Short video recorded in Banshee Reeks Preserve.

Banshee Reeks Preserve

As part of my sustainability course, I’ve taken up Banshee Reeks preserve for my case study and having the opportunity to explore the natural habitat so that I have a deep understanding of how nature works, how we interact with it and know our accountability towards preserving and protecting mother nature and creating sustainable businesses that meet the triple bottomline.

Picture below are some snapshots and videos taken in the preserve. To contrast natural habitats, I’ve included some pictures taken in my back yard to elucidate the gross biodiversity missing from artifically created human ecosystems.

Banshee Reeks Preserve Pics

Backyard Pics

Plant Inventory

Additional Pics from the preserve

Mr. Steward took over as CEO in 2001 and has been looking at ways to make healthcare delivery more efficient and effective. True to the company commitment to value care, Mr. Steward launched an IT initiative to streamline data collection procedures and consolidate all disparate systems into an integrated health informatics system. Mr. Steward sought expertise from the CIO and other IT specialists before finalizing the strategy.  When the employees were informed of the new IT initiative, there was initial resistance to the idea from the administrative offices where the IT automation was to happen.  In addition to the individual stakeholder’s resistance; the technical, project management and organizational “people” skills that were inadequately addressed throughout the project implementation will be highlighted in relation to their impact on the “innovators to the laggards”.

As for this IT Implementation, although the system was not an outright failure it did not meet user and organizational expectations; perhaps due to system limitations and lack of customization and interoperability which may of course been due to the budget constraints of this not-for-profit healthcare organization.

If one looks at the necessary system components to ensure a successful health informatics implementation, the traditional focus in healthcare organizations has been first on hardware, then on software and the final and least prioritized component has been the peopleware. First, the staff was never familiarized with the software and there was no initial buy in from them. Lack of familiarity and visibility caused resistance to change.

During the project implementation, a strategic decision made to move beyond technology acquisition to the next level of technology assimilation; unfortunately there was more of a financial incentive driving the assimilation goals in the area of capturing charges, compliance with regulatory governing bodies and revenue enhancement than on the area of provider delivery of quality of care and efficiency by ensuring stakeholder and end user communication, involvement and satisfaction.

Organizational politics among leadership led to some forcible acquisition of a less robust system.

With no perceived unified model or leadership confidence by the departments and subunits, which had in the past been forced to manage their own information challenges due to an unresponsive overworked IT department, they set out from beginning to end of the project to “control” their data and became the greatest obstacles to success.

Leadership was reactive rather than proactive leading to lack of empowerment over the “big picture” that the department heads perceived. The perception of the stakeholders, (department heads, line supervisors and end users), was that the decision was made personally by someone in high level administration (without a medical or an information technology background), and then delegated the “change agent” and project manager role to the CIO, Chief Information Officer, (who also had no medical background). The CIO was given the mandate of pushing the organization toward results as opposed to pulling it toward a shared vision.

The controlled nature of the project supervision and the lack of strong leadership developed into a definite disconnect between this designated change leader and the stakeholders, including the physicians who blamed the CIO for their lack of involvement by not including their medical informatics liaison to the degree desired by the medical staff.

Executives must be willing to move to a shared-leadership model that involves all employees in developing and enabling a common vision. They must be comfortable receiving constructive feedback from employees about what’s working and not working within and commit the time required for teams of employees to work on improving internal communications.

Without Senior Leadership’s willingness to acknowledge the importance of communicating a clear vision to the entire stakeholder and end user group, a shared vision that was not only in line with Corporate view for the individual Healthcare Organization, but also that met the needs of all stakeholders’ within the individual organization and the patients served challenges heightened.

