Introduction
When introducing organizational changes and seeking to improve workplace environment and cooperation, it is critical for companies to consider all factors that can potentially promote or hinder success. One of the most useful instruments is a SWOT analysis that sheds light on the important components that affect the organization. In the Huntington Hospital case study, the facility faces certain issues, and it is informative to understand how its policies and strategic planning align with the mission and vision and what SWOT elements and environmental factors influence it.
Case Study Summary
To begin with, it is essential to summarize the case study, providing some details about the problems identified. Due to specific challenges, Huntington Hospital hired Kim Markey as executive director of the revenue cycle, seeking her help in adopting innovative approaches to management (Soule & Drabkin, 2015). Although quite successful, the facility had low employee morale and cooperation, a lack of policies and guidelines concerning special operations, and no compelling vision. Moreover, after Markey managed to improve worker engagement, another issue appeared because the hospital was unprepared to adopt a new Electronic Health Record (EHR) system. By using various methods and being transparent, Markey created an effective strategy.
The Organization’s Policies
It is possible to notice that before Kim Markey entered her position to introduce change, there were no organizational policies to address the emerging issues. For instance, one of the employees at the hospital admitted that “there were zero policies and procedures for doing anything in the business office” (Soule & Drabkin, 2015, p. 4). However, Markey adopted certain methods to tackle the problems, including reduced communication, lack of guidance, poor management, and new EHR implementation.
To eliminate the concerns caused by the listed factors, Markey enhanced the morale and trust among workers by demonstrating her openness. Further, she improved relationships and guidance as she “had the managers get up and read what was in the suggestion box and address it” (Soule & Drabkin, 2015, p. 6). Lastly, she sought help from her colleagues to prepare the office correctly for the new EHR system. Thus, one can say that all her strategies aligned perfectly with the identified issues.
Strategic Planning, Mission, and Vision
Overall, organizations’ strategic planning approaches must be closely connected to their vision and mission statements. The latter allows for good results and ensures that the company does not engage in irrelevant activities (Ginter et al., 2018). However, due to a lack of clear vision and mission in Huntington Hospital, its processes faced numerous challenges and delays, causing additional issues (Soule & Drabkin, 2015).
With Markey joining the team and taking responsibility for several operations and departments, the strategic planning became more evident. However, she based it on the exact problems identified in the hospital instead of aligning it with the vision and mission because of a lack thereof (Soule & Drabkin, 2015). At the same time, supposing that raising worker morale and cooperation and adopting a more effective EHR would result in better client outcomes, which is the healthcare facility’s mission and vision, strategic planning perfectly serves these aims.
SWOT Analysis
In order to better understand the current and potential circumstances in which the hospital operates, it is critical to conduct a SWOT analysis. According to researchers, this analysis refers to identifying an organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (Ginter et al., 2018; SmartDraw, 2018). Firstly, the primary strong side of Huntington Hospital is its reputation, as it “was named among the top-performing hospitals in 2012 by U.S. News & World Report” (Soule & Drabkin, 2015, p. 2).
What is more, its executive VP-COO/CFO and possibly other leadership members have modern views on implementing change and can hire the right people to manage the process. Some weaknesses are poor morale and communication among employees, no coordination between them and their managers, a lack of creativity and shared decision-making, and reduced understanding of the organization’s purpose (Soule & Drabkin, 2015). Markey’s presence and transparent approaches add good opportunities, such as advanced worker training, the successful adoption of up-to-date systems, and other improved processes. However, staff shortage, stricter regulations and policies, and decreased competitive advantage are the threats faced by Huntington Hospital.
Environmental Factors
Based on the SWOT analysis, one can determine some environmental factors and new trends impacting the hospital’s daily operations. For instance, improvements in the facility’s processes can be enhanced due to better trained, skilled, and motivated personnel. If employees are ensured that management values them and is ready to include them in decision-making, they will contribute more to the hospital’s success and change (Soule & Drabkin, 2015). However, if leadership fails to adopt more democratic leadership styles or external factors, such as alterations in healthcare policies or the entrance of new competitors, begin to affect Huntington Hospital, its daily processes can become less efficient.
Conclusion
To conclude, one may say that Kim Markey has contributed significantly to ensuring that the organization’s policies address the issues and align its strategic planning with the vision and mission. The SWOT analysis shows that the hospital has strengths and opportunities that can leverage its potential. At the same time, the risk of failures and additional concerns grows without addressing the determined weaknesses and threats. Training employees and adopting new systems are key steps to enhancing performance.
References
Ginter, P. M., Duncan, W. J., & Swayne, L. E. (2018). The strategic management of health care organizations (8thed.). Wiley Professional Development.
SmartDraw. (2018). SWOT analysis – what is SWOT? Definition, examples and how to do a SWOT analysis [Video]. YouTube. Web.
Soule, S., & Drabkin, D. (2015). Huntington Hospital (A): Empowering staff. Stanford.