During Week 1, we will explore the concept of strategy and how organizations can use strategic planning. We will also examine strategic development and its implications for the various planning processes (strategic, business, and marketing). Finally, we will review the competitive marketplace, including an overview of factors that may affect environmental trends.
Your Learning Objectives for the Week:
- Examine and apply business strategies necessary to define and grow a healthcare organization.
- Analyze the psychological influences and stages involved in a consumer’s decision-making process and factors influencing and maintaining consumer loyalty.
- Summarize the characteristics of successful service and apply these characteristics to a marketing plan for a healthcare organization
MHA6080 WEEK 1 LECTURE
Change Is Necessary
Sometimes, change can be hard. People often balk at the concept of change. Why is that? For starters, there is a sense of comfort that accompanies the practice of routine. When the next steps are appropriately identified, fear of failing also diminishes. Contrarily, the word “change” is associated with “new.” And for many, anything new requires a disruption in the existing process; thereby, change is often associated with disruption and, as a result, has a negative stigma.
With so much trepidation associated with change, why do we continuously promote and embrace it? To put it simply, there can be no growth without change. An organization that does not have a vision for the future will surely fail. Change is necessary so that an organization can continue meeting the needs of its customers. When the needs of the customer change, the strategy of an organization changes to ensure alignment with the customer. Likewise, change is necessary to mitigate risks. A leader faced with an emergent decision to make must rely on his or her ability to change and motivate others to share the same vision for change.
To continuously meet the needs of the customer, organizations require continuous change and transformation. For a diverse target population of customers who have a wide variety of options at their fingertips, this is no simple task. This can be accomplished by either altering the products and services to meet the needs of the existing customer or keeping the products and services the same but changing the customer target. In either scenario, change is inevitable.
If an organization is unable to meet the needs of its customers, the customers will surely go elsewhere and find an organization that can meet their needs. Likewise, if the leader of an organization is unable to adapt to change, especially in an emergency situation, the viability of the organization is weakened. This is why it is important for leaders to have the ability to adapt to change.
Kotter’s Model
Review each tab to know more about Kotter’s 8-step change model.
Create Urgency
Creating a sense of urgency can be expedited by researching and supporting the need for change with evidence.
Form a Powerful Coalition
This is a step where individuals have the opportunity to learn more about the change process. This is also the step where a leader must effectively communicate this change to promote a potential buy-in.
Create a Vision for Change
When individuals support the need for change, they are able to come together and discuss what this change will look like and what its implications are.
Communicate the Vision
The leader must effectively communicate the potential outcome of this change.
Remove Obstacles
During the change process, various challenges and obstacles are sure to arise. Removing them quickly and effectively through decision-making processes will further support the overall change process.
Create Short-Term Wins
Having short-term wins helps keep the team motivated and enthused. Short-term wins must be well communicated to the team.
Build on the Change
Once the initial change process has occurred, it becomes necessary to assess any changes that occur. This allows additional adjustments to be made in order to obtain the desired outcome.
Anchor the Changes in Corporate Culture
Once the necessary changes have been made to finalize the change process, it is important for the larger entity, oftentimes seen as an organization, to openly acknowledge and accept the implications of the process. This can be seen in the form of a new vision statement or development of new policies and procedures to support the change process.
Additional Materials
From your course textbook, Health Care Market Strategy, read the following chapter:
· Strategy Development and the Strategic Mindset
From the South University Online Library, read the following articles:
· Making the Best of the Inevitable: Change
From the Internet, review the following:
· Kotter, J. P., & Rathgeber, H. (2006). Our iceberg is melting: Changing and succeeding under any conditions. New York: St. Martin’s Press. Retrieved from http://go.kotterinc.com/get-the-8steps-ebook.html
· Robert, M. (2006). The new strategic thinking, pure and simple. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Disruptive Innovation
Disruptive innovation refers to a change in the status quo that inevitably changes the direction of the organization or creates a new avenue for the organization. For some, the effect of disruptive innovation creates a brand-new market altogether. This new market with its new pool of customers is now positioned to compete with other similar markets.
