case study analysis example

1. Case Study Analysis Essay
Define the problems that appear in this case study:
In this particular case, there is one major problem and all other problems seemed to have stemmed
off of this one. The staff at Faith Community Hospital seems to have gone off course and have
misguided actions with severe consequences. A statement made by the media stated “medical errors
cause tens of thousands of deaths each year, close to 100,000 in hospitals alone.”
This is true at Faith Community because of the actions listed below:
-Staff members refusing to provide certain services.
-Patients refusing to take certain medical services.
-DNR’s initiated without written orders and not initiated with written orders.
-Pharmacists filling uninsured prescriptions by accepting payment in installments.
-Treating patients pro-bono unauthorized.
-Refusing to serve patients unless they confirm insurance coverage first.
-Ordering fruitless exams for the terminally ill.
All of this is happening due to the mission statement. Since the Faith Community Hospital is so
diverse, there is a “kaleidoscope of thinking and decision making.” The mission statement is being
interpreted in many different ways by many different people. The problems listed above are just the
underlying problems which have occurred due to this multitude of interpretations.
Propose the appropriate solution:
Although the mission statement is a wonderful one, it is not clear on how the staff should go about
implementing it. If the CEO’s would change this statement somehow to tailor to each individual
position, more people would follow it and these problems would most likely be solved. The staff would
see it on a more personal level and would be less inclined to fill in the ambiguity and make hasty
generalizations. This would also clear up the underlying problems with communications, ethical issues,
and the organizational processes.
Describe your rationale for the proposed solution(s):
First of all, the CEO’s must work together and not leave it up to one sole person. They must come up
with ways to solve the main problem. After this problem is solved, they must go back and determine
whether or not all the underlying problems were solved by implementing this one decision. By
changing the mission statement to a more clear and concise one, the staff’s actions will change. The
problem of communications will be solved because that is mainly what the problem is to begin with.
The CEO stated that he felt that everyone was in the same boat, but they were rowing different
directions or not rowing at all. By making this mission statement clear to all, those communications
(the rowing) would all be in the same direction.
The ethical problems are a little more difficult to solve immediately. It would be best if management
could give each potential employee a test (before a hire date is set) to see if what the employee
deems ethical is what the hospital deems ethical. This would at least make sure that every staff
member from this point on would be on the same page as the hospital and not be inclined to make
any decisions that wouldn’t be agreeable with the hospital.

2. By changing the mission statement, the hospital’s current staff would from then on know and
understand what the hospital considers ethical. If the employee does not agree with the hospital, they
can be transferred and/or abide by the hospitals criteria for what makes an action ethical until they
can find a different place to work; one which does coincide with their ethical values.
The hospital’s organizational structure would also change with the implementation of the new mission
statement. The staff is going to have to work more together and as a team to be able to stay in the
same boat and row the same direction. There will have to be many leaders and little or no followers.
Each section of the hospital and each group of positions (doctors, nurses, clerks, etc.) should be on
one team. The teams can then work together to make a strong group of people working for one
hospital. They work hard for the same purpose in the same boat, rowing in the same direction. For
example, a basketball team (doctors) plays with other basketball teams (nurses or clerks, etc.) for the
spectators (patients). Together, the basketball teams (all staff) make up the entire NBA (Faith
Community Hospital).
Before any of this can be accomplished, each team must have a set of criteria and steps to go by to
achieve the goal the hospital has in mind. Without this set of steps to take, the team members will all
interpret the end goal differently and take different steps to get there. If they all have the same steps
in mind and all follow these steps, the end result will turn out to be exactly what they had in mind.