Evidence Based Nursing in Primary Healthcare Team

Evidence Based Nursing in Primary Healthcare Team 189691 Title: Evidence Based Nursing is developing in primary health care . Critically discuss the applications to your practice. (District Nursing) Undergraduate Degree Level Essay 3,250 words Essay The evolution of the nursing profession has witnessed a great many changes of both emphasis and direction in both the delivery and the content of patient care as well as accompanying changes in both the philosophy and the theory of that care. Arguably the nursing profession has historically based its activities and also its philosophies, on tradition and the perpetuation of currently accepted practices which have not been firmly rooted in a general scientifically tested framework.(Roper N 1977). This can be verified by the fact that the nursing literature of the 1970s and 80s has many references from writers and commentators who were arguing for nursing to evolve into a research based profession and highlighting the fact that there was a demonstrable absence of a significant amount of good quality research-based fact which dictated the current practices throughout the profession in general. (Gortner SR 1976). An impartial observer, considering this situation over the intervening years, would probably agree that there has been a clear and marked swing in both the published literature and the actual practice of nursing, towards the underpinning of practice with strong scientific research. Evidence based nursing has emerged as being one of the dominant driving forces in nursing evolution and the advent of evidence based practice has become apparent to the point where it is now and this could be considered to be the â€Å"gold standard† and essential basis for the majority of professional nursing care (Yura H et al 1998) If we look at the issues and considerations that could support this statement, we could point to Hunt’s tour de force on the subject in his seminal paper of 1981 (Hunt J 1981), in which he sums up his belief that each nurse must care enough about her own practice to want to make sure it is based on the best possible information. This plea seemed to strike a chord in the nursing profession to the extent that, over the following few years, there was a noticeable increase in the published papers that both echoed these sentiments and also defined the various barriers to progress in this respect. These were largely quantified as including time constraints, limited access to the literature, a lack of training in critical skills of appraisal and, most fundamentally, a professional ethos and ideology that placed a great emphasis on the practical rather than the intellectual component of knowledge, together with a work environment that did not actively encourage the seeking out, resear ching and recording of new information (after Royle J et al 1996). One could be forgiven for observing that such comments are still relevant to a degree today. In order to present a balanced argument, we can observe that there is not a blind and uniform acceptance of evidence based nursing procedures. There are some who actively criticise evidence base procedures. Haynes (R B et al 1996) points to the fact that a blind following of evidence based practice can promote a concept of a â€Å"cookbook† of procedures that have to be dogmatically followed and it can stifle the holistic consideration of what may be best for each individual patient. We shall return to this point later. White (S 1997) counters this argument with the suggestion that a nurses’ professional training includes both learning the basic pathophysiology and anatomy and acquiring experience. She suggests that it is actually the â€Å"effective application of this experience that requires a sound evidence base.† Research evidence can aid the professional decision making process, but cannot either do the clinical examination or collate the vast amount of sni ppets of information that pass between patient and nurse. White suggests that it is this clinical expertise (derived from learning and experience), that is the crucial element in the application of the evidence based knowledge which separates true evidence based nursing practice from the â€Å"cookbook† approach with Haynes’ vision of the mindless and unquestioning application of â€Å"both guidelines and rules† (White S 1997). Before we leave the general issues relating to evidence based nursing, we shall also cite the analytical work of Pearson (A 2000) who produced an influential treatise on the role of the nurse and nursing in evidence based research. In his paper Pearson makes a fundamental and significant delineation between lay nursing and professional nursing which is defined by the application of research based practices and procedures. He suggests that the evolution of evidence based nursing had its origins in the days of the reforms pushed through by Florence Nightingale, became commonly accepted practice in the 70s and 80s when the â€Å"theoretical constructs of practice began to evolve and be adopted†, and has currently culminated in the advent and emergence of the nurse practitioner and nurse specialist whose professional structure, training and practice is essentially evidence based. This essay is primarily about how evidence based nursing is developing in primary healthcare team with specific reference to personal practice. This is a potentially a vast topic and therefore we will use illustrative examples of specific areas of development. A great deal of a primary healthcare team’s time (particularly that of the nurse) is taken up with the treatment of pressure sores and ulcers. It is instructive to consider the evolution of the evidence base for the treatment of this condition and then to extrapolate the process to other conditions frequently seen in primary care. We can cite the work of Sir James Paget who made the observation in 1862:- Elderly patients with femoral neck fractures and other high risk groups develop them (pressure sores) early, chiefly in the first week, and then made the observation â€Å"They often appear on the day of operation. It is not just the patient, but every part of his or her body, that must survive the operation†. (Bliss MR 1992). The rationale for citing this statement is that it illustrates a comment and observation that may be factually correct, but has no evidence based weight whatsoever other than being a reflection of the author’s opinion. It has no foundation in statistically verifiable fact and may be subject to all forms of objective bias. It obviously was never produced as a result of a randomised controlled trial but, like many other â€Å"pronouncements† by prominent practitioners, it has both influenced and been accepted by generations of healthcare professionals over the years. This exemplifies Roper’s point, cited earlier, relating to the tradition of previous practice being perpetuated by successive generations. The point can be tracked further still by considering a more recent paper by Vohra (Vohra R K et al. 1986). On the face of it, this paper gives a comprehensive overview of the (then) current practices in the treatment of ulceration and pressure sores. It goes into great detail relating to the aetiology, pathophysiology and trends in management of the ulcer patient and has an extensive and current reference section in the paper. The problem form the perspective of this essay is that, although the paper is undoubtedly comprehensive in its approach, virtually the entire paper together with virtually all of the cited references, is opinion based with not a single reference to a good quality randomised controlled trial. (MacLean DS 2003). The paper does make use of comparative studies where one treatment is compared with another, but this in turn exemplifies yet another shortcoming and that is that such trials are good if a healthcare professional has only these two options at their dispo sal for treatment, (which is seldom the case). Modern philosophy would dictate that in good evidence based practice, the nurse would need to be able to cite evidence that one treatment is demonstrably superior to all others for a given set of clinical circumstances and that this evidence is from a repeatable and unbiased source. To give an illustration of this point, MacLean makes the comment:- It is clearly of minimal value to a patient to be able to say to them that a comparison of rubbing a pressure sore with honey has been found more beneficial than rubbing it with butter when the use of a ripple mattress is clearly superior to both of them. If we contrast this paper with another, more recent paper (Bliss et al. 1999), there are a number of very significant differences. This paper is also an overview of the current trends in treatment of ulcers and pressure sores. Firstly the author is a nurse. Secondly, it only cites 12 references (as opposed to over 70 in the Vohra paper) but each is a randomised controlled trial selected to support the various statements made in the paper. This represents a major and fundamental change in presentation, philosophy and practice. It could be suggested by the cynic that such observations are a chance finding in two randomly selected papers. We would suggest that an examination of the literature of the periods involved would support the view that they represent a true reflection of the genuine change in both style and expectation that now pervades the nursing professions and more fundamentally, it also reflects the criteria by which papers are now judged and accepted for publication in the major peer reviewed journals. It is not appropriate to discuss the content of the paper in detail other than to observe the fact that the paper concludes with a description of the classic Gebhardt trial (Gebhardt KS et al 1994) which compared the results of bed rest with intermittent chair nursing on the development of ulceration and in the words of Morris (A 2002):- In many respects, the Gebhardt trial is a reflection of both the calls noted in the previous paper for proper scientific scrutiny to be brought to bear on the subject and the evolution of the