SWOT Analysis Report - Research Paper Example

The Maricopa Public Health Service 1. Analysis of the agency’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities for future growth and threats to its viability. Strengths The Agency has had a successful run throughout the years since its establishment. We can attribute the success to the many ‘strengths’ the company has. To begin with, the Agency has quite an impressive number of health centres within its community healthcare system. The agency has a record 45 sites that are vital for the agency to reach out to a significant number of people. The Health Agency is also very diverse in a number of things areas for example culture wise and geographically (Maricopa County Department of Public Health, 2012). The diverse nature of the Agency tends to appeal to various population groups, age groups differently. It has a very broad understanding of different spiritual expressions as well. There are different segments of the population represented in the Agency so the Agency benefits from the difference in philosophies way of doing things and existing relationships. The Agency’s top management uniquely governs the Agency through a voting process, strengthening the relationship between the agency and the people it serve. This practice has endeared the agency to the people because they feel part of the Agency themselves and hence their steadfast loyalty to the Agency. They select leaders through the ­County public health department to ensure that the people placed in the top management are competent enough to carry out the Agency’s mandate. The Agency is associated with many school districts. It has established a strong school lunch program for instance. The Agency is ahead of the curve on health information technology as a result of being actively involved in major health research and medical sciences in general especially due to the presence of a University. (ASU, U of A, NAU) The wide spread nature of the agency has contributed to its popularity to the public and other organisations are very willing to be associated with the Agency. Due to their popularity, the agency has received support through provision of resources to fund its projects. Some companies include the pharmaceutical companies in Scottsdale. The number of resources the Agency has is an added advantage to the agency (Maricopa County Department of Public Health, 2012). Moreover, most of the Agency’s branches have ecological environments that are ideal for agriculture to take place. Some federal regional offices situated at Phoenix, which is a clean city, with clean air. They also have very favourable climate with ideal weather 9 months per year for the Agency to carry out various outdoor and recreation activities. This has resulted into the establishment of major sport teams. The company also benefits from having a passionate public health workforce. ­The admirable work has the Agency working with major corporations as employers. The Agency is also technologically empowered. This has helped it carry out its mandate faster and in more efficient and effective manner. Weaknesses ­Funding for the Agency’s operations is sometimes a threat to its viability. Despite the fact that the Agency has many sources of funds, financial shortages sometimes stall the Agency’s operations because it also has wide representation across the globe. ­Most agencies and organizations fail to operate or carry out their activities like businesses, therefore they may fall victim to mismanagement issues or disorganisation within its operations. Employees of the business are mostly from the medical field, and may know very little concerning running an agency. That is one weakness in the Maricopa County Health Agency. The diversity in cultural and language calls for a diverse workforce that stretches across different cultures and languages too. There is a challenge for the Agency to find well educated employees especially in minority groups. It is sometimes difficult to deliver services to the public due to language barrier. Another weakness is in the fact that the Agency is forced to use public systems to carry out its operations. Health services are very critical, and therefore require the quickest attention. Sometimes public systems fail to work appropriately, leading to a dismal performance by the agency. For example, the Agency uses public education system to sensitize the public on various health issues. This system might not be relevant to reach out to the desired public. This way, the Agency fails on its mandate. ­­Another key weakness of the Agency is on its succession planning. It is hard for the Agency to retain its employees, given the many private health institutions with a promise for better pay and working conditions for the employees. The government does not offer much help in ensuring the training and mentoring of new employees as well. Opportunities There is an opportunity for those volunteering in the Agency to get educated and trained. The Agency also offers internships to University medical students to work in some of the places the Agency offers health services. ­The health incentives by the Agency can lead to partnerships with major corporations and institutions. Many health related companies such as soap manufacturing companies and non-profit based organisations will want to develop campaigns through funding the Agency’s activities. Another opportunity available to the Agency is ability to exchange health information with major players in the Health industry. While making Health reports, Health Agencies get together for big meetings, which set the ground for major sharing of information. This information is vital for the Agency to handle its mandate effectively and to improve quality of care. Farmers markets provide an opportunity for the Agency to make extra income to fund its operations. ­ Threats The Agency’s main threat to the Agency’s viability is political environment. Since the Agency is very popular, local leaders and policy makers­ sometimes use it as a tool to push their political agenda, which may negatively affect the Agency’s operations. There is lack of awareness of public health initiatives. This undermines the Agency’s efforts to meet its mandate. Another threat to the Agency’s viability is inadequate prevention of diseases by the sectors involved. The inadequate vaccination and screening programs by the government for instance have contributed to the growing number of sickly children hence causing a strain in the limited resources available for the agency Health insurance is another threat to the viability of the Agency. More people are enrolling into the health insurance program and can subscribe for medical treatment anywhere and anytime. This spells doom for the Health Agencies. 