Title: Designing an organisational rule set: experiences of using second-order organisational design in healthcare

Authors: Jeroen Van Bree, Marinka Copier, Thijs Gaanderse

Addresses: Strategy Centre, Nyenrode Business Universiteit, P.O. Box 130, 3620 AC Breukelen, The Netherlands. ' Faculty of Art, Media and Technology, HKU Utrecht School of the Arts, P.O. Box 2471, 1200 CL Hilversum, The Netherlands. ' YNNO, Orteliuslaan 9, 3528 BA Utrecht, The Netherlands

Abstract: One of the biggest challenges of organisational design is moving toward a less formal organisational structure as the artefact to be designed. We find inspiration in computer game design for a way to address this problem: second-order design. Second-order design means designing rules that give rise to certain behaviour. In this article we present our study of an organisational intervention in a hospital using second-order design principles. The study highlights the role of rules and game structures, the inclusion of stakeholders in the design process and the importance of prototyping organisational designs. The implications for future empirical work are discussed.

Keywords: organisational design; rules; organisational rule sets; healthcare management; second-order design; game design; computer games; minimal structures; emergent behaviour; action research; prototyping; design process; organisational structure; organisational intervention; hospitals; game structures.

DOI: 10.1504/IJODE.2010.035185

International Journal of Organisational Design and Engineering, 2010 Vol.1 No.1/2, pp.29 - 54

Published online: 14 Sep 2010 *

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