Case studies for doctoral learners

According to General Colin Powell, “Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers who can cut through argument, debate, and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand” (as cited by Harari, 2002).

Assignment Preparation

For this assignment, imagine that you are the manager of a health care organization confronting numerous issues potentially affecting the provision of safe, high-quality health care practices. You have decided to focus first on the issue that has particular relevance to your area of specialization or professional goals, or that presents a situation you might expect to encounter in your leadership role. As you consider an appropriate course of action to address this issue, you have decided to begin by searching the case study literature with the intention of possibly gaining insight into the actions of other health care leaders who have dealt with similar issues and may have provided a sound solution to the problem or issues he or she faced.

A colleague with whom you have spoken about this has recommended the Buchbinder, Shanks, and Buchbinder text, Cases in Health Care Management as an excellent case study reference.

For your convenience, Appendix B lists all cases by topic (Leadership; Quality/Patient Safety; Finance; Healthcare Professionals/Human Resources; Health Disparities/Cultural Competence; Ethics/Law/Conflict of Interest; Crossing the Line/Fraud) and by primary and secondary settings.

In the Buchbinder, Shanks, and Buchbinder text, locate two case studies that are most closely aligned with the issue(s) you have decided to address. In addition, be sure that your selected case studies will enable you to

· Evaluate the effectiveness of different leadership approaches in facilitating collaborative professional relationships across disciplines.

· Evaluate health care leaders’ ability to communicate effectively.

· Analyze the role of communication in both creating and resolving a problem in health care leadership.

· Evaluate how effectively leaders address any issues involving ethical practice, diversity or inclusion.

· Evaluate health care leaders’ ability to manage and prioritize leadership responsibilities to resolve issues.

Note: The case studies in the text may not supply all of the information you may need. In such cases, you should consider a variety of possibilities and infer plausible conclusions.

Assignment Instructions

Complete the following steps:

1. Include a title page, abstract, and reference page.

o An APA Style Paper Tutorial [DOCX] and the associated APA Style Paper Template [DOCX] are linked in Resources to help you in writing and formatting your paper. Format your work per these documents.

2. Include on your cover page the titles of the case studies you have chosen. For example, your title could read: “Demonstrating Effective Leadership: Case 82 – When Yes Means No and Case 83 – Emergency Divert Status.”

o Include the case study in your references and use in-text citations when appropriate.

3. In the body of the paper, begin by briefly summarizing the facts surrounding the case studies. After you identify who the leaders are and the issues they are faced with, analyze the factors that you believe contributed to each issue.

o Note: In graduate level writing, you should minimize the use of direct quotes. Lengthy quotes do not count toward assignment minimums. It is your interpretation of the material and its application to practice that is assessed.

o Remember, the case studies may not supply all of the information you may need. In such cases, you should consider a variety of possibilities and infer plausible conclusions. However, please be sure to identify any speculations that you make as such.

o An excellent tool for analyzing factors that contribute to a problem is the Fishbone Diagram, linked in the Resources. Use of this tool is highly recommended, but it is optional, and you will not hand in your diagram with this assignment.

4. Compare and contrast the leadership approaches or styles these leaders use. Analyze how the approaches or styles make these leaders more or less effective in building interprofessional relationships across disciplines within the organization. Based on your analysis, determine how likely it will be that these leaders will be able to build and maintain such relationships with other communities and leaders outside their organization. Support your analysis with citations and appropriate APA references to peer-reviewed journals or scholarly sources.

5. Analyze how well these leaders communicate, verbally or in writing. Analyze the role of communication and communication strategies in both creating and resolving the issues presented in the case study.

6. Summarize and analyze how well the leaders managed professional responsibilities and priorities to resolve the issue in the case. What lessons could you take away from this case that could be applied by other leaders?

7. Summarize and evaluate how effectively the leaders addressed any issues involving ethical practice, diversity or inclusion in the case. What key lessons do these cases provide for leaders? Use examples to clarify and support your ideas.

Submission Requirements

Your paper should meet the following requirements:

· Written communication: Write coherently to support central ideas, in appropriate format, and with correct grammar, usage, and mechanics.

· Length of paper: 5–6 typed, double-spaced pages, not including the title page, abstract, and reference page.

· References: At least four different resources (peer-reviewed journals or other scholarly resource, assigned unit readings, and the like).

· APA formatting:

o Include a properly formatted title page, abstract, and reference page.

o An APA Style Paper Tutorial [DOCX] and the associated APA Style Paper Template [DOCX] are linked in Resources to help you in writing and formatting your paper. Format your work per these documents.

o Apply correct formatting to all in-text citations and references.

· Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.