Organizational Change Strategies Research Articles

Organizational Change for Services Integration in Public Human Service Organizations: Experiences in Seven Counties

This is a study of organizational change strategies employed in seven county human service agencies to improve the coordination of services through the structural integration of previously free standing organizations or the development of voluntary interagency collaborative service delivery systems. the central question involves the identification of organizational change tactics which contributed to the success of the organizational change initiatives. the literature on organizational change is reviewed, with particular attention to a framework developed by Fernandez and Rainey based on their extensive review and synthesis of the research on successful change strategies in the public and business sectors. Qualitative and quantitative data were gathered from over 250 individuals and from agency documents. Findings are compared with the success factors identified by Fernandez and Rainey, and refinements to their propositions are suggested. More precise methods for measuring successful and unsuccessful change initiatives are suggested. Implications for practice and research are presented.

Strategies for Organizational Change from Group Homes to Individualized Supports

Organizations are increasingly looking to convert from facility-based services for adults with developmental disabilities to individualized supports. Such conversion involves not only a change in services but a transformation of organizational culture. This qualitative study involved four organizations that have made sustained efforts to transform. Although the approach taken by each organization was unique, there were also some common strategies, which included generating commitment to common values and mission, a turn or return to authentic person-centered planning, shifting power and control, using community supports and relationships, moving away from facility-based settings, and nurturing staff engagement. Ultimately, organizational change is an ongoing process that requires organizational perseverance and commitment.

The Party Politics of Post-Devolution Identity in Northern Ireland

Research Highlights and Abstract Offers one of the first detailed considerations of how political parties in Northern Ireland have adapted to the impact of the dual legitimacy of Protestant-British-Unionist and Catholic-Irish-Nationalist identities central to the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement Extends debates about devolution and party competition which have been centred on Great Britain to the United Kingdom. Outlines how the continuing bi-communalism of the electorate discourages parties from reshaping identity or chasing votes beyond the ethnic divide Analyses how nationalist parties, Sinn Féin in particular, have developed the rights of all citizens on the island of Ireland to be Irish, under the post-Good Friday Agreement Irish constitution Assesses the data indicating a modest growth of a common Northern Irish identity In this article we examine how party political competition in Northern Ireland impacts on understandings of national identity and citizenship both within the region and elsewhere in the UK. These dynamics can be seen in expressions of political identity and through organisational change and electoral strategies. The consociational framework in which Northern Irish parties operate is one of the most powerful dynamics and we assess how it has shaped intra-community party competition, most notably through the emergence of the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin as the strongest unionist and nationalist parties respectively. However, our analysis of campaigning and voting in the 2010 General Election and 2011 Assembly elections also shows that the transformation of party political competition in the UK after devolution is an important dynamic and one that has shaped unionist electoral strategies in particular.

The influence of organizational culture on organizational preferences towards the choice of organizational change strategy

Organizational culture, through its assumptions, values, norms and symbols, determines the way in which the members of an organization perceive and interpret the reality within and around their organization, as well as the way they behave in that reality. For this reason we may assume that organizational culture has an impact on the way in which an organization changes, and that matching of organizational culture and change strategy will improve the efficiency of the change process. In this paper specific hypotheses about the causal relationship between certain types of organizational culture and certain change strategies are formulated. Types of organizational culture are differentiated according to Handy?s and Trompenaars? classifications. Organizational change strategies have been differentiated according to previous work of Chin & Benne but one more strategy has been added. Classifications of both the organizational cultures and of the organizational change strategies are based on the same criteria of differentiation: distribution of power in an organization and orientation toward relationships or tasks. For this reason it is possible to formulate hypotheses about the causal relationship between certain types of organizational cultures and certain types of organizational change strategies. Thus, eight hypotheses are formulated in this paper, relating particular change strategies with particular types of organizational culture.

