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Change approaches & management tools SeCtion tWo
Strengths and limitations
Focusing on the most frequently occurring problems promotes organisational efficiency, and the social process involved in data collection and analysis may promote organisational cohesion and the ‘acceptability’ of a proposed change. However, the analysis does not indicate the root cause of problems – only their relative frequency – and therefore cannot be used in isolation to identify a specific course of action in response to the identified problem. Further, while they show which problem is the most frequent, they do not indicate the severity of each problem, and thus relatively infrequent problems with catastrophic impact would not be prioritised.
In relation to social care change, Pareto charts can be a helpful means to focus on the issues of most importance and so define how best to channel the available energy and resources. However there is a danger that issues that are not that common may be of great individual importance to the people concerned. As some types of information are more easily analysed in this format, if used in isolation the Pareto chart could lead to other valuable information sources not being considered.
Further reading
1. Tague NR (2004) Seven Basic Quality Tools, the Quality Toolbox, Milwaukee, WI: American Society for Quality.
2. Wilkinson L (2006) Revising the Pareto Chart, The American Statistician, 60, 332–34.
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