Wichita State University
HMCD 352
Strategic Management in Health Services Organizations
Spring 2012 (revised Mar 12, 2012)
Times Wed 7:05 – 9:45 PM
Classroom AH 110
Instructor: Ron Stephen, FACHE, MHA
Office AH 106B
Office hours Mon 3-4 PM, Tue 3-4 PM, Wed 5-6 PM and by arrangement. Please email or call ahead to confirm that I will available to meet with you.
Office phone 316-978-5641
Home phone 316-729-7363
Course Description
Strategic Management is a philosophy of organization management that is integral to leadership at all levels of an organization. Strategic management is all about making decisions that will make an organization successful and creating a climate for success in the organization. Critical elements of strategic management include understanding the external and internal environments, developing strategies to move the organization forward and implementing controls to evaluate the effectiveness of the strategies and make strategy adjustments as needed.
Course Objectives
Upon satisfactory completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. understand the nature of strategic management
2. discuss the processes for analyzing the external and internal environments
3. appreciate the importance of directional strategies
4. discuss the processes of developing strategic alternatives
5. describe how to implement and control selected strategies
Format
The course format will include a mixture of lecture, case studies, and readings from current literature that illustrate the components, dynamics and impact of strategic management. The case studies are an important aspect of the course as they allow students to apply the learned basic principles to real-world situations. Case studies will be discussed in class.
Text and Readings
There is one required text: Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations, 6th edition, by Linda E. Swayne, W. Jack Duncan and Peter M. Ginter. Additional readings are listed below. Other readings may be posted on Blackboard and/or assigned in class. The text and readings are an integral part of this course. Each student is expected to have read the assigned chapters and cases from the text as well as the assigned journal readings prior to class.
This is an introductory course to the principles of strategic management as applied in the health care system. There is a potentially overwhelming amount of information available about the subject. The text, cases and readings together serve to focus our attention on the most significant principles and their applications. The journal readings have been selected to familiarize you with some of the key professional journals in our field, to illustrate certain aspects of strategic management as well as to provide a stimulus for discussion. You may access the journals through the WSU library online Electronic Resources E-journal unless otherwise noted.
Reading journal articles is a learned skill. Some students have found the following hints to be useful in developing this skill:
1. Read the abstract (or summary) first if one is available.
2. Skim the entire article.
3. Ask yourself
a. What is the main point of this article?
b. How does this article relate to the text and/or class discussion?
c. Why would this article be included as required reading?
d. Is there anything controversial in the article?
e. Can I summarize this article in a few sentences?
Blackboard
This course is Blackboard-enhanced and you should visit the Blackboard site for this course regularly and frequently. Slides used in classroom presentations will be posted in advance of class, although be aware that class presentations may be modified up to class time. Any course changes and/or readings changes will be posted on Blackboard.
Testing and Grading
There will be three exams. Class participation, including case presentations, will be 15% of the course grade. If a student misses an exam, a make-up may be granted at the instructor’s discretion. Make-up exams will consist of the instructor’s choice of format. Grade composition is as follows:
25% First exam
25% Second exam
30% Final exam
15% Case presentations/ class participation
5% Journal/readings presentations
All assignments must be completed for course fulfillment. Grades cannot be given over the phone or by e-mail.
Final course grades will be based on the following scale:
93-100 A 4.0 80-82 B- 2.7 67-69 D+ 1.3
90-92 A- 3.7 77-79 C+ 2.3 63-66 D 1.0
87-89 B+ 3.3 73-76 C 2.0 60-62 D- 0.7
83-86 B 3.0 70-72 C- 1.7 0-59 F 0.0
Attendance, Participation and Conduct
Class attendance is crucial to understanding the material presented and for meaningful interaction and discussion. Every student is expected to participate in class discussions. Obviously you cannot participate if you are not in class. Therefore, class attendance is essential. Feel free to visit with me outside of the classroom as well.
Class will begin and end at the scheduled times. You are expected to arrive on time and remain seated and attentive until dismissed. If unusual circumstances require you to arrive late or to leave early, please let me know in advance.
Recording devices are not permitted, but use of electronic devices such as laptops is welcome (except for in-class exams). Please place cell phones in silent, vibrate or off mode. Use of cell phones and other electronic devices for communication (sending or receiving) during class is disruptive and is not permitted.
Cheating in any form, plagiarism or other misrepresentation of work, disruptive behavior and/or talking in class while others are speaking will not be tolerated and could result in disciplinary action up to and including an automatic F for the course and reporting to the university.
Developing Case Analysis and Case Presentation Skills
During this course, we will review several cases. Appendix A “Analyzing Strategic Health Care Cases” and Appendix B “Financial Analysis for Health Care Organizations” are recommended reading to enhance skills in analyzing and presenting case studies.
Students with Disabilities
Students requiring classroom accommodation must register with the WSU Office of Disability Services so that arrangements can be made for optimal performance in this course. I will cooperate fully with the Office of Disability Services.
Course Outline and Readings
Date Topic and Readings
Jan 18 Course Introduction
Jan 25 The Nature of Strategic Management
1. Chapter 1
2. “Strategic Cycling: Shaking Complacency in Healthcare Strategic
Planning”, Jim Begun and Kathleen B. Heatwole, Journal of Healthcare Management, Sep/Oct 1999, v44:5, p. 339.
