Problem Justifying
As a target case to analyze, the city center hospital case will be reviewed. The key problem that worries its CEO is tension among employees, which, in turn, affects work productivity and patient outcomes negatively. In particular, ethical communication problems are raised, which consist of the arrogant behavior of doctors in relation to the junior medical personnel. This type of interpersonal conflict is an unhealthy form of teamwork, and disunity is a deterrent to effective collaboration. Nurses are stressed by their senior colleagues’ behavior, and the morale in this hospital is weak and does not allow for a strong and well-coordinated team with common development goals and objectives. As a result, the organizational development (OD) intervention is seen as a change algorithm designed to address the weak aspects of the hospital’s organizational culture and create a background for honing healthy leadership skills among managers. The challenges to address imply identifying steps to strengthen the hospital’s internal culture, developing a proper communication strategy, applying an effective theoretical methodology to evaluate growth tactics, and determining an optimal leadership structure.
The OD intervention is the main planned mechanism to address the existing problems and gaps in the team of the hospital in question. Analyzing the morale of the nursing staff and the behavior of clinic managers can help create an environment for the effective resolution of the current disagreements and stimulate productive communication among colleagues. As a tool to apply to substantiate the existing problem in the team, a special 4A framework is utilized. According to Hurst (2017), this is an algorithm designed to mitigate nurses’ distress and is used in situations similar to that of the clinic under consideration. This framework includes the following stages: ask, affirm, assess, and act, which allows moving from reasoning about a specific issue to concrete actions based on the identified challenges and gaps (Hurst, 2017). As a result, the OD intervention has an appropriate rationale and includes the key steps that reflect the implementation of the assigned tasks in stages.
The intervention process itself includes several basic steps to implement. To begin with, organizational identity is defined, which is done to create a favorable background for promoting change in the work environment. This step can help convey to all the interested parties the importance of taking the necessary actions. An aforementioned 4A framework is a tool that can enable this step of the intervention process to be implemented.
After determining the relevance of the appropriate intervention, specific operating procedures are planned and compiled into a single and continuous mechanism for working with personnel. Through ad hoc interaction practices, data is collected from the interested parties through relevant tools, such as interviews, surveys, and questionnaires. Additional practical steps are also suggested as part of this phase, including staff meetings, training sessions, and team-building activities.
Establishing an appropriate framework for promoting an optimal communication strategy allows for building the entire intervention process within a sustainable program in which each party involved understands the value of the work performed. As Moseley (2017) notes, this practice contributes to overcoming various barriers, transforming organizational behavior, and other valuable perspectives. In this regard, current communication practices are offered, which are implemented through different tools, for instance, team-building or training sessions.
Creating an enabling environment for the intervention can be accompanied by some external challenges, for instance, the COVID-19 pandemic, which makes it difficult for full-fledged social interaction. To avoid potential planning problems, a special methodology is proposed – the SWOT analysis as a tool to identify the existing strengths and weaknesses, as well as assess the prospects for the future. Such an analysis is a convenient algorithm to correlate the current results with anticipated ones and draw objective conclusions.
Finally, as part of the intervention plan, an appropriate leadership strategy is chosen to follow. While taking into account the problem in question and the existing constraints and limitations, the interests of each party are assessed to ensure that the issue is comprehensively addressed. As a result, team relationships may be built through effective leadership practices, which is the ultimate goal of the considered intervention.
The Role of the Consultant During the Intervention
During the intervention, the role of the consultant is revealed as an essential aspect influencing the results of work and the general atmosphere aimed to facilitate all operational steps. Bierema (2020) notes that the collaboration regime that is built between the consultant and the client is favorable for addressing the planned OD and ensuring sustainable productive communication. In particular, the responsible employee proposes an appropriate intervention regime that satisfies the interest of the other party and provides an effective framework for addressing the current difficulties. As a result, the consultant helps shape a clear strategy of work, which includes assessing the organizational mission and vision, and this, in turn, is in the client’s interests.
To carry out the intervention successfully, individual competencies need to be taken into account. In particular, leadership competencies are important determinants that need to be addressed and transformed to achieve the desired outcomes. Communication competencies also play an essential role and are the features that should be honed to create a supportive interaction environment between doctors and nurses in the clinic. From the perspective of ethical behaviors and their functions in the case at hand, professional respect is the main behavior to promote to eliminate interpersonal conflict in the workplace. Equality is also a form of behavior that needs to be addressed, with an emphasis not on professional responsibilities but on personal characteristics.
Since the information required for the intervention is collected directly from the clinic staff, a qualitative research method is an optimal approach. The data obtained in the course of communication with the personnel is recorded, and based on its analysis, appropriate recommendations and conclusions are proposed. Numerical correlations in the form of statistical ratios are not relevant, which eliminates the need for a quantitative research method.
While taking into account a qualitative research method, appropriate data collection tools should be applied. The information is collected directly from the clinic staff, and for this purpose, questionnaires, surveys, and interviews are the instruments of choice. Regarding the assessment methods, the aforementioned SWOT analysis is a convenient strategy to evaluate the existing nuances of the operation of the medical facility under consideration. This tool provides an opportunity to compare the results of the assessment with the proposed principles of intervention. In addition, to determine the effectiveness of the performed work from the perspective of patient outcomes, patient care plans will be reviewed based on the data before and after the intervention. Since the goal of the work is to not only increase the level of communication within the team but also strengthen employees’ professionalism, positive changes are planned in the indicators of work with patients. Finally, the level of professionalism will be measured in terms of the skills acquired during the intervention. Training sessions and team-building activities are offered to the clinic staff. Therefore, by comparing their qualifications before and after the target work, appropriate conclusions can be drawn.
