Corporate Governance Case Study: Leadership Issues and Analysis

This case study examines corporate governance failures within a hospital setting, focusing on issues of negligence, unethical behavior, and leadership shortcomings. The assignment analyzes the actions of senior management, particularly Dr. Jayant Patel, and the impact of their decisions on patient care. It highlights the critical role of whistleblowers like Ms. Toni Hoffman in uncovering these issues. The case study explores the failures at different leadership levels, including the Director of Medical Services and the District Health Manager, and the factors that contributed to the delayed investigation of numerous complaints. The analysis underscores the importance of ethical leadership, patient welfare, and the consequences of prioritizing personal gain over organizational responsibilities. The provided solution offers insights into the responsibilities of leaders and the importance of oversight in maintaining quality and safety within healthcare organizations, drawing from relevant academic research to support its conclusions.

Running head: CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Table of Contents
Activity 5.1......................................................................................................................................2
Answer to Question 1..................................................................................................................2
Answer to Question 2..................................................................................................................2
Answer to Question 3..................................................................................................................2
Answer to Question 4..................................................................................................................3
Answer to Question 5..................................................................................................................3
References........................................................................................................................................4

2CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Activity 5.1
Answer to Question 1
The issue which took place at both the offices related to the issue of negligence from the
side of the senior managers. The senior management at the hospitals were only concerned about
the profit making aspect of the hospitals and not concerned with the quality services which were
relevant for the wellbeing of the patients who were admitted in the hospital (Torchia, Calabrò &
Morner, 2015). A hospital is present to look after the patients and improve their health and not to
earn profits, however this was not the case in these case study examples.
Answer to Question 2
The key role in blowing the whistle to uncover the given case was Ms. Toni Hoffman.
She was the NUM at the Intensive Care Unit. She portrayed immense courage and persistence
and was not scared of facing inaction from the pressure put on her from the senior management.
She was the one who was responsible for bringing the behavior of Mr. Patel to light. Secondly,
the MP Rob Messenger who helped her in complaining to the Parliament along with Hedley
Thomas, the reporter.
Answer to Question 3
The primary leadership issues are as follows:
1. Negligence from the side of management- A leader can never be negligent in nature. A
leader needs to look after all the aspects of the employees and the customers in order to
ensure that all the work is carried on successfully (Mannion et al., 2015). However, this
was missing in the given case.

3CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
2. Personal gain oriented- Secondly, Mr. Patel was personal gain oriented which was
incorrect.
Answer to Question 4
The crime could not come into light earlier because Leck and Keating did not investigate
into the case. Earlier there had been 20 complaints made against him by patients and staff but
nothing worked and hence the negligence by him increased consistently.
Answer to Question 5
The leadership failures at every level of the organization was as follows:
 Darren Keating, Director of Medical Services at Bundaberg Base Hospital.
 Peter Leck, Bundaberg District Health Manager.
 Dr. Jayant Patel, Senior Level
Each of these leaders at the different levels, worked for their own motives and not for the
welfare of the patients who were treated as customers and not individuals.

4CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
References
Mannion, R., Davies, H., Freeman, T., Millar, R., Jacobs, R., & Kasteridis, P. (2015). Overseeing
oversight: governance of quality and safety by hospital boards in the English
NHS. Journal of health services research & policy, 20(1_suppl), 9-16.
Torchia, M., Calabrò, A., & Morner, M. (2015). Public–private partnerships in the health care
sector: a systematic review of the literature. Public Management Review, 17(2), 236-261.