The end users blamed the technology instead of the lack of planning, communication or involvement that was more the cause than the “off-the-shelf” hospital information system and clinical data repository. There was waning of support from the department heads that had been charged with supporting the change leader. There were no “in common” focus groups. Lack of empowerment led to backstabbing, gossip and disregard for organizational values. These were early signs of lack of readiness on the part of the organization for a system that must capture data from multiple sources to be used in critical decision making at the point of care.  No multifunctional team was assembled to work with leadership, the CIO, the IT Department and each other to establish their own and a common hospital wide vision and goal. The organizational structure was rigid and very inflexible.

Staffing reductions coupled with use of outside experts to bring culture change caused distrust and had in some cases caused low self esteem among workers.

Add to the existing lack of trust culture was the lack of time spent on the planning, communicate and involve phase; holding all “conflict issues” until after the go live and false assumptions turned early innovators to laggards due to despair and disappointment. The lack of involvement of the stakeholders, “early adopters” and end users in the decision for implementation of systems and methodology caused delayed in their acceptance of the innovation and diffusion was further delayed. Involve and communicate methodology had not been followed as recommended, lack of training for physicians led to lack of self confidence and faith in the new system. In the end a complete change in leadership was introduced and the CEO fell victim to his own gross incompetence and lack of oversight and control.

Dennis Steward is a perfect example of ineffective leadership.  First he lacked the emotional intelligence to be self-aware and self-regulated. He was not comfortable with ambiguity, never relied on real-assessments, wasn’t open to communicate freely, trusted few individuals and delegated most responsibilities assuming commitment and seamless execution. He was unable to motivate people, establish harmonious relationships, influence positive behaviors and show empathy towards employees. He never made efforts to seek their feedback. Inability to establish create a shared vision, coherence, poor decision making and management strategies led to lack of trust, dissonance and failure. I could only see few streaks of coaching style but that too is fraught with weaknesses and loyalty issues. At times, he behaved arrogantly and was adopted an authoritarian style.

The real key to success is user involvement, involving them every step of the way to gain trust and buy in on the redesign of their work practices and ensuring that their priorities have been met as part of a larger team effort to prioritize patient care and public safety. Equally as important is the adherence to the organizational aspects of change management and to pay close attention to the support and structure given to the empowered “change agent” ensuring that the person designated to this role stays as the perceived champion of the project and does not become the detriment unknowingly through poor decision making and management strategies.

Ensuring a positive working environment that respects people and encourages the high level of team work and collaboration is the result of focus on these important attributes to be included in the process and the project.

The company’s culture is grounded in loyalty, respect and dignity, honesty, integrity and fairness in conducting business.

This paper is intended to be a reflection of my learning experiences so far and there is no question that that the course has left a deep impact on my critical understanding of human capital as a strategic asset to an organization. We had clear expectations from the class and it was all well laid out in the syllabus. As future managers, we learnt how to align HR with business strategies, understand impact of external and internal environments, design HR systems to promote positive behaviors among employees, establish staffing and compensation systems to attract, retain and motivate best employees, understand employee relations, manage change during difficult times and leverage these strategic HR skills that add critical value to corporate decision-making. The recommended textbook was very practical and explained the importance and application of HR practices as they stand in the real world. Instead of dwelling into the theories and concepts with no clue about their intended application, the book explained the reading goals of each chapter, their strategic importance, techniques, best practices, various perspectives, emerging trends and challenges in a global environment. The use of real-world examples along with the case studies really closed the learning loop.  The professor was very knowledgeable, highly motivated and inspiring. He was very receptive and understanding whenever you approach him with any questions or concerns. The learning aspects were unique from a traditional setting in that the students took the collective responsibility to learn by sharing their individual experiences, knowledge, skills under the expert guidance of the Professor. I really felt that this approach left memorable experiences for each of us. The class setting fostered and promoted a collective atmosphere where ideas, thoughts, criticisms, were freely exchanged leading to desired consequences. The Socratic style of teaching helped us to critically reflect on the topics, engage in team coherency and facilitated mutual learning. The organizational practice cases made us understand the prevailing practices in various organizations, HR situations, problems and issues as they emerge.  The case or “Story” presentation made us think critically, explore options and address situations with specific solutions.

