Erin Bosman
CJ 355.001
Dr. Martha Fay
14 December 2016
Internal Case Study
MMG, Metropolitan Medical Group, is a private university’s medical school that has
been experiencing declines in patient satisfaction. Mike Taslow, the CEO, is aware of the decline
being seen in patient satisfaction and revenue loss and hired Betty McDaniel as a director of
patient care, in an attempt to address these declines. This paper will begin by addressing the
problems that the organization seems to be facing that have led to these declines in accordance
with the exigency (the urgent need(s) of the organization that will help to set themselves apart
from other organizations and to help their audience to understand their goal, (Fay, 2016)) at
hand, and then I will discuss a potential intervention for the situation.
Mike Taslow was proactive about the declining patient satisfaction by seeking out a
director of patient care, and furthermore hiring Betty McDaniel with her previous work in the
health care routine and experience with patient care. However, she had worked in a different
environment that functioned vary differently from MMG. Mr. Taslow was in the right mindset in
hiring someone to specifically work with patient satisfaction, however it would have been
beneficial to provide Betty McDaniel with more of a background of MMG and the procedures
that are used at MMG. While she had worked with patient satisfaction previously, it was not in
the same context, and Mike Taslow provided very little insight into the environment that she is
now working in, leading her to first orient herself with the environment and better understand
what MMG does at their facility before she could work further into her analysis. This led to the
three-month deadline, to being a bit more constraining then what she had originally thought.
1
Erin Bosman
CJ 355.001
Dr. Martha Fay
14 December 2016
A primary weakness I believe exists at MMG is organization and structure. This can be
observed in that first office visit that Betty observed with Ms. Dillard. While Ms. Dillard was
wrong in thinking her appointment was that date, she was treated poorly and the poor
organization of scheduling at MMG led to her having to wait roughly an hour to find out that she
was not scheduled in any department of MMG. Some of the other patients of MMG also
experienced disorganization and delays in their experience, as well as overall disorganization
within the organization and the departments. In addition, they all seemed to experience some sort
of disrespect or lack of concern from staff members such as appointments being moved without
coordination to the patient’s schedule. Ms. Dillard’s experience combined with the experiences
that some of the patient had discussed with Betty in her interviews, show an exigency for better
organization, and more specifically a need for a way for all departments to synchronize and
easily access patient files, such as through electronic filing. There also needs to be better
organization in the doctors and residents scheduling, as well as other employees of MMG. From
the patient’s side, I think that better organization is the main exigency at hand to increase
satisfaction.
Betty also met with some of the staff members to get an idea of their perspective of what
is causing the declines that MMG is experiencing. Jennifer, a department coordinator,
understood that patients weren’t satisfied and that the declines were of significance for MMG
and felt that there was an exigency for education about all that MMG was to patients so that they
better understood why it did not operate the same as other medical offices. She mentioned the
need for a more seamless experience but did not seem to feel like that was an easy adjustment, or
2
Erin Bosman
CJ 355.001
Dr. Martha Fay
14 December 2016
as necessary as educating the patients. And third, she mentioned that there is a lack of effective
communication both between and within departments. Jennifer sees an exigency of an
educational intervention. Dr. Penev, states that his patients are satisfied and that while
satisfaction numbers have declined, the problems are small and are just adding up but could be
addressed more quickly. He believes the biggest problem is that departments are scattered, and
MMG is overcrowded. The exigency that he sees is need for more space, and a structure
intervention.
Overall there is a communication challenge of both ineffective communication and a lack
of communication between MMG staff and its patients, as well as within MMG between
departments and staff members. Based on Betty’s observations and what is discussed in this case
study, there seems to be an exigency for two broad factors. The first being organization and
structure, within the office as a whole and patient files. The second, being education of why
MMG is unique and operates a little differently than other health care facilities to the patients
and stakeholders, and well as education of why patient satisfaction is significant and how to
effectively make patients feel comfortable and respected to the staff. Giddens structuration
theory focuses on how behavior and structure are intertwined. This theory discussed how
organizations are talked into being, and communication is how people organize and maintain
structure within an organization, emphasizing why communication is so important within
organizations and why there is this need for more effective communication and organization
within MMG (Gauntlett, 2002). Expanding on communication within MMG, in class we
discussed how an organization is a network of relationships, and a healthy, strong relationship
3
Erin Bosman
CJ 355.001
Dr. Martha Fay
14 December 2016
will have positive communication (Fay, 2016). With that idea of an organization being a network
of relationships, for that network to function, the communication needs to be clear, effective, and
supportive. I think it would help for Mike Taslow and Betty McDaniel to plan some sort of team
building exercise for the staff to help encourage a strong network of relationships and better,
more effective communication flow. This as a result, would lead to better direction and clearer
communication between staff and departments, and as a result better patient satisfaction due to a
more positive, organized and inviting environment. Improved communication, will also make
any changes within MMG easier to implement and help to encourage a more cohesive and
collective staff.
