Development and Strategic Planning in Health Care

UNIT 1

Your response should be at least 200 words in length. You must use at least your textbook to complete this assignment. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations. All references and citations used must be in APA style.

Differentiate between strategic management, strategic thinking, strategic planning, and managing strategic momentum. Relate each of these concepts to health care organizations.

Describe the various leadership roles for strategic management within a health care organization. Provide some specific examples of these roles.

Explain the importance of strategic management in today's rapidly changing health care environment. Provide some specific examples from your own health care organization or one which you hope to lead.

Your response should be at least 500 words in length. You must use at least your textbook to complete this assignment. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations. All references and citations used must be in APA style.

How will small employers and large employers be affected by the changes implemented under PPACA? As CEO of a small company, how will you plan to cope with PPACA implementation? As CEO of a large company, how will you plan to cope with PPACA implementation?

UNIT III

Your response should be at least 500 words in length. You must use at least your textbook to complete this assignment. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations. All references and citations used must be in APA style.

1. Many Americans are now traveling outside of the U. S. for elective medical procedures. What does this mean in terms of service area competitor analysis? What would you do as a hospital CEO or senior manager to keep your own patients at home and receiving services at your own facility rather than traveling abroad for care?

Your response should be at least 200 words in length. You must use at least your textbook to complete this assignment. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations. All references and citations used must be in APA style.

2. Formulate at least three questions that are well-suited to initiate strategic thinking regarding service area and competitors for a health care organization. Why do you feel that these questions are so important to pose?

3. Describe the important connections between external environmental analysis and service area competitor analysis. How do these two types of analysis impact each other in strategic planning for a health care organization?

4. How would you go about defining the service area for a particular health care organization or medical service? Describe the specific steps and processes.

UNIT IV

Your response should be at least 200 words in length. You must use at least your textbook to complete this assignment. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations. All references and citations used must be in APA style.

How can the value chain be used to identify organizational strengths and weaknesses in health care organizations?

2. Explain the concept of competitive relevance for an organization's strengths and weaknesses, and relate this concept specifically to health care organizations.

3. How does internal environmental analysis help health care organizations sustain competitive advantage? As a health care leader, what are some of the key aspects that you will assess in conducting your own internal environmental analysis?

Your response should be at least 500 words in length. You must use at least your textbook to complete this assignment. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations. All references and citations used must be in APA style.

4. Discuss LEAN Six Sigma, and explain why more and more health care organizations are utilizing this approach to improving health care processes and reducing waste.

UNIT V

Your response should be at least 200 words in length. You must use at least your textbook to complete this assignment. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations. All references and citations used must be in APA style.

Explain the role and relationships among health care mission, vision, values, and strategic goals. Provide specific examples of these relationships for medical organizations.

2. What is meant by a "directional strategy" for a health care organization? Provide some specific examples of directional strategies for your own health care organization or one which you hope to lead.

3. Create at least three actual strategic goals for your own health care organization or department or one which you someday hope to lead. Explain your thought process in creating these strategic goals.

Your response should be at least 500 words in length. You must use at least your textbook to complete this assignment. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations. All references and citations used must be in APA style.

4. Consider your own health care organization or one which you would someday hope to lead. Based upon your learning in this course, state and explain at least three "critical success factors" for your organization, department or program. Why did you select these critical success factors in particular?

UNIT VI

Your response should be at least 200 words in length. You must use at least your textbook to complete this assignment. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations. All references and citations used must be in APA style.

Provide and discuss at least three examples of key strategic alternatives that are available to health care organizations today but were not available to them 20 years ago.

2. Explain how health care leaders can integrate strategic thinking and situational analysis into a strategic plan for a health care organization.

3. What are the steps involved in the decision logic of strategy development? How would you employ these steps in planning for your own health care organization or one which you may someday lead?

Your response should be at least 500 words in length. You must use at least your textbook to complete this assignment. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations. All references and citations used must be in APA style.

4. Describe the essential services provided within the scope of Public Health in America today. What is meant by Public Health Assurance Services? Look around yourself, in your own community, and your own state. Discuss at least three examples of Public Health Assurance Services that are taking place in your own area.

Unit V Scholarly Activity

For this assignment, please create actual mission, vision, and values statements for your own health care organization or department or one which you someday hope to lead. Explain your thought process in creating these statements. Your explanation should consist of at least 200 words.

Unit VIII Final Project

Throughout this course, you will be developing what is known as a strategic management action plan (MAP). When all the strategic planning is done and the written strategic plan document exists, then it is time for management action planning based upon our strategies. This is where so many health care organizations of all types fall short. The same level of effort that went into creating the strategic plan needs to continue as we take action, measure progress, and reassess over time. Management action planning is a step-by-step approach developed to help health care leaders plan the action steps that will lead to positive change for our organizations.

The strategic plan sets the direction for us, and our MAPs get the work done, turning strategy into reality. Developing a MAP is a six-step process, and you will actually be practicing this MAP process as you create your course project. Some suggested MAP topics are provided here, and you are certainly free to propose your own topic if you like, perhaps something which truly needs to be addressed in your own organization. You may even find the MAP to be a valuable tool as you lead your own organization.

By the time you reach Unit II, you should have determined your topic. In Units II through VII, you will learn about each step of the six-step process. It is suggest that you work on each part of your MAP during the week it is discussed to ensure that you complete your project on time. The completed project is due at the end of Unit VII and should be in one of the following formats: .doc, .docx, .rtf, .pdf, or .txt. The project should consist of a minimum of five double-spaced pages and should be in APA format. Remember to cite any outside sources used to avoid plagiarism.

Suggested HEALTH CARE topics include the following:

Nursing Recruitment and Retention in Health Care
Continuing Education Challenges
Patient Care Technology
Staff Safety on Duty
Patient Safety in Hospitals
Stakeholder Relationships
Community Education Programs
Disaster Preparedness
Medical Director Involvement
Quality Improvement Program for Health Care
Patient Satisfaction
Rural Health Issues
Funding for Hospital Programs
Neonatal/Pediatric Services