Free Seaside Convalescent Care Center Case Study Example

Do you think the change in management from Mindy to Ann bodes well for Seaside Convalescent? Should Mindy have done that? Why or why not?
The change in management in the Seaside Convalescent Care Center was the right move by Mindy. The move was appropriate, and the adoption of Ann’s theory was the best alternative. Ann introduced a side-bet theory stating clearly that the action of people is determined by their immediate environment. Mindy’s management on Seaside’s workforce failed because she was not strict on the nurses. At the point of handing over the power to Ann, Mindy felt that she could not successfully run the Care Center. However, Ann, who had experience as a nurse in the care center, changed the whole management by being strict in the supervision of the taskforce. Had Mindy changed her management approach and became more authoritative on the nurses, there would have been no need of management change at Seaside Convalescent Care Center.
The change in management from Mindy to Ann prevented the already bad relationship between the nurses and Mindy to a worse condition. The condition would have worsened with time due to Mindy avoiding the nurse aids and feeling defeated by the group, who would even not speak English. In spite of Ann’s method of management being ineffective due to her rudeness to the nurses and being over-demanding, it got the work done. Mindy’s approach of letting her employees do what they wanted was worse since it got no work done, and the relationship was deteriorating.
Evidently, Mindy’s strategies were not working. Some of her employees were not even able to speak English. Mindy felt defeated and at all costs avoided the nurse aids. The disparity between the employer and the employees ruined the already bad relationship in the institution. Ann taking over the employee oversight was appropriate in that she already had experience in the Care Center. As such, her strategy in running the nurse aids was totally different and viable as compared to Mindy’s. Mindy would also have adopted the strictness and change her strategy altogether. It would take some effort for Mindy to change and become demanding, and her impact felt by the nurses at Seaside.
In as much as Ann is rude and pushy when it comes to handling the employees, the evaluation of the Care Center will be in a position to change. Ann’s approach to the employee management results into hard work by all that are in the institution. High turnovers in revenue measurement would then result, and the customer evaluations would show a remarkable improvement. With Ann in the employee oversight, she would ensure that all the employees meet and discuss the problems that Seaside Convalescent Care Center has struggled with for a long time. Ann’s attitude would result in a better motivation strategy.
Which theory of leadership does Mindy represent, in this case? Explain and your choice. Use evidence from the lecture and your text to support your choice.
The theory used by Mindy is the behavioral theory. The behavioral theory focuses on how the leaders behave. The theory looks into whether the leaders dictate their expectations and demand cooperation. It also looks into whether the leader involves the team in decision-making for support and acceptance. Mindy can be termed both as a democratic and laissez-faire leader. She is democratic because she allows the team to provide input in decision-making. As such, she finds it difficult to manage the issues at Seaside due the different ideas and perspectives of each and every nurse, who are not even able to communicate in English.
Mindy believes that the nurse aids lack motivation in the institution because they feel unwanted. As such, they seize the opportunities to work elsewhere during the tourist seasons. Mindy approaches the issue visibly and is totally engaged to be in tune with all that happens in the care center. She has the feeling that her employees are incompetent and incapable of taking care of the patients. Ann presents the solution to the lazy employees by being harsh and strict to achieve better productivity. Since Ann and Mindy have different characters, Mindy sees it best to let Ann take over the employee oversight. One of the contributing factors for Mindy’s surrender was because of her belief in the behavioral theory, which focuses on leadership behavior. Being democratic, she allows Ann to manage the workers for the good of the company and not for personal gain.
The expression of their perspectives is, therefore, hard to understand and implement. Mindy, the manager of Seaside, ought to have given her workers more incentives for the initiation of diligence. The nurses, unable to communicate in English, should have been engaged in better communication platforms where they would voice their concerns. Mindy should have considered this option before surrendering and handing over the management of the workforce to Ann. Being a democratic leader, Mindy would have handled the workers in a better way compared to Ann who was hard on the workers. To some extent, labor management is not only about getting the work done, but also having the passion and commitment to have a job done satisfactorily.
As a laissez-faire leader, Mindy withdraws from the nurses and leaves them to do what they want. She sees that interfering would cause more damage to the institution. The withdrawal technique was not appropriate to such a workforce where no one is motivated. The nurses at Seaside need close supervision as that offered by Ann.