Strategic Management Of Healthcare Organizations: External And Internal Factors

Environmental factors affecting the management of a hospital healthcare organization

• Differentiate between strategic management, strategic thinking, strategic planning, and managing strategic momentum.

• Analyze the significance of the external environment’s impact on health care organizations.

• Examine the purpose and importance of service area competitor analysis.

• Examine the role of internal environmental analysis in identifying the basis for sustained competitive advantage.

• Use technology and information resources to research issues in the strategic management of health care organizations.

• Write clearly and concisely about strategic management of health care organizations using proper writing mechanics.?

Health care sector is one of the key segments from an economic point of view of for industrial oriented country. It actually serves as a source of employment, hub for innovation and markets to develop new drugs and medicines that can lead to advancement in medical treatments and cure.

More precisely, the satisfaction obtained from spending for improved health, and longer lives is most important. Since a large share of health care is dependent on public funds, various insurances, med-claims, tax financed systems have come into play to support the health care affordability of the different communities.

Healthcare organizations especially hospital sector is highly complex and dynamic. It requires skillful managers who have the ability to supervise efficiently and maintain co-ordination between the internal departments and employees. They should be able to shape the organizational goals and structure by making important decisions, employing appropriate resources including human and financial resources that are adequate to support the organization. The focus of the health care managers is not only specified towards ensuring optimum patient satisfaction and services but also acknowledge notable achievements of performance targets.

Quality care is one of the important factors in the development of a sustainable hospital health care system. Along with it, patient satisfaction also plays a pivotal part on the assessment of organization’s sustenance. All healthcare-hospital service providers should realize the fact, that the main focus for any healthcare- system is primarily the patient. Satisfied patients not only become a loyal service follower but also recommend the hospital to others. The primary factors that control patients satisfaction are ease of admission procedure, validation and accuracy of diagnostic services, employee approach towards their thoughts and decisions, hygiene and cleanliness maintenance, nursing care, quality of food available, communication, behavioural approach of the physicians, staff awareness in housekeeping, support of  technical services provided under critical issues, accessibility and convenience.  However, the success and sustenance of the hospital in the long run depends on a number of external and environmental factors as discussed below.

External Factors:

For any organization two main factors that influence its growth and performance can be classified mainly into two types, namely –External and Internal. Internal factors include aspects of HR (owners, managers, and employees), financial aspects, technical aspects of health, and marketing aspects. While external factors consist of government policies and norms, socio-cultural, political and economic aspects. (Primiana & Indris , 2015).

Social Factors

The term social environment mainly refers to the social conditions such as the norms, beliefs, values and attitude that affect a particular social life or a community. Employment, level of education, source of income and quantity, family and social scenario are all social determinants.

The growth and sustenance of any organization depends on the social affordability, approach towards health and awareness. The social lacks of poor or quality education, reach of affordability, and less income affect the individuals, families and communities who have the lowest resources. The social gradient shows that not only do those in the bottom stratum suffer worse health outcomes than those in the top stratum, but those in the middle also have less than optimal health. Poor and unhealthy physical environments across the region adversely affect everyone, more in communities which have less access to social powers to change those environments for better.

These factors are independent variables of external environment. Different types and sizes of market determine the business entity by influencing the target market or consumers who will ultimately take the business on the flourishing roads. Generally, three types of market differentiation is made i.e. local, national and international. The most common types of customers are the individual/consumers and business customers, which is further divided into various levels.

The fundamental features and differences between the above said categories of this arena of discussion are mainly the possible implications on the marketing strategy and performance

dependent by the complexity of market type – size, accessibility, proximity, and homogeneity. All these factors determine the market share of the business. Depending upon the target market and consumers, resources, facilities and market strategy have to be oriented accordingly. Since finally market strategy determines the way  a business orients/ responds to its performances and environment, choice of correct market size and consumers is essential for the organization’s sustainability.

