Chapter 1: Welcome to Kaizen Consulting

Identify the type of organization VMH is and its chief characteristics. Where would VMH map in a construct such as Figure 3?

What does this organization do, in a broad sense? Visualizing the hospital as a transformation process, draw a simple diagram (like Figure 1.2) showing the inputs, resources, and outputs. Explain how customer feedback and performance information might be collected.

Where is Valley Memorial Hospital located? What implications might result from the organization’s location? Identify VMH’s customer base.

Identify all the different departments at VMH. With so many departments, how do you expect the VMH facility to be laid out?

Identify the organizational structure. What are the major units, what type of personnel work there, how many staff, etc.?

Chapter 2: Getting Acquainted With Valley Memorial Hospital

Explain VMH’s Mission Statement. How does it define its business? What core values are emphasized? How are these core values reflected in operations?

Visit the websites of two other hospitals (one possible candidate is Shouldice Hospital in Canada) and look at their Mission Statements. What similarities and differences do you notice when comparing their mission statements to VMH’s?

Based on your understanding of VMH’s Mission Statement, identify which of the four competitive priorities discussed in Chapter 2, which you think VMH should emphasize. Remember that the competitive priority is how an organization wins customers. Any organization must do at least adequately on all four priorities.

How would you assess productivity at VMH? Is productivity measurement important? Be specific with your responses.