1. Application of appropriate organizational theories into the SWOT analysis of the agency. The systems approach The Maricopa County Health Agency is a system made of interconnected but mutually dependent - sub-systems which have their own sub-sub-systems (Dzimbiri,2009). I say this because the Agency’s components, functions and processes are spread out in different places but are still under one foundation. There is health service, training, and farming all in the name of public service. This Agency consists of three basic elements; (i) Components -The Agency has four basic, interdependent parts, namely: a. Individuals- these are the people the Agency offers service. b. The Agency’s formal structure – This is the Agency’s structure from the top management levels to the lowest level of working. The Maricopa Health Agency has a very stable organisation structure (Mayers & Mayers,2004). c. The patterns of behaviour emanating from the Agency’s role demands – Being in the Health industry, the Agency needs to adopt certain behaviour normally related to other health institutions. d. The physical environment in which people work (Mayers & Mayers,2004). (ii) Linking processes The components above operate in tandem and in a correlated manner. There is interaction between the four components in the Agency because there is harmony in the linking processes of the Agency (that is, communication, balance and decision-making). For instance, the communication between the different branches of the Maricopa Agency have enabled the Agency balance its allocation of resources and this was made possible through sound decision-making on the part of the management. (iii) The Maricopa Health Agency has goals. It targets to grow and be financially stable. It and offer the best health services to its beneficiaries. An organisation that has goals is definitely practicing the systems approach. 2. Proposal of a new initiative and recommendations towards its implementation I propose a new initiative to strengthen community and garner support and partnership from it. The completion of this new initiative will go a long way in ensuing that the Agency remains relevant in the midst of fierce competition from other public and private health institutions. I am certain that the Agency would not like to lose its current position as a prominent public health service provider. On the contrary, it would want to grow even bigger. A sure way to achieve more popularity among the public is by initiating activities to strengthen the community and develop additional ways to collaborate with the community. In this regard, I propose the following recommendations towards the implementation of this initiative; To support, engage and strengthen families and communities the Agency needs to develop culturally- effective opportunities and resources that help them in nurture, care, and provide for the success and well-being of their children. In my view, the adult population will take these activities to heart and this will have a positive impact on their loyalty to the Health Agency. They will also influence their children to acknowledge the Agency as a reliable source of health service. The Agency needs to develop programs that will utilize strategies that are culturally- sensitive to the community settings in an effort to engage high need families and communities. Their initiative needs to be structured and implemented in such a way that appeals to their respective cultures and languages. The modification of the initiative to suit each group represented will go a long way in demonstrating that the Agency is committed to meeting the specific needs of every group of people it is associated. This act will solidify the public’s loyalty to the Health Agency. The strategies for achieving the success of the initiative should include those programs that educate the parent more about early childhood development as well as teaching and modelling effective parenting strategies. I recommend that the strategy foster family resilience, it should advocate for enhanced social connections, and support for community in all ways possible. I also recommend that the Maricopa County Health Agency support collaborative planning and systems change efforts. It should also train and offer technical assistance to equip the volunteers from the community with relevant skills they can use in future or at home. This can be achieved through the introduction of interventions and practices that are culturally- relevant and family-focused (Dzimbiri,2009). In an effort to engage families and communities in culturally relevant ways, the Agency should include service models, which dwell on faith-based communities and collaborate with other community agencies to develop events for families with young children. The Agency ought to carry out the initiative locally and nationally and should target to strengthen the various frameworks of the families while considering parents as teachers. An example of such an initiative is one that improves the readiness of children that are ready to go to school. 3. Identification of stakeholders. Strategies ensure the approval of the new initiative. To ensure success implementation of the proposed initiative on a nationwide level, then the Agency has to work in collaboration with other national programs that have achieved success at a nationwide scale. Such organizations should form part of the stakeholders in this project. The Agency will learn a lot from the successes and failures of this stakeholder, and will learn the most effective way to advocate for the approval of the new initiative. A good example of such an organization is ‘Aetna' which began a national program called ‘GetNHealthy with Aetna’. The organization developed the program to try reducing childhood obesity and help children attain and keep a healthy weight. The second stakeholder is The Education system. Public education plays a significant part in passing on information concerning the new initiative by the Agency to the masses. To advocate for the approval of the new initiative, the Agency should announce the initiative to all public schools in the country (preschools, middle schools, high schools and colleges) and should focus on highlighting the main points of the initiatives.. The Education system also includes organizations, institutions, associations, advocacy groups and any other groups in the education spectrum (Jeffery, 2011). The working population is another stakeholder in this initiative. The working population is mostly the adult population, the section of the population that actually pays the health care bills. To advocate for the approval of the new initiative, the Agency needs to ensure that the initiative is set in such a way to appease the working population so that it remains relevant in the health industry. The initiative can promise to focus on improving Maricopa County’s health status within places of public and private employment. The initiative ought o put into perspectives the health needs of both employers and employees. Another stakeholder in the initiative is the other healthcare institutions. To advocate for the approval of the new initiative, the Maricopa County Health Agency needs to call upon the support of other healthcare institutions (preferably Public Health Service providers) and push for the successful implementation of the initiative together. Reference Mayers, R. S., & Mayers, R. S. (2004). Financial management for nonprofit human service organizations. Springfield, Ill: Charles C Thomas. Lewis, J. A., Packard, T. R., & Lewis, M. D. (2012). Management of human service programs. Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole. Maricopa County Department of Public Health (MCDPH). (2012). Maricopa County Health Status Report 2001-2010. Retrieved from Jeffery, L. (2011). Understanding agency: Social welfare and change. Bristol, U.K: Policy Press. Dzimbiri, L. B. (2009). Organisation and management theories: An African focus : integrating structure, people, processes and the environment for human happiness. Göttingen: Cuvillier. Read More