Description
Write a 3-4-page directional strategies report that examines the alignment of a health care organization’s current directional strategies with its strategic goals. Include improvement recommendations that address gaps between where the organization currently is and where it wants to go
In your previous assessments, you examined how today’s health care organizations prepare themselves for the present and the future through strategic management. Specifically, you analyzed how a health care organization’s external and internal environments affect its operations. You also performed a TOWS analysis to help a health care organization identify strategic objectives to drive and improve all aspects of the company.
The next step is to consider the directional pathways health care organizations take to achieve their strategic objectives. Creating a strategic vision for a health care organization involves developing or revising the organization’s mission, vision, and value statements. Here is a summary of these three directional strategies:
A mission statement captures the organization’s distinctive purpose or reason for being.
A vision statement creates a mental picture of what leaders want the organization to achieve when accomplishing its purpose or mission.
Value statements clarify how the organization will conduct its activities to achieve its mission and vision. They frequently reflect common morality and emphasize respect, integrity, trust, caring, and the pursuit of excellence
Preparation
To prepare for the assessment, reexamine your TOWS matrix from the previous assessment, the analysis of your matrix, and the initial strategies you prepared as part of your draft strategic plan. Once you have reexamined your work, you will be ready to begin work on this assessment.
The Mission, Vision, and Values Analysis Questions document, linked in the Resources, identifies three questions about each directional strategy you need to consider as you are analyzing your organization’s fit with its directional strategy.
In addition, you may wish to review the assessment instructions and scoring guide to ensure that you understand the work you will be asked to complete.
Scenario
Your boss is pleased with the thorough and impressive work you have done to date. However, she notes that the TOWS matrix findings do not align with the organization’s directional strategies. The organization’s structure needs to more closely align with its strategic goals, so that the organization can be more efficient, competitive, and profitable. She asks for your help once again.
Her next task for you is to examine the organization’s current mission, vision, and value statements and compare them to the TOWS matrix. She requests that you recommend revisions to the organization’s mission, vision, and value statements so that they more closely align with the organization’s strategic priorities.
Knowing your boss, you understand that she wants your directional strategies report to be insightful, substantive, and brief—all at the same time. You also know that your boss is a visual person. It will serve you well to include appropriate images and diagrams, such as your TOWS matrix, in your report to highlight key information.
Requirements
Write a directional strategies report that examines the alignment of a health care organization’s current directional strategies with its strategic goals.
Report Requirements
The requirements, outlined below, correspond to the grading criteria in the Directional Strategies Report 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.
Analyze the effectiveness of the organization’s directional strategies.
Use the Mission, Vision, and Values Analysis Questions document, linked in the Resources, to determine how effectively the existing directional strategies currently fulfill the requirements of effective directional strategies.
Identify gaps between effective directional strategies and the organization’s existing directional strategies.
Analyze the alignment between the organization’s directional strategies and its strategic goals.
Examine the strategic fit.
How well does the directional strategy fit the environment?
How appropriate is the organization’s direction, given the environmental analysis you completed in Assessment 1?
Which strategic goals make the most sense at this time? Growth? Maintaining the status quo? Or does contraction make the most sense right now?
Propose changes to the organization’s directional strategies that improve alignment between the organization’s structure and its strategic goals.
Recommend changes you think the organization needs to make to establish a foundation necessary for the organization’s current structure and strategies.
Be sure to support your recommendations with references to current, scholarly, and authoritative sources.
Write a clear, concise, well-organized, and professional directional strategies report that includes conclusions that are supported by relevant evidence.
Follow APA formatting and style guidelines for citations and references
trategic Planning and Mission, Vision, and Values
Ginter, P. M., Duncan, W. J., & Swayne, L. E. (2018). Strategic management of health care organizations (8th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Chapter 5, “Directional Strategies,” pages 163–204.
Kotalik, J., Covino, C., Doucette, N., Henderson, S., Langlois, M., Mcdaid, K., & Pedri, L. M. (2014). Framework for ethical decision-making based on mission, vision and values of the institution. HEC Forum, 26(2), 125–33.
Kronenburg, M. A. (2014). Evaluating important healthcare management competency areas and preparation for healthcare reforms. International Journal of Business & Public Administration, 11(1), 31–40.
Maritan, C. A., Lee, G. K. (2017). Resource allocation and strategy. Journal of Management, 43(8), 2411–2420.
Newhouse, J. J., & Balotsky, E. R. (2013). Factors motivating hospital CEOs to commit to ethical integration in their institutions: A quantitative analysis. Journal of Leadership, Accountability and Ethics, 10(2), 46–54.
Scott, B. C. (2015). Hospital boards—Why quality and safety matter. Physician Leadership Journal, 2(1), 62–64.
Directional Strategies for Strategic Planning
Wolf, C., & Floyd, S. W. (2017). Strategic planning research: Toward a theory-driven agenda. Journal of Management, 43(6), 1754–1788.
Bradley, J. (n.d.). Operational versus functional level strategy. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/operational-versus-functional-level-strategy-61306.html
Johnson, S. (n.d.). The triangle of corporate strategy. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/triangle-corporate-strategy-68313.html
Kukreja, D. (2013). Strategic planning: A roadmap to success. Retrieved from http://iveybusinessjournal.com/publication/strategic-planning-a-roadmap-to-success/
Parsons-Miller, S. (n.d.). Directional strategies in the development of strategy for a healthcare organization. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/directional-strategies-development-strategy-healthcare-organization-81073.html
Directional Strategies.
In this interactive exercise, you will have the opportunity to examine the mission, vision, and values statements of various organization. You will then distinguish between those statements that are more effective and those that are less effective. This practice activity will help prepare you to complete Assessment 3.