Definition of the Situation
Mountain State Healthcare wanted to make more profits as it realized a significant amount of money was being spent on administrative costs. The solution was to consolidate the various parts of the administration. They decided that the first area to consolidate was the billing process, which would be done with the latest billing technology. The organization decided to set up a committee to plan for the changes beforehand. The first step was to choose a director to run the billing sector of the business, and it was decided that he would be chosen from the current billing managers in the four hospitals. Kylie who had an Accounting degree and MBA both from a well- recognized university, was chosen for the position.
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"Analysis of The Transition in Technology of the Mountain State Healthcare".
SWOT Analysis
Strengths: the major strength of the Mountain States Healthcare is that it was depending in Kylie, who Kylie who had an Accounting degree and MBA both from a well- recognized university and was had worked in one of the four hospitals as a billing manager. Despite her failures, it was appropriate for the healthcare to consider her since she was already conversant with the challenges with the billing operations management. Additionally, the integration of the four health centers brought together people with different skills. Utilizing these skills well could have led to enhanced productivity and more talents.
Weakness: the lack of common goal was a major weakness in the integration of the four health centers. Apparently, considering that the workforce was from the four organizations they had different organizational cultures, priorities, and relatively varying objectives.
Opportunities: the major opportunity was the capability of the workers to coordinate well considering that some of them had worked together in the past. This could have been used in reducing possible conflicts that could have resulted from lack or common goals of employees from the different health centers.
Threats: the lack of major leadership is a major threat for the Mountain States Healthcare. Apparently, Kylie who was the director did not have good leadership skills to guide the organization through a significant change. Due to poor communication, led to a breakdown of communication from the head of the staff causes uncertainty and disrupts the work process.
Analysis of the Situation
Changing the billing system meant that the administrative structure would change inevitably. Therefore, this was not something that should have been taken lightly. Making such a change was essential because it meant additional profits, which is the ultimate goal for any organization. Some changes are quite predictable and the person in charge should be ready to face them while other effects are not anticipated. Hence, important decisions have to be made for instance assigning some duties to competent individuals so that all areas leading to an effective transition are covered. When new changes are adopted (for instance this billing system), specific job roles come up, and anyone that is available is required to do whatever is needed. Employees must work together, and everyone should be held accountable, this makes the structure more functional. Over time the billing process procedure will become more standardized, and by the time it reaches maturity, the management will be stable (Kavita, 2005).
In this situation where the organization is trying to implement the billing process a lot of problems were seen especially with the management process of the director. This is a likely scenario because changes are happening and the staff is confused. The director appointed as the head of the billing process first role should be to get everyone to corporate because barriers are investable while adopting a new process. All decisions on the way forward should come from the director, and he should be on the same page with the other staff members, or there will be a breakdown of communication with everyone. The director should know that not everyone will be on board with his decisions and ideas in the initial stages he should show the staff how the changes will affect the organization and educate them on how to implement those proposals; this will ensure that everyone is with him in case they had reservations at the start.
The director Kyle did not use his managerial skills well, as a result his employees became emotional and moody. The director should have made been aware that while going through a major change, given that he is the head of the billing process. It is essential for Kyle to communicate effectively with all of his staff members. This did not happen, and people started quitting their jobs while others were in fear. Employees want to be in the loop on what is happening in the organization. The feeling of a breakdown of communication from the head of the staff causes uncertainty and disrupts the work process. The director should have kept his staff updated about the progress towards the changes happening in implementing. He ought to have ensured that they were fully involved through meetings so that they can feel their contribution in the planning phase.
The planning process is another important factor that the organization should consider when changing a structure in its administration. Without proper planning, problems rather than benefits will be observable. In such a scenario where the organization is transitioning to a new billing process, it was important to analyze if the new systems are compatible. The director should have ensured that the workload was assigned to different individuals to ensure that all duties are covered. In addition, the manager should have planned for difficulties that may be faced in completing the work while the changes happen.
When an organization is going through change, behavioral control is important. In most scenarios, the staff is likely to resist the transformation. The reason is that they were comfortable with the old strategy of running the company because then they knew what the organization expected. When a major change occurs, their familiarity is disrupted, and some do not want to relearn their old jobs or change the conditions. In such a situation where the director is in control of transitioning the billing process, he should support and train his employees on their new responsibilities so that they can adapt easily to the changes (Lucey, 2004). As a leader in an organization, influencing change is an important part of the job, and the most difficult task is getting the staff on board. Studies have shown that that old habits of employees are very hard to forget because they consider chance as a sign for an incoming danger. Hence, it is imperative to capture the attention of the employees and break any negative thinking. One way of achieving this is trying to do something that is not in their daily patterns. For instance, getting out of the office and engaging them in a joint activity.
Recommendations
A concept that the director should apply while implementing change in the billing process is the national culture. This is important in the sense that there are a set of expectations and beliefs that members of an organization heed to and are used to, this is what produces norms which help shape their behavior. The core foundation of management is its values since it is what aids in the implementation of any change. A leader should show both organization-related rewards and personal recompenses that the employee will experience. This focus on the positive outcome will force the employees to focus more on their actions and plan, and things will, therefore, look up for them. Employees should obey their superior and play their role effectively and for this reason, the appointment of a director like in this case should be only by merit that way all those in the running are given fair consideration.
