Organizational culture and interpersonal dynamics in nursing curriculum change

¶ … nursing •What type organizational culture facilitate innovative successful curriculum change?

There are almost as many different varieties of organizational cultures as there are different types of organizations, industries, and organizational objections. The type of organizational culture that is most likely to facilitate innovative and successful curriculum change -- which can be a "complex problem" (Mackenzie and Lawler, 1948, p. 273) -- is one which embraces change in general. Therefore, cultures in which transformational leadership theory is readily deployed and which value a dynamic, evolving organizational culture to account for the changes in the world and the way it operates today will most readily seek innovations in the way its curriculum changes.

There are some organizational cultures that are based on tradition, and which merely seek to continue doing processes as they have before. Advancements in technology and the trend towards globalization, as well as a number of different socio-economic factors have made such a company culture relatively obsolete. While it is advisable to seek to preserve one's values, the multi-faceted nature of today's organizational climate (particularly within the health care industry) almost requires companies to seek innovation and change as a means of improving themselves and effectively keeping pace with its competition.

This facet of contemporary organizational culture directly impacts curriculum change. An organization's curriculum is the means it has to train its employees and to effectively update its methods for achieving its organizational objectives. Moreover, its curriculum is vital to the way an organization is able to preserve time-honored values in a rapidly changing world. Therefore, the type of organizational culture that perceives change as an opportunity and means of improvement is that which is most likely to identify opportunities to change its curriculum in a positive way to foster innovation and advancement.

There are a multitude of interpersonal dynamics that can influence the curriculum development/change process. Foremost of these is the attitudes of those who are involved with both formulating the curriculum changes as well as those who will be utilizing the curriculum. Again, if such an attitude is based on the perception that the changes are improving both the curriculum and the organization that the curriculum is for, positive changes are substantially more likely to result than if people's attitudes about curriculum change are negative. Additionally, changing something as fundamental to an organization as its curriculum should ideally require the involvement of a variety of people. Doing so enables the organization to garner a comprehensive overview of the type of input necessary to create effective curriculum changes.