But as we went along, every session turned out to be exciting, rich with individual’s experiences and critical thoughts about the topics discussed. What I felt great about the class was the constant feedback and review exercises we had and the expert facilitation by the professor.

A brief synopsis of the topics we learnt includes:

1. Employee Selection – Strategic importance of selecting right individuals to fit the job and the organization, designing such systems, techniques for assessing job applicants, legal considerations and challenges with recruitment.
2. Performance Management – Strategic importance, Responsibilities of HR triad for performance management, ways to measure performance and feedback, appraisal formats, rating processes and current issues
3. Performance based Pay – Strategic importance, design choices, implementation of performance based pay, recognition, rewards, merit pay, types of incentive pay, global variations and challenges
4. Fair treatment and Legal Compliance – Strategic importance, perceptions of fairness, employment laws, dispute resolution techniques and current issues
5. HR Planning for alignment and change – planning process, scan and assess environment, various HR objectives and metrics, develop HR plans, implement action plans and address current issues

Every topic that I learnt could be related to my own work place and seem to blend in with my organizational culture.  Human resource management has been changing over the decades and new trends are emerging showing the strategic importance of HR (Human Capital) to drive competitive advantage. The roles and functions of the HR Triad – Line Managers, HR Resource and Employees are critical for any organizational success. The steps to selecting the right employee; performance management and evaluation; relative importance of merit, ability and seniority when promoting employees; job analysis and its value; labor laws under the EEO, Affirmative action, managing diversity, talent management and retention; employee motivation, accountability and loyalty; ethical and moral issues; fairness and equality; discrimination and diversity are of utmost importance to any one who is managing employees.

I even had the opportunity to discuss my work-related issues with the professor to gain his expert advice and seek remedies to the problems I am facing at my work place. I was really happy with the conversation I had and planning on putting into action the valuable suggestions made by the professor. My work-place experiences dealt with most of the issues an individual would face diverse organizations.

Overall, the course was very informative, instilled critical thinking and developed the competencies required to manage people in an effective way. One added benefit was the formulation of strategies to establish workplaces that are efficient, effective and meet the organizational goals. Every Organization must fully utilize the unique and individual characteristics and strengths that individual workers offer.

HR should plan for the future, identify current and future needs, train workforce to face the next biggest challenges. Astute organizational behavior combined with effective HRM should result in greater business effectiveness.

Jim Hagedorn

Chairman and CEO
The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company

Jim Hagedorn, CEO of Scotts Miracle-Gro Co served as president from May 2001 to December 2005 and from November 2006 to October 2008. At Miracle-Gro, Jim had served as executive vice president and was a major architect of Miracle-Gro’s success both in the U.S. and in the UK. Following the merger, he was instrumental in the effective integration of the two businesses and served as head of the Company’s North America business. Additionally, he served in the United States Air Force for seven years, where he was a captain and an accomplished F-16 fighter pilot.

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a long history dating back to 1868 when it first got started as a grass seed company. Now it is the world’s largest marketer of branded consumer lawn and garden products and has a culture that values honesty, integrity and transparency. The company cares deeply about the health and well-being of its 8000 strong associates and their families, and ensures that they lead long, healthy and happy lives. The corporate culture highly values innovation, entrepreneurial spirit, flexibility, collaboration, accountability and moral conduct.

Jim Hagedorn has shown remarkable leadership and passion in his attack on health-care costs.

After seeing health insurance costs continually rising – seemingly out-of-control and realizing the lack of efforts from the government and health-care industry to fix the current system, Jim decided to act. He felt it’s up to employers — who foot the bill — to make changes. He made valiant efforts to not only get its employees to eat and live well but also makes them accountable for their actions. The primary motivation for doing was to control escalating health care costs while improving the long-term quality of life of employees.

Jim Hagedorn is known for his determination and commonsense policies incentivizing his employees. Jim’s decisions are based on the harsh reality that our workforce apparently lacks the basic self-discipline to control its caloric intake and exercise every week.

Scott made significant investment in improving employee health. These include free doctor care, access to a low cost fitness facility, access to dieticians, free generic prescription drugs, and of course, free smoking cessation programs. Scotts Miracle-Gro is a great example of a company that has gotten workplace-wellness programs right. Jim is also credited with some controversial initiatives, like asking for detailed medical histories of employees, and potentially firing an employee who failed to stop smoking.

Scotts is in the vanguard of companies seeking to monitor and change employee behavior. Jim was able to motivate and influence employee behaviors at Scotts and demonstrated true emotional intelligence – He had the right mix of all the EI components – self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, social awareness and managing relationships. He was self-aware of the potential health dangers from obesity, smoking and diabetes. He lost his mother to lung cancer and instantly gave up smoking after realizing the grave consequences of smoking. He was able to cut medical costs, persuade employees to take better care of themselves without killing morale and spawning lawsuits.

Jim employed various EI styles as he tried to change employee behaviors. He understood the reasons behind rising health care costs and took the bold step of dictating the personal habits of those lesser than himself. Jim knew the complexity of the issue and he was always probing, sensing and responding to build the dynamic capabilities amongst employees. In relation complexity leadership theory, I see adaptive, administrative and enabling functions on the part of Jim to introduce this disruptive innovation of employee wellness program, a business model innovation to lower healthcare costs.

When Scotts doubled what workers paid for health insurance. Morale plummeted, and Hagedorn knew he had to do a better job selling the hike. He applied affiliative style and held straight talk sessions with employees to heal the rift and explain them what he was up against – the rising health costs climbing at a double-digit rate. He laces his sermons with salty language and unvarnished commentary.

Jim sought legal and HR expertise when he wanted to ban smoking and go after obesity. To achieve these aims, he proposed launching the kind of companywide intervention that families use to help an addicted relative. His wellness programs had Big Brother overtones. But he was adamant about bringing down health costs—even if it means being authoritarian. “If people understand the facts and still choose to smoke, it’s suicidal,” he says. “And we can’t encourage suicidal behavior.” He acted as a commanding leader to enforce new policies and fire people who did not give up smoking.

His instructed key executives to sell his initiatives and ready the employees for desired outcome. His visionary style coupled with coaching restored integrity, confidence and trust with employees. To motivate people, he incentivized employees for healthy outcomes and emerged as a pace-setting leader.  As a democratic leader, Jim valued inputs and commitment through employee participation at quarterly meetings.

Jim has been highly successful in -

Getting employees involved

Scotts’ wellness program began with CEO Jim Hagedorn’s honest and straight-forward approach with his employees.

Hagedorn wanted employees to know what he was up against. Using a PowerPoint presentation, he showed that his annual health-care bill had soared 42% since 1999, to $20 million, which amounted to 20% of the company’s net profits in 2003.

Getting employees policed

Enforcing workplace programs especially related to such personal matters as smoking and eating is always a tricky issue, but Hagedorn, a former F-16 pilot was not one to be discouraged. Hiring a third-party firm to prevent managers from discriminating against subordinates, he managed to institute a smoking ban with the understanding that “If people understand the facts and still choose to smoke, it’s suicidal,” he says. “And we can’t encourage suicidal behavior.” choose to smoke, it’s suicidal,” he says. “And we can’t encourage suicidal behavior.”

Getting employees the resources

Well, talk about fitness is cheap, but Hagedorn puts his money where his health is:

During one of Hagedorn’s straight-talk sessions, workers told him a company gym would make wellness easier to swallow. “Done,” Hagedorn said. But his vision went far beyond installing some StairMasters and throwing up health pointers on the Scotts intranet. Hagedorn built a soup-to-nuts medical and fitness center across the street from headquarters. Operated by Whole Health, the 24,000-square-foot facility cost $5 million and can meet pretty much any health-related need an employee might have, including a drive-thru for free prescription drugs.

