Effective Workplace Culture

This essay discusses the strategies used to improve workplace culture in healthcare settings for better patient outcomes. It explores the attributes and enabling factors necessary for developing an effective workplace culture. The essay also highlights the importance of person-centered care and the impact of workplace culture on patient health outcomes.

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EFFECTIVE WORKPLACE CULTURE
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Introduction
Effective workplace culture is defined as the best healthcare setting that is responsible
for extracting the preeminent activity from the employees and motivating them to stay within
the organization for a prolonged period of time (Manley et al., 2011). Effective workplace
culture has a positive impact on the patient’s health allowing them to recover as soon as
possible and also motivating the healthcare professional and nurses to adapt the best evidence
based practice and implement it in patient safety and care . Toxic and ineffective culture has a
negative impact on patient outcome thereby increasing the number of complication that can
further result in bad health outcome (Clark, 2015). The essay will focus on the strategies used
to improve the workplace culture that will further enhance the patient outcome and allow the
healthcare professional and nurse to recognize best strategy that will improve the health
outcome and delivery of care. There are two major enabling factors and five attributes that
should be adopted by the healthcare professionals to enhance patient outcome and develop
the concept of person-centred care (Flynn et al., 2018). In the first attribute of developing
effective workplace culture, ten major core values are present that will focus on effective
person centeredness, care and communication that is necessary for developing effective care
or treatment to the patient.
Attributes necessary for developing an effective workplace culture
There are five attributes that is required for developing effective workplace culture for
patient outcome and job satisfaction within the healthcare setting (Manley et al., 2011):
1. Definite values shared within the workplace: Determining the definite cluster of
values is an important aspect of adapting effective workplace culture in healthcare
setting. These set of values are identified and shared within the healthcare setting that
will be used by the healthcare professionals and nurses to promote development of

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effective workplace culture (Cravens et al., 2015). There are ten essential values
considered desirable, influential and important in developing workplace culture,
which are as follows:
 Person-centeredness: Person-centeredness is considered as a broader concept as
compared to patient-centeredness. Patient-centred approach deals only with the
patient and establish the therapeutic relationship of the healthcare professional and the
patient but in case of person centred approach along with the patient the staff
members are also valued hence, developing the interpersonal skills that is necessary to
achieve the respect and faith among the patient and the staff (Hardiman & Dewing,
2019).
 Lifelong learning: Lifelong learning is an important value that will develop a positive
and better learning culture and environment with an active learning surrounding and
encouragement (Aburumman, Newnam & Fildes, 2019). This will enable the
healthcare professional to constantly learn and acquire strategies that will help them to
improve patient outcome.
 High challenge and support: High challenge and support is the key factors that enable
the accomplishment of increased and potential productivity hence allowing the staff
members to gain appropriate support from the organization that will encourage and
motivate them for effective development (Abbasi et al., 2019).
 Leadership development: Leadership development is defined as the improvement of
different leadership skills, which include the capability to support others in order to be
operative and determine innovative and creative solutions resulting in positive
workplace culture modification and enhanced patient outcome (Millis, 2018).
 Involvement, contribution and association with the stakeholders: This value includes
the service users involved in formal systems thus enabling active participation of the

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users in decision-making procedures that is relevant to every stakeholders thus
implementing effective workplace culture change. This change is possible because the
staff present in the organization are trusted and there is a huge participation of
numerous voices leading to the positive change in the healthcare setting.
 Evidence-based practice and expansion: Applying evidence into exercise is an
important international programme, which emphasize on consuming the preeminent
evidence that will support clinical efficiency that is influenced by contextual elements
and facilitation proficiency (Lucas, 2017). The use of multiple knowledge and
adaption of evidence-based support in enhancing the decision-making quality of the
professional is crucial for better workplace culture.
 Positive approach to commitment and change for constant development: Change is
considered as a positive factor that is actively embraced by the healthcare professional
in recognizing innovative ideas and adapt these ideas in developing better workplace
culture (Newnam & Muir, 2019).
 Open Communication- Open, straight and truthful communication amongst different
groups of professionals are valued and each individual is encouraged to share their
ideas and knowledge.
 Teamwork: Effective teamwork is valued, adapted and promoted by interdisciplinary
collaborative team for determining the effective team development and learning
(Thomson et al., 2015).
 Safety: Different physical, mental and social characteristic are included in this value
for every patient, users and staff members in order to reduce any adverse activity that
can hamper the patient health outcome (Totterdill, 2015).
2. The ten principles are understood and proficient in practice with a shared mission and
vision with separate and combined responsibility: The above mentioned values are

