Research Korner: Kolbs Experiential Learning Cycle

Organizational Behaviour   Executive Summary This preliminary study is intended to determine the viability of the Automated Information System in the context of Fairfield Dental Practice in Liverpool. After determining the significance of an integrated I.S. solution and investigating the problematic situation in the practice, the new SDLC is proposed in terms of implementation, acquisition and post-implementation reviews. The evaluation of the proposed scheme follows. A proposal is almo made regarding the training of the practice’s staff members. The training proposal is made in reference to the learning theories and styles that must be accomodated during the training in  order to facilitate learning among all individuals in the session.           Part One: Feasibility Study   Information System and System Development Life Cycle Information Systems (IS) and Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) An Information System according to the ATIS Committee is as automated or manual system, which comprises people, machines and/or methods organized to collect, process, transmit and disseminate data that represent user information. A contemporary enterprise is constantly bombarded with hundreds of information pieces. To use them effectively and to spend less time and human effort, they have to be wisely classified and must be easily retrieved. Smart and timesaving automated systems are already replacing the obsolete method of manual and paper information documentation. Cutting edge technology is now widely available and more affordable than a decade ago. A closer observation of the global health sector reveals that investments in New Technologies are increasing every year. In the United States alone, more than 10 billion dollars are spent in automated information technologies, with a forecast of an annual 15% increase for the coming year (E-business Forum). Among the leading technological innovations that health units are investing in is the CPR or the Computerized Patient Record. A CPR provides better acknowledgement of the patient’s profile.  In addition, upgrading the management and accounting system reduces the administrative costs. Effective networking inside or outside the health unit is made possible by optimum information sharing.   Building an automated I. S. is far from easy. A process called the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) must be employed. According to  (2006), SDLC is a structured approach for developing information systems. It begins with the planning phase and builds toward a successfully implemented information system. SDLC involves multiple stages (from establishing the feasibility to carrying out post implementation reviews), it is used to convert a management need to an application system, which can be custom-developed, purchased or a combination of both (ISACA, 2003). Many questions have to be answered before the realization of such a project. Most pressing of this is whether the management’s concept is an achievable goal in terms of money, time and end-result differences compared to the original system.   Current Information System At first glance, the current I. S. situation if Fairfield Dental Practice seems outdated. Information management remains unchanged since FDP’s establishment 26 years ago. The owner is conscious on growing its venture. He has appointed more personnel and adopted new practices to cover the increasing demand of services but ignore the contiguous necessities for better administration. While examining the FDP case, a contradiction arises: patients can choose to pay from the traditional cash to modern credit cards whole on the other hand, the appointment booking system is done manually. Dentists can pay home visits – a sophisticated added value to the practice’s services while the patient records are still paper based. Thousands of patients are served through a stand-alone PC while the same terminal is used for the practice’s internal accounting administration. In addition, there is no provided statistical data. The statistical data is important in the assessment of the services offered by the practice in terms of income and demand. The product stocks are also handled manually. A receptionist keeps the product stocks up to date while the nurses are in charge of the re-ordering process. The management is split between the past and the future; the comfort of time-tested systems and the challenges and requirements of the modern technology. Mr. Goldbloom seems to be willing to adapt a modern information system but at the same time gives the impression of resisting practical changes, primarily because of his expenditure worries.   Ideas for a New System Taken into consideration the administration drawbacks and the management’s will to change into something modern and effective, a new, automated Information System is proposed to be developed in order to cover the current and upcoming needs of FDP. Depending on how much is intended to be spent, a lot of new possibilities are offered and a lot of current problems are solved: <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%"> Administration of Patients’ records</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%"> Patients’ administration support (reception, registration, appointments’ booking etc)</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%"> Issuance and administration of medical papers (i.e. prescriptions)</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%"> Protocol administration</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%"> Alignment and collaboration with other applications (i.e. procurements’ administration, accounting management, diagnosis and consultation from a distance etc.)