Decide on whether the performance improvement strategy, or a more general change strategy, is the...

Question

Decide on whether the performance improvement strategy, or a more general change strategy, is the focus of your assignment.
1. If it is a performance improvement strategy (it can be reduced waiting times in a clinic, reduced infection rates (e.g. in post-operative wounds), reduced medication e
ors, hand-washing compliance, improved record keeping, improved handove
eporting/writing of reports...anything that you think might interest you.
All information needs to be applied to the planned performance improvement (PI).
Identify the pressure/need for change....and explain this in terms of a model like Lewin's 3 stage change theory and his Force Field analysis or Kotter’s 8 step change theory (readings 2.6 & 2.7) and identify the source of the pressure (where it is coming from).
You must read, understand and refer to, the readings in Module 3 as they are specifically about organisational performance (readings 3.2 by Isouard et al., 2006; and 3.1 particularly)
Read module reading 2.6 (Stanley, 2011) as it explains the theories associated with planning and evaluating change.
Discuss the role of the leader in identifying the need for performance improvement, working with the key stakeholders (everyone involved), planning, implementing and evaluating the performance improvement. You will find readings 3.5 and 3.6.
Think about capacity building (reading 2.4 & 2.5) within the organisation and what that might mean in relation to leadership and the performance improvement/change process. Everything that is done should be considered in relation to its support for capacity building in individuals, the team and ultimately the organisation
Discuss the type of leader that is best suited to planning and implementing a changing environment (see module 2, readings 2.1, 2.2 &2.3) and how they work to capacity build the team and support them through the change process.

Module 2 also defines and explains workplace culture and how it can support or resist change (reading 2.8 and the Bundaberg Hospital article by Casali, et al., 2010, in additional readings will give some examples of poor culture that inhibits change/innovation).
You need to think about what a leader can do to create an environment where people feel that their opinion is heard.
Most change management or performance improvement strategy experience some levels of resistance, so good planning and excellent communication skills and are needed. How can a leader facilitate this? Mention the importance of vision and mission in any change and relate these to the change or performance improvement strategy. This might mean identifying that the change or PI needs to be congruent with the mission and vision philosophy
2. The critical analysis of the role of the leader in workplace change processes.
This can be any change process and may be a change you have experienced or that has been published or reported on. The discussion should consider most of the same points as the performance improvement strategy and the list of points are on page 11 of the Learning Guide.
This should be a formal essay format, in summary (from page 10 and 11 of the Learning Guide):
You could define capacity building … and then decide how leadership, workplace culture, communication and support from leaders to the team and amongst team members could be examples of individual and group capacity building (explain this). Identify how this change or performance improvement might build capacity in the work area/organisation.
· The flexible organisation means that they are thinking about how to improve their practice and results…if you look at Kotter’s later steps in the change process it could be argued that their connection to the team and the goals of the team means that they are able to share vision…be on the same page and therefore work together to build each other in skills, confidence and agility when it comes to making changes.
· Look at reading 3.6 and think about the first round of the changes they did to improve hand hygiene compliance to over 70% from the initial level.
· The second push for compliance saw them move to over 90% compliance. Use the changes they made to help you to explain some of the steps that Kotter suggests.
What to conside
· Discussion of ba
iers and facilitators to change/performance improvement, needs to be linked to the role of the leader in managing this.
· You need to mention the importance of benchmarking as this gives you a target for the outcome of the change (for example if you look at reading 3.6 on hand hygiene compliance, the benchmark would be the hand washing compliance rate set down by the WHO)
· How the leader might motivate and engage the stakeholders.
· The shared values (the important concerns and goals of the people in the organisation) and norms (the way in which people act in the organisation), that exist in that organisation.
· Health care organisations have a complex culture related to the various professional groups from which they derive values and norms.
· The workplace culture should support the structure and strategy of the organisation and can be assessed by:
    The extent to which people and departments collaborate or work in isolation
    The importance and extent of control and where it is concentrated
    Whether the organisation has a short term or long term strategic focus
    Whether the organisation flexible (this means that there is a culture where they accept the need for change/improvement) and work together to achieve change outcomes. Look at what the group did in reading 3.6, in the two cycles of performance improvement, related to hand hygiene compliance). Remember, do not describe what happened…link it to the theory and the change process
XXXXXXXXXXThe extent to which the organisation’s strategic focus and strengths are internal or external.
•    Capacity building in organisations usually implies workforce development (so education, support to improve skills, mentoring) so this may be able to be mentioned. Look at reading 3.6 and see if you can identify the capacity building within that clinical area.
Use the above points as headings, to keep on track, but to do a really good essay, remove the headings before final submission.
Remember:
· The main focus is on 'leadership and its role in facilitating change’ and you need to discuss what you think are the ways in which leaders can be effective in identifying the need for change and supporting that change process.
· You MUST use a range of references from the module readings and you must reference all ideas.
· You must use co
ect APA referencing
1

