Complexity Science and Postmodernism in the Healthcare Arena
As CEO of Ashford Medical Center, the board has authorized you to work with the Medical Director, the Chief of Staff, and Medical Staff in the development of an exciting new program to attempt to meet the medical, health, and nutritional needs of the community for the next 10 years. What conflicts might you anticipate as you attempt to adopt a post modernist/complexity science strategy?
There are a few conflicts that I may face while developing new programs, as an Ashford Medical Center CEO. The text states that there are limits of knowability. Both Postmodernism and complexity science are two theoretical frameworks which conclude that no one is smart enough to figure out where the health care system is going at any level” (Johnson, 2009) In other words, there are limits to what people can know in health care organizations and these limits cannot always be overcome by getting more information or waiting longer (Johnson, 2009) For example, no one could have predicted that several people would become affected with Swine flu few years ago. As a result, of the outbreak of this infectious disease, people were increasingly hospitalized. Consequently, nurses and doctors had to work longer hours to give medical attention to the sick. Managers are faced with dealing with the inevitability of change of health care systems. “The roles people play in healthcare organizations continuously change, so when you think of an organization as a set of roles, that is correct, but who plays them and what those roles are is continuously subject to change” ( Johnson,
There are a few conflicts that I may face while developing new programs, as an Ashford Medical Center CEO. The text states that there are limits of knowability. Both Postmodernism and complexity science are two theoretical frameworks which conclude that no one is smart enough to figure out where the health care system is going at any level” (Johnson, 2009) In other words, there are limits to what people can know in health care organizations and these limits cannot always be overcome by getting more information or waiting longer (Johnson, 2009) For example, no one could have predicted that several people would become affected with Swine flu few years ago. As a result, of the outbreak of this infectious disease, people were increasingly hospitalized. Consequently, nurses and doctors had to work longer hours to give medical attention to the sick. Managers are faced with dealing with the inevitability of change of health care systems. “The roles people play in healthcare organizations continuously change, so when you think of an organization as a set of roles, that is correct, but who plays them and what those roles are is continuously subject to change” ( Johnson,