Mike was the new manager at Riverside Clinic in northern Washington. The clinic was part of a large medical group management organization. Riverside had a number of family practitioners, obstetricians/gynecologists, and internal medicine physicians, a few specialists, and some physician assistants. Staff includes 10 clerks, 3 radiology technicians, 4 lab technicians, 6 medical assistants, and 14 registered nurses. Human resources and other administrative support staff are located at the organization’s headquarters.

Mike was responsible for managing Riverside’s staff. He interviewed everyone soon after he joined the clinic, so he could get to know them. His goal was to build trust and maintain open lines of communication. In general, the clinic ran smoothly. Minor disagreements or personnel problems happened from time to time, but Mike was happy that he did not have many major issues to overcome—at least not for a while.

Case Questions:

a. If you were Mike, what would you do next?

b. Should Mike terminate Liz or Joe?

c. What are some of Mike’s options at this point?