This chapter introduces the world of change management. Firstly, it sets out the case for change – why change management matters – then looks at the theories concerning individual and organisational change. Finally, the role of the professional change manager is discussed.

In contemporary healthcare services, managers are required to create and support environments that are complex in nature and are subject to competing forces that place significant demands on both the system and individuals contributing to productivity. Often, people assume that being held to account is something negative that usually happens only when things go wrong. However, accountability can be viewed as something that can be utilised to ensure success. Holding to account can be difficult if the perceptions and expectations of management and staff differ. We cannot assume that people share the same understanding of what they are accountable for, or the standards expected of them, unless they are made explicit and clear.

The construct of emotional intelligence (EI), also interchangeably referred to as EQ, has engendered considerable scholarly attention within the field of psychology over the past three decades. Despite its significant appeal in business, education and popular literature, EI remains a theme of scientific controversy and investigation. This scrutiny arises from discernible disparities between popular and scholarly interpretations of EI, which are further complicated by the methodological challenge of devising reliable measurement instruments.

Networks, which are defined as groups or systems of interconnected people or things, can be formal and informal in nature and can be applied for different purposes. The capability to network can build influence in groups and organisations to support change or generate new ideas. The process of networking can be seen as a supportive system of sharing information and services among individuals, groups and organisations with a common interest. Networking can be applied at a personal level for career and leadership development, at an intraorganisational level for organisational development and at an interorganisational level for research, knowledge management, process improvement and relationship development.

The past three decades have seen the rise of clinical governance, firstly as a concept and ultimately as a system. Increasing knowledge of the scope of iatrogenic harm to consumers, coupled with public inquiries into poor care around the world, is driving the development of governance of clinical care into an established component of corporate governance. Many gains are being realised in Australia, including a reduction in infections and preventable, in-hospital cardiac arrests, improved experience and outcomes for patients, better governance of clinical care and more meaningful involvement of patients and consumers in health care.

In a text on leadership and management in health services, human resource management requires a strategic approach. Health is dominated by a large, diverse and highly professionalised workforce. Human resource management is complex and focuses on the performance effects of human resource systems rather than individual human resource practices. The focus is on systems since employees are exposed to an interrelated set of human resource practices which, in turn, are dependent on other multiple sets of systems within the wider health service.

Building on the concepts of evidence-based medicine, evidence-based management (EBMgmt) suggests that leaders and managers find, evaluate and use the best available scientific evidence to inform their practice. This chapter discusses when and how to look for evidence and outlines how to apply it.

Project management (PM) is a systematic management tool with techniques to bring people and resources together for a single purpose. Since its emergence in the architectural, engineering and building sectors in the early 1900s, PM has been systematically applied to other fields and industries as a common tool in managing work and achieving needed change. The rapidly changing operating environment and the frequent, system-wide and large-scale transformation in the health and community care sector has inevitably changed the PM landscape. In the past 10 years, PM has experienced significant growth in complexity and scope in health and community care. The significant increase in the number of projects undertaken and the investment in developing PM competencies and tools have contributed to the growing project maturity in healthcare organisations. PM has been broadly used to implement change, trial new service models, develop new programs and technologies, and improve organisational structure and care processes.

The healthcare sector is continually confronted with the issue of how to manage with less. In response, health leaders and managers must explore and use new ways to face such challenges. These issues ultimately affect the quality and safety, and the productivity and efficiency, of the health services delivered. Within each organisation, the effectiveness of the leadership and culture directly affect the quality of patient care delivered. To effectively address such challenges, leaders have begun to adopt new strategies and roles that focus on visioning and creativity.

Everyone creates influence during their lives. This may be consciously or unconsciously, through communication, actions or behaviours. A person can be influential through who they are or what they do, such as through their creativity, dependency, vulnerability, position and example. In complex health organisations, we need effective leadership that articulates vision, inspires, provides guidance and influences, and strong management to plan, organise, direct and control. Leaders and managers have different roles, functions and skill sets. These actions may be visionary, inspirational, task-focused, long or short term, through empowerment and supervision. These roles and responsibilities may be different but need to achieve impact in influencing.

Effective leadership and management can have a ‘strong positive influence on workplace empowerment, increase nurses’ job satisfaction and decrease the frequency of adverse patient outcomes’. Healthcare professionals must understand the main theories of leadership and management and how these approaches translate into improving work practices, so that they might develop their own work capacity. This chapter presents leadership and management theories used by healthcare professionals to inform their practice.

Politics is an inevitable feature of organisational life, particularly in large bureaucratic organisations such as hospitals or government departments. Political activities arise when there is a lack of consensus about how an organisation should be managed. They are typically employed to reconcile these divergent interests, which may be the result of competition for resources within the organisation, the pursuit of personal goals by individuals or a high level of uncertainty within the organisation.

In order to be effective mathematics educators, teachers need more than content knowledge: they need to be able to make mathematics comprehensible and accessible to their students. Teaching Key Concepts in the Australian Mathematics Curriculum Years 7 to 10 ensures that pre-service and practising teachers in Australia have the tools and resources required to teach lower secondary mathematics.

By simplifying the underlying concepts of mathematics, this book equips teachers to design and deliver mathematics lessons at the lower secondary level. The text provides a variety of practical activities and teaching ideas that translate the latest version of the Australian Curriculum into classroom practice. It covers the challenges of middle year mathematics, including the current decline in student numeracy, as well as complex theories which teachers can struggle to explain clearly. Topics include number, algebra, measurement, space, statistics and probability. Whether educators have recently studied more complicated mathematics or are teaching out of field, they are supported to recall ideas and concepts that they may have forgotten – or that may not have been made explicit in their own education.

Authored by experienced classroom educators and academics, this book is a vital resource for pre-service and practising Years 7 to 10 mathematics teachers, regardless of their backgrounds and experiences.