Case study:
Chris Smith is a young man who has just completed college. He is facing many decisions and responsibilities that require him to make sound decisions. He has become engaged and is planning to buy a house as soon as he is able to. Recently, he has been employed in the position of the Executive Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer, Pat Burns, at the Faith Community Hospital.
As he arrives to his new place of work on one Monday morning, his boss, Pat calls him for what appears to be an induction and a thorough orientation to his duties as the Executive Assistant. Throughout the interaction, Chris is able to learn some traits about his new boss. He discovers that Pat is a humorous person, is well liked by the other staff members, and is a caring leader. Pat also discloses a lot of information about the Faith Community Hospital.
The discussion revolves around many issues. But in the end, Chris realizes that he was being briefed on the current position and challenges affecting the hospital. He also realises that he is being asked to use this information to address the current problems at the hospital, to develop and evaluate solutions for the problems, and to provide recommendations to the CEO and executive management of the hospital at a staff meeting.
The problem areas raised in the meeting, include:
- a drastic reduction in the weekly number of patients being admitted to hospital, and
- a spate of thefts of laundry and other house-keeping items, affecting the hospital's finances.
1. List AND explain the critical thinking techniques that will be used to develop solutions to the problems -
2. Generate and share ideas for solutions to the problems. You may use any of the following creative thinking techniques to do so: brainstorming and mind-mapping.
3. Evaluate each of the options/solutions presented in b above, (clearly indicating the selected option) using any of the following critical thinking techniques to do so: a Pros and Cons list and SWOT analysis.
4. Develop and agree on 5 criteria or benefits for selecting a suitable option for each problem.
5. Describe the selected solution for each problem on which the team agreed, giving reasons (criteria applied) for the choice.