HLSC603 - Organisational Culture and Management

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

Teaching organisation

Unit rationale, description and aim

Health professional demographics show an ageing workforce. Health professionals who are quite new in their careers will increasingly be offered higher level duties in terms of health leadership and management positions. These management positions will be within an environment that is both complex and dynamic, but where quality and safety are paramount. One aspect of the complexity of health service organisations is organisational culture.

This unit is important for students, who are positioned in, or aspiring to, health leadership or management roles and who will need specialised knowledge and skill in evaluating solutions to complex problems associated with the dynamics of organisational culture. In this unit, students will critically analyse healthcare organisations and the management of healthcare staff from within the context of organisational culture. This aspect of health administration will be considered from within a framework of safety and quality and with the notion of a safety-culture being highlighted. Strategies to create safe and supportive workplace cultures will be considered.

The aim of this unit is to provide students with a sound understanding of theories of organisational culture and the dynamic inter-relationship between the structure of health services and the agency of the health practitioner in order to enable them to implement effective management strategies that are both safe and conducive to quality healthcare.

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1 - explain how knowledge of theoretical approaches to the management of culture can improve alignment between individual and organisational goals (GA1, GA2, GA7, GA9)

LO2 - differentiate between different types of organisational culture and their impact on quality of care (GA4, GA5, GA7, GA9)

LO3 - create culturally safe management strategies that can be applied in managing a diverse workforce (GA1, GA2, GA3, GA4, GA5, GA6). 

Graduate attributes

GA1 - demonstrate respect for the dignity of each individual and for human diversity 

GA2 - recognise their responsibility to the common good, the environment and society 

GA3 - apply ethical perspectives in informed decision making

GA4 - think critically and reflectively 

GA5 - demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession 

GA6 - solve problems in a variety of settings taking local and international perspectives into account

GA7 - work both autonomously and collaboratively 

GA9 - demonstrate effective communication in oral and written English language and visual media 

Content

Topics will include: 

• Organisational culture 
• definitions of organisational culture 
• types of organisational culture 
• theories of organisational culture 
• relationship between the individual and the organisation’s culture 

• Organisational culture and safety  
• concepts of safety culture 
• safety culture in a health care organisation 
• the impact of organisational culture on safety and quality 
• safety, culture and whistle-blowing  

• Management of the cultural aspects of an organisation 
• approaches to the management of staff within an organisational culture 
• culture and change management 
• managing staff for practice improvement within an organisational culture 
• creating supportive workplace cultures 

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

The active learning approaches applied in this unit are flexible and inclusive, allowing students the opportunity to analyse and critically evaluate various approaches to the management of the cultural aspects of an organisation in relation to safety and quality in complex healthcare environments. Teaching and learning strategies utilised in this unit will support students in meeting the aim and achieving the learning outcomes relevant to this unit as well as to the broader course learning outcomes. 

Multi-mode

This unit utilises an active learning approach whereby students will be provided with an opportunity to participate in discussions and interactive engagement with peers through attendance at a series of on-campus lecture style classes that will serve as resource sessions. This can involve, but is not limited to, discussion, debate, role play and other learning activities. In addition, learning e-modules and links to electronic readings will be provided on the learning environment online (LEO) to guide students’ reading and extend the classroom learning.   

The classroom learning environment and associated e-modules will create opportunities for students to reflect on the complexity of organisational culture in a health care environment, in particular to explore and consider different types of organisational culture, theories of organisational culture, concepts of organisational safety culture, and quality and change management. In constructing knowledge about the complex and dynamic inter-relationship between the structure of health services and the agency of the health professional, students will evaluate different management strategies that are both safe and conducive to quality healthcare.   

This approach to learning is flexible and inclusive, allowing students the opportunity to analyse and critically evaluate approaches to managing the cultural aspects of a health care organisation in relation to safety and quality.   

