Diversity Management: Practical Application in a Healthcare Organization
1This is an excerpt from an article written by Los Angeles, California-based consultants Lee Gardenswartz, PhD , and Anita Rowe, PhD . The article, originally published in Winter 1994, is highlighted here for the 40th anniversary of Frontiers of Health Services Management.
Frontiers of Health Services Management
|February 22, 2024
Summary
Healthcare organizations face simultaneous healthcare reform and demographic shifts. This study offers a framework for building inclusive environments to optimize staff performance and customer service.
Area of Science:
- Healthcare Management
- Organizational Behavior
- Sociology
Background:
- Healthcare organizations operate in a complex, rapidly changing environment.
- Simultaneous pressures include national healthcare reform and evolving population/employee demographics.
- Existing diversity management approaches may be insufficient for current challenges.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose a framework for developing organizational inclusivity in healthcare.
- To enhance staff performance and customer service through inclusivity.
- To address the dual challenges of healthcare system changes and demographic shifts.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual framework development.
- Analysis of organizational inclusivity principles.
- Application to healthcare organizational contexts.
Main Results:
- A proposed framework for fostering inclusivity.
- Strategies for leveraging demographic diversity.
- Methods to improve organizational responsiveness and service quality.
Conclusions:
- Inclusivity is crucial for healthcare organizations navigating change.
- A proactive framework can enhance organizational resilience and effectiveness.
- Focusing on inclusivity optimizes both internal operations and external service delivery.
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