551.605.01 CASE STUDIES IN MANAGEMENT DECISION-MAKING

Students analyze problems and develop strategies based on real dilemmas faced by decision-makers. Students formulate positions before class and actively participate in discussion during class. Cases come from both International and U.S. settings, and deal with issues such as: conflict between budget and program offices, working with governing boards, contracting between government and non-government providers, dysfunctional clinics, reforming hospitals, managing local politics, cutting budgets and collaborating in informal organizations. Develops skills in leadership, negotiation, analysis, communication, and human resource management.

Students will develop critical skills in health management through application of theory to "real world" case studies. Specific objectives are that students will be able to: 1) identify roles, motivation, points of conflict, and means of resolution between program and budget officials in a public agency; 2) identify how budget processes should be designed to improve organizational effectiveness; 3) analyze how dynamics of human relationships and communications affect organizational effectiveness; 4) practice communication skills to improve organizational effectiveness; 5) identify transitions in a non-profit organization; 6) identify how different models of board behavior can be used to manage organizational transition; 7) outline a plan for succession in an organization from the perspective of a consultant; 8) be able to write a usable contract for health and social services; 9) identify the limitations of contracting for health and social services, and how to deal with them; 10) practice negotiation skills; 11) apply ethical approaches to practical health care program decisions; 12) identify how conflict emerges and how to deal with it in highly decentralized organizations; 13) identify and plan how to manage ambiguity in health organizations; 14) use incomplete and misleading data to develop workload assessments and cost estimates; 15) develop strategies to deal with complex human resource issues in health care using imperfect data and with pressures to save money; 16) work as a team to produce a strategy for survival of a specialized health service; 17) identify how confusion of mission and conflict of interest operate at board and management levels in a health care organization; 18) practice good participation in a conflict-ridden meeting of a health organization; 19) practice leadership among peers with widely ranging interests; 20) identify bottlenecks and measures of efficiency in health service delivery; 21) identify process problems in a health care organization; 22) redesign clinic processes in a real clinic situation; 23) plan for building consensus among people with competing interests; 24) practice communication skills; and 25) develop an approach to strategic planning.