For Professor Goodman Only

Part Two-Strategic Plan

Ryann A. Schreck

Univeirsty of Phoenix

Health Care Strtegic Mangement

HCS/589 Comment by Microsoft account: Good start. APA format is required in Health Care Strategic Management (HCS/589). You’ll be glad you’ve had this training. See more comments on your project inside.

Dr. Sheryl McGee

August 31, 2015

Part Two-Strategic Plan

SWOT Analysis

The table below provides information on the threats, weaknesses, opportunities and strengths of the hospital based on the environmental scanning, in which it will be doing its business.

Environment Analysis

Environment analysis is the process through which the internal and external elements of an organization are identified, with an objective of determining how they can affect the overall performance of the organization in the present as well as in the future. Environmental analysis is critical in the hospital due to a number of reasons. The environmental analysis will help the management of the hospital to identify opportunities based in its external environment, thus taking advantage of them in the process of realizing its mission (Zuckerman, 2005). Secondly, it will help the hospital in the identification of threats it faces based on its internal business environment, thereby developing the right strategies to address the threats in question, to prevent them from having a negative impact on the operations of the hospital in the future. The environmental analysis also plays an instrumental role in identifying strengths as well as weaknesses of any given organization. It is also important to note that environmental scanning helps in the process of developing growth strategies and making decisions in any given organization (Zuckerman, 2005). Envionmental scanning will be a key tool in enabling the hospital to determine factors within its operation environment that might in one way or another impact its performance.

Implication

Developing the strategic plan for the hospital will involve the implication of environmental scanning. It will assist in identifying weaknesses of the hospital based on its internal business environment, thereby coming up with strategies and tactics that can enable its overcome all the weaknesses so that they cannot stop it from realizing its vision and mission in the future (Kaissi, Begun & Welson, 2008). Implication of the environmental scan will aid in the process of developing strategies aimed at enabling the hospital to take advantage of opportunities presented in its business environment. Furthermore, it will ensure that the strategic plan has measures and courses of actions developed with an objective of helping the organization to make use of its strengths in a manner that they give it a competitive edge over its rivals (Kaissi, Begun &Welson, 2008). Lastly, it will help in coming up with strategies aimed at minimizing the impact of threats presented by the business environment to the operations of the hospital. Comment by Microsoft account: Explained why an environmental analysis is important in the development of the strategic plan. However, in 589 it is required to use the two course texts as the primary resource.

Competitive analysis

Competitive analysis is a process that involves taking into consideration the nature and number of competitors who might present an indirect or a direct threat to an organization. During the strategic planning process of the hospital, competitive analysis will be of benefit in a number of ways. It will aid in identifying market gaps available, thereby enabling the strategic planners to come with tactics that can be used by the hospital in serving the unserved market within the overall target market. In addition, it will help in the process of developing services that will be offered by the hospital in terms of ensuring that they have better features that will make them more competitive in nature compared with similar services offered by major competitors in the target market. Competitive analysis will assist in determining the existing trends within the target market, and aid in developing strategies aimed at ensuring that the hospital services are in line with the market trends at all times. Lastly, it will play an instrumental role when it comes to developing marketing strategies aimed at ensuring that the hospital services are shown to be better than those offered by competitors, so that it can have an edge over its rivals. Comment by Microsoft account: Needed to summarize the major benefits of competitive analysis as part of the strategic plan. The course texts would have been helpful here.

Economic, legal and regulatory issues

Understanding the environmental factors that might have an impact on the way the hospital operates will have a direct impact on the strategic planningprocess (Swayne, Duncan and Ginter, 2008). For example, in the case the existing economic factors push the cost of operations up, the strategic planners will be concerned with developing cost management strategies aimed at reducing wastages so that the health care services to be offered by the hospital are affordable to all, despite the hard prevail conditions in the market. Some of the economic issues that might impact the way strategic plan is drafted, in terms of the types of strategies formulated includes, changes in interest rates of securing finance in the market, inflation levels, unemployment levels and education levels.

Chnages in the regulatory environment are likely to have an impact on the types of strategies to be developed by strategic planners. The existing regulatory environment may be favorable towards certain business policies, hence, the planners must ensure that their business policies are favored by the current regulatory environment. Furthermore, the regulatory environment is key when it comes to the success of any strategic plan. Therefore, it is crucial for the strategic planners to ensure that all tactics they develop, for instance, marketing strategies meet the legal conditions set in relation to how they should be formulated and used by any business organization. Comment by Microsoft account: Good. Examined evolving economic, legal, and regulatory issues that may potentially have an effect on the strategic plan.

