DEFINING THE CASE AND CREATING PROBLEM STATEMENTS
Defining the Case and Creating Problem Statements
Charles McCutchen
School of Business, Liberty University
BUSI630 Case Study Research Methods and Consulting Techniques
Dr. Steve Liegl
9 November 2024
Author Note
By submitting this assignment, I attest this submission represents my own work, and not that of
another student, scholar, or internet source. I understand I am responsible for knowing and
correctly utilizing referencing and bibliographical guidelines. I have not submitted this work for
any other class.
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DEFINING THE CASE AND CREATING PROBLEM STATEMENTS
Abstract
This study will highlight the problems a hospital in Dallas-Fort Worth has as the area keeps
growing and exacerbating the issues. The hospital has seen profits dwindle in relation to the
amount of new people that have come into the area. Inadequate facilities and lack of manpower
adds to the downward spiral the hospital faces. The result from the problems is the staff is feeling
rundown due to being overworked, the clients are feeling as if their needs are not being
addressed and word of mouth is causing a decline in clients for the hospital. These are standard
problems that businesses have and if they are addressed using the Lean Six Sigma methodology,
the turnaround can take effect and the hospital can start down the road to profitability. The
scholarly articles outlined in this study will show that employees who are satisfied with their
work will prove to put out a better product which will undoubtedly affect patients and the
hospitals bottom-line. The area of Dallas-Fort Worth will continue to grow and the hospital has
to find a way to keep up with the area by addressing the disgruntled staff, clientele, and the lack
of useable resources.
Keywords: Job satisfaction, employee retention, workload, lack of resources, profit, Lean Six
Sigma
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DEFINING THE CASE AND CREATING PROBLEM STATEMENTS
Defining the Case and Creating Problem Statements
This study will highlight a hospital in Dallas-Fort Worth that has taken on some growing issues
due to the influx of people in the area. The area continues to grow, so these problems will be
exponentially greater, so the hospital must come up with a solution to stay afloat. The hospital
has a decline in money coming into the hospital, and that lack of funding has decreased the
number of patients coupled with a decrease in medical staff, improper facilities, and a decline in
customer service. Medical staff are overworked, and that is in line with the drop in staff, which
causes problems with clients getting the proper treatment in the necessary timeframe. The
hospital must retain employees to combat being overworked. The leaders must find a way to get
new hires that can help with the workload or spread the work out, so everyone is gainfully
employed. Public opinion has taken over and clients are taking their business to other hospitals.
Background of the Problem
This case study zeroes in on the difficulties faced from a hospital in the Dallas Fort Worth area.
The population in the area continues to grow which causes a problem due to employee turnover,
an increase in patients, a boost in workload, and antiquated equipment. Furthermore, the onset of
these issues affects the staff, the patients, and the underlying budget. Social media plays a major
role in business, and patients have taken their needs to other hospitals. Social media’s part in
business is progressively significant and has a global impact (Le & Chakrabarti, 2023). Social
media can provide a competitive advantage to companies when they look to restructure for the
betterment of the company (Ahmad et al., 2019). When there is a lack of available staff to see to
the patients it could cause medical errors to increase and it presents a negative effect on morale
(Kirch & Petelle, 2017; Chojnicki & Moullan, 2018; Seathu et al., 2024). The hospital needs
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DEFINING THE CASE AND CREATING PROBLEM STATEMENTS
updated equipment, a new influx of employees, a shared workload, and training to help leaders
with retention. Administrative leaders need to develop a comprehensive plan that staff can
implement, and it should address turnover and employee morale. Word of mouth travels fast and
with the internet bad news travels faster so negative online searches that patients do when
searching for healthcare play a huge role in determining which hospital to choose (Basa et al.,
2021). Available employees to take care of patients create disgruntled employees which, can be
seen by patients, so their overall experience is negative. With the staff being overworked, there
are long wait times for patients so both employees and patients are dissatisfied. Companies must
keep up with the growing demands of their business or they will perish. Leadership can look at
the profits in a company and implement changes. They can also see the pitfalls of resources not
being utilized to their fullest potential along with the rising retention rates. Employees who are
satisfied with their jobs maintain a positive relationship with the services they provide to their
patients (Ernyasih et al., 2023; Masriadi et al., 2018; Ibrahim et al., 2023). When work becomes
overbearing, some people will just go through the motions and get through the day while
focusing on the paycheck until something else comes along. Since employees are stressed due to
having too much work to do or work that they may consider beneath them, they will not give
their best effort, and service-based jobs that are in the hospital fall into this category (Keller &
Alsdorf, 2012). Keller and Alsdorf (2012) state, “All work has dignity because it reflects God’s
image in us and Because the material creation, we are called to care for is good.” So, we must
work to serve God even though the work we are doing may seem menial or fulfilling. Any
company that has a high turnover rate will incur some losses from a knowledge standpoint and
some intangible costs that most companies will fail to realize (Mok et al., 2020). When
companies are optimally staffed it allows the employees to designate the required time, they need
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DEFINING THE CASE AND CREATING PROBLEM STATEMENTS
with each patient, it improves the quality of care (Mok et al., 2020). The profitability of a
hospital with a high turnover rate must factor in the time it takes to get in new staff and the time
it takes to train them given their skill set (Fibuch &DAhmed, 2015).
Problem Statement
The Dallas Fort Worth area has had a lot of people migrate to the area in the past four years, and
the influx of people will not be slowing down. This growth has caused significant problems for a
hospital that already has its fair share of issues to deal with. The hospital has lost money,
employees, and clients and cannot meet the demands of the growing number of people in the
area with the lack of knowledge and lack of resources. (Moscelli et al., 2024). How an employee
feels about their job is tied to job satisfaction, and it affects job performance (Ndambuki, 2013).
Patients can feel neglected and that spills over into how they feel about the entire staff, so they
are prone to give bad reviews. The hospital needs a long-term solution to fix its issues and a
valuable tool that can be used in Lean Six Sigma and the DMAIC (Define, measure, analyze,
improve, and control) methodology (Hernandez &DVizan, 2015; George et al., 2004). This
methodology helps define problems so leaders can prioritize them and provide risk analysis
(Bravo-Paliz & Aviles-Sacoto, 2023). Most businesses want employees to do more with less and
keep the same standards and depending on the business, that will not always be possible.
Hospitals must provide adequate equipment so the staff can maintain the standards to care for the
clients. In the analysis, we look for a solution to the problems presented. Proverbs 3:5 (King
James Bible, 1979/2017) states, "Trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not on our own
understanding.” Every person and company will go through trials and tribulations and the answer
is always looking to God to gain understanding.
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DEFINING THE CASE AND CREATING PROBLEM STATEMENTS
Conclusion
As soon as leaders saw that the staff was unhappy, profits were dwindling and there was
a problem with clients providing negative feedback, a plan should have been put in place to
mitigate these problems. A hospital’s efficiency relies on useful equipment and staff to run the
hospital. These problems such as overworked employees and running an effective organization
so patients will provide positive feedback and be adjusted. This is not the first hospital that had
these issues to deal with so leaders can take a quick assessment and reach out to other hospitals
to gain insight.
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DEFINING THE CASE AND CREATING PROBLEM STATEMENTS
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