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.

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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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?

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