Barbara Norris Case Study

Question 1
Barbara has started off to a good start. Hospitality is a service industry wherein the
human factor plays a very important role. Hence if the staff is not motivated and
satisfied, it would affect the performance and the service.

As a manager she had taken the right first step of breaking the ice by
conducting a meeting.
Secondly she has also made sure that during the meeting her staff feels
comfortable. She did this by maintaining the anonymity of the grievances
written down by the staff.
Thirdly she wanted the staff to realize that they should be looking for the
solutions rather than crib about the problems. She took the decision that the
solutions will be taken together as a team and not by her as a superior. This
would make the staff feel that are responsible and they belong here. These
immediate steps were very necessary to bring out the team work culture that
was nonexistent.

Barbara was a very good choice for the role as she had knowledge, experience
passion. She had been in EMU and was willing to remain there. She was willing to
take up challenges. Also she had kids who were in high school which made sure that
she could manage in case the job gets demanding.
Question 2
Barbara is trying to bring about a change in the overall working environment at
GMU. The nurses at GMU have been under a lot of pressure as the department is ill
staffed & also the hospital was undergoing through tough financial times.
The employee retention rates were low and employee turnover was high. Barbara
wanted to know what the root problem underlying employee dissatisfaction was. So
in the off-site meeting she got to know certain reasons resulting in the
dissatisfaction among the nurses. But the core essence of the meeting was to put
the problems in front of the employees themselves and seek out solutions to those
problems in a collective manner. This would make the staff realize that their views
are considered by the top management in the decision making process. Also it
shows that Barbara as a manager listens to their grievances and involves them in
decision making .This is a very good way of getting a set of followers if you are new
to the leadership position.
Question 3
First, there is high possibility that she would be encountering resistance towards
change. There are a few senior nurses who had been with the unit for quite a long
time who would disagree with any decision that makes them change their routine.
The possible reason for such negativity could be the cognitive dissonance faced by
Group 9
Srija C; Udayan K; Venkataramana R; Varun S; Veena W

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Barbara Norris Case Study

the nurses as they themselves state that the reason for being a nurse was to care
for patients, but they were being treated as order takers. To address this potential
roadblock, Barbara has to motivate them to embrace the change by involving them
in the decision making and thus increase the commitment of the senior staff in the
day to day operations.
Secondly, although Barbara is attempting to involve everyone in the decision
making process, it is likely that the troubles could increase if she ends up listening
to everyone. This team of GSU is in a disoriented state that is infested with all sorts
of negativity and it needs a strong leader who could lead them out of darkness
rather than involve them in brainstorming. Not all members in the team would be
right candidates to be involved in the role of decision making. There could be some
elements who would oppose all the decisions for the sake of it thereby slowing down
the process. Hence it is imperative for Barbara to identify the right people who
could be consulted for making decisions and leave out rest of them. But even then,
Barbara herself should weigh all the options before coming to conclusions.
Lastly, as it is mentioned in the case, economy is in doldrums and EMU is reeling
under cost cutting measures, it would be difficult for Barbara to provide any
monetary rewards to her staff for achieving their targets. This may come as a
cropper for those employees who feel their efforts are going unnoticed. It would be
hard then to keep all of her staffed motivated at all the times taking into account
the staff shortage, increased stress levels and uncooperative attitude of some
workers. This could throw the entire reforms off the track and has to be dealt at a
high priority by Barbara. She could try to develop her own reward system which
would include recognition and constructive feedback to keep the staff sticking
together.

Question 4
Step 1 Create a sense of urgency
For the change to take form, Barbara Norris should approach the top management
and create a sense of urgency. The General Surgery Unit was already facing a very
high turnover. If the current situation carried on any further the unit would not be
able to function and the patience would be affected which in turn would create a
bad name for the hospital. The management, who are obviously concerned for the
image of the hospital, would then take the matter seriously.
Step 2 Form a powerful coalition
In this case it would be in Norris favour to get the support of the nurse director John
Frappewell. He is at a leadership position and at the same time would have the
power to influence the management. John, Frappewell and a few nurses would then
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Barbara Norris Case Study

be able to convince the management that it is important to employ more nurses in
the unit and at the same time redesign the performance management system.
Step 3- Create a vision for Change
The vision for this change would be to create a friendly and motivating work
environment for the nurses of the General Surgery Unit through consistent
feedback, respect from doctors, a transparent performance management system
and a grievance redressal mechanism. This would in effect lead to a change in the
way nurses treat each other and their jobs.
Step 4 Communicate the vision
The vision must be communicated both to the management and to the nurses. The
management would help in bringing about an adequate performance management
system, clearly mentioning the basis of distributing bonus. The nurses on the other
hand would be motivated to accept the change if they anticipate a better working
environment
Step 5- Remove obstacles
There would be some nurses like Louise who would be resistant to change. She has
a tendency to complain and also does not behave cordially with her fellow nurses.
She could act as an obstacle to change, especially in case she tries to bring other
nurses in her kitty of resistance to change. Hence the best move now would be to
let her go as she is already rightly pointed out that she spends her time tending to
machines than she does tending to patients.
Step 6-Create Short Term Wins
A short term win has already occurred in the process of changing the vision. One of
the issues the nurses had was that they felt no one truly defended their interest or
advocated on their behalf. The huge step taken by Barbara Norris to bring about this
change was a short term win and the nurses should feel motivated by this. Another
short term win could occur when the doctors would acknowledge the performance
of the nurses and instill in them the confidence that their work does in fact provide
value.
Step 7- Dont Declare Victory too Early
The short term wins mentioned above might seem like a major change in the work
environment but Barbara Norris should not declare this to be a victory until and
unless every aspect of her vision has been met. It is necessary she consults the
management even after the short term wins so that the compensation system and
performance system are designed to support the nurses and to bring about an
environment of learning and growth.
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Barbara Norris Case Study

Step 8 Anchor the changes in Corporate Culture
Since change is dynamic, there could be a possibility that after a few days the
doctors could go back to not giving value to the nurses or the work environment
could be hostile among the nurses again. Hence, Norris has to make sure she
addresses all the grievances as and when they come up. She also needs to have
monthly meeting with the management to give them a feedback about the
performance of the unit and receiving their help as and when required.

Group 9
Srija C; Udayan K; Venkataramana R; Varun S; Veena W

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