Webinar  

ODC@10 Organizing for Good

Organizing for better Healthcare: 

Organizational Design and Resilience in the Context of Change

Thursday,October 7th, 2021 at 3:00- 4:30 pm CET/9AM EDT

Over the past decade, health care systems have experienced major global shocks, such as the Ebola outbreak and, more recently, the Covid-19. These and previous crises have generated an increased interest in the concept of resilience, defined as the ability of a system to withstand shocks, but also to adapt and transform in the face of challenges. At the same time, health care organizations are in a permanent state of change as new models and behaviors are needed to cope with technological advancements, ageing populations, changing disease patterns, political reforms and policy initiatives. 

Despite these detectable trends, evidence on how organizational design can contribute to support change and resilience in health care remains relatively scarce. This is surprising, as understanding how health care and organizational systems can be designed to cope with change is critical to thinking about developing strategies for strengthening their resilience.  

The purpose of this Webinar is to share ideas and encourage discussion around the topics of design, change and resilience in health care from a theoretical and empirical perspective. In particular, we are interested in understanding resilience in the context of change, and in identifying factors influencing resilience and how they can be nurtured.

Our panelists are Jody Hoffer Gittell (Brandeis University) and Kelly Vranas (OHSU). The panel will be moderated by Daniele Mascia (Luiss University) and Francesca Pallotti (University of Greenwich).

Jody Hoffer Gittell is Professor of Management at Brandeis University's Heller School for Social Policy & Management, and co-founder and board member of the Relational Coordination Collaborative. Gittell is currently exploring the relational dynamics of multi-level systems change in complex systems in multiple sectors around the world. Gittell received her PhD from the MIT Sloan School of Management, and currently serves as treasurer for the Seacoast NAACP, on the editorial board of the Academy of Management Review, and on the board of directors for Greater Seacoast Community Health.

Dr. Vranas is Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, School of Medicine. She attended Santa Clara University for her undergraduate studies, and received her medical degree from Cornell University. Dr. Vranas joined the Clinical Excellence Research Center, where she studied innovative methods to improve the quality and efficiency of critical care. She then completed her fellowship at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) and has since joined the faculty in OHSU’s Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care. Her research is focused on understanding how organizational factors and processes of care influence the outcomes of critically ill patients. She hopes to use insights gained from her research to improve the value of intensive care for patients with critical illness.

Daniele Mascia is Associate Professor of Organization and Human Resource Management at Luiss University, Rome (Italy).  His research interests include the study of organizational social networks, the analysis of leadership and team processes in the context of organizational change, and the study of learning dynamics in health care organizations.

Francesca Pallotti is an Associate Professor at the Centre for Business Network Analysis, University of Greenwich (UK).  Her research draws upon a network perspective to examine how the structure of social relations develops and affects individual and organizational behaviours and outcomes. Her current research focuses on organizational change, coordination within teams, and collaboration among organizations.