Running head: SENIOR MANAGER

The Success of a Senior Manager in a Medical Center Doug Dean Grantham University

Abstract What are the effects of senior managers (executives) who strive to apply good organizational behavior techniques? Stated by Gary Cokin (2009, pg 90), The trick to general management is integrating and balancing the quantitative and behavioral managerial approaches and styles. The challenge of senior managers today is heavier now than ever before. Social media has exposed many truths of what happens behind closed doors and spreads rumors rapidly. Being able to direct a medical center in todays environment is not only financially challenging but includes personal risk as riots and unrest increase and the continued unemployment. The management of medical centers demands integrity and providing an environment for the employees to care for the patients.

The Success of a Senior Manager in a Medical center The challenge of senior managers (executives) today is heavier now than ever before. Companies have failed, banks have closed, scandals destroyed lives and protestors have gained attention of Congress to make new laws and higher taxes. What special skills and training is necessary to reach an executive position and direct a company through this turmoils? Courses abound to become an executive. The US Government SBA offers a multitude of resources for managers and companies. There are executive coaches, sitting CEOs, books and executive search firms, Institute for Leadership (2011). Much time and energy is expressed for developing senior managers. This devotion is to benefit companies by having vision, leadership skills and demonstrated ability to build an effective team, Lieberman (2012). Does the executive deserve so much emphasis and do the positions warrant extreme salaries in excess of $10 million plus stock options? Reported by (Forbes, March 25, 2011), there were 138 CEOs with base pay over $10 million annual salary, the number 1 was CEO of United Health Care. How does any training send a person to this level of compensation? Is it knowledge or skills or the strategy or the people and organization that make the difference? Each company for profit, not for profit or non-profit are distinctly different and the managers must realize the internal dynamics of their organization. Successful executives do provide income and a future for employees, they can provide research and life saving technology. The long hours and constant influx of information and decisions require certain people and their value is greater than others. Their pay should be commensurate with the value they bring to a company. Proven experience is significant to reach this level of management. Most managers work their way up, moving through positions at different levels. Many companies rely heavily on various levels of experience and schooling to reach an executive

position. The US Government Senior Executive Service (SES) looks at 5 core qualifications, US OPM (2010) that includes; Leading Change, Leading People, Results Driven, Business Acumen, Building Coalitions. Other executives have reached extreme success with little change in positions. Bill Gates of Microsoft did not need 6 years of management school to create one of the most successful companies, but there was something different about Bill Gates situation. Bill grew up with 2 parents, who encouraged him to be competitive and strive for excellence. His Mother took him to IBM board meetings when he was young and he scored 1590 out of 1600 on his SAT test. He was a Harvard School drop-out after 2 years. He was driven and worked in the early years with few hours of sleep, Bill Gates, (2012). Career consultants and psychologists found that one of Gates' most instructive traits--his clarity of vision--has been evident since adolescence, Davenport (2008). Not every senior manager will have Bills upbringing and there are numerous successful CEOs in the world who have taken the school and experience path. What makes a successful executive; Bill Gates suggested secret to his success: his unwillingness to compromise his goals. Gates earned the appreciation of his employees by leading an office as casual as a college campus and encouraging free thinking, Davenport (2008). Giving employees a place to grow and be part of the solution, to support and encourage others provides priceless benefits. Specific topics of discussion in this report relate to the strategic implications of the organizational behavior of the medical fields. What are business needs in the medical fields that represent opportunities and the implications of organizational behavior? The textbook Organizational Behavior, 3rd Edition by Hitt, Miller, Colella, (2011), will constitute much of the different context relating to behavior. Remaining thoughts and information is derived mostly from the Cleveland Clinic website, which No.1 in USA for heart care programs.

Strategic Implication of Managing Organizational Behavior Senior Managers within the Medical Centers of the US are responsible for the epitome of organizational diversity, multi cultural and many globalization issues, topics discussed by Hitt, Miller, Colella, (2011). The growing number of foreign medical staff in the US and foreign visitors for medical treatments have demanded care in handling diversity with internal and external customers. The US Census Bureau states 20.1% of US population speak, other than English in their homes, which equates to 58,024,092 persons, US Census Bureau (2010). Without emphasis on diversity management, medical treatment would be severally limited, which in turn would affect the success of the medical center. Many successful medical facilities have also opened offices in foreign countries in this global economy. Strategic Implications Summary A complete list of strategic implications would take more pages than allotted for in this report, therefore a summary of most significant implications are grouped into patient care and costs. They will be addressed by the affect of proper management. Aspects of the proper management will be based on perspectives from my personal interaction. a. Patient Care should be the highest priority of a medical center. The organization employees must see this priority as their existence for working. Many medical employees struggle with treating just another person. In reality it is just another life. Urgency of care is most often afforded in ER settings, where a doctor visit often doesnt go in-depth to address preventative medicine. The Ashtabula County Medical Center had a very poor reputation and several personal acquaintances were misdiagnosed, sent home and then died. The management team recognized their limitations and became an

