Case Study on "Pour"

Case Study 6 pages (2145 words) Sources: 0

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Pour

In the case study for "Let it Pour," there are several problems that must be addressed. To simply say that the hospital needs to make some adjustments to its budget and staffing is true, but it does not go far enough. Instead, one must look at what can be done to bring about these changes, and what is realistic or not realistic when it comes to what people can do and what they are willing to do. As was seen in the case, the hospital has religious principles that it works on, but many of those that work for the hospital have different interpretations of those religious attitudes and beliefs, which can conflict with the mission statement. The purpose here, therefore, is to define the problems that are apparent in the case study, propose solutions that are appropriate to those problems, and describe the rationale that is behind those proposed solutions, so that the management of the hospital would be able to decide whether to take those suggestions to heart or reject them.

The first problem appears to be a lack of communication. Even though the mission statement is printed on the back of business cards, it seems as though few people on the hospital staff actually understand what the mission statement really has to say, and so they do things the way that they feel comfortable with, instead of following the mission of the hospital. In other words, they seem to be following their own personal mission and overlooking the larger mission of their employer. In some instances this might be acceptable, but in a hospital where margins are very thin when it comes to money and where people's lives are on the line every day everyone must work together. To do that, they must communicate.

Some of this lack of communication is the fault of the CEO. He admitted in the case that he had not yet ever had a full-staff meeting, and he had been there 10 years. It is not surprising that some people are not following the mission of the hospital and do not understand some of the problems that they might be causing. Likely, no one in management has ever told them. It is not up to the new executive assistant to tell the CEO that he is wrong and should have been communicating with the entire staff long ago, but it is his place to ensure that the meeting that is planned provides the much-needed information that should have been getting to the staff throughout the last 10 years. That does not mean that a history lesson is in order, but only that the staff should be brought up-to-date with what needs to be done and changed, and that meetings of this type should continue in the future, without 10 years between them.

The rationale behind this idea has its origins in the fact that the CEO appears to be upset with the way that the staff are handling patients and the fact that there are so many different ideas and beliefs circulating through the hospital that the mission statement seems to be getting lost in the shuffle. One has to wonder if the CEO has ever told the staff what the problems are and discussed it with them. The case gives the impression that this has not happened. Instead, one is led to believe that the CEO has been sitting back worrying about the problems and the budget without really going forward and doing something about it. In short, he has not really exercised his right to be in command of what these individuals are doing. Now that he has a new executive assistant, he is giving the work to that individual, which means that he is still ducking the issue to some degree.

The meeting, however, is a good sign of progress, provided the CEO actually communicates what the problems really are and how they are going to be changed, instead of skirting the issue for fear of offending the attitudes and beliefs of some of the staff of the hospital. The hospital is faith-based, and that is very important to many of those that work on the staff and to many of the patients and their families alike, but because of different religious beliefs and interpretations, many at the hospital simply do their own thing. There are no specific policies that are communicated to others, and if there are specific policies, it does not appear that they are followed.

This lack of policies that are clear-cut and enforced is another one of the problems that the hospital is facing. Without enforcing these policies, little can be done when something goes wrong. This inability on the part of the CEO to set policies and demand that they be followed regardless of anything else is probably the largest internal problem that the hospital is facing, since it prevents the CEO from having control over the staff. The CEO is leaving himself open to problems such as lawsuits by doing things in this way, and even though he appears to be aware of this, he has done nothing in his 10 years there to change that. However, it clearly must be changed.

There are several ways that this can be done, but regardless of how it is done it will likely offend some people. There may be some turnover in the staff because of the policies that are set out, and that is to be expected, but if he wants to bring the hospital under his control and keep it there the policies must be created and adhered to. One of the best ways to do this is to create a handbook. If the hospital does not have one, one should be created. If the hospital does have one, it should be undated. All staff members should have to read it and sign an affidavit to that effect, and it should be made clear, above their signature, that these policies are binding, regardless of whatever else is going on at that time or what others on the staff suggest should be done. Those that break these policies are subject to reprimand and penalties. Those that break them a second time are subject to immediate termination.

This will cause a problem to some degree because one set of religious beliefs must be chosen for the hospital. This can be hard when there are many differences of opinion in the area of DNR orders and other issues that deal with life and death. However, for the hospital to run efficiently, there must be agreement and understanding about what is to be done. If there is a DNR order, it must be followed. If there is not one on file, all efforts to save that patient must be made. Likewise, all patients must be treated and as effort must be made to give them quality care and improve their lives, regardless of how much their insurance pays or whether they have any insurance at all. Turning patients away in emergency situations because they have no insurance will get the hospital sued, which will ultimately hurt all of those that work there and cause more problems in the future.

With communication and a lack of consistency of action being the two largest problems that are faced by the hospital, both must be addressed at the meeting, and more meetings should be held more often so that those that may forget some of what was dealt with can be reminded often. The mission statement of the hospital should be internalized by everyone that works there, and they should all work to live by it. The CEO can make this clear during the meeting by explaining that, while he understands that everyone has differences of opinion when it comes to religion, treatment of patients, and other matters, the hospital is ultimately a business, and those that work for it must adhere to the policies and procedures set out by that business if they wish to retain their employment.

There are many polite ways to phrase this, as opposed to the 'do it my way or you are fired' approach that some employers take. This tactic would be a poor choice for a faith-based, community-helping organization. However, there are other ways to say it that still makes it clear without making these hard-working and professional people feel as though they are being talked down to or scolded in some way. How the message is conveyed is often as important or almost as important as the message itself when it comes to how people react to it and whether they will follow the person that has given the message.

Another concern from the case study is that the CEO does not really want to, or does not know how to, take the responsibility for the problem at hand. By giving the work to his executive assistant, the CEO has indicated that someone else should still be doing most… READ MORE

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