MN7181- People and Organization - The Organizational Culture and Built in Environment for a High Performing Health Care Setup.

MN7181- People and Organization - The Organizational Culture and Built in Environment  for a High Performing Health Care Setup.

The health care infrastructure has recent developments with building of new facilities oriented on improvement of the patient care. The architectural design of the the new facility or the “ New built in Environment” should evoke new inspirations on the organizational culture which enhances the performance of the organization. Literature review on the building designs for patient and staff well being and high productivity high lights five factors. They are 1.Ambient conditions, 2. Spatial layout and functionality, 3. Signs, Symbols and artifacts, 4. materials and 5. Technical systems(Pinzone et al., 2012)

                    

The Ambient conditions depict the background characteristics like natural lighting, ventilation, temperature, noise and scent of the environment. The natural light and exposure to natural views is an appreciated as it is influencing the elevated mood of the patients and improving welfare and productivity of the staff. The relaxed and less noisy environment is important in controlling the stresses of patients and emotional exhaustion and burnout of the nurses. The control of waste and chemical disposal is paramount important in controlling the smell of the hospital ( Mallak et al., 2003) 

                    

The spatial layout and functional flexibility should be designed in such a way to the reduce the horizontal and vertical travel time and patient transfers. The arrangement of the equipment should save the time wasted on trivial things and save the time of staff for providing more time for patient care( Hendrich,2004). The signs displayed are explicit communicators in conveying rules of behavior. Presence of certificates and photographs on walls, floor coverings and quality artwork would create an overall aesthetic impression on the work place ( Bitner,1992). The building materials and the products used for cleaning and maintaining should be eco friendly and non toxic to prevent ‘sick building syndrome’ in hospitals(McCullough, 2010). The energy conservation  and control of CO2 emission themes would be in the top of the agenda for a sustainable eco friendly built in environment in the modern world ( Green Guide for Health care, 2007).

Furthermore anthropologically the design of such a built in environment is an artifact of the organizational culture and  a manifestation of underlying values and assumptions. This in turn influences desired patient oriented behavior of the staff and organizational performance( Mallak et al., 2003). 

References

1. Pinzone M. et al.(2012), Susutainability in Health care : Combining organizational and architectural levers, International journal of engineering business Management 4.pp 38-47.
2. Mallak L. & Lyth D.M.(2003), Culture, the built in environment and health care performance, Journal of service Theory and practice 13(1).pp 27-38.
3. Hendrich A.(2004), Effects of acuity-adaptable rooms on flow of patients and delivery of care, American Journal of critical care 13.pp 35-45.
4. Bitner M.J. (1992), Servicescpes: The impact of Physical surroundings on customers and employees, Journal of Marketing 56.pp 57-71.
5. Green Guide for health care(2007). Available online https://noharm.org/sites/default/files/lib/downloads/building/GGHC_FAQ.pdf. Accessed 10/01/2020.