Case Study Description of Managing Governance at Reliance Hospital
This case provides an introduction to the structure and dynamics of nonprofit hospital governance in the U.S. A hospital CEO two years into her position is grappling with how to make her board a more effective governing body. The hospital's competitive position was eroding due in part to resistance by its independent medical staff to recruiting new physicians into the service area. In addition, some of the physicians had opened freestanding diagnostic and treatment facilities that reduced hospital revenues. But the board was reluctant to take this issue on. At the same time, the CEO felt that too much board attention was spent second-guessing her new hires and other operational decisions that she felt were her responsibility.
Swot Analysis of "Managing Governance at Reliance Hospital" written by Jonathan Clark PhD., Nancy M. Kane includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Hospital Physicians facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Managing Governance at Reliance Hospital case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Managing Governance at Reliance Hospital casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, increasing energy prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, wage bills are increasing,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Managing Governance at Reliance Hospital
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Managing Governance at Reliance Hospital case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Hospital Physicians, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Hospital Physicians operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of Managing Governance at Reliance Hospital can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Managing Governance at Reliance Hospital case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Hospital Physicians
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Organizational Development field.
4. Making a Organizational Development topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Hospital Physicians
Strengths Managing Governance at Reliance Hospital | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Hospital Physicians in Managing Governance at Reliance Hospital Harvard Business Review case study are -
Learning organization
- Hospital Physicians is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Hospital Physicians is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Managing Governance at Reliance Hospital Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Hospital Physicians in the sector have low bargaining power. Managing Governance at Reliance Hospital has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Hospital Physicians to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Hospital Physicians has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Hospital Physicians has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Strong track record of project management
– Hospital Physicians is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Hospital Physicians in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Training and development
– Hospital Physicians has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Managing Governance at Reliance Hospital Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Organizational Resilience of Hospital Physicians
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Hospital Physicians does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Hospital Physicians has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
High brand equity
– Hospital Physicians has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Hospital Physicians to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Hospital Physicians digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Hospital Physicians has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Hospital Physicians has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Managing Governance at Reliance Hospital - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Diverse revenue streams
– Hospital Physicians is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Managing Governance at Reliance Hospital case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Weaknesses Managing Governance at Reliance Hospital | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Managing Governance at Reliance Hospital are -
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Jonathan Clark PhD., Nancy M. Kane suggests that, Hospital Physicians is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Managing Governance at Reliance Hospital HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Hospital Physicians has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Hospital Physicians has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Hospital Physicians is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Managing Governance at Reliance Hospital can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Hospital Physicians, firm in the HBR case study Managing Governance at Reliance Hospital needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Managing Governance at Reliance Hospital, is just above the industry average. Hospital Physicians needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Hospital Physicians supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Managing Governance at Reliance Hospital, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Hospital Physicians vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Hospital Physicians has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Hospital Physicians has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Managing Governance at Reliance Hospital HBR case study mentions - Hospital Physicians takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Managing Governance at Reliance Hospital, it seems that the employees of Hospital Physicians don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Opportunities Managing Governance at Reliance Hospital | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Managing Governance at Reliance Hospital are -
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Hospital Physicians in the consumer business. Now Hospital Physicians can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Hospital Physicians to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Hospital Physicians can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Manufacturing automation
– Hospital Physicians can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Organizational Development segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Hospital Physicians to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Hospital Physicians to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Hospital Physicians can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Hospital Physicians can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Hospital Physicians operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Organizational Development industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Hospital Physicians can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Hospital Physicians is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Managing Governance at Reliance Hospital case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Hospital Physicians has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Hospital Physicians to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Managing Governance at Reliance Hospital case study. Hospital Physicians can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Hospital Physicians has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Managing Governance at Reliance Hospital - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Hospital Physicians to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Hospital Physicians in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Organizational Development segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Hospital Physicians can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, Managing Governance at Reliance Hospital, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Threats Managing Governance at Reliance Hospital External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Managing Governance at Reliance Hospital are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Managing Governance at Reliance Hospital, Hospital Physicians may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Organizational Development .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Hospital Physicians demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Hospital Physicians can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Hospital Physicians needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Hospital Physicians business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Hospital Physicians can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Managing Governance at Reliance Hospital .
Environmental challenges
– Hospital Physicians needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Hospital Physicians can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Increasing wage structure of Hospital Physicians
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Hospital Physicians.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Hospital Physicians high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Hospital Physicians with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Hospital Physicians in the Organizational Development industry. The Organizational Development industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Managing Governance at Reliance Hospital Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Managing Governance at Reliance Hospital needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study Managing Governance at Reliance Hospital is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study Managing Governance at Reliance Hospital is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Managing Governance at Reliance Hospital is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Hospital Physicians needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.