Case Study 12-1 and 12-4 - Amy Toman e-portfolio



Case Study 12-1 and 12-4Amy TomanSiena Heights UniversityHealth Care Systems ManagementLDR609Dr. John Fick, FACHEOctober 12, 2013Case Study 12-1 and 12-4Case Study 12-1: Leadership on the West WingDescribe the leadership at Wildwood Community Hospital in general and in the west wing in particular.The leadership on the west wing is comprised of a nurse manager, Harriet Mur and the vice president, Anne Harrison. In general it seems that the leadership in the west wing has been stable and the issues that have surfaced in the past have been handled effectively by the nurse manager without much disruption of unit activity. Longest and Darr (2008, p. 534) define leading as “influencing others to understand and agree about what needs to be done in order to achieve the mission and objectives established for the HSO/HS and facilitating the individual and collective contributions of others to achieve these desired results”. It appears that the west wing has been performing to the standards and expectations of the senior leadership until the increase in census has started causing increased stress on the unit. It appears that the unit has not been challenged like this in the past under the leadership of Mur and at this time there is opportunity to assist the staff in rising to the challenge of the increase census while maintaining staff morale on the unit.Is this a leadership problem? Motivation problem? Both? What would you recommend to Harrison? To Mur?This situation is both a leadership and motivation problem. As the unit manager, Mur has a responsibility to assist her staff in adjusting to the increased census and workload in the west wing. As a successful leader she should possess some of the following skills and traits that should help her to lead effectively: adaptable to situations, assertive, cooperative, tolerant of stress, persistent, persuasive, diplomatic and tactful, and clever (Longest & Darr, 2008). It is also a motivation problem because the staff are not used to working at the current pace or handling the patients that were usually handled by the other hospital. Longest & Darr (2008) state that leaders should be able to motivate their associates to perform at desired levels even when the quantity of the work is high. Due to the closure of the other local hospital, the increase census is not going to change. It is important for Mur to use her leadership abilities to help motivate her staff and maintain the desired results. Harrison needs to have a meeting with Mur to discuss her concerns about the first meeting. During that meeting, Mur stated that she felt like she was unable to motivate the staff because in her opinion, as professional nurses, staff come to work either motivated or not. As this is not the case, Harrison needs to investigate further some of the thoughts and preconceived ideas that Mur has about the staff. As this is the first time that there has been a managerial problem with Mur, Harrison should help to guide and mentor her on the motivational model of expectancy. This model demonstrates how a leader can motivate staff through helping them to see how improving their performance can actually lead to positive outcomes for them. Mur must walk away from this meeting with an increased understanding of how she can help to influence and motivate the staff into accepting this new normal. She needs to be open to her leaders’ offer to guide her through the process. As a successful leader, she should be able to accept this assistance from Harrison and work toward creating a better work environment for her staff. As she starts to see the results of her work, she in turn will be more motivated to continue achieving the desired results.Do the leadership problems in the west wing require application of any of the process or content theories of motivation? Which and why?The motivation process by Longest & Darr (2008 p. 538) can work in this situation. The process starts with an unmet need and cycles through process of identifying ways to satisfy unmet needs, selection of ways to satisfy unmet needs, assessment of needs-satisfaction level, and new needs identified and unmet existing needs. In this case the unmet need is the decreased staff morale due to increased volume. Mur should be working with the staff to identify ways in which the morale of the unit could be improved. They should select one or two of the suggestions and then put it into place. If the leader does not help to take this into a positive direction the staff could choose non-productive and negative ways to satisfy this unmet need of increased morale. Instead, the staff should be motivated in a positive direction to fulfill the vision and mission of the organization. As stated earlier, the use of the expectancy model of motivation can help the staff to accept the increased work load and be productive. In accepting this increase work load, performing well, and receiving rewards for performing well, the morale on the unit should start to improve and the staff will be able to effectively handle the increased workload.Case Study 12-4: The Young Associate’s DilemmaIdentify and describe the motivation variables presented in this case.O’Hara is a younger leader who is excelling in her position in a large consulting firm. She has been successful in achieving important assignments and clients within the company. She is also well compensated at this time. However, she has an unmet need of becoming a CEO of a large hospital. An offer was placed by a large hospital to work as the assistant to the VP of finance. The motivation variables for this position are: the possibility of fulfilling the unmet need of becoming a CEO of a hospital, better fringe benefits, and less traveling. When she spoke with the managing partner in her current position he offered these motivation variables: Increased salary immediately, and a probable partnership in a couple of years, and knowing she is a valued member of the team. Would these two positions permit O’Hara to fulfill different needs? If so, what are they?These two positions would permit O’Hara to fulfill different needs. If she chose to accept the position at the large hospital, she would hopefully fulfill the need of becoming a CEO of a hospital. However, this is not a guarantee and may take her many years and different positions to meet this need. If she stays with her current company she can fulfill the need of being valued, well compensated, and a partnership within a couple of years. According to Maslow’s needs hierarchy with both positions, she would fulfill the need of self-actualization (Longest & Darr, 2008). She would just get there faster if she stayed in her current position. What would you do if you were O’Hara? Why?If I were O’Hara, I would choose to stay in my current position. Although the unmet need of becoming a CEO of a hospital would not be fulfilled at this time it was never a guarantee. As the assistant to a VP of finance that was behind the times, it would be at least 5 years before any changes could be successfully made in the hospital. Then after that it could be many more years to obtain the goal of CEO of the hospital. At the consulting firm, O’Hara is a valued member of the team and she is well compensated for her work. She has been identified as a person to be a partner in the company in the near future. She has satisfaction in her work and could maybe negotiate less travel with the partnership. ReferencesLongest, B., & Darr, K. (2008). Managing health services organizations and systems (5th ed.). Baltimore, MD: Health Professions Press, Inc. ................
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