PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT

CASE ANALYSIS OF

SHOULDICE HOSPITAL

SUBMITTED TO: PROF.ABHILASH G NAMBUDIRI

Submitted by
Punya James
b1950
MBA B

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Shouldice Hospital Limited is an 89 bed healthcare facility located in the suburbs of Toronto,
Canada. It specializes in repairing external abdominal hernias. 7,600 surgeries are performed
in this hospital each year. It was founded by Dr. Earle Shouldice circa in 1940, the
organization enjoys a reputation for effectively using a unique surgical technique to repair
hernias that is considered superior to all others. It includes surgery for rapid and effective
recovery.
Doctor Shouldice had started a hospital to treat hernia in a bread and butter method and with
a high success rate in Toronto. There are a huge number of patients of which majority are
from US. The hospital is now having a problem of huge number of pending operations and
the various alternatives includes doing operations on Saturdays, constructing new floor,
invest for a new hospital in US, diversification or one more bed per room. The criteria for
alternatives includes solution for the problem, cost, time, employees satisfaction, patients
satisfaction, quality and ROI. The best decision would be to choose is to make Saturday a
working day.

INTRODUCTION
Founder of the Shouldice Hospital is Doctor Earle shouldice where it is located in Ontario,
Canada & shouldice hospital includes of the unique Shouldice method for repair of inguinal
hernias in a painless way with a huge success rate and high number of patients of which 42%
comes from US.

PROBLEM STATEMENT
The number of pending operations due to lack of bed for the year are huge which have
to be cleared.

ALTERNATIVES
There are various available alternatives to solve the problem are
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Making Saturday a working day

Building a new floor
Building a new hospital most probably in US
Diversification
One more bed in each room

CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVES

The decision is to be taken considering the following aspects

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)

Solution for the problem

Cost
Time
Patient satisfaction
Quality
Return On Investment(ROI)

EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVES
The detailed evaluation of alternatives is as follows

1. Making Saturday a working day

This solution aims at doing operations on Saturday also. The various aspects
are
a) Solution for the problem
The alternative provides solution for the problem by providing enough beds to
tackle the problem. Hence it is ACCEPTABLE.
b) Cost involved
There is only a small investment needed for the increase in salary. Hence it is
ACCEPTABLE.
c) Time
The decision can be implemented very fast and hence timely decision making
and timely execution can be done. Hence it is ACCEPTABLE.
d) Employees satisfaction
As there is an additional day for working, the employees may not be so
satisfied to peel off the rest. Hence it is NOT ACCEPTABLE.
e) Patient satisfaction
The patients will be satisfied with the less waiting period. Hence it is
ACCEPTABLE.
f) Quality
The quality will not be affected. Hence it is ACCEPTABLE.
g) Return On Investment(ROI)
There is a less investment and there is ample return. Hence it is
ACCEPTABLE.
2. Building a new floor
This solution intent to build a new floor on the top of the building. The various
aspects are
a) Solution for the problem
The alternative provides solution for the problem by providing enough beds to
tackle the problem. Hence it is ACCEPTABLE.
b) Cost involved
Building of a new floor involves heavy investment. Hence it is NOT
ACCEPTABLE.
c) Time
The decision can only be implemented slowly. Hence it is NOT
ACCEPTABLE.
d) Employees satisfaction
As there is additional work involved there may be issues from the employees.
Hence it is PARTIALLY ACCEPTABLE.
e) Patient satisfaction
The patients will be satisfied with the less waiting period. Hence it is
ACCEPTABLE.
f) Quality
The quality will not be affected. Hence it is ACCEPTABLE.
g) Return On Investment(ROI)
There is a huge investment and there is return in the long run. Hence it is
PARTIALLY ACCEPTABLE.

3.

Building a new hospital most probably in US

Instead of building a new floor, a new hospital can be in US since most of the
patients are from US. The various aspects are
a) Solution for the problem
The alternative provides solution for the problem by providing enough beds to
tackle the problem. Hence it is ACCEPTABLE.
b) Cost involved
Building of a new hospital involves heavy investment. Hence it is NOT
ACCEPTABLE.
c) Time
The decision cannot be implemented very fast and hence timely decision
making and timely execution cannot be done. Hence it is NOT
ACCEPTABLE.
d) Employees satisfaction
As there is additional work involved there may be issue from the employees.
Hence it is PARTIALLY ACCEPTABLE.
e) Patient satisfaction
The patients will be satisfied with the less waiting period. Hence it is
ACCEPTABLE.
f) Quality
The quality will not be affected. Hence it is ACCEPTABLE.
g) Return On Investment(ROI)
There is a huge investment and there is return in the long run. Hence it is
PARTIALLY ACCEPTABLE.
4. Diversification
This involves adding new specialisation to the existing business. The various
aspects include
a) Solution for the problem
The alternative provides no solution for the problem. Hence it is NOT
ACCEPTABLE.
b) Cost involved
Diversification involves heavy investment. Hence it is NOT ACCEPTABLE.
c) Time
The decision cannot be implemented very fast and hence timely decision
making and timely execution cannot be done. Hence it is NOT
ACCEPTABLE.
d) Employees satisfaction
As there is additional work involved there will be issues from the employees.
Hence it is NOT ACCEPTABLE.
e) Patient satisfaction
The patients will be satisfied with the more specialisation. Hence it is
ACCEPTABLE.
f) Quality
The quality will be affected positively. Hence it is ACCEPTABLE.
g) Return On Investment(ROI)

There is a huge investment and there is may or may not be return in the long
run. Hence it is PARTIALLY ACCEPTABLE.
5. One more bed in each room
In this alternative, an additional bed will be provided to each room and the
various aspects involved are as follows
a) Solution for the problem
The alternative provides solution for the problem. Hence it is ACCEPTABLE.
b) Cost involved
There is a need of a nominal investment. Hence it is ACCEPTABLE.
c) Time
The decision can be implemented very fast and hence timely decision making
and timely execution can be done. Hence it is ACCEPTABLE.
d) Employees satisfaction
As there is little additional work involved there may be issues from the
employees. Hence it is PARTIALLY ACCEPTABLE.
e) Patient satisfaction
The patients will not be satisfied with the more people in the same room since
it affects their privacy. Hence it is NOT ACCEPTABLE.
f) Quality
The quality will be affected. Hence it is NOT ACCEPTABLE.
g) Return On Investment(ROI)
There is a less investment and there is will be return. Hence it is
ACCEPTABLE.

CONCLUSION

Shouldice hospital is successful due to its various services provided which are
so unique that are so different from other hospitals. The services are provided
by encouraged, empowered and encouraged employees or staffs in a friendly,
comfortable environment.Patients are given proper medical attention, so the
patient experience is so satisfying. Staff and physicians are treated so well that
employer turnover is low.
,As the pending operations due to lack of beds and space is the major
problem that the hospital faces it needs a quick solution that it shouldnt affect
the reputation of the hospital. Hence the best solution would be working on the
Saturdays as the other options are not advisable.