Strategic Planning and Evaluation of Mayo Clinic - Research Paper Example

? Strategic planning and evaluation of the Mayo Clinic Strategic planning and evaluation of the Mayo Clinic Introduction Mayo Clinic is considered to be one of the largest integrated non profit medical organizations in the world. With more than 58,000 allied health staff working at its different branches situated in more than 135 countries, the Clinic which currently treats more than 1 million patients each year has brought doctors and medical practitioners from various medical specialties to work together under its organizational philosophy of “The needs of people come first” (Berry, 2004).Strategic planning refers to a given set of organizational processes that can be used for developing the decision guidelines as well as provides a road map for how the organization is going to achieve its goals and objectives. As a progressive organization, Mayo clinic has developed a unique organizational strategic planning that has enabled it to thrive even in the current volatile economy when the costs of providing healthcare services is rapidly increasing. The development of an effective organizational strategy is one of the best ways to provide a long term road map to any healthcare organization and this is particularly important in the current economic uncertainties. Generally a strategy statement of any organization can be used as bedrock by the organization to help prioritize organizational goals, create executive policies as well as coordinate and allocate resources in a way that is viable for the future of the organization. This paper critically analyzes the strategic planning of the Mayo Clinic with regard to its internal and external assessments, services, stakeholder analysis, strategic financial plans and competitive marketing analysis. Strategic workforce management Workforce management is one of the key components of strategic planning at Mayo Clinic. This has been particularly important in helping the clinic to be a leader in the provision and delivery of its model of healthcare. Just like most of the other successful healthcare organizations, Mayo’s strategic plan has identified effective workforce management as one the major keys to its organizational success. One of the effective strategies that have been used by Mayo Clinic to improve its organizational workforce management is the development of a culture of team work. For example, the key aspect of Mayo’s organization culture is the promotion of teamwork whereby workers are expected to get along with the rest of the team. An initiative known as Mayo brothers has also been started to help foster an atmosphere of teamwork and cooperation with minimal squabbling (Mayo Clinic, 2012). By developing a salaried system without incentives, the organization has effectively eliminated competition among its employees and while improving greater cooperation that beneficial to all the stakeholders. Another strategy that has been used by Mayo clinic to develop an effective workforce is the selection and recruitment of the right employees for every opening and task in the organization. According to Strom (2001), this has not only improved the organizational capabilities of the clinic but has also ensured its sustained competitiveness in the healthcare industry. The human resource department at Mayo clinic uses a process of value based hiring which allows the organization to only recruit the employees who demonstrate empathy for others, ability to work as team players and are able to strictly adhere to the unique organizational culture of the clinic. Lastly, Mayo has designed an effective compensation system that not only makes the organization to be more competitive but has also motivated its employees and resulted in higher profitability levels. For example, the strategic planning of Mayo clinic has primarily focused on motivating its workforce and fostering behaviors and attitude that help them to best fit in the Mayo’s model of patient healthcare. Mayo does not however advocate for a performance based compensation system because the company believes that all employees are expected to achieve a standard of excellence. Quality service provision and patient experience at Mayo Clinic One of the most important strategic goals at Mayo Clinic is to provide quality services and excellent patient experience using the best medical technology available as well as the hope and kindness offered by the clinic’s staff. All the workers and staff at Mayo clinic are regularly trained to help them strictly comply with the various evidence based processes that have been adopted by the clinic to enhance its healthcare services. As part of its strategy to continuously improve its customer experience, Mayo clinic also trains its employees on the importance of treating patients with kindness, respect and dignity. Additionally patient experience and quality service provision is achieved by ensuring that appointments are always made on time and making test results as well as other related patient information to be readily available whenever they are needed. Generally Mayo clinic has factored quality in all its aspects of patient experience ranging from its customer service to the handling of the patients by the professional staff at the clinic. Strategic financial planning