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adapted and practiced by the patient, staff and users where the sense of vision and
mission are reflected in their work comprising of self-directing, collaborative and
motivated staff members who share their responsibility for achieving the standard
goal hence allowing them to adapt evidence-based practice method with better
decision making capabilities (Billett, 2017).
3. Adaptability, creativity and innovation to maintain the effectiveness of workplace: In
order to establish effective workplace culture adaptability needs to be maintained with
an encouraging attitude towards flexibility and development that will encourage the
stakeholders and staff members to adapt creativity and permit better problem-solving
method with critical thinking approach (Hahtela et al., 2015). Hence, this critical
creativity method will assist the professionals to use better and innovative practical
relevance that is much more productive and effective within the healthcare setting.
4. Suitable change is determined by the requirements of patients: The need and
requirement of the patient and community members initiate creative and innovative
change that enables flexibility and implementation of evidence-based practice for
better workplace culture (Sendall et al., 2017).
5. Formal structures exist to constantly support and evaluate performance, learning and
shared authority: In an operative workplace culture official systems and thinking
occur for supporting values that has to be understood for specific process, structure
and behaviour that will in turn implement these values in the workplace hence,
modifying the workplace culture into better culture with enhanced patient outcome
(Fonarow et al., 2015).
Enabling factors necessary for developing an effective workplace culture
In order to implement the above mentioned attributes for developing an effective
workplace culture different enabling factors are also present that will enhance the

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implementation of evidence-based practice with better patient outcome (Byrnes &
Advantage, 2017). There are two types of enablers that will be considered for developing
effective workplace culture, which are as follows:
 Individual enablers: This enabler includes the transformational leader especially
skilled facilitation and ward managers. Leadership is considered as the crucial
element for initiating culture change in particular transformational leadership. The
primary element included in this enabler is transformational leadership as they pay
attention to the culture and also share common vision that is clear and similar for
every staff members (Schopp et al., 2015). They recognize and manage the changes
hence, promoting strategies that will allow the facilitat9rs and staff members to
achieve the cultural change. In order to improve the patient outcome, the health care
facilitator needs to explore their effectiveness and determine a clear responsibility and
expectation that is important to implement effective culture with better critical
thinking approach and evidence-based practice. This will allow a healthcare
professional to develop the traits of skilled facilitator and guiding the staff members
and the patient regarding the execution of total quality management that is crucial for
developing effective workplace culture (Kwantes & Glazer, 2017).
 Organisational enablers: This enabler includes transparent and flattened
management towards effective decision making and leadership from supportive HR
department. Transparent and flattened management includes participative
management process and structures where the healthcare professionals are regarded as
“associates in solution” not as a “problem” (Davenport, 2015). Good leadership,
organisational support, participative management and executive support towards
consistency, empowerment, mentorship and trust would assist to include this enablers
in everyday practice. The human resource (HR) department is considered as the most

