Leadership Within Ambulance Services
This assignment will focus on; the NHS organisational cultures and theories, leadership cultures and theories, leadership styles, the effect leadership cultures have upon organisational cultures and will address the requirements for modernisation of the ambulance service. All of which will be supported by relevant literature and research.
Since 1930 authors have focused on organizational culture as a system of “socially transmitted behaviour patterns that serve to relate human communities to their ecological settings” (Keesing, 1974). This has been reflected in the work of many ethnographers and psychologists, such as Whyte (1949), Rohlen (1974), Schein (1985 & 1990) and Hofstede (1980, 1991).
Edgar Schein continued to define organisational culture as being “A pattern of shared basic assumptions that the group learned as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way you perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems” (1985). His research describes that there are three cognitive levels within organizational cultures of business. These three layers of corporate cultures are; Artefacts including Behaviours, Espoused Values and Assumptions. He suggests ‘artefacts’ are the tangible items, for example the uniform / dress code. The ‘espoused values’ are stated desires or cultural elements of the organization, an example of this would be the London Ambulance Service’s vision, “A world-class ambulance service for London staffed by well-trained, enthusiastic and proud people who are all recognised for contributing to the provision of high-quality patient care” (London Ambulance Service, 2008).
Geert Hofstead’s research (1980), into organisational cultures provided valuable in identifying two major levels of culture theories, national and local culture levels. His research provided two identifiable levels of culture which
Since 1930 authors have focused on organizational culture as a system of “socially transmitted behaviour patterns that serve to relate human communities to their ecological settings” (Keesing, 1974). This has been reflected in the work of many ethnographers and psychologists, such as Whyte (1949), Rohlen (1974), Schein (1985 & 1990) and Hofstede (1980, 1991).
Edgar Schein continued to define organisational culture as being “A pattern of shared basic assumptions that the group learned as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way you perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems” (1985). His research describes that there are three cognitive levels within organizational cultures of business. These three layers of corporate cultures are; Artefacts including Behaviours, Espoused Values and Assumptions. He suggests ‘artefacts’ are the tangible items, for example the uniform / dress code. The ‘espoused values’ are stated desires or cultural elements of the organization, an example of this would be the London Ambulance Service’s vision, “A world-class ambulance service for London staffed by well-trained, enthusiastic and proud people who are all recognised for contributing to the provision of high-quality patient care” (London Ambulance Service, 2008).
Geert Hofstead’s research (1980), into organisational cultures provided valuable in identifying two major levels of culture theories, national and local culture levels. His research provided two identifiable levels of culture which