Setting Strategic Goals of Health Care Organization - Term Paper Example

Strategic Plan Part II Introduction The business environment is crucial in the prosperity, growth and continuity of business ventures. This environment comprises of various activities and organizations directly or indirectly involved in the business or affecting the business existence. The business environment includes competing businesses as well as regulatory bodies within the industry. Business environment directly affects the business operations and determines policies and strategies which businesses adopt, in the attempt to prosper (Jain, Trehan, & Trehan, 2009). Formulation of business strategies always depend on the environment as the environment affects policies formulated within the specified industry. The purpose of business environmental analysis In formulating business strategies, the business environment remains a fundamental element of consideration as the environment directly affects the policies. Business environmental analysis becomes the first step aimed at creating a clear understanding of the environment. The analysis provides businesses with crucial information pertaining existing trends within various industries (Jain, Trehan, & Trehan, 2009). Analysis, therefore, becomes essential when determining the future policies for businesses as it provides information which can assist policy-makers in formulating valid and viable policies for companies and businesses. The development of policies ensures businesses remain profitable and competitive within their respective industries. The Bayshore community hospital should conduct an extensive environmental analysis of the medical industry within its immediate environment. This analysis could enable the hospital to become competitive as well as offer information regarding to the industry. When formulating the strategic plan for the next several years, the hospital needs to consider the environmental analysis seriously. The environment shall enable the hospital realize the strengths existing within its structure that could initiate programs aimed at exploiting these opportunities. This would place the hospital in a better position, in the future, compared to other hospitals within New Jersey. Exploitation of these strengths could ensure the hospital experiences growth and remains competitive within the industry. Through business environment analysis, the hospital could also identify any possible weaknesses within the structures. These weaknesses might become setbacks as the establishment seeks to develop long-term strategic plans (Kime & McGee, 2008). Identification of the prevalent weaknesses within the organizational structure, however, could ensure that strategists develop models for dealing with these weaknesses. Elimination of weaknesses ensures the hospital maintains high standards of operation and delivers industry, relevant products. Identification of weaknesses can also enable the hospital develop strategies aimed at minimizing the negative effects of weaknesses. This would place the hospital in a better position in the coming days. Formulation of policies requires an understanding of the weaknesses existing within the organizational structure, hence formulation of policies seeking to eliminate these weaknesses. Environmental analysis also creates an extensive understanding of the external factors that could affect the business. Through this analysis, the hospital could identify opportunities existing within the industry, which require exploitation. Exploiting these opportunities could provide opportunities for significant growth to the hospital (Kew & Stredwick, 2005). These opportunities could emanate from the knowledge of the services offered at other hospitals. This could enable the hospital inquire into possibilities of offering the services, not available in other hospitals. Introduction of new services remains crucial in maintaining competitive advantage over neighboring hospitals. This would enable the hospital gain more clients as they offer specialized services, unavailable elsewhere. Though other hospitals might also begin offering similar services, taking the leading role remains essential in getting an upper hand over others. The analysis also enables the policy-makers establish any threats existing within the industry. These threats range from legislative regulations to legal requirements for initiating different, new medical services. The analysis could offer the hospital management information regarding services available at neighboring hospitals, presenting competition for clients. Through this knowledge, the hospital could formulate strategies aimed at countering the effects and ensuring the hospital does not lose patients to neighboring hospitals for lacking necessary services. The competitive of the hospital remains dependent on the services offered in relation to services available elsewhere. Offering few services could cause patients to seek medical attention elsewhere, where comprehensive health care is offered. Gap analysis The hospital seeks to be the best healthcare facility within the region through offering improved and comprehensive services to its clients. This requires an internal assessment of the hospital’s capacity to deliver numerous services, before selection of services to be offered. As part of this plan, the hospital has already merged with others hence becoming a member of the meridian healthcare. This could improve the services offered through the utilization of expertise and infrastructure available in other member hospitals. The human capital available at the