Emergency Department Congestion at Saintemarie University Hospital SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Emergency Department Congestion at Saintemarie University Hospital
This case teaches the impact of variability on process performance. In 2009, media coverage of long wait times in a local hospital brought considerable embarrassment to the state secretary of health. The hospital, located in a midsize European city, had the only emergency care facility in its metropolitan region. After the delays in care were brought to light, the secretary of health ordered the hospital's CEO to produce an action plan-and measurable progress-before the end of the month. But the CEO faced scarce resources and was already under pressure to reduce spending. What reforms should he make? Would he need to increase the emergency department's staff, and if so, how should he balance the costs? As this case explores the challenges of the healthcare industry, students learn to address questions of process mapping and operations.
Swot Analysis of "Emergency Department Congestion at Saintