Corporate strategies for Catholic hospitals.

St. Louis University's Center for Health Services Education and Research has identified three general styles of corporate leadership in a study of 100 Catholic hospitals. The study found that "business as usual" organizations tended to be threatened by change and to base decisions on internal issues rather than external factors such as competition and environmental trends. They practiced consensus decision making and a traditional management style. Although these organizations promoted a cooperative spirit, they were highly vulnerable to crisis. The "beat them at their own game" institutions tended to be market conscious and future oriented and measured performance primarily in terms of the bottom line. Their ability to adapt to a changing environment enabled them to create feeder systems to keep occupancies high. Despite a strong esprit de corps, however, they failed to enlist employees' wholehearted support. Institutions with transformational strategies exhibited a strong mission commitment and used multiple measures of success, including market consciousness, employee satisfaction, quality of care, and profitability. Since each management style has strengths and weaknesses, executives and board members must carefully examine them in developing their own strategies.