The volatile healthcare market demands that providers be nimble competitors with advanced, ongoing planning processes that drive growth and organizational effectiveness" (Zuckerman, 2006, p. 3). How does-orshould-this perspective inform strategic planning and management in today's health care organizations?

For this Application Assignment, you will create a visual representation of the strategic planning and management process for a particular organization. The graphic you create for this Application Assignment will help you begin to think about aspects of strategic planning that you explore throughout this course.

Prepare for this Application Assignment as follows:

Based on the information presented in the Learning Resources, what are the key characteristics of strategic planning and management? How would you illustrate the process?

What are the main steps of the process that should be included?

What substeps do you think should be added?

Are there variations that need to be reflected, or is the process fairly standard?

What additional factors-within organizations or surrounding them-shape this process? How should these be included in a graphic?

• What unique aspects of the health care field might influence strategic planning? Consider the various insights you have gained throughout this Master of Healthcare Administration program.
• Do approaches to strategic planning and management vary among health care providers? If so, how? What circumstances might influence how a particular organization approaches this process? Consider issues identified in previous courses as well as developments in current events.
• Select a particular type of health care organization to focus on for this assignment. You may bring to mind a health care organization you examined for the Discussion, or a different one. (You will not need to convey how strategic planning is actually carried out in a specific organization, but you should have some organizational specifics in mind as you think through this assignment.)
• As you begin to draft your graphic, consider:

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  • How could you use lines or other graphic representations to show connections between various elements?
  • How could you use color to convey meaning?
  • What labels or text is needed to ensure the graphic elements make sense?
• Word and PowerPoint provide the tools you will need to create this document. If you would prefer to use a different type of program or send a PDF, contact your instructor as soon as possible to see if it is acceptable.

Then create a 1-page document that addresses the following:

• Use images, symbols, and words to form a graphic representation of the strategic-planning and management process for a particular organization.

Your written assignments must follow APA guidelines.

Resources that can be used:

• Article: Greene, J. (2009). The new pace of strategic planning. Hospitals & Health Networks, 83(11), 31 - 32, 34, 1. Retrieved from http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mnh&AN=20063599&site=ehost-live&scope=site
  The author addresses the need for strategic planning to be a continuous process due to rapid evolution within the health care field.
• Article: Zuckerman, A. M. (2006).Advancing the state of the art in healthcare strategic planning. Frontiers of Health Services Management, 23(2), 3 - 15. Retrieved from http://ehis.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/eds/detail?vid=5&hid=6&sid=ea79c827-3bba-4de3-9eb6-54977f16e6dd%40sessionmgr110&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#db=mnh&AN=17310806

This article describes effective and innovative practices in strategic planning.