Team Assignment 1: Environmental Analysis

This assignment has two goals: 1) to facilitate introduction and discussion of team project topics across class members, 2) to give you practice using environmental analysis frameworks and tools within the health sector.

Each team should prepare a three-overhead file. Please email this file to me () with the subject line “Team Assignment 1.” (I will use a mail filter so please use the requested subject line. Emailed files are due by midnight on March 27. Please also bring a hard copy to class on 3/28. Finally, please have one team member identified to (very briefly) present ideas and answer questions if called upon.

Your overheads should consist of:

  1. Cover sheet stating: Team member names, company/organization and product/service and any other major definition issues (e.g., consideration of an international launch or a domestic repositioning).
  2. Overhead illustrating major issues and themes from PEST analysis (see Appendix A for some suggestions)
  3. Overhead – listing major Value Net players and relationships (see coursepack article)

It is less important that your analysis is exhaustive than that it is insightful. Thus, you should feel free to narrow down to the most interesting issues.

Appendix A: Some Guidelines for PEST Analysis in Healthcare

PEST assesses a market, including competitors, from the standpoint of a particular proposition or a business. Relevant issues generally vary across time (so both current and pending issues are relevant) and across geographic areas (so a new PEST is relevant for launch in a new country, for instance).

Consider for Home and International Markets: / Illustrative Questions & Issues:
Consider Current and Pending Issues in each Category
Political:
Ethical considerations and public-policy scrutiny /
  • Regulatory/Government approval
  • Regulatory/Nonprofit support and initiatives
  • Public Opinion /Media scrutiny
  • Lobbying/pressure groups
  • Ethical issues in terms of disease burden, access to care, conflicts of interest

Economic:
Multiple decision makers with competing economic interests /
  • Payment sources and mechanisms
  • Political and Economic trends influencing willingness and ability to pay
  • Taxation and grants

Social:
Variation in end-user knowledge and motivation, yet co-production necessary /
  • Lifestyle and demographic situations and trends
  • Consumer attitudes and opinions
  • Individual patient response to company, regulatory/political and payer/economic actions and pressures
  • Consumer decision input, control,and access
  • Impact of publicity on consumer behavior

Technological:
Rapidly-changing technological environments require education of stakeholder groups /
  • Competing / Replacement technology development
  • Patent/technology maturity
  • Information and communications
  • Intellectual property issues