Strengths and Weaknesses of Described External Analysis
There are noticeable strengths and weaknesses of the external analysis presented in the case study by Paul Walley. One is the well-identified competitive advantage of The King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH & RC). These are tertiary and quaternary care, namely oncology, genetics, and transplants (Whittington et al., 2019). Clarity of definition of competitive advantage is driven not only by senior leaders but also by a distinctiveness of explanation of the organization’s resources, competencies, and capabilities (Whittington et al., 2019). However, according to the PESTLE analysis framework, key factors such as political and economic were poorly evaluated (PESTLE analysis, 2020). These are the weaknesses of the described external analysis.
Alternative Analytical Tools
The author of this work believes that two tools could be used to improve the external analysis described in the case study. They are the PESTLE analysis, which has already been mentioned above, and the SWOT analysis. The researchers note that PESTLE analysis considers six key external sources of influence, namely “Political, Economic, Sociological, Technological, Legal and Environmental,” to assess the situation of the organization in the industry. (PESTLE analysis, 2020, para. 1). In contrast, SWOT analysis considers the other four affecting factors, which are “Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats” (Olyaeemanesh et al., 2018, p. 1). There are several reasons why these particular analytic frameworks would be useful for the presented external analysis.
Justification for Alternative Analytical Tools
The author of this work recommends PESTLE analysis because it is specifically focused on external factors. As was noted above, it was the political and economic elements of external influence that were not considered in the external analysis described by Paul Walley (2019). Moreover, PESTLE analysis can accurately predict future business threats (Akman, 2020). SWOT analysis, in addition to external factors, would allow one to analyze in detail unaccounted internal problems, such as hiring, recruitment, and training of highly qualified specialists for tertiary and quaternary care.
Reference List
Akman, M. K. (2020). ‘Defence management and pestle analysis’, Ante Portas – Security Studies, 1(14), pp. 93-102. Web.
Olyaeemanesh, A. et al. (2018). ‘Iran’s health system transformation plan: A SWOT analysis’, Medical Journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 32, pp. 1-9.
PESTLE analysis (2020).
Walley, P. (2019) ‘Strategic planning at King Faisal Hospital and Research Centre Saudi Arabia’, In Whittington, et al., (eds.) Exploring strategy, text and cases, twelfth edition. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited, pp. 731-735.
Whittington, et al. (2019). Exploring strategy, text and cases, twelfth edition. Pearson Education Limited.