Organisational Design and Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Organisational Design and Culture - Essay Example On the basis of management structure and its complexity, Mintzberg has broadly categorised Organisational Design into the following five levels- Simple Organisation, Machine Bureaucracy, Professional Bureaucracy and Adhocracy. The internationally renowned author of business and management books, Mintzberg has also recognized the different classes of work patterns-Process or Occupation where all employees reported directly to a single executive; Purpose or Division where employees work in units and thus report to their respective unit heads and Matrix where both of the above mentioned kinds co-exist. Depending upon the requirements and managerial levels of an organisation, the appropriate kind of Organisational Design can be selected. Several healthcare institutions have adopted these Organisational Design patterns to affect an overhaul in the debilitated healthcare industry. In addition to the mounting healthcare costs, the industry is also troubled by its failure to meet the growing expectations and demands of the patients. In an era of rampant media growth, the patient is more informed about his medical rights and treatment options. This body of knowledge encourages him to stipulate enhanced and superior treatment. As McMurphy and Vujicic state "The patient-provider relationship is in flux. Consumers desire greater autonomy and participation in their healthcare decisions." ( 2000). But the global health industry has not been able to adapt to these changes completely. In an attempt to refurbish the redundant and obsolete hospital managerial procedures, the healthcare organisations formulated the "patient focussed care" approach. Whole healthcare community embraced this approach, which was aimed at providing superior services to patients and spruces the costs. Under this approach, certain new protocols were established and the various hospital procedures were simplified. Apart from resulting in a decline in the duration of stay of patients, this methodology has also resulted in higher patient satisfaction. Different medical institutes have adopted different routes to follow this approach. The Beth Israel Medical Centre, New York was the first institution to adopt this approach on the East Coast. This 934-bed urban institute decided to focus on Therapeutic Recreation and set up a "Planetree Unit". Every room in this luxurious unit was equipped with its own refrigerator, a television set, and an audio speaker near the patient's pillow- all in an attempt to fasten the process of healing. The hospital is still in the process of self-examination and thus the outcome of this methodology isn't clear as yet. The Medical Center, Pennsylvania decided to employ a more technical scheme. This 470- bed community, which employs 1900 professionals created eighth in-patient focussed care centers. A sincere attempt was made to make these centers fairly autonomous and independent. They had several pharmacies, labs and X-ray areas all to themselves. They also possessed independent housekeeping and patient admission services. These steps were undertaken to minimise