Clayton Christensen, chief founder of the idea, first introduced the concept of disruptive innovation in a 1995 Harvard Business Review article and again in his 1997 book, The Innovator’s Dilemma. Most commonly associated with technological advancements in an industry, “disruptive innovation” is also a term used to describe the effects of what happens when a new idea is introduced into a particular market. This is essential in healthcare, where technology is continuously advancing and patient demographics are constantly evolving. Healthcare leaders are faced with the challenge of meeting the needs of existing patients, while remaining financially viable. New strategies and methods of providing quality care are constantly being introduced in an effort to balance an organization’s mission with its margin.
The concept of disruptive innovation, although relatively new, does not introduce a new system approach to strategic planning. The idea itself is relatively simple. Disruptive innovation permits the introduction of something new into the market. The development of something new in the market has the potential to create value for the customer. Value is identified as an organization having the ability to reach a previously excluded customer or developing a product or service that can be offered as an alternative to the original in an effort to reach a new market. When this value is recognized, it can then be ascertained whether the initiative was a disruptive innovation or merely the re-introduction of an existing product or service in the market.
Additional Materials
From your course textbook, Health Care Market Strategy, read the following chapter:
· Understanding the Strategic, Business, and Marketing Planning Process
From the South University Online Library, read the following articles:
· 50 Disruptive Companies 2013
· What Is Disruptive Innovation?
· Defining Disruptive Innovation
Competition
The population of the United States is increasing, creating, in turn, an increase in the demand for healthcare services. We see this particularly in the gerontology sector, where the population segment aged sixty-five and older is rapidly aging. For the first time ever in US history, the sixty-five-plus population will outnumber the K–12 population. According to the US Census Bureau, the world’s sixty-five-plus population is expected to triple by 2050 (Brandon, 2009). All of these changes will result in more healthcare services in the United States. Ultimately, this will increase competition as well.
Although the concept of competition is nothing new, healthcare leaders are experiencing a new perspective on competition. Traditional competition may reveal two hospitals offering similar services, located in neighboring towns with a diverse, communal population. In this scenario, it is easy to visualize how each hospital would try to strategically place itself above its competition. This is especially easy since both are located relatively close to each other.
Now, consider a more contemporary illustration of competition in healthcare. For example, an uninsured patient is recently informed that he requires a quadruple heart bypass surgery, which would cost him in excess of $100,000. Rather than looking at local competition such as neighboring surgical centers, he decides to research alternative options. His research leads him to the concept of medical tourism, the patient’s international option for healthcare. With medical tourism, the patient travels abroad to receive healthcare services that would otherwise not be feasible or financially viable for him. At a fraction of the US cost, international hospitals are growing in popularity. For the first time ever, local healthcare providers must consider their international counterparts as competition, global competition. As a result of these new types of competition in the industry, existing healthcare organizations are revealing the need to rethink strategic planning initiatives.
In addition to understanding that global markets may be considered competition for healthcare organizations in the United States, leaders must also recognize their target market. As the population continues to change in the United States, we will continue to see a shift in the diversity of our customers. Leaders who are able to identify and accommodate the needs of their target population will be well prepared to change with shifting tides of the industry.
Reference:
Brandon, E. (2009). Census Bureau: World’s 65 and older population will triple by 2050: Europe and the United States are expected to age the most rapidly. Retrieved from https://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/planning-to-retire/2009/06/24/census-bureau-worlds-65-and-older-population-will-triple-by-2050
Additional Materials
From your course textbook, Health Care Market Strategy, read the following chapter:
· The Challenge of a Competitive Marketplace
From the South University Online Library, read the following articles:
· Reflections on ‘Medical Tourism’ from the 2016 Global Healthcare Policy and Management Forum
· Medical Tourism: An Emerging Global Healthcare Industry
From the Internet, read the following:
· Leung, R. (2005). Vacation, adventure and surgery. Retrieved from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/vacation-adventure-and-surgery/
MHA6080 WEEK 1 DISCUSSION AND PROJECT INSTRUCTIONS
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· Week 1 Discussion
Discussion Topic
Top of Form
Due April 29 at 11:59 PM
Bottom of Form
Supporting Lectures:
Review the following lectures:
Discussion Questions
Before beginning work on this discussion forum, please review the link “ Doing Discussion Questions Right ” and any specific instructions for this topic.