The expectancy theory is another concept that any person in a managerial role should understand while holding the position. People’s expectations of working in a particular organization should be met. The staff should be open to work that will lead to the growth of the employees and that of the organization. The move gives them a sense of direction that leads to a good attitude and behavior, hence a strong foundation for the organization. A specific structure should fulfill an organization’s mandate and managers should remember not to treat the structure as absolute due to the environmental changes.
When making major alterations, it is important to consider the job design of the organization’s sector that is being changed. The main purpose of employing a new technology is to reduce cost and eventually earn more profits for the organization. Such a strategy is possible because it will aid in the smooth running of operations. If the advancement aim is to reduce the time taken to finish a specific task, this means that it will eliminate job functions which in turn implies that a lot of staff will lose their job. In such a case, where the Director knows that people will get laid off he should evaluate and hire old employees for any new slot and lay off other staff members. In this way no one will quit because they feel they are not wanted or because they are aware of the new changes will cause them to befired.
Operations management is significant in a functional organization. This change in the billing process will result in the restructuring of departments. It will also mean modification of a particular job position. Thus, the director in charge in this case Kyle will need to train his employees and fire the ones who are not needed in a new phase because that is the only way to implement the new technology.
An important factor to consider when an organization is in transition into new technology is the cost of the know-how. Purchasing any new expertise for an organization is an expensive venture, and it will cause a significant dent in an organization’s finances. Directors and those in charge should consider the cost of buying such machinery against the expected value to the organization. The next step would be to purchase the equipment and not buy a similar technology that can perform that task and not fully like Kyle did, and if the delay was foreseen the person in charge should have known that and not put it out for long otherwise, the activities will crumble.
Changes or adapting to new technology will automatically force change. A systematic, and a proactive approach is required to manage the situation. The director will have more responsibility. He must plan, decide on things and coordinate every aspect of the change. The manager would be expected to rely mostly on technology-based management and demand much higher intellect employees. The effect of this will be strained relationships with his staff. Consequently, it will affect people’s morale and eventually their productivity which will obviously affect the output.
The best solution is to positively influence the employees and make them know that the only way to move forward is to increase their loyalty to their profession rather than the company. By doing this, the will be ready for any changes because they will be better placed. The workers will always be driven to attain their objectives. Armed with the knowledge, they will anticipate any changes especially ones that may be brought by technology and therefore they will always be ready to cope with such changes as they will always be prepared.
When a manager prepares his employees in this way they will not be stressed about getting laid off because they were mentally unprepared. They will have seen it coming and they will have taken the necessary steps to avoid getting laid off, while those who will get fired will not look at the situation as an unfair or as if the communication was untimely. When changes happen abruptly, people lose loyalty in such organizations because technology is seen as a way of cost saving which means that unemployment of specific individuals is inevitable. When people understand the importance of advancement in technology, they will not feel resentful or even angry because they knew the change was coming.
The restructuring will be inevitable after adopting new technology. Therefore, the best way to implement the changes is to communicate with all the employees regarding each step of the way and not forgetting to treat the affected workers with compassion. The director like in this case can ask his employees what their worst-case scenarios are. From the outcome, he can develop strategies. Managers and directors should be ready and expect their employees’ work ethics to deteriorate. For example, some may come in late while others may take longer breaks or leave earlier than the assigned time. A manager or the person in charge should anticipate such behavior and be ready to handle it effectively.
To ensure that the transition goes smoothly, the in-charge should prepare and be ready for the reforms. This can be achieved by strategizing and by communicating with the workforce, and he should know how to manage any resistance. The leader should listen to all the feedback he is getting from all the platforms and implement the correct actions. A director should also a have a team to back him up. Such a team will spread good vibes and positive messages which will reduce the employees’ anxiety. This team should have proper information and proper training so that they can answer questions that any of the employees may have. It is important that those delivering the information about the transition process are clear and consistent (Rubart, 2007).
Another key aspect in the proactive approach is to include the resisting employees in the transition process. They have an influence on other employees and will help reduce the resistance. The director should also not forget to focus mainly on those employees affected by the transition the most. The director should remember that when handling the change process, the quality of an employee is more important than the quality. He should also consider successful ways of communication and do surveys before and after the change has begun this will help enhance the whole process.
Finally, the director can offer employment opportunities to some of the qualified and reliable employees and ask for their feedback. In the end having reliable employees is beneficial because the team has to be fully equipped to own the change. When this is achieved, they will not feel disengaged which is important for their positive thinking. Implementing change is difficult. Negative disruptions must be hindered from the word go. It is important to have a good foundation for the implementation process. When this is done, a team of employees will create a logical picture of the current situation.
- Kavitia, E., Jim?nez, T., & Musitu, G. (2005). Organization Change and Development. In D. Molina, School oOf Business (1st Ed., Pp. 79-115). New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
- Lucey, J. & Kaye, T. (1998). Management Information Systems. (1998). United States: New Line Cinema.
- Rubart, J. (2007). The Employment Effects Ofof Technological Change. Berlin: New York.