expectation of the healthcare professions into the requirement for a firm evidence base for their continued work. In terms of direct impingement on the practical aspects of primary healthcare nursing, the move towards evidence based procedures can be illustrated in the development of scales such as the Waterlow scale (PN 1991). This was developed as a direct recognition of the need for an evidence based tool which would both directly help the nurse assess and quantify the degree of risk together with helping them predict just which was the most effective treatment modality for any individual patient. This was accomplished by allowing a reproducible measurement of ulceration and thereby rendering this area of clinical practice amenable to proper scientific scrutiny and testing. The result of this scale development is that the nurse can identify a treatment that has not only been suggested by previous practice or experience, but one that can be shown to be the most appropriate for a given set of clinical circumstances with the most likely clinical benefit (NT 1996). It is a logical step from this position to the situation where new scales are developed based on evidence based assessments and treatments, to predict the likelihood of healing of ulcers. Such a situation has resulted in the development of tools such as the PUSH scale (Gardener S et al 2005). This represents the currently accepted end-point of a logical progression that we have traced and quantified from the type of opinion based pronouncements of Sir James Paget, past the experience based observations and comparative trials such as those of Vohra, through to the completely evidence based practices of today where a clinically defined situation is identified, a solution is hypothesised and then subjected to validation by appropriate double blinded and unbiased scientific techniques in a randomly controlled clinical setting. It allows the authors (Gardener S et al 2005) to conclude their paper with the comment The PUSH tool provides a valid measure of pressure ulcer healing over time and accurately differentiates a healing from a non-healing ulcer. It is a clinically practical, evidence-based tool for tracking changes in pressure ulcer status when applied at weekly intervals. Such a comment is virtually unchallengeable because of the weight of valid recorded evidence behind it. If we consider new and current moves to examine the evidence base of activities in the primary healthcare team, we can also consider the advent of screening clinics which are commonly nurse-led. (Califf R M et al. 2002). We could consider the current trend for hypertension screening. It is commonly accepted that treating hypertension is of value in preventing both morbidity and mortality, (Cooper R et al. 2000), but a less frequently asked question is â€Å"What is the rationale and the evidence base for providing a screening programme for patients?â€Å" (HTT 2005). Curiously, the evidence base for the screening programmes that have been run has been rather insecure. The main reason for this has been the comparative paucity of definitive information relating to the levels of effective treatment and, as the treatment can realistically only be assessed as effective over a long time span, such studies take many years to yield substantive information. It therefore follows that the evi dence base for screening can only realistically be determined once a rational an proven evidence base for treatment has been established. (Brotons C et al. 2003). This is the position set out in the comprehensive paper by The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Working Group (HTT 2005). A pragmatic view would also have to observe that the position is further complicated by the constant evolution of new drugs and methods of measuring blood pressure which render previous data on the subject out of date by the time that it is assimilated. (Appel L J et al. 2003). This paper is very detailed in its assessment of the situation and it is not practical to consider all of its findings in any depth, but it provides a comprehensive overview of the evidence base for the promotion of hypertensive screening together with the evidence to support the use of different levels of hypertension as the endpoint of the screening process. Perhaps we can conclude this essay about the relevance of evidence base nursing practice to primary health care with the excellent and though-provoking article by Frances Griffiths. (Griffiths F et al. 2005). Although we have been arguing for the use of evidence based practice in modern nursing care, there is one commonly overlooked aspect of this practice which is the subject of the Griffiths paper. As the wealth of good quality information relating to the effectiveness of many clinical interventions and practices increases, this fact alone presents healthcare professionals in general with the increasing dilemma of how to apply the information obtained to the individual patient. The evidence base for a procedure will generally inform clinicians of the likelihood of it being successful in the general population. It will not give any indication, other than a probability, of its chance of success in the individual patient. This is a problem for the nurse (and other healthcare professio nals), as the bulk of current medical practice is on a face-to-face basis with individual patients, rather than dealing with populations. (Fox R C 2002) To illustrate this point, Griffiths points to the fact that it is commonly accepted that epidemiology tells us that smoking is an independent risk factor in the population for myocardial infarction, yet there is no evidence base to tell us which particular individuals will be affected. Similarly there are a multitude of good quality trials which show that there is an increased risk of breast cancer that is linked with hormone replacement therapy but there is nothing that will tell us which individuals are at specific risk. (Willis J 1995) This dilemma is central to the proper understanding of the place of evidence based practice as the balance between good practice based on proper evidence and individual patient care is central to the history of nursing and will not disappear however good the evidence base for a particular treatment becomes. In the words of Haynes (R B et al. 2002):- Diseases always manifest themselves in patients bodies and minds, and in seeking to understand, treat, and predict the outcome of disease, clinicians need to move their focus from the individual to more generalised research. To this end, the nurse would do well to reflect on the fact that assimilation of evidence is central to her practice, but communicating that evidence to patients is a key part of clinical consultations, with a growing evidence base of how it is best achieved. References Appel L J, Champagne C M, Harsha D W, Cooper L S, Obarzanek E, Elmer P J, Stevens V J, Vollmer W M, Lin P H, Svetkey L P, Stedman S W, Young D R; for the Writing Group of the PREMIER Collaborative Research Group. 2003 Effects of comprehensive lifestyle modification on blood pressure control: main results of the PREMIER clinical trial. J Am Med Assoc. 2003 ; 289 : 2083–2093. Bliss M and Bruno Simini 1999 When are the seeds of postoperative pressure sores sown? BMJ, Oct 1999 ; 319 : 863 864 Brotons C, Godycki-Cwirko M, Sammut M R. 2003 New European guidelines on cardiovascular disease prevention in clinical practice. Eur J Gen Pract. 2003 ; 9 : 124–125 Califf R M, DeMets D L. 2002 Principles from clinical trials relevant to clinical practice: part I. Circulation. 2002 ; 106 : 1015–1021 Cooper R, Cutler J, Desvigne-Nickens P, Fortmann S P, Friedman L, Havlik R, Hogelin G, Marler J, McGovern P, Morosco G, Mosca L, Pearson T, Stamler J, Stryer D, Thom T. 2000 Trends and disparities in coronary heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases in the United States: findings of the national conference on cardiovascular disease prevention. Circulation. 2000 ; 102 : 3137–3147. Fox R C. 2002 Medical uncertainty revisited. In: Bendelow G, Carpenter M, Vautier C, Williams S, eds. Gender, health and healing: the public/private divide. London : Routledge, 2002 : 236-53. Gardner S, Rita A. Frantz, Sandra Bergquist, and Chingwei D. Shin 2005 A Prospective Study of the Pressure Ulcer Scale for Healing (PUSH) J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci., Jan 2005 ; 60 : 93 97. Gebhardt KS, Bliss MR. 1994 Preventing pressure sores in orthopaedic patients. Is prolonged chair nursing detrimental? J Tissue Viability 1994 ; 4 : 51-54. Gortner S R, Bloch D, Phillips T P. 1976 Contributions of nursing research to patient care. J Adv Nurs 1976 ; 1 : 507–18. Griffiths F, Eileen Green, and Maria Tsouroufli 2005 The nature of medical evidence and its inherent uncertainty for the clinical consultation: qualitative study BMJ, Mar 2005 ; 330 : 511 ; Haynes R B, Sackett D L, Gray J A M, et al. 1996 Transferring evidence from research into practice.-The role of clinical care research evidence in clinical decisions ACP Journal Club 1996 Nov-Dec ; 125 : A14–6. Haynes R B, Devereaux P J, Guyatt G H. 2002 Physicians and patients choices in evidence based practice. BMJ 2002 ; 324 : 1350 HTT 2005 The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Working Group on Future Directions in Hypertension Treatment Trials Major Clinical Trials of Hypertension: What Should Be Done Next? Hypertension, Jul 2005 ; 46 : 1 6. Hunt J. 1981 Indicators for nursing practice: the use of research findings. J Adv Nurs 1981 ; 6 : 189–94 MacLean D S 2003 Preventing Managing Pressure Sores Caring for the Aged March 2003 Morris A H 2002 Decision support and safety of clinical environments Qual. Saf. Health Care, March 1, 2002 ; 11 (1) : 69 75. NT 1996 Pressure sore assessments Uses and limitations of standard pressure sore classification and risk assessment systems. Nursing Times July 17 1996 Vol 92 No.29 Pearson A 2000 Nursing Practice and Nursing Science: Building on the Past and Looking to the Future Joan Durdin Oration Paper Series Number 6 2000 PN 1991 A policy that protects The Waterlow pressure sore prevention/treatment policy. Professional Nurse February 1991 Roper N. 1977 Justification and use of research in nursing. J Adv Nurs 1977 ; 2 : 365–71. Royle J A, Blythe J, Ingram C, et al. 1996 The research utilisation process: the use of guided imagery to reduce anxiety. Canadian Oncology Nursing Journal 1996 ; 6 : 20–5. Vohra R K and C N McCollum 1986 Fortnightly Review: Pressure sores BMJ, Oct 1986 ; 309 : 853 – 857 White S. 1997 Evidence-based practice and nursing: the new panacea? British Journal of Nursing 1997 ; 6 :175–7 Willis J. 1995 The paradox of progress. Oxford: Radcliffe Medical Press, 1995. Yura H, Walsh M. 1998 The nursing process. Assessing, planning, implementing, evaluating. 5th edition. Norwalk, CT : Appleton Lange, 1998. ################################################################ 11.9.06 PDG Word count 3,454

