A Description of the Organizational Structure or Design of Your Practice Setting
The Ambulatory Surgery Center I worked at was not sufficiently equipped with all technical devices necessary for performing daily operations. Though the Medical Director of this center was a good manager, the organizational structure left much to be desired. Specifically, there was no organization in terms of availability of resources, as well as comfortable working conditions. Additionally, healthcare personnel lacked proper training for handling specific technologies. Absence of a fax machine made nurse go to the administrative office to discharge various types of medical documents. I realized that the problem lied in lack of computers that would process information so that no paper was needed to carry on the documentation procedures.
Judging from the above case, the organizational structure was not perfect and my task was to introduce correspondent changes to meet the needs of health care community. Particular emphasis was placed on allocation of resources and availability of providers. The main weakness of an organization was lack of proper reforms that would contribute to inviting more investments for fostering the change.
An element of organizational development from which the organization would benefit
On the one hand, chaos type of organization has the right to existence under certain circumstances. Such nursing systems strive to achieve non-equilibrium principle to challenge the management interventions and make the integration process more complicated (Mark, 1994). One the other hand, perfect nursing organization should be based on reliability and consistency, which is impossible when the chaos theory is applied. According to Coutu (2003), facing the unexpected effectively is possible in case the organization is ready to face critical situations. The readiness to encounter unforeseen complications is one of the most important elements, therefore, that should be introduced to the organization under analysis. Apparently, such a component can help managers eliminate the existing problems with information exchange within the facility. Reliability and accountability are also involved into the concept of readiness to solve problems and take responsibilities for actions and reforms (Rousel and Swansburg, 2006). To enlarge on this issue, nurses “…have to be strong and tough in supporting the values of clinical nurses. They have to be proactive in planning, designing and implementing new organizational structures” (Rousel and Swansburg, 2006, p. 116). In whole, the concepts of equilibriums will be much more applicable to solving the problem.
Actions you would take to implement the organizational element and anticipated results
In order to implement the identified organizational elements, a multi-faceted approach should be used. Particular attention must be paid to self-regulation and self-governance to introduce changes within the structure. Change should be introduced inside the system, but not outside it. The manager should alter nurses’ attitude to the process of working, as well as to the patterns of health care delivery. They should understand that openness to change is the basis condition to improving the organization (Linder, 2005). In addition, the manager’s task lies in creating the corresponding condition for striking the balance between the existing norms and the ones that can be consistently implemented. In this respect, the application of chaos theory is not relevant to the case because it ruins the organization and makes it impossible to establish the required order. Greater accountability and responsibility taken is the main attribute of successful re-organization.
References
Coutu, D. L. (2003). Sense and reliability: A conversation with celebrated psychologist Karl E. Weick. Harvard Business Review, 81(4), 84-90.
Linder, J. (2005). How do things really work around here? Across the Board, 42(6), 24-29.
Mark, B. (1994). Chaos Theory and Nursing Systems Research. Complexity and Chaos in Nursing. 1, 1-25.
Rousel, L., and Swansburg, R. C. (2006). Management and Leadership for Nurse Administrators. US: Jones and Bartlett Learning.