Lillian M. Simms

Facilitating innovation at the unit level through cultural assessment, Part 2: Adapting managerial ideas to the unit work group.

&NA; The culture of an organization is a powerful force to contend with in transforming a healthcare system. Culture can either drive or restrain innovation: sometimes cultural values support innovation; but culture can restrain innovation when there is conflict between the culture and the innovation. Part 1 of this series (April 1993) examined the concept of organizational culture and explained why managerial ideas for change fail to materialize when the work group culture is not considered while implementing change. This article uses research data to illustrate a five‐step cultural innovation process. The creative nursing unit manager can use the process to implement a variety of practice patterns to help the healthcare organization remain competitive and increase the quality of its care. These practice patterns include team nursing, primary nursing, case management, managed care, patient‐centered care, assistive personnel, and computer‐assisted care.