Reference no: EM132682352

A labor dispute was brewing at Broadworth Community Hospital, a 140-bed general medical center. Broadworth's food service department includes a food service director, four dietitians, an outpatient dietitian, two per diem dietitians, two certified dietary managers, and thirty full-time equivalents (FTEs) of hourly workers. It is an independently managed food service. The hospital is responsible for the food service to the patients as well as the staff. There are approximately five hundred hospital staff members and some visitors who dine in the cafeteria Monday through Friday for breakfast and lunch. There is a busy catering schedule for various meetings and educational programs. Approximately 25 percent of the food is prepared from scratch. The cooks roast their own beef and turkeys and make their own stews. Soups and puddings are canned.

The cafeteria features three entrees along with vegetables, salads, and desserts. The patient menus include regular, soft, pureed, mechanical soft, low- residue, clear liquid, full liquid, diabetic, renal, renal diabetic, weight reduction, low-salt, low-cholesterol, and low-fat diets. Breakfast includes two hot cereals as well as cold cereals, two entrees, juice fruit, and breakfast pastries. There is a selective menu for lunch and dinner that includes two entrees; two soups; and a variety of fruits, vegetables, and desserts with all the accessories to go with a well- balanced meal.

After a prolonged and ongoing labor dispute, the non-managerial employees at Broadworth voted to go on strike. When the strike was announced, the members of the food service management team were not surprised. They had anticipated the possibility and made preliminary plans but were still nervous. The hospital administrators communicated to the food service managers that the remaining employees would receive free meals while on duty for all three shifts, seven days a week.

Once the strike began, the cafeteria patronage dropped to about one hundred employees, which included management, physicians, medical residents, temporary employees, and nursing staff. All catering was placed on hold. The food service department purchased food from a variety of purveyors. Some purveyors continued to deliver food on schedule; others, such as the bakery company, were unionized and would not cross the picket line.

Many of the hospital floors were closed. The physical rehabilitation floor, psychiatric floor, emergency room, and a limited number of beds were available for telemetry, intensive care, medical-surgical, and orthopedic patients. Before the strike started, many of the patients were discharged or transferred to a sister hospital or an acute care hospital. When the strike started, there were approximately thirty patients in the hospital.

All members of the management team were notified when the strike was called. The team finalized its strike plans and buckled down for the long haul. The strike lasted nearly a month, and everyone was relieved when it was finally resolved.

Questions

1. How can the food service operation be simplified to accommodate the strike by utilizing the small staff on hand?

2. How can the food service management use the remaining staff to best serve the patients and fellow employees? (The management team, dietitians, and approximately six temporary, nonunionized employees were available.)

3. What could the management team do to better prepare for the strike?