Critical Thinking: Strategies in Decision Making - Research Paper Example

Oct -10-06 09:00A P.02 Critical Thinking Case Study Running Head: Critical Thinking Case Study: Let it Pour-My first assignment as Executive Assistant. Critical Thinking Case Study: Let it Pour-My first assignment as Executive Assistant. Linda Lewis University of Phoenix Online Course #& Name: MGT 350 Critical Thinking: Strategies in Decision Making Instructors Name: Diane Schauer Date: Oct -10-06 There is an evident fact that one can hardly find a company making business with facing any problems, failures and mistakes. It is an efficiency to identify key problems and issues, to analyze and evaluate alternatives, to make right decisions and to implement them that allow a competitive company to shoot ahead. Over a period of years Faith Community Hospital that is non-for-profit organization appeared to have its efficient operation diminished. So let us make a Critical Thinking Case Study Analysis. As soon as Faith Community Hospital has various problems and issues in many areas to list them all we consider that it would be rational to set them in units. Unit 1. Problems in the sphere of organization 1. Mission statement related problems: a. Various interpretations of mission statement; b. Lack of trust and implementation of mission statement. 2. Ineffective system of operation control and regulation: a. Fulfill of uninsured prescriptions; b. Conducting an unauthorized sessions free of charge. Unit 2. Lack of financial stability 1. Increasing of premium costs; 2. Cases of Faith Community Hospital services not being paid. Unit 3. Ethics aspects 1. Conflict of staff members and patients' religious beliefs and/or personal convictions; 2. Do Not R directives issues. Unit 4. Communication issues 1. Lack of open and efficient communication within the company. 2. Reputation undermined. That is very important to realize that such way of unit division is rather relative and is used here in order to systemize existed problems. Is it seen all the Faith Community Hospital problems are in close interconnection and interdependence and therefore should be analyzed as separately and in complex. Let us conduct a critical thinking case study analysis that will let to make the right decisions in solving the existing problems using the following decision making steps. Decision making is the cognitive process leading to the selection of a course of action among alternatives1. Every decision making process produces a final choice called a decision. It can be an action or an opinion. It begins when we need to do something but we do not know what. Unit 1. Problems in the sphere of organization As a prime cause of Faith Community Hospital problems we should address the mission statement issue. The one of mission statement functions is reflection of company policy and goals clearly and precisely. Faith Community Hospital mission statement says: "With the foundation and commitment of our spiritual heritage and values, our mission is to promote the health and well-being of the people in the communities we serve through a comprehensive continuum of services provided in collaboration with the partners who share the same vision and values." So, it is obvious that there are some missing items: lack of business goals, absence of references to employees, etc. Such an incomplete and ineffective mission statement results two related problems. The first one is various interpretations of mission statement. As far as there are no two individuals thinking absolutely the same way a mission statement must be written as clearly and precisely as possible. Only in this case it will be understood and accepted by both patients and service givers. The second important issue is that Faith Community Hospital appears to suffer from lack of belief and implementation amidst staff members. It is natural as far as mission statement does not cover all items, has got various interpretations and accordingly is not able to work efficiently, so staff member do not understand and do not embrace it. The objective is to workout an efficient one-meaning mission statement that will cover all essential matters and clearly and precisely define Faith Community Hospital policy and goals. Imperfection of mission statement affected the inefficiency of Faith Community Hospital operation and multitude of interpretations being made not only by staff members but also in all Faith Community Hospital stakeholder groups. The main causes are: Incomplete coverage of items; Lack of goals; Polisemantac meaning. In order to make a right decision and to solve the problem there could be two alternatives for salvation to be found: To amend the existing mission statement To work out new mission statement Let us consider the impacts of alternatives using the pro and contra technique of Force Field Analysis: Amendment the existing mission statement Working out new mission statement Pro Contra Pro Contra It is familiar to all staff members Will be taken by staff members and other organizations as just a regular process procedure. Will represent the FCH aim to get improvement Will cover all essential matters and clearly and precisely define Faith Community Hospital policy and goals Will allow reputation rehabilitating Staff member frightened of changes So as we can see from the diagram it appears to be that it is much more efficient to work out new mission statement. In order to work out an efficient mission statement there are to main questions to ask: What is our business and what are we trying to accomplish on behalf of our customers What is our company's reason for existing2 In order to