Innovate, innovate, innovate. How do you plan to manage change? Look at the following example to draw some inspiration for your future career.
To get cracking…
…revise pages 184-208 of Chapter 7 and really get your head around the theory in the text. Then, read this document (just kidding! Check the summary below for a guide to what you should be looking at, unless you want to read the whole thing!) and respond to the questions below.
How do real changes get managed?
…A few years ago, a report on NSW Health Services was commissioned delivered: The Garling report. The report is very long and extensive, and of course you are not expected to read it all (although it is quite interesting!). This is, however, a good opportunity for you to follow the steps of change management.
One small section of the report, on pages 253-262, refers to the administrative over-burdening of Nurse Unit Managers (NUMs). The nursing unit manager is basically the manager of a ward in a hospital. S/he is typically in charge of the nursing staff on the ward, the resources of the ward, and many other duties listed on p. 253, article 8.75, and article 8.78 on page 254. The report identifies a high burden of non-clinical duties (which, typically, the NUM is not trained for), compared with what a NUM should do: clinical nursing and patient care.
The report does not only point out problems – that is only half the job! The report suggests solutions (i.e. change) and justifies these suggestions. In this case, the report suggests the creation of a new administrative role, which would be used to support the NUM. The commissioner defines the role of such assistant very broadly, but places specific timelines for the implementation of this recommendation.
Throughout the report, the commissioner justifies his suggestions and findings by providing real examples from real participants in the study. Some of the participants are identified by name and workplace, which means that their workplace can be aware of their contribution to the report. This indicates a high level of confidence in their input.
The Garling report is still debated in public media and among healthcare providers. Some are more supportive (http://www.asmofnsw.org.au/_webapp_1738025/Final_Report_Card_Issued_on_Implementing_the_Garling_Report) than others (http://www.smh.com.au/national/weve-gone-backwards-x2026-nursing-has-gone-into-the-abyss-20091118-imka.html), very much like in any change initiative. There is no doubt that leading a change in an organisation requires a great deal of energy, resilience, and thick skin. Hopefully, you can cope with it well, when it is your turn!
Some issues to notice and pay particular attention to here are…
- Categories of organisational change
- Forces that create a need for change
- Who initiates organisational change?
- The three-step change process
- Process consultation
Consider the following questions for discussion…
- What sort of organisational change are we looking at here? Is it a change in structure? In people? In technology? Consult p. 186 and Figure 7.1 in your textbook.
- What are the forces that created a need for change in this case? The answer to this is in the earlier pages of the report: page 3, article 1.5. But you may have some ideas of your own.
- Your textbook talks about change agents. How does the Commissioner’s role compare with that of a change agent? Who would answer the description of a change agent in this case?
- Can you find evidence of each of the three steps described in the three-step change process in the report’s recommendations 23 and 24 on p. 262?
- What evidence of consultation can you find in the report? What sort of factors would support productive consultation, and what sort of factors would impede it?
Robbins, Management: Essentials 