[ORDER SOLUTION] Discussing Enduring Organizational Culture

According to Bob Walters, a Mayo Clinic senior administrator and former chief administrative officer of the Jacksonville campus, not only is the value¾the patient comes first¾enduring, but it also is what attracts people, both the physicians and allied health staff, to Mayo. Indeed, the priority placed on patients ranks second among the top ten reasons that physicians cite for working at the Mayo Clinic. Interestingly, the top reason is having challenging patient cases on which to work and inspiring colleagues with whom to work. Taken together, the top two reasons focus on Mayo employees working together to serve patients in the most effective way possible.Although the willingness of the staff to put the patient first and to work collaboratively is the essence of the Mayo Clinic’s culture, that essence is made possible, at least in part, through the influence of the Clinic’s compensation system. Leonard Berry, writing in Organizational Dynamics about his research on leadership lessons at the Mayo Clinic, asserts that the most influential factor in preserving the Mayo brothers’ vision and values “is likely the Clinic’s approach to staff compensation. Virtually all Mayo employees are salaried with no incentive payments, separating the number of patients seen or procedures performed from personal gain.” Berry quotes one Mayo surgeon as saying that the compensation approach is a ‘‘disincentive system that works.’’ Berry also quotes another Mayo surgeon as stating: “By not having our economics tied to our cases, we are free to do what comes naturally, and that is to help one another out. … Our system removes a set of perverse incentives and permits us to make all clinical decisions on the basis of what is best for the patient.” W. Bruce Fye, a Mayo cardiologist and a medical historian, says that with Mayo’s salary system, physicians do not have divided loyalties, and that there isn’t any “competition between doctors to take care of patients.”Clearly, the culture of the Mayo Clinic has proven to be a viable and effective means for solving problems and meeting challenges in contemporary healthcare. Can Mayo’s culture serve as a model for other healthcare organizations to eDiscussion QuestionsWhat purpose does culture serve for an organization?Describe the Mayo Clinic’s culture from the perspective of espoused values and enacted values.Do you think the Mayo Clinic’s culture provides a good model for other healthcare organizations? Why or why not?