Community Blood Center of the Carolinas
Student’s Name
University Affiliation
Introduction
Community Blood Center of the Carolinas (CBCC) was created out of a need for an alternative source for a blood supplier. The Carolina Health System conducted the initial investigation as a result of rising costs in their laboratory service line (Swayne, Duncan, & Ginter, 2008, p. 476). In less than one year, the cost of blood had doubled, and while other vendors were willing to work with health care systems and hospitals, the chief supplier of blood services in Charlotte, the American Red Cross, was not. Through the united efforts of ten Charlotte-area hospitals, the shared problem of increasing blood costs was addressed, and CBCC formed.
Definition of the problem
Health care organizations struggle as they manage an ever increasing list of resource needs; financial support, quality employees, positive clinical outcomes, continuous performance improvement, patient and staff satisfaction, and anticipating regulatory changes. Managers and directors often have numerous priorities facing them at the same time, but strategic change is not possible without the support of executive leaders (Tinker & Donatelli, 2009, p. 20).
By making a persuasive case to those who support change, a culture shift needs to take place. Hospitals were unified by their common need, and coordinating their goals created a reduction in supply costs and created a long-term strategy that was incorporated into their business plans. Creating a new source for blood brought a much-needed alternative to financially strapped Charlotte health care facilities.
The first priority was engaging a knowledgeable leader with motivational skills to make sure that stakeholders understand that change is an organizational imperative. Creating the CBCC was not easy, but identifying the root cause of each hurdle the new organization
Identification of the stakeholders
To make CBCC’s creation successful, standard operating procedures must be developed for all levels of management and employees. This would include the standard communication and information process and will be one of the keys to success. Job descriptions are also needed to let employees know what is required, and feedback with an open door management policy will remind every employee they are a valuable asset to CBCC. Management must address concerns in a timely manner and provide feedback to all employees when needed.
Methods and Strategies Used to Implement the Change
Change is inevitable. Regardless of whom you are or what the situation is change is bound to come. The most important but also difficult thing that we all must learn to do is to adapt to change. Individuals must think of the effective ways of implementing change that is not anticipated. When it comes to organizations, there are essential steps and methods that management can take to follow through with the implementation of any strategic plan.
In Caldwell, Chatman, O’Reilly III, Ormiston, and Lapiz’s source; they spoke about how the biggest thing in embracing change was changing the behaviors of people. It is impossible for change to be successful if people do not adapt and handle the perceived change correctly.
Methods and Strategies
Leaders of an organization are the ones who drive the change. Managers are normally the ones who set the tone for the entire organization. Managers need to be the major players in the implementation of change and the best example of how to handle change. Once an organization performs a SWOT analysis, the improvements determined can be formed into a strategic action plan. After reading Hunger and Wheelen, the Community Blood Center decided to use “Total Quality Management” along with a function structure (Hunger & Wheelen, 2011, p. 144). Total Quality Management is customer (internal and external) driven and value continuous improvement. Total Quality Management combines well with the function structure that is mission focused. The types of activities and needs of CBCC require a functional operation. Function structure creates a more centralized control, decision-making and a more efficient organization.
Total Quality Management has a focused emphasis on leadership, teamwork, and communication. Communication is one of the most important things a manager can do for an organization. When managers communicate, it helps show their true ability to be a leader and that they understand the concept of a team. In the process of change, the manager must make sure that there is proper support for all personnel involved. Communication is key; management must ensure that all staff are aware and on board with the change. Management must make sure every level of staff is ready for the change initiatives, understand the reason for the implantation and any negative attitudes are addressed.
Challenges and Barriers
Challenges and barriers related to change initiatives result in failure for the majority. Some key factors to the change initiatives failing are regulations, changes in laws, and members of the board refusing to relinquish their decision making to others.
Board Members
Change is often difficult and leads to resistance from all parts of the organization including the board members. “Not everyone agrees with the status quo of change, so relinquishing certain aspects of the job may not be satisfying” (Pexton, 2009, p.1). As board members, new initiatives invade their territory and threaten the way things have been done in the past. There are also the members that are skeptical because they have lived through previous initiatives that were abandoned when goals were not met.
Laws and Regulations
Challenges with regulations and new laws require leadership engagement, and if leadership is not proactive, initiatives will fail. Meeting the needs of the population efficiently, economically, and effectively is not always easy with change initiatives. Compliance is mandatory or everything can be shut down without warning.
Staff Buy-In
It is difficult to recruit and retain quality staff in any health care organization. With new laws and regulations, there are requirements and barriers to access required education for employees. Certification and licensing can be difficult to offer and often poses challenges and obstacles in accessing education needed for employee development. Supervisors need to express their commitment to the goals of the corporation, employees, and the community.
With the development of a new organization the communication and education starts at the beginning. Employee engagement and finding resources to assist can come from the sponsoring organizations. CBCC has faced many hurdles and been fortunate to have a commitment from hospitals in the area and local businesses to help with recruitment during blood drives and offer incentives. .
Communication Plan
With the changes that CBCC wants to make, communication is essential for the change to be successful. According to the Melcrum Ltd. website, they state that some of the best plans encourage management to communicate the challenges and barriers to employees. Successful strategies associated with change include, “Insight, Feedback and Coaching, Listening skills, and Communicating,” (Melcrum Ltd, 2015, p. 1). Effective communication can help overcome challenges and barriers associated with the change. Employees would be able to spread useful and timely information from the point of change back to upper management.
Change Objectives
Next would be realistic and constant objectives. The objectives must be measurable and be connected to the goals of the plan. Objectives also incorporate the time that is needed to implement the plan and when the plan should begin. Therefore, the management team of an organization has a hefty task in their hands when supporting implementation. The last ingredient throughout this whole strategy plan is the opportunity for leaders to drive home continuously the mission and vision of the organization. Regardless of the capacity of the change all things must be driven right back to the mission, vision and overall values of the organization. Any amount of change still needs to fit the central point of the organization. Everything should connect and drive the whole purpose of the organization.
Conclusion
With a successful creation of the Community Blood Center of the Carolinas, it was not without using the tools for creating and implementing a strategic plan. Organizational leadership is responsible for evaluating and implementing change processes for not only the organization, but the community and their employees. Continuously monitoring progress efficiently, objectively, and consistently shows all stakeholders that the organization is committed to quality and constant change for success
References:
Caldwell, D. F., Chatman, J., & O’Reilly III, C. A. (2008). Implementing strategic change in a. Health Care Management REVIEW.
Hunger, J. D., & Wheelen, T. L. (2011). Essentials of strategic management (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education
Melcrum Ltd. (2015). Communication plans for managers. Retrieved from www.melcrum.com/research/leader-manager-communication-strategy-planning-tactics/communication-plans-managers
Moreira, M. (2013). Importance of Employee Engagement. Retrieved from www.link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4302-5840-7_5
Pexton, C. (2009). Overcoming organization barriers to change in healthcare. Retrieved from
www.ftpress.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1327759
Swayne, L. E., Duncan, W. J., & Ginter, P. M. (2008). Strategic management of health care organizations. (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Tinker, P., & Donatelli, D. (2009, February). Affecting culture change. Materials Management in Health Care, 18(2), 20-22. Retrieved from www.web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewe r?sid=6e430669-67c0-4011-942f-3933bee87625%40sessionmgr111&vid=3&hid=110
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