</li> </ul> The proposed plan is expected to improve the daily operation of Fairfield Dental Practice and support its overall growth as well. The automated process will: <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%"> Decrease bureaucracy</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%"> Increase enterprise effectiveness </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%"> Ensure horizontal and vertical flow of information among practitioners and administration staff.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%"> Avoid the lack of valuable resources (i.e. focus on medical acts and not administration tasks)</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%"> Increase clients’ satisfaction through the elimination of unpleasant incidents as double or incorrect bookings.</li> </ul>     System’s Design The proposed system development corresponds to the following basic operations:                                                                               The following simple architecture pattern will cover Fairfield Dental Practice’s needs:                                                 System’s Implementation The requirements of the system’s setup are: ·         16 Pentium Cuore2 terminals for the users and the server room. ·         2 multidynamic terminals as servers + backup HUBs. ·         4 laser printers for networking ·         Windows NT file server’s platform ·         Dental software, with permission for 13 users ·         1 Accounting software, together with stock administration application, which is compliant with the new dental software. As there is a vivid interest in promoting the practice through Internet, a corporate site will be designed by a web development firm, including the following sections: ·         FDP’s profile ·         Services provided ·         Products’ sold ·         General tips for oral hygiene The website will be the foundation for the initial promotion of the practice through Internet. In a later stage, it could be evolved to a more powerful tool, even for e-diagnosis and e-consulting services.      The visual depiction of the proposed system is shown below.                5  5   7 Network printer 1 (Reception – Accounting)         7 Network printer 2 (Nurses)       7 Network Printer – Dentists + Hygienist                                                                                                     System’s Acquisition The SDLC of above described system could vary, depending on the budget limitations and its prospective expandability. In general, this application system could be acquired through various modes including:     ·         Custom development using outsourced resources ·         Vendor software packages, implemented as-is (no customization alternatives) ·         Vendor software packages, customized to meet specific requirements. The first option is the most expensive as it develops the whole system and the resources needed from scratch, but it meets the specific requirements and may be fully expandable and adaptable. The second option is a cheap ready-to-go solution, but it is inflexible and it may not meet all the requirements of the business. If this solution is to be chosen, an extent market research must be carried out in order to find the most fitted package. The third option is standing in all terms in-between the two above mentioned and it is strongly recommended for FPD case.   System’s Maintenance System’s maintenance should be given utmost importance. It is essential that the system is kept up to date with any changes that occur within FDP or its relevant environment and ensure that it meets the practice’s determined goals. It is crucial to sign a maintenance contract with the experts who will build or customize the system, fix technical problems and support the system’s users in any queries or difficulties. The website must also be maintained. The website will not need to be updated frequently. With a minimum fee, developing firm can take care of the updates on the website.   Evaluation of new Ideas The merit of a new system’s existence has to do with the simplicity of the administration of a complex process. Various factors have been assessed before exhibiting this proposal and in particular:   ·         Handiness: The end-user product is attractive and easy to get familiarized with. A one-day training by the system’s developers is enough to introduce the basic functions of the application and afterwards let the users to experiment with a beta version for a due period of time. ·         Effectiveness: The proposed system will have a tangible impact in FDP’s running, in both patients’ service and administration activities. ·         Profitability: The efficient use of resources will not only save time and effort but also money and will generate –in a mid term- more profits. The profitability is a measurable index, which is also influenced by the elimination of errors, the speed of tasks undertaken, the non-recurrence of events, the valuation of statistical data extracted, etc.         In general, the new automated system will: ·         Permit access to the information needed from more than one location. ·         Offer better business insight, through the data processing and evaluation. ·         Dignify FDP and help it to promote a more sophisticated image.         