Running head: CASE STUDY #1- CULTURAL CHANGE IN THE WORK

Case Study #1- Cultural Change in the Work Environment

Jennifer C. Zayd
The University of Saint Mary

Case Study #1- Cultural Change in the Work Environment

Health care is changing at a rapid pace and requires that hospital systems adapt quickly
and appropriately in response to such change. With the passage of the Affordable Care Act
(ACA) positive patient outcomes are no longer enough, now hospitals must improve the patients
perception of care. While many hospitals strove for patient satisfaction prior to the passage of
ACA, now patient satisfaction is directly tied with a hospitals bottom line.
In the article Clinicians and Culture Play Important Roles it is suggested that in order
to improve patient satisfaction, hospitals and health care agencies must change their
organizational culture with an emphasis on improving communication (Barr, 2013). This leads

CASE STUDY #1- CULTURAL CHANGE IN THE WORK

2
us to the question, how does one change an organizations culture and how may we do so with the
idea of improving communication as the guiding principle?
Organizational culture and change
Organizational culture refers to the pattern of beliefs resulting from group norms,
values, and informal activities (Ivancevich, Konopaske, & Matteson, 2014, p. 528). It is often
rooted in the foundation of an organization and can be very difficult to change. For this reason, it
is important that any organization that wishes to change their organizational culture realize that it
is not a change that can happen overnight but a process that can take months or years to
complete.
In order to begin the process of culture change, leaders of the organization must evaluate
the organizations vision, mission, philosophy, and values in order to make sure that they are in
line with what the organization wishes to convey to their stakeholders (Kinicki & Fugate, 2012).
Once that is complete, it is time to introduce the changes to the stakeholders.
Organizational changes must be done in a meaningful way in order for stakeholders to
adopt the change. Classes discussing the changes that an organization wishes to see are
imperative. Teach members of the organization about the changes they wish to see and tell them
why these changes are necessary, the expected impact of these changes, and how they can assist
in making these changes happen. Members of the leadership team should model the changes that
they wish to see and coach staff appropriately so that staff can get a better understanding of what
the organization wants to see (Kinicki & Fugate, 2012). Putting incentives in place can also assist
when attempting to change an organizations culture. Finally, analyzing real time results of the
changes implemented can go far when trying to change an organizations culture (Quinn et al.,
2004).

CASE STUDY #1- CULTURAL CHANGE IN THE WORK

While these suggestions increase the chances of meaningful change taking place, it is

important for members of the leadership team to make sure the change they wish to see is
achievable. If the end goal is seen as impossible, it is unlikely that stakeholders will maintain
interest in the change which would make organizational culture change unlikely.
Communication and organizational culture
Now that we have discussed ways to change organizational culture, how do we do so in
regards to communication? If our end goal is to change an organizations culture into a culture of
positive communication we must utilize the basic principles of organizational changes and
structure them in a way that focuses on communication.
Why is communication so important? As stated previously, the passage of the ACA
legislation tied patient satisfaction to hospital reimbursement. Press Ganey is one of health cares
leading research teams in regards to patient satisfaction measurement and improvement. Health
care organizations use the data that they receive from Press Ganey to understand areas of
improvement when it comes to patient satisfaction. These patient satisfaction surveys have
repeatedly shown that health care providers loose many satisfaction points due to lack of
communication or miscommunication (Ford, Boss, Angermeier, Townson, & Jennings, 2004).
For that reason, a culture of positive communication is being implemented at health care
organizations nationwide.
Now that we understand why communication has become so important in the health care
realm and we understand how organizational culture can change we can see how to improve our
organizations performance by making positive communication a priority.
Philosophy, mission, values, and beliefs must be in line with the goal of promoting
positive communication. Once these have been examined and updated, it is important for

CASE STUDY #1- CULTURAL CHANGE IN THE WORK

leadership to model the communication skills they wish the staff adopt. If leadership does not

follow through and practice what they preach it is unlikely the staff will be interested in the
changes. Educational classes on positive communication relying heavily on role play would be
beneficial. While many organizations would like to use a script, it would come across as less
than genuine to the patients who hear it, so it is important that staff members understand the
underlying message as to how to be a good communicator. As mentioned earlier, the use of
incentives can motivate individuals who may not have responded to the other ways of improving
organizational culture. By rewarding units that are able to show increased Press Ganey scores in
relation to communication skills, small things such as pizza parties or small gifts can have a large
impact when it comes to adoption of the new organizational norms. Finally, assessing and
analyzing the results of these changes by implementing real-time surveys can assist in revising
the organizational change plan if necessary.

Conclusion
Changing the culture of an organization can be a long and tedious road to travel but in the
health care environment of today, it is necessary for all organizations to adapt in order to survive.
Communication has been shown to be a key factor in patient satisfaction and should be
addressed in a meaningful way by all health care organizations. Not only can positive
communication assist with increasing patient satisfaction scores, which can impact a healthcare
organizations bottom line, but it can make a deep impact on the patients that we care for which
should always be our true objective.

CASE STUDY #1- CULTURAL CHANGE IN THE WORK

CASE STUDY #1- CULTURAL CHANGE IN THE WORK

References

Barr, P. (2013). Clinicians and culture play important roles. H&HN: Hospitals & Health
Networks, 87(11), 65-67. Retrieved from
http://web.a.ebscohost.com.stmary.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?
sid=6393d7fc-6c63-4836-8a49-6c2dce6979ca%40sessionmgr4005&vid=3&hid=4104
Ford, R., Boss, R. W., Angermeier, I., Townson, C. D., & Jennings, T. A. (2004, September 1).
Adapting to change in healthcare: Aligning strategic intent and operational capacity.
Hospital Topics, 82(4), 20-29. Retrieved from
http://web.a.ebscohost.com.stmary.idm.oclc.org/ehost/detail/detail?sid=a0148344-42a44e3c-857c-de19236700cb
%40sessionmgr4002&vid=6&hid=4107&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d
%3d#AN=2009191695&db=ccm
Ivancevich, J. M., Konopaske, R., & Matteson, M. T. (2014). Organizational behavior and
managment (10th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
Kinicki, A., & Fugate, M. (2012). Organizational Dynamics (5th ed.). New York, NY: McGrawHill Education.
Quinn, G., Jacobson, P., Albrecht, T., Bell-Ellison, B., Newman, N., Bell, M., & Ruckdeschel, J.
(2004, June 1). Real-time patient satisfaction survey and improvement process. Hospital
Topics, 82(3), 26-32. Retrieved from
http://web.a.ebscohost.com.stmary.idm.oclc.org/ehost/detail/detail?sid=a0148344-42a44e3c-857c-de19236700cb
%40sessionmgr4002&vid=12&hid=4107&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d
%3d#AN=2005114045&db=ccm