Assessment 1: Interview With a Health Care Leader.

Assignment Overview

Interview a local health care leader and write a 6–8-page synopsis and analysis of the interview.

Note: The assessments in this course build upon the work you have completed in the previous assessments. Therefore, complete the assessments in the order in which they are presented.

The United States health care environment demands leaders who can successfully navigate the constantly changing political, social, and environmental forces that affect every health care organization today. Depending on the type of change desired, effective change leadership is essential for moving the organization toward desired outcomes.

Assessment Instructions

Interview Synopsis

Note: The requirements outlined below correspond to the grading criteria in the scoring guide. Be sure that your interview synopsis addresses each point, at a minimum. You may also want to read the Interview With a Health Care Leader Scoring Guide to better understand how each criterion will be assessed. Be sure to note the requirements in the Distinguished column.

• Explain how the organization is changing in response to organizational, community, political, social, and/or global needs.
  • What is the organization’s purpose?
  • In what ways is the organization changing?
  • What needs are driving change?
  • What is the nature and extent of the change?
• Explain how the organization monitors community wellness and anticipates community needs.
  • What are the relevant wellness measures and desired health outcomes?
  • How does the organization collect its data?
  • How are community needs determined?
• Analyze the relationship between the purpose of the organization and specific drivers of change identified by the leader.
  • Do the change drivers reinforce the organization’s purpose? If so, how?
• Evaluate the effectiveness of traditional leadership models that are predominantly used throughout the organization to prepare and support the organization throughout the change process.
  • Why are these particular models applied within the organization?
  • Are they appropriate change models for the organization?
  • Could these models be applied more effectively? How?
• Evaluate the overall application of change leadership concepts and practices within the organization to challenge the status quo, prepare the organization for change, and energize stakeholders.
  • What are the challenges to the status quo?
  • What change leadership concepts and practices prepare the organization for change and/or energize stakeholders?
  • How are these concepts and practices applied in each instance?
  • Can you synthesize the key aspects of the various concepts and practices applied throughout the organization into a basic change leadership strategy?
  • What are the expected and actual outcomes?
• Write clearly and concisely, using correct grammar and mechanics.
  • Express your main points and conclusions coherently.
  • Proofread your writing to minimize errors that could distract readers and make it more difficult for them to focus on the substance of your evaluation.
• Support main points, claims, and conclusions with relevant and credible evidence, correctly formatting citations and references using APA style.
  • How or why does particular evidence support your main points, claims, or conclusions?
  • Is your supporting evidence clear and explicit?
  • Will your audience see the connection?

This assessment provides an opportunity for you to gain insight into how an organization responds to change and the influence on decision making of various change leadership theories.

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

• Competency 1: Analytical Thinking: Develop complex plans or analyses.
• Competency 2: Change Leadership: Challenge the status quo.
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of traditional leadership models that are predominantly used throughout the organization to prepare and support the organization throughout the change process.
  • Evaluate the overall application of change leadership concepts and practices within the organization to challenge the status quo, prepare the organization for change, and energize stakeholders.
• Competency 3: Innovative Thinking: Apply “tried and true” concepts or trends.
  • Explain how an organization monitors community wellness and anticipates community needs.
• Competency 5: Performance Measurement: Use evidence-based approaches to support community wellness.
  • Analyze the relationship between the purpose of an organization and specific drivers of change.
• Competency 6: Communicate effectively with diverse audiences, in an appropriate form and style, consistent with applicable organizational, professional, and scholarly standards.
  • Write clearly and concisely, using correct grammar and mechanics.
  • Support main points, claims, and conclusions with relevant and credible evidence, correctly formatting citations and references using APA style.

Templates

Use this template for your interview synopsis and analysis.

• APA Style Paper Template [DOCX].

Suggested Resources

The resources provided here are optional. You may use other resources of your choice to prepare for this assessment; however, you will need to ensure that they are appropriate, credible, and valid. The MHA-FP5040 Health Administration Change Leadership Library Guide can help direct your research, and the Supplemental Resources and Research Resources, both linked from the left navigation menu in your courseroom, provide additional resources to help support you.

Quality Improvement

The following resources provide a useful perspective on quality improvement as a key driver of organizational change.

• Abdallah, A. (2014). Implementing quality initiatives in healthcare organizations: Drivers and challenges. International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, 27(3), 166–181.
• Lam, M., & Robertson, D. (2012). Organizational culture, tenure, and willingness to participate in continuous improvement projects in healthcare. The Quality Management Journal, 19(3), 7–15.
  • Investigates the factors that affect employees’ willingness to participate in continuous improvement projects. The investigation indicates that the main drivers are employee tenure, prior experience, and perception of the organization’s approach to continuous improvement. This article remains a useful and professionally relevant resource on the topic.

Fundamentals of Organizational Change

The following resources provide useful practical and theoretical fundamentals on change.

• Kumar, S., Kumar, N., Deshmukh, V., & Adhish, V. (2015). Change management skills. Indian Journal of Community Medicine, 40(2), 85–89.
• Organizational Change: Driver, Units of Analysis, Processes, and Modes.
• A Comparison of Four Models of Change.
• A Summary of “How” to Change | Transcript.
• Lewin’s Model of Change.
• Nadler and Tushman Organizational Congruence Model | Transcript

Writing Resources

You are encouraged to explore the following writing resources. You can use them to improve your writing skills and as source materials for seeking answers to specific questions.

• APA Module.
• Academic Honesty & APA Style and Formatting.
• APA Style Paper Tutorial [DOCX].

Additional Resources for Further Exploration

• Cawsey, T. F., Deszca, G., & Ingols, C. (2016). Organizational change: An action-oriented toolkit (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Available from the bookstore.
  • Chapter 2, “Frameworks for Leading the Process of Organizational Change: How to Lead Organizational Change,” pages 37–58.

Note: Complete the assessments in this course in the order in which they are presented.

Preparation

• Identify a health care leader you wish to interview.
• Arrange a date and time for the interview.
• Think about the questions you will ask during your interview that will enable you to meet the following assessment criteria:
  • Describe how the organization is changing in response to organizational, community, political, social, and global needs.
  • Describe how the organization monitors community wellness and anticipates community needs.
  • Analyze the relationship between the purpose of the organization and specific drivers of change.
  • Identify traditional leadership models that are predominantly used throughout the organization to prepare and support the organization throughout the change process.
  • Synthesize the concepts and practices of leading change that are being used by the organization to challenge the status quo, prepare the organization for change, and energize stakeholders for that change.

Note: Remember that you can submit all—or a portion of—your draft interview synopsis to Smarthinking for feedback, before you submit the final version for this assessment. If you plan on using this free service, be mindful of the turnaround time of 24–48 hours for receiving feedback.

Requirements

Interview a health care leader in your local community and prepare a well-written synopsis and analysis of your interview.

Document Format and Length

Format your interview synopsis using APA style.

• Use the APA Style Paper Template, linked in the Required Resources. An APA Style Paper Tutorial is also provided (linked in the Suggested Resources) to help you in writing and formatting your interview synopsis. Be sure to include:
• Your interview synopsis should be 6–8 pages in length, not including the title page and references page.

Supporting Evidence

Cite 3–5 scholarly, peer-reviewed articles to support your analysis.