Ron Ventura at Mitchell Memorial Hospital and his performance are being reviewed by Andy Prescott, Chief of the Cardiovascular Center. Ventura is reputed to be an excellent vascular surgeon. He was instrumental in developing a better vascular surgery practice at the hospital. However, he is also known to be short-tempered, rude, and had inappropriate relationships with nurses. The nursing staff and others have complained to HR about Ventura's behavior. Now, Ventura's contract with the hospital is ending and Prescott is faced with the challenge of deciding whether to renew Ventura's contract or not.
Frank V. Cespedes; Heide Abelli
Harvard Business Review (913572-PDF-ENG)
June 28, 2013
Case questions answered:
- Highlight the main points and identify underlying themes in this “Ron Ventura at Mitchell Memorial Hospital” case.
- Review: What is really going on? What are the problems? What is the main issue? How do the problems relate? What are the underlying issues? Describe how these issues developed over time.
- “Solve” or manage the issue.
- Identify the solution and identify strengths and weaknesses.
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Ron Ventura at Mitchell Memorial Hospital Case Answers
Introduction – Prescott’s review of Ron Ventura’s behavior
Andy Prescott, chief of the cardiovascular center at Mitchell Memorial Hospital (MMH), must decide whether to renew the contract of Ron Ventura, head of vascular surgery.
Ventura is an excellent surgeon and has brought a lot of revenue to the hospital, but his interpersonal skills are sorely lacking.
He has inappropriate relationships with nurses, is rude to other doctors and nurses, and has a bad temper. He also does not seem to respect the skills of some of the other people who work with him in surgery.
Prescott must decide if the revenue is more important or if Ventura should be let go because of his attitude, which does not fit with the policies at MMH.
Evidence
In favor of keeping Ron Ventura are several points:
- Ventura improved vascular surgery at Mitchell and generated much cash flow for the hospital.
- Ventura generated $3.2 million annually in revenue by being able to handle many patients.
- Ventura also generated income in other departments of the hospital as a halo effect.
- Ventura was willing to take on and tackle the toughest vascular surgical cases.
- In fact, 54% of the new vascular surgeries were referrals from physicians who did not work at MMH.
- All of his reviews talk about how skilled and professional he is in surgery.
The reasons that Prescott is considering not renewing Ron Ventura’s contract include:
- He is sharp-tongued, abrasive, and impatient.
- He has inappropriate relationships with multiple nurses.
- He is critical of other physicians.
- He is rude to others he works with.
- He can exhibit signs of a bad temper.
- Others are threatening to leave if he stays.
Influence of Contexts and Assumptions
The first assumption that the case study implies is that most of his co-workers want Ron Ventura to leave; however…
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