implement this alternative let us make a Recommendation Plan. In order to solve the problem it should be: Organized a Mission Statement Work Out Committee that will include representatives from Finance Department, Human Resource Department, Public Relations Department and Medical Care Department. Conduct analysis of goals, objectives and needs of Faith Community Hospital. Investigated the experience mission statements of other relative organization. Worked out new efficient mission statement. Working out a new mission statement will result an effective implementation of new Faith Community Hospital policy and increasing efficiency of Faith Community Hospital operation Unit 2. Problems in the sphere of organization Despite Faith Community Hospital is not-for-profit organization it has got a business to run there. There are stuff members to serve that should be paid regularly payments, numerous bills to pay and other financial items. In comparison with the last year Faith Community Hospital premium costs increased. It is remarkable that according to the financial analyst's report hospital has 7% decreases in patient population. It means that the costs do not change proportionally with the fluctuating patient population. The main objective is an utmost financial stability to be present in Faith Community Hospital. The lack of financial stability results a number of negative effects such as aggro in collaboration with insurance companies and the regulators, a perspective of making tough cost reduction decisions aiming to reduce fixed costs just to break even. The main causes of these problems are: 7 % decrease of patient population; Inefficiency of Faith Community Hospital operation control and regulation system: some pharmacists fill uninsured prescriptions by accepting payment in installments instead of being paid in full; some counselors do pro-bono counseling. The main related alternatives are as follows: To reduce fixed costs by making tough cost reduction decisions. To make some additional expenses for improvement of service quality in order to increase the patients population and accordingly to increase incomes. To implement strict control and regulation amidst staff members in order to avoid Faith Community Hospital services not being paid incidents. Let us evaluate these alternative this alternatives. The first two alternatives are opposite and therefore should be evaluated in comparison using pro and contra technique. Reducing of fixed costs by making tough reduce decisions Making additional expenses for service quality improvement Pro Contra Pro Contra Gives ability to break even Avoids any additional expenses Not able to solve any problems Makes possible further degradation of service quality Involves staff shortening Able to solve problems Let to improve service quality Does not demands staff shortening Increases incomes Needs extra costs Involves risk So we has found that it is much more effective to make some extra costs in order to improve service quality for increasing patient population and accordingly to increasing incomes. This particular alternative should be implemented in complex with the implementation of strict control and regulation amidst staff members in order to avoid Faith Community Hospital services not being paid incidents cause the last alternative will help loosing money. There is a Recommendation Plan for Financial Department: Financial Department should analyze the Faith Community Hospital current financial situation. After working out a new mission statement Financial Department should initiate a meeting with the heads of all departments in order to find ways of Faith Community Hospital service quality improvement. To work out and implement system of financial penalty in case of Faith Community Hospital services not being paid incidents in coordination with the Safety Department. To initiate creation of internal charity program that will propose payable patients and various organizations to make some donations according to their lights in order to support unable to pay patients. The usage of such donations should be strictly controlled and take place only in some extraordinary cases. Implementing of this plan will result: Increasing of incomes through increasing of patient population; Sufficient reducing of Faith Community Hospital services not being paid incidents; Accordingly stabilization of financial situation. Unit 3. Ethics aspects The next set of problems is of ethnical character. The point is that some members of staff happen to refuse from providing medical services when they consider that such service providing goes flat against their religious beliefs and/or personal convictions. Moreover there are cases when patients themselves refuse from some services. So to the fore we have the conflict of staff members and patients' religious beliefs and/or personal convictions. The other important issue is the Do Not Resuscitate directives that had been implemented without written orders and in another cases had not being fulfilled at all from the ethics point of view. The main objective is to make clear differentiation of appropriate measures for ethics concerns for both staff and patients while providing/receiving medical care. These problems effect the reputation of Faith Community Hospital and staff members' confusion as for the ethics aspect of their job responsibilities. There is no doubt that the following ethics norms is sine qua non for all spheres of our being but we have to remember that medicine has its specifics and on providing medical care ethics should assist but not oppose the best treatment. The ground cause for that problem is