Introduction
The healthcare sector experiences frequent changes due to the emergence of new diseases, medical technologies and research (Burns, 2012). In a bid to ensure that medical practitioners are able to treat and adapt to new changes in healthcare, change must take place.
In this regard, the adoption of postmodern and complex science strategies becomes paramount. Indeed, healthcare is a complex matter and various obstacles are deemed to emerge while tackling complicated issues on the same (Burns, 2012).
Trying to adopt change in a healthcare facility is challenging. Some of these challenges may be related to individuals, technicalities or change itself.
Change resistance
This is a common conflict that agents of change, face while adopting change. Resistance to change provides a tense conflict between the organization and individuals.
In most cases, individual employees tend to defy new policies regarding new responsibilities and work procedures (Lorenzi & Riley, 2003). Such conflicts tend to halt any progress made by the organization in trying to improve performance.
There are valid reasons why change to resistance is rampant in many healthcare organizations. One of the Reasons is that change tends to alter organizational culture and values (Lorenzi & Riley, 2003). It takes time for employees and managers to adapt to new organizational culture.
Eventually, this may affect the performance of the employees. It is important to note that individual resistance to change may escalate to an organizational resistance. Eventually, a self-reinforcing nature of resistance may create a resistance environment (Lorenzi & Riley, 2003).
This is a dangerous precedence when a healthcare organization resists against new healthcare strategies. In order to understand these conflicts, one must learn organizational dynamics that influence internal conflicts.
Force fields
Force fields conflicts normally involve two opposing forces. In this regard, a conflict may emerge when individuals responsible for change implementation have two positive goals, but unable to choose from either (Lorenzi & Riley, 2000).
This means that managers with the responsibility to implement postmodern strategies are unable to choose between two strategies of equal value and importance. This conflict may halt the process of implementing change in a healthcare facility.
Another conflict that emerges from two forces is when individuals are in a stalemate between two negative goals (Lorenzi & Riley, 2000). Such conflict is common when managers are expected to make a choice in purchasing a healthcare technology system.
In this regard, individuals or managers are torn between the economic value of purchasing a technological system or creating own technological system (Lorenzi & Riley, 2000).
Making a choice that meets the needs of a healthcare organization is paramount, and such a conflict of choices leads to acquisition of an unsatisfying technological system. Purchasing healthcare informatics is known to produce many conflicts within a healthcare organization.
In most scenarios, decision-making individuals may get involved in opposing positive and negative views (Lorenzi & Riley, 2000). An in-depth analysis on the same reveals system users always have a different opinion about information technology.
Sometimes, users of advanced healthcare technologies have difficulties in adapting to such changes. Similarly, medical practitioners have a different opinion on changing treatment strategies they hardly know. Such changes and require extensive studying, training and research.
Finally, funding of postmodern healthcare strategies is difficult and challenging for healthcare facilities. In most cases, such advancements in healthcare strategies depend on donor funding or government sponsorship.
Dealing with accountants while negotiating to acquire such technologies lead to conflicts based on the economic value of using complex scientific strategies.
References
Burns, L. R. (2012). The business of healthcare innovation. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Lorenzi, N. M., & Riley, R. T. (2000). Managing Change: An Overview. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 7(2), 116-124.
Lorenzi, N. M., & Riley, R. T. (2003). Organizational issues= change. International Journal of Medical Informatics, 69(2), 197-203.