BA 20500 Instructor’s Guide: Chapter 3 Questions for Discussion

Gestalt Students should come away with three concepts embedded: 1. Managers support the organization by ongoing study/measurement/benchmarking of all stakeholder needs. 2. Managers see that OFIs get addressed. 3. OFIs are almost always addressed by PITs and careful analysis, like LEAN. These concepts distinguish excellence; mediocre HCOs don’t measure, allow politics and disagreements to stall change, and use incomplete or authoritarian approaches to problem solving. The concepts can easily be expanded into the functions, Exhibit 4.1 Critical Issues in Operational Leadership 1. Maintaining contact with all stakeholder groups. Conduct surveys, listen, and hold formal meetings to ensure a balanced, timely flow of information from external to internal stakeholders. 2. Sizing the organization and its components. Use the epidemiologic planning model to size clinical and other units to meet clinical needs. 3. Measuring performance. Maintain a system of complete, timely performance measures, goals, and benchmarks. Identify OFIs, support PITs, negotiate and achieve improvement goals. 4. Supporting a learning organization. Maintain information, consultation, and training services to meet all performance improvement needs. 5. Resolving issues in a timely manner, and adhering to an annual calendar. Use the board’s authority to limit negotiations and prevent unnecessary delay. Questions for Discussion 1. What do first-line leaders need to understand about how the HCO implements the functions of operational leadership? If you were helping a newly appointed first-line leader (for example, a head nurse or a food service supervisor), what would you say to her about each of the functions: a. Boundary spanning: how this HCO relates to its community b. Forecasting: how the HCO prepares for patients in each service line c. Knowle