Organizational culture: Its importance for healthcare service providers and recipients

Organizational culture, which consists of basic assumptions and values that play a crucial role in organizational life and can guide actions in organization and contribute to their understanding and interpretation, is becoming increasingly recognized as offering opportunities to promote quality health care. Its ability to change over time offers organizations various opportunities for intervention aimed at improvement of services. Organizational culture is directly related with the effectiveness of the organization and quality improvement activities. Top managers play a key role in the formation of the culture and its integration and transmission to the members of the organization. Leadership and management style are therefore important for understanding the special culture that prevails in any organization. Organizational culture operates in the health care system at all levels, with a significant impact on both health care provision and health care decision making. Organizational culture is associated with a wide variety of effects on health service providers and recipients, as it affects, inter alia, factors associated with the quality of work life of the health professionals, organizational commitment, empowerment, Job satisfaction and employee turnover, and the overall performance and efficiency of health organizations. It can affect the care access of patients and patient safety and health outcomes, as well as their satisfaction with the care provided.