Enhancing Cultural Competence for Improved Access to Quality Care

The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) is situated in one of the most diverse cities in the world. This is reflected in the patient population it serves. In 2009, the hospital embarked on a quality improvement initiative to address the existing evidence base on health disparities and to enhance health equity through cultural competence programming. The goal was to achieve optimal health outcomes for all patients and families, with a particular focus on new immigrant and other vulnerable populations. Evaluation results indicate changes in clinical practice as a result of this initiative and increased patient satisfaction with regard to staff members' level of cultural sensitivity. This article provides an overview of this hospital-wide initiative, as well as the evaluation methods and outcomes. Based on a needs assessment, we developed an institutionally meaningful curriculum with SickKids' values of family-centred care, patient safety and service excellence embedded in the program. Educational sessions were delivered to clinical and non-clinical hospital staff, focusing on health disparities, the case for culturally competent care and practical tools for healthcare practitioners. Organizational change strategies, including the use of champions as change agents and role models, were used to embed cultural competence as integral to family-centred care at SickKids.

CEO perspectives: management education in a changing context

PurposeThis paper seeks to make a contribution to debate regarding the place of sustainability in the management education curriculum with data regarding the opinions on this question of business leaders across both developed and emerging markets.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis in this paper was conducted at the invitation of the secretariat of the UN PRME, led by a team from Ashridge and EABIS, supported by Accenture, and presented for the first time at the 2nd Global Forum for Responsible Management Education convened by the UN in New York in June 2010. The analysis draws on data collected by Accenture as part of the UN Global Compact‐Accenture CEO Study 2010, which included in‐depth interviews with 50 CEOs, Chairpersons and Presidents of UN Global Compact member companies and an online survey of 766 Global Compact member CEOs.FindingsAmong CEOs of those organizations that have begun thinking in a sophisticated way about trends relating to sustainability, there is a growing consensus across both developed and emerging markets, and across different industries and organization type, that management education is one of the most important elements in stimulating the kind of organizational change required to effectively address those trends.Practical implicationsThe data suggest that debate in business schools about whether or not sustainability is a real issue deserving of their consideration is becoming less relevant. Questions that become more important include: how to do management education for sustainability well? And how can we effectively stimulate the kind of organizational change that needs to occur in business schools for sustainability to be embraced across the faculty?Research limitations/implicationsAreas for further research include empirical research on both the most effective pedagogical approaches for management education for sustainability, and the most effective strategies for organizational change for sustainability within business schools themselves.Originality/valueThis paper presents a snapshot of business leader opinion from the first part of 2010, and thus complements earlier similar surveys of business leader opinion on the question of the place of sustainability in the management education curricula. This will be of particular interest to administrators and teaching faculty within business schools across both developed and emerging markets.

Can the Work–Life Movement Regain Its Balance?

The work–life discipline has been in a period of transformation in recent years for two reasons—no growth in the prevalence of major work–life programs and a decline in the number of work–life specialists. To reinvigorate the field, work–life leaders have changed its signature term, charter and organizational change strategies. The transformation’s success is doubtful because of disagreement over a central premise, a vast and disjointed charter that infringes on other human resources disciplines, and movement into the field by a stronger rival. It will survive, but in a smaller form, based primarily on the concept of workplace flexibility.

Innovation Strategies for Organizational Change in a Tea Restaurant Culture: A Social Behavior Perspective

The researchers aimed to clarify the innovation mechanism for organizational change using the perspectives of social behavior and personality in a study of the Cha for TEA multiconcept tea chain restaurants, which is the biggest tea company in Taiwan. Innovation and creativity theories and Rhodes' (1961) 4P (person, process, product, and place) theory were adopted as a guideline for developing an in-depth interview. A case-based and qualitative research approach was used to facilitate the investigation of mechanisms associated with the behavior and personality of creative individuals. The results of this study can be useful for enterprises involved in establishing new service businesses.

Alignment of organizational change strategies and its relationship with increasing organizations’ performance

The purpose of the present research is to study the relationship between the alignments of different typologies of strategies for organizational change strategies (structure, technology, culture, human resources, and goals) with improving the performance. By applying the qualitative and quantitative methods approved that 1) The more the alignment among the typologies of organizational change strategies increases regardless of their group (high performance, medium performance, and low performance), the more their performance improves And 2) The more the alignment among the typologies of organizational change strategies increases in a specific group (low performance organizational group), the more their own performance improves.

