Mission
Veteran’s Affairs (VA) Hospital vision promises “To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan by serving and honoring the men and women who are America’s Veterans.” The three key words of the mission are care, serve, and honor. The subjects of the mission are veterans, their spouses, and their children (Department of Veterans Affairs, 2015).
Core Values
The hospital lacks a vision statement but instead has five core values, which are integrity, commitment, advocacy, respect, and excellence. The values define the VA's culture and affect the daily operations of the hospital (Department of Veterans Affairs, 2015).
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Weaknesses
The main weakness hindering operations at VA is the lack of adequate funds to cater to the veterans and their beneficiaries. The hospitals rely on donations and volunteers, thus running on an unpredictable budget (Veteran Affairs, 2020). Any other institution with a better source of funds would offer better hence a threat to the functioning of VA.
The second weakness is its inability to host the homeless veterans. Other caregiving institutions such as homes for the elderly that offer both care and accommodation present a much better option than VA hospital. Also, veterans who got exposed to terrifying events or heads are prone to live with mental health issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder. VA may find it challenging to offer exemplary services for such patients due to inadequate specialists.
Potential Threats
Failure to mitigate the mentioned weakness may lead to VA’s loss of clients and donations to other facilities that may accommodate veterans and offer better services. Facilities that pose such risks to VA include homes for the elderly, mental health institutions, and private institutions with specialized care for trauma and PTSD patients.
Utilizing Strengths to Help the Organization Improve
The biggest strength of the VA hospital is its image. A lot of respect is accorded to veterans who risked their lives to take part in battles as a show of patriotism and love for their citizens. As such, veterans are accorded national respect, with any institution seeking to help veterans getting a share of honor. VA hospital, therefore, has an image of patriotism.
The strength in VA’s image presents an opportunity that the hospital can utilize for several benefits. First, the image can help the VA be financially stable and enable it to offer quality services to its clients. Using the concept of patriotism and sacrifice for the citizen is a campaign tool that can enable VA drive for funds and donations across the U.S. Similarly, volunteers and partners would be attracted to the good image of VA, thus presenting free skills and specialized services to the veterans. This would make the VA more productive and competitive.
Managerial and Leadership Competencies
My persuasive abilities would be of help to VA in sourcing for funds through donors and well-wishers. Using this skill, I would represent the hospital at private institutions, donors, and the general public to elaborate on the state of VA and the support needed to keep our veterans healthy. I would top up the persuasive skills with my empathy to catch the attention and mercy of well-wishers. Lastly, my communication skills will come in handy for the hospital as well. I will offer timely and accurate communication to all stakeholders, thus improving transparency and increasing partnerships and donations.
Appropriate Leadership Theory
Transformational leadership is the best theory suited to address the weakness of the VA hospital. A transformational leader works by inspiring followers to look beyond their interests while in service. The approach resonates well with veterans who looked beyond their interest while at war to fight for the flag of the U.S. Similarly, a transformational leader will use the same concept to urge employees, donors, and volunteers to offer services and donations without considerations on their interests. Since the hospital has inadequate funds to motivate employees through monetary benefits, it requires a transformational leader who inspires through idealized influence, inspiration, and intellectual stimulation. The charismatic nature of such a leader would drive all stakeholders into emulating the passions, thus offering mitigation of the hospital’s weakness.
Primary Mechanisms
Primary mechanisms are the main ways through which leaders initiate or refine change. Attention is a vital mechanism that can maintain the culture at the VA. By showing passion for positive patient outcomes and generous donations, the culture of offering quality services and funding would persist. Reaction to crises is also applicable. VA deals with the elderly and sickly and occasionally witnesses patients' transitions. A show of empathy and comforting with the families create a bond that exemplifies respect and dignity to the expired patients. Also, role modeling would refine and maintains the VA's culture by setting an example for new employees and stakeholders. This can be achieved through leaders' participation in contributions. The last mechanism is the allocation of rewards (Schein, 1996). In the absence of monetary or material rewards, praising of exemplary services instills a culture of handwork among employees.
Secondary Mechanisms
The design of facilities is a very critical secondary mechanism at VA hospital. Notably, most veterans live with disabilities. The facilities at VA should be designed to aid in movement and avert possible injuries. Also, a veteran’s facility would benefit much from the mechanism of stories, legends, and myths (Schein, 1996). Veterans are legends on their own, and incorporating successful stories of the battlefield and the hospital would resonate well in creating a distinct culture for VA hospital.
The Effect of Culture on Change
Negative impacts are mostly felt when leaders initiate changes in institutions with unproductive cultures. An example is a culture of monetary rewards exercised in a transactional leadership on a new leader who attempts to introduce transformational leadership. Motivating such employees with inspirations will present a complicated task. However, VA's culture of self-motivation and passion offers a much easier option for a leader seeking to initiate changes.
References
Department of Veterans Affairs. (2015, August 20). About Veterans affairs . Retrieved May 10, 2020, from https://www.va.gov/about_va/mission.asp
Schein, E. H. (1996). Organizational culture and leadership . Jossey-Bass.
Trastek, Victor F., et al. "Leadership Models in Health Care—A Case for Servant Leadership." Mayo Clinic Proceedings, vol. 89, no. 3, 2014, pp. 374-381
Veteran Affairs. (2020, April 21). VA Voluntary Service . Retrieved May 10, 2020, from https://www.volunteer.va.gov/
