Organisational culture and climate : elusive pieces in the healthcare technology management puzzle

Abstract

South Africa is in the process of implementing a multi-billion rand National Healthcare Insurance strategy, the objective being cost effective healthcare service delivery to all South Africans. The implementation and use of innovative e-health technology systems to support service delivery are deemed to form an important element of the strategy. The objective of this paper is to research the organisational culture and climate implications associated with the deployment, use and management of the innovative technologies concerned. In this regard a complex adaptive system, in contrast to a traditional scientific management, approach in dealing with culture change is specifically explored. The research methodology constitutes a multi-disciplinary literature review and it is suggested that the findings emanating from the study could serve as a source of information and reference for the technology and healthcare practitioners involved. A key finding emanating from the research is that the traditional scientific management approach in dealing with culture change may not be all that effective and it is suggested that a complex adaptive systems perspective may be of more value and ought to be considered.