A reputable hospital has high quality ratings from patient satisfaction surveys but is still losing market share. For many years, health care organizations, as well as traditional businesses, have been frustrated that high customer satisfaction scores do not necessarily lead to higher levels of profitability or sales.

Prepare a report examining this phenomenon that address the following elements:

Evaluate and explain inconsistency between customer satisfaction scores and profitability and why it tends to exist in health care organizations.

Apply the statistical procedures discussed in class to support (or refute) the inconsistency.

Assess price vs. quality of services as well as the impact of insurance or managed care contracts on a hospital's market share, regardless of patient satisfaction levels.

Explain how you could use high patient satisfaction results to your advantage when negotiating a new managed care contract for the hospital.

Discuss ethical issues involved when presenting results.

Discuss how qualitative and quantitative data can be used to help this hospital improve market share.

The body of the resultant report should be 5-7 pages and include at least 5 relevant peer-reviewed academic or professional references published within the past 5 years.