THE EFFECT OF HYBRID ORGANIZATION ON SERVICE DELIVERY: CASE STUDY OF LIONS SIGHT FIRST EYE HOSPITAL, NAIROBI. KENYA

Abstract

The economy is known to be governed by three types of sectors all over. These include the Public sector, the Private sector and the not-for-profit or “Third” sector. Traditionally, each of these sectors is supposed to run its affairs independently and have their separate goals. If one of the above entities is combined, these economies bring another set of breed which is commonly referred to as Hybrid Organization (HO). These breeds are usually more complex than their traditional sectors. The purpose of the study was to assess the effect of Hybrid Organization on service delivery. Specifically, the objectives of the study were; to examine the effect of HO structure on service delivery, to establish the effect of HO culture on service delivery and to examine the effect of HO complexity on service delivery at LSEH.. A case of Lions Sight First Eye Hospital (LSEH), a HO operating as profit and non-profit organization was explored. LSEH is 24 kilometers from central business of Nairobi with a target population of 180 staff members, and 120 accessible patients.The study was heavily informed by the work of Kurt Lewin in his Complexity Theory which was later advanced by both Burns (2009) and Hatch and Cunliffe (2006) who believed that organizations that desire to move to hybrid must ensure that strategies focus on balancing power, continued learning, heavy commitment and service delivery. Those who manage these organizations must therefore learn key skills so that they are able to manage this complexity and maintain their focus because managing two diverse entities simultaneously requires balancing act. Descriptive design was used and preferred because it facilitates and enables the generalization of findings to a large population.In the study, both primary and secondary data were used. The instruments to collect data included questionnaires for staff members while interview guide was used to collect data from the patients. Data was analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative techniques and findings presented using pie charts and graphs. The findings of the study were that structures were unclear and hard to understand, LSEH does not have a corporate culture and that complexity was defined by the level of role ambiguity experienced in the hospital all contributing to decline in service efficiency. The study concluded that HO has significant effect on service delivery with the three objectives having a share of positive and negative contributions. Patients revealed that HO structure, organizational culture and organizational complexity were key elements that determined whether patients were satisfied or dissatisfied. The study further recommended that LSEH governing body should address the major challenges facing the implementation of HO to ensure there is sustained improvement in service delivery. Training of both staff and governing body should be enhanced and Ministry of Health should formulate and standardize national policies and operating procedure to help avert any weakness within HOs and address all the grey areas.