3. “The Power of a Strategic Plan”, J. Daniel Beckham, Mar 2006 available at www.beckhamco.com (Articles).
4. “Strategy: What It Is, How It Works, Why It Fails”, J. Daniel Beckham, Nov 2000 available at www.beckhamco.com (Articles).
Feb 1 The External Environment
1. Chapter 2
2. Case Study: Health Care for Joplin tornado victims (Instructor provided)
3. “How to Make Sense of Weak Signals”, Paul J. H. Schoemaker and George S. Day, MIT Sloan Management Review, Spring 2009, v 50:3, p. 81.
4. “Knowledge of the Healthcare Environment’. Andrew N. Garman, Journal of Healthcare Management, May/Jun 2006, v51:3. P. 3.
5. “The Right Questions”, J. Daniel Beckham, Sep 2008 available at www.beckhamco.com (Articles).
Feb 8 Service Area Competitor Analysis
1. Chapter 3
2. “A Six-Cornered Triangle”, J. Daniel Beckham, Jul 2010 available at www.beckhamco.com (Articles).
3. Case study: Emanuel Medical Center (Case 13)
Feb 15 Service Area Competitor Analysis (cont’d)
Exam Review
1. Case study: The Case for Open Heart Surgery at Cabarrus Memorial
Hospital (Case 19)
2. “Advancing the State of the Art in Healthcare Strategic Planning”, Alan M. Zuckerman, Frontiers of Health Services Management, Winter 2006, v23:2, p. 3.
3. “Advancing Strategic Planning”, Kathryn Alexander, Frontiers of Health Services Management, Winter 2006, v23:2, p. 39.
Feb 22 EXAM
Feb 29 Exam Postmortem
Internal Environmental Analysis
1. Chapter 4
2. “Looking Inside for Competitive Advantage”’ Jay B. Barney, The Academy of Management Executive, Nov 1995, v9:4, p. 49.
Mar 7 Directional Strategies
1. Chapter 5
2. “Creating a Vision for the Twenty-First Century Healthcare Organization”, Alan M. Zuckerman, Journal of Healthcare Management, Sep/Oct 2000, v45:4, p. 294.
3. “Crafting a Great Vision”, J. Daniel Beckham, Jan 2009 available at www.beckhamco.com (Articles).
Mar 14 Developing Strategic Alternatives
1. Chapter 6
2. “Strategic Positioning: Where Does Your Organization Stand?” Howard J. Gershon, Journal of Healthcare Management, Jan/Feb 2003, v48:1, p. 12.
Mar 21 NO CLASS: SPRING BREAK
Mar 28 Evaluating Alternatives and Strategic Choice
1. Chapter 7
2. “Popular Myths about Mergers and Acquisitions”, J. Daniel Beckham, Nov 2010 available at www.beckhamco.com (Articles).
3. “Healthcare Mergers and Acquisitions: Strategies for Consolidation”, Alan M. Zuckerman, Frontiers of Health Services Management, Summer 2011, v27:4, p. 3.
Apr 4 Applying Strategic Alternatives and Strategic Choice
Exam Review
1. Case study: “So, Doctor, Can You Fix This?’ A Case Involving a Medical Spa (Case 15)
2. Case study: C. W. Williams Health Center (Case 16)
3. “Why Good Companies Go Bad”, Donald N. Sull, Harvard Business Review, Jul-Aug 1999, v77:4, p. 42.
Apr 11 EXAM
Apr 18 Exam Postmortem
Value Adding Service Delivery Strategies
Value Adding Support Strategies
1. Chapter 8 and 9
2. “Strategic Thinking and the Road to Relevance’, J. Daniel Beckham, Healthcare Forum Journal, Nov/Dec 1991, p. 37.
3. “A Strategy Fit for a King: A Customer Experience Framework”, Sandy Lutz, Journal of Healthcare Management, Nov/Dec 2008, v53:6, p. 356.
Apr 25 Entrepreneurship: An Unrecognized Opportunity for Healthcare Strategic Thinkers
1. “The Revolution in Hospital Management”, John R. Griffith and
Kenneth R. White, Journal of Healthcare Management, May-Jun 2005, v50, p. 170.
2. “The Power of Culture”, J. Daniel Beckham, Sep 2008 available at www.beckhamco.com (Articles).
May 2 Communicating the Strategy
Developing Action Plans
1. Chapter 10
2. “Applying the Balanced Scorecard in Healthcare Provider Organizations”; Noorein Inamdar, Robert S. Kaplan and Kimberly Reynolds; Journal of Healthcare Management; May/Jun 2002; v47:3, p. 179.
3. “What Will It Take? Exploiting Trends in Strategic Planning to Prepare for Reform”. Ian R. Lazarus, Journal of Healthcare Management, Mar/Apr 2011, v56:2, p. 89.
4. “Strategic Planning in Healthcare: The Experience of the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics”’ Donna K. Sollenberger, Frontiers of Health Services Management, Winter 2006, v23:2, p. 17.
May 9 FINAL EXAM