The entire operating mode is expected to take the next twelve months. During this time, all stages of the intervention will be completed, and the data will be collected comprehensively to obtain objective results and compare the planned outcomes with those obtained. The aforementioned data collection steps and evaluative stages are included in this period, and in one year, the indicators of team communication will be compared to the current ones.
Despite the value of the intervention under consideration from an organizational perspective, individual constraints can make it difficult to effectively implement the plan, in particular, certain factors associated with resistance to the change. Clinic staff may be disloyal to the proposed measures and show dissatisfaction with the program which implies increased responsibility for communication in the team. In their study, Schulz-Knappe et al. (2019) highlight such personal constraints as skepticism, inflexibility, and disengagement, and all of them can manifest themselves in the environment in question. However, through effective influences and persuasion steps, the reconciliation process may come quickly, and all involved can adapt to change. As relevant practices to apply, encouraging openness of work, the approval of employees’ efforts, and the joint discussions of the work performed may be utilized. These methods of persuasion are valuable drivers in influencing the willingness of the staff to participate in the intervention and do their best to achieve the set goals timely and successfully.
The Projected Outcomes for the OD Change Project
Due to a relatively long OD change period (twelve months) and the comprehensive methods of collecting and evaluating data, the proposed intervention will allow achieving crucial results that can be successfully implemented within the framework of the clinic in question. Firstly, productive communication between doctors and nurses in the healthcare facility may contribute to creating a highly professional environment in which each employee can fulfill one’s individual potential. All the participants in the workflow will be able to make a personal contribution to the achievement of organizational goals and objectives that the leaders of the clinic setting.
Secondly, an equally valuable prospect of the intervention is an increase in patient outcomes due to improved interaction among the clinic staff. According to Ghahramanian et al. (2017), “disrupted communication between nurses and physicians” “endangers the safety and quality of care” (p. 169). Consequently, fostering this interaction is a valuable practice that can enhance patient outcomes, which, as Hurst (2017) states, is the ultimate goal of healthcare professionals’ activities. Doctors and nurses will be able to interact successfully and establish a sustainable communication mechanism, which, in turn, can improve the quality of care by eliminating gaps in treatment.
Thirdly, organizational culture can be strengthened due to the intervention. The well-coordinated work of employees who value their colleagues’ activities and respect one another’s professionalism is the key to effective collaboration. The CEO of the clinic can count on the superior performance of subordinates if each employee understands the importance of personal input and does not discriminate against others’ work. As a result, as Ghahramanian et al. (2017) note, this mode of operation creates a supportive and inclusive environment in which staff are loyal to management requirements and perform assigned tasks responsibly. Therefore, the intervention will help increase the reputation of the clinic among the city’s medical institutions.
Finally, the unit managers of the clinic will be able to acquire valuable leadership skills and hone their ability to adapt effectively to specific work conditions. Transformational leadership is seen as an approach that allows for flexibility in control, which is relevant to the healthcare environment (Jambawo, 2018). Based on this, after the intervention, unit managers will gain valuable knowledge about how a product team works, what incentives and motivation are essential for colleagues, and what methods of influence and reward are effective. Thus, the considered OD change is a crucial and valuable intervention that addresses the existing gaps in the work of the clinic staff and provides a framework for transforming individual work regimes.
Conclusion
The project concerning the implementation of organizational development change and aimed to address poor communication in the clinic under consideration is multi-stage and implies enhancing operational aspects. Due to the complex work to create a favorable interaction environment and a long period of activities (one year), the clinic staff will be able to adapt to the proposed conditions. The planned research methodology is a convenient framework to collect data from employees and analyze it successfully. Valuable implications can be achieved, including strengthening unit managers’ leadership skills, increasing patient outcomes, enhancing the clinic’s reputation, and creating a sustainable algorithm for sharing knowledge among the team members. Respect for one another and equality are valuable properties to promote within the project to enable a smooth transition to a refreshed mode of operation and overcome potential resistance to the change.
References
Bierema, L. (2020). Organization development: An action research approach (2nd ed.). Zovio.
Ghahramanian, A., Rezaei, T., Abdullahzadeh, F., Sheikhalipour, Z., & Dianat, I. (2017). Quality of healthcare services and its relationship with patient safety culture and nurse-physician professional communication. Health Promotion Perspectives, 7(3), 168-174. Web.
Hurst, D. J. (2017). Mitigating moral distress in nursing. Nursing Made Incredibly Easy!, 15(6), 11-12. Web.
Jambawo, S. (2018). Transformational leadership and ethical leadership: Their significance in the mental healthcare system. British Journal of Nursing, 27(17), 998-1001. Web.
Moseley, G. B. (2017). Managing health care business strategy (2nd ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Schulz-Knappe, C., Koch, T., & Beckert, J. (2019). The importance of communicating change: Identifying predictors for support and resistance toward organizational change processes.Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 24(4), 670-685. Web.