It is not uncommon for healthcare organizations to restructure, reorganize, or change ownership on a somewhat frequent basis. As the business of healthcare is ever-changing, many organizations must change to meet the demands of the industry, the patients they serve, and the professionals that serve them.

As you have been reading about in your secondary text regarding the case of Virginia Mason, these changes can be pretty profound or, in other instances, more subtle. Throughout this course, you will choose a healthcare organization that has changed at some point to study and analyze. You will report on the same organization with every assignment, so you must ensure you can find a wealth of information on them.

For this first week's assignment, you will explore their leadership culture. What type of leadership methodologies does the organization subscribe to? Were these the same before changing? Why do they believe in them and encourage them?

In particular, focus on these areas:

1.) Leadership Skills and Behavior

• What are the mission, objectives, and priorities of the organization?
• Does the organizational culture encourage high employee commitment by communicating a compelling vision?
• How are management techniques and theories incorporated into leadership activities?
• Does leadership promote learning and encourage decision-making?

2.) Leading Change and Engaging Culture

• Does the organizational climate encourage transparency, mutual trust, and focus on service improvement?
• Does it promote teamwork and support diversity?
• Does leadership hold themselves and others accountable for surpassing organizational goals?

3.) Ethics

• How does the organization ensure high ethical conduct and a commitment to transparency and accountability?
• What established ethical structures to resolve ethical issues do they have in place?