Capella University Unit 3 CVS Health Current Environmental Analysis
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Unit 3
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Internal Environment Analysis
Introduction
This unit shifts focus from the external environment to the
internal environment. Identifying analysis techniques for assessing
competitive advantage is important for building health care strategy.
Sustaining health care competitive advantage requires that managers and
leaders understand environmental demands to assist with minimizing
weakness and threats from the external environment.
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Learning Activities Collapse All
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[u03s1] Unit 3 Study 1
Studies
Readings
From the Capella University Library, read:
In Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations:
Chapter 4, “Internal Analysis and Competitive Advantage,” pages 121–162. Bettencourt, L. A., Lusch, R. F., & Vargo, S. L. (2014). A service lens on value creation: Marketing’s role in achieving strategic advantage. California Management Review, 57(1), 44–66.Cattinelli, I., Bolzoni, E., Barbieri, C., Mari, F., Martin-Guerrero, J. D., Soria-Olivas, E., . . . Gatti, E. (2012). Use of self-organizing maps for balanced scorecard analysis to monitor the performance of dialysis clinic chains. Health Care Management Science, 15(1), 79–90.Roth, W. F. (2015). Strategic planning as an organization design exercise. Performance Improvement, 54(6), 6–12.
Multimedia
Complete the following Capella multimedia presentations:
The Value Chain.
This media piece visually presents the value chain for a health
care organization. The value chain provides a framework for assessing
an organization's internal environment. You will be able to click on the
various value adding components to learn more about each. Retail Stores and Key Success Factors.
In this interactive exercise, you will complete a strategic map
for a chain of retail stores based on price, quality, and number of
locations. Then, you will examine one of the store's key success
factors, such as market position, financial risk, et cetera.
Optional Resources
Readings
Dibrell, C., Craig, J. B., & Neubaum, D. O. (2014). Linking
the formal strategic planning process, planning flexibility, and
innovativeness to firm performance. Journal of Business Research, 67(9), 2000–2007.Wolf, C., & Floyd, S. W. (2017). Strategic planning research: Toward a theory-driven agenda. Journal of Management, 43(6), 1754–1788.
Scholarly Writing and APA Style
Use the following resources to improve your writing skills and find answers to specific questions.
Academic Honesty & APA Style and Formatting.APA Module.Introduction to the Writing Center.
Library Research
Use the following resources to help with any required or self-directed research you do to support your coursework.
Capella University Library.Health Administration Masters Research Guide.Journal and Book Locator Library Guide.Library Research and Information Literacy Skills.
ePortfolio
ePortfolio.Online ePortfolio Guidelines [PDF].
Learning Components
This activity will help you achieve the following learning components:
Analyze organizational performance.Assess key organizational strengths and weaknesses.
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[u03a1] Unit 3 Assignment 1
Current Environmental Analysis
Professional Context
Health care organizations have embraced strategic management and
developed unique processes for their industry. Health care leaders have
found that strategic thinking, planning, and managing strategic momentum
are essential for coping with the health care industry's dynamics.
Strategic management has become the single clearest demonstration of
effective leadership in health care organizations.
Health care organization leaders need to understand the external
environment in which they operate and anticipate and respond to the
significant shifts taking place within that environment. An organization
engages in service area competitor analysis to:
Determine the geographic service area.Analyze the competitors within that service area for strengths and vulnerabilities.Assess the impact of its strategic actions against specific competitors.Anticipate potential actions a competitor might take that would endanger the organization's market position.
Analyzing competitors assists organizations in identifying their
competitive advantage—the basis on which they are willing to compete.
Evaluating the organization's internal environment is also critical.
This requires evaluating such functional areas as clinical operations,
information systems, marketing, clinical support, human resources,
financial administration, and so on. In an internal environmental
analysis, leaders carefully examine each function or organizational
subsystem and then develop and analyze a list of strengths and
weaknesses for each. This approach has been successful in some cases;
however, an internal environmental analysis alone does not adequately
address strategic issues.
This assignment provides an opportunity for you to perform an
environmental analysis of a health care organization. An environmental
analysis enables the organization to identify current challenges and
opportunities in preparation for future strategic planning and goal
identification. Insightful diagnosis of a company’s external and
internal environments is a prerequisite for managers to succeed in
crafting a strategy that is an excellent fit within the company’s
operations. These evaluations assist the organization in fostering
alternative strategies and business models that culminate in leaders
choosing a specific strategy.
By successfully completing this assignment, you will demonstrate
your proficiency in the following course competencies and assignment
criteria:
Competency 1: Analyze organizational structure, design, culture, and climate in relation to environmental forces.
Identify key industry structural features determining the forces governing competition. Competency 3: Recommend an organizational structure and design to optimize a strategic plan.
Evaluate a health care organization's directional strategy, as reflected in its vision, mission, and values. Competency 4: Communicate in a manner that is scholarly,
professional, and consistent with expectations for professionals in
health care administration
Write a clear, concise, well-organized, professional, and
generally error-free environmental analysis that supports conclusions
with relevant evidence.Follow current APA formatting and style guidelines for citations and references.
Scenario
Your boss is responsible for updating the organization's strategic
plan. She has asked you to do some of the legwork and complete an
environmental analysis. This analysis will help your organization scan
the external and internal environments and identify current challenges
and opportunities that will enable it to prepare for the future.
Instructions
Analyze your selected organization’s external and internal environments.
Note: You will make use of this analysis in your Unit 5 assignment and later in this course.
You may use any contemporary environmental analysis tool included
in the strategic management planning process to conduct your analysis.
Examples include PESTLE analysis, Michael Porter's Five Forces model,
Levels of Competition model, et cetera.
Remember, your analysis must address both your selected
organization's external and internal environments. In addition, your
analysis must include all of the following elements:
Environmental Analysis Requirements
The requirements, outlined below, correspond to the grading
criteria in the Current Environmental Analysis Scoring Guide, so be sure
to address each point. Read the performance-level descriptions for each
criterion to see how your work will be assessed.
Evaluate the organization's directional strategy, as reflected in its vision, mission, and values.Identify key industry structural features determining the forces governing competition.Write a clear, concise, well-organized, professional, and
generally error-free environmental analysis that supports conclusions
with relevant evidence.Follow current APA formatting and style guidelines for citations and references.
Document Format and Length
You may write your environmental analysis using a familiar and
appropriate document format used by health care organizations, such as a
memo, business report, or white paper. Adhere to APA style and
formatting guidelines for citations and references, and include a
references page at the end of your document.Your written analysis should be 5–7 pages in length (double-spaced).
Supporting Evidence
Cite a minimum of six references to current scholarly and
authoritative sources to support your analysis. Examples include
accrediting body standards, industry standards, and government agency
reports such as from the National Academy of Medicine. You will also
want to include organizational information.Format your citations and references according to APA style and formatting guidelines.
Submission Requirements
Proofread your document, before you submit it, to minimize errors
that could distract readers and make it more difficult for them to
focus on the substance of your analysis.
Portfolio Prompt: You may choose to save your environmental analysis to your ePortfolio.
Resources
Current Environmental Analysis Scoring Guide.ePortfolio.
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[u03d1] Unit 3 Discussion 1
Competitive Advantage
Note: Remember to adhere to the requirements for
initial discussion postings and responses addressed in the School of
Nursing and Health Sciences faculty expectations message.
When searching for competitive advantage, which characteristics
of a strength or weakness—that is value, rareness, sustainability—are
the most important in health care organizations?Explain why you chose these characteristics.
Use an example of your organizational plan, if necessary.Support your conclusions with evidence from the literature.