Cause And Effect

Running head: THE LOST LEADER

The Lost Leader

The Lost Leader

A Case Study: Faith Community Hospital

Introduction

The CEO of Faith Community Hospital is in trouble; the hospital's performance is on the decline and its reputation is at stake. Various problems plague every division in the hospital, and the overall picture appears bleak. In order to turn this situation around, the CEO has ordered a case study to identify, evaluate, analyze, and propose solutions to the problems that have contributed to the hospital's downfall.

After careful evaluation of the overall situation, the results of the study determined that three core problems were responsible for the company's current state of crisis. Before exploring the results of the survey, it is important to define the means by which this survey came to its decisions. Evaluation of all areas was via a "cause and effect" decision-making model. This type of model enables one to view several alternatives to a problem rather than concentrating in one specific area. These three problems are the impetus behind every problem throughout the organization. In other words, many of the "lesser" problems (defined below) experienced by the hospital are a byproduct of the three major problems.

The Core Problems

The first problem that faces this organization is that of its mission statement. Faith Community General's mission statement is so broad and vague that it is not understood by the people who are most affected by it. Instead of uniting the hospital, staff, patients and the Board of Directors, this mission statement divides these entities, and creates a sense of oneness rather than wholeness.

Secondly, both the CEO and the Board of Directors are a major source of the hospital's problem. The Board's inability to unite coupled with the CEO's lack of confidence creates a package that is incapable of leading. A strong CEO, along with a united Board of Directors, is required to successfully drive an organization into the future. The Board of Directors must work together in order to convey a strong foundation to the public as well as the hospital staff. They must unite and project an air of confidence and encourage others to follow their lead. In other words, they are the leaders who set the hospital's standards, and therefore their unification is vital to the organizations' success.

The third, and perhaps most important problem facing the hospital is the complete and total lack of communication. The communication breakdown begins with the CEO and the Board of Directors, and continues throughout every department within the hospital, allowing for variances in almost every avenue within the hospital. Lack of communication in and of itself is a core problem, and at the same time, it contributes to every problem within the hospital.

Effects of Core Problems

To begin with, a mission statement is a basis from which all employees should operate. It represents the values and beliefs of an organization, and is the premise from which all employees operate; it unites to company in order to achieve and maintain the organization's goals. The mission statement at Faith Community is so broad and vague, that it is open to interpretation. This in turn had lead to a number of situations where employees "do their own thing" without regard to the hospital's beliefs and values.

For example, a pharmacist filling uninsured prescriptions and receiving installment payments is not part of the hospital's standard operating procedure, yet in several instances this has occurred. This policy of accepting installment payments could backfire in many ways. First, the hospital may not receive total payment, thereby putting an additional financial strain on an already strapped organization. Furthermore, agencies such as Medi-Cal, Medi-Care and the like will not look favorably on this practice, which in turn would lead to additional problems for the hospital. This policy may have legal ramifications in that it could lead to loss of the pharmacy's license to do business.

Along those same lines, the hospital has counselors rendering professional services free of charge, and this has gone so far that it has effected patient care. This could easily set a precedent in that if the hospital cannot pick and choose who is to pay for its services Ð'- rather its an all or nothing situation. In other words, everybody pays, or everybody goes free. Several doctors in this hospital have taken it upon themselves to determine a patient's right to live or die. These doctors go against company policy and often against the wishes of the family in order to make a decision based on personal belief. Furthermore, the hospital has Child Protective Services breathing down its back due to possible care (or lack thereof) that may have been outside company standards. Because of the ambiguity of the mission statement, these situations, (and probably many more) occur, as there is no set ground by which to operate. In each of these situations, each person is acting in accordance with his or her own personal set of ethics, rather than those of the hospital. Needless to say, these independent actions could prove quite costly to the hospital in the form of personal lawsuits.

Both the CEO and the Board of Directors are equally responsible for allowing a mission statement (such as it is) to represent the core values, standards and beliefs of the hospital. The fact that these two entities do not work well together lends fuel to the fire in that it builds on the lack of unity between hospital and staff. In addition, within the concept of the Board of Directors the subject of ethics, values, laws, and beliefs has come to the forefront. Because the Board does not have a clear understanding of the mission statement, the CEO and the public also have different points of view as to what these terms truly mean, as there are no standards to follow. In addition, the subject of ethic is important for any organization, and this hospital's mission statement is missing a clearly defined set of ethical standards.

The third core problem facing the hospital is its complete and total lack of communication. This lack of communication effects every aspect of the company's operations. This begins with the CEO and continues throughout the company. This lack of communication is cause for great concern, for without it, company unity is not possible. Without unity, there are no guidelines to follow, which leads to a lack of accountability,