Many of the barriers to implementation of large-scale change in healthcare organizations seem to be related to a lack of attention to the human change that needs to occur. One element of this human dimension that change agents overlook is the role that perception of fairness to employees plays in implementing large-scale organizational change. This article uses program management (an organizational design that has been implemented in many healthcare facilities across Canada) as an example of large-scale structural change and demonstrates the importance of applying procedural and interactional justice principles to enhance the implementation of organizational change.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
NovelliLKirkmanBLShapiroDL. Effective implementation of organizational change: An organizational justice perspective. In: CooperCLRousseauDM, editors. Trends in organizational behavior. New York: John Wiley; 1995; 2 p. 15–36. ShapiroDLLewickiRJDevineP.When do employees choose deceptive tactics to stop unwanted organizational change? A relational perspective. Research in Negotiation in Organizations1995; 5(2): 155–184.
2.
CobbTAWootenCKFolgerR.Justice in the making: Toward understanding the theory and practice of justice in organizational change and development. In: PasmoreWAWoodmanRW, editors. Research in organizational change and development. Greenwich (CT):JAI; 1995; 8: 243–295.
3.
KirkmanBLShapiroDLNovelliLJrBrettJM. Employee concerns regarding self-managing work teams: A multidimensional justice perspective. Social Justice Research1996; 9(1): 47–67.
4.
NeumanKMallochKRuettenV.Reengineering outcomes management: An integrated approach to managing data, systems, and processes. Quality Management in Healthcare1999; 8(1): 29–46.
5.
WalstonSL. The effects of reengineering: Fad or competitive factor?Journal of Healthcare Management1999; 44(6): 456–476.
6.
LeattPShortellSMKimberlyJR. Organization design. In: ShortellSMKaluznyAD, editors. Healthcare management organization design and behaviour. Albany: Delmar Publishers Inc.; 1994. p. 241–273.
7.
CurtisKWHenleyESUsnickLTWilliamsRBGovierKK. University health partners: A blueprint for integration. Oklahoma City: HCA Health Services of Oklahoma, Inc.; 1999.
8.
AbbottJYoungAHaxtonRVan DykeP.Collaborative care: A professional model that influences job satisfaction. Nursing Economics1994; 12: 167–170.
9.
MorrisKStuartNMonaghanBAltonL.An evaluation of program management: The West Park Hospital experience. Health Management Forum1994; 7: 29–337.
10.
BakerR.The implications of program management for professional and managerial roles. Physiotherapy Canada1993; 45(4): 221–224.
11.
AlexanderJRobisonBR. Positioning your nursing organization for product-line structure. Nursing Administration Quarterly1991; 15: 49–52.
12.
FlynnMK. Product-line management: Threat or opportunity for nursing?Nursing Administrative Quarterly1991; 15: 21–32.
13.
O'MalleyJCummingsSSerpicoD.Pragmatic strategies for product-line management. Nursing Administrative Quarterly1991; 15: 9–15.
14.
LeattPLemieux-CharlesLAirdC.Program management: An introduction and overview. In: LeattPLemieux-CharlesLAirdC, editors. Program management and beyond: Management innovations in Ontario hospitals. Ottawa: Canadian College of Health Service Executives; 1994. p. 1–12.
15.
BrunerMJBarkerM.Program management at Markham Stouffville Hospital. In: LeattPLemieux-CharlesLAirdC, editors. Program management and beyond: Management innovations in Ontario hospitals. Ottawa: Canadian College of Health Service Executives; 1994. p. 215–225.
16.
HutchisonP.Program management at the hospital for sick children. In: LeattPLemieux-CharlesLAirdC, editors. Program management and beyond: Management innovations in Ontario hospitals. Ottawa: Canadian College of Health Service Executives; 1994. p. 99–110.
17.
AikmanPAndressIGoodfellowCLaBelleNPorter-O'GradyT.System integration: A necessity. Journal of Nursing Administration1998; 28(2): 28–34.
18.
