Case Study – Diagnosis, Intervention and Evaluation

Case Study: Diagnosis, Intervention and EvaluationPurpose: To examine and understand OD diagnosis and intervention, includingdata collection methodskey organizational and individual change problems, challenges, opportunitiesinterpersonal, structural, technological, and behavioral approaches and strategies.Course Outcomes:Identify and diagnose organizational problems and opportunities in order to improve performance.Research and identify appropriate interventions, strategies for implementation, and methods for evaluation to resolve organizational problems and take advantage of opportunitiesIntroduction to Case Study AssignmentsThe case method is not only the most relevant and practical way to learn managerial skills, it’s exciting and fun….Cases will help you sharpen your analytical skills, since you must produce quantitative and qualitative evidence to support your recommendations….You will learn from rigorous discussion and controversy….The rewards for these responsibilities are a series of highly exciting, practically oriented educational experiences that bring out a wide range of topics and viewpoints.John S. Hammond, Learning by the Case Method, Harvard Business School.Case studies present an invaluable tool to learn about and hone knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for successful organization development. Specifically, this assignment will focus on two key OD steps—first, diagnostics, and second,intervention and evaluation—requiring a theoretical and practical understanding of organization change as required in the text and outside resources.Read and follow all the Instructions carefully. Keep in mind the paper must clearly demonstrate your ability to apply what you have learned about OD diagnostics, intervention and evaluation in this course to the date. Demonstrate critical thinking. Use American Psychological Association (APA) format for in-text citations and the bibliography.Deliverable:Four to five-page paper, plus title page and bibliographyInstructions1) Review the assignment purpose and the Research and Writing Grading Rubric.2) Read carefully the Case Study “Leading Change at Saint Theresa Hospital.”3) Review the meaning and purpose of OD intervention and the evaluation process to underscore your understanding.4) Identify three key issues/problems and challenges—including causes—facing Saint Theresa Hospital. Analyze and assess the case following the steps outlined in the diagnostic process below.Three-step Diagnostic Process:Identify at least two data collection tools/methods you would use to best gather information necessary to analyze the case. These can be interviews, surveys, focus groups, quantitative data, direct observation, and so forth. What are the advantages and potential disadvantages of each chosen type of information-gathering method used in this particular case?Based on the diagnostic tools/methods you selected, what key OD findings— problems, challenges, and opportunities- were identified? You must define at least three key findings.Next, group challenges, opportunities, and problems according to the most appropriate diagnostic model (e.g., research OD systems approach, Four Frames Model, Six-Box Diagnostic Model, differentiation-and-integration, sociotechnical-systems, and force-field analysis). Outside research on diagnostic models will be particularly important to supplement and fill in the gaps.5) Identify specific, appropriate interventions and evaluation approaches for each category of the issues/problems you have identified in the Case Study “Leading Change at Saint Theresa Hospital”. You are expected to go beyond what is presented in the required readings by researching outside sources for information about the intervention strategies and evaluation processes you select. Be specific about thea. target and content of the intervention (i.e., problem to be addressed);b. challenges you will face implementing the intervention;c. method of evaluation in each intervention, including the performance criteria you will use to do the evaluation (i.e., what you would specifically measure); for example, turnover rates, job knowledge tests, absenteeism, production standards, or customer complaints.6) Identify andintegrate at least six OD concepts, methods, strategies, or practices in your analysis….e bold font to highlight the concepts, methods, strategies, or practices.Demonstrate through context and/or endnotes your understanding of the terms definitions.7) Seek and draw from data, information, and ideas from at least four required course readings and at least four credible, authoritative, relevant outside for a total of at least eight references. Your references should show a mix of scholarly and applied/practical sources, largely drawn from UMUC’s Information Library System (ILS), and including classic writings. Cite the required readings and outside research sources within the paper’s body using APA in-text formatting. Include a bibliography with complete source information at the end of the paper. You are expected to paraphrase, using quotes only when the source’s verbatim statements uniquely enhance meaning and understanding. Deductions will be taken when quotes are overused and found to be unnecessary.In-text citation (note inclusion of page number):See examples below and in Content/Course Resources/Using APA: (Casey, 2002, p.50).Reference citation:Casey, C. (2002). Critical analysis of organizations: Theory, practice, revitalization. London: Sage.8) Determine what significant learning and understanding you gained from your research and analysis. To do this, identify and evaluate at least three lessons learned from your organization change analysis. Describe why these lessons learned are valuable, and explain how you envision applying them to your job or career.9) Use the headings and subheadings below. Under each heading or subheading present the appropriate facts and ideas to describe, make assertions, and explain and support those assertions. This means using expository writing style with full sentences and paragraphs to create the paper’s content. Use examples and cite support sources as outlined above. Review instructions above to ensure all requirements for each section are met.A. Title page [your name, the course name, assignment, the name of the case study, the date, and instructor’s name]B. Brief description of OD Diagnosis and Intervention and evaluationC. Data Collection MethodsMethod 1AdvantagesPotential disadvantagesMethod 2AdvantagesPotential disadvantagesMethod 3 (optional but encouraged for outstanding papers)AdvantagesPotential disadvantagesD. Key OD findings (problems, challenges, opportunities, and issues)Finding 1Finding 2Finding 3Finding 4 (optional but encouraged for outstanding papers)E. OD Diagnostic ModelsModel 1: (name, brief description)- finding/s for which strategy is appropriate and whyModel 2: (name, brief description)- finding/s for which strategy is appropriate and whyModel 3: [name, brief description]- finding/s for which strategy is appropriate and whyF. Appropriate InterventionsIntervention 1- Problem/issue to be addressed- Expected implementation challenges- Intervention evaluation methodIntervention 2- Problem/issue to be addressed- Expected implementation challenges- Intervention evaluation methodIntervention 3 – Problem/issue to be addressed- Expected implementation challenges- Intervention evaluation methodG. Significant learningH. Bibliography10) Use Microsoft Word for your text documents. Use the following title: _ [your last name] _Case Study Analysis_465. Try to be concise and keep your paper at four to five pages in length (plus cover page and bibliography), but rest assured that substance is more important than length.Case Study: Leading Change at Saint Theresa HospitalCarmen’s alarm jarred her awake at 6 a.m. She remembers a time when she woke up each morning with renewed energy and enthusiasm, eager to take on the many tasks ahead of her. Today, like so many other mornings in the last year, she has to drag herself out of bed. Within an hour, she will be at her desk in a small office, overflowing with file folders, located down the hall from the Acute Care Unit (ACU) at Saint Theresa Hospital in Queens, NY. This would likely be the fifth day in a row that she would work a 14-hour day, slogging through heaps of paper work, heading off conflicts and dust-ups, and even pitching in to ease her staff’s patient overload. Beyond fatigue, she was beginning to feel overpowered and beaten by the ACU’s problems.About CarmenCarmen Ortega was proud to have fulfilled her immigrant parents’ dream that she graduate from college and become a successful professional. She loved nursing, a field she has worked in for eight years. Most of the eight years she worked in Brooklyn General’s surgery unit, progressively assuming more responsibility, and gaining the respect of her coworkers and superiors. For a thirty-year old, Carmen has lived up to her reputation as a fast-track professional making the most of a burgeoning, competitive health care industry. She jumped at the opportunity to apply for the ACU Nursing Supervisor position at Saint Theresa. Although currently one of the oldest, least modern, and most in-demand hospitals in New York City, the institution and its staff are greatly admired for its persistence in meeting trauma and inner-city health care challenges. Saint Theresa was built in the early 1900s to care for immigrants and remains a valued resource for Queens’ multi-ethnic community. Although the facility has seen better days, the organization’s human capital and reputation clearly make it an