Organization Psychology Essay

During the period between 2002 and 2005 a cancer center in Jordan i. e. King Hussein Cancer Center (KHCC) changed its organization model from traditional to transformed model. The need for transformation was in response to external factors of the environment in order to accommodate the needs of its stakeholders. Initially the center was called Al-Amar center which had operations and image problems that were affecting the organization (Miller, 2006). Al-Amar centre was perceived to be ineffective institution for caring of cancer . However it has transformed into a comprehensive centre for cancer that resemble western styles. The name of this centre changed to King Hussein Cancer Centre (KHCC) following the change between 2002 and 2005 there were improved care services and improved its quality levels. In the same period the center was accredited and achieved Joint Commission International (JCI) (Miller, 2006). Organization Psychology Following the changes of KHCC it was able to achieve accountability, fiscal balance, certificate of accreditation from the international body and diversification of the service. There are three concepts which are believed to have led to the rapid changes in KHCC these are transnational culture, transformational leadership and political competence (Jeffrey, Gregory & Andrew, 2007). Both natural and political values are included in transformational leadership formulation. Transformational leadership can be explained by looking at the values, norms and cultural organization behavior; others are like internal negotiations, political influence in assessing such resources and setting external boundaries. The mechanisms that facilitated changes lie within the capabilities of the leaders and their behavior. The leaders in KHCC were seen to sacrifice themselves a great deal in drawing out themselves and the followers. The leaders were devoted to attend to the needs of patients and those of lower level employees. This was in an effort to raise the healthcare standards the attributes that result from transformational leadership are universal and are mediated by specific cultural expectations from the lower employees (Miller, 2006). The characteristics of leadership in KHCC were not cultural specific. There is new form of leadership that is different from the previous one. The new leadership is goal oriented and allows participation of the followers in identification, implementation and evaluation of projects and programs aimed at improving the performance of the healthcare. However transformational leadership can be autocratic or democratic but the form of leadership that is observed in KHCC involves all the stakeholders in the project design and implementation of their programs. The aspect of involvement of the stakeholders fall under four components in KHCC i. e. intellectual stimulation, idealized stimulation, ideological motivation and individual consideration (Jeffrey, Gregory & Andrew, 2007). Inspirational motivation can be created by leaders by articulating the future of the organization through setting of higher goals and standards that are inspiring and appealing to the follower. These goals or standards make the follower to be optimistic in what they are doing and therefore they will sacrifice themselves even where there are difficulties. For an organization to move to higher level of service it requires the team members to sacrifice themselves. Activities such as problem solving, daily meeting and working in late hour’s in order to meet the goals and objectives of the organization requires personal sacrifice and therefore there is need for the stake holders to be motivated (Miller, 2006). Initially the safety of the patients was compromised and therefore the leaders and the followers of KHCC committed themselves inured to create higher standards and improve the health care services. Idealized influence can be achieved when the follower admire or emulate a leader as being ideal. The followers of KHCC admired their leaders since they had high level of commitment, show of professionalism and they were willing to take care of patients. Respect of the leaders is also necessary in the achievement of the vision of the organization. In KHCC the goals are expressed to the team as inspirations and all the stakeholders are involved. There is training for staff at all levels based on the individual needs. Team building serves to reinforce commitment mutual respect and gathering ideas. Intellectual stimulation and individual consideration are behaviors among the leaders that attend to individuals with challenging issues or needs, concerns and soliciting the ideas of others (Andrea, 1997). Cultural sensitivity also contributed to the transformation of KHCC. This refers to the art of understanding the preference, norms and biases which may result to ineffective patient interaction. Cultural sensitivity and competence contribute to the success of the organization. At KHCC the staffs are recruited with knowledge of global technologies and communication that contribute to a medical society globally. Currently many international corporations are living expatriates with both local and western knowledge. Cultural competence can be gained by deploying information technology (Bommel, 2005). Prior to the transformation of KHCC information technology was poor and therefore the rapid growth of the center required a wider distribution of information technology. At KHCC video conferencing internet and e-mail access, access to national and global libraries of health, telepathology have been made possible. The increased use of information technology has influenced transnational culture (Moe, 2007). The establishment of the information technology was to enhance the health services to patients. The technologies have made KHCC to advance into western center for cancer. There is advanced training that has facilitated competent and qualified clinical scientist who is familiar with therapeutic and clinical oncopology practice. Through the training they have succeeded in both internal and international medical environment (Bommel, 2005). â€Å"End of life† is a service that has been implemented in KHCC and did not exist previously. This is a system that was implemented during transformation and was aimed at prolonging life. The system is also aimed at paying attention to quality of life of patients. The staffs have been able to create and mobilize cultural support through training that they undergo under palliative care. The staff has also diversified their language in order to break the language barrier and cater for the needs of all the stake holders. The influence and control between the stakeholders also have contributed to the rapid transformation of KHCC. The confidence and trust that is created by the leaders confer the followers’ willingness to follow or have an explanation of their willingness. KHCC staffs were able to create this confidence among their followers and therefore contributed to the rapid growth (Andrea, 1997). The staffs were also genuine and sincere in their commitment towards the achievement of KHCC the relationship between the domestic organization of healthcare, senior staffs and the overseas organization was vital for the transformation of KHCC. This relationship enabled the center to use effectively the technologies in order to cater for the needs of the stakeholders. Conclusion Culture extends beyond the boundaries of institutes. The professional role of culture and cultural context that is carried within information technology can make globalization to be possible. Political competence as a characteristic of a leader has a particular utility in the role of government in promoting health care and resource use and exchanges. Government incentives should include political capabilities in setting external broader boundaries in environment. Political capabilities can help to achieve the desired goals of an institution since they impact on their financial status. Therefore political competence need to be identified and leaders be trained on how to posses them. During the rapid changes of KHCC there were growing number of patients and programs and services increased (Moe, 2007)