Informative Research Responses - Case Studies

Students,

You will have today and tomorrow to complete the following 2 cases. Please post your responses DIRECTLY on your blog, in ONE blog. All answers should be constructed responses, not a few sentence answers...

CASE ASSIGNMENT 1

Can the United States Succeed Without Rewarding Rugged Individuality?

A basic element of the fabric of U.S. entrepreneurship is the faith in the ingenuity of the individual person’s ability to conceive, develop, and profit from a business endeavor. The frontier spirit and triumph of the individual over looming odds have been a predominant force in the development of the United States. Such individualism has also been recognized by organizations, with reward going to those who contribute winning ideas and efforts.

            The recent shift in organizational structures toward team design has caused management to reassess reward systems that focus on individual recognition and to consider rewards that are based on team performance. Some fear that removing individual incentive will lead to mediocrity and a reduction in personal effort. They argue that while the team model might work in other cultures, it is inconsistent with the U.S. way of thinking and living. According to Madelyn Hoshstein, president of DYG Inc., a New York firm that researches corporate trends, America is moving away from the model of team building in which everyone is expected to do everything and toward focusing on employees who are the best at what they do. She describes this change as a shift toward social Darwinism and away from egalitarianism, in which everyone has equal economic, political, and social rights.

            Team advocates say that teams are here to stay and liken those who deny that reality to the proverbial ostrich with its head in the sand. They stress the need for newly structured incentive plans to reward group effort.

Source: Pounds, M.H. (1996, April 12). New breed of executive is ruthless, highly paid. Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale), p. 1F.

Questions

1.    How would you respond to those with concerns about loss of individual incentive? Argue for or against the increased emphasis on team reward, using either personal examples or examples from business.

2.    Structure a reward system that would recognize both individual and team performance. You may use an organization of your choice to illustrate.

3.    Select a specific corporation or nation that has implemented the team model. Describe the transition away from a hierarchical structure (President, Vice President, Lowly Employees) and the consequences that have resulted from the shift, both positive and negative.

CASE ASSIGNMENT 2

Communication Challenges at the CDC

Summary

The following suggestions will provide insights for incorporating the organizational showcase. Chapter 1 highlights communication challenges at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); spotlights Dr. Julie Gerberding, the Center’s director; and allows students to consider and apply concepts that the organization and its leaders use to ensure successful and appropriate communication with its constituents.

            The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is charged with the responsibility of protecting the health and safety of people at home and abroad. The agency develops and provides disease prevention and control and distributes information to enhance health decisions. Communication with other health partners is essential to insuring the health of the people of the United States and elsewhere in the world.

Case

The events of September 11, 2001, affected every American citizen as well as the nation’s business community. One agency whose mission was changed forever was the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Atlanta-based federal agency, which is responsible for protecting Americans against infectious diseases and other health hazards, was instantly required to retool to meet the looming threat of bioterrorism, including anthrax, smallpox, and other deadly disease agents.

            The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is one of 11 federal agencies under the Department of Health and Human Services. The CDC is charged with the responsibility of protecting the health and safety of people at home and abroad. The agency develops and provides disease control information and distributes it to enhance healthy decisions and behaviors. Communication with other health partners as well as the public is essential to ensuring the health of the people of the United States and elsewhere in the world. The agency also stores and controls the nation’s stockpile of smallpox vaccine and leads 3,000 local public health departments in devising a plan for containing an outbreak or epidemic and administering the vaccine. It must also meld its work with national security agencies, such as the CIA, the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security.

            The leadership of the CDC must balance the urgent goal of preparing for a bioterrorism emergency with the agency’s fundamental mission of preventing and controlling infectious disease and other health hazards. AIDS, cigarette smoking, obesity, Type II diabetes, and asthma are among the real, long-term problems that are equally crucial to public health. In addition, new threats, such as the West Nile virus and avian flu, regularly present themselves.

            According to Julie Gerberding, director of the CDC, “ultimately, our customers are the citizens of the United States, so we have to have a better understanding of what they need to improve their health—what works and what doesn’t work, from their perspective.” She describes her agency’s key communication partners as the state and local health departments who monitor citizens’ health, the people who run health plans and market preventive services, and the entire business community, which has a strong interest in promoting the health of its employees. She knows the importance of effective communication with a broad audience. Such a process identifies strengths and weaknesses in programs and helps make the CDC a more credible advocate when it asks for funding to address potential episodes of bioterrorism as well as chronic health problems unrelated to terrorism. To be effective in any work setting, you need to understand the process of communication and the dynamic environment in which it occurs.

            Dr. Julie Gerberding is uniquely suited to meet the demands of a dynamic environment. She is the first woman to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the nation’s premier public health agency, with more than 8,500 employees nationwide and a $6.8 billion budget. At the age of only 46, she was named director of the agency in 2002, arriving at a time of great opportunity and substantial challenge. The anthrax attacks brought heightened visibility as well as new responsibilities and resources.

            Gerberding’s has a background as a solid scientist and she had previously served for nearly two decades at the University of California, San Francisco, where she established herself as a leading expert in the treatment of AIDS. She was acting deputy director of the CDC’s National Center for Infectious Diseases when the anthrax attacks began. It was during the mail-launched bioterrorist attack that Gerberding rose to national prominence as a top CDC spokeswoman, earning praise from politicians and public health groups for her straightforward style and expertise. “She is a very sensible, extraordinarily well-informed person who doesn’t hide behind jargon or the idea that she has special knowledge about complicated matters that she really can’t quite explain,” said Dr. Julius R. Krevans, chancellor emeritus at UC San Francisco, who has known her since she was an intern. Gerberding successfully combines professional talent as an infectious disease physician with exemplary leadership and exceptional communication skills.

            When asked her opinion about some of the CDC tasks being given over to the Department of Homeland Security, Dr. Gerberding replied: “I’m not a territorial person. As a leader, I have found time and time again that if you step away from your turf issues and look at the general goal, very often you can gain by collaborating. Sometimes that means you give up a little now in order to gain more support than you started with.” A firm believer in collaboration, Gerberding invites input from her staff and from medical community partners. Gerberding’s solid academic background has resulted in a stronger relationship with the national health agencies, hospitals, and other medical deliverers who focus on the science, research, and treatment of diseases. She understands the importance of renowned scientists working with local health care providers to make sure the best information is communicated to the public.

            Gerberding says that as frightening as it was, the anthrax crisis paved the way for more effective communication between the CDC and its constituents: “We had the attention of most Americans, many of whom may have been hearing for the first time what the CDC really is and does. We had the attention of Congress. We had a president come to the CDC for the first time in the history of the agency. If you take that kind of attention and appreciation for what our value is, and couple it with the investments in the public health system that are being made right now, it is an incredible opportunity.”

Questions

1.    What combination of communication skills is necessary for Julie Gerberding to be an effective director of the CDC?

2.    How did Gerberding use adversity as a means to strengthen internal and external communication at the CDC?

3.    Refer to the Communication Process Model presented in Figure 1-1. Identify barriers that the CDC might experience in communicating its AIDS campaign to people in various subcultures.

4.    The CDC TV ads to get 9- to 13-year-olds to exercise focus on the value of a healthy lifestyle instead of the dangers of obesity. Consider the information presented in this chapter about intergenerational communication issues. Prepare a three-column chart that shows reasons to avoid obesity that might appeal to people ages 12, 25, and 50. If you need more information, read the following article that describes the positive advertising communication strategy:

Many kids are aware of CDC obesity campaign. (2004, March 21). Medical Letter on the CDC & FDA, 59.

Avoiding Obesity: Reasons Differ Based on Age
12-years-old	25-years-old	50-years-old