LDR 615 Contemporary Organization Evaluation

Sample Answer

Contemporary organizations strive to fulfill different organizational goals and compete in the market. Therefore, they are faced with constant change and the need to change and adjust their operations to remain competitive in the market. The changes can come in the form of legislative rulings, environmental constraints, industry regulations, government regulations, or disruptive technology (Si & Chen, 2020).

As such, these organizations have to take proactive steps and use relevant strategies to respond to such forces of change. Depending on the industry or sector an organization is in, varied change forces can be felt, which require different approaches to manage. Therefore, the purpose of this assignment is to choose and organization that has recently responded to a major change or responding to a change.

A comprehensive description of the organization will be explored, including the degree to which the change has been disruptive and the strategies the organization used, among others.

The Organization Description

The organization of focus is the Mayo Clinic, which is one of the largest nonprofit American academic centers. This organization focuses on research, education, and clinical practice, which has made it to be ranked among the top hospitals globally. Indeed, as of 2023, the Mayo Clinic was ranked as the top hospital in the US for the seventh consecutive year (“Mayo”, 2023).

The organization focuses on offering patient-centered care and improving medical science. The organization has maintained such high performance by responding to change and undertaking change initiatives. Recently, it responded to changes related to the use of digital health technologies and artificial intelligence.

Digital transformation has been a major change force in the healthcare industry, with the constant need for the application of digital health tools and AI to improve patient care through operation streamlining personalized treatment and improved diagnostics. Mayo Clinic, in response, has partnered with various technology giants such as IBM to improve AI research and use in digital health platforms and digital health.

As such, the organization has incrementally leveraged AI for better operations, patient engagement improvement, and advanced diagnostics (Chen et al.,2022). Therefore, the organization has kept on gaining and maintaining a competitive edge in healthcare innovation, healthcare technology digital platforms, and the provision of better patient care services.

The degree to which the Change Has been Disruptive

The integration of digital health platforms and artificial intelligence into the healthcare sector has been disruptive since it has majorly impacted traditional care delivery models. This change has disrupted not only the Mayo Clinic but also other organizations. Mayo Clinic has responded through a comprehensive transformation in strategies for delivering patient care and its daily operations.

The use of digital platforms and AI has come with new applications that improve the accuracy and precision of diagnosis and better patient management, which have, in turn, disrupted the usual workflows (Huynh et al.,2020). The implication is that there has been a need to make notable adjustments in clinical practice and patient care.

Indeed, the disruption has led to the need of having to invest substantially in new technologies and ensure that the staff are adept at applying the new technologies and promoting data privacy and security. Mayo Clinic, through different partnerships, has integrated AI and digital health tools into its operations to mitigate the disruptive impact of the change and has become a leader in healthcare innovation (Malloy, 2024).

The Strategies the Organization Used In the Change Plan

Disruptive change requires that organizations use appropriate strategies to ensure effective management and mitigation of the potential negative effects. Mayo Clinic used different strategies. One of the strategies used was to partner with different technology giants such as IBM and Google, which have played a key role in offering the organization world-class and high-impact AI resources and research (Malloy, 2024).

Consequently, the organization has acquired advanced predictive models and diagnostic tools, which have helped enhance patient outcomes. The organization has also implemented various digital health platforms, such as mobile health applications and telehealth services. Indeed, up to 20% of the patient’s visits are virtual (Kristy, 2023). The digital platforms have improved patient access to appointments, records, communication with the care team, and outcomes.

The other strategy used was the development of workforce and staff through education and training to ensure that the healthcare professionals working in the facility have sufficient knowledge regarding digital health tools and AI. These strategies helped the organization to succeed and become one of the leaders in healthcare innovation and services.

Effect of the Change on Stakeholders and Resistance

The discussed change had a significant effect on the stakeholders. Among the stakeholders are the patients. They experienced a positive effect since they benefitted from improved access to care through digital platforms, which have also improved care outcomes and enhanced satisfaction. However, older patients have found it challenging to use the platforms, which has led to some resistance.

The other stakeholders impacted are healthcare providers such as nurses and doctors. They managed to use streamlined clinical workflows and advanced diagnostic tools, which enhance clinical decision-making and care provision (Nahar & Kachnowski, 2023). However, they also needed to adapt quickly to new technological changes, which was never easy. Different administrative staff also benefited from AI and automation, which improved the administrative process, hence enabling them to focus on higher-value engagements.

