ABSTRACT
The Mayo Clinic is an institution so eminent that it symbolizes the best of American medicine: “an important national institution, with the qualities of a cherished myth.” At the outset, the Drs. Mayo found the sisters to be partners whose values overlapped with their own. Both the doctors and sisters focused on the needs of individuals. Medical research and education have been important from the beginning, as Mayo has envisioned itself as a “three-shield organization.” Employee-directed practices are those policies, procedures, and managerial behaviors which engender employee satisfaction and loyalty, such as growth opportunities, work/life balance, and shared information. Enterprise-directed practices encompass a wide variety of actions undertaken to increase efficiency with regard to all resources. Such practices range from those focused on improving employee motivation and ability, to those that emphasize the more efficient use of capital and technology.