Physical Environment

Often patients spend their maximum hours in bed sitting idly without any work. Thus, influence of the environment has a vital role on their feeling of wellbeing and speed of recovery. It is experienced that patients make better and speedy progress in buildings with modern designs and facilities. Healthcare building should be designed in such a way to extend service of functional efficiency, effective marketing and cost. The hospital’s motto should be to provide psychological support promoting wellness (Mosadeghrad , 2011). It should ensure that patients are not kept in overcrowded condition. Providing enough open space with well-lit and air circulating conditions will also help in promoting satisfied wellness to the consumers.

Internal Factors

Every patient requires special attention and care. However, the basic need is to provide them with the feeling of well-being. This may not always be possible within existing building design and structure in the early phases of business development, but it should be a consideration for future goals of the organization. A modernized building design will only complement and support the resources inside in the delivery of quality service. Thus, for the hospital to position it in the market needs to provide better environment and facilities keeping in view of competitive strategy.

Human resource management team (HR) is the term which have largely gained popularity in the processes of managing people and employees in the organizations. More recently, organizations have started considering the HR department as playing a primary role in staff recruiting, providing and evaluating required training and managing people so that resources and the organization are delivering performance of high quality in a highly capable manner (Zehra & Burma,2014). In the global business, HRM is increasingly gaining importance as one of the key factors for organizational development.

Work environment, organizational culture, and management policies and norms help to shape a strong HR team for the organization. This attracts quality applicants for the firm , as well as retain desired resources. The factors that have the direct influence on the satisfactory function of HR in an organization, includes hospital culture, its work  environment, management policies and facilities, relations between the various wings of the system and funding and processes (Pedersen & Sudzina, 2012).

One of the most important services of the health-care segment is to place the patient in the appropriate environment, ensuring optimal recovery and satisfaction. Prioritizing the care need of the patient and family are the main guiding steps for the effective delivery of hospital services. Nurses should possess the ability to focus and analyze significant events, conditions, medicines etc. affecting the patient. They must be able to establish healthy relationship with patients/consumers and their families by talking and listening to them, implementing new ways of providing care, treating them to overcome their fears and heading them towards a speedy recovery. Thus, for hospital whose success and sustenance is based on consumer satisfaction, HRM plays a pivotal role in shaping up the organization by recruiting and retaining right candidates to reach its goals.

Conclusion

For any hospital or healthcare service, skillful resources can only provide quality and satisfactory medical service. Expectations of the consumers are very high with respect to the quality of resources available at various hospitals and health care centers. Improper infrastructure, non-availability of skilled resources, availability of latest technologies and support enhance the delivery of quality service to the consumers. For instance, proper and sound information regarding a patient is a primary for effective patient treatment and diagnosis (Mosadeghrad, 2013).

Hospital service quality and profitability is associated mainly with patient satisfaction and loyalty. As a result, healthcare organizations especially hospital sectors throughout the world consider it as a strategic focus for competitive sustenance and profit. Therefore, it is important to have adequate resources and modern facilities available at consumers end which shall give them a feel that the hospital is technologically resourceful and equipped with modern facilities.

From the healthcare point of consideration, practitioners having good support services are important. The hospital should develop partnerships and collaboration with trusted brands of consumers for the outsourced services. Such as mostly the patients and their families require authenticity of the test reports, the medical stringency towards certain practices such as providing sterilized syringes etc. Medical doctors can deliver high quality treatment and satisfaction only if his/her team, co-workers co-ordinate and are experienced enough to conduct the job well. Thus, a nurse needs to be more compassionate and spend more time with the patients to provide the doctor with adequate information about the patient’s treatment and development whereabouts. As already discussed a practitioner’s ability to establish a effective communication with the patients and his team is also essential for  the delivery of  high quality medical services. Thus, in order to position the hospital under Brand Healthcare Service Providers, one needs to focus on the basic amenities and resources which will help gain trust of the consumers who are the driving force for the proliferation of the organization.

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