CASE: IN NEED OF IMPROVEMENT? You are an administrative staff specialist newly e

Question

CASE: IN NEED OF IMPROVEMENT?

You are an administrative staff specialist newly employed by the hospital to act as a management engineer and address a number of issues relating to operating efficiency. Your first assignment is to analyze work methods and staffing in the central sterile supply division of materials management. The department was singled out for study for the following reasons: The manager—a registered nurse who has held the job for more than 25 years—has requested two more processing aides, although her staff is already one person larger than that of another area hospital of equivalent size. There has been a recent, seemingly unexplainable, upturn in the consump- tion of disposables. A number of storage shelves appear to be stocked to overflowing with infre- quently used items. The department issues frequent rush orders to obtain needed items that have completely run out. Observed conditions in the department include an overcrowded storage area, a seemingly inadequate decontamination area, and a grossly oversized processing area referred to by most employees as “the ballroom.” On your initial visit to the department, the first thing the manager says to you is, “So you’re the one who’s going to tell us what we’re doing wrong?” Her tone is none too friendly.

Instructions

Develop a proposed approach to a complete study of the department, including the “sales pitch” you would use to try to win the manager’s cooperation and support, specifying what should be done, why it should be done, and how you propose to address the inevitable resistance of both manager and staff.

As you can see, this department appears to have some problems with efficiency and, as human nature goes, the manager seems a bit defensive.

Please read the instructions and develop the approach requested. Include these headings in your response:

(1) How I will approach the manager to explain the purpose of my study

(2) What steps I will take to review

(3) Three steps I will take to help manage the change

Explanation / Answer

Based on the manager’s response on my first visit, it is obvious that she knows the purpose of my appointment in a vague manner at least, and looks at it as an intrusion and a fault finding expedition.

So, my first step would be to sit with the Manager and assure her that I am on her side, and will ask her to explain the problems that she and her team faces. Many of the issues may have risen due to some situation or problem in the past that the team faced and would have led to the current situation. So in looking at the situation from the managers viewpoint and trying to get solutions or suggestions from the manager and the team members will remove the hostility, give them importance, and they will feel a sense of ownership to the problem and its solution.

(2) What steps I will take to review

Most of the issues seem to be pretty straight forward, but seeking the help of the manager and the team and taking their views and suggestions would be the first step.

The next would be to have them identify the issues and have the team itself suggest how to study the problem

If the suggestions are fairly in line with what I want to do, it will be easy to then prepare the review with slight modifications etc and have the team think they did it.

Once the review is completed, my first step would be to make the manager and the team feel that the problems are affecting them, and so it is in their best interest to find solutions to it.

Next would be to have a brain storming session with the manager and team to find out solutions to each problem. Some solutions may require the teams involvement and changes that they have to make. If such suggestions come from them itself, they will be motivated to enforce it too.

Third step would be to arrange motivational training sessions for the manager and team to help them feel good about themselves and the organization they work in.

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