Walter Reed Case Notes

From a structural/organizational perspective, was the merger of WRNMC & Bethesda successful? Why or why not?

For

New job job descriptions and positions (aligned)

New and altered chains of command (consistent)

Consistent/shared environment (same location & environment)

Consistent reward and punishment systems

Both army and navy personnel involved in merger

Central cafeteria

New/changed name for both

Against

Can tell who is army and who is navy

“Behesda still a navy hospital and Fort Belvoir still army hospital”

Separate entrances for each service

Color coded parking

Army kept camouflage and Navy their outfits (inconsistent uniform which made the divide even more obvious)

Name change and maintaining Bethesda campus forced more separation and created winners and losers

**Artifacts/structure has partially merged

From an organizational culture perspective, was the merger of the army medical and navy medical cultures successful? Why or why not?

For

Bethesda’s Naval commander was bought in to jointness, tried to foster a climate of acceptance, tried to offer psychological safety and reduce anxiety (leadership)

Against

No consistent set of beliefs and values

Army has maintained culture and navy theirs (kept their operating beliefs/values- i.e. Bethesda still as a navy hospital- runs like a ship)

People felt like the cultures of Army and Navy were layered on top of each other- i.e. they are both there and exist but aren’t integrated and don’t work together (two radio frequencies competing)

Sense of panic, no sense of what is going on, what the results would be

Fear of losing identity

Assuming the answer to the second question was negative. Provide a detailed plan to merge the two cultures. Make sure you address the correct levels to be targeted. Use any one or any combination of change leadership models as a framework for your plan. Identify positions rather than actual individuals.

1. Identify participants for change efforts, depending on level and issue.