affiliate of a larger medical center, to stay in business. My mother has been prescribed more medicine than an elderly womens body can handle. The mixture of chemicals in the body can be counterproductive and since the halt of taking the prescriptions her health has improved. These are but a few of millions of posts regarding poor medical applications. The Cleveland Clinic, directors and managers made a concerted effort to be the best and a visit to the hospital shows all levels of employees are professional and earnestly care about the individual patients and family. They have dogs that walk the halls to bring comfort to families in waiting rooms. The staff makes an effort to know who each person is. The difference at Cleveland Clinic in comparison to many other hospitals is all medical staff are on the payroll of this very large not for profit medical center. Hospitals in recent years have kept insurance lower by hiring doctors as independent agents. This causes less commitment to the hospital and patients of the community. Another difference is the Board of Directors and Board of Trustees is not paid but highly involved positions that are responsible for operations and affairs of the clinic. There are members who specialize in Conflict of Interest, Safety, Quality and Patient Experience, Managing Innovations, Research and Education even a center for diversity, Cleveland Clinic (2012). b. Cost for quality care is an enormous concern for medical centers. Not for profit hospitals must service all patients even with no ability to pay. The better the patients are cared for the possible long term costs will be under control. In the years 2000 to 2002 an average of 195,000 patients died from

hospital errors, MNT (2004). The cost to recover the loss effectively increases the insurance rates. Employees must be aware of the costs not just in lives, but financially. Business Needs Provide Organizational Behavior Opportunities The medical staff and employees responsibilities include treating patients and patients are of every race, creed and origin, which speak foreign languages and have unique cultures and different injuries/sicknesses. Teams are normally formed for different areas or specialties and even by disease, such as a mental health floor. Team building, conflict resolution, decision making and many other topics in Hitt, Miller, Colella, (2011), are a part of everyday existence in a medical center. The diversity of the employees may be greater than the patients, so there are internal and external behaviors that require proper handling and knowledge. Business Needs Affect Behavior The success of an executive handling the organization of a medical center relies heavily on the patient care. The proper care, correct diagnoses and successful treatment provide a means of measurement. The patients should not view the reason to select a hospital because of its proximity, but because of it abilities. Conveying this message occurs rapidly by the patients and that could be negative or positive communication. The CEO conveys values through actions and reactions to others, Robbins (2011). If the executives are not wise in making decisions and not meeting the employee needs the probability of success is drastically diminished. Therefore, correctly addressing Organizational Behavior aspects throughout the company is equivalent to becoming a successful and respected medical center. Of course he opposite is also true, improper handling of employee and patient concerns can lead to destruction or failure. The Opportunities and Challenges of Medical Center Behavior

Referring to the successful Cleveland Clinic as a benchmark, strategic awareness and planning for diversity and multi-cultural events were not evident in the beginning in 1921. Their original mission was "better care of the sick, investigation of their problems, and more education of those who serve," The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, (2005) and still remains the same today. However, the ever changing world and globalization has led the clinic to where they are today. The clinic has over 39,000 employees in several countries. To say there is opportunity and challenges in organizational behavior is a like saying the sun rises in the East. To overcome and educate the employees, offices were created. There is an Office of Diversity and Inclusion, a Center for Ethics, Humanities and Spiritual Care and a Quality and Patient Safety Institute. A quick look back at compensation and expectations of employees. Clinic CEO, Dr. Cosgrove was paid $2.1 million in 2009 and that same year he turned a $62million loss in 2008 to a $362 million net profit in 2009, Glenn (2011). The clinic is strong and growing with more centers opening overseas, Abu Dhabi, UAE in 2013. As CEO there are positive indications that what he leads is a successful clinic. All medical centers have concerns of all topics listed in the textbook and Dr. Cosgrove along with the main directors, trustees and employees have proven to be a successful around the world. They were proactive in creating initiatives as needs arose. They continue with the vision of and honor the founders, in what motivates the company. The vision is ingrained into the fabric of the overall culture of the clinic. Are the challenges, yes. Have there been successes, yes. Is there more to do, yes. Those are what make us strong.

References Bill Gates. (2012). Biography.com. Retrieved from http://www.biography.com/people/billgates-9307520 Cleveland Clinic, (2012), Retrieved from http://my.clevelandclinic.org/about-clevelandclinic/default.aspx Cokin, G. (2009). Performance Management. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Davenport, H. (2008). How To Be The Next Bill Gates. Forbes.com. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/2008/06/23/gates-microsoft-career-oped-gates08cx_hd_0623howto.html Glenn, B (2011), Cleveland Clinic Millionaires Club added 2 more members in 2009, MedCity News, 2.8.11. Retrieved from http://www.medcitynews.com/2011/02/cleveland-clinicmillionaires-club-added-2-more-members-in-2009/ Forbes, (March 25, 2011). Americas Highest Paid Chief Executives, retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/lists/2011/12/ceo-compensation-11_rank.html Hitt, M.A., Miller, C.C., Colella, A. (2011, chapter 8). Organizational Behavior (3rd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Institute for Leadership, BPI Group. (2011). Am I Ready to be CEO? Retrieved from http://www.easbpi.com/en/BPI_InstituteCEOseriesPart1.pdf Lieberman, B. (2012), What are The Requirements to Be a CEO? Retrieved from http://www.hlassoc.com/links.htm Loughran, S (2004). In Hospital Deaths from Medical Errors at 195,000 per Year USA. Retrieved from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/11856.php

Robbins, S. (2011). What do CEOs do? A CEO Job Description. Retrieved from http://www.steverrobbins.com/articles/ceojob The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, (2005), CLEVELAND CLINIC FOUNDATION. Retrieved from http://ech.cwru.edu/ech-cgi/article.pl?id=CCF1 US Census Bureau, (2012). Retrieved from http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html United States Office of Personnel Management, (June, 2010). Guide to Senior Executive Service Qualifications. Retrieved from http://www.opm.gov/ses/references/GuidetoSESQuals_2010.pdf