Hanna Schmidt

Title of Dissertation:
Justification, Differentiation and Application of the Ethical Compass for Leadership and Good Management Practice in the German Health Care System

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Andreas Suchanek
University: HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management
Scholarship: KSG Scholarship
Cohort: 6th Cohort, since 2020
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

• Short Abstract

  Ethical principles and guidelines are of tantamount relevance in the healthcare “industry” – a field strongly affected by continuing commercialization and rationing of resources. Assessing the impact of good leadership in this area is particularly driven by the leaders’ need for strong social and interpersonal relationships – towards customers (patients) as well as the personnel. The unique situation demands responsible, careful and ethically sound interactions at multiple levels between all three parties. These circumstances affect ethical and sustainable decision-making by managers more than in most other areas of business and entrepreneurship. They generate a spectrum of potential conflicts between the basic humanitarian and moral mission of healthcare services, and their sustainable and commercially effective management, executed by (ideally) experienced healthcare professionals and leaders. This situation is persevered by continuous financial rationing of nursing and hospital businesses by the public and private health insurance systems and simultaneously, by an increasing demand as the result of the ageing population in Germany (as in all other Western societies). This coincides with a notorious lack of trained personnel and often low pay. Such issues may strain the contentment of co-workers that often have strong ethical and moral principles, and which are difficult to fulfil under these conditions. Many also perceive growing practical limitations in their daily workplace due to increasing workload and excessive mental demand – thus limiting their perceived self-fulfilment and dignity as a person. Simultaneously, these human factors restrict the quality of healthcare services perceived and experienced by patients. Overall, such limitations may threaten the entire value system and curb interpersonal tensions between the management and employees within healthcare units.

  How does the management deal with such complex situations, both commercially and ethically? In many units, interrelations between leaders and staff are continuously strained due to continuing financial restrictions but also between leaders and operators of healthcare institutions. And how does increasing demand on and workload of nursing professionals affect the overall quality and success of therapies, the well-being and satisfaction of patients? The core question is: How can the management mitigate and compromise between these various conflicting demands?

  An “ethical compass” for business leaders, as defined by A. Suchanek, may provide a much-needed moral guideline for healthcare professionals and managers to specifically address these challenging decisions in a professional way – in a field in which this tool may not have been previously applied, examined and justified. Here, the core principle of “do no harm” is of outstanding, direct relevance, which renders the question for good ethical leadership guidelines more demanding compared to other areas of business life.

  In this doctoral thesis, I will also look beyond the specific situation in Germany and compare the specific ethical challenges for professionals in the healthcare systems to, e. g., the Netherlands and Denmark. These countries have faced the demanding financial situation to their national healthcare systems already for a significant amount of time and were forced to develop unique solutions that can be of interest to Germany, not only in terms of efficient and sustainable site management but specifically in terms of interpersonal and ethical decision-making.

• Research Interests

  • Health Care Systems
  • Health and Care Market/Economy
  • Healthcare Law
  • Health and Care Politics
  • Philosophy of Law
  • Ethics and Business Ethics
  • Institutional Economics

• Education

  • 2018 Certified Mediator
  • 2018 Health Care Management MBA, EBS University for Business and Law
  • 2017 LL.M. in Healthcare Law, University of Münster
  • 2015 Law, EBS University for Business and Law
  • 2011 Philosophy & Economics, University of Bayreuth (Bachelor's degree)

• Professional and Academic Career

  • Since 2011 Manager and Owner of the family business in care (AdvoMedica GmbH & Co. KG) in Bergkamen, Germany
  • 2017 – 2019 Leading Research Assistant for health, care, social and equality issues for the Berlin Parliament, Berlin, Germany

• Publications

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• Conference Contributions: Talks

  Peer-Reviewed:

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  On Invitation:

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• Conference Contributions: Posters

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• Memberships

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