An Examination of Organizational Change: A Look at Managers in Texas Health and Human Services
Date
2000-05
Authors
Gorham, Catherine
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Abstract
The concept of organizational change provokes many questions for both scholars and practicing public administrators. Inquiries such as "why and how organizations change," "how often do they change," and "what is the impact of that change on employees" are some of the impending questions. Management acceptance of change is a necessary step towards dealing with organizational change. The Texas House Bill 2641 (HB 2641). a recent legislative mandate, stimulates organizational change for Texas Health and Human Service (HHS) agencies. HE3 264 1 assumes some level of organizational change among all agencies comprising the HHS System, some of which are considered significant.
Changes in organizations and ways in which managers effectively manage change is the focus of this Applied Research Project. A focused case study is the chosen research methodology for an exploration into organizational change in HHS agencies. Survey research is used to examine attitudes about the nature and impact of organizational change across management levels in these HHS agencies. The applied project explores how Texas HHS managers at the executive and middle management levels characterize organizational change and its environment, and whether human services managers at varying levels value and use tools and strategies to manage ongoing, and often mandated organizational change.
The study introduces the rationale of the efficacy of fundamental values, such as shared meaning and purpose, and shared decision making among managers who are often responsible for the successful implementation of organizational change. The research findings indicate effective organizational change depends not only on recognizing the type of strategy employed during organizational change, but also on the actual use of effective tools and strategies, and which tools and strategies are used for what purposes. Successful strategic change, also, depends on the use of effective tools and strategies such as communication, cooperation and support between and among all managers that can be used to rectify any inefficiencies n work environments. In addition, it is important to note differences in perceptions of power between the two management levels recognizing these problems together is a start to effectively addressing them together.
Description
An Applied Research Project Submitted to the Department of Political Science, Southwest Texas State University, in Partial Fulfillment for the Requirements for the Degree of Masters of Public Administration, Spring 2000.
Keywords
organizational change, Texas, health, human services, case study, management, Public Administration
Citation
Gorham, C. (2000). An examination of organizational change: A look at managers in Texas Health and Human Services. Masters of Public Administration, Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas.