Case Analysis

of
1he Sullivan Hospital System


Subject: Change Management & Organization
Development

Submitted by,
Shreya Parikh: 223
Sneha Aair: 225

Submitted to,
Prof. Pooja Sharma






LDRP Institute of 1echnology & Research
Kh-5 circle, Sector-15
Candhinagar
Case Analysis
of
1he Sullivan Hospital System

Case Fact:
SHS has expressed concern over market share losses to other local hospitals over the
past 6 to 9 months and declines in patient satisIaction measure. The need to revise the SHS
organization was clear. it was also clear that such a change would require the enthusiastic
participation oI all organizational members.
The team readily agreed that they lacked the adequate skills and knowledge associated
with implementing a TQM process. The hospital system was committed to making
substantive changes. Questions about the hospital's mission garnered the most consensus and
passion. A mission and values statement was clearly posted throughout the hospital and many
oI the items in that statement were repeated almost verbatim in the interviews while
diagnosis. A question about the hospital's overall direction or how the goals were being
achieved yielded a clear split in people's perception.
Opinions about the policies governing the hospital's operation supported a general
belieI that the organization was too centralized.

Case Summarization:

Assemble the diagnostic data into a framework and prepare feedback to the senior
administrator of the hospitals. What`s your sense of the organization`s current
structure and employee involvement issues?
ue to the declines in patient satisIaction measure, the need to revise the SHS organization
was clear and that would require the enthusiastic participation oI all organizational members.
It was principle to begin a work redesign process in a Iew oI the nursing units at each
hospital. The workshop was highly praised and the team was convinced to hold oII long
enough to conduct a diagnostic oI the system. iagnostic oI the SHS organization employed
a variety oI data collection activities including interviews with senior managers Irom
managers Irom hospitals as well as a sampling oI middle managers and staII.
Questions about the hospital`s mission generated the most consensus and passion. There was
almost unanimous commitment to the breadth oI services provided and the values that played
a prominent role in the delivery oI those services. A mission and values statement was clearly
posted throughout the hospital and many oI the items in that statement were repeated almost
verbatim in the interviews.
Senior administrators were Iairly clear about the goal, but it was necessary to communicate it
with the employees oI the hospital so that they can have a clear direction oI the strategic plan.
It was general belieI that the organization was too centralized. People Ielt little empowerment
to make decisions. There were a number oI policies that were seen as dictated Irom the
corporate oIIice. Several policies limited a manager`s ability to spend money, especially iI it
wasn`t allocated in budgets.
What changed would you recommend? Is a total quality management intervention
appropriate here? What alternative would you propose?
Total Quality Management would be an appropriate intervention Ior two reasons. The team
believed that improving patient care would give physicians a good reason to use the hospital
thus improving market shares. The another reason was that primary regulatory body, the Joint
Commission on Accreditation oI Healthcare Organization has enacted policies some time ago
encouraging hospitals to adopt continuous improvement principles.
As an alternative, the adequate skills and knowledge associated with implementing a TQM
process should be improved. The issues oI TQM that would need to be addressed in TQM
were to be implemented. ecision making oI the team should be improved so that can have
an idea how teams solved problems using TQM processes, and to explore their understanding
oI the hospital`s current mission, goals and strategies.
Critique SHS`s visioning process.
A steering committee composed oI physicians, managers, nurses, and other leaders Irom both
hospitals was convened and creating a vision Ior the system and the change eIIort became
one oI their Iirst tasks.
The steering committee spent hours poring over vision statements Irom other organizations,
discussing words and phrases that described what they thought would be an exciting outcome
Irom interacting with the hospital, and trying to satisIy their own needs Ior something unique
and creative. They also spent hours months sharing and discussing it with a variety oI
stakeholders.
What implications does the visioning process have for the intervention you want to
implement? How can you take advantage of the process in your action plan?
A new and more powerIul vision statement should be emerged. The centrepiece oI the vision
was the belieI that the organization should work in such a way that the patient Ielt like they
were the center oI attention` . There was an exciting perception oI poor service that needed
to be turned around.
As it was presented to people in small meetings and workshops, each word and phase took
and phrase took on special meaning to organizational members and generated commitment to
change.