Organizational Control in a Healthcare Setting

• Main Author: ZAKERI, MOIEN
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: KTH, Industriell Management 2017
• Subjects: Healthcare; Organizational Control; Objectives; Information and Communication Technology; Change Management; Economics and Business; Ekonomi och näringsliv
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-211062

A sector affected by a constant rate of organizational growth is the healthcare sector. Consequently, the increased demand for healthcare services underline the importance to have a well-functioning organizational control that pushes towards continuous improvements to enhance the quality of care. This requires high standards regarding the formulation of objectives that are shared by the workforce and efficiently integrated into the organizations day-to-day operations, with the help of technological solutions.The purpose of this study was to investigate how the organizational control in the healthcare sector could be improved, in order to enhance the work towards the achievement of the objectives among the employees. To achieve the purpose, the research was conducted as a case study at the infectious disease department at Danderyds University Hospital, where the findings were derived from both qualitative and quantitative methods. To address the department’s objective areas, interviews with representatives from the management were conducted. A questionnaire was then distributed to gain insight in how the department’s operational activities are anchored, in relation to the employees’ respective profession.The findings showed a considerable gap between the employees’ awareness and their understanding of the objective areas, resulting in a misalignment of how each profession contributes towards the achievement of the objectives in their day-to-day operations. By analyzing the findings in relation to the selected theory of organizational control and change management, four improvement measures were identified: (1) visibility of the effects and outcomes of goal fulfilment, (2) establishment of incentives in relation to goal fulfilment, (3) formulation of well-defined internal key performance indicators related to each objective and (4) providing continuous feedback regarding the progress of each objective area. These areas need to be integrated into the department’s current information technology system in order to further streamline their operational work in reaching objectives. With the help of a strong coalition to initiate the change, the improvement areas can be found to affect the employees’ understanding and attitude toward the fulfilment of the objectives in the healthcare sector.