Managing Change in National Health Service Hospital in England - Case Study Example

Change Management Name Institution Date Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Key Issues That Require Attention 3 Issues selected for detailed consideration 5 Change Management Theories 7 Application of the theories 9 Conclusion 11 References 12 Introduction In the current business environment, it is very normal to expect changes at any time. According to Cameron, the changes may come unexpected leading to negative impacts on the employees (18). The changes are however for the purpose of ensuring that the organization is able to move with the economic situation. The factors that lead to change however vary depending on the leadership of the organization to the economic situation. It is common for most employees to resist change due to the impacts it may have on them. Some employees always fear loosing power and control due to the new changes taking place. Some leaders also like making changes anytime they assume office. This is for the purpose of ensuring that their authority is felt by the employees. However, some changes are good and it means well for the organization. The success of implementing the changes is thus dependant on various factors. Change management is an important aspect of change that helps to guide the employees and he organization into accepting the implemented changes. Marshak notes that it offers mechanisms that the employees can adopt in order to cope with the changes before they fully accept it (21). The paper thus discusses the concepts of change management in relation to the National Health Service hospital in England which has problems in terms of implementing and managing change. Key Issues That Require Attention The hospital is faced by some serious challenges that require immediate attention in order to prevent further financial loss as well as problems among the employees. The major problem that the hospital is facing is the lack of ability to comply with the government regulation. The UK government requires that non-emergency patients should be treated within eighteen weeks. This has contributed greatly to the problems facing the hospital. This is because the hospital is not in a position to comply with this requirement which attracts financial penalties. According Sirkin, the financial penalties lead to loss of revenue to an organization (112). The hospital thus chose the option of subcontracting private hospitals. This was not good enough as the cost of treatment was also high for each patient. As a result of this, the hospital was not gaining from the initiative. Instead, it was loosing a lot due to poor revenues collected and the high amounts it has to pay for the patients in private hospital. The management is thus concerned about the situation and requires urgent intervention. This will definitely lead to changes within the operations in the hospital. The change may rescue the hospital from financial problems if it is well implemented. The issue of staffing requires a lot of attention from the management. The shortage of staff is a serious problem and is causing a lot of concern to both the employees and the management. The shortage of staff is also a major disadvantage to the junior doctors as it is working against them. It is affecting their careers as some of the professional bodies are threatening to with draw its validation of the training of the doctors in the hospital. This is because the doctors who work at night do not get the adequate exposure required to boost their knowledge and skills. The problem of staff shortage has also been worsened by the requirements in which the doctors should work per week. This affects the hospital directly and thus affecting the quality of the services provided by the hospital. According to Pappas, the issue has raised a lot of concern and it affects the moral of the employees. Low levels of morale may impact negatively on the delivery of services by the employees (44). This situation therefore requires immediate changes for the problem to be solved. This is because it directly affects the operations of the hospital which may compromise the treatment of the patients. The last issue affecting the hospital is the poor relationship between the managers and the clinicians leading to employee resistance to change. The managers do not exactly understand the situation facing the clinicians while the clinicians also perceive the managers in a negative way. The issue therefore requires immediate attention as it may spill over to the other departments and hence affection the operations of the hospital. The clinicians perceive the managers to be mainly motivated by the financial needs and do not consider the needs of the patient. This is because the doctors clearly understand the needs of the patients as compared to the managers. The main concern for the clinicians is to ensure that the patients are fully treated and discharged. However the managers may be concerned about the patients but are also concerned about the cost of operations. This brings a lot of misunderstanding between the two groups. It is for this reason hat changes need to be managed to ensure that the concerns of the two groups are fully addressed. Change management is however very important at this stage as the implementation of change may face resistance. The current situation is not favorable for change as it may lead to other problems. This issue therefore requires a lot of attention (Stensaker, 221). Issues selected for detailed consideration The most important issue for consideration is the staffing issue. This issue affects the operations o the hospital directly. Due to lack of enough staff members, the hospital is forced to contract the private hospitals. This is quite costly for the hospital as compared to hiring new members of staff. The quality of the work of the employees also depends on the roles that they are allocated to perform. However, with few employees, it is evident that some