Decision Making And Risk Management
Authority, Policy, and Greater Clarity for the Organization
Challenge
A Subsidiary of a large Healthcare Corporation approached Dewar Sloan with a set of concerns related to their strategic authority and operating autonomy. These concerns had been the subject of serious friction up and down the organization over the past 10 years.
The broader issue at stake?
How best to define the formal authority and approach for decision making. Related to that, the issue of clear risk assessment that provides for wise choices and decisions.
Options and Solutions
Dewar Sloan worked with key stakeholders to examine these concerns, and to frame a more effective approach to standard decision making and risk management. We started by naming the right problem – a basic mismatch of Governance Models and Practices. From there, our examination focused on three main levels of decision-making authority and risk management reviews.
- The First Level of governance involves strategic and operating autonomy and control, focusing on economic control and value-added of the Subsidiaries.
- The Second Level involves the management of priorities and resources by the Subsidiary, with clear expectations and performance markers.
- The Third Level of governance deals with program-specific decision making and risk management, focusing on products and services, markets and customers, systems and operations.
In roughly 120 days, the stakeholder groups settled on a much-clarified approach to governing authority and autonomy. Their key Business Model issues were clarified.
