Inefficiency Within the Center for Bioethics and Health Law

While I have really enjoyed the past few weeks that I have spent working for the Center for Bioethics and Health Law, I have observed some areas in which the Center could make improvements that would render them more efficient and effective. One such area is ineffectiveness within the operational standards of the organization. While the flexibility and independence that is granted to Center members and employees can be extremely helpful in terms of allowing creative thought processes and innovative ideas, it also means that there can be inefficiency in their operations. One such way that this inefficiency can manifest itself is through repetitiveness. One aspect of my job this summer has been to review old ethics modules for any necessary changes before they are sent to a hospital system for educational use. During my review of these modules, I found that two of them were almost identical in the information they presented, as they both provided an in-depth review of end-of-life decision making. Because those modules were created by different people, neither had any idea that the information they presented was being replicated by another member of the Center. With more centralized oversight, this repetition of modules could have been avoided.

This example also leads me to the other area in need of improvement that I have observed within the Center for Bioethics and Health Law, which is an issue of an under-use of power. As mentioned earlier, I have observed that most people have independent projects that they are working on, and relatively little oversight or intervention by leaders in the Center on those projects. This is an understandable way to operate, since the members all have different responsibilities and timelines for their work. However, it also means that leaders in the Center or colleagues do not always know what their coworkers are creating. This not only contributes to the inefficiency problem that I noted above, but also means that people miss out on potentially valuable resources. Their colleagues could have contacts or knowledge that might help move the project forward, but without knowing about the project they are unable to help. With a more centralized structure for both organization and power, I think that the Center could more efficiently communicate and capitalize on their vast network of resources.