Abstract
Objective
Many studies have investigated the effect of redesign on operational performance; fewer studies have evaluated the effects on employees' perceptions of their working environment (organizational climate). Some authors state that redesign will lead to poorer organizational climate, while others state the opposite. The goal of this study was to empirically investigate this relation.
Design
Organizational climate was measured in a field experiment, before and after a redesign intervention. At one of the sites, a redesign project was conducted. At the other site, no redesign efforts took place.
Setting
Two Dutch child- and adolescent-mental healthcare providers.
Participants
Professionals that worked at one of the units at the start and/or the end of the intervention period.
Intervention(s)
The main intervention was a redesign project aimed at improving timely delivery of services (modeled after the breakthrough series).
Main outcome measures
Scores on the four models of the organizational climate measure, a validated questionnaire that measures organizational climate.
Results
Our analysis showed that climate at the intervention site changed on factors related to productivity and goal achievement (rational goal model). The intervention group scored worse than the comparison group on the part of the questionnaire that focuses on sociotechnical elements of organizational climate. However, observed differences were so small, that their practical relevance seems rather limited.
Conclusions
Redesign efforts in healthcare, so it seems, do not influence organizational climate as much as expected.
Keywords: organizational climate, redesign, mental healthcare, psychiatry, field experiment
Many studies have investigated the effect of redesign on operational performance; fewer studies have evaluated the effects on employees' perceptions of their working environment (organizational climate). Some authors state that redesign will lead to poorer organizational climate, while others state the opposite. The goal of this study was to empirically investigate this relation.
Design
Organizational climate was measured in a field experiment, before and after a redesign intervention. At one of the sites, a redesign project was conducted. At the other site, no redesign efforts took place.
Setting
Two Dutch child- and adolescent-mental healthcare providers.
Participants
Professionals that worked at one of the units at the start and/or the end of the intervention period.
Intervention(s)
The main intervention was a redesign project aimed at improving timely delivery of services (modeled after the breakthrough series).
Main outcome measures
Scores on the four models of the organizational climate measure, a validated questionnaire that measures organizational climate.
Results
Our analysis showed that climate at the intervention site changed on factors related to productivity and goal achievement (rational goal model). The intervention group scored worse than the comparison group on the part of the questionnaire that focuses on sociotechnical elements of organizational climate. However, observed differences were so small, that their practical relevance seems rather limited.
Conclusions
Redesign efforts in healthcare, so it seems, do not influence organizational climate as much as expected.
Keywords: organizational climate, redesign, mental healthcare, psychiatry, field experiment
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 58-63 |
| Journal | International Journal for Quality in Health Care |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2014 |