ObJ. 2 Joyce Mercer is manager of the Long-Term Care Division of the Olin County Health Department. The division has a \(\$ 100\) million budget and is responsible for providing long-term care services (often in nursing homes) to the elderly and physically disabled. The division contracts with providers for nursing home care, adult day care, in-home visiting nurses, and a variety of other long-term care services. As manager, Joyce makes a variety of planning and control decisions on a daily basis. On a recent Tuesday morning, Joyce sat at her desk with the following issues and decisions needing attention:

1. Two months ago, the family of a nursing home patient filed a complaint alleging mistreatment of the patient. An investigation revealed substance to the complaint, and several remedial actions have been developed. Joyce must decide which actions to require of the nursing home.

2. For nearly a year, a task force in Joyce's department has been developing an experimental alternative to nursing home care. It will require a waiver of the federal Medicaid rules, but it has the potential to provide better-quality care at a lower cost to taxpayers. Joyce must decide whether to proceed with this initiative via a formal request to Washington, DC.

3. Budget problems caused the state legislature to reduce funding for a certain program. A citizens committee has recommended priorities to Joyce for trimming the program. Joyce must make and announce the final decision today.

4. Joyce is contemplating engagement of a consultant to conduct an evaluation of her division. Such an evaluation would judge whether the goals and objectives of her unit are being carried out in an effective and efficient manner.

5. Joyce's immediate superior has proposed moving a service unit currently located in another division to the Long-Term Care Division. The unit is not operating effectively because of a variety of problems within the unit. Joyce must provide a written recommendation to her supervisor by tomorrow about how this new unit could be integrated into the work of her division.

\section*{Required}
A. Describe the differences between a planning decision and a control decision.
B. Specify whether each issue described previously is primarily a planning decision or primarily a control decision. Briefly justify your answer. If an issue involves elements of both planning and control, indicate why you believe this is true.