One World

Different factors that affect speed limits on the road s for vehicles. ? Speed limit is the maximum speed at which a vehicle can travel in a certain area. Usually they are indicated by signs next to the road. As you can see from the graph below, speed limits are extremely important. If speed limits wouldn’t be there, a lot more accidents would resolve into death. Speed of the vehicle in miles/hourPercentage of chance of death 207 3044 4086 Those speed limits aren’t just chosen by people. Many things have to be considered while deciding about a speed limit. A lot of environmental and human factors affect those limits.Some of these are: †¢The weather †¢Traffic †¢The driver †¢The vehicle †¢The road condition †¢The type of environment The weather can affect a lot of things that then affect speed limits. This we can notice by the temporarily change in speed limits when there are bad weather circumstances. For example when it is raining very heav ily or there is snow, speed limits will be changed until it stops raining or the snow melts. These changes are usually indicated by electrical signs on the road. Even when it is not indicated, drivers should be responsible enough to slow down in these circumstances.The traffic is also a very important factor. In areas where there is a lot of traffic, the speed limits will generally be set lower. Since in these areas a lot of cars come together at the same time accidents can easily happen. Those areas with a lot of traffic are usually where there are traffic lights or pedestrian crossings. The speed limit will be indicated by a road sign. The driver is one of the most important factors. The bad thing about this factor is that the driver is very unpredictable and the drivers behavior is different all the time.Speed limits can obviously not be set according to every driver’s mood so generally they look at the other factors: weather, traffic, vehicle, road condition and type of e nvironment to predict the driver’s behavior. Generally drivers will tend to drive fast when there isn’t a lot of traffic and when there are no obstacles. This can be very dangerous as unexpected things can happen. In these areas the speed limit could be decreased based on that. The vehicle and the state of the vehicle are also very important when setting speed limits.Obviously the speed limit can’t be set according to every individual vehicle so usually the speed limit is chosen in a way which is not too fast so that the older vehicles can keep up and not too slow so the people with faster vehicles won’t get annoyed. They also look at the type of area in which the speed limit has to be set. If it’s in a country area with farms, they will take in consideration that also tractors will be driving there and animals can be around. The road condition has to be very good in order to be able to drive on it in the first place.In sandy roads or areas where a lot of mud may occur, the speed limits will be set lower so that the vehicle has a lower chance of slipping. Bumps in the road will also cause the speed limit to be lower than in straight areas. That’s also the reason why speed bumps are used. They make people drive slower as they can damage their vehicle in case they don’t. The type of environment has to do with the people that live around but also the buildings that are close or nature around the roads. In urbanized areas where a lot of people live, the speed limit will be set quite low to cause as less danger for pedestrians as possible.Then, talking about buildings in the surrounding area, if there is a mall or a school they will have to take in consideration that children or families with children will be walking around there and crossing the streets. Therefore the speed limits will be adjusted so that even if there is a collision the chance of death won’t be very high. In some cases, very polluted environ ments can cause the speed limit to be set lower but in some cases even higher. This is because the pollution of a car is lower when it either drives at a very low speed or quite a high speed as shown in the graph below.As the speed increases you can see that the fuel consumption and therefore also the pollution increases. But when you reach a certain speed, that fuel consumption will start decreasing again. So for the least amount of pollution you should driver very slow or faster than about 60 miles per hour. Bibliography onlinemanuals. txdot. gov/†¦ /factors_affecting_safe_speed. htm www. ibiblio. org/rdu/sl-irrel. html www. transport. qld. gov. au †º †¦ †º Safety †º Road †º Speeding www. wellington. govt. nz/projects/new/†¦ /lowerspeed-facts. pdf www. conference. noehumanist. org/†¦ /Proceedings-HUMANIST-S6. 6. pd

The American Revolution Of America - 1418 Words

Introduction The American Revolution was when we break away from the British government and formed our own country. Our country had fought with the strongest nation on the whole until earth back in the 1700s. The Patriots fought and work hard for their freedom and the United states of America. In this book, you will be learning about taxes, important people, battles and women and more in the American Revolution war. Chapter 1 Lives in the thirteen colonies In 1700s, our country was not called the United State of America. It was divided into thirteen colonies. The British control the colonies. People from Europe traveled to America to start a new life. Some of them came for freedom to worship who they wanted . Some of them came for land†¦show more content†¦Some of them were made of woods. Others were mansions. The house had no bathroom and water. Most of the water came from wells and streams. The colonist used pots for toilets. The colonist eat vegetables grew their gardens, they hunted wild animals such as deer, and they had pudding made of cornmeal. There were loyalist and Loyalists and Patriots in the American Revolution war. Loyalists were people who remains loyal to England and the king. There were about 300,000 to 400,000 people of loyalist. That did not include black slave and Indians. The loyalists were enemy of the Patriots. They think it is reasonable for the British government to tax its people. They obey the king s law and the British parliament’s law. Some even fought with the Patriots through the war. The loyalists had made some problems for patriots. The Patriots have to fight with the British army and the loyalists. The Patriots were the people wanted to break away from the British. They wanted freedom and their own country. They fought with the British army for their freedom. Patriots had done things like the Boston Tea Party or battle with the British in the war. Some women think that way too. They think it is important to fight for their freedom. Chapter 2 King George III taxed the colonist After the British won the French and the indian war, the British were almost bankrupt. The war was really costly. Thousands and thousands pounds of money were spent in the war.Show MoreRelatedThe American Revolution : America2934 Words   |  12 PagesHistory Final The American Revolution helped America become the free nation it is today. All the events after and before the revolution helped America become free. America became a freer nation after the American Revolution because they weren’t in fear of an outside nation controlling them. 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What Is the Definition of Volume in Science

Volume is the quantity of three-dimensional space occupied by a liquid, solid, or gas. Common units used to express volume include liters, cubic meters, gallons, milliliters, teaspoons, and ounces, though many other units exist. Key Takeaways: Volume Definition Volume is the three-dimensional space occupied by a substance or enclosed by a surface.The International System of Units (SI) standard unit of volume is the cubic meter (m3).The metric system uses the liter (L) as a volume unit. One liter is the same volume as a 10-centimeter cube. Volume Examples As a volume example, a student might use a graduated cylinder to measure volume of a chemical solution in milliliters.You could buy a quart of milk.Gases are commonly sold in units of volume, such as cubic centimeters, cm3, or cubic liters. Measuring Volume of Liquids, Solids, and Gases Because gases fill their containers, their volume is the same as the internal volume of the container. Liquids are commonly measured using containers, where the volume is marked or else is the internal shape of the container. Examples of instruments used to measure liquid volume include measuring cups, graduated cylinders, flasks, and beakers. There are formulas for calculating the volume of regular solid shapes. Another method of determining the volume of a solid is to measure how much liquid it displaces. Volume vs. Mass Volume is the amount of space occupied by a substance, while mass is the amount of matter it contains. The amount of mass per unit of volume is a samples density. Capacity in Relation to  Volume Capacity is the measure of the content of a vessel that holds liquids, grains, or other materials that take the shape of the container. Capacity is not necessarily the same as volume. It is always the interior volume of the vessel. Units of capacity include the liter, pint, and gallon, while the unit of volume (SI) is derived from a unit of length.

