The notion of paradox in change management : case study of nurse middle managers at the CHU of Liege

Details

Supervisors

Vas, Alain ; Latiers, Mélanie

Faculty

Louvain School of Management

Degree label

Master [120] en Ingénieur de gestion

Abstract

Change management is a big part of any project. The human factor can easily be the pillar of the success or the failure of the change. While every change has its own characteristics, previous researches have shown a pattern of tensions that happen quite often. Other paradoxes can also be found in the daily management of a team. While a lot of researches in the past focused on senior managers, middle managers are now in the spotlight. People finally understand that middle managers have a really important role, both vertical and horizontal. This unique position is one of the most important while dealing with change management. This paper aims to highlight these paradoxes in the healthcare sector. This paper transposes Guilmot’s framework (2016) about paradoxes met by middle managers to a hospital in order to see if any differences emerge. I believe this is an important problematic as the hospital sector is a huge source of employment in Belgium and is characterized by continuous innovation, in particular for the quality and the security of the patients. I choose to proceed with semi-structured interviews and I interviewed fifteen nurse middle managers of the CHU of Liege to try to detect these paradoxes. In order for the reader to follow me on this journey, I will first explain a few theoretical concepts. I will then explain what is the link between all these concepts. After the presentation of the hospital and the methodology I followed, I will show the results I found as well as their similarities and differences with the one from the baseline study, as well as the limits of my research and my conclusions.