SWOT Analysis

One of the organizational strength that put it in a position whereby it can be able to accomplish its mission, goals and objectives are its ability to attract highly qualified health professionals. As a result, it will be in a position to ensure that high quality health care services are provided to patients through these experienced and skilled professionals. Secondly, the ability of the hospital to make use of modern technology in diagnosis and treatment of patient will play an instrumental role in making the health services it will be offering affordable and accessible by all people from different social classes. Comment by Microsoft account: s

In addition, the hospital quality assurance unit will be instrumental in ensuring that patient safety and satisfaction is given priority at all times, hence enhancing the quality of health care services to be offered in the hospital (Swayne, Duncan and Ginter, 2008).One of the major weaknesses of the hospital that may hinder it from accomplishing its goals is lack of adequate resources, that might impact negatively on its ability to provide high quality services to patients. The high cost of health care services may also be a major factor that will hinder the hospital from accomplishing its mission of making its healthcare services affordable to all people.

The hospital will be in a position to respond to both internal and external challenges due to a number of factors. First, having a good management team will be key to dealing with external challenges as the team will work together to come up with solutions to address the challenges in question. Secondly, the capacity of the firm to attract talented and qualified personnel will be key to dealing with internal challenges, as the team of professionals will be committed towards ensuring that any challenge that might arise is adequately dealt with to help the firm achieve its mission statement. Lastly, existence of clearly defined vision and mission will provide direction needed in resolving external as well as internal challenges within the hospital in the future Comment by Microsoft account: Good job. Based on the SWOT analysis, the paper examined the organization’s ability to: Accomplish its mission, goals, and objectives as set in previous strategic plans Respond to internal and external changes and challenges

Goals and Objectives

One of the goals of the hospital is to provide high quality health care to its target customers. This goal will be aimed at helping the hospital to achieve its mission. Secondly, makes it health services affordable. The goal will be aimed at ensuring that the health care services provided by the hospital will be affordable to all members of the general public in the target market. To achieve the first goal, the hospital will have quality assurance policies in place in the next three years. This will be aimed at improving the overall capability of the hospital to provide patient satisfying services and increase their outcomes. Secondly, the hospital in the next five years will have implemented modern technology in all areas of its operations with an aim of reducing the cost of operations, thereby lowering the costs charged patients seeking medical and treatment services. Comment by Microsoft account: Be careful. Here is where your project can go astray. Needed to use the SWOT findings and provide clearly stated explanations for two to three goals and measurable objectives for a 3 to 5 year period. The objectives needed to be explained clearly including detail on how they would be measured. How will you know if they have been obtained? Be sure to include any necessary costs in the forthcoming financial plan.

Conclusion

Environment analysis is the process through which the internal and external elements of an organization are identified, with an objective of determining how they can affect the overall performance of the organization in the present as well as in the future. Conducting a thourough and effective environmental analysis will not only assist the organization in identifying the business strengths but also the areas where concentration is needed to increase overall production. Envionmental scanning will be a key tool in enabling the hospital to determine factors within its operation environment that might in one way or another impact its performance. Comment by Microsoft account: You made a good attempt overall on your week 3 project. See my comments above and apply to future assignments. The goal of this project was to allow students practical experience analyzing environmental variables and preparing strategic recommendations. The analysis was based on your assessment of your chosen organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This kind of assessment occurs in executive offices nearly every day in the real-world. You’re gaining good training in this methodology. Keep this project in mind as we continue with the next phase of the strategic planning process. The paper did not fully address the project criteria. Please see my comments above and apply to future assignments. Be careful not to fall behind. Going forward, remember to always use both course textbooks as a primary resources in HCS/589. See my comment below on your references.

References

Hunger, J. D., & Wheelen, T. L. (2011). Essentials of strategic management (5th ed.). Upper

Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education. Comment by Microsoft account: Be careful. I don’t see where you actually used this reference. When a researcher lists references that were not actually used (as shown by proper APA citations) it is akin to plagiarism. Going forward, remember to always use both course textbooks as primary resources in HCS/589. You’ll need to review your APA manual or the Center for Writing Excellence for how to properly use in-text citations and how to set up the reference page at the end of your document. At least 3 scholarly resources were required for this assignment. Two of the three were to be the course text. See my weekly summaries and forecasts for more information on scholarly (aka “peer-reviewed”) references.

Kaissi, A. A., Begun, J. W., &Welson, T. (2008). Strategic planning processes and hospital financial performance.Journal of Healthcare Management, 53(3), 197.

Swayne, L. E., Duncan, W. J., & Ginter, P. M. (2008). Strategic management of health care organizations (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Zuckerman, A. M. (2005). Healthcare strategic planning.Health Administration Press.