When employers don’t stop at just making recommendations, but go that extra step to actually provide a convenient, usable service, everyone benefits.

Get employees accountable

Of course, you can provide the world of benefits to employees, but that benefit is only going to be as good as its usage. This is why:

Scotts’ employees are now urged to take exhaustive health-risk assessments. Those who balk pay $40 a month more in premiums. Using data-mining software, Whole Health analysts scour the physical, mental, and family health histories of nearly every employee and cross-reference that information with insurance-claims data. Health coaches identify which employees are at moderate to high risk. All of them are assigned a health coach who draws up an action plan. Those who don’t comply pay $67 a month on top of the $40. “We tried carrots,” says Benefits Chief Pam Kuryla. “Carrots didn’t work.”

It’s time people realize that their habits don’t affect just themselves but others too.

Getting employees motivated (and rewarded!)

Often Hagedorn will walk around motivating people and making sure people are on the right track. He walks around campus joking, slapping guts, and exhorting people to work out. And with rewards aplenty for good behavior general wellness at Scotts is only going one way – up:

The nudging begets peer pressure. Gym rats earn special pins they display on ID badge lanyards; these have become a coveted status object. Competition for trips to Hawaii, free massages and facials, and other cash and prizes is fierce. One group of employees started having lunch together every day to keep each other from peeling out of the parking lot for a smoke. Doughnuts have disappeared. “The message is: If you’re not trying to do something to make yourself better, then you’re going to pay more,”

Getting employees results
The best part of any program is seeing the results right before your eyes and employees of Scotts are luck to be able to do so:

So far, the company says, more than 70% of headquarters staff belongs to the fitness center. The smoking-cessation program has already had a 30% success rate. The wellness program, which costs $4 million a year to run, is a financial drain. But the company expects it to pay for itself in three to four years.

The Challenges from Tough Decisions

The wellness initiatives raise some controversial questions – One is that people could start blaming unhealthy colleagues for helping push up premiums. Then there are the privacy and discrimination issues: How far should managers intrude into employees’ lives?  Scotts has so far been able to avoid getting entangled in any legal issues and employees have whole heartedly supported the medical assessments keeping in faith the privacy safeguards.

Some of the initiatives he introduced include:

• Opening a $5 million fitness and medical center at company’s Marysville headquarters. The clinic employs two full-time doctors, five nurses, a dietician, counselor, and two physical therapists.
• Mandatory health assessment, have it evaluated by medical professionals and then follow recommendations to improve their health.
• Enforce higher premiums on employees who choose not to take the survey and those who don’t follow the recommendations
• Force employees not to smoke — even off the clock.
• Access to medical center for doctor consultation, personal and prescription drugs.
• Offer discounts on health-care premiums, free weight-loss and smoking-cessation programs, gratis gym memberships, counseling for emotional problems, and prizes like vacations or points that can be redeemed for gift cards.
• Use data-mining software, Whole Health analysts scour the physical, mental, and family health histories of nearly every employee and cross-reference that information with insurance-claims data.

The wellness efforts of Jim Hagedorn have paid off, employees fiercely compete for corporate rewards instituted for following healthy habits. So far, the company says, more than 70% of headquarters staff belongs to the fitness center. The smoking-cessation program has already had a 30% success rate. The wellness program, which costs $4 million a year to run, is a financial drain. But the company expects it to pay for itself in three to four years. Other large companies have seen a 3-to-1 return on investment in their wellness programs.

The workplace is an ideal place to have a great impact on healthcare costs. First, they become aware of their personal physical problems, learn how to improve those problems and have support during their personal program. Then, the fiscal health of the company is improved when the health of each employee is improved; thus, the company is enabled to continue providing jobs for its employees. Wellness programs are a win-win solution for employees, employers and our country’s economy.