Gender Based Violence Against Women Essay - 1844 Words

No two societies are the same, but all of them include violence against women. The book, Forsaken Females by A. Parrot and N. Cumming, gives important insight and a new understanding of the global brutalization of women. Violence against women can be defined as â€Å"any gender based violence that results in, or is likely to result, in physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion, or arbitrary deprivations of such liberty, whether occurring in public or private life† (Parrot Cummins, page 10). Acts such as genital mutilation and sexual slavery are happening world wide, even here in the United States. Problems within social structure result in violence against women worldwide. Gender based violence will continue to be an issue until a complete restoration of social structure occurs. In order to change, we must start with educating people on the topic of VAW. 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Understanding Change Free Essays

string(114) " focus on social characteristics and ts methodology dedicated to a humanistic approach to change and development\." PART ONE Understanding change Perspectives on change The ethics of organizational change Planned change and its critics Strategic change Building and developing competitive advantage 3 39 73 11 1 147 CHAPTER 1 Perspectives on change 1. 1 Introduction 1. 2 Perspectives on change 1. We will write a custom essay sample on Understanding Change or any similar topic only for you Order Now 2. 1 Modernity, progress, and change 1. 2. 2 Pathways to change 1. 3 Structural-functional change: changing structures and functions 1. 3. 1 An organization is a complex whole 1. 3. 2 Structural theory 1. Multiple constituencies: change by negotiation 1. 4. 1 Stakeholder interests 1. 5 Organizational Development: the humanistic approach to change 1. 5. 1 Intervention strategies at the individual level 1. 5. 2 Intervention strategies at the group level 1. 5. 3 Intervention strategies at the organizational level 1. 6 Creativity and Volition: a Critical Theory of Change 1. 6. 1 Conflict, flux, and change 1. 6. 2 People are active agents 1. 6. 3 The critique of the spectator view of knowledge 1. Summary Study questions Exercises Further reading References 4 6 6 7 8 13 16 18 20 22 24 24 25 28 28 29 30 33 35 35 36 36 4 UNDERSTANDING CHANGE 1. 1 Introduction This chapter lays the framework for this book by arguing that organizational change is developed within models and frameworks that in form our understanding of the subject. In this chapter we will learn that knowledge and practice of organizational change are influenced by assumptions derived from the models or perspectives we use. For example, if we regard change as a matter of systemic structural arrangements we can make in an organization, then we can see how the analogy of organism or biological system helps to inform our judgements. Because perspectives offer ways of seeing, they will inevitably organize our perception in line with the dominant analogy used. However, analogies are only partial knowledge claims. Four perspectives on change are cited in this chapter: why four perspectives in particular? The answer to that question is straightforward but you need to understand at this point that a perspective is an overarching approach that contains a variety of theories that have become associated with it. You will see why these are the dominant perspectives once you have read the remainder of this section. First, the structural-functional perspective is the oldest approach to organizational design and therefore change. Like each perspective, it contains a variety of theories that attempted to resolve some of its difficulties as it developed. These theories include the hard systems, systems dynamics, cybernetics, soft systems, criticalsystems heuristics, and postmodern systems thinking (Jackson, 2003). The structuralfunctional perspective encourages us to think about structural arrangements and functional interrelationships within organizations. The development of the opensystems model in the 1950s assisted our understanding further by focusing on how inputs to an organization are transformed into outputs. This is useful for thinking about how we might change tasks and relationships in a production process. The value of the structural-functional perspective lies in its ability to change the arrangement of tasks and procedures in relation to the customer or client specification. The advantage of the perspective lies in its ability to look at an organization as a control mechanism: that is, to understand the important structural components and to articulate the functional interrelationships between the parts. Inevitably, structural redesign will therefore influence the functions that each part produces for the whole. But the perspective has disadvantages also. Because it is a model for controlling operations, it is therefore mechanistic. It tends to ignore how motivations, behaviours, attitudes, and values contribute to effective performance. The multiple constituencies perspective emerged from dissatisfaction with the structural-functional perspective. Although it was initially associated with the work of Cyert and March (1963), it increasingly came to adopt a range of theories associated with the action and motives of individual actors rather than with the action of systems per se. The multiple constituencies perspective refers to the way that complex organizations have to negotiate objectives with different groups of stakeholders who have overlapping and often conflicting needs. When we consider hospitals, health PERSPECTIVES ON CHANGE trusts, postal services, public bodies, local government, and transnational companies, then we come to recognize that the organization’s needs are inextricably linked to various stakeholder groups. This affects how resources are managed and distributed, as well as how change might be facilitated to maximize efficiency and effectiveness. An investigation of how multiple constituencies bring their own interests and motivations into the organizational arena will help us to provide an informed approach to managing change by recognizing the various resource needs of different groups. We can recognize the advantage of this perspective in drawing attention to the various stakeholder needs but we can also recognize that it is limited to a partial analysis. It is less concerned with developing people. It also has a limited view of power. Consequently this reduces organizational change to consensual negotiation between pluralities of groups. Those academics and practitioners that adopt the Organizational Development perspective would share much with the two previous perspectives because it embraces both a systems approach and a focus on stakeholders and governance. However, it is distinguished by its methodology of action research as much as it is by its ethical approach to developing organizations through people. For the first time we begin to see people as resources to be developed rather than as simply costs on a balance sheet. This perspective emerged from the human relations approach, which focused on personal and group development. However, unlike the two previous perspectives, it argues that maximum efficiency and effectiveness cannot be achieved by dealing with tasks, procedures, and customers’ or clients’ needs without looking at the quality of management, leadership, communication, culture, motivation, and values. Because the Organizational Development (OD) perspective on change emerged out of human resource theory, it became a synthesis of structural functionalism and behavioural research. The two main contributions of this approach are the focus on social characteristics and ts methodology dedicated to a humanistic approach to change and development. You read "Understanding Change" in category "Essay examples" OD is also associated with the idea of planned change and the need to clearly diagnose clients’ needs before making an intervention. These provide major advantages in thinking about change but they are also partial and limited to conceptualizing change as a matter of consensus, as does each perspective mentioned so far. The final perspective—Creativity and Volition: a Critical Theory of Change— reflects the challenges and assumptions of Critical Theory. It cannot be regarded as a unified perspective, as the others can, because it does not seek to offer solutions to change problems. But it does go further than any of the other perspectives in demonstrating that people, rather than systems, are the main element of analysis in any change theory. Each of the other perspectives tends to reify human action. By contrast, this perspective seeks to redress the balance by arguing that people are active agents of change. It also brings another important element under scrutiny. That is, each of the other perspectives focuses on rational change. This has implications for designing and planning change as a linear sequence of events. However, if change programmes ignore emergent processes that result more from conflict, flux, and uncertainty than from consensus and stability, then intervention strategies will have a limited and often 5 6 UNDERSTANDING CHANGE unintended effect. Because this perspective is derived from Critical Theory we should not assume that it is immune to criticism. The main criticism is that it does not offer solutions. It does not provide useful intervention strategies. It does, however, make us stop and think before we act. You should now be clear that each perspective contains a range of theories that share assumptions, methods, and approaches. These can be stated simply as: 1. A focus on systems and structures (the structural-functional perspective). 2. A focus on governance (the multiple constituencies perspective). 3. A focus on behavioural improvement through personal and Organizational Development (the OD perspective). 4. A focus on constant critique (Creativity and Volition: a Critical Theory of Change). A simple reminder of the focus is: systems, governance, behaviour, and critique. The argument throughout the book is that to manage change you need to understand these interweaving debates. In this chapter we will: †¢ Explain the benefits and limitations of change contained within the structural-functional perspective. †¢ Examine how a multiple constituencies perspective provides arguments for involving stakeholders in complex change initiatives. Explore the value of human resource and organization development interventions as well as their limitations in planned change initiatives. †¢ Appreciate why organizational change may be characterized better by conflict, flux, and uncertainty. †¢ Consider the source of creativity. †¢ Appreciate the role of Critical Theory in understanding organizational change. 1. 2 Perspectives on change 1. 2. 1 Modernity, progress, and change It is important to contextualize the four perspectives of this chapter by illustrating that each emerged from, or in reaction to, the process of modernism. The term ‘modernism’ was originally used to describe the new machine age of the early twentieth century, which reflected progress through the application of scientific principles, order, and control. Scientific principles emerged from the pursuit of rationality embedded in the philosophy of the Enlightenment. The twentieth century was influenced PERSPECTIVES ON CHANGE by progressive movements in art and architecture, but the new age was eventually associated with negative qualities that, paradoxically, were linked to its greatest triumph—the machine age. The new machine age was characterized by large-scale movements, revolutions, and world wars which all proclaimed progress through the application of machine technology or through the metaphor of the machine as the embodiment of efficiency and effectiveness. This was no more apparent than in business and management, where modernity reflected the task of controlling large-scale organizations. Techniques or processes such as bureaucracy, Taylorism, and Fordism came to reflect the new managerialism of the machine age in which the principles of measurement and calculation came to dominate thinking. This emphasis on rational calculation had advantages in the form of mass production of cheap goods but, to achieve this, the human cogs in the machine were alienated by a technology that largely ignored social practices. You should therefore be aware that the structural-functional perspective emerged at the time when modernism suggested progress through the application of rational principles. It should be no surprise, then, that it tended to focus on task and throughput by using the metaphor of organism as machine. The perspective referred to as multiple constituencies emerged in the 1960s. It was the first to challenge the naive rationalism of the structural-functional perspective by arguing that an organization is not equivalent to a biological entity and that therefore the organic model was not appropriate to organizations. An organization was better conceived as a ‘legal fiction’ (Shafritz and Ott, 1991). This had the advantage of persuading us that progress is simply a result of social processes and that all organizations are no more than devices to achieve certain objectives. The perspective helped to establish the idea of change through governance. Organizational Development has been the main tradition of organizational change and has much to recommend it, such as a declared humanistic commitment to change. It has also developed useful techniques and methods, but its use of the biological model limits its critique. The perspective we call ‘Creativity and Volition: a Critical Theory of Change’ is united only by its objection to modernism. It therefore provides a useful counterbalance to the other perspectives by offering criticism of the conventional wisdom. But it also suggests that human volition and creativity are a long way from the modernist assumptions of progress. 