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An evaluation of communication strategies during the process of incorporating a college of health studies into a university
Author(s) -
Whittaker Carol,
Dickinson Hilary,
Humphreys John,
Ramsammy Roberta
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
journal of advanced nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.948
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 1365-2648
pISSN - 0309-2402
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2648.1994.tb01135.x
Subject(s) - variety (cybernetics) , medical education , anxiety , psychology , sample (material) , set (abstract data type) , health care , nursing , medicine , political science , chemistry , chromatography , artificial intelligence , psychiatry , computer science , law , programming language
This paper reports on an evaluation of communication strategies employed by management during the incorporation of a college of health care studies as a new faculty of a university. Mindful of the stress and anxiety that organizational change can evoke, from the earliest stages of the projected incorporation senior managers at the college and the university employed a wide variety of methods to communicate to staff in the college the changes that were in progress and at the same time to set up mechanisms for evaluating the effectiveness of the communication. The method of inquiry was a questionnaire to all the staff of the college in March and June of the year preceding incorporation. This was supported by interviews with a 10% sample of the college to explore in greater depth issues identified in the questionnaires. The findings indicated that in general communication had been perceived as effective; and that of the various methods used the two most valued by staff were: (a) a regular newsletter; and (b) an advisory and consultative committee of staff drawn from all areas of the work of the college up to and including senior lecturer.