The main resistance was experienced due to the established workflow disruption and complexity of the new systems. The organization did not turn a blind eye to the resistance. Instead, it used different strategies to address the resistance. Formulation and use of comprehensive training programs were used to reduce the fear of complexity. Patient education and support were also used to ensure that patients were aware of the benefits of the new systems to help reduce resistance.

The Overall Implications the Change Had on Interdepartmental Collaboration

Mayo Clinic has different departments that collaborate to streamline workflows to improve operations and patient outcomes. One of the implications was joint research efforts where different departments jointly undertook research efforts to embed AI and digital tools into specialty departments such as cardiology, oncology, and radiology (Lee & Yoon, 2021).

It also helped cultivate an innovation culture, which then encouraged several departments to collaborate with the major focus on finding and implementing new solutions. It also led to enhanced communication between the departments. For example, digital health platforms helped facilitate better communication between different departments. In addition, the departments also engaged in shared access to AI support and patient data for coordinated care, which helped align the operation. They also used the platforms for interdisciplinary meetings.

How Well the Leaders Prepared and Responded to the Change

Appropriate response is required to ensure that change is well managed. Therefore, the Mayo Clinic leaders prepared and responded to the change in different ways. As earlier indicated, the leaders undertook strategic partnerships where they led the organization to collaborate with giant technology companies such as IBM and Google to offer the needed AI resources.

The arrangement saw rapid development and use of AI-driven tools and digital platforms. Education and training were also used to help equip the staff with the required skills needed for the AI and digital platforms (Kristy, 2023). However, in the face of such strategies, resistance was still evident, and the organization had to mitigate it. The financial outlay was also huge, and the organization had to prioritize; hence, it experienced financial constraints in other departments.

It is evident that the Mayo Clinic leadership showed strong adaptability and vision. Therefore, their strategies were key to leading the organization through the phase, even in the face of initial resistance.

Suggested Modifications

It is worth noting that Mayo Clinic adjusted admirably to the disruptive change and the change dynamics associated with the integration of digital health tools and AI. However, addition modifications can be considered for better results. One of them is increased stakeholder engagements using various strategies such as patient advisory panels and ensuring that a robust feedback system is in place, which can help manage feedback from different stakeholders.

The organization can also carry out more personalized training programs, which can help improve specific abilities, knowledge, and proficiency levels of different staff members. Additional strategies can include leveraging a change management framework and formulating interdepartmental task forces.

Conclusion

This write-up has explored the Mayo Clinic as an organization of focus. This organization faced a disruptive change of the need to integrate AI and digital platforms and tools into patient care. This paper has shown that the organization adjusted admirably to the change through proactive and visionary leadership. Consequently, the Mayo Clinic is among the leaders in Healthcare research, innovation, and clinical practice.

References

• Chen, M., & Decary, M. (2020, January). Artificial intelligence in healthcare An essential guide for health leaders. In Healthcare management forum (Vol. 33, No. 1, pp. 10-18). Sage CA Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications. https //doi.org/10.1177/0840470419873123
• Huynh, E., Hosny, A., Guthier, C., Bitterman, D. S., Petit, S. F., Haas-Kogan, D. A., … & Mak, R. H. (2020). Artificial intelligence in radiation oncology. Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, 17(12), 771-781. https //doi.org/10.1038/s41571-020-0417-8
• Kristy, J. (2023)Mayo Clinic continues strong performance in 2022 thanks to staff, ‘Bold. Forward.’ Strategy. https //newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-continues-strong-performance-in-2022-thanks-to-staff-bold-forward-strategy/
• Lee, D., & Yoon, S. N. (2021). Application of artificial intelligence-based technologies in the healthcare industry Opportunities and challenges. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(1), 271. https //doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18010271
• Malloy, T. (2024). Mayo Clinic Platform expands global footprint of its distributed data network. https //newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-platform-expands-global-footprint-of-its-distributed-data-network/
• Mayo (2023). Mayo Clinic again named nation’s best hospital https //www.communityengagement.mayoclinic.org/our-stories/mayo-clinic-again-named-nations-best-hospital
• Nahar, J. K., & Kachnowski, S. (2023). Current and potential applications of ambient artificial intelligence. Mayo Clinic Proceedings Digital Health, 1(3), 241-246. https //doi.org/10.1016/j.mcpdig.2023.05.003
• Si, S., & Chen, H. (2020). A literature review of disruptive innovation What it is, how it works and where it goes. Journal of Engineering and Technology Management, 56, 101568. https //doi.org/10.1016/j.jengtecman.2020.101568