MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT FOR CLINICIANS: THE INFLUENCE OF ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE

Identifies the influence of organization structure upon the success of management development interventions in a typical district health authority. Uses Henry Mintzberg′s work on configurations as a framework to analyse contingent structural variables. Research was carried out over 18 months regarding the impact of management development on clinicians. Used were questionnaires, action plans with follow up, and observation to survey a range of clinicians and non‐clinicians from both community and ward‐based units. Suggests that structures should be reflective of a machine bureaucracy or adhocracy, if radical behaviour change is to result from management development for clinicians. Forces for efficiency and/or innovation should be evident. Where structure is reflective of the professional bureaucracy, and the force for proficiency is at the fore, attempted behaviour changes should be of an incremental nature.