Assignment 1: External Environments

Accountable health care leaders must respond to external factors in a way that is advantageous for the organization and the community. While health care organizations must strive to improve their financial positions, it should never be at the expense of the populations they are serving. For this Assignment, examine the following scenario and consider strategies to limit the negative impact of external factors and improve organizational success.

Scenario: A small independent hospital in rural Georgia is seeking to attain Magnet Status. This designation demonstrates to stakeholders that the organization is committed to delivering high-quality patient care. With this designation, the organization can easily attract and retain a highly-engaged clinical staff. Moreover, it provides the organization an opportunity to market itself to potential patients as the place to receive top-quality care. This means that the organization could realize a greater market share of insured and private pay patients traveling as far as 100 miles just to receive the quality services. It also positions the organization to enter into joint ventures with physician groups eager to provide new services, which would lead to increased revenue streams.

Although the designation sounds like a great opportunity for the organization, the board of directors is split on their support of this designation. The board members in support of the designation understand the great value that this program will bring to the facility; however, those in opposition learned from a research study that non-magnet hospitals had better infection control and less post-operative sepsis. They also learned from another study that working conditions in a magnet facility are not better than those in non-magnet facilities. Therefore, the dissenting directors have concluded that the organization should not invest its time and resources to seek this credential. The CEO must get support from an overwhelming majority of the board to move forward with pursuing this designation.

To prepare:

Review the provided scenario and consider external environmental factors that may impact the organization’s strategic planning (e.g., policy and economics, laws and ethics, health care quality, and population health).

Note: Your Assignment should show effective application of triangulation of content and resources in your conclusion and recommendations.

The Assignment

In a 2-page executive summary, do the following:

• Identify and evaluate the impact of external environmental factors on the strategic planning of the organization in the scenario.
• Recommend strategies to address these external factors and limit their influence on organizational operations.

Assignment 1: Financial Analysis

To make informed decisions and achieve strategic goals, health care leaders must carefully analyze an organization’s financial position. A ratio analysis, for example, may impact decisions for strategic initiatives such as expansions, consolidations, mergers, and acquisitions. For this Assignment, you calculate financial ratios and consider their implications for organizations.

To prepare:

Review the Week 7 Assignment document in this week’s Learning Resources. Examine the financial data for the health care organizations in each scenario.

Note: Your Assignment should show effective application of triangulation of content and resources in your conclusion and recommendations.

The Assignment

Using the scenarios and financial data provided in the Week 7 Assignment document, calculate financial ratios and evaluate their implications on organizational decision making.