Changing the Pharmacy Team
Teaching Note
By Jess Coppla
Healthcare MBA 2018, School of Business
Simmons University
Boston MA
Case Synopsis
This case study outlines the cultural and organizational issues facing a team and its new leader as the
company they work for continues to grow. Led by newly returned and recently promoted senior
technician Kim, the pharmacy team at one of Poplar’s Drug Stores many locations is operating in a
dismal environment. Team morale is incredibly low. Customers are unhappy with the service but have
nowhere else to go. Frustrations are boiling over on both sides of the pharmacy counter. Kim believes
that the team can change with the right plan and the right leadership. She wants to be that leader. She
wants to inspire change at her pharmacy for the sake of the patients and the staff alike. Correcting
longstanding performance issues and the underlying behaviors that caused them will not be easy, yet
Kim feels it is right to try. To do so, she devises a multi-phase career plan in which she leaves the Chelsea
store for a short period. At the onset of her plan, Kim was not in a position of power and felt she needed
to move into a respected role in order to make changes. She takes on a stretch assignment in a much
Learning Objectives:
1) Understand the value of change and develop skills to lead it successfully.
2) Learn steps for leading change with groups and individuals.
3) Understand vision as a tool of leadership.
Linkage to Concepts and Theories
To effectively lead change, leaders like Kim need to be motivated, brave, and dynamic. Bolman and Deal
suggest that leaders should look at and approach organizational issues from four lenses known as
“frames.” Per their view, if a leader works with only one habitual frame of reference, she risks being
ineffective. The four frames are:
• Structural.
While Kim employs each of the frames in her quest to change the pharmacy team, she leans on her
vision of what the Chelsea pharmacy could be for fuel, closely aligning with the symbolic frame. This
Research Methodology
Content for this case was gathered based on:
• accounts of individuals who have led change in similar customer service settings
Discussion Questions and Discussion
This case gives readers the opportunity to think about leading change and career development
in a stressful environment. The case illustrates the challenges associated with being a young leader
aspiring to bring a vision to life to change the culture of a team entrenched in negative ways. On a
micro-level, it highlights the importance of creating a shared vision, perpetuating the vision through
action to earn buy-in from the team, and maintaining a positive environment through sustained
recognition and leadership. It also explores macro-level issues – the challenges associated with creating
consistently positive cultures in large businesses comprised of many small units. Finally, it is an avenue
for students to think about all the necessary steps both as an individual and throughout an organization
to successfully implement a change. This means the case will work well as a learning tool for leading
change where leaders see opportunities to improve their companies/teams, the change is complex, and
resistance is likely to be met. Important discussion points and lessons emphasized by the case include:
• Symbolism—how a vision is crucial to leading change through purpose.
• Inspiration—bettering her company would better her community.
Teaching Suggestions and Questions:
With this short case, I begin class with a mini-lecture on leading change and then move to a discussion of
this case.
The following are questions and possible answers to engage students to think about how they would
lead change in this team.
1. Kim is just back and she sees Joe treat a customer poorly. What does she do at the moment? In fact,
does she do anything, or does she wait until Joe cools down?
2. What does Kim do the next day? When does she call a team meeting? Whom does she invite to this
3. What’s Kim’s vision for her team? Does she tell her team about this vision (i.e., is it a top-down
vision)? Or, should Kim help her team create a bottom-up vision? Would the latter approach be
manipulative, since Kim already knows her vision for the team?
4. What kind of goals does Kim set with her team? How quickly should she expect her team to move up
on their KPMs? How and when does Kim set the goals?
6. How often does Kim meet with her team? What’s their agenda (each week)? How does Kim keep the
meetings “fresh” and interesting, rather than have the meetings become boring and repetitive?
7. What kind of training does Kim take her team through? Why does this support this type of training?
10. How stressed do you think that Kim will be during this time of change? How do you recommend that
she manage her own anxiety and stress?
Epilog
Over the next several months, Kim does not sleep much, but she delivers on her promise. She leads the
Chelsea team to improve their customer service and their KPM scores so much that they not only qualify
as “meeting expectations” within six months, but become an “outstanding performer” within a year of
other exciting events with cake. Joe is so inspired by Kim that he begins taking Poplar’s optional training
courses for pharmacy technicians interested in becoming senior technicians. Kim is nominated for and
recognized with a Breakthrough Award, Poplar’s Drug Stores highest honor for individual employees.
With her bonus, she takes the team out for bowling and pizza.