With this communication challenge in mind and the exigencies discussed above, I think
that both a structure intervention and an educational intervention is necessary. The primary need
is for a structure intervention and that should be what is focused on first. A structure intervention
changes how the overall organization functions, how they are organized, how tasks are assigned
and how communication flows (Fay, 2016). MMG has an exigency for organization, as I have
discussed previously, and a structure intervention will address that need. One way that this could
be addressed, would be through better delegation of tasks and procedures among staff members.
This will help lead to more organization between staff members, and ease for coordinating
between departments and with stakeholders such as the patients. Further, it would be helpful for
MMG to update their technology and to implement electronic filing for patients filing and
scheduling to be easily-accessed by all departments. As a result of patient’s satisfaction, and
potentially other confounding variables, revenue has declined which may be constricting for
4
Erin Bosman
CJ 355.001
Dr. Martha Fay
14 December 2016
MMG in adapting to new and modernized technology, such as electronic filing. However,
Electronic filing would lead to better organization for both the staff and for patients, and would
potentially lead to less delays for patients waiting for appointments. This eventually would
presumably lead to increased patient satisfaction, and as a result less revenue loss, showing that
the benefits should outweigh the costs.
Second, an education intervention will help to better acquaint patients with MMG’s
procedures and goals. This would also help to further connect faculty with their patients, as they
will both have a clearer idea of what MMG is focused on and what is important to their
organization, such as patient care. This intervention could be initiated through an educational
campaign marketing MMG towards Patients and other stakeholders. I think that for MMG, it
would be most effective for them to create a newsletter as an intervention material. This
newsletter could be targeted towards both their patients and their staff, or two newsletters could
be created, one targeted towards stakeholders, and one targeted towards the staff of MMG. This
will help to educate on new procedures being initiated at MMG, such as the suggested electronic
filing system, as well as addressing concerns of patients and staff. It would also give a basic
understanding of what MMG is, and what the CEO Mike Taslow envisions for the organization.
I also think that a website, would help to educate the public on MMG as well as provide further
organization for MMG, connecting to the proposed structure intervention. Further, some sort of
online contact form could be created for patients to voice their concerns, that then could be
responded to in a timely matter, such as by Betty McDaniel, the Director of Patient Care. This
website, could be based on the created newsletter, and be formatted to coincide with that, and be
5
Erin Bosman
CJ 355.001
Dr. Martha Fay
14 December 2016
consistent in the messaging between the two. I envision that this proposed website could have a
patient login where they could view their files, sign up for appointments, and fill out any
necessary medical forms. This would satisfy the need for organization and education in an easy
to access, convenient manner.
In order to evaluate if these changes are being implemented and effective, it would be
helpful for Betty McDaniel and Mike Taslow to continue talking with patients as she had done in
her interviews, in order to guarantee that patients are satisfied with the changes. It would also be
necessary, to evaluate if the staff of MMG is supportive of the changes and if they feel as if
implementation of these changes has been effective or if they have further ideas on improving
MMG’s identity. This could be done through having a staff meeting or one on one meetings
between Mike Taslow and staff members on a more regular basis such as every three to six
months.
To review, I think it is essential that MMG strengthens communication within their
network and with patients, changes their structure to be better organized and more consistent,
and educates their audience on what their goal and vision is for both patients, and staff. This
could be achieved through team building, a structure intervention, and an education intervention.
Further, implementation of a website and electronic filing system may provide more
convenience, and a clearer idea of procedures for staff and patients.
6
Erin Bosman
CJ 355.001
Dr. Martha Fay
14 December 2016
Works Cited
Fay, M. (2016, Fall). Analyzing and Enhancing Communication Flow in Organizations.
Microsoft Powerpoint. Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
Fay, M. (2016, Fall). Key Concepts in Organizational Change. Microsoft Powerpoint. Eau
Claire, Wisconsin.
Fay, M. (2016, Fall). The Role of Organizational Culture in Analyzing and Improving
Communication. Microsoft Powerpoint. Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
Gauntlett, D. (2002). Media, gender, and identity: An introduction. Retrieved September
27, 2016, from http://www.theory.org.uk/giddens2.htm
Evaluation:
_____/25 points: Identification and Description of Communication Challenge(s): Does the author
clearly articulate one or more communication challenges facing the organization? Does the
author use specific information from the case study to describe the challenge and provide
evidence that it exists? Does the author select appropriate communication concepts to help
explain the challenge? Are the concepts clearly explained using correct terminology? Does the
author correctly cite sources for the concepts?
____/25 points: Identification and Explanation of Communication Intervention(s): Does the
author identify and explain one or more communication interventions well-suited to addressing
7
Erin Bosman
CJ 355.001
Dr. Martha Fay
14 December 2016
the challenge? Does the author clearly explain, using evidence and reasoning form the case why
the intervention should be successful? Does the author select appropriate communication
concepts to help explain the intervention? Are the concepts clearly explained using correct
terminology? Does the author correctly cite sources for the concepts?
_____/ 10 points: Clarity of Writing: Was the essay well organized? Is it appropriately
introduced and concluded? Were paragraphs clearly structured including topic sentences? Were
sentences clear and easy to follow? Are conventions of grammar observed? Does the essay show
evidence that it has been proofread?
8
Top Related