1. 2. 2 Pathways to change Each perspective contains theories that lead to a change intervention. The phrase ‘change intervention’ refers to change actions taken at a strategic level to help an organization become more effective. A perspective can therefore be regarded as a model for understanding how a subject can be understood. Advoca tes of a perspective develop theories to inform their views and they construct methodologies to test the accuracy of their various theories within a perspective. However, each perspective is open to criticism precisely because it contains assumptions about organizational reality. Each is therefore valuable as a framework 8 UNDERSTANDING CHANGE Figure 1. 1 Pathways to change STRUCTURAL-FUNCTIONAL CHANGE Change occurs for dysfunctional reasons when internal functions fail or when structures do not reflect the rational design of the best system INTERVENTIONS focus on the alignment of functional relationships and the structural re-design of the system to accommodate changing external environmental conditions MULTIPLE CONSTITUENCIES Change is a negotiated order and organizations are arenas in which internal groups and external stakeholders seek to exert influence INTERVENTIONS focus on contractual relationships. A distinction is made between a formal contract and an informal or psychological contract ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT Change is planned once needs are diagnosed INTERVENTIONS focus on both personal and Organizational Development and change CREATIVITY, VOLITION AND CRITICAL THEORY Change results from conflict not consensus INTERVENTIONS are replaced by critical analysis for change, but in the interest of validity we need to be cautious about the claims to certainty that each makes. We would be wise, therefore, to view these perspectives as pathways to understand organizational change. We can take the analogy further and suggest that each perspective represents a pathway through a minefield of conceptual difficulties. Each perspective is illustrated in Figure 1. 1. 1. 3 Structural-functional change: changing structures and functions Structural-functional change is the oldest perspective on organizational change. This perspective is also known as structural-functional analysis. It is effectively a social-systems PERSPECTIVES ON CHANGE iew of organizations as opposed to the mechanistic or closed-systems perspective of physics. Henry Fayol was one of the first writers to make the link between structure and function. In his 1916 book General and Industrial Management, he describes the relationship between organizations and biology in terms of an analogy. Thus he points out that, just as organisms evolve and become more sophisticated in their structural properties, s o do organizations. We can see why the organic analogy is important to organizations when we consider Fayol’s description of specialization and differentiation. For example, [s]pecialization belongs to the natural order; it is observable in the animal world, where the more highly developed the creature the more highly differentiated its organs; it is observable in human societies where the more important the body corporate the closer its relationship between structure and function. As a society grows, so new organs develop destined to replace the single one performing all functions in the primitive state. (Fayol, 1916: 19) 9 Thus, as organizations grow and develop, they become much more complex and require new types of structure. In order to deal with this complexity, work has to be simplified through the division of labour. Some years later, structural-functional analysis viewed the study of organizations as the analysis of both structural and functional interrelationships between elements in an organizational system. Structural-functional analysis of an organization begins with the assumption that organizations are cooperative systems. Whilst they are constituted by individuals, this is less relevant than the fact that they are systems designed to coordinate the actions of individuals. They are better viewed, therefore, as adaptive organisms. This means that any organizational system ‘is deemed to have basic needs†¦ related to self-maintenance†¦ and†¦ self-defence’ (Selznick, 1948: 26). Selznick suggests that organizations, as systems, maintain themselves by means of five essential imperatives, described as follows: 1. The security of the organization as a whole in relation to social forces in its environment. This imperative requires continuous attention to the possibilities of encroachment and to the forestalling of threatened aggressions or deleterious (though perhaps unintended) consequences of the actions of others. 2. The stability of the lines of authority and communication. One of the persistent reference points of administrative decision is the weighing of consequences for the continued capacity of leadership to control and to have access to the personnel or ranks. 3. The stability of informal relations within the organization. Ties of sentiment and self-interest are evolved as unacknowledged but effective mechanisms for adjustment of individuals and subgroups to the conditions of life within the organization. These ties represent a cementing of relationships which sustains the formal 10 UNDERSTANDING CHANGE uthority in day-to-day operations and widens opportunities for effective communication. ‘Consequently, attempts to â€Å"upset† the informal structure†¦ will normally be met with considerable resistance. ’ 4. The continuity of policy and of the sources of its determination. For each level within the organization, and for the organization as a whole, it is necessary that there be a sense that action taken in the light of a given policy will not be placed in continuous jeopardy. Arbitrary or unpredictable changes in policy undermine the significance of (and therefore the attention to) day-to-day action by injecting a note of caprice. At the same time, the organization will seek stable roots (or firm statutory authority, or popular mandate) so that a sense of the permanency and legitimacy of its acts will be achieved. 5. A homogeneity of outlook with respect to the meaning and role of the organization. To minimize disaffection requires a unity derived from a common understanding of what the character of the organization is meant to be. When this homogeneity breaks down, as in situations of internal conflict over basic issues, the continued existence of the organization is endangered. On the other hand, one of the signs of a ‘healthy’ organization is the ability to orient new members effectively and readily slough off those who cannot be adapted to the established outlook. (Selznick, 1948) These imperatives are the mechanisms of a stable ‘organic’ system that is applied by analogy to an organization. One particularly relevant assumption of this analogy, and indeed of structural functionalism in general, is that of compulsion. There is little room for individuals to exercise imagination because organizations are viewed as constraining mechanisms that compel people to act in a particular way. When viewed through a structural-functional frame, organizational analysis proceeds by following three basic assumptions, as indicated below. 1. Organizations are cooperative systems with adaptive social structures, made up of interacting individuals, subgroups, and formal and informal relationships. 2. Organizations contain variable aspects, such as goals, which are linked to needs and self-defence mechanisms. 3. Organizations are determined by constraints and characterized by transformations when adjustments to needs are required. Such adjustments are required to deal with dysfunctions caused by instability in the operating environment. The biological sciences were seen as rescuing social science from the laws of traditional Newtonian physics, which saw everything as a closed system (Katz and Kahn, 1966: 16). Consequently, the emergence of the open-systems model, which was influenced by von Bertalanffy’s ‘general system theory’, enables us to view organizations as continuous flows of inputs, transformations, and outputs beyond their own boundaries. In 1966 Katz and Kahn articulated the concept of an organization as an PERSPECTIVES ON CHANGE open system. This was reinforced by Thompson’s systems contingency perspective in 1967. What emerged was an idea of an organizational system as an artificial rational construction designed to improve work performance. Unlike the closed systems of physical sciences, social (and biological) systems depend on, and interact with, their external environments. For Katz and Kahn, the main difficulty in proactively managing strategic change results from the fact that organizations have in-built protective devices to maintain stability. Changing these patterns is very difficult. Unintended change often occurs when organizations drift from their original aims. As Katz and Kahn indicate: [t]he major misconception is the failure to recognize fully that the organization is continually dependent upon inputs from the environment and that the inflow of materials and human energy is not a constant. The fact that organizations have built-in protective devices to maintain stability and that they are notoriously difficult to change in the direction of some reformer’s desires should not obscure the realities of the dynamic interrelationships of any social structure with its social and natural environment. The very efforts of the organization to maintain a constant external environment produce changes in organizational structure. The reaction to changed inputs to mute their possible revolutionary implications also results in changes. (Katz and Kahn, 1966: 278) 1 1 The open-systems model expresses the relationship between the elements as indicated by Figure 1. 2. Figure 1. 2 The open-systems model of Katz and Kahn ENVIRONMENT Task Technology INPUTS Human, financial information, materials Management OUTPUTS Products and services Structure People 12 UNDERSTANDING CHANGE The organization has inputs that are then transformed through a variety of management functions. These are designed to achieve the best possible organizational design by coordinating the task, through the use of technology by people who are structured or organized in a way that is both efficient and effective. x Stop and think 1. 1 Identify an organization and illustrate its inputs, outputs, and transformational processes. Provide details on how the internal processes are managed and controlled. Following Katz and Kahn, the open-systems model contains eight characteristics: 1. Importing energy from the external environment. Thus, just as the biological cell receives oxygen from the bloodstream or the body takes in oxygen from the air and food from the external world, the organization draws energy from other institutions. 2. Throughput is a phrase used in many organizations, meaning that, as open systems, organizations transform the energy available to them. Just as the body converts starch and sugar into heat and action, an organization takes raw inputs such as materials and people and transforms them by producing products or services. Katz and Kahn suggest that, just as the personality converts chemical and electrical forms of stimulation into sensory qualities, and information into thought patterns, so the organization creates a new product, or processes materials, or trains people, or provides a service. 3. Output is essentially the service or product. Just as the biological organism exports from the lungs physiological products like carbon dioxide that help to maintain plants in the immediate environment, the organization provides customers with an output they value. 