Abstract
Organised by the “Association pour l’histoire du management et des organisations” (Association for the History of Management and Organisations), the Research Centre IRHIS-CNRS 8529 (University of Lille 3) and the Research Centre Lille 2 LSMRC – EA 4112 (University of Lille 2 – Skema Business School)
The theme for the twentieth-anniversary conference is
Hospital organisations: Mission, structure and rationalisation throughout history
Hospital organisations have evolved considerably since the first general hospitals in France were founded by Louis XIV in 1656. Shaped by history but also by geography (military hospitals, thermal baths and cures, balneotherapy, urban orphanages…), these organisations have experienced a variety of financing mechanisms, depending on the vagaries of political regimes and administrative reforms. The health-care mission developed progressively through time, depending on the evolution of medicine on the one hand, and on the societal values promoted by political powers on the other. Its standing within such organisations produced differentiated styles of management that need to be identified and designated as such. The primary focus of analysis will be the emergence of professional spheres of management in the health and medico-social sector.
Health-care management practices: Heritage and evolution
Private health-care management practices are linked to the evolution of the health-care market (the pharmaceutical industry, health products, the development of private-sector medical services, and the rapid growth of personalised health services…), and seek profitability and profit.
Public health-care management practices are mainly related to the funding of public expenditures. Parish councils, religious foundations, the selling of annuities, the first welfare budget, the creation of social security, State-region agreements, and large public loans (amongst others) are all financing tools. However, the implementation of accounting controls, the legislation governing public finance, the set of collective tools (quality indicators, national cost base, etc.), all equally constitute the managerial turning points that reveal the importance now given to health care within public funding. The management practices have been, up to this point, embedded within a national effort of solidarity built over several decades and which currently is being redefined. The impact of European integration, the reorganisation of roles at the level of state-region-commune (Haute Autorité de Santé, regional hospitalisation agencies, etc.), the development of the voluntary sector, and new patient-practitioner relationships reveal new methods of management (risk management, hospital marketing…) that may or may not be at odds with our historical legacy. Moreover, the regulation of the relation between health care and money requires specific management control tools.
Medical ethics and managerial thinking
The ethical spaces created within hospital centres recall the philosophical constraints on the sector. The role played by churches in welfare has always been relayed throughout history by various schools of thought (humanism, philanthropy, charity, paternalism, socialism, etc.). While defining the basic tasks of the sector, and regularly incorporating new legal obligations (such as the right to abortion, the treatment of pain, end-of-life dignity, and the inclusion of the disabled…), has medical ethics been in dialogue with managerial doctrines or has this question only arisen more recently?
Health at work
Since the first elements of social protection established by paternalistic employers during the mid-nineteenth century, the management of occupational health has also greatly evolved in light of increased risks and the impacts of the introduction of new organisational forms. The neglect of certain management aspects in this area could jeopardise the image of the company, which now must find management tools which incorporate employee welfare. Is this humane approach defining a new era of entrepreneurial management?
A point of clarification
As during previous conferences, submitted papers that do not fit in this thematic area but that examine management and organisation issues in historical perspective are also welcome. The novelty and originality of the contributions will be given preference in this instance.
Doctoral/methodology workshop
The conference will begin with a doctoral workshop on 18 March, including thesis-tutoring sessions in the morning, and, in the afternoon, a methodology workshop on “Writing history: Sources and methods” (Sophie Chauveau, University of Belfort; Nicolas Guilhot, IFROSS, University of Lyon 3).
IFROSS is the Institut de formation et de recherche sur les Organisations sanitaires et sociales (hosted by the University Jean Moulin Lyon 3). This training centre is one of the most active in France on the management of health-care organisations. The meeting in Lille will provide for an exchange of expertise between the universities involved in these meetings.
This workshop will involve PhD students in history and management but it may also be of interest to students in sociology, law and economics. Doctoral students wishing to present their research during this workshop should present a document of a maximum of 10 pages specifying the research field (theme, research questions), the theoretical framework or the theoretical articulation of the thesis, methodological approach, initial results (if applicable) and their main bibliographic references.
Doctoral students at early stages of their theses are also encouraged to take part.
Key dates
Deadline for submission of papers:
Proposals must be submitted in French or English with an abstract in English and French at the following address:
Decision of the Scientific Committee:
Final text:
Papers may be presented in French or English, simultaneous translation from French to English will be provided for the plenary sessions.
Contact: