Signature Assignment: SWOT Analysis

HCS 449

Signature Assignment: SWOT Analysis

Understanding how to use SWOT analysis is vital in any business industry but can be extra beneficial in the healthcare industry. Not any other industries have so many different impacts in the same way the healthcare industry does and this is because the healthcare industry must change as much as not only people change but also as much as technologies changes and taking this into consideration change is always taking place. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats can give great insight into how your organization is doing and where and what changes need to be made in order to do better and improve upon. In this paper a SWOT analysis will be conducted in combination with a business plan in order to complete a final strategic business plan and two factors of each of the SWOT categories will be included to complete the recommendations. It will also cover the value of conducting an individual SWOT analysis as opposed to a group analysis with other stakeholders.

SWOT Factors

Community Hospital is non-profit, acute care facility looking to open a second, urgent care, location in a strip mall. It is important to consider the SWOT factors in conjunction with the business plan to determine if this plan is achievable. The Community Hospital is currently an accredited organization under the Joint Commission which is always a positive strength as accreditation requires a higher standard of work and safety procedures. The hospital also has an excellent management system with an extremely low volume of medical malpractice claims (University of Pheonix,  n.d.). Another strength is the fact that over half of the employees have college experience while at least a quarter of those have an advanced degree. The weaknesses of the organizations definitely need work as the company has a low market distribution and is struggling to keep up with the competition. This may also be influenced by another weakness, the organization is suffering from a shortage of staff in the orthopedics, oncology, and most importantly the primary care department.

There are many opportunities however, such as the opening of the automotive plant will increase the amount of potential covered customers to the area. Other opportunities include the advancement of technology, specifically the e-visits. As other organizations, have had success in this area. Threats to the organization include the growth of chronic disease. This requires an update to the management model which may cause difficulties. Another threat is the fact that a competitor has recently updated their facilities which caused an increase in market shares. All of these factors must be considered when doing an analysis for the consideration of opening a new facility.

Analysis

When analyzing all of these factors it is important to consider them as a whole and individually. Starting with the strengths it is a positive that the Community Hospital has a strong management model and because of this has a low volume of medical malpractice. However, the strong management model may be difficult to update, which is a requirement to overcome the increasing amount of chronic disease patients, which is one of the greater threats facing the organization. Another strength is the fact that over half of the employees have college experience and more than half of that have an acquired degree. This means that the employees are well knowledgeable and capable. The strength of employee intelligence plays a major part in the fact that the organization is accredited by the Joint Commission. The strict requirements of the Joint Commission mean the Community Hospital delivers good quality of service as well.

Although the organizations staff is well educated, it is also understaffed and struggling to keep up with the increased number of patients. A significant increase in staffing and recruitment must take place to meet the needs of the current organization and the community it serves. Considering an opportunity is that the needs of the community will increase with the development of the automotive business opening up, bringing in new customers as well as the health care reform greatly increasing the amount of people in the area that are covered. Not having enough staff to accommodate this increase in patients can be a potential downfall. Another weakness is the fact that the company has, in recent years fallen behind its competitors in the market sharing distribution. This may also be because of the threat that a competitor has recently updated their facility drawing in more of the market sharing.

The opportunities of new business are great and with a new automotive company opening up the chance to gain new patients is high, again however, it is important to develop on the weakness of limited staffing so that the organization may meet the needs of the community and expanding covered patients. The second opportunity comes in the form of technological advancements, more specifically, e-visits. A competitor has recently shown an increase in market shares due to the use of e-visits. Utilizing all technologies available can potentially increase the customer base, and market sharing, by providing more options for the community.

This analysis can be used to seek out areas of weakness to improve upon them as well as define the threats and discover ways to overcome them. It can also be used to seek out opportunities and find ways to act on those opportunities to their advantage. It may also use the knowledge of their strengths to use against competitors, and striking against their competitor’s weaknesses (Hill, 2016). It is also important to look at the strengths and how those strengths can assist them in opening the second business (Malone, 2016). If the threats and weaknesses overwhelm the strengths and opportunities that what changes are needed to overcome those threats and weaknesses so that the goal can be achieved.

Limitations and Advantages

A SWOT analysis can be performed individually or with a group and both ways can provide limitations and advantages. The advantages of doing the SWOT analysis individually is that is can reduce time taken to do the analysis and you also have the ability to gain inside information and data that outside stakeholders may not have access too. However, the limitations are only having one person brainstorming can greatly reduce the amount of information coming in. Having more people can produce different perspectives and ideas that may otherwise not be considered.

Conclusion

It is vital to do a SWOT analysis of your organization when considering a new venture or project. Although the analysis is limited and subjective it can offer great insight to the separate factors of the SWOT analysis. This insight can open the door to making positive changes in the organization. It is important to use the SWOT analysis correctly and it can provide effect results. For the Community Hospital, they have a great amount of strengths and opportunities, however, like all strengths and opportunities there are weaknesses and threats that impact both. It is important to look at the strengths and opportunities and find ways to overcome the weaknesses and threats.

References

University of Pheonix. (n.d.). HCS 449 Capstone Business Plan Scenario. Retrieved from University of Pheonix, HCS449 website.

Hill, B. (2016). Why Perform a SWOT Analysis?. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/perform-swot-analysis-5050.html

Malone, M. (2016). Ten Steps to Carrying Out a SWOT Analysis. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/ten-steps-carrying-out-swot-analysis-15451.html