Organizational and cultural factors that promote creative best practices in the public rehabilitation program: Findings from a four-state multiple case study

Abstract

The state-federal vocational rehabilitation system is tasked to demonstrate accountability for employment outcomes of persons with disabilities. State VR agencies have sought to evaluate existing practices, and in areas that existing practices leave room for improvement, create the conditions for innovation to occur. The purpose of this article is to identify promising organizational and cultural factors that appear to promote best practices in the public vocational rehabilitation program. A multi-stage study utilizing the Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) was conducted involving four high performing state VR agencies to discover emerging and promising organizational practices leading to improvements in employment outcomes of people with disabilities. The comprehensive examination revealed specific organizational practices, culture and structural elements that encourage and support the development of innovative, effective service delivery practices. Given the complexity of service provision and the increasing demand for successful outcomes, VR agencies must develop organizational cultures that facilitate transformational learning by employing evidence-based practices that lead to successful outcomes for agency consumers.

Stratified Leadership Components and Needs Within Public Rehabilitation

“…It is also worth noting that there are numerous stalwart, rehabilitation counseling professionals who do not hold advancement aspirations, but who continue to contribute substantially to agency outcomes, the work milieu, and leadership at the direct service level. Each individual can influence the general culture through motivating others, fostering learning, encouraging innovation, and promoting agency synergy (Sherman et al, 2014). In addition, those senior counselors are often relied upon for peer consultation and guidance, as they may be more approachable or accessible during supervisory shortages.…”

“…Sherman et al (2014) suggested the leader impacts the agency through his or her effect on the organizational culture and that agencies should consider changing from a hierarchical culture to a less structured “culture of adhocracy” which facilitates innovation by allowing greater flexibility, risk taking, and collaboration among employees. In this kind of system, decision making is decentralized, freeing up space for expressing ideas and testing innovative interventions that may be suppressed in formal hierarchies (Sherman et al, 2014). In the leadership context, this is a movement from a more transactional leadership approach to a more transformational approach.…”

“…At the administration level, these include performance management and quality assurance, understanding the role and use of data, succession planning, and the use of political skill in negotiation with local, state, and federal partners. With the exception of succession planning (discussed earlier), these needs reflect the increasing pressures: for accountability in demonstrating outcomes, for the use of data to inform continuous improvement, and to establish quality assurance systems (Sherman et al, 2014). This age of austerity is likely to continue and with it greater political scrutiny of public programs and demands for increased transparency and accountability (Leslie & Canwell, 2010).…”

Perceived Preparedness to Implement Evidence-Based Practice by Certified Rehabilitation Counselors: A Qualitative Content Analysis

“…It is clear that counselors cannot take on the challenge of implementing EBP on their own, and leadership will set the stage on how EBP will be (or will not be) implemented in practice. Sherman et al (2014) investigated the promising leadership and organizational factors shared by four high-performing VR agencies, and found that leaders who foster a culture of adhocracy (organizational culture that emphasizes flexibility, adaptability, and change) lead to innovative practices, including EBP. In this culture, the specific concerns of implementation of EBP by rehabilitation counselors are heard, and solutions are generated by the rehabilitation counselors utilizing the practice (Sherman et al, 2014).…”

The Effect of Organizational Culture on Employee Well- Being: Work-Related Stress, Employee Identification, Turnover Intention

“…Leaders are directors on one hand, who fulfil a coordinating function, and producers on the other hand, focusing on productivity. (Denison & Spreitzer, 1991;OCAI online, 2012;Sherman et al, 2014) A more recent development is the innovation-oriented adhocratic culture, which has taken a definite shape over the past decades. This type of culture usually develops in organic and open systems or at matrix organizations.…”