Part Two: Learning Styles   There are 14 people in FDP; each has a direct access to the new system. Each of this fourteen people has his/her unique personality and capability. Everyone needs to adapt to the new working condition at Fairfield Dental Practice. In order for the new automated environment to be successful, everyone must commit and exert effort. Even if the new system is expected to improve everyone’s life, resistance to change is a natural reaction among humans (1996).   Theories of Learning The stimulation theory according to (1985), states that learning occurs when one or more of the human senses are stimulated. Laird observed that most knowledge is achieved through seeing, and hearing follows. More attention is paid to the sensory experience than to mental processes or emotional involvement. The more senses are stimulated, the greater learning occurs. Reinforcement theory is any theory holding as its key postulate that learning cannot occur without reinforcement, without some type of reward or feedback (2002). According to  Skinner’s reinforcement theory, the learner will repeat the desired behaviour if a pleasant consequence follows the behaviour. A negative reinforcement weakens the behaviour.   The cognitive approach puts importance on the experience, problem solving and the development of insights (1995).  (1984) developed the experiential model, which is composed of different learning styles. Kolb’s learning theory sets out four learning styles which are based on a 4-stage learning cycle.                     Kolb’s Experiential Learning Model is a simple model that summarizes important elements of learning as a problem-solving approach and shows learning as a four-stage, cyclical process. According to , the learning process requires orientations that are polar opposites: active and reflective, concrete and abstract. Shifting from one orientation to another results in four separate types of activities, each of which is required at some stage of the learning process ( 1990).           Learning Styles Theories and discussions concerning the different learning styles of individuals abound.  (1986) ( 1995; 1995), working on Kolb’s model defined four learning styles:   1. Activists – enjoy the learning experience itself. Activists prefer to learn form immediate experiences and new challenges. Their Philosophy is ‘I will try anything once’. 2. Reflectors – spend a great deal of time and energy in reflection. They prefer to observe data before making conclusions. They like to consider possible angles and implications before making a move so they tend to be cautious. They enjoy observing other people in action and often take a back seat at meetings. There Philosophy is ‘Be cautious’. 3. Theorists – keen in making correlations form experience. They adapt and integrate information in an objective manner. They prize rationality and logic, tend to be detached and analytical, and are unhappy with subjective or ambiguous experiences. They assemble disparate facts into coherent theories. Their Philosophy is ‘If it is logical, then it is good’. 4. Pragmatists – enjoy the planning stage. They prefer to test ideas and theories in practice. They respond to problems and opportunities as a challenge. Their Philosophy is ‘As long as it works, that is fine’.     Recommendations each individual in the training session, as otherwise the objective of the familiarization with the new system will be futile. Our purpose should be to offer a new experience which will lead to observations and reflections. When observations and reflections are absorbed and interpretated, they will lead the learners to action. There is no uniform or standard learning style. Every one has his ownway of learning. We must not forget that learning is a product itself – the outcome of some process. It can be perceived and measured. Learning is an instrument that helps us to cope more adeptly with change.   Several tools have been developed to identify the different learning styles of individuals who participate in an educational session. Structured questionnaires and checklists have been developed in  University, which we be used to identify the different learning styles and put the learning theories into practice. The material is presented in the Appendices. Mr. John Goldbloom can use the aforementioned material and distribute it to the participants – one week before the session. From the outcome, he can determine the each participant’s weaknesses and strengths, preferences and tendencies. Another approach is the ‘Squiggle Game’, which is a flexible and entertaining game that serves the same objective as the questionnaires and checklists. A copy of the game, which can be found on, is also presented in the appendices.   It is strongly recommended that the management at Fairfield Dental Practice pay special attention to the preparation phase of the session. This phase will reinforce the absorption of new knowledge and skills among the participants, something that will benefit everyone in the organization.  (1990) stressed the leader in a Learning Organization serves as a designer, teacher, and steward who builds a shared vision and challenges prevailing mental models. Facilitating learning is the leader’s responsibility.

Organizational Behaviour

Organizational Behaviour Executive Summary This preliminary study is intended to determine the viability of the Automated Informa...