Ghosts in the Hallways: Unseen Actors and Organizational Change

When considering successful organizational change strategies, the prescriptions usually include some strong sense of leadership; a champion for the cause of change. Likewise there is often the suggestion of the requirement for a commitment to change on the part of others in the organization. Yet organizations and their associated actors are held in a social context which is both fluid and persistent at different times and locations. This study suggests that we may gain some useful insights about organizational change through following the breadcrumb trails that these actors leave in their stories about what they did and how change happened. Through employing actor network theory (ANT) and following the trails found in interviews regarding change at an eastern North American community college, this study explores the intersecting stories and persistent actors that contribute to the implementation of an organizational change strategy. This is an examination of the particular situation of a change leader who leaves the organization part-way through the story. In his account, it becomes discernable just how some actors become more or less persistent, indeed punctualized, allowing an examination of the manners in which such actors are able to enroll others in their cause. This tracing of how the messages and enactment of change (or lack of change) persist allows the uncovering of evidence concerning durable actors. This is especially poignant in situations involving invisible or absent actors such as this organization's retired Chief Executive Officer, and thus has the potential to reveal some important attributes of persistent actors in organizational change situations.

Evaluation and Analyses of Cultural Diversity Training With Environmental Educators

The Environmental Education and Training Partnership Cultural Diversity Workshops were based on theoretical models and designed to increase individuals’ awareness, knowledge, and intentions toward increasing culturally sensitivity. This study reports on the evaluation results from 191 participants. Their responses indicate significant changes in individuals’ levels of awareness and understanding. However, the strategies used for enhancing participants’ levels of understanding do not translate to the organizational level where change is needed to make environmental education relevant and effective when interacting with others holding different worldviews. The authors describe potential barriers and strategies for organizational change.

The Relationship Between Organizational Culture and Implementation of Clinical Practice Guidelines

The context in which critical care providers work has been shown to be associated with adherence to recommendations of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs). Consideration of contextual factors such as organizational culture may therefore be important when implementing guidelines. Organizational culture has been defined simply as "how things are around here" and encompasses leadership, communication, teamwork, conflict resolution, and other domains. This narrative review highlights the results of recent quantitative and qualitative studies, including studies on adherence to nutrition guidelines in the critical care setting, which demonstrate that elements of organizational culture, such as leadership support, interprofessional collaboration, and shared beliefs about the utility of guidelines, influence adherence to guideline recommendations. Outside nutrition therapy, there is emerging evidence that strategies focusing on organizational change (eg, revision of professional roles, interdisciplinary teams, integrated care delivery, computer systems, and continuous quality improvement) can favorably influence professional performance and patient outcomes. Consequently, future interventions aimed at implementing nutrition guidelines should aim to measure and take into account organizational culture, in addition to considering the characteristics of the patient, provider, and guideline. Further high quality, multimethod studies are required to improve our understanding of how culture influences guideline implementation, and which organizational change strategies might be most effective in optimizing nutrition therapy.

Critical failures in a regional network of residential treatment facilities.

The present descriptive case study reports on the state of treatment services and environmental settings in adolescent residential treatment facilities (RTFs) conducted as part of the Residential Treatment Center Evaluation Project. The project frequently uncovered poor quality of care exposing youth to deleterious conditions. Observations related to harsh treatment practices, psychiatric practice and medication management, educational and aftercare planning, and general treatment planning were closely examined. The analysis indicated that accreditation and licensing are insufficient to assure the quality of the service process in RTFs. Future research should address the relationship between treatment quality and treatment outcome. Efforts should also be made to develop strategies for organizational change to support high-quality services in RTFs.

Using organizational change strategies to guide peer support technician implementation in the Veterans Administration.

The Veterans Administration (VA) mental health system is in the process of hiring "Peer Support Technicians" or PSTs-individuals in recovery from serious mental illnesses hired as clinical team members. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate an implementation process that has potential to improve the deployment of the Peer Support Technicians to existing clinical teams within the VA. As part of a larger randomized trial called PEers Enhancing Recovery (PEER), research staff collaboratively planned the deployment of PSTs with three case management teams serving those with serious mental illnesses. Clinical staff received significant opportunity to participate in defining the PST role. PEER staff took extensive notes during planning meetings about the discussions held and decisions made about the PST role. PEER and clinical staff discussed and came to a consensus on several elements that comprise the PST job including goals for employing PSTs, desired characteristics of PSTs, job duties, training to be provided to PSTs, PST access to medical records, supervision, boundaries, confidentiality, how PSTs are to discuss their mental illness with veterans, and a sick leave policy. It is critical to solicit and use input from team providers and leaders when establishing PST services. This approach using input and solicitation can be a model to implement a wide range of clinical interventions in which existing providers and teams will be asked to do something new.

