Deck 5: Strategic Planning

Question 1

Identify two of the five forces in the Five Forces model and briefly discuss their importance in the market assessment.

Answer 1

Power of the Health Care Workforce - the future availability/shortage of all subsets of providers and staff could have significant impact on potential strategies.
Power of Consumers and Payers - the increasing autonomy of consumers and the increasing restrictions by payers can significantly impact potential strategies.
Innovations in Technology - providers must be aware of changes and innovations in technology, lest they risk becoming out of date, and/or to be first to market with new products.
Regulatory Environment - health care is a political and policy-oriented industry and, as such, providers must stay abreast of policy changes and their impacts on potential strategies;
Competitive Rivalry - providers need to be aware of competitors' strategies both as a protective measure as well as potential partnering opportunities.

Question 2

Discuss the importance of health care managers staying informed and current in their areas of expertise.

Answer 2

Health care managers in every area should maintain current certifications and continuing education in order to help identify and prepare the organization for future market forces.

Question 3

Why is it important to develop multiple future scenarios in the planning process?

Answer 3

As there is no way to predict the future, multiple planning scenarios allow for preparation needed to ensure organizational success by identifying critical success factors common to most/all scenarios.

Question 4

Why is it important to clearly define an organization's service area?

Question 5

Discuss the importance of organizational culture in strategy development and execution. How can health care managers influence this culture?