Introduction
Healthcare organizations should be in a position to provide evidence-based medical support to patients from diverse backgrounds. International migration has transformed the demographics of many communities across the globe (Stetler, Ritchie, Rycroft-Malone, & Charns, 2014). This phenomenon challenges healthcare institutions to promote the concept of multidisciplinary teams. By so doing, such organizations can find it easier to provide culturally competent care to the targeted patients. However, many health professionals have failed to identify powerful management and leadership concepts that can be used to manage their multicultural healthcare organizations (Antwi & Kale, 2014). The proposed study, therefore, seeks to identify various management theories that can promote the organizational effectiveness of multicultural healthcare institutions. The study will go further to identify the most appropriate leadership traits necessary for leading multidisciplinary teams in an attempt to improve the level of service delivery. The completed research study will present new ideas and theories that can be embraced by multicultural healthcare organizations to drive performance.
Statement of the Issue
The issue of effectiveness in healthcare institutions is something that has been supported by many researchers and scholars. Successful hospitals are the ones capable of providing timely and evidence-based medical support to their clients. The changing global demographics have revolutionized how people receive medical support. Many health organizations are characterized by multidisciplinary teams. Such teams are composed of many professionals from different ethnic backgrounds. Similarly, such practitioners provide evidence-based care to patients from different ethnic, religious, and cultural backgrounds. This kind of complexity has made it impossible “for many healthcare institutions to make evidence-based practice a reality” (Stetler et al., 2014, p. 219). Some scholars in healthcare practice have gone further to explain how leadership can guide physicians and nurses to provide evidence-based care to their patients. There are various management strategies capable of producing positive results if applied adequately in different healthcare organizations. However, very little is understood or documented about the best leadership concepts that can promote the effectiveness of healthcare organizations.
The above gap in healthcare leadership explains why modern scholars have been focusing on the best leadership traits that can support the performance of many multicultural hospitals. The leadership concepts and management traits presented by research findings can successfully support the effectiveness of many healthcare institutions. This proposed study is aimed at identifying suitable leadership and managerial traits that can be applied in multicultural healthcare organizations. The main objective is to identify the best leadership and management theories that can support the performance of multidisciplinary teams. The targeted models will ensure every multicultural healthcare institution provides evidence-based support to its clients. The completed study is expected to present numerous ideas and insights that can promote the effectiveness of multicultural and multidisciplinary healthcare facilities. Chuang (2013) believes strongly that failure to present powerful leadership approaches for multicultural health institutions can affect the quality of care available to many underserved populations. Unless something is done, it will be impossible to come up with evidence-based leadership theories that can support the performance of modern hospitals.
Research Sources
Study Description
The chosen topic for this study was “The Best Leadership and Management Traits and Theories Necessary for Managing Multidisciplinary and Multicultural Healthcare Organization to Promote Organizational Effectiveness”. To produce positive results, the study focused on several findings from previous researches. A qualitative study approach was conducted in an attempt to get desirable results. After conducting the study, several findings and inferences were recorded. Systems and team building theories were identified as the most appropriate management approaches for promoting the effectiveness of different health institutions (Stetler et al., 2014). The most suitable leadership concepts identified by the study include participative and transformational models. The use of a qualitative approach made it possible for the researcher to come up with evidence-based information. The effectiveness of the study design reduced the variables capable of affecting the final results. The leadership traits suitable for multidisciplinary teams in healthcare outlined by the study included honesty, intelligence, aspiration, good foresight, and competency (Dauvrin & Lorant, 2015).
Key Elements of the Topic
Some key elements of the above topic are ethical and social. For instance, the healthcare fraternity believes in the power of integrity. This ethical aspect must be taken seriously by healthcare workers and practitioners. For instance, medical practitioners and caregivers should act intelligently whenever addressing the health problems affecting their respective clients. The other outstanding aspect of the study is that healthcare institutions should focus on the social issues affecting many patients (Cordon, 2013). This happens to be the case because healthcare institutions provide medical care to many people from different ethnicities. The continued use of multidisciplinary teams can be described as a social element. This happens to be the case because many societies are characterized by competent clients from different backgrounds.
Medical organizations should embrace the most appropriate leadership and management concepts to support the changing needs of multicultural groups. In the recent past, health institutions have been focusing on the best leadership models to promote multicultural practice (Cordon, 2013). Such organizations have gone further to create multidisciplinary teams that can support the diverse needs of the targeted patients. Past scholars have outlined several leadership models capable of transforming the performance of every healthcare institution. Unfortunately, many healthcare institutions are still grappling with the question of diversity. This happens to be the case because of the increasing number of patients in need of quality and evidence-based medical support (Dauvrin & Lorant, 2015). Most of these patients also come from different backgrounds. According to many experts in nursing, failure to come up with better management models for multicultural healthcare institutions will affect the quality of care available to underserved populations.
