Case: Amalgamated Laboratories

This case study describes what happens when a health district merges four laboratories into one unit due to external driving forces for change, primarily the government funding cuts. Although the intention was to develop one centralized, efficient, and high volume centre, the inattention to the ‘people issues’ and the cultural differences of the work units results in chaos. The recently hired laboratory manager, Claude, has implemented several stopgap measures intended to address the work load issues resulting from high turnover levels and sick leave usage. However, these measures do not improve the morale and performance problems of the laboratory. Time is running out for Claude as his supervisor gives him an ultimatum to ‘clean house or else.’ One can point to several symptoms of an underlying problem such as poor morale, reduced performance levels, excessive sick leave usage, conflict, and work overload. However, it is necessary to ask why these problems exist. The manager has made an attempt to bring the staff together in order to develop some mutually acceptable solutions. This is the typical solution advocated for dealing with operational problems. There is an idyllic view that, if only we can involve people, they can come up with the necessary solutions to bring an end to workplace issues. However, in this case, the staff are so ‘wrapped up’ in their day-to-day issues, that they cannot see beyond their own particular grievances. It can also be argued that the management of the change process itself was ‘botched.’ The planning efforts were focussed on how the Amalgamated Laboratory would be structured rather than how the revised structure would, in reality, improve service levels or affect staffing levels. A realistic appraisal of the adequacy of the existing system was not undertaken. Also, existing staff were involved in the consultation process on a rather superficial level. Having said this, however, it must be noted that the