4. Systems are cycles of events in which the product is exported into the environment, where it furnishes sources of energy for repetition of the cycle of activities. Thus energy is the exchange of inputs and outputs with the external environment. For example, raw materials and human labour are turned into products and services, which are then marketed for monetary return, which is then used to obtain more raw materials and labour and perpetuates the cycle of activities. 5. Entropy is a process described by Katz and Kahn as ‘a universal law of nature in which all forms of organization move toward disorganization or death’. For example, ‘all complex physical systems move toward simple random distribution of their elements and biological organisms also run down and perish’. Therefore the survival of the organization requires the ‘arrest of the entropic process’. This is overcome because the organization imports more energy from its environment than it expends. In other words, ‘social organizations will seek to improve their survival position and to acquire in their reserves a comfortable margin of operation’. Organizations do go out of business but they can replenish themselves. As PERSPECTIVES ON CHANGE Katz and Kahn point out, ‘social systems, however, are not anchored in the same physical constancies as biological organisms and so are capable of almost indefinite arresting of the entropic process. Nevertheless the number of organizations which go out of existence every year is large. ’ 6. Information input, negative feedback, and the coding process mean that all inputs are also ‘informative in character and furnish signals to the structure about the environment and about its own functioning in relation to the environment’. Furthermore, the ‘simplest type of information input found in all systems is negative feedback’, which ‘enables the system to correct its deviations from course’. Katz and Kahn see this as analogous to the digestive system, in which selective signals are absorbed or assimilated. Terms like adaptation and assimilation reflect the biological analogy because an organization responds only to those signals to which it is adapted, and reacts to the information signals to which it is attuned. Katz and Kahn argue that, rather like the selection process in nature, the term coding reflects the selective mechanisms of a system by which incoming materials are either rejected or accepted and translated for the structure. 7. Organizations, like biological systems, are not motionless, so there can never be a true equilibrium. Instead, we must understand that organizations, like organisms, develop a steady state or ‘continuous inflow of energy from the external environment and a continuous export of the products of the system’. The biological analogy is illustrated by the ‘catabolic and anabolic processes of tissue breakdown and restoration within the body’ that ‘preserve a steady state so that the organism from time to time is not the identical organism it was but a highly similar organism’. Related to this are what they call the ‘homeostatic processes’ for the regulation of body temperature. Thus, as external conditions of humidity and temperature vary, the temperature of the body remains the same because it is regulated by the endocrine glands. The steady state and dynamic homeostasis of organizations are regulated by the organization’s subsystems. . Organizations ‘move in the direction of differentiation and elaboration’. That is, in biological systems genetic change occurs: organisms move from primitive to complex arrangements in order to survive. Similarly, as organizations mature they become increasingly diffuse. Thus they ‘move toward the multiplication and elaboration of roles with greater specialization of function’. 13 1. 3. 1 An organization is a complex whole As Michael Jackson states, ‘a system is a complex whole the functioning of which depends upon its parts and the interactions of those parts’ (2003: 3). Broadly speaking, we can think of three types of system: †¢ Natural biological systems. †¢ Social systems, such as families and religious and political institutions, which are socially constructed entities designed to accommodate relationships between people. 14 UNDERSTANDING CHANGE †¢ Artificial or mechanical systems, such as built environments and information systems, which are designed to make improvements to living or work arrangements. One of the advantages of systems theory, as Jackson informs us, is that it is not reductive. That is, it does not seek to reduce complexity by breaking it down into its component parts. Systems theory seeks to understand phenomena as wholes and consequently the term ‘holism’ is sometimes used to illustrate that a system needs to be seen in its entirety. The idea of holism is articulated by Thompson (1967): Approached as a natural system, the complex organization is a set of interdependent parts which together make up a whole because each contribute something and receive something from a whole, which in turn is interdependent with some larger environment. Survival of the system is taken to be the goal, and the parts and their relationships presumably are determined through evolutionary processes. Dysfunctions are conceivable, but it is assumed that an offending part will adjust to produce a net positive contribution or be disengaged, or else the system will degenerate. Central to the natural-systems approach is the concept of homeostasis, or self stabilization, which spontaneously, or naturally, governs the necessary relationships among parts and activities and thereby keeps the system viable in the face of disturbances stemming from the environment. (Thompson, 1967: 283) Systems theory seeks to explain complex interrelationships among organizational elements and external variables by using quantitative techniques. Because they see them as continually changing dynamic equilibria, systems theorists therefore view organizations as designed to cope with and manage change. An example of this is Weiner’s model of an organization as an adaptive system. Weiner uses the term ‘cybernetics’ (from the Greek for ‘steersman’) to describe a study of structures and functions of control, and information processing systems in both animals and machines. Thus, such systems are able to regulate themselves. In biological systems this is a natural process, whereas an organization’s systems must be designed. The overly mechanistic approach to viewing artificial systems needs to be balanced against two concerns related to the environment in which the organization exists: 1. Organizations are also social systems: any technical system requires people to operate it. Consequently their needs must be designed into the technical system. 2. Organizations have contingencies. In other words, the technology used by the organization, the nature of the industry it operates in, the competences of the PERSPECTIVES ON CHANGE staff who work for it, their motivations and leadership are also important contingencies that affect an organization’s performance. Each concern reflects the view that any change interaction must incorporate these constraints into the design of the new (changed) systems model. For example, if an organization is seen as a social system and not simply a technical system, then we must come to recognize the way in which people have to live, work, and engage in some way with the technical system. For systems designers such as architects and computer programmers it is therefore important to involve the people affected by the system. 15 x Stop and think 1. 2 Think of a technical system that you might redesign if asked to do so by an organization. For example, this might be an IT system, a production system, use of a physical space, or an administrative system. If you do not involve in its design the people who will eventually use the system, what negative outcomes might emerge? The link between organizational systems design and contingency theory illustrates how systems theory developed from a simple biological analogy. Galbraith’s (1973) book made a clear link between the functional components, organizational structures, and contingent circumstances of an organization. For example, Galbraith’s approach invites us to look for: †¢ The type and quality of information required in conditions of certainty or uncertainty. †¢ The degree of interdependence between the various functional components. †¢ Mechanisms that enable organizational adaptation. Table 1. 1 illustrates how information within the system affects an organization’s ability to take action towards change. The degree to which hange can be planned depends upon the amount of reliable information in the system. When the quality of information is high, changes can be planned but are unlikely to be major; when conditions are unpredictable, information is unreliable and the degree of success in any change initiative is low. We can therefore state that the greater the level of uncertainty, the more the organization must make provisional judgements and be ready to change things quickly. Contingency theorists who work within this perspective view organizational change as the degree of control an organization has over circumstances. Thus we can formulate a simple question for this purpose: ‘how wide is the gap between the amounts of information required by this organization at this time? ’ If we take the 2008 world banking crisis as an example, we can illustrate this point. During the month of 16 UNDERSTANDING CHANGE Table 1. 1 Control over circumstances: situations where significant change is inevitable The likelihood of major strategic change is low when: The situation is highly predictable. Traditional roles and procedures guide action. The quality of information is high. The likelihood of major strategic change is high when: The situation is not predictable. New procedures are required. The quality of information is low. October 2008, protracted negotiations between President Bush and the US Senate representatives, unhappy with his initial plans, eventually resulted in a rescue package for US banks. This was followed by the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, partly nationalizing some UK banks. Members of the G7 countries lowered interest rates around the world at the same time, also attempting to find a coordinated approach to the world economic crisis. The reality was that, at the time, no one could realistically estimate its extent: the information gap was simply too large. No one really knew who owed money to whom; nor did anyone know what impact the banking crisis was likely to have on other sectors of the world economy. Thus, attempting to steer change was impossible because there was insufficient information to make reliable decisions. Although this is an extreme example, many organizations face similar problems to varying degrees. In situations of severe unpredictability caused by lack of information, managing planned change becomes highly problematic. The solution, according to Galbraith, is to find new solutions: The ability of an organization to successfully coordinate its activities by goal setting, hierarchy, and rules depends on the combination of the frequency of exceptions and the capacity of the hierarchy to handle them. As task uncertainty increases, the number of exceptions increases until the hierarchy is overloaded. Then the organization must employ new design strategies. Either it can act in two ways to reduce the amount of information that is processed, or it can act to increase its capacity to handle more information. An organization may choose to develop in both of these ways. (Galbraith, 1973: 312) 1. 3. 