HP4D7E      Half Unit
Fundamentals of Management and Leadership in Health Care

This information is for the 2025/26 session.

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The course is intended to be an introduction to the theory and practice of management for specialists moving into leadership roles in the health care field. It is intended to support the content and outcome orientation of core analytical and health policy courses, by providing relevant knowledge and skills for formulating and leading organizational development and change. Students will explore the evolution of management theories and their implementation in health care contexts, reflecting on their own practice and developing skills to apply academic knowledge to real-world challenges. Course coverage includes:

Management in theory and practice

The course examines the evolution of health care management in theory and practice, from scientific management to contemporary approaches like systems thinking. Students will analyse how these frameworks have shaped management practices and develop critical understanding of their applicability across diverse health care settings. This theoretical foundation connects directly to practical challenges facing health care managers today.

Vision, mission and strategy

Students will explore perspectives on strategy relevant to health care organisations, including various approaches to strategic planning and decision-making. The course examines strategic management frameworks orientated towards both public organisations and for-profit organisations, considering how these different contexts shape strategic choices. The section explores strategic management for public value creation and how health care organisations can balance multiple stakeholder interests while pursuing their mission. Innovation management is emphasised as a critical component of health care strategy.

Organisational structure and coordination

This course will explore organisational design principles in health care, exploring approaches to coordination and integration across traditionally siloed services. Students will examine the tension between specialisation and collaborative care, studying structural responses to evolving health care demands. Case studies of organisational redesign provide practical insights into implementation challenges and success factors.

Financial management for value-based health care

Students will explore how financial analysis informs strategy and decision making in health care. Financial management is presented as a critical competency for delivering quality care within resource constraints, with an emphasis on measuring costs and outcomes, financial incentive structures, and the potential and challenges of implementing value-based health care models.

Managing performance, learning and improving

The course will address continuous improvement and organisational learning in health care. Students will develop understanding of approaches to performance management and quality improvement methodologies. The course addresses challenges in measuring performance in complex health care systems, the implementation of learning health systems, and the role of culture in driving improvement.

Leadership, culture and change

The final section examines leadership theories and styles in health care contexts, analysing approaches to organisational change and transformation. Students will develop skills in planning and implementing change initiatives while managing resistance. The course explores leadership capabilities for navigating complexity and uncertainty, with emphasis on creating cultures of excellence that support continuous improvement in health care delivery and outcomes.

Teaching will be delivered via lectures, seminars and workshops over a minimum of 20 hours. 

The lectures will develop an understanding of the core phenomena: organisation, management and leadership. We begin by considering organisational theories and present the simultaneous development of the managerial knowledge set and modern organisational forms and practices. We then consider the relationship between models of organisational behaviour and strategy and conceptions of the manager as an actor and decision-maker. Finally, we consider the question of leadership in multiple conceptions and theories to develop students’ understanding of the forces at play in the relationship between leaders and led.

Classes will develop a critique of management theories via the analysis of organisational situations. We will encourage the consideration and synthesis of eclectic theories across social science disciplines and levels of analysis to develop students’ holistic thinking about leadership in organisations.

The writing workshops will develop critical reading, thinking and writing skills that will enable further learning and reflective practice, as well as effective communication.

Students will be expected to produce 1 essay.
The formative assessment is a 500-word outline of the summative assessment essay question. 

Mintzberg, H., Ahlstrand, B. and Lampel, J. (2008). Strategy Safari: The Complete Guide Through the Wilds of Strategic Management (Second Edition). Prentice-Hall. Chapters 1 and 4

Whittington, R. (2000).  What is Strategy—and Does it Matter? (Second Edition) Thomson International. Chapters 1, 2 and 4

Barney, J. 1995. Looking Inside for Competitive Advantage. The Academy of Management Executive. 9(4): 49-61.

Christensen, C.M., Raynor, M.E., McDonald, R. 2015. What Is Disruptive Innovation? Harvard Business Review. December Issue (available online athttps://hbr.org/2015/12/what-is-disruptive-innovation)

Essay (100%, 3500 words)

The course will be assessed on the basis of a 3000-word essay on a specific topic. In writing this essay, students will be able to demonstrate and synthesise what they have learned from the lectures, reading material, group discussions and their own independent research and thinking. The content of the assessments will lead on from the simulation exercises that have been used in the seminars and students will be encouraged to use topics they have identified during reflections on their own work.