Reference no: EM132222300

Recruitment Challenge for the Middle Manager—Case for Chapters 2

Jon M. Thompson

You are the director of strategic planning and marketing in a large, multi hospital-based health system. The office includes 10 professional positions (including yours), and you currently have five professional staff members and one support staff member who report directly to you. Your office has responsibility for managing and updating the organization’s annual strategic planning process, including managing external (e.g., competitor and market information) and internal databases (e.g., service volumes and projections, patient origin data, and payer data), as well as managing all public relations and marketing activities. You are engaged in the process of filling a newly approved position that reports to you, called senior planning analyst, which will have a leadership role in managing the planning process. Currently, there are two planning analysts who report to you and will work with this senior analyst. Of all the candidates you are considering, one has the appropriate education and significant experiences in planning in other health care settings and is the best fit for the job. However, her salary demand for the job is $9,000 more than the salary range for the position allows.

Use your knowledge of human resources management, the role of the line manager in recruitment and supervision of staff, and the role of the human resources department staff to effectively address this situation and to respond to the following questions.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. How do you convince your boss and the human resources department that this is the candidate you want to fill the job?

2. What steps would you undertake to get the salary approved?

3. What problems does this situation present for you, and how can you effectively address each problem?

4. What options do you have if the salary remains a “sticking point”?

Sustaining an Academic Food Science and Nutrition Center Through Management Improvement—Case for Chapters 2

Ritamarie Little and Louis Rubino

Introduction

It was my first time sitting on the other side of the desk. I have been asked by my Dean to serve as the Interim Director of the Marilyn Magaram Center (MMC), a Food Science, Nutrition, and Dietetics collaborative on our large state University campus. For a dozen years I have served as an “outside-the-area” advisory board member consulting in my area of expertise (health administration). I met several times with the very competent Director concerning the Center’s initiatives but my focus and involvement had only been confined to broad oversight. Now she has accepted a national position within a food service industry professional association. It is up to me to “maintain the ship” for the nine months before I begin my sabbatical. How deep will I dive into what is happening within the Center itself while I maintain my regular teaching and program director responsibilities? The extra pay being given to me while I lead the Center will be nice, and I would like to make a difference, but to do that I will need to be more actively involved in operations. Am I able to use my administrative expertise to help this Center improve or will I just be a caretaker until a new Director is recruited since food is not my thing?

History

Marilyn Magaram was a graduate student in Food Science and Nutrition at California State University, Northridge (CSUN). She earned her Master’s Degree in 1984 and after graduation she began teaching at CSUN. Later she opened a private practice as a Registered Dietitian, where she specialized in low-calorie, gourmet cooking. In 1989, during a trip to Australia, Marilyn died in a rafting accident. The Marilyn Magaram Center for Food Science, Nutrition, and Dietetics (MMC) was established in 1991 through the support of Marilyn’s husband, Phil, in honor of his late wife. The purpose of the Center was to provide research support and community service in the areas of food science and nutrition, while educating future professionals.

Operated under the auspices of the Department of Family & Consumer Sciences in the College of Health and Human Development, the Magaram Center has engaged in a variety of nutrition and food science-related research, education, and community service projects. These activities utilize the knowledge and expertise of faculty, the energy and talents of students, and the extensive and diverse resources of the San Fernando Valley community. The Center provides a framework for collaboration among students, faculty, professionals, businesses, and community organizations in the food and nutrition field.

Mission, Vision, and Goals

The mission of the MMC is to enhance and promote health and wellbeing through research and education in the fields of nutrition and food science. Its vision is to be a recognized Center of Excellence in research and education in the fields of food science and nutrition in the global community. In adhering to its mission and working towards its vision, MMC has had an impact in many places in the community. It provides nutrition education and outreach through community events, health fairs and research projects in area schools, health departments, farmers’ markets, children’s centers, senior centers, and health care centers, just to name a few. It has engaged hundreds of graduate and undergraduate students in real-world, professional projects, providing them practical skills and knowledge which they cannot gain in a classroom. In this way, it ensures that the academic work can have meaningful, practical impact on all sides.

To more specifically guide the Center, the MMC Advisory Board has set the following goals:

1. Promote the professional growth and development of faculty, students, and professionals in the fields of nutrition and food science.

2. Provide education related to food science, nutrition, health, and wellbeing to diverse communities.

3. Pursue scholarly projects in the fields of nutrition and food science.

4. Form (and maintain) alliances with professional organizations and community agencies to raise awareness of the critical role nutrition plays in health and wellbeing.

5. Ensure long-term viability of the Center.