will have to perform extra duties in order to attain the required standards. On the other hand, the few number of employees may be overwhelmed by the workload and hence affecting the service delivery. The customers may not be satisfied if the staff members are overwhelmed. It is also important to note that the development and training of the employees is hided due to the few number of staff members. This limits the training and development as the time may not be available. The hospital should thus address the issue by initiating the required changes. This will definitely result to some of the challenges while adopting the change in order to accommodate the new staff members. However this issue is quite sensitive and should be given maximum consideration to avoid the problem of contracting the private hospital. It will also ensure that the hospital is able to meet the government regulation (Kerber, 28). The tension between the managers and the clinicians is an issue that requires a lot of consideration. The managers play an important role in the operations of the organization. Most of the decisions are usually made and implemented by the managers. Proper management is important for an organization and it makes the process of decision making easy. The clinicians on he other hand are equally important as they perform the core functions of the hospital. Their concerns should be given a lot of attention as it directly affects the operations of the hospital. These two categories of staff members are thus very important for the operations of the organization. The tension between the two groups can lead to poor performance. This is because decision making and implementation will be greatly affected. Joseph remarks that once the managers lack support for the decisions they have made, then it becomes irrelevant no mater how good it might be (26). It is for this reason that the hospital is facing problems in implementing change and change management. The tension between the two group is thus a contributing factor to the [problems facing the hospital and it affects the change management strategies. Once the problem is solved, it will reduce the resistance to change that is being portrayed by the employees. Change Management Theories According Izzard, the change management theories are used for the analysis change management aspects. Lewin freeze phase is one of the theories of change management that seeks to define change management (16). The theory emphasizes that change mainly involves the movement from one static state to another static state through a state of activity. The change process involves three main phases which are freezing, changing and re-freezing. This theory emphasizes the importance of change management at each phase and how it can be relevant to an organization. The change management is important in terms of enabling the individuals or the organization adapt to the changes positively at each stage. The kibler-Ross grieve cycle is also an important theory of change management. This theory was initially applicable in the medical field. However due to its concepts, it has a wide application in the change management in organizations. This theory deals with the emotional response of the employees once they receive the news of the change. To some of the employees, the news may not be good enough and hence a negative emotional response. This is quite similar to a patient receiving bad news concerning their condition. The example of a patient is relevant as the organization or employees could be facing a difficult situation. It is thus important for the emotional issues to be put into consideration during the change management. The management should thus use the best strategy when announcing the change for the purpose of preparing the employees emotionally (Anderson, 13). The Prosci ADKAR model is also an important change management theory. This theory is useful to the organizations in terms of dealing with incremental changes. The incremental changes are usually common in the organizations due to the need to satisfy the customers. This theory thus emphasizes that it is important to create awareness among the employees in terms of the changes. This makes the change management process easy. On the other hand, the desire to implement change should also be the driving force for the change management. The knowledge of change management is also important during the implementation stage. This knowledge enables the employees to deal effectively with the changes regardless of the negative impacts it may have on them. According to Higgs, the knowledge of change management is important in terms of ensuring that the employees are equipped with the abilities and skills to adapt to the changes (130). The change management strategies according to this theory should be carefully planned so that it may address al the affected areas. This theory also puts into consideration that the changes may happen from time to time and not just once. The change management theories therefore provide important concepts that need to be adapted during the change management process. In order to successfully manage change, the change management principles have to be put into consideration by the managers and the employees. It is important to seek support from all the stakeholders in the department. The support will ensure that the challenges during the changes can be handled well. The management team should also understand the position of the department before the changes are implemented. The position of the department may be in terms of its financial records, employee morale or customer satisfaction. Understanding the position of the organization enables the managers to come up with the best strategies of dealing with the changes under the prevailing conditions. It is also important for the managers to understand the objectives of the organization in order to deal with the changes. Some of the changes may affect the aims and objectives of the organization if