Before the end of the week, begin commenting on at least two of your classmates’ responses. You can ask technical questions or respond generally to the overall experience. Be objective, clear, and concise. Always use constructive language, even in criticism, to work toward the goal of positive progress. Submit your responses in the Discussion Area.
Introduction:
The United States is experiencing a deficit in healthcare providers, especially physicians. This deficit is expected to increase as the population segment aged sixty-five and older continues to rapidly age. As a result of the increasing demand, some state boards are expanding the scope of practice for advanced practice nurses (nurse practitioners), physicians assistants, and other clinicians (clinical psychologists and others) to perform duties traditionally reserved for a licensed physician. For example, in some states, nurse practitioners have the authority to prescribe medications. Likewise, pharmacists are permitted to provide flu shots.
Despite intentions to fill the gap of a provider deficit, changing the scope of practice for healthcare professionals has received mixed reviews. Many healthcare associations and medical societies are voicing their strong opposition against these practices.
From the South University Library, read the following:
· Expanding Access to Care: Scope of Practice Laws
Considering the recent paradigm shift in healthcare, discuss this movement and its implications for competition. How can changing the prescribed privileges of a provider affect competition? What benefits and challenges exist as a result of expanding the scope of practice for a clinician? Considering this new entry into the market, is this type of competition considered disruptive innovation? Why or why not?
To support your work, use your course and textbook readings and also use the South University Online Library . As in all assignments, cite your sources in your work and provide references for the citations in APA format.
Your initial posting should be addressed at 500–1,000 words as noted in the attached PDF. Submit your document to this Discussion Area by the due date assigned. Be sure to cite your sources using APA format.
Respond to your classmates throughout the week. Justify your answers with examples, research, and reasoning. Follow-up posts need to be submitted by the end of the week.
Assignment
Top of Form
Due May 3 at 11:59 PM
Bottom of Form
Supporting Lectures:
Review the following lectures:
Market Conditions
The project assignment provides a forum for analyzing and evaluating relevant topics for this week on the basis of the course competencies covered.
Introduction:
Over the next few weeks, you will explore the steps involved in the planning process and how they work together to develop the overall strategic direction of an organization. An important element of the planning process is understanding the marketplace. In the marketing spectrum, this refers to having the ability to identify and relate to your target audience. Once you understand your target audience, you can better ascertain its decision-making process as a consumer (thereby ensuring that your organization remains strategically placed in the market). Likewise, it is important to identify the competition in the market and assess its ability to provide services. Without these abilities, there is no strategic direction for the organization to move.
In this assignment, you will assess the condition of a specific healthcare market based on its current population. This will require that you research a type of service, location (city/state), and the demographics of the respective population. Understanding these variables will help you examine whether there is an opportunity for new market entry with a similar service (creating new competition).
You will have the flexibility to select any type of healthcare service and any city/state that interests you.
For example, you may be interested to research acute care (a type of service) in Savannah, Georgia (location). In this example, you would need to research the existing acute care market and population in Savannah.
Please review the following resources and, using specific information from these resources, your course resources, and additional research, address the tasks posed below:
Resources:
· United States Census 2010. (n.d.). Interactive population map. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/2010census/popmap/
· United States Census Bureau. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/
· Medicare.gov. (n.d.). Find & compare doctors, hospitals, & other providers. Retrieved from https://www.medicare.gov/forms-help-and-resources/find-doctors-hospitals-and-facilities/quality-care-finder.html
· United States Department of Labor. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.dol.gov/
Tasks:
· Select a type of healthcare service (acute care, rural health clinic, long-term care, home health care, etc.) and a location (city/state) that interests you.
· Provide an overview of the type of service and location you selected.
· Summarize the population (demographics, density, etc.) of the location you selected (include unique trends, unusual population density, trends, etc.).
· Discuss the presence of competition in the location you selected (presence, density, unique services provided, etc.).
· Recommend whether you would develop new competition in this target market (consider existing competition, workforce, etc.) on the basis of your findings.
To support your work, use your course and text readings and also use the South University Online Library . As in all assignments, cite your sources in your work and provide references for the citations in APA format.
Submission Details
· Present your response in a 3- to 5-page Microsoft Word document formatted in APA style.
· On a separate page, cite all sources using APA format.
· Name your file as SU_MHA6080_W1_Project_LastName_FirstName.
· By the due date assigned, submit it to the Submissions Area.
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