Study Articles: Analysis
The article “Organizational Learning in Health Care Organizations” identifies several managerial approaches that can be implemented to improve the performance of hospitals. In this study, the authors used a qualitative approach to examine how health institutions can implement the best leadership approaches to support the needs of their clients (Ratnapalan & Uleryk, 2014). The qualitative approach was aimed at gathering meaningful information from past studies. That being the case, the authors did not have a specific target population for the research. The study was completed by Elizabeth Uleryk and Savithiri Ratnapalan. These two professionals provide evidence-based care at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada. The authors clearly understand the importance of adequate management in medical institutions. After conducting the study, the authors supported the use of organizational learning theory.
This model is appropriate for promoting the performance of medical institutions. In healthcare settings, the model can play a positive role in managing “the learning requirements in complex interconnected dynamic systems” (Ratnapalan & Uleryk, 2014, p. 24). The researchers go further to explain why organizational learning should be undertaken continuously. This process can be essential in equipping individuals from diverse backgrounds with adequate managerial skills. By so doing, healthcare practitioners will find it easier to provide quality care to more patients from diverse backgrounds (Ratnapalan & Uleryk, 2014). It is agreeable that organizational learning is a powerful leadership approach that presents new practices and concepts. These developments can eventually make it easier for multidisciplinary teams to provide evidence-based medical support to their clients.
The second article is “Essential Skills for Leadership Effectiveness in Diverse Workplace Development” by Szu-Fang Chuang. The purpose of the study was to examine the role of leadership in cross-cultural management and workplace development (Chuang, 2013). The author went further to examine the major challenges making it impossible for global leaders to achieve their objectives. The second objective was to outline the most appropriate leadership traits for effective management in multicultural healthcare institutions. The author synthesized past literature in an attempt to identify adequate leadership concepts for managers in hospitals providing care to individuals from diverse backgrounds.
The researcher focused on the needs of groups from different ethnic, religious, language, and cultural backgrounds (Chuang, 2013). The author is a professor of health at Fooyin University. After conducting the study, the researcher observed that several skills were essential for healthcare leaders working in multicultural healthcare institutions. Leaders who possess such skills can realize their potentials and address the needs of the targeted clients. According to the study, leaders of multidisciplinary teams should be aware of the existing cultural stereotypes, promote assurance, and focus on the needs of their patients. They should also use resources effectively, motivate others, improve confidence, create a vision, and embrace the concept of social responsibility (Chuang, 2013). These concepts and skills are can guide healthcare leaders to address the needs of multidisciplinary teams. The author believes strongly that the presented leadership traits can make a significant difference in the global healthcare sector.
The third article used to complete this study is “Leadership and Cultural Competence of Healthcare Professionals: A Social Network Analysis” by Vincent Lorant and Marie Dauvrin. In this study, the researchers wanted to investigate the role of leaders towards supporting the cultural competence and efficiency of healthcare practitioners. The researchers conducted “a cross-sectional study from 2010 to 2012” (Dauvrin & Lorant, 2015, p. 203). The scholars collected data from five primary care institutions in Belgium. A questionnaire targeting 507 healthcare professionals was developed to collect the required information. This means that the target population included healthcare professionals working in primary care institutions in the country. The authors are skilled researchers in healthcare leadership and practice. The study goes further to support the concept of cultural competence.
This leadership approach can make it easier for healthcare practitioners to work effectively in multicultural medical institutions. Whenever implementing appropriate culturally competent approaches, leaders should be on the frontline to address the diverse needs of their clients. Leaders in health practice should also promote powerful traits such as role-modeling and reliance (Dauvrin & Lorant, 2015). They should also train members of their multidisciplinary teams to embrace new concepts such as lifelong learning (Dauvrin & Lorant, 2015). The diverse needs and expectations of many people in the multicultural health environment should be addressed professionally. The findings of this study can be used to support the selected topic. Healthcare leaders should possess various leadership traits such as cultural competence. Positive leadership can also improve the level of social relations. This development can support the changing needs of many clients. Leaders in healthcare institutions should, therefore, be aware of these concepts to record positive results.
In the article “System Theories: An Overview of Various System Theories and Its Application in Healthcare”, Charissa Cordon offers a qualitative analysis of various system theories. The researcher goes further to describe how such theories can be applied effectively in healthcare. According to the author, the systems theory can be applied in multicultural health institutions to produce positive results. This means that the researcher did not have a specific target population. The author is a researcher working at the University Health Network of Canada. The researcher focuses on emerging and innovative concepts in healthcare practice (Cordon, 2013).
