Introduction
Leadership is something which is inherent in literature- it is commonly studied among literary scribes and circles and has often been the source of contentious debate in the academic world. With leadership being so prominent in academia, it has inevitably been disseminated in relation to a number of disciplines, including education (teachers are some type of leaders), business (at various levels of an organisation one must demonstrate leadership skills in some capacity) and the world of employment in general. Healthcare is also a domain which has been frequently associated with leadership, which is no surprise given the multitude of roles and professions which are contained within a hospital or healthcare setting and the hierarchy which is in place within such institutions- normally with senior professionals near the apex of the pyramid and juniors and their sub-ordinates emanating somewhere below this. However, with reference to the point made at the start of this introduction, leadership will inevitably have to be demonstrated by each professional at some point in their careers and it is worth considering the various degrees to which this can be demonstrated (which will be expounded upon at a latter juncture of this assignment). Even the most inexperienced of nurses will have to demonstrate some leadership qualities, even if it is merely directing their patients and distributing advice and sage guidance to them. Therefore, it is undoubtedly important to scrutinise this at all levels of the organisation, something which this assignment will proceed to do. For more precision, the qualities of a good leader (generic and with specific reference to healthcare) will be identified, as these will contribute to an understanding of how to facilitate exemplary leadership development. This will also be intertwined with an examination of how leadership development can facilitate an organisational culture which is conducive to embodying and espousing the values of patient-centred care. This is widely feted in literature to be the most reputable standard of care on offer in healthcare and is a standard of care which puts patients at the centre of a model, by considering their needs and preferences on an individual basis). The assignment will be critical throughout, ultimately coming to a conclusion over the validity of the statement encapsulated in the title.
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Organisational Culture within Healthcare
As per the conventions of compiling academic assignments, the key terminology will be defined. Needles (2004) defines organisational culture as the values, practices and beliefs which are inherent in an organisation (i.e. what is considered to be the ‘norm’). With reference to a healthcare setting, this could be what type of care is delivered most prominently in the institution (the consensus of healthcare literature would presume it to be patient-centred care) or the values and beliefs which the staff in the hospital adhere to or abide by. With reference to the author of this piece’s personal area of practice (adult nursing) these would be the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC, 2015) code of conduct, which stipulate the standards that all nurses and midwifes must comply with. If these guidelines are invalidated, staff may face sanctions or punishments, which could culminate in potential dismissal if there is a serious breach of regulations (NMC, 2015). However, this point almost seems to infer that the practice of Healthcare institutions is uniform as there is a standardised, mandatory set of regulations which they must comply with. This may be a flawed perception, as literature which delves into the minutiae of organisational culture seems to contradict this point. It is important to point out that homogeneity does not exist in healthcare institutions, particularly in the context of this assignment, as what affects the organisational culture of each institution may vary depending on an assortment of factors. Schein (1992), being the most eminent of a number of theorists/scholars who are of a similar disposition, feels that organisational culture is a diverse and multi-faceted variable, something which is dependent on the nature of the organisation. Kotter and Heskett (1992) make the useful point that there is not one singular organisational culture which exists in an organisation: often being a wide variety of sub-cultures and undercurrents which also influence the behaviour of those in the organisation. When scrutinising the organisational culture in an organisation it may be advisable to employ the micro-meso-macro frame (level of) analysis, something which is commonly used in studying behaviour of organisations in th
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