Abstract
The purpose of this study is to learn and study a changing process of managing change in Scandinavian`s largest hospital. The closure of Aker University Hospital can be seen as one of the biggest changes in the health care sector in Norway. I wanted to investigate the middle managers role on this process by looking at an innovation model which can be associated with a process of improvement. The focus on the paper will lie on the five- stage model, and the reaction path of change a theory of Rogers (2003) and Scott and Jaffe (1989). By investigating these stages I will also studying the organizational culture and the importance of leadership.
I have collected the data material by conducting qualitative research interviews with five informants, five middle mangers in Aker University Hospital. I chose to use a qualitative method to illuminate the manager’s experiences with every stage in the changing process.
The analyses show that the middle managers were positive to the closure when they were moving toward the process and could see new opportunities’. The majority of these middle mangers wasn’t happy to lose their working place but didn’t see any other alternative solutions. The information have been a barrier to managing the change and the departments have been felt alone during the process where all the decisions have been taken top-down. The middle manager had little influence in the changing process where new routines and structures have been demanded to follow.
My findings indicate that the middle managers do not react fully in accordance with the change curve of Scott and Jaffe. Resistance, which is a reaction early on the changing curve, occurs on every stage in the innovation model. The changing curve is transited faster than expected and the reactions have correlations in all the stages in the changing model. The changing process can be a success, if the middle managers, manage the change in an integrated way into the culture of the organization.
Mary Diana Ladislaus