Across the Atlantic cooperation to address international challenges in eHealth and health IT: Managing toward a common goal

Purpose Countries on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean have invested in health information and communication technologies. Since eHealth challenges cross borders a European Union–United States of America conference on public policies relating to health IT and eHealth was held October 20–21, 2008 in Paris, France. Process The conference was organized around the four themes: (1) privacy and security, (2) health IT interoperability, (3) deployment and adoption of health IT, and (4) Public Private Collaborative Governance. The four key themes framed the discussion over the two days of plenary sessions and workshops. Results Key findings of the conference were organized along the four themes. (1) Privacy and security: Patients’ access to their own data and key elements of a patient identification management framework were discussed. (2) Health IT interoperability: Three significant and common interoperability challenges emerged: (a) the need to establish common or compatible standards and clear guidelines for their implementation, (b) the desirability for shared certification criteria and (c) the need for greater awareness of the importance of interoperability. (3) Deployment and adoption of health IT: Three major areas of need emerged: (a) a shared knowledge base and assessment framework, (b) public-private collaboration and (c) and effective organizational change strategies. (4) Public Private Collaborative Governance: Sharing and communication are central to success in this area. Nations can learn from one another about ways to develop harmonious, effective partnerships. Conclusions Three areas that were identified as highest priority for collaboration included: (1) health data security, (2) developing effective strategies to ensure healthcare professionals’ acceptance of health IT tools, and (3) interoperability.

Creating organizational commitment to change: Key to consumer employment success in a supportive housing agency

Supportive housing programs are highly effective in reducing recidivism and preventing homelessness among individuals with serious mental illness. However, supportive housing programs have not focused on increasing employment outcomes among consumers residing in their programs. In addition, creating organizational commitment among supportive housing providers towards improving consumer employment outcomes remains a major challenge. This article describes how an agency made an organizational transformation from providing traditional housing services to developing an in-house supported employment service, and successfully increased consumer competitive employment rates from 13% to 54% within two years. The organizational change strategies and interventions that can be generalized to other housing providers are discussed.

Interventions implemented through sporting organisations for increasing participation in sport

There is now compelling scientific evidence that increased levels of physical activity can bring wide-ranging health benefits. These benefits can extend beyond physical health to include other positive impacts relating to mental health and personal development. The sport and recreation sector is viewed as a priority area for increasing rates of physical activity. Participation rates in organised sport have been shown to be lower in females and to decline with age, and are reduced in lower socio-economic and minority groups including people from non-English speaking and Indigenous backgrounds. It is important to determine the most effective interventions that sporting organisations can use to increase people's participation. To update a review of all controlled studies evaluating interventions implemented through sporting organisations to increase participation. We updated the original (2004) searches in May 2007. We searched: The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, The Cochrane Library, Issue 2 2007); MEDLINE and MEDLINE In-Process and Other Non-Indexed Citations (2004 to Week 3 April 2007); EMBASE (2004 to Week 17 2007); PsyclNFO (2004 to April Week 1 2007); CINAHL (2004 to Week 1 May 2007); SPORTDiscus (2004 to April 2007); Sociological Abstracts (2004 to 2007); Dissertation Abstracts (2004 to May 2007), and a number of freely-available online health promotion and sports-related databases. We used the internet extensively to search for studies and locate information generated by sporting bodies throughout the world. Controlled studies evaluating any intervention designed to increase active and/ or non-active participation in sport by people of all ages. Interventions could include: mass media campaigns; information or education sessions; management or organisational change strategies; policy changes, for example to improve the socio-cultural environment to encourage people of specific age, gender or ethnicity to participate; changes to traditional or existing programs, for example club or association-initiated rule modification programs; provision of activities beyond traditional or existing programs, for example 'Come and Try' initiatives (teaser or taster programs); skill improvement programs; volunteer encouragement programs. Uncontrolled studies which met other inclusion criteria were to be reported in an annex to the review. We assessed whether identified citations met the inclusion criteria. Two review authors independently inspected abstracts (NP, RA). We obtained full papers where necessary. As we located no controlled evaluation studies, we did not undertake data collection or analysis. We found no uncontrolled studies meeting other inclusion criteria, and therefore present no annex to the review. Despite a thorough review of the published and unpublished literature, we found no rigorous studies evaluating the effects of interventions organised through sporting organisations to increase participation in sport. There is an absence of high quality evidence to support interventions designed and delivered by sporting organisations to increase participation in sport. Interventions funded and conducted in this area must be linked to a rigorous evaluation strategy in order to examine overall effectiveness, socio-demographic differentials in participation and cost-effectiveness of these strategies.

