The MPS Survey Results, Case Study Example

Using the MPS survey results was a good decision. The management had to determine whether the low performance of the department was due to lack of skills or lack of motivation. The survey highlighted the fact that employees were bored and their roles were unchallenging.

Job variety is important, as it allows workers to face challenges and improve their skills. Motivation comes from setting goals, and learning a new skill impacts self-respect and job satisfaction alike. Motivating employees through setting challenges and allowing them to develop their skills enables them to develop a new perspective.

Workers became multi-skilled, and many people were given the opportunity for developing their skills first time in a decade. Job rotation made the roles less repetitive, while people’s self-esteem grew; they became more motivated. Some employees might have changed their view about their role in the light of how “beginners” handle the task.

It is important that the management does provide support and training for new roles. Further, by working in pairs, the trainers can engage in teaching others about their role, and learn to appreciate their own skills. Further, collaboration and interaction needs to be supported by the job rotation system; workers need to feel that they are not left alone completing another repetitive task all day.

Kelly is in a good situation, as she knows the nurses, their preferences, the source of their dissatisfaction. While she is determined to help those who are still working as nurses, she also has a difficult task ahead. She will need to act as a mediator between the top management and the nurses. She would also have a difficult task to make nurses in the unit respect her as a leader, and look at her as a manager, instead of “one of them”.

It is important that Kelly does remain friendly and open with the nurses. However, she needs to take her own position. I would ensure that I listen to people and take advantage of the existing good working relationship with previous co-workers. However, I would also need to distance myself from nurses professionally; not act like an enemy, but a partner, who happens to be a leader.

The main hurdles Kelly will face after becoming a leader is to become accepted as a manager by the nurses. She used to complain about the leadership when she was a nurse, and criticized the management. She cannot do this any more. She will need to work on developing her collaboration skills, working with difficult people, and appearing professional at all times. She needs to gain respect as a leader in order to successfully support nurses and negotiate deals with the management. Further, it is likely that during the negotiation the nurses will need to compromise. Kelly needs to ensure that she can highlight the positive aspects of the deal and make nurses understand that some things are impossible to achieve.

Kelly needs to change her style, attitude, and appear professional in verbal and non-verbal communication. She should still remain open, supportive, and collaborative (Whitehead, Weiss, and Tappen, 74).  However, she needs to make it clear that she is in the position to initiate reforms, but it needs to be built around trust and communication. She might also need to consider loosening the ties with other nurses; going out for dinner together might not be professional.

Whitehead, D., Weiss, S. and Tappen, R. “Essentials of nursing leadership and management” Fifth Edition. 2010. Print.