I mötet mellan två världar: En studie om förändrade chefsroller i sjukvården

Sammanfattning: Swedish healthcare has experienced increased economic pressure during the last decades and organizations have faced many changes. Managers and their roles in organizations have also been affected by the changes. Traditionally, managers in the healthcare sector are highly specialized doctors with a strong medical background. In the thesis, we study a big private healthcare company with an ambition to lead the development in the sector. In order to accomplish its goal, the company is trying to change the organization of managers. New competencies are demanded by top management and new responsibilities are added to previous responsibilities. We regard this change in manager’s roles as a reform, where sales responsibility is a new responsibility for managers with medical or healthcare background. The aim of the thesis is to study how the reform affects managers and their roles. Moreover, the thesis focuses on how managers handle the sales responsibility. Theories concerning the different rationalities and professions that are influential in the healthcare sector are the basis of the theoretical framework. Furthermore, the analysis is based on theories concerning reforms; why they are implemented in the first place (imitation) and reactions to reforms (translation and resistance). Reactions to reforms are looked at in the light of these rationalities and professions. A qualitative method has been used in order to understand the managers’ perspective. Nine interviews have been conducted during the fall. Three of our respondents represent the management’s perspective and five respondents represent the studied managers’ perspective. One of the respondents is a manager with an economic background which enables us to make some comparisons with managers with a medical or healthcare background. The thesis implies that managers are able to think and act in line with more than one rationality. Another implication is a change in the level of influence and power between different professions in the healthcare sector. Furthermore, managers seem to have a positive attitude towards the sales responsibility but translate it to fit their rationality and, to some extent, put up resistance by prioritizing other tasks.