with different doctors. This is important in determining the best ways about understanding the customer values and serving them. Types of performance indicators selected As already mentioned, the aim of the education program in Medical One is to help the performance of the health care setting on issues that are related to multicultural. However, the impact could not be told if it is not determined. In this respect therefore, different indicators were required in order to be used to determine the performance of the education program. Various indicators were selected for this purpose and among them are: the number of patients attended to, the number of prescription that are written every day, the duration of the program, the number of patients that have made and the money spent. To start with, more satisfied patients apart from visiting the facility are also likely to refer friends and even family members to the facility. This is one sure measure of determining the impact of a particular program in relation to improving performance of a particular area. This indicator was preferred because it is important in telling the response of the patients to the education program that is aimed at improving multicultural performance at Medical One. On the other hand, the number of prescriptions that are written every day was chosen as an indicator of the performance of this program because it was showing the number of health care services that the patients are ready to take. A good program with a positive impact on performance as argued by Isouard et al (2006, pp. 364) should help increase the number of prescriptions. In addition to this, the number of finished presentations was also used to determine the flow of the program with expectations that a higher number of presentations to various participants will imply ability to make informed decisions both by the practitioners and the patients. Finally, the aspect of money was also as an indicator to tell how the program had performed. This is important for a program to be declared successful according to (Kim et al, 2011, pp. 2003) it must only utilize its rightful budget no matter what if its impact is to break-even and help realize more benefits. Strategies for motivating and engaging stakeholder in ongoing performance improvement According to Isouard, et al (2006, pp. 351) the performance of any organizational program is a factor of stakeholder motivation and engagement. This is because specific stakeholders have specific interests that they want to be addressed. For instance in the case of Medical One, the stakeholders include managers, the practitioners, the patients and the public general. There are four specific ways in which the stakeholders can be motivated and engaged in its ongoing performance improvement and which include: communication with all the stakeholders, addressing disparities among the different stakeholders, enhancing cultural competencies and addressing issues related to linguistic competencies. Jacobs et al (2012, pp. 112) argues that with good communication channels in place, various stakeholders are always updated on the progress of the program and how it is likely to influence their lives. This is important in helping make earlier preparations on how to adopt it. On the other hand, the stakeholders in this case wish to see a program that address the challenges that face them and which included but not limited to respecting their cultural values. This can also be done in line with enhancing the cultural competencies among the staff with the aim of making them more effective in dealing with diverse population. Finally, the stakeholders will be provided by Medical One by ensuring that the language used by the facility is accessible and understandable by all and more especially for those stakeholders who are not proficient in English language. This will help support the diverse population expresses itself freely. Conclusion This analysis has addressed the concept of improved performance in the health care sector and with particular reference to the case of Medical One which is one of the leading care facilities in South Australia. The area of concern and that need to be improved is multicultural performance and this is to be done through an elaborate education program. The other aspects that have been reviewed and that are related multicultural performance at Medical one include steps to implement the program, best approach to improving performance and the various strategies to motivate and engage the stakeholders in the ongoing performance improvement. In general, from this analysis it has emerged that improved performance is a continuous process and it entails a number of activities including the participation of different stakeholders. Works cited ABS, Reflecting a nation: Stories from the 2011 census, 2012-2013, accessed on June 2nd 2014, available online: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/2071.0main+features902012-2013 Crisp, B.R., Swerissen, H. & Duckett, S.J, Four approaches to capacity building in health: consequences for measurement and accountability. Health Promotion International, 15, (2), 99-107. 2000. 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