Online mode

This unit utilises an active learning approach whereby students will engage in readings and reflections, e-Module activities and opportunities to collaborate with peers in an online environment. This can involve, but is not limited to, on-line discussion forums, chat rooms, guided reading and webinars. In addition, learning e-modules and links to electronic readings will be provided on the learning environment online (LEO) so as to guide students’ reading and extend other aspects of online learning. 

Through an online learning platform, students will have the opportunity to reflect on the complexity of organisational culture in a health care environment, in particular to explore and consider different types of organisational culture, theories of organisational culture, concepts of organisational safety culture, and quality and change management. In constructing knowledge about the complex and dynamic inter-relationship between the structure of health services and the agency of the health professional, students will evaluate different management strategies that are both safe and conducive to quality healthcare 

This approach to learning is flexible and inclusive, allowing students the opportunity to analyse and critically evaluate various approaches to managing the cultural aspects of a health care organisation in relation to safety and quality. 

Assessment strategy and rationale

In order to pass this unit, students are expected to submit three graded assessment tasks. In addition, students must achieve a cumulative grade of at least 50% across all assessments. The assessment strategy used allows for the progressive development of knowledge and skills necessary for the student to be able to consider management approaches that are necessary for the student to be able to demonstrate achievement of learning outcomes. 

Multi-mode

To become effective at improving management approaches that take organisational culture into account, the student must first develop comprehensive knowledge of organisational culture in a health care environment. Student knowledge will be further extended to synthesise research related to the impact of organisational culture on patient safety and/or evaluate management strategies aimed at creating safe and supportive healthcare environments. Students will then apply their knowledge in critically analysing different approaches to staff management in providing safe, quality care.   

Online mode 

To become effective at improving management approaches that take organisational culture into account, the student must first develop comprehensive knowledge of organisational culture in a health care environment. This will be facilitated through online collaboration with peers and lecturer feedback via an online environment. Student knowledge will be further extended to synthesise research related to the impact of organisational culture on patient safety and/or evaluate management strategies aimed at creating safe and supportive healthcare environments. Students will then apply their knowledge in critically analysing different approaches to staff management in providing safe, quality care.   

Overview of assessments

Multi-mode;

Online mode

Representative texts and references

There is no required text for this unit. 

Recommended References: 

Arsenault, P., & Faerman, S. (2014). Embracing paradox in management: The value of the Competing Values Framework. Organization Management Journal, 11(3), 147 – 158. 

Available from:  http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/15416518.2014.949614?needAccess=true.  

Beardsmore, E., & McSherry, R. (2017). Healthcare workers perceptions of organisational culture and the impact on the delivery of compassionate quality care. Journal of Research in Nursing, 22(1-2), 42 - 56. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1744987116685594.  

Carlstrom, E., & Olsson, L. (2014). The association between subcultures and resistance to change – in a Swedish hospital clinic. Journal of Health Organization and Management, 28(4), 458 – 476. Doi: 10.1108/JHOM-09-2012-0184.  

Clegg, S., Kornberger, M., & Pitsis, T. S. (2016). Managing & organizations: An introduction to theory and practice (4th ed.). London: Sage Publications.  

Nel, P., Werner, A., Fazey, M., Millett, B., Du Plessis, A., Wordsworth, R., … & Suseno, Y. (2017).  Human resource management in Australia. (2nd ed.). South Melbourne: Oxford University Press. 

Quinlan, E., Robertson, S., Miller, N.. & Robertson-Boersma, I. (2014).  Interventions to reduce bullying in health care organisations: A scoping review. Health Services Management Research, 27(1-2), 33 – 44.  

Sollecito, W. A., & Johnson, J. K. (2013).  McLaughlin & Kaluzny’s continuous quality improvement in health care (4th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. 

Wood, J., Zeffane, R., Fromholtz, M.,  Wiesner, R., Morrison, R., Factor, A., …& Osborn, R. (2016). Organisational behaviour: Core concepts and applications. (4th Australasian Ed.). Milton, Qld.: Wiley.