disposal of Bayshore community hospital also increases in value and quantity following this strategy. This could be a landmark decision towards achieving the organization’s vision. The hospital has realized the limitation of having few employees within the medical industry. In order to offer increased services, the hospital requires to hire specialists in various fields. The costs involved in maintaining these specialists could be beyond the capacity of the hospitals. Filling this gap, therefore, can be undertaken through merging and utilizing the specialists available in other hospitals. The Bayshore community hospital, for example, might lack a gynecologist while the Meridian hospital has one. Following the merger, the hospitals could come up with a schedule where the specialists attend to patient at each facility on fixed days. This would introduce specialized services without incurring costly expenses of hiring specialists. Sharing of specialists could prove an efficient cost-cutting measure for both facilities. SWOT analysis Strengths Following the merger, the hospital strategically gains several strengths essential in delivering the planned strategies and policies. The hospital now has a larger capacity for handling patients as both hospitals can be utilized by same clients. This makes the hospital able to cater for increased numbers of clients through the various services available. Ambulance services, for example, could be offered at a wider coverage because of proximity to hospitals. With two hospitals in different locations, the ambulance officers will move short distances before reaching a health facility. This immensely improves the services offered, since ambulance services are classified as being time-limited. These cases always have the priority of reaching a healthcare facility as quickly as possible once a patient has been picked Another major strength lies in enhancing the educational element of the hospital. The increased capacity also means that the establishment creates the capacity to train a larger number of individuals following the merger. The educational center, therefore, stands to benefit immensely from this situation. This merger could enable the hospital introduce numerous new services as the capability for delivering these services becomes achievable. Technologies could also be imported and exchanges between the hospitals significantly improving the service delivery within the hospitals. Opportunities The industry presents numerous opportunities for the hospital following the merger. The hospital could introduce medical exchange programs aimed at improving the services. The exchange programs would enable sharing of technologies and knowledge between the hospitals. This would equip the medical staff with exemplary skills for delivering improved services to clients. The merger makes the hospitals part of a large establishment, and they could form a medical foundation governing the delivery of the different services within the hospitals. Medical foundations enable medical institutions to perform numerous evaluations of services offered within medical institution elsewhere. Through medical foundations, medical institutions become globally recognized within the industry. This recognition enables medical institutions to be awarded certificates and other honors, enabling the creation of specified programs. Weaknesses The major weakness, which the hospital might encounter following the merger, remains the capability to incorporate the employees of both units into one. While operating as different organizations, the standard operating procedures remained independent for each establishment. The merger might require standardization of several procedures in creating uniformity of the operating procedures. Standardizing of these procedures might be a labor intensive and involving process in training the employees while initiating new organizational culture and values. Threats The threats for this hospital come from neighboring medical institutions offering similar healthcare. These institutions offer stiff competition for clients and strategic repositioning remain inevitable when dealing with competition. Improvement of services offered, and introduction of specialized services, remains the two possible remedies for this impending competition. Though a threat, this competition could immensely improve the hospital services as the establishment tries to out-smart the competitors. Services could be improved and new products introduced when dealing with competition. Conclusion Assessment of the business environment remains a fundamental aiding element when strategizing future business positions. A serious and thoughtful consideration of the challenges present within the environment should provide the guideline for policy makers. The organization needs to understand its current position and desired future position when formulating strategic plans (Kime & McGee, 2008). An assessment of the internal and external factors, affecting the business, remains essential in identifying the positive and negative elements. The policies formulated should aim at maximizing the benefits of the favorable conditions while minimizing the effects of the negative ones. References Jain, T., Trehan, M., & Trehan, R. (2009). Business Environment . New Delhi: V.K Enterprises. Kew, J. & Stredwick, J. (2005). Business Environment: Managing in a Strategic Context By 2005 London. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Kime, L. & McGee, W. (2008). SWOT Analysis: A Tool for Making Better Business Decisions . Washington DC: Risk Management Agency. Read More