Organizational Development
Organizational Development (OD) interventions are programs that can be structured and designed in an organization to solve problems to enable it to achieve its goals. Gateway hospital needs OD interventions to allow it to solve its problems. And so, the effective OD interventions that can be used by the hospital to solve its problems should be strategic change interventions. Strategic change interventions aim at changing processes that are shaking an organization on its core. Under this, the specific strategic change interventions that Gateway hospital need to utilize should be both a transformational change and continuous change interventions.
A transformational change is a type of change process that is specifically associated with the change of the primary character of a company/firm (Cummings & Worley, 2009). This type of change the structures and the way an organization operates. Gateway hospital needs to adapt to a transformational kind of strategical change as it will assist the help the hospital in restructuring its communicational challenges and its overall structure. In the case study, we are told that “communicational breakdowns seem to be a normal occurrence.” We are further elaborated that “key physicians are taking their services elsewhere” because there is “inefficiency in the hospital processes.” This clearly shows that the hospital experiences other critical structural challenges.
On the other hand, a continuous change facilitates change in an organization in a continual manner. Gateway needs to use a continuous change strategical change intervention because the hospital has gained a reputation as a bad place to work. The term “eat their young” has been seemed to have a prevalent description of the way of life to those new employees recruited. And so, the hospital needs to use this type of strategical change intervention as it will assist them in continuous change and perform. It will aid the hospital to gain a good reputation and effectively operate to achieve their future goals.
Question Two
The first step to proceed if I was the consultant is that I will anticipate and prepare on how I would go about the situation that is affecting Gateway Hospital. In this case, I will ensure that I transform to become proactive in coming up with quick solutions. I will then arrange an intensive brainstorming session with the leadership of Gateway hospital, where we will intensely discuss the problems to a broader extent. While with the leaders, I will initiate we create a crisis response plan. The crisis response plan will include both communication and operational components in it. Also, the crisis response plan will have to be tested to ensure the messages that are contained in it are expertly delivered and with credibility. What follows next will be the identification of my crisis communication team who will assist me in the process of testing the crisis response plan. They also assist in the communication process to both the external and internal stakeholders on our way forward in terms of solutions attained to revive the hospital. After a thorough discussion, we will establish our report to the hospital on how we have resolved the problem.
Question Three
The practitioner needs communication skills. For leaders and managers to get most from their teams, they must communicate their expectations and goals to their fellow teams. The practitioner needs to inform the report we have issued the hospital on how it can solve its problems. And once team members have learned and understood what is necessary for them from the report, the hospital will be able to achieve its goals and revive from its previous problems. The case study points that, “communication breakdowns seem to be a normal occurrence” at Gateway Hospital
The practitioner also needs to be a team builder. Good leaders or managers come together with all staff as well as with other workers in building an inclusive workforce. In the case study, it is evident that teams and workers at Gateway suffer a significant spirit of togetherness. The Case study points out that poor teamwork is rampant…”. From what it can be seen, there is lower overall morale of employees at the hospital. This therefore elaborates that team spirit needs to initiate so as all employees can come together to work and achieve to attain the objective of the hospital.
Question Four
The type of timeline that I would have administered I were this consultant could have been reduced employees’ hours. The reason to support this is that when employees work in an organization for a few hours, the organization will likely to spend less on wages or salaries that it pays its employees. And the organization will probably have a lot of money that it has saved in its account. The funds can be wisely used for the expansion of the organization. And as far as the technology is advancing, the organization can use the money saved to buy equipment and machinery to ease its operations. In this current century, machines and equipment are the ones on demand since they facilitate many activities for organizations (Wilson, 2005). Organization operate profitably using machine than skilled human labor.