Running Head: Pennies from Heaven 1

Case Study 25: Pennies from Heaven
By Tiffany Moore
Dr.Heather.
PSL5002
Capella University

Running Head : Pennies from Heaven 2
A Medicaid spend down is a portion of health coverage that an individual must pay for before Medicaid coverage begins. The exact amount of the “spend down” varies depending on the state in which you live, medical bills you have each month and other factors such as a bingo winning. Individuals who receive any portion of their income from Supplemental Security Income through Social Security are not required to pay a “spend down” for Medicaid (nysed.gov, 2014). In my essay I will be rendering an synopsize of the Pennies for Heaven Case Study. To include identifying the leader, the issue he faces, and what I believe to be the cause of the issue and evaluating how effective this leader is in the ability to build relationships within the organization; to encompass how well the leader manages professional responsibilities and priorities and how well this leader communicates and resolve the issues. In the case study Pennies from Heaven Patrick Ulmer who would be the new Director of the state Department of Health and Human Services in two more weeks had been recruited from out of state and just arrived to meet with the governor and other cabinet members. Around lunchtime he sat next man named Henry Walsh, who was a “Social Services Field Officer”. While sitting there he overheard Henry’s conversation. The conversation conveyed that Henry allowed an elderly women, who won up to $1500 dollars in bingo to omit a “spend down” which is basically the process an individual possess in order to qualify for Medicaid. Henry goes on to say that he essentially he did the older woman a favor because if it had put her winnings into the system she would have lost her benefits for two or three months .
Towards the end of Henry’s conversation he states that if her every gets dragged into court behind the situation he would be forced to admit it. He also says that he know the policy
Running Head: Pennies from Heaven 3 behind conducting a “spend down” and that he didn’t want to do because of all of the paperwork that goes along with it. As Patrick leaves to get back to his family he realizes that he as a great deal to think about between now and the time he starts his new position as Director of state Department of Health and Human Services (Sharp. S, Aguiree,G &Kickman,a.k,2013.). In the case study Patrick Ulmer is the future leader and as the future leader he is faced with the challenge of staff not following protocol as well as staff going against code of ethics. Patrick being the future Director of Human Services has to make a solid decision on what disciplinary action he will render to Henry or any other staff that does not follow protocol in regards to a spend down being conducted. Since Patrick Ulmer has two more weeks to officially be active in his new position he isn’t necessary obligated to discipline the staff, however being that he will be serving as the Director of the state Department of Health and Human Services of he should have informed the current or lead management in charge of what he overheard. In the future when Patrick is officially the Director of the state Department of Health and Human Services he should build effective relationship within the organization.
He should do this by possessing emotional intelligence. These skills contribute to a person’s ability to manage and monitor his or her own emotions, to correctly gauge the emotional state of others and to influence opinions (Caudron, 1999; Goleman, 1998). Having emotional Intelligence will allow him also to possess Self-awareness which is the ability to recognize a feeling as it happens, to accurately perform self-assessments and have self-confidence. It is the keystone of emotional intelligence (Goleman, 1998).Self-management or self-regulation which is the ability to keep disruptive emotions and impulses in check (self-
Running Head: Pennies from Heaven 4 control), maintain standards of honesty and integrity (trustworthiness), take responsibility for one’s performance (conscientiousness), handle change (adaptability), and be comfortable with novel ideas and approaches innovation).Motivation which is the emotional tendency guiding or facilitating the attainment of goals. It consists of achievement drive (meeting a standard of excellence), commitment (alignment of goals with the group or organization), initiative acting on opportunities, and optimism (persistence reaching goals despite setbacks).Empathy which is the understanding of others by being aware of their needs, perspectives, feelings, concerns, sensing the developmental needs of others and Social skills which are fundamental to emotional intelligence (Bliss, 2014).
They include the ability to induce desirable responses in others by using effective diplomacy to persuade (influence listen openly and send convincing messages communicate; inspire and guide groups and individuals leadership; nurture instrumental relationships building bonds; work with others toward a shared goal collaboration, cooperation; and create group synergy in pursuing collective goals (Bliss,2014). If Patrick practices emotional intelligence he will be able to build and maintain strong relationships within the organization.
As stated before Patrick has not formally started his position, however once he is inaugurated he will need to manage professional’s responsibility and priorities well. Leaders also need to be much organized on a personal level, and able to manage themselves and their time, so that they can spend time doing what they need to do, not on other tasks. The leader in this case study needs to organize his time and time with his teams to build self-motivation. A leader who lacks self-motivation will struggle to motivate others, as people are quick to detect a
Running Head: Pennies from Heaven 5 lack of sincerity. He will also need effective communication skills. These skills are general interpersonal skills, not specific to leadership, but a successful leader tends to show high levels of skill when communicating. Furthermore he will need to be a good leader and be able to listen actively and elicit information by good questioning. Building rapport quickly and effectively will help develop good and strong relationships with subordinate.
In conclusion , Once Patrick officially begins his position, he needs to lead efficiently .The ability to lead effectively is based on a number of key skills. These skills are highly sought after by employers as they involve dealing with people in such a way as to motivate, enthuse and build respect.

References:
Claudron, S. (1999). What Emotional Intelligence Is…and Isn't. Workforce, 78, p 62.
Goleman, D. (1998) Working with Emotional Intelligence. New York: Bantam Books http://www.oms.nysed.gov/medicaid/resources/medicaid_spend_down.pdf Samuel E. Bliss (2014) The Effect of Emotional Intelligence on a Modern Organizational Leader’s Ability to Make Effective Decisions retrieved from www.epi/org