2 Structural theory The structures of organizations are considered to be amenable to change. Organizations are viewed as rational and should be designed to achieve their objectives. The Classical School of Management argued that all organizations should be designed scientifically. The main contributors to the school were Henry Fayol, PERSPECTIVES ON CHANGE Charles Babbage, Daniel McCullum, Frederick Winslow Taylor, and Max Weber. For these writers, organizational efficiency was achieved through the rational design of organizations. The Classical School assumed that there was a best structure for any organization, related to the environment in which the organization operated. The design of an organization was related to specialization and to the division of labour. Specialization is the extent to which highly skilled operations and individuals are required. Because the design of organizations was seen as a purely rational activity, problems or dysfunctions were seen to result from structural imperfections or flaws that could be solved by changing the organization’s structure. Furthermore, although the Classical School considered that a bureaucratic structure was the best means to achieve efficiency and effectiveness, by the 1950s this view was increasingly challenged. The first challenge emerged with the work of Burns and Stalker (1961), who were interested in the rapidly changing electronics industry in Britain, and in Scotland in particular. Their research revealed that organizations in stable operating environments are heavily dependent on control mechanisms and therefore require mechanistic structures. Conversely, the newer industries based on, or developing, micro-electronic technology required organic structures in order to meet situations that are changing. The message, therefore, was that the rate of organizational change is critical to organizations. Where they have to meet rapidly changing circumstances and conditions, and where technology is critical to their survival, then organic structures need to be designed. This would also be true today of the fashion industry, where styles change quickly and competition for change requires organizations to get goods into the high street quickly. In the following year Blau and Scott (1962) argued that organizations have both a formal structure and an informal aspect to them. The formal structure determines the standard rules and regulations: for example, a highly structured organization operating bureaucratic procedures is managed through complex rules, policies, frameworks, and desk instructions. However, they argued that it is impossible to understand how organizations are structured by simply looking at rules and regulations without understanding the informal aspect of the organization. Their argument was heavily influenced by Barnard’s (1938) book, The Functions of the Executive, and suggested that the informal organization reflects unconscious processes. In other words, habits, attitudes, and assumptions of people are critical to performance. This was clearly an early recognition that change requires more than structural redesign because it suggested that senior managers have to align the structure with what we call today the organization’s culture. The earlier work of Max Weber in the 1920s reflected his concerns with specialization. By the 1960s academics used the word ‘differentiation’ to reflect this but also to indicate how specialization is affected by increasingly complex environments. In relation to organizational change, we can note that the process of differentiation— increased complexity of organization—suggests that diverse forces are responsible for pulling organizations apart. This process of differentiation therefore means that 17 18 UNDERSTANDING CHANGE organizational change is required in order to integrate the organization with its new environment. To put this more succinctly, differentiation requires integration. This particular concern was articulated by Lawrence and Lorsch (1969) in their book, Developing Organizations: diagnosis and action. It also reflects the emphasis on design since change planning is required to deal with uncertainty caused by rapidly changing circumstances. This was reinforced by Davis and Lawrence’s (1977) argument that a matrix organization was required when external change was forced upon organizations. Accordingly, they argue that change in design is therefore determined by three conditions: 1. Outside pressure for dual focus. What they mean by this is that some companies need to focus attention both on complex technical issues and on the unique requirements of the customer; this dual focus requires a matrix structure. 2. Pressures for high information-processing capacity. The second reason to adopt a matrix structure is a requirement for high information-processing capacity among an organization’s members. The failure to construct a matrix organization in such circumstances will lead to information overload. 3. Pressure for shared resources. When organizations are under pressure to achieve economies of scale, they need to find ways of utilizing scarce human resources to meet quality standards. Both systems theory and structural theory share the view that organizations are rational and serve utilitarian purposes. That is, organizations are viewed as a means to achieve efficiency and effectiveness. They do this by identifying clear goals. The structural-functional systems perspective is therefore described as rational because it assumes a relatively simple cause and effect relationship among variables related to functional integration and structural change. As a perspective, it is clear about what it seeks to achieve. Organizational change is relatively straightforward: we either change functional relationships in order to achieve harmony or we change the design of the organization in order to meet the complexity of its environment. 1. 4 Multiple constituencies: change by negotiation In advancing a critique of the structural-functional perspective Michael Keeley (1983) argues that it is common to model organizations after biological systems. In most texts organizations are depicted as ‘social actors’ who possess the distinguishing features of living beings such as goals and needs. By contrast, individuals are portrayed as functional ‘members’ filling roles and serving as ‘human resources’ to further the organization’s ends. The organic model is useful mainly for addressing survival needs, PERSPECTIVES ON CHANGE but one difficulty is that it tends to confuse the goals of an organization with the goals of powerful individuals. The structural-functional perspective presents a reified and overrational picture of social systems. By contrast, the multiple constituencies perspective does not assume that organizations exist independently from the people who work for them or interact with them. Multiple constituency theory was first outlined by Cyert and March in their book A Behavioural Theory of the Firm (1963), which describes organizations as coalitions of self-interested participants. Organizational goals, they argue, change as a result of bargaining processes because an organization is a dynamic coalition of individuals and groups, all of which have different demands. The perspective focuses on how goals are achieved and whose interests are satisfied and affected by the actions taken in the name of the organization. If we think, therefore, of an organization containing a number of groups and external stakeholders, all of which have differing interests, then we can consider how organizational change affects each different group, or alternatively how each may make demands on an organization to change its strategy. The multiple constituencies perspective focuses on the way in which resources are managed and distributed among organizational members and stakeholders in the interests of governance. 19 x Stop and think 1. 3 Imagine that you start a new job as a travel executive and are required to visit overseas destinations six times a year. You chose this job because you were excited by the prospect of overseas travel. As an incentive, employees are permitted to stay in the destination for two days after they have completed their tasks. Consequently executives are motivated to choose an interesting destination. Your organization operates from two different sites in the UK. During your first year of employment you hear rumours that the person who allocates staff to destinations ‘cherry picks’ the best for herself and then for friends or colleagues who work with her at the main site. You begin to realize that the rumours have a ring of truth about them. What do you do? Try to ingratiate yourself with the decision maker by becoming friends? Offer to take on more work if she offers you one or two better destinations? Should you take the issue to her line manager at the risk of becoming unpopular? Or do you accept the situation for what it is and that life is not fair? How do you bargain for change? The multiple constituencies perspective criticizes the structural-functional approach for making it difficult to achieve conceptual clarity about what constitutes organizational effectiveness. For example, Connolly, Conlon, and Deutsch argue that effectiveness statements are evaluative and descriptive. Generally they are not attempts to answer the question ‘how is an entity X performing? ’ but usually ‘how well is entity X performing? ’ and often ‘how much better should entity X perform? ’ The central differentiation among current effectiveness statements is how they specify the evaluation criteria used to define how well the entity is performing or could perform (Connolly, Conlon, and Deutsch, 1980: 211). As a result, the multiple 20 UNDERSTANDING CHANGE constituency view treats organizations as systems with differential assessments of effectiveness by different constituencies. Although the interests of internal groups (for example, executives, managers, production workers, and so forth) and external stakeholders (for example, clients, shareholders, government regulators, suppliers, and so forth) may overlap, they each have specific interests and priorities or goals they seek to pursue. Each constituency brings its own interests and motivations into the organizational arena. We can therefore consider organizations as webs of fluid interactions between different groups of people whose interests keep changing. The multiple constituencies approach is therefore a means to identify the actions and motivations of people. More importantly, it reflects organizational change as a continuously negotiable order because interests and coalitions change over time. Although the multiple constituencies perspective originated with Cyert and March, it is rooted in the social contract tradition of political and moral argument. The idea of contract theory emerged in the seventeenth century with the political theorists Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. In the twentieth century such theories have become the basis for political theorists (as we will see in Chapter 7) and writers concerned with corporate ethics (see Chapter 2). 1. 4. 1 Stakeholder interests Since stakeholders reflect dynamic interests, change agents need to learn how to interact with them. There are various ways of doing this. For example, Mitroff (1983) suggests seven approaches. These are: 1. The imperative approach, which identifies stakeholders who feel strongly about an organization’s proposed policies or actions. This approach requires making a list of as many stakeholders as possible and interacting with them to resolve concerns. 2. The positional approach, which identifies stakeholders who occupy formal positions in a policy-making structure. For example, health trusts, schools, colleges, universities, and charities are required to have boards of governors who must oversee the operations of such organizations. Many boards of governors can be identified from organization charts or legal documents. 3. The reputational approach entails asking various knowledgeable or important people to nominate those they believe to have a stake in the organization. 4. The social participation approach identifies individuals or groups of stakeholders who may have an interest in a policy-related issue for the organization. For example, members of committees, and people who might normally be excluded because they are not so visible, or who do not normally have the opportunity to articulate their views, will be represented. 5. The opinion-leadership approach identifies individuals who have access to leverage of some sort. Examples include informed professionals, commentators, and editors of important newspapers or journals. PERSPECTIVES ON CHANGE 6. The demographic approach identifies stakeholders by characteristics such as age, sex, race, occupation, religion, place of birth, and level of education. 7. The focal organization approach seeks to identify individuals and organizations that have important relationships with the focal organization. That is, suppliers, employees, customers or clients, allies, competitors, regulators. The multiple constituencies perspective suggests that, prior to any change initiative, change agents should analyse the following issues: †¢ The purposes and motivations of a stakeholder. †¢ The resources of a stakeholder. These will include material, symbolic, and physical resources, as well as informational resources and skills. †¢ Special knowledge and opinions of the stakeholder. †¢ Stakeholders’ commitments to the organization and expertise. †¢ Relationships between stakeholders, focusing particularly on the amount of power (or authority), responsibility, and accountability they have. The extent of the network of interdependent relationships among stakeholders. †¢ The extent to which a change in strategy can be identified in the interests of any one particular stakeholder. 