Achieving organisational change through values alignment

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to, first, establish the interdependency between the successful achievement of organisational change and the attainment of values alignment within an organisation's culture and then, second, to describe an effective means for attaining such values alignment.Design/methodology/approachLiterature from the fields of organisational change, organisational culture, philosophy, psychology, and values theory is reviewed in order to develop and test the hypothesis that successful organisational change can only occur when those affected by the change are able to willingly commit to an agreed set of values aligned with the accomplishment of the organisation's new outcomes. The paper then presents and reports on a trial of a simple and effective framework for achieving such values alignment in an organisation.FindingsThis paper supports the view that the currently acknowledged widespread resistance to organisational change is caused by a failure of current organisational change strategies to attend to a values alignment process for all those people affected by the desired change. Moreover, this paper proposes that values alignment may not just be an important integral part of organisational change strategies; it could well be the bedrock, the foundation, on which all truly successful organisational change depends.Practical implicationsThe values alignment process presented in this paper provides a very effective and efficient means for enabling people to discern, discuss, and actively support those values that will help the organisation to make desired changes. In essence, this process enables the alignment between personal and organisational values to occur and, thereby, allowing the organisation to evolve and remain viable.Originality/valueThe paper provides a unique perspective on the important process of values alignment within any truly successful organisational change strategy.

Organizational Change to Transfer Knowledge and Improve Quality and Outcomes of Care for Patients with Severe Mental Illness: A Systematic Overview of Reviews

To provide a comprehensive overview of the research on organizational changes aimed at improving health care for patients with severe mental illness and to learn lessons for mental health practice from the results. We searched for systematic literature reviews published in English during 2000 to 2007 in PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Central Register of Systematic Reviews. Three reviewers independently selected and assessed the studies' quality. Studies involving changes of who delivers health care, how care is organized, or where care is delivered were included. We categorized the studies using an existing taxonomy of 6 broad categories of strategies for organizational change. A total of 21 reviews were included. Among these, 17 had reasonably good methodological quality, Almost all reviews included or intended to include randomized controlled trials (RCTs), 6 reviews did not identify studies that met eligibility criteria. Multidisciplinary teams and integrated care models had been reviewed most frequently (a total of 15 reviews). In most studies, these types of changes showed better outcomes in terms of symptom severity, functioning, employment, and housing, compared with conventional services. Different results were found on cost savings. Other types of organizational changes, such as changing professional roles or introducing quality management or knowledge management, were much less frequently reviewed. Very few reviews looked at effects of organizational changes on professional performance. There is a fairly large body of evidence of the positive impact of multidisciplinary teams and integrated care changes on symptom severity, functioning, employment, and housing of people with severe mental illness, compared with conventional services. Other strategies, such as changes in professional roles, quality or knowledge management, have either not been the subject of systematic reviews or have not been evaluated in RCTs. There is still a lack of insight in the so-called black box of change processes and the impact of change on professional performance.

More than the sum of its parts? A qualitative research synthesis on multi-disciplinary primary care teams

This qualitative research synthesis reviews interpretive scholarly papers on multi-disciplinary primary care teams. A bibliographic search was conducted in electronic databases: Medline, Embase, and the Web of Science Citation Index, and in the references of retrieved papers. The research consists of a taxonomic analysis of 19 qualitative studies about primary care teams published in peer-reviewed journals between 2001 and July 2008 in English and French. Nineteen qualitative studies were synthesized. Two major concerns emerged: (1) strategies for organizational change toward effective co-operative practice, and (2) dimensions of team interactions and work relations. The authors conclude that qualitative results suggest common strategies to improve the development of primary care teams, while identifying dimensions of team interactions that remain problematic. A fundamental aspect of team formation appears to be overlooked, i.e., the construction of a collective identity, which would involve the whole team in a shared ideal of co-operative practice. The adoption of discourse analysis is suggested as a more sophisticated qualitative methodology to explore this issue.