Delivering High Quality Services

• Introduction to the module
• Session One:Project Managment
• Session Two Project managment
  • Checklands soft system
  • The Waterfall Model
  • Incremental Model
  • The Spiral Model
  • Viable systems Model
  • The "Four Stages Theory" of Project Management
  • Scope
  • Scope Managment
  • Work breakdown structure
  • Project task
• Session Three - Introduction to Clinical Governance
• Session Four - Clinical Governance II
• Session Five - Risk Management in Health and Social Care
• Session Six -Decision Making
• Session Seven-User, Carer and Public perspective
• Session Eight-People and Physical and Resources Management
• Session Nine-User, Carer and Public perspective on quality health and social wellbeing 2
• SessionTen- Budgeting
• Session Eleven- Deductive and Inductive reasoning
• Session Twelve-Clinical Supervison

Of all the approaches that have consciously sought to bring the rigour of the scientific method to management, that of ‘systems thinking’ has probably been the widest and arguably the most influential [Boulding, 1956; Checkland, 1999; Jordan, 1968; Bertalanffy, 1968].

Systems theory developed in the 1950’s and was seen as bringing order .Gardiner(2005)argues that project management can be studied more effectively using system theory because of its analytical and holistic approach.

Systems theories make the distinction between a project as a wholes and the project. The nature and behaviour of the system are unlikely to be predictable from an examination of the parts alone , as the system and its parts are changed if parts are added or taken away.

However, the various ‘schools of thought’  in regard to systems sometimes have little in common. For example there are subjectivist approaches (systems being regarded purely as social / human constructs that are defined to suit current purposes, as in soft systems methodology) and objectivist views (systems being ‘out there’, having a purpose of their own, or perhaps determined by environmental or natural forces whether or not they involve humans; see for example Probert 1997).

Early use of systems ideas can be found in biology, engineering and organisation studies (general systems theory, cybernetics, socio-technical systems theory).

Since the 1970s in the UK at least, more emphasis seems to have been placed on methodologies than theories (e.g. Checkland’s soft systems methodology, Beer’s viable systems model, Flood and Jackson’s total systems intervention).