Case Study Chapter 17 Managing Health Organizations — In the case study, amidst poor performance levels, the Health Commissioner and the Administrator are discussing how the County Health Department can transform itself. They agree that they need to communicate an urgency for change to the Department employees. They discuss various techniques, including learning lessons from high-performing subunits and offering incentives for cooperation.

Paper: In a 5-7 page paper or PPT address the following questions: How does a manager create an urgency for change (a “burning platform”)? Should managers emphasize the potential for organizational failure in order to create urgency? How can employees be involved in creating an urgency for change? If some units in an organization are performing better than others, should internal competition among units be encouraged? What are some negative effects of such competition? How can the negative effects be minimized? Are health organizations in general, and those you are familiar with, in need of change, or are they functioning just fine? Be sure to also refer to the case study and apply questions to it.