LDR-615 Change Initiative: Creating Vision
LDR-615 Change Initiative: Creating Vision
Change is an inevitable phenomenon in the existence of any organization. An organization that does not change as imposed by its internal and external environments is at risk of extinction (Nilsen et al., 2020). Change is critical to organizational growth, development, and survival, and if an organization remains at the status quo, it becomes stagnant and irrelevant and eventually becomes insolvent. This essay will explore the driving forces of change in my organization, discuss a force requiring change, and create a vision to motivate the change.
Presentation of Organization
Hackensack Meridian Health is a leading not-for-profit health care organization. It is the largest, most comprehensive, and integrated health care network in New Jersey, providing a wide range of medical services, innovative research, and life-enhancing care (Hackensack Meridian, 2021). The organization network has over 500 patient care locations throughout New Jersey. The mission of Hackensack Meridian is “To transform health care and be recognized as the leader of positive change.” Its vision is “To create a world where t
LDR615 Change Initiative Creating Vision
he highest quality care is human-centered, accessible and affordable” (Hackensack Meridian, 2021). We strive to deliver health outcomes that matter most and that excellence is the standard. The organization’s internal stakeholders comprise the board of trustees, the management team, medical staff, and non-medical staff. External stakeholders include patients, the New Jersey community, insurance providers, and the state government.
External and Internal Forces That Drive Organizational Change
External forces refer to factors in the organization’s external environment that influence change but are outside the organization’s control. The external forces that drive change at Hackensack Meridian Health include population demographics, social and cultural factors, technology advancements, government laws, and political changes in the country (Aronsson et al., 2021). These factors have forced the organization to constantly change in order to adapt to the transforming external environmental situation. Adapting to external changes is crucial for the organization to remain sustainable. Internal forces are factors that influence change in the organization and are under an organization’s control (Aronsson et al., 2021). Internal driving forces include the management and leadership styles, organizational culture, technology capacity, policies, and the organization’s structures, systems, and practices. Limitations in the internal forces compel and drive changes within our organization.
Analysis of the Effect of Specific Driving Force on Organization
Technology advancements have significantly driven change at Hackensack Meridian. Changes in technology in the external organizational environment and other healthcare organizations compel an organization to adopt the new technological systems (Safi et al., 2018). This is because an organization that has not adopted the new technology becomes less competitive since its organizational operations become less cost-effective. As a result, an organization is forced to embrace the new technology. Adopting new technology means that the organization’s work structure with regard to systems, procedures, operations, and processes become affected (Safi et al., 2018). Alterations in the workflow structure result in the organization creating a new workflow structure. This implies that change will occur within the organization from the adoption and implementation of new technology. For that reason, new advancements in technology serve as drivers of organizational change (Safi et al., 2018). Furthermore, technological advancements alter the labor force in an organization, especially for employees in mid-and lower-level hospital positions. This is because technological advancements lead to increased efficiencies at the cost of human replacement in the workforce.
Steps Needed for the Organization or Department to Respond to the Driving Force
Hackensack Meridian needs to embrace new health information technologies and upgrade the existing ones to remain competitive
LDR-615 Change Initiative Creating Vision
with other organizations. The first step in responding to the driving force of technological advancements is to clearly define the change and align it to the organization’s goal (Courtney, 2020). This will include identifying the technological advancements that need to be adopted and why the change is needed. The second step will be to determine the impact of adopting the new technology at different organizational levels. Besides, the organization will need to determine who will be affected most by the new technology and how it be received by the various staff (Courtney, 2020). The third step will entail creating a communication strategy that includes a timeline for how the new change will be gradually communicated, key information, and the communication channels and mediums to be used.
The fourth step will be to provide effective staff training to equip them with the knowledge and skills required to operate efficiently as the new technology is rolled out. The fifth step will be to implement a support structure (Courtney, 2020). The structure is crucial in assisting the staff to adjust practically and emotionally to the new technology and to be proficient in the behaviors and technical skills required to attain the desired results. The last step will be to develop a structure that measures the impact of the new technology on the organization and ensures that constant reinforcement opportunities are available to build proficiencies.