tae_636638490936447986_119225_1.docx

Anju Lata · Accepted Answer

Running Head: PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT STRATEGY
PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT STRATEGY						 
ASSIGNMENT
PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT STRATEGY
INTRODUCTION
Improvements in performance of the healthcare organizations include change in many practices like reducing the waiting time in clinics, decreasing the rates of infection like in post operative wounds, compliance to hand-washing practices, improving the record keeping, minimizing the medication errors, and improving the handover of reports. 
The essay focuses on leadership and its role in facilitating change or improvement. It elaborates the multiple ways in which the leaders can effectively identify the need for change and support the change process.
BACKGROUND 
The Organizational change is a situation where a Company accepts a new strategy to improve its management and strategic operations for a better future. The Organizational leaders are mainly responsible to bring about the changes in the Organizations. For example there can be radical changes within an organization to facilitate structural transformations where the Companies restructure their policies and business. Few other changes like acquisition and merger may completely transform the whole management in an organization. However, the process of change is not always adopted by the employees and other stakeholders in a positive manner. Many employees are generally susceptible to adopt any change in their usual existing routine. The employees, who are habitual to work in old system, often resist the change. For example when a certain department of an Organization is made to shut down its business operations, the employees of that department may resist the change as they feel insecure and frustrated to lose their jobs. In such a situation, the leaders are required to plan the change management effectively to understand the perspective of both the involved groups and to take right decisions not to influence the whole performance of the Company.
According to Lewin’s three stage change model, the driving forces for any change are responsible for shifting the equilibrium towards a potential change or improvement (Jacobs et al,2012) . According to Force Field Model, the driving forces for change can be social or clinical, can be policy dependent, political and environmental, and can also be influenced by cost pressures and consumer demands. However, there are also certain resisting forces in every organization which oppose the change like existing organizational culture, shortage of time, poor leadership, internal politics and poor communication system. Any strategy aimed to improve the performance or quality of an organization is implemented in a pre-existing system and requires effective planning to estimate the impact of change.
THESIS STATEMENT
The essay focuses on leadership and its role in facilitating change or improvement.
NEED FOR CHANGE & SOURCE OF PRESSURE
As per the Lewin’s model there are three factors necessary to bring about a change: Unfreeze, Change and Freeze (Jacobs et al,2012). The stage of unfreezing identifies the importance of change and involves a shift from current comfortable zone of existing system. It includes development of a situation in which the change is needed. The more we feel the importance and urgency of change, the more motivated we are to bring about the change. For example, the closer the deadline for a given work is, the more we get actively engaged into action and starts the work. When there is no deadline, we do not experience the push or pressure to do the work hence the feeling of change is less than the need of change. People are lowly motivated to change. In absence of any motive or the urgency, we do not feel any need to change.
ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE
As the technology, market and demands of the customers change along with social and demographic characteristics, the organizations need to change their work strategies to stay ahead with the changing time (Connelly, 2016). The organizations need to adopt the change in their strategy and work culture.The employees need adequate training to adopt the new change successfully in their lives. The change also needs to be reinforced and maintained in the future in a permanent way.
To maximize the performance in healthcare sector, the quality promotion strategies must be adopted by the organizations. To introduce high performance in healthcare, often it becomes difficult to develop the resources, workforce and the infrastructure. Due to these issues, an organizational theory is needed to build the capacity in organizations to deliver and evaluate the desired changes effectively. The healthcare practitioners must build organizational change in their capacity building frameworks because without consistent change the organizations won’t be efficient. The effectiveness of healthcare programs is largely dependent on the quality of planning in the projects. The planning is an important part of the change.
The Organizational Culture plays an important role in shaping the preferences, regulating the behavior and framing the decisions. As evident in the study performed by Jacob et al, (2012), on relationship between organizational culture and performance in acute hospitals, the habits of use and the institutions being the main focus of study, form the framework of Organization’s culture. The institutional economic theory states that the core values of an Organization help to shape the preferences of the members and hence influence the decisions and the performance of the company in multiple ways. The culture influences the efficiency through shared values, norms and beliefs of the organization. These attributes help to change the manners in which the different members engage and interact with each other. In bringing about the effective improvements there must be certain cultural values like responding to and learning from errors, effective decision making, creativity and team based efforts.
Depending upon the equity considerations,

Decide on whether the performance improvement strategy, or a more general change strategy, is the focus of your assignment. 1. If it is a performance improvement strategy (it can be reduced waiting...

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