Reference no: EM132909620

Case: The Silent Majority

As the newly placed manager of the admitting Department, it did not take long to discover that morale in the department had been low for quite some time. As you worked to become acquainted with employees by meeting with each of them alone, you were rapidly inundated with complaints and other evidence of discontent. Most complaints involved problems with administration and the business office and with the loose admitting practices of a few physicians. There also were complaints from the admitting staff about other department members and some thinly veiled charges about admitting personnel who "carry tales to administration."

In listening to the problems, you detected a number of common themes. You decided that most misunderstandings could be cleared up by airing the gripes openly with the entire group. You then scheduled a staff meeting and asked all employees to prepare to air their complaints (except those involving specific other staff members) at the meeting. Most employees thought this was a good idea, and several assured you they would speak up. You were encouraged by what you heard; it seemed as though most employees were of a similar mind, indicating something of a team outlook. However, your first staff meeting was extremely brief; when offered the opportunity to air their complaints, nobody spoke.

The results were the same at the next step meeting two weeks later, although in the intervening period you were bombarded with complaints from individuals. This experience left you frustrated because many of the complaints you heard were problems of the group rather than problems of individuals

Questions:

1. What is the importance of teams in a healthcare organization?

2. What are the challenges of teamwork in health care organizations?

3. What are the benefits of effective health care teams?

4. Describe the stages of team building.

5. What can you do to get this group to open-up about what is bothering them?

6. What should you consider doing to get this Department on track toward becoming an effective team? Identify at least two significant actions and explain why they should be considered.

7. How would you approach this specific problem the employees who supposedly carry tales to administration?