Value-based leadership: are Catholic hospitals a step ahead?

An organization's culture is a pattern of beliefs and expectations shared by its members. It produces norms that shape behavior to ensure that the organization's day-to-day operations reflect the shared values. If the organization's performance is to be enhanced, these values not only must be communicated to all members but also must be internalized by them. Do managers in the Catholic health care ministry have sufficient understanding of their organization's culture as well as that of the sponsoring religious institute? A recent study to assess managers' educational needs contained a set of questions that addressed this particular issue. Responses to the survey, offered to acute care hospitals in the St. Louis metropolitan area, indicated that managers in Catholic health care organizations consider finance and accounting, planning, and interpersonal skills to be more important than the sponsoring religious institute's values in performing their jobs. Such a finding suggests the need for formal training in the mission and role of the Catholic health care ministry and for the continued use of mission effectiveness programs to assist in imparting the religious sponsor's charism and values to employees.