Issue Highlight - Y2K, Oh
-- "At 12:01 a.m. on January 1, 2000 we both breathed a sigh of relief and simultaneously attended a coronation...The coronation may have been more significant than the relief."

In This Issue...
Elementary TQM
Workplace Humor
Games at Work
Merger Mania
Boosting Capacity

Features...
Peter Block Column
Views for a Change
Pageturners
Briefcases
The Quality Tool
---- I Never Use
Diary of a Shutdown

Views for a Change
Consultant Q&A

Question:

--I am interested in discovering what connection there may be between three important sets of data we have about ourselves as an institution. The first is an assessment of our organizational culture using the Organizational Culture Inventory (OCI), a product of human synergistics in nearby Plymouth, MI. The data collected in 1998 reflects how the top leadership groups and a cross-section of over 700 employees view our organization's culture.

--The second set is our employees satisfaction data, gathered from a survey completed by over 2,600 respondents earlier this year. This is our third patient satisfaction data which reflects how well our organization meets customer expectations in areas ranging from "amount of time spent with the doctor" to ease of parking. My instincts and much of my training lead me to believe there are linkages between these sets of data: the more constructive and positive the organizational culture is, the more satisfied employees will be in their work and ultimately, the more satisfied our patients will be. However, I would like to be able to back up my instincts with facts.

--Is there a solid, fact-based case to be made for the organizational culture-employee satisfaction-patient satisfaction connection?

--Rob Mills, OE Consultant University of Michigan Health System Ann Arbor, Mich.
--John Paul Gladstone, P.Eng. Siemens AT PT EC Chatham, Ontario, Canada

John Runyan responds:
H. James Harrington responds:

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