Leading and Managing Health Services An Australasian Perspective

Learning objectives

How do I:

Introduction

This chapter provides an introduction to the world of change management. Firstly, it sets out the case for change – why change management matters – then looks at the theories concerning individual and organisational change. Finally, the role of the professional change manager is discussed.

Definitions

For the purposes of this chapter, change is viewed from an organisational perspective. Organisational change is a systematic approach to reshaping organisations in line with their future goals, aims, vision and philosophy. By its very nature, organisational change needs to be actively managed to ensure the desired outcomes. Organisational change management requires the manager to take account of the range of internal and external forces that can augment, shape, hinder or derail organisational change. The internal forces can include organisational objectives, work standards, personnel, staff expertise and profit, while the external forces can include economic, technical, political, governmental and sociocultural factors, as well as the operating environment (Pathak, 2010). The manager should realise that any number of these internal and external forces may need to be actively managed simultaneously to ensure a successful outcome.