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crucial factor in organisational enabler as they are extremely influential and
responsible for organizing and maintaining values that is majorly accountable for
supporting organisational development and learning for better and effective
workplace culture (Alas & Mousa, 2016).
Consequences of the new concept
Joining to and functioning with the supporting factors will help cultural change
facilitator to upsurge the probability of increasing an effective workplace culture associated
with the five crucial attributes. Once recognized, it is suggested that the effects of devising an
effective workplace cultures that can be distributed into those influencing on investors, and
impacting on added workplace cultures (Davis & Daniels, 2016). The consequence would be
developed in a positive way and will help the patient, community and service users to fulfil
their need in person-centred approach, staff empowerment and commitment with high job
satisfaction, healthcare team and individual can achieve the goals, national and local
standards and implementation of evidence-based practice associated with explicit knowledge
and understanding. These attributes and enablers will therefore assist the healthcare
professional and facilitators to enhance person-centred approach that will result in better
patient outcome and staff satisfaction (Korner et al., 2015).
Effective workplace culture theory:
Edgar Schein model of organization culture
Organization culture is defined as the beliefs and values present within the
organization that also consists of different policies and ideologies that is followed by the
organization to form an effective workplace culture environment. Edgar Schein was a
renowned professor who had studied comprehensively in the arena of effective organizational
structure (Coghlan, 2017). Edgar Schein believed that the organization cannot accept or adopt

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to any new culture within a particular day but the employees have to go through various
changes and adapt themselves to the new environment that will allow the employees to adjust
in the stressful condition and work accordingly. There are three levels present within the
organizational culture according to the theory (Schein, 2017):
1. Artifacts: This is considered as the first level of the theory that can be effortlessly
viewed, perceived and sensed by the individual present within the organization.
Office furniture, amenities, employee behaviour and dress code are included in
artifacts.
2. Values: Values are included as the second level of the theory that institute the
effective values and beliefs of the staffs and employees present in the organization.
The morals of different person functioning within the organization has a significant
role in determining the effective workplace culture.
3. Assumed Values: Assumed values is considered as the third level of the theory that is
based on the values or beliefs assumed by the organization like female workers are
not comfortable in working under late shift whereas male workers are comfortable
hence, the organization policy is established by assuming this aspect automatically.
Practical implications of effective workplace culture
Implementing effective workplace culture in a healthcare setting will have a positive
impact on different clinical areas like staff satisfaction and patient outcome. Individual
enabler will support appropriate staff satisfaction as the transformational leader will consider
the ideas and approaches of the staff members and include them in achieving suitable
learning skills and knowledge required for cultural change (McCormack & McCance, 2016).
Person-centeredness approach is the primary approach that will allow the patient, staff and
users to develop a therapeutic relationship with each other that is crucial for them in their

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respective life. Person-centeredness is underpinned by certain values that include respect for
person, understanding, mutual respect and individual right towards self-determination. In this
approach every patient, healthcare professional and users are included and their individual
ideas and concern are noted down that will assist in developing interpersonal skills required
for enhancing the patient outcome (Braithwaite et al., 2017). Each individual will include
their respective ideas that will allow the healthcare professional to develop better decision-
making process hence, the patient can also be included in their treatment approach and even
they can suggest their ideas and the response their body will have according to them. The
healthcare professional will develop prior knowledge regarding the patient and hence they
can strategize their treatment approach that will include the best treatment and allow the
patient to develop trusts and understanding with the healthcare professional thereby resulting
in a better patient health outcome (Scott et al., 2018).
Conclusion
From this essay the concept of effective workplace culture was developed that plays a
crucial role in delivering appropriate care to the patient that is person-centred. Bad workplace
culture has result in unsatisfied healthcare delivery that leads to bad patient health outcome
hence to improve this condition different strategies is used and adopted that will focus to
improve the workplace culture and make the organization effective to adapt these changes.
The essay highlights the use of essential attributes that enables the healthcare setting and
other organization to improve their workplace culture by adapting these attributes that is
accompanied with ten core values. These core values will help any healthcare setting to
successfully establish and implement effective workplace culture that will provide enhanced
and better patient outcome. Two enabling factors are also included in the essay that will also
assist the healthcare professionals and healthcare organisation to effectively develop and
adapt effective workplace culture. Hence, the implementation of modified and better

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workplace culture will allow the health care setting especially on clinical area to modify and
improve the patient outcome and staff satisfaction by incorporating effective person-centred
approach.

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