they are not managed well. This is common where the employees resist the changes within the organization. Communication is also an important principle of change management. It is important for the department to communicate freely with the employees so as to prepare them for the changes. The communication process breaks a lot of barriers to the change management process. Once the management communicates freely with the employees, then it becomes easier to manage the changes as the employees will know what is expected of them (Fisher, 261). Application of the theories The hospital requires utilizing the change management theory so as to solve its problems. It is important for the management and the employees to know that their problems can be solved step by step. This is according to the Lewin freeze phase theory of management. The problem being faced by the hospital is one static phase that most of the employees are used to. The doctors are used to working for some hours during the day and the night. However, it is evident that those who are working at night are at a disadvantage. The changes thus require a lot of management in order for the hospital to make improvements. Employing new members of staff brings about change in the organization. This will mean that the organization has to restructure its methods of operations so as to accommodate the services of the new employees. The employment of the new employees is a state of activity that will facilitate the change. Since the shortage of employees is a major concern in the hospital, this is likely to impact positively on the employees who have had to work under stress. The theory also puts forward important concepts that suggest that the changes should be managed step by step (Ferrabee, 10). This will ensure that the hospital is able to solve any problem that may arise as a result of implementing the change. The Kibler-Ross theory of management is applicable in this situation. The change management is important due to the lack of understanding between the clinicians and the management team. Due to the changes which should be implemented to solve the problems facing the hospital, one group may benefit more than the other. The clinicians may benefit greatly if more employees are employed and the operations of the organization changing. However, the managers may be affected by the changes as it may fail to benefit them. Such changes may impact them emotionally. The change management strategy at this point is to ensure that this consideration is put in place. According Scholes, in order to ensure that the changes are well managed, it is important to ensure that awareness of the changes is created among all the employees (15). This is an important concept that the Prosci ADKAR theory puts forward. This will also reduce the resistance among the employees which is a problem that is already affecting the organization. These theories are thus very important in providing information on the situation facing the hospital and how the change management strategies can work. The operations of the company will also be improved by using the change management strategies which will solve the issue of staffing and employee resistance. The change management principles are also useful to the employees and the management (937). It is evident that the present situation in the hospital is not good. The decision made may have varied results. This is due to the differences between the managers and the clinicians. The financial situation of the hospital is also not good enough as it has been losing money to private hospitals through contracting them. Principles of change management are thus useful in the situation as it will also propose the methods of implementing the changes without affecting anyone. This ensures that the resistance from the employees is minimized to a great extent. On the other hand, it ensures that the blame game is eliminated and each employee work towards achieving the goals of the organization. The proper change management strategies can improve the situation in the hospital by ensuring that the communication process is enhanced. It is evident that the communication process between the management and the clinicians is poor and hence the differences among them. Proper communication will thus lead to one common solution which will also ensure that the change is well managed (Marshak, 8). The changes can also be managed well in the presence of a good communication system that ensures that the teams move together towards achieving the objectives of the hospital. Conclusion In conclusion, it is evident that the hospital is faced by various problem related to change. The employees and the managers are not able to make proper decisions due to lack of change management strategies. It is also evident that the situation of the hospital is poor financially. The earlier decision made by the hospital greatly affects the financial situation of the hospital. The problems affecting the hospital mainly revolve around the staffing issues which threaten to ground the operations of the hospital. The management theories provide a clear understanding on the concepts of change management. The theories also suggest how the concepts of change management can be utilized for the benefit of the hospital. The concepts can greatly benefit the hospital as well as solve the problems affecting the hospital. It is also evident that the communication process which is an important aspect of change management is lacking in the hospital. Proper communication ensures that the employees and the management work together towards achieving the goals of the hospital despite implementing the recommended changes. References Anderson, D. Beyond Change Management: Advanced Strategies for Today’s Transformational Leaders. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass 2001. Marshak, R. Reinventing organizational development: New approaches to change in organizations. 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