21 Such an analysis of stakeholder interests suggests that whilst stakeholders are generally supportive and have an interest in the organization, they can also become a neg ative influence on it. They might indeed reflect a threat and become a barrier to organizational change. Mitroff therefore suggests a number of options for influencing or changing the views and actions of particular stakeholders. We can: †¢ Simply exercise power and authority by ommanding the stakeholder to comply. †¢ Appeal to reason and therefore attempt to persuade the stakeholder. †¢ Engage in tactical bargaining with a stakeholder. †¢ Negotiate in order to reach a compromise. †¢ Engage in problem solving by sharing information, debating, and arriving at mutually agreed perceptions. The multiple constituencies perspective reflects a view of social systems in which people take actions and engage in activities to maximize their own interests. They also collude with others and engage in purposeful activity. Negotiation of organizational change revolves around three central issues: 1. Changing organizational objectives requires that leaders be able to re-evaluate the organization’s current mission, purposes, objectives, and goals, and mobilize action through inspiration. Such leaders need to embrace inspirational leadership. 22 UNDERSTANDING CHANGE 2. The ability to develop and mobilize intellectual capital by using the combined resources held by all stakeholders creatively. This should include the identification and cultivation of scarce resources, skills, and capital. 3. The ability to sustain cooperation and to eliminate conflict among stakeholders so that ethical, moral, and cooperative understanding is achieved. The perspective argues that it is constituencies of people, rather than organizations, that have goals and objectives. Consequently, it moves us away from the problem of reification, because stakeholder interests must be negotiated. Yet it still assumes that people act rationally through an appeal to the common good. The perspective draws us towards interventions that focus on a concern with organizational and personal values, social justice, and the distribution of rights and obligations. It provides a useful way forward for organizations in the public domain that are subjected to public scrutiny through governance. . 5 Organizational Development: the humanistic approach to change Organizational Development (OD) is derived from human resource theory or organizational behaviour. It dates back to the Hawthorne experiments, which began in the Western Electrical Company in 1927. Elton Mayo and his team began these experiments by using the same assumptions as the structural-functional pe rspective: that is, they initially sought to investigate improvements to organizational efficiency by redesigning an organization’s environment along scientific principles. The experiments focused on rational pragmatic concerns such as technology and work performance, the rate of flow of materials, and throughput of a factory system. One can therefore recognize the early development of open-systems theory and structural design within these experiments. Their lack of success meant that the problem of efficiency and effectiveness was refocused towards socio-psychological factors, such as group norms. One interesting source dating back to 1926 was Mary Parker Follett’s description of ‘The Giving of Orders’ (1926). Follett argued that psychology could make an important contribution to understanding motivational relationships in the workplace. One example she discusses is the importance of understanding the law of the situation. Once this is discovered, better attitudes follow. She suggested that giving orders in a positive manner facilitated more harmonious attitudes within the workplace. But related concerns that began with the Second World War later paved the way for a more sophisticated social science concerned with behaviour in organizations. In particular, a concern to identify effective leadership and to enhance workgroup relationships was paramount because of the American army’s focus on morale. As a result, many academics emerged from this tradition with a clear focus on the relationship PERSPECTIVES ON CHANGE between leadership, motivation, and group dynamics. The investigation of individual and organizational needs was part of this use of applied social science. An early example was Maslow’s research, which resulted in his paper ‘A Theory of Human Motivation’ (1943). The awareness that human needs impact on organizations was a theme developed further in McGregor’s The Human Side of Enterprise (1957). By the late 1960s and 1970s OD emerged from this behavioural research as a distinct discipline. Whilst it focused on harmonizing individual and organizational needs, it also readily adopted the open-systems framework of the structural-functional perspective. French and Bell (1978) were largely responsible for articulating this approach when they characterized the perspective as a mixture of open-systems theory with humanistic values. Today, we can discern six essential characteristics of OD. These are: 1. A methodology informed largely by Action Research—a term coined by Kurt Lewin in the 1940s. 2. Interventions should only result from careful organizational diagnosis (Tichy, Hornstein, and Nisberg, 1976). 3. A recognition that effective change requires process consultation (Schein, 1995) rather than negotiation through an individual in order to achieve corporate social responsibility in change initiatives. It should be noted that this is in line with OD’s humanistic approach to change. 4. An awareness of barriers to personal growth and organizational change, championed largely by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross (1973). 5. An emphasis on personal and organizational learning in contrast to training, proposed by Reg Revans (1982). 6. A recognition that groups and culture will influence change initiatives, articulated by Lewin (1951) and Schein and Bennis (1965). OD emerged as a distinctive discipline for managing change. It did so initially by adopting experiential approaches such as T-groups (training groups) and Lewin’s Force Field Analysis as a technique for managing organizational transitions. Action Research encouraged employees to develop a collaborative approach to diagnosing problems and engaging in action learning. Argyris’s book on Intervention Theory and Method (1970) is a comprehensive review of process-consultation techniques articulated by Schein (1995) and intervention techniques that became associated with the idea of planned, organization-wide change. Such change strategies were ‘managed from the top’ in order to ‘increase organizational effectiveness and health’ through interventions in the organization’s processes using behavioural science knowledge (Beckhard, 1969). Lewin’s (1951) three stages of change—unfreeze, change, refreeze—reflects the essence of the traditional OD approach through which a clear goal or destination is identified and cascaded to the organization’s members. This has been described as a linear model of change (Marshak, 1993) that tends to omit the 23 24 UNDERSTANDING CHANGE untidy parts of the process that do not fit neatly into Lewin’s framework’ (Inns 1996: 23). Most critics of Lewin’s planned change model make this argument. However, we must be cautious about this since, as we will see in Chapter 3, Lewin did not apply this approach to organization-level change. Often, OD proceeds with problem identification through the app lication of Action Research at the individual, the group, or the organizational level. Following careful diagnosis, intervention strategies are designed to deal with an organizational problem by applying various techniques. At the individual level, behaviour modification theory is often used to encourage personal growth. At the group level, intervention strategies are informed by analysis of group dynamics, whilst at the organizational level, strategic interventions are designed to manage strategic change through the application of technology, structural change, or change to human resources. We can understand how these interventions work by exploring them in greater depth. 1. 5. 1 Intervention strategies at the individual level Strategies at the individual level were influenced by behaviour modification theory. The purpose of this technique is to increase the frequency of desired behaviours and reduce the frequency of undesired behaviours. Behaviour modification therefore seeks to modify the behaviours of individuals by training people to recognize a positive stimulus in order to provoke a desired response. It can also be used to change an individual’s reaction to fears and phobias. Intervention strategies used instead of behaviour modification theory include personal and management development techniques such as Lewin’s Force Field Analysis and learning interventions designed to improve personal learning. Stop and think 1. 4 We rarely remember modifying our own behaviour but we do this all the time. Think about the last time you learned a new skill. How difficult was this at first? During the learning process how did you modify your own behaviour or attitudes? How did evaluation lead to improvement? 1. 5. 2 Intervention strategies at the group level At the group level, interv ention strategies originated from studies of group dynamics including armed forces personnel, industrial workers, and professional groups. Group dynamics was first defined by Kurt Lewin in the 1940s. Observations of groups led Lewin to note that groups develop personalities as a result of their unique composition. Change was therefore more likely when the group as a whole made a collective decision to have its members change their behaviours. This was far more effective in producing the desired changes than more formal techniques such as lectures and PERSPECTIVES ON CHANGE instruction. Lewin’s work became the foundation for training in group skills, sensitivity training, teambuilding, and OD. Groups therefore can be a major influence on change, or can inhibit change. However, the capability of a group to respond flexibly to change will depend on the degree to which its members: †¢ Explore problem-solving alternatives. †¢ Are motivated to achieve the objectives of the group. †¢ Make an effort to learn how to change. †¢ Discover what specifically needs to be changed to meet current demands. †¢ Are prepared to experiment. 25 1. 5. 3 Intervention strategies at the organizational level At the organizational level, a greater depth was provided by a focus on planned change interventions. Planned change strategies, according to Chin and Benne (1976), emerged from the Enlightenment tradition with the application of rational thought to interventions in the modern world. In other words, changing things requires an application to reason. Associated with this was the pursuit of social progress. Chin and Benne describe a central element common to all planned change programmes as ‘the conscious utilisation and application of knowledge as an instrument or tool for modifying patterns and institutions of practice’ (1976: 22). Planned change interventions are therefore extremely varied but they fall under three broad headings: 1. Empirical–rational interventions, such as political interventions giving rise to new How to cite Understanding Change, Essay examples

Death Row American Justice System free essay sample

An in depth look at death row and the experiences of individuals on death row. This paper looks at the American justice system with emphasis on death row. The author defines what death row is and what life for prisoners sentenced to the death sentence is like. Included are interviews with people on death row. America stands alone in the western world as the only so-called Free country that still executes its own citizens. Americas justice system in particular is inherently biased, usually racially, always monetarily if you have the money to pay for a good criminal lawyer, and all the appeals, chances are you wont get the death penalty. The one thing these people all have in common is lack of funds, and without the ability to work while on Death Row, these people have no option but to just sit and wait for the inevitable to occur. We will write a custom essay sample on Death Row: American Justice System or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The people on death row are not all Ax murderers or Serial rapists, a disturbing number of them may actually be innocent of the crimes for which theyve been sentenced to be executed. Our anthology will be based upon writings from within the cell walls of prisons across the United States of America. Each writing comes from a person who is imprisoned for life. Many of these people have received the death penalty and are just wasting their life away on death row. Each individual has been in prison for years and is still paying for the crimes in which he or she has committed.