LDR 615 Discussion During a change initiative, what can organizations use to identify or verify truly objective and measureable success?
LDR 615 Discussion During a change initiative, what can organizations use to identify or verify truly objective and measureable success?
LDR 615 Discussion During a change initiative, what can organizations use to identify or verify truly objective and measureable success?
During a change initiative, what can organizations use to identify or verify truly objective and measureable success? What does your organization utilize to measure its level of success?
Replies
Topic 7 Summary
Hello Class,
Although this past week of class seems as if it just flew right by, it was an excellent week of learning! As we discussed and evaluated, creating short term wins during times of change produces several beneficial outcomes. Equally as important, identifying meaningful measures of success can also influence the success of a change initiative. I think that the ultimate key here is to begin with the end in mind and have progress checks along the way!
Well, you have almost made it to the finish line as we are now in the final week of class. Push hard this week and finish strong!
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Nursing is a calling. This has always been my believe. For you to be a nurse and care for someone in their lowest point of their lives means you have been called to be the peace of the patient. It takes compassion, determination, perseverance, and the spirit of endurance to nurse someone. Looking at the story of Moses, he was called by God to lead the people of Israel when they were enslaved in Egypt. This role didn’t come easy as he was to face Pharoah to advocate for the release of the Israelites. As nurses we have the responsibility to advocate for the good of our patients in our care. We speak to the physicians and other healthcare professionals who are on the care team of the patients. If we as nurses are prompt and persistent to ensure the patient gets good care, there is a positive outcome in the health of the patients. There are times we will be faced with difficult situations in our nursing profession, but it does not mean we must give up. these experiences shape us for greater task ahead. In the case where other care team members are making our work difficult and failing to listen to us, we have the option of reporting to the higher authority in our field to ensure patient safety. When Moses met a resistance from Pharoah, he did not give up but rather went back to speak with God for guidance.
Qualitative vs. Quantitative Goals
Hello Class,
Thank you for your thoughtful responses to this DQ! In my experience, when identifying success measures, most companies tend to prioritize quantitative measures over qualitative measures. During times of change, in addition to achieving quantitative goals, it is extremely critical to ensure that people are on-board and completely bought in to the change initiative which lends to success measures which are more qualitative in nature. Class, what are your thoughts on each of these methodologies and how would you ensure that both qualitative and quantitative measurements are considered?
Dr. E
In the context of my organization, the use of both quantitative and qualitative measures is required. Qualitative measurements are based on observable futures, which cannot be determined with numeric measurements; they are categorized into identifiable terms (Keathley, 2021). Quantitative measurement is descriptive by nature and is represented by a numeric value (Keathley, 2021). For example, quantitative measures would reflect the financial status, increase or decrease in giving, and donations, the fluctuance in the number of the attendance, the retention of stakeholders, and overall statistics, which would present an accurate condition of the organization Keathley, 2021). Qualitative measures would allow the organization to understand better the stakeholder’s acceptance of the changing process, participation, feedback, and understanding of how the process affects the organization (Renata, n.d). Observation, interviews, polls are methods that would allow organizations to collect data that would be analyzed to draw conclusions (Renata, n.d).
References:
Keathley, C. (2021). Qualitative and Quantitative Measurements. Study. https://study.com/learn/lesson/the-difference-between-qualitative-quantitative-measurement.html
Renata, R. (n.d). What are Qualitative Measurements? The Classroom. https://www.theclassroom.com/advantages-disadvantages-crosssectional-studies-8758457.html
Replies to Erica Richmond
In healthcare, the point of all research is to apply the findings to improve clinical practice outcomes (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt,
LDR 615 Discussion During a change initiative, what can organizations use to identify or verify truly objective and measureable success
2019). One of the most important questions to keep in mind during appraisal is asking what the research means for clinical practice. Levels of evidence or a hierarchy of evidence provide guidance, and which hierarchy or level is appropriate depends on the type of clinical questions asked.
Quantitative ranks at the highest level of confidence for intervention questions, compared to designs that give lower confidence levels (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2019). The higher a rank in the hierarchy, the more confidence clinicians can have that the intervention will produce the same outcomes in similar patients for whom they care. Interpretation of results must include factors of validity and reliability. Possible sources of bias must also get examined.
Qualitative evidence is narrative, reflective, or anecdotal information, thus answering questions about human experiences (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2019). Qualitative evidence may not be as familiar to clinicians as quantitative evidence. Answering qualitative questions provides clinicians with the why, whereas quantitative evidence tends to provide the how-to practice. Qualitative appraising helps clinicians understand the experiences and values of patients. It is imperative to combine quantitative evidence with patient preferences and clinical expertise, using both methodologies to improve clinical practice outcomes.
Reference
Melnyk, B. M., & Fineout-Overholt, E. (2019). Evidence-based practice in nursing & healthcare: A guide to best practice (4th ed.). Wolters Kluwer.
Dr. Erica,
Thank you for a great follow up question. Quantitative design provides the statistical reasoning behind the change whereas, qualitative adds the overall purpose. However, both are an essential component to the change process. When I did research, I found that there are many benefits to a mixed method approach for the change process. The mixed method focuses on data from quantitative design then combines with the qualitative data. By incorporating both methods the findings are more significant as the design is broadened for obtaining data (Almalki, 2016). I have found this method to be superior to just focusing in on one measurement tool as the data obtained from the both approaches provide greater details to support the change initiative.
Reference
Almalki, S. (2016). Integrating quantitative and qualitative data in mixed methods research-challenges and benefits. Journal of Education and Learning, 5(3), 288–296. https://doi.org/10.5539/jel.v5n3p288
Hello Dr E.
You bring up a very valid point, many times company just “want the data” which is what quantitative measures can give numerical results and faster stats before a qualitative result can be measured. Both methodologies offer great potentials and limitations to a study or change process (Queiros et al, 2017) . While Quantitative results give great data and show a good statical picture, qualitative data can provide a lot of though and feelings behind the change that can give a deeper understanding to the given problem and the change process. In the change process if staff feel like a number they will not have ownership or buy-in, thus I feel the quantitative measure help to create that and offer the deeper sense of understanding they need to feel involved
Queirós, A., Faria, D., & Almeida, F. (2017). STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS OF QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS. European Journal of Education Studies, 0. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v0i0.1017
Dr E.,
The healthcare system that our hospital currently joined is data driven, and from my experience up to this point it has been almost entirely quantitative. We have dashboards that we much complete each month and that information is used to assess whether we are meeting our goals. They look at the trend over a quarter and determine if we need are meeting our goals or if we need to modify our plans. I have struggled with this at times because there have been situations where on paper, we appear to be meeting goals but in reality, staff are struggling and having a challenging time finding the motivation to continue to meet the goals. I have suggested that leadership become more visible and to encourage in person rather than in generic emails. Improving qualitative measures can help to improve quantitative measures.
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Hi Dr. E. I think using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies in change initiatives is important. Your right there seems to be alot of focus on quantitative I think because it is tied to reimbursements. However, qualitative measures would allow you to see how the employees perceive change. This is essential to have buy-in to change initiatives. Without complete buy-in to a change initiative it may fail. In Lewin’s change theory part of the initial Unfreezing step includes the motivation for change and not to proceed until others perceive the need for change (Rundio et al., 2016). This can be accomplished by conducting surveys.