Learning objectives
How do I:
determine when to look for evidence to assist in decision-making?
source relevant evidence for my management practice and decision-making?
critically appraise evidence for its strengths, weaknesses and relevance to a particular health services management question?
apply relevant evidence to my management practice and decision-making?
find out more about evidence-based management?
Introduction
Building on the concepts of evidence-based medicine and evidence-based policy, the concept of evidence-based leadership and management suggests that leaders and managers find, evaluate and use the best available scientific evidence to inform their practice. An early definition of evidence-based management was ‘translating principles based on best evidence into organisational practices’ (Rousseau, 2006, p. 256). This chapter discusses when and how to look for evidence and outlines how to apply it to the leadership or management decision or situation at hand.
Use of evidence
While there are studies linking doctors who practise evidence-based medicine with better clinical outcomes (Pfeffer & Sutton, 2006), and despite the inherent logic of basing decisions on evidence, we could fi nd no studies linking evidence-based management with better organisational outcomes. In fact, there is a large body of research that suggests that managers have difficulty finding and applying evidence to their management practice generally (Hemsley-Brown & Sharp, 2003 ), and to healthcare leadership and management specifi cally (Finkler & Ward, 2003).