at Mayo clinic Developing a clear strategic financial planning is one of the most effective ways that can be used by healthcare organizations to ensure that their long term budgetary allocations are consistent with their strategic goals and organizational objectives (Runy, 2005). To enhance the effectiveness of financial management, Mayo clinic has divided its financial department into six divisions which include treasury services, Mayo Financial services and internal audit services among other departments. Despite the challenging economic environment in the recent times, Mayo clinic has been able to sustain a strong revenue growth because of its effective fiscal strategic planning. At the same time, the Clinic is also seeking to establish policies that will help control its expenses through process improvement and re-engineering efforts. It is however worth noting that as a humanitarian and non profit organization, Mayo clinic’s financial strategy is not designed for profit making but rather to ensure the organization is self sustainable and able to fulfill its mission. Mayo clinic intends to effectively build its expansion on the solid financial performance it achieved during the 2010-2011 financial year that brought a total of more than $600 million in revenue from its net operating income. This translated to over 7 percent operating margin and is therefore consistent with the clinic’s long term organizational objectives. During the last financial year, the company has received contributions amounting to $318 million from grateful patients and the Clinic intends to reinvest more money in research and educational programs to ensure that it maintains its competitive edge over its rivals in the health care industry. Embracing diversity One of the organizational goals of Mayo clinic has been to create a caring and friendly service environment where individual differences are appreciated and the members of staff are given the opportunity to contribute to the organization with their fullest potential. Consequently the clinic has developed policies that will help bring people with different backgrounds, skills and beliefs together and provide them with equal opportunities that will help them to better serve the patients. Mayo clinic supports diversity through a number of initiatives such as Mayo brothers which is a union bringing together all the workers of the clinic. Growth and competitive strategies Mayo clinic has developed a number of plans that will enable the organization to continue to expand its programs and services so that it will be able to meet the future needs of patients in different ways. For example, Mayo clinic has created and integrated medical knowledge in its operations it to deliver the best healthcare, health information and health guidance to people from all places (Mayo Clinic, 2012). By training its staff on various evidence based processes, Mayo clinic is likely to enhance the quality of its healthcare services and the organization is currently poised to redefine the future of healthcare industry. To continue in the advancement of its organizational mission, Mayo clinic has recently launched a care network comprising of various organizations that have access to physicians and expertise at Mayo clinic to enable them effectively take care of their patients. The clinic also intends to create tighter links between patient care and research and this will be particularly achieved by investing more resources and income on innovative medical and educational researches that will help the company to bring the best and maintain its leadership in patient care. Lastly, the clinic will also continue to develop the new centers of researches which include Center for regenerative medicine, Center for individualized medicine and the center for the science of health care delivery. These centers are likely to be used as strategic investments for the future healthcare and consequently enhance both population and individual health. Conclusion In conclusion, Mayo clinic has developed an effective strategic planning that has enabled it to achieve significant growth and expansion even in the current volatile economy when the costs of providing healthcare services is rapidly increasing. Although the clinic has recently been able to maintain solid financial success, it is a non profit company and therefore most of the revenues are being channeled to various projects and initiatives to ensure that the clinic is able to fulfill its mission. Lastly, if some of the current strategic plans are implemented, Mayo clinic is likely to maintain its growth and competitive edge in the provision of healthcare services. References Berry, L. (2004). The collaborative organization: Leadership lessons from Mayo Clinic. Organizational Dynamics, 33, 228-242. Ginter P., Swayne L. (2002). Strategic Management of Healthcare Organizations, 4th ed. Boston: Blackwell publishing. Mayo Clinic. (2012). Solid 2011 Performance Sets Mayo Clinic on Path to Redefine Future of Health Care. Retrieved Oct. 23, 2012 from http://www.mayoclinic.org/news2012-rst/6721.html Strom, K. (2001). Interdisciplinary teamwork for clinical excellence: The Mayo Clinic. Hearing Review, 21, 2, 45-56. Runy, L.(2005). Integrating strategic and financial planning. Retrieved October, 23, 2012 from http://www.hhnmag.com. Read More