Please read the case study below and apply concepts/content from 3 of the following areas of the course to your analysis of the case study. You will want to demonstrate that you have knowledge of specific course concepts from each of the 3 areas you choose: - Perception/Decision Making - Motivation - Leadership - Power/Conflict - Organizational Culture - Change Management Sitting across the table, Colleen Brooks looked excited and yet discouraged at the same time as she said, Im just not sure what Im supposed to do here. Ive been put into this position where I feel I can really make a difference in a lot of ways, but I also feel like the deck has been stacked against me. These people just dont trust us yet and Im not sure given the situation that I blame them. Its partially their fault though! Had Medical One run their business well to begin with, theres a good chance we wouldnt be here. Medical One was a large multispecialty healthcare practice that had been purchased by Healthcare Plus, a much smaller company, due to Medical One being in a situation of severe financial distress. Everything Colleen read or heard suggested that Healthcare Plus was oriented toward cost-cutting and therefore probably lower quality healthcare. Although upper management was trying to sell the acquisition to everyone inside the organization as a merger of two great companies, almost all of top management came from Healthcare Plus. Colleens job was to oversee nursing operations in 4 states. Of the 14 nursing managers she was supposed to supervise, 11 of them were at Medical One facilities. Colleen had decided that the first meeting with her new managers was an important one and she decided to bring them all to Denver, which was both centrally located and where one of Medical Ones largest hospitals operated. She took great care in personally phoning each manager, introducing herself, and letting them know she was looking forward to working with them. In order to make everyone feel more equal, Colleen had arranged for the meeting to take place in a Denver hotel (not the hospital where it might seem someone was looking over their shoulders). Dinner went well, but the next morning, every time Colleen mentioned a potential idea that had reduced costs effectively at Healthcare Plus, it was met with that will never work here type of answer. When the Healthcare Plus managers tried to chime in with evidence that these types of procedures had worked for them in their facility, the Medical One managers seemed to bind together in opposition. It wasnt until then that Colleen noticed that the 3 Healthcare Plus managers were all sitting together at the U-shaped table, a seating arrangement that didnt seem to be helping things. Although it was clear to Colleen that many of the managers were resistant to the ideas she discussed throughout the day, most of them placed the blame on their local nursing directors for their unwillingness to change. This allowed her new reports to be abl.

1. Please read the case study below and apply concepts/content from 3 of the following areas of the
course to your analysis of the case study. You will want to demonstrate that you have knowledge
of specific course concepts from each of the 3 areas you choose:
- Perception/Decision Making
- Motivation
- Leadership
- Power/Conflict
- Organizational Culture
- Change Management
Sitting across the table, Colleen Brooks looked excited and yet discouraged at the same time as
she said, Im just not sure what Im supposed to do here. Ive been put into this position where I feel
I can really make a difference in a lot of ways, but I also feel like the deck has been stacked
against me. These people just dont trust us yet and Im not sure given the situation that I blame
them. Its partially their fault though! Had Medical One run their business well to begin with, theres
a good chance we wouldnt be here.
Medical One was a large multispecialty healthcare practice that had been purchased by
Healthcare Plus, a much smaller company, due to Medical One being in a situation of severe
financial distress. Everything Colleen read or heard suggested that Healthcare Plus was oriented
toward cost-cutting and therefore probably lower quality healthcare. Although upper management
was trying to sell the acquisition to everyone inside the organization as a merger of two great
companies, almost all of top management came from Healthcare Plus.
Colleens job was to oversee nursing operations in 4 states. Of the 14 nursing managers she was
supposed to supervise, 11 of them were at Medical One facilities. Colleen had decided that the
first meeting with her new managers was an important one and she decided to bring them all to
Denver, which was both centrally located and where one of Medical Ones largest hospitals
operated. She took great care in personally phoning each manager, introducing herself, and letting
them know she was looking forward to working with them. In order to make everyone feel more
equal, Colleen had arranged for the meeting to take place in a Denver hotel (not the hospital
where it might seem someone was looking over their shoulders).
Dinner went well, but the next morning, every time Colleen mentioned a potential idea that had
reduced costs effectively at Healthcare Plus, it was met with that will never work here type of
answer. When the Healthcare Plus managers tried to chime in with evidence that these types of
procedures had worked for them in their facility, the Medical One managers seemed to bind
together in opposition. It wasnt until then that Colleen noticed that the 3 Healthcare Plus managers
were all sitting together at the U-shaped table, a seating arrangement that didnt seem to be
helping things.
Although it was clear to Colleen that many of the managers were resistant to the ideas she
discussed throughout the day, most of them placed the blame on their local nursing directors for
their unwillingness to change. This allowed her new reports to be able to nod their heads in
agreement personally, but introduce negative opinions without fear of recrimination. As the
meeting closed, Colleen tried to assure the group that this was just the first step of many on a long
road to making a successful situation for everyone. She tried to set an upbeat tone, but it was

2. clear that many people had been upset by some of the things that were said during the meeting.
There was definitely an us versus them mentality as everyone left the room to catch flights or hop
in their cars.
Colleen had just now begun to grasp the realities of not being in a location with her direct reports.
There were many new things she would have to get used tomanaging managers, managing
remote individuals, managing people who also reported to other managers within the new
reporting structurein essence, her job was to lead with seemingly very little power. Colleen is
turning to you as she tries to figure out what is going on in this situation and what she needs to do
to make improvements.