attractive target for a corporate take-over. It’s no secret that Saint Theresa’s board has been looking for ways “to save our venerable institution,” and is expected to deliver on short- and long-term plans that include construction of a cutting edge facility with state-of-the-art medical and health care technology—exciting, hopeful prospects in Carmen’s opinion. Rumors fly that a Swiss-based multinational company will buy Saint Theresa as part of that transformation. Carmen’s former nursing school prof and mentor, Michaela Robinson, now Director of Nursing at Saint Theresa, actively encouraged Carmen to take the ACU supervisor job. Michaela candidly described the demands of the job, as well as Saint Theresa’s and the ACU’s need to deal with the organization’s behavioral, structural, and technological problems, adding that she believed Carmen was up to the task, and had every confidence that she would contribute to an improved future. Ambitious, self-directed, and drawn to a worthy cause, Carmen was honored by Michaela’s confidence and stood ready to embrace what lay ahead.About ACUBut when Carmen began her new supervisory role in the ACU, she quickly confronted a deeper reality—the reality of managing within a changing, unstable, severely understaffed organization. Ten registered nurses (RNs) and five nurse aids struggle to deliver competent, efficient, and compassionate care to ACU patients and their grief-stricken families, despite the out-of-date, cramped facility, and gross inconveniences—poorly located nurse stations, lack of file storage, aging computer terminals to name but a few. Only leaked recently, Carmen’s predecessor, Crystal, was fired for falsifying time sheets and patient records. Three RNs quit shortly before Carmen started as ACU’s Nursing Supervisor. Recognizing the dire need to replace the nurses, Carmen was astonished when Saint Theresa’s new CEO, Roman Garvey (“you may call me Dr. Garvey”) a European-trained West African with an MD and MBA, hired to increase the institution’s efficiency and profitability, announced plans to “rightsize” staff and freeze new and replacement positions. Back in the ACU trenches, nurses and aids scurry from one crises to another, lacking backup support, quick access to needed records, and feeling the pinch of specialized skill sets that walked out the door when co-workers quit. ACU staff absenteeism is at an all-time high. Productivity and morale are at an all-time low. Patient satisfaction ratings are barely average. Most patients don’t bother to fill out the survey cards in their discharge packets. Not only is job turnover up and job satisfaction down, the ACU’s reputation for “shady” hiring, playing favorites, and “not walking the talk” made recruiting top-notch candidates very difficult. While the apparent loyalty of the semi-skilled nurse aids is a relief, frustrated, overworked RNs continue to ask (in some cases, angrily) for one-on-one meetings with Carmen. RN’s complaints cover the gamut—long hours, confining work space, lack of proper work stations, “buggy” electronic medical records software, ineffectual job appraisal system, and unmet promises for adequate training and career development. Trust in upper and middle management has eroded.Last week, a few doctors grumbled during a staff meeting (passed on to Carmen via Michaela) that ACU patient medication errors were up and the unit’s senior nurse tended to “drop the ball” when it came to following orders. Dr. Aazim Al-Jahari, who heads the Ethics and Quality Control Task Force, was dumb-founded and exasperated by the news. Helen Connors, the senior nurse in question, has worked at Saint Theresa her entire career. She burst into tears when Carmen asked about the doctor’s “observations.” To top it off, Graciela Rojas, hired a year ago—and among the hardest working, clearly gifted care givers, and most affable and skilled communicators on the ACU nursing staff—suddenly left work a few days ago citing a family emergency. Rumors quickly spread that Graciela’s departure suspiciously overlapped with increased investigations by federal agents of Queens’ hospital employees. Carmen wonders how Saint Theresa will be able to live up to its mission and vision, which emphasize compassionate, high-quality patient care, clinical excellence, and the importance to be the hospital of choice for professionals in social medicine and urban health care.The Challenge—Learning to Lead ChangeCarmen’s boss, Michaela Robinson, is deeply concerned about ACU’s ever-worsening situation, and has requested a study and status report be done within 30 days. The report will identify and explain ACU’s problems and causes, systems affected, alternative measures, and make recommendations. Clearly, Carmen’s work is cut out for her.It’s no surprise that Carmen had to drag herself out of bed this morning!