Case 2.

1 : Organizational Culture Can Help Reduce Burnout in Hospitals

Case Summary: It is no secret that physicians, nurses, staff, and hospital administrators are all under great stress because of the nature of their job: dealing with the life of a human being. Providing a quality of care is their main objective and when there are approximately 72 million patients treated in 10,000 hospitals each year, it is easy to understand that the hospitals employees are under a tremendous amount of pressure. According to the results of a 2010 research study, burnout is the primary cause of poor quality of care. To avoid the burnout factor, the management team must create an organizational culture that fosters trust, open communication, support and stress management education for doctors, nurses, and staff. In our case study entitled Organizational Culture Can Help Reduce Burnout in Hospitals, the success of three (3) hospitals is discussed as they have established supportive organizational cultures.

1. Assume you are in charge of socializing the newly hired nurses at a local hospital. What steps would you take to ensure that they understand the hospital's organizational culture? How would you help them understand how to manage stress on a daily basis so as to prevent burnout later in their careers? Explain. The following steps are the ones I will take to ensure that the newly hired nurses understand the hospitals organization culture: Provide realistic job previews and our core values Show them they are suited for the job available and make them want to work at the local hospital Organize an orientation day during which the hospitals culture and benefits will be explained Create a mentoring program for the hospital so that knowledge is passed from generations and generations Offer training and guidance Evaluate the progress of the newly hired nurses Have a professional counseling and support to deal with stress Hold recognition dinners and parties to celebrate employees milestone

To manage stress on a daily basis so as to prevent burnout later in their careers, I will recommend that the newly hired nurses take advantage of the employee assistance program. This will help in obtaining proper care and attention should the need arise. Another point is that their work schedule will be flexible.

2. Hospital environments are more stressful in nature than the work environments found in many other organizations. What are some of the unique challenges that hospitals face when attempting to create a supportive organizational culture that helps employees reduce and manage their stress levels? The challenges that hospitals face when trying to keep the staffs stress at low levels are: High stress environment where hospital staff are pushed to their physical, emotional and mental limits Sleep deprivation that make them more vulnerable to making mistakes Extreme demands on their time and attention Long shifts in fast-paced and stressful environment

3. Think about your university or an organization for which you have worked. Using the intervention points in Exhibit 2.6 provide examples of how the university or organization attempted to create a certain type of organizational culture. Was it successful (or unsuccessful) in creating the desired culture? Explain. Starwood Hotels & Resorts has different brands and each brand have a unique organizational culture. Behavior: To make sure that you adhere to St. Regis organizational culture, each newly hired employee participates at the integration week. During that week, the newly hired employee meets current employee and the core values of St. Regis are given. Justifications of behavior: During the year, the company has to comply with Starwood Hotels & Resorts ethics. Therefore, each year for example, employees in the finance department have to take compliance and ethics test to make sure that they understand and continue to follow the core values. Cultural communications: Information about employee assistance program and/or benefits is available on each employees personal profile online. It is also available at the HR department. Each department hold weekly meeting during which information is relayed by managers to the staff. Hiring and Socialization: St. Regis has an effective process for hiring and integrating new employees into the company via the integration and orientation week. The company has a

strong intern program and many long term employees. From the interview process and well into the placement process employees are provided with an abundance of information on benefits and programs that represent the companys culture. Removal of members who deviate from the culture: The Company has policies and processes that monitor employee behavior and if those requirements are breached discipline is initiated quickly. This can and does at times lead to termination with company. The best example is an employee who got fired after being caught stealing some bottles of wine. I strongly believe that St. Regis has developed a culture build around its core values. What I enjoyed while working there is that each employee feels at home. The company is constantly monitoring challenges so that it can address the issues before they arise.