Choosing the Board: Charting the Course with CompetingPriorities (p.241) Reading
Heritage Medical Center is a moderately-sized suburban hospitallocated in a lower- to middle-class community. Comprised of amixture of white-collar and blue-collar groups, people tend to livein ethnic enclaves where most of them know each other and where fewmoves in or out of their neighborhoods.
HOSPITAL
The quality of care is good but threatened by sinking staffmorale as the hospital struggles with financial and managementproblems so severe they are reaching the crisis stage. The economyis bad, and donations are down; relationships with funding agenciesare disrupted; and relationships with regulatory agencies havesoured.
Virtually no ethnic diversity is present among the white uppermiddle-class managerial staff and little is found among thedoctors. A fair amount of ethnic diversity exists, however, amongthe nursing staff and lower-level hospital personnel.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
The hospital is governed by a Board of Trustees comprised offiscally conservative, well-to-do male industrialists who haveknown each other for years and who frequently see each othersocially at the country club, at a very exclusive yacht club and atcommunity affairs. Board members are expected to contribute theirexpertise and to donate generously to the hospital fundraisingcampaigns. Other than the CEO, the hospital staff has littlecontact with the Board of Trustees whom they view as remote. Thereis friction among the Board members who are very concerned aboutthe future of the hospital, but who cannot agree on what course ofaction to take in the face of its mounting problems. One third ofthe Board recently resigned, leaving four open Board seats.Recognizing that they must take a far more active role inoverseeing hospital management, the remaining eight hired aconsultant to aid them in developing a Strategic Plan for thehospital. Major goals of the resulting plan include:
1. Diversification of the Board to better reflect the outsidecommunity.
2. Improved fiscal reporting and management
3. Improved morale within the hospital
4. Increased communication between the Board and the hospitalstaff
5. Closer relationships between the hospital and the outsidecommunity
6. Closer relationships between the hospital and regulatory andfunding agencies
7. Improved relationships within the Board
Instructions: Diversification of the BoardExercise
Goal 1: Diversifying the Board. There are eight nominees for thefour vacant Board seats. Read their descriptions and rank-orderthem from highest to lowest (with one being the highest) in termsof their suitability for joining the Board. Explain why you rankthem this way.
Board Nominees
Layla Amini is a successful 27-year-oldfinancial analyst. She is very quiet and very conservative, atraditionalist with a solid reputation. She was nominated by hercousin, a state senator.
Drake Covington II is a very bright 23-year-oldcomputer systems analyst. He marches to a different drummer and isconsidered “far out.” He is the nephew of an influential Boardmember and owes his nomination to his uncle.
Charles Wong is a 37-year-old managementsystems analyst. He lives near the hospital and works out of hishome. He is reputed to be a team player and a supportive person. Hewas nominated by a union representing the hospital staff.
Sue Novenski is a 42-year-old social worker whoworks in a battered women’s shelter. She works well with groups, islow key and extremely collaborative. She knows no one on the Board;she was nominated by the hospital’s Patients AdvisoryCommittee.
Lamar Leroy Woods is a 62-year-old dark-skinnedretired owner of a profitable manufacturing company. He is verywealthy and has donated large sums of money to the hospital. He isconservative, easy-going, intelligent and comfortable to be with.He was nominated by the hospital CEO.
Katherine Dobbs Courtney is the 55-year-oldwidow of a very wealthy industrialist and former Board member. Shehas served on numerous community boards. She is an idea person, anindividualist and is outspoken. She plays golf with the mayor whonominated her.
Peter Skylar is a 46-year-old CEO of a HealthMaintenance Organization (HMO) who by nature of his position isvery familiar with hospital operations. He is brilliant, a loner,and connected to the state regulatory agency. He is considered tobe in the “out-group” by those members of the Board that heknows.
Carmen Diaz is a 33-year-old highly respectedmedical doctor. She is very innovative and a self-starter who hasalready set up a clinic. She has never met anyone on the Board butdoes know the hospital CEO. She was nominated by a group of doctorspracticing at the hospital.
Assignment:
Complete “Choosing the Board: Charting the Course with CompetingPriorities (pg #241)” exercise. Rank them from highest tolowest.
- Explain why you made your rankings.
- List their diversity characteristics and how that impacted yourranking.
- Regardless of which four nominees are appointed, replacingone-third of the Board members all at once will mean a radicalchange for this board. This is a source of concern for the Boardmembers and a serious concern of the hospital CEO who dealsfrequently with the Board. What might be done to ease thetransition for the Board itself and for the CEO?
- What patterns emerge in your choices? Were all of your choicesthe same on any dimension(s)? Explain.
- How diversified would you say your choices are? Did youconsciously or unconsciously make choices on the basis of anyparticular dimension of diversity? Explain.
- If all four of your choices were selected for the Board, howdiversified could your complete Board be?