an absence of all-rounded precise regulation of ethic aspects and concern. "The important issue of scope for health care workers concerns the "right to life." Who or what has this right to life To answer the question we have to determine what is meant by the right to life. Specifically, is it simply the right not to be unjustly killed or does it also include a right to be kept alive"3 To change the situation we may regard some alternatives: Setting up Penalty Program for staff members refusing from providing some services and/or do not follow the Do Not Resuscitate directives. Making patients pay for the obligatory services they refuse to take. Working out a document that will contain the different ethic cases and ways of regulation. The first two alternatives though will bring some results such as little improvement in discipline, avoiding loss of money for refused services etc. still do not solve the main issue. There still will be a steady conflict of staff members and patients religious beliefs and/or personal convictions. So the most efficient is the third alternative that will allow solving the main issue. Recommendation Plan: To use Socratic method in order to identify staff members and patients religious beliefs and/or personal convictions asking open questions, such as the following: What is Ethics How do you think it has to correlate with your responsibilities Are your religious beliefs in conflict with your responsibilities Etc 2. To investigate the experience of similar medical organizations. 3. To work out Ethics Code of Faith Community Hospital. The implementation of Ethics Code of Faith Community Hospital will make clear differentiation of appropriate measures for ethics concerns for both staff and patients while providing/receiving medical care and allow avoiding ethic related problems. Unit 4. Communication Issues. All the above-mentioned problems cannot help undermining of Faith Community Hospital reputation. Media present headlines regarding medical error cases that take away patients' lives. The Faith Community Hospital today is no longer an attractive place for people to be treated in. The main objective is to rehabilitate reputation and create a new image of Faith Community Hospital. There is no doubt that all this reflects of financial stability as soon as it effects reduce of patient population and accordingly the decrease of incomes and increase of premium costs. The undermining of reputation is caused by lack of belief in existing Faith Community Hospital mission statement, negative media coverage of present situation and far from perfect service giving. In order to help the situation it could be made following moves (alternatives): Representation of new Faith Community Hospital policy and mission statement through mass media; Improvement of Faith Community Hospital services quality; Set an all-round Faith Community Hospital services advertisement. We consider both first and second alternatives to be efficient and propose to use them in complex. As for the set of all-round Faith Community Hospital services advertisement it should be mentioned that the alternative demands huge expenses. Moreover without improvement of Faith Community Hospital services quality it will not bring the expected results. Taking in consideration abovementioned we offer the next Recommendation Plan: The leadership of Faith Community Hospital should initiate a working out Faith Community Hospital Services Quality Improvement program. Public Relations Department should work out and implementation reputation rehabilitation step by step program. Public Relations Department should initiate meeting with mass media for representation of Faith Community Hospital new policy and mission statement. 3. Making some Faith Community Hospital services quality related publications in Medical magazines. The Plan implementation will have the following impacts. The improvement of Faith Community Hospital services quality will get appreciation of patients. Their positive comments while communicating with other people will serve as a perfect advertisement. There is also an evident need to rehabilitate the image of the Faith Community Hospital. While working out and implementation of reputation rehabilitation step-by-step program it is possible to rehabilitate Faith Community Hospital reputation and shape an appropriate hospital image. On making Critical Thinking Case Study Analysis we have identified the key problems and issues, defined objectives, addresses problems effect and causes, framed and evaluated the alternatives and as a result made decisions proposing the appropriate plan for their implementation and measuring the impacts. It should be mentioned that such problems as rising operation costs, reduction of patient population, etc. that Faith Community Hospital faced are by no means common and familiar for many similar organizations. That is why this analysis may be helpful for other similar organizations as well. List of References: 1. Decision making. (2006, October 9). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 08:02, October 10, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.phptitle=Decision_making&oldid=80475053 2. Mission statements. (n.d.). MyStrategicPlan. Retrieved October 8, 2006, from http://www.mystrategicplan.com/strategic-planning-topics/mission-statements.shtml#Examples 3. R GillonGillon R. (1986.) Philosophical medical ethics. Chichester. Wiley, (From a 26 part series in BMJ from 1985; 290:1117-9 to 1986; 292:543-5. 4. University of Phoenix course material (n.d.) Case Study: Let it Pour - My First Assignment as Executive Assistant. p. 2, (para. 5) Read More