Outsourcing hospital services

Due to financial pressures that many hospitals face today, the Deaconess Clinic in Billings, Montana decided to outsource a number of services, although in somewhat different ways.

First, the hospital outsourced its cafeteria food service. Although the food service employees were hired by the outside firm, they still felt a sense of ownership of their jobs, and they still felt connected to the hospital, because of the family atmosphere in the kitchen and the cafeteria.

When the hospital tried the same thing with housekeeping, employee turnover became a problem. An investigation revealed that because the housekeeping employees were more isolated in their work, they lost what little feeling of being connected to the hospital they had.

The problem was solved by hiring the employees back, but outsourcing its laundry service. This time, the hospital approached a rival hospital about collaborating on a joint outsourced laundry service.

Should Deaconess Clinic outsource the housekeeping operation or not? Through a case analysis, compare or contrast the Deaconess Clinic with the Seven Deadly Sins of outsourcing found in the Best Practices section of the following article:

Barthelemy, J. (2003). The seven deadly sins of outsourcing (attached).

A case study is a short description of a real business situation. Analyzing case studies gives you the opportunity to apply those concepts to real business problems. Cases are generally written for several types of analysis. Usually, there is not a "right or wrong" answer. Rather, cases provide a vehicle for you to demonstrate your understanding and ability to apply course concepts. You must use appropriate sources (properly cited) to support your position. Check your analysis by assessing how well it demonstrates your subject knowledge. If your answer relies on your impressions of the topic prior to taking this course, it is likely that the analysis is not your best effort. Simply answering the questions which are part of the case is not enough; consider the questions to be clues to the important concepts and facts. You are strongly encouraged to use the following outline, so that your analysis is organized appropriately: