Strategic Management Of Healthcare Organizations Pdf
Elijah Rakestraw
This strategic management approach has become the de facto standard for health care management as leadership and strategic management are more critical than ever in coping with an industry in flux. This book provides heath care management students as well as health care administrators with foundational guidance on strategic management concepts and practices, tailored to the unique needs of the health care industry. Included are a clear discussion of health services external analysis, organizational internal analysis, the development of directional strategies, strategy alternative identification and evaluation, and the development and management of implementation strategies providing an informative and insightful resource for anyone in the field.
This new eighth edition has been fully updated to reflect new insights into strategic thinking, new methods to conceptualize and document critical environmental issues, practical steps for carrying out each of the strategic management processes, industry and management essentials for strategic thinkers , and new case studies for applying the strategic management processes. More specifically, readers of this edition will be able to:
Strategic planning improves the performance of an organization by providing a clear direction and framework for decision-making. It aligns resources and efforts with long-term objectives, identifies potential risks and opportunities, and ensures that all departments are working towards common goals. This results in increased efficiency, better resource allocation, and improved overall performance.
Strategic planning in healthcare is important because it helps organizations navigate the complex and rapidly changing healthcare environment. It ensures that resources are used effectively to improve patient care, meet regulatory requirements, and achieve financial stability. Strategic planning also helps healthcare organizations set priorities, allocate resources, and measure progress towards their goals, ultimately leading to better patient outcomes and organizational sustainability.
- Lack of Clear Objectives: Vague or unrealistic goals can lead to confusion and lack of focus.
- Poor Communication: Failure to communicate the plan to all stakeholders can result in lack of alignment and commitment.
- Inadequate Resources: Insufficient resources, including time, budget, and personnel, can hinder implementation.
- Lack of Flexibility: Inability to adapt the plan to changing circumstances can make it obsolete.
- Poor Execution: Failure to translate the plan into actionable steps and monitor progress can lead to poor outcomes.
Strategic planning is typically done by senior leadership and management teams within an organization. This often includes executives, department heads, and key stakeholders. In larger organizations, strategic planning may also involve input from board members, employees, and external consultants to ensure a comprehensive and inclusive approach.
In a broad sense, strategic management in health care can provide an organization with the guidance it requires to reach its desired future. Organizations need to develop objectives that define their short- and long-term success. A strategic plan aims to accomplish measurable improvement in one or more key areas, such as:
Effective strategic management in health care enables an organization to identify its focus area, allowing it to determine what resources and tactics it needs to achieve improvements. The strategic planning process also helps:
Strategic management in health care is critical for organizations to reach their long-term goals and gain a competitive edge. Through savvy strategic planning, hospitals and other healthcare facilities clearly define their vision, mission, and benchmarks with the ultimate goal of improving patient outcomes.
If you aspire to make a difference on the administrative side of health care, explore your educational options, such as enrolling in the Online Master of Health Administration degree program at Tulane University.
Graduate Prerequisites: (SPHPH719) or consent of instructor. - This course is designed to make the student aware of well-established and innovative best practices that are necessary for making strategic decisions in the competitive environment of health care. Each session offers an opportunity to explore various aspects of formulating, monitoring, and leading strategies while considering the complexity of the structure and processes in healthcare. Real-life projects engage the student in making evidence based and value driven decisions while being cognizant of culture, regulations and the dynamic nature of the industry. Discussions from the readings, case studies and assignments focus on developing systems thinking and strategic intuition that is vigilant of the drivers of change, leadership skills and countermeasures by competitors.
As with anything in healthcare, there are limits, challenges, and benefits to organizational success when utilizing strategic management. To ensure proper implementation, individuals and organizations should identify potential pitfalls, which appear in the form of external influences. Organizational stakeholders must identify strategic management influences and ensure alignment is applied. If external influences are not aligned, strategic management processes can veer into inconsequential areas, hence impacting organizational revenue, resources, and time (Huseyin, 2018). Placing limits on the scope of strategic management ensures a narrowly tailored focus on strategic goals and initiatives. It also prohibits strategic stakeholders from message creep towards potential pitfalls.
Moreover, with limits comes challenges to remaining focused. Strategic management requires discipline towards organizational strategical goals, hence the challenges. Navigating stakeholder discipline can be tiresome if all stakeholders are not in alignment with the organization. Team stakeholders must be well-versed in all aspects of the overall strategic plan to ensure challenges are minimal. Allowing for stakeholder inclusion requires thinking strategically and assigning responsibilities to organizational stakeholders (Goldman, 2012). When stakeholders are required to think strategically as a part of the overall strategic organizational plan, it reduces external organizational threats through stakeholder understanding and focus on organizational objectives, therefore enhancing benefits.
For healthcare organizations, being able to ensure their financial viability is paramount, thus the inculcation of strategic management. Gone are the days where healthcare organizations focused on working for only current needs. As society has evolved, so have healthcare organizations the fusing strategic management into the fabric of the organizations allows for sustained financial and organizational growth. Since strategic management was established, it has assisted healthcare organizations in operating in a more efficient and effective manner. Utilizing strategic management paves the way for organizations to exceed traditional boundaries and seek growth marketplaces (Kim & Mauborgne, 2005).
Accompanying organizational growth, by way of strategic management implementation, are the employees that implement all aspects of strategic management. Healthcare organization employees serve as the fabric for each organization in that they ensure strategic management is successfully implemented. Therefore, if healthcare organizations have an employee revolving door, then the financial future of the organization is potentially jeopardized. As organizations grow and their employees desire advancement, ensuring employee security means employees should be highly trained and compensated accordingly. When the latter does not occur, employees tend to seek employment elsewhere. Ensuring they are prepared for such a transition is essential.
When you think about the process that healthcare professionals undertake to gain employment or transition from employment (e.g., another position, retirement), applying strategic management to their employment search process should follow a similar methodology to what is applied to healthcare organizations. This involves conducting a comprehensive analysis of the situation, identifying potential obstacles, establishing a clear objective, and developing a strategy to execute and reach identified goals. For a healthcare Information Technology (IT) professional a well-defined career path is not always available; therefore, the application of strategic management processes may serve as a catalyst for ensuring strategy is applied to their career.
It is important to note it can be modified to fit any situation, more importantly, it can be applied to ensure preparation for career opportunities. Strategic management involves several steps for successful outcomes. These steps may be written differently, depending on which source your consult, however, they usually include:
The application of strategic management to your career may increase the effectiveness of your goal. However, it should not be construed as a silver bullet because it is not infallible. It can, if properly applied, serve as a tremendous asset to your career management.
With employee attrition at an all-time high within America, traditional measures to recruit talented personnel need to be reevaluated. In contrast to historical influences that contribute to attrition (e.g., compensation, workload, etc.), additional influences have been highlighted. Such predictors as toxic culture, job insecurity, increased innovation, lack of recognition, are joined by lackluster or inept response to dealing with COVID-19 in the workplace ((Sull et. al, 2022, p. 3).
Amid the day-to-day operation of hospitals and health systems, bigger picture questions may get overlooked. Which departments are delivering the most value? Which service lines are underperforming? How would a substantial capital investment in a particular area impact profits? Healthcare strategy management is how hospitals seek to answer these questions and more, using internal and external financial, clinical, operational, and benchmarking data to rate a facility against peers, discover strengths and weaknesses, and set a course for improvement.
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