The author also discusses various system theories that can be used to improve the effectiveness of healthcare institutions. Such theories can be beneficial to institutions providing quality care to patients from diverse backgrounds. For instance, different models such as General Systems Theory, Integral Theory, and Complex-Adaptive Systems can be used to support adequate changes in medical facilities. The theories have the potential to support the collaboration of healthcare practitioners and improve the health outcomes of many clients. The findings presented in this article show conclusively that systems theory is a powerful leadership model that can be used to transform the effectiveness of many healthcare institutions. The author goes further to acknowledge that “leaders should become systems thinkers in an attempt to support the needs of their multidisciplinary teams” (Cordon, 2013, p. 17). Medical institutions can embrace the use of these theories in an attempt to realize their goals.
The article “Leadership for Evidence-Based Practice: Strategic and Functional Behaviors for Institutionalizing EBP” supports the use of effective management to promote the effectiveness of multidisciplinary teams. Although the authors do not focus on the issue of diversity, the agreeable fact is that the findings are applicable in many healthcare institutions. The authors wanted to understand what healthcare leaders in different roles do in an attempt to promote effectiveness (Stetler et al., 2014). The authors examined various case studies focusing on the implementation of evidence-based practice in different healthcare institutions. The target population included nurses and focus group leaders. The article is authored by Cheryl Stetler, Judith Ritchie, Jo Rycroft-Malone, and Martin Charms. The four are scholars in healthcare practice. After conducting the study, the authors observed that supportive leadership theory was appropriate for promoting the provision of evidence-based medical services. Nurse leaders (NLs) can use the model to empower their followers from diverse backgrounds. The caregivers can be guided and mentored to address the needs of the targeted populations. Positive leadership behaviors can also ensure every multidisciplinary team realizes its goals. A transformational leadership model can be embraced in an attempt to motivate more healthcare practitioners (Stetler et al., 2014). This information can be used adequately to ensure more underserved populations receive evidence-based medical support.
Change management theory has been widely used by healthcare leaders to transform the performance of their followers. The article “Change Management in Healthcare: Literature Review” explains why appropriate initiatives must be undertaken to improve the outcomes of many patients. The authors wanted to identify the most appropriate change management strategies that can be implemented in healthcare institutions to improve the quality of patient care. The authors used a systematic review of past researches focusing on the change management model (Antwi & Kale, 2014).
The authors consulted different databases such as CBCA, Scholars Portal, PubMed, Science Direct, ABI/Inform, and Scopus (Antwi & Kale, 2014). Mriganka Kale and Michael Antwi are experts in change management and healthcare practice. After conducting the qualitative study, the authors observed that transformational change can produce a superior healthcare system that can work effectively in different multicultural healthcare institutions. The use of powerful change management models can help more medical institutions to deliver patient-centered care to more patients in need of critical care. On top of that, professional medical practitioners should embrace various leadership traits such as honesty, intelligence, integrity, aspiration, good foresight, and competency. When these leadership and managerial models are implemented positively, more health institutions will find it easier to provide evidence-based care to their clients.
Conclusion
The provision of evidence-based health care to patients from diverse backgrounds has remained a major goal for many medical institutions. Unfortunately, multicultural health institutions have been unable to provide quality care to their clients (Ratnapalan & Uleryk, 2014). The proposed topic has been selected because of its potential to present new leadership traits and management models capable of supporting such facilities. Using qualitative analysis of different scholarly articles, the study outlined various models such as participative, system, and change management theories that can be used to support the performance of multicultural medical institutions. Health leaders should focus on these models and promote powerful traits such as integrity, honesty, and cultural competence. These elements will make it easier for many hospitals to offer evidence-based patient care.
References
Antwi, M., & Kale, M. (2014). Change management in healthcare: Literature review. Queens School of Business, 1(1), 1-33.
Chuang, S. (2013). Essential skills for leadership effectiveness in diverse workplace development. Online Journal for Workforce Education and Development, 6(1), 1-23.
Cordon, C. (2013). System theories: An overview of various system theories and its application in healthcare. American Journal of Systems Science, 2(1), 13-22.
Dauvrin, M., & Lorant, V. (2015). Leadership and cultural competence of healthcare professionals: A social network analysis. Nursing Research, 64(3), 200-210.
Ratnapalan, S., & Uleryk, E. (2014). Organizational learning in health care organizations. Systems, 2(1), 24-33.
Stetler, C., Ritchie, J., Rycroft-Malone, J., & Charns, M. (2014). Leadership for evidence-based practice: Strategic and functional behaviors for institutionalizing EBP. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 11(4), 219-226.