29 - Barbara Norris

Barbara Norris Case Study Question 1 Barbara has started off to a good start. Hospitality is a service industry wherein the ‘human’ factor plays a very important role. Hence if the staff is not motivated and satisfied, it would affect the performance and the service.  

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As a manager she had taken the right first step of breaking the ice by conducting a meeting. Secondly she has also made sure that during the meeting her staff feels comfortable. She did this by maintaining the anonymity of the grievances written down by the staff. Thirdly she wanted the staff to realize that they should be looking for the solutions rather than crib about the problems. She took the decision that the solutions will be taken together as a team and not by her as a superior. This would make the staff feel that are responsible and they belong here. These immediate steps were very necessary to bring out the team work culture that was nonexistent.

Barbara was a very good choice for the role as she had knowledge, experience passion. She had been in EMU and was willing to remain there. She was willing to take up challenges. Also she had kids who were in high school which made sure that she could manage in case the job gets demanding. Question 2 Barbara is trying to bring about a change in the overall working environment at GMU. The nurses at GMU have been under a lot of pressure as the department is ill staffed & also the hospital was undergoing through tough financial times. The employee retention rates were low and employee turnover was high. Barbara wanted to know what the root problem underlying employee dissatisfaction was. So in the off-site meeting she got to know certain reasons resulting in the dissatisfaction among the nurses. But the core essence of the meeting was to put the problems in front of the employees themselves and seek out solutions to those problems in a collective manner. This would make the staff realize that their views are considered by the top management in the decision making process. Also it shows that Barbara as a manager listens to their grievances and involves them in decision making .This is a very good way of getting a set of followers if you are new to the leadership position. Question 3 First, there is high possibility that she would be encountering resistance towards change. There are a few senior nurses who had been with the unit for quite a long time who would disagree with any decision that makes them change their routine. The possible reason for such negativity could be the cognitive dissonance faced by Group 9 Srija C; Udayan K; Venkataramana R; Varun S; Veena W

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Barbara Norris Case Study the nurses as they themselves state that the reason for being a nurse was to care for patients, but they were being treated as order takers. To address this potential roadblock, Barbara has to motivate them to embrace the change by involving them in the decision making and thus increase the commitment of the senior staff in the day to day operations. Secondly, although Barbara is attempting to involve everyone in the decision making process, it is likely that the troubles could increase if she ends up listening to everyone. This team of GSU is in a disoriented state that is infested with all sorts of negativity and it needs a strong leader who could lead them out of darkness rather than involve them in brainstorming. Not all members in the team would be right candidates to be involved in the role of decision making. There could be some elements who would oppose all the decisions for the sake of it thereby slowing down the process. Hence it is imperative for Barbara to identify the right people who could be consulted for making decisions and leave out rest of them. But even then, Barbara herself should weigh all the options before coming to conclusions. Lastly, as it is mentioned in the case, economy is in doldrums and EMU is reeling under cost cutting measures, it would be difficult for Barbara to provide any monetary rewards to her staff for achieving their targets. This may come as a cropper for those employees who feel their efforts are going unnoticed. It would be hard then to keep all of her staffed motivated at all the times taking into account the staff shortage, increased stress levels and uncooperative attitude of some workers. This could throw the entire reforms off the track and has to be dealt at a high priority by Barbara. She could try to develop her own reward system which would include recognition and constructive feedback to keep the staff sticking together.

Question 4 Step 1 – Create a sense of urgency For the change to take form, Barbara Norris should approach the top management and create a sense of urgency. The General Surgery Unit was already facing a very high turnover. If the current situation carried on any further the unit would not be able to function and the patience would be affected which in turn would create a bad name for the hospital. The management, who are obviously concerned for the image of the hospital, would then take the matter seriously. Step 2 – Form a powerful coalition In this case it would be in Norris’ favour to get the support of the nurse director John Frappewell. He is at a leadership position and at the same time would have the power to influence the management. John, Frappewell and a few nurses would then Group 9 Srija C; Udayan K; Venkataramana R; Varun S; Veena W

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Barbara Norris Case Study be able to convince the management that it is important to employ more nurses in the unit and at the same time redesign the performance management system. Step 3- Create a vision for Change The vision for this change would be to create a friendly and motivating work environment for the nurses of the General Surgery Unit through consistent feedback, respect from doctors, a transparent performance management system and a grievance redressal mechanism. This would in effect lead to a change in the way nurses treat each other and their jobs. Step 4 – Communicate the vision The vision must be communicated both to the management and to the nurses. The management would help in bringing about an adequate performance management system, clearly mentioning the basis of distributing bonus. The nurses on the other hand would be motivated to accept the change if they anticipate a better working environment Step 5- Remove obstacles There would be some nurses like Louise who would be resistant to change. She has a tendency to complain and also does not behave cordially with her fellow nurses. She could act as an obstacle to change, especially in case she tries to bring other nurses in her kitty of resistance to change. Hence the best move now would be to let her go as she is already rightly pointed out that she spends her time tending to machines than she does tending to patients. Step 6-Create Short Term Wins A short term win has already occurred in the process of changing the vision. One of the issues the nurses had was that they felt no one truly defended their interest or advocated on their behalf. The huge step taken by Barbara Norris to bring about this change was a short term win and the nurses should feel motivated by this. Another short term win could occur when the doctors would acknowledge the performance of the nurses and instill in them the confidence that their work does in fact provide value. Step 7- Don’t Declare Victory too Early The short term wins mentioned above might seem like a major change in the work environment but Barbara Norris should not declare this to be a victory until and unless every aspect of her vision has been met. It is necessary she consults the management even after the short term wins so that the compensation system and performance system are designed to support the nurses and to bring about an environment of learning and growth. Group 9 Srija C; Udayan K; Venkataramana R; Varun S; Veena W

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Barbara Norris Case Study Step 8 – Anchor the changes in Corporate Culture Since change is dynamic, there could be a possibility that after a few days the doctors could go back to not giving value to the nurses or the work environment could be hostile among the nurses again. Hence, Norris has to make sure she addresses all the grievances as and when they come up. She also needs to have monthly meeting with the management to give them a feedback about the performance of the unit and receiving their help as and when required.

Group 9 Srija C; Udayan K; Venkataramana R; Varun S; Veena W

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