Aravind Eye Hospital
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1. Dr. V, the founder and driving force behind Aravind, passed away a year ago. Using both strategic and cultural managerial mental maps, diagnose the most critical issues facing Aravind following Dr. Vs death, and justify your reasoning. (8 points)
Strategic
Anytime such an enigmatic leader dies, many issues are bound to arise. Clearly, Dr. V was the driving force behind the hospitals strategy for many years, and he made it the well-known and widely-respected facility that it is today. Dr. V is truly a visionary Ð- it was his vision decades ago that made this happen, and his passing is a huge blow to the organization. I think the most question is “Is there someone who can take over and deliver on his vision ?” Dr. Vs mission is to fight blindness in the world, and hes done so through a remarkable market-driving approach. Will the next generation of Aravind leaders be able to continue in this line?
In typical Indian fashion, management resides in Dr. Vs family, which is a problem. While his family may understand Dr. Vs vision and want to implement on it, they have alienated their senior doctors who want a chance to manage Aravind.
At this juncture, the most critical issues facing Aravind are incentivizing and motivating their employees. Through the surveys, we know that recognition is important to the doctors, yet they universally regard Aravind as a place that doesnt recognize them, especially from the Sr. leadership ranks. They neither get the formal nor informal recognition that they desire. This will ultimately lead to a high amount of turnover in the organization. There seem to be problems with how doctors performance is measured Ð- they seem to advance solely by time spent at Aravind, which the doctors dont like and doesnt make much sense in their profession. Apart from that, they complain that only family members are advancing and being chosen to attend conferences, etc. Evaluations arent conducted in a formalized open manner. Clearly these strategic matters need to change if this organization is going to flourish going forward.
Cultural
Culturally, Dr. V is impossible to replace. He is the reason that residents came to the hospital at reduced salaries, and others mention that talking to Dr. V is the best part of Aravind. His vision and dedication to the cause has led these doctors to come there. These physicians now say that they arent getting the recognition they desire, and furthermore, they feel that management doesnt act on their recommendations. The doctors feel overworked by the heavy patient load, which can lead to a lot of stress and potential bad outcomes for patients in the long run. Additionally, they dont feel like they are earning the salary they deserve, and there is no clear path of advancement for those outside of the family. These all impact the culture of the organization negatively. These all culminate in losing physicians to private practices where the pay is higher and hours are lower. Aravinds value to these physicians rested partly with Dr. V, as he was the culture and impetus behind the hospital.
2. Analyze the political landscape of Aravind, key power dynamics, and channels of influence. Include a political map to illustrate your analysis. (8 points)
There are 4 major groups of doctors at Aravind, as well as the senior management and other staff. It is clear that the organizational flow is from senior leadership to senior doctors to midlevel doctors to junior doctors to residents. It is less clear why there is a need for so many levels of doctors. There is clearly a power dynamic between Sr. Leadership and the doctors, and the doctors desire to be members of the senior leadership but feel that only family members get that chance. Within the doctors also, there seems to be a hierarchy in that the family members are more senior and given more opportunities. The bottom levels of the doctor