HeadA.Program management: Realities for healthcare professionals [unpublished paper]. School of Health Services Administration, Dalhousie University; 2000. p. 1–26.
19.
HeysselRMGaintnerJRKuesIWJonesAALipsteinSV. Special report: Decentralized management in a teaching hospital. New England Journal of Medicine1984; 310: 1477–1480.
20.
FottlerMDRepaskyLJ. Attitudes of hospital executives toward product line management: A pilot survey. Healthcare Management Review1988; 13: 15–22.
21.
ThibaultJWalkerL.Procedural justice: A psychological analysis. Hillsdale (NJ): Lawrence Erlbaum Press; 1975.
22.
LindALTylerTR. The social psychology of procedural justice. New York: Plenum Press; 1988.
23.
TylerTRBiesRJ. Beyond formal procedures: The interpersonal context of procedural justice. In: CarrollJ, editor. Applied social psychology and organizational settings. Hillsdale (NJ): Lawrence Erlbaum Associates; 1990. p. 77–98.
24.
LeventhalGSKaruzaJJrFryWR. Beyond fairness: A theory of allocation preferences. In: MikulaG, editor. Justice and social interaction. Bern: Hans Huber; 1980. p. 167–218.
25.
Barrett-HowardETylerTR. Procedural justice as a criterion in allocation decisions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology1986; 50(2): 296–304.
26.
MantheyM.Issues in patient care delivery. Journal of Nursing Administration1994; 24: 14–16.
27.
BrocknerJGreenbergJ.The impact of layoffs on survivors: An organizational justice perspective. In: CarrollJ, editor. Applied social psychology and organizational settings. Hillsdale (NJ): Lawrence Erlbaum Associate; 1990. p. 45–74.
28.
BrocknerJKonovskyMCooper-SchneiderRFolgerRMartinCBiesRJ. Interactive effects of procedural justice and outcome negativity on victims and survivors of job loss. Academy of Management Journal1994; 37(2): 397–409.
29.
TylerTR. Why people obey the law. New Haven: Yale University Press; 1990.
30.
LissakRI. Procedural fairness: How employees evaluate fairness [doctoral dissertation]. University of Illinois, Champaign; 1983.
31.
SweeneyPDMcFarlinDB. Worker's evaluations of the “ends” and the “means”: An examination of four models of distributive and procedural justice. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes1993; 55(1): 23–40.
32.
McFarlinDBSweeneyPD. Distributive and procedural justice as predictors of satisfaction with personal and organizational outcomes. Academy of Management Journal1992; 35(3): 626–640.
33.
SheppardBHLewickiRJMintonJW. Organizational justice. The search for fairness in the workplace. New York: Macmillan Inc.; 1992.
34.
KonovskyMACropanzanoR.Perceived fairness of employee testing as a predictor of employee attitudes and job performance. Journal of Applied Psychology1991; 76(3): 698–707.
35.
TylerTR. The psychology of procedural justice: A test of the group-value model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology1989; 57: 830–838.
36.
SchaubroeckJMayDRBrownFW. Procedural justice explanations and employee reactions to economic hardship: A field experiment. Journal of Applied Psychology1994; 79: 455–460.
37.
ShapiroDLBrettJM. Comparing three processes underlying judgments of procedural justice: A field study of mediation and arbitration. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology1993; 65: 1167–1177.
38.
GreenbergJ.Organizational justice: Yesterday, today and tomorrow. Journal of Management1990; 16: 399–432.
39.
ShapiroDL. The effects of explanations on negative reactions to deceit. Administrative Science Quarterly1991; 36: 614–630.
40.
BiesRJ. The predicament of injustice: The management of moral outrage. In: CummingsLLStawBM, editors. Research in organizational behaviour. Greenwich (CT): JAI Press; 1987. p. 289–319.
41.
LindEAKanferREarleyPC. Voice, control, and procedural justice: Instrumental and non-instrumental concerns in fairness judgments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology1990; 59(3): 952–959.
