ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE CHANGE

Organisational Culture Change



National Hospital of Singapore

Background of the Hospital

The National University Hospital of Singapore (NUH) is a major referral centre and high-quality hospital for an extensive collection of dental, medical, and surgical services. The NUH was awarded the “Joint Commission International (JCI) Accreditation” in 2004. NUH is the first ever hospital from Singapore to be given this accreditation. It is a worldwide hallmark for outstanding medical works in patients' safety & care. (www.nuh.com)

The NUH has been experiencing some issues with healthcare management. The management has now decided to take benefit from the modern Information Systems to overcome the problems but this change cannot be possible without the help of superior leadership. The new Information Systems (IS) will help NUH in managing its all activities especially in guaranteeing patient appointments with doctors. The system will also help NUH in monitoring and feedback function to cater for satisfaction in the daily activities. NUH is unfortunately not meeting the expectations of its stakeholders; therefore this paper discusses the role of the leadership in overcoming these problems. Improved Information Systems is necessary to improve the working style and culture of NUH but a good leadership is vital to develop the current operations of the hospital.

Discussion

National University Hospital constantly works to attain the uppermost standards of quality. Quality of care is checked by the following proven pointers of quality in all of the sectors. The Organisational culture of NUH is shaped by its vision which is “Shaping Medicine for the Future”. Mission of NUH is “Advancing health by integrating excellent clinical care, research and education”. NUH strongly follows it Core Values of excellence, respect, teamwork, compassion, and integrity. (www.nuh.com)

Organisational Culture

NUH tries to provide its members of staffs with the essential understanding on general problems in health and how to pay attention of their own wellbeing. The NUH mainly works manually with a proper management information system (MIS) which is causing several problems for the management and effective delivery of care.

Realistic Steps towards Change

An organisational information system exists because an organisation exists. To achieve its purpose, an organisation must (1) define the characteristics of goods and services to be provided, (2) deliver those healthcare services to patients, and (3) manage, direct, coordinate, and control the organisation and its resources. Information technology is pervasive in and vital to these three organisational objectives. (Robert, 2009)

For NUH, the objectives for an information system follow naturally from the organisational purposes:

Add functionality and information value to healthcare services. Information and information processing are important to the healthcare services provided by an organisation, either incorporated in their functionality or as value added through information processing.

Support transaction and operational processes. Information, information processing, and communications are integral parts of the processes by which goods and services are provided by an organisation. Information technology is vital in achieving quality, short cycle time, and efficiency in transaction processing and operational processes.

Support administrative and management activities. Information, communications, and information processing are essential to administrative and management activities of ...