How Employees Will Respond to the Proposed Change Initiative
Employees may respond differently to the new technological changes based on their position in the organizational structure. The response by the top-level manager might be mixed since new technology will improve patient care efficiencies and reduce the workload but will come at a financial cost for the organization (Safi et al., 2018). Employees at the middle level might embrace the new technology changes since they will improve patient care efficiencies, reduce workload, and improve patient outcomes. However, resistance might also arise among the middle-level staff if challenges occur during the implementation of the new technology (Safi et al., 2018). Furthermore, low-level employees might widely accept the new technology changes since they will ease patient care delivery such as documentation and charting, reduce workload, facilitate delivery of quality patient care, and improve patient outcomes. Nevertheless, if the new technologies will lender some employees redundant, it may face resistance.
Vision for Change
A change vision guides an organization by communicating what it wishes to attain after implementing a change strategy. The vision change for our organization with regards to technological advancement is: “To utilize advanced health technologies to transform health care through education, research and practice.” The vision is consistent with the organization’s mission since it also seeks to transform healthcare. Embracing and using health technologies will place the organization at the forefront of promoting positive change in the healthcare industry. The vision will motivate employees to engage in research to develop new IT technologies that will improve the delivery of healthcare and patient outcomes (Nilsen et al., 2020). It will also motivate them to try out emerging healthcare technologies and put them into practice when providing patient care. I will propose the vision to the internal stakeholders by arranging for a vision meeting where I will present the vision, discuss the ideas behind the vision, and discuss changes that should be implemented to get close to the vision. In addition, I will present goals that will guide the attainment of the vision and explain how potential challenges will be addressed.
How the Vision Will Assist Internal Stakeholders in Supporting the Change Initiative
The vision articulates the type of change I wish to see in the organization and the desired outcomes from implementing the change. The vision will encourage the organization’s internal stakeholders to support the change initiative since it articulates what needs to be done, that is, utilize advanced health technologies. It also states that the expected results from adopting the technologies are to transform healthcare, which will motivate the stakeholders to join the course. The vision also states that healthcare transformation will result from education, research, and practice, which informs the stakeholders on the necessary steps to achieve the vision.
Conclusion
The mission of Hackensack Meridian Health is to transform health care and become a leader of positive change. External drivers of organizational change include population demographics, social and cultural factors, technology advancements, government laws, and political changes. Internal drivers include management and leadership styles, organizational culture, technology capacity, policies, and the organization’s structures, systems, and practices. Technology advancements compel an organization to adopt new technological systems, which alter the workflow structure resulting in a change in an organization. My vision for technological advancements is to adopt advanced health technologies to transform health care through education, research and practice. The change initiative might be accepted since it will streamline healthcare delivery, reduce workload and improve health outcomes. However, it might face resistance due to the financial costs needed and if it renders some employees redundant.
References
Aronsson, F., Huusko, A., & Wansulin, V. (2021). Internal and External Forces of Organizational Change in Project Management: A case study on a collaborative project.
Courtney, F. (2020). Steps to Effective Organizational Change Management. URL: https://www. pulse learning. com (дата звернення 20.12. 2020 р.).
Hackensack Meridian Health. (2021, April 13). Who we are. https://www.hackensackmeridianhealth.org/about/who-we-are/
Safi, S., Thiessen, T., & Schmailzl, K. J. (2018). Acceptance and Resistance of New Digital Technologies in Medicine: Qualitative Study. JMIR research protocols, 7(12), e11072. https://doi.org/10.2196/11072
Nilsen, P., Seing, I., Ericsson, C., Birken, S. A., & Schildmeijer, K. (2020). Characteristics of successful changes in health care organizations: an interview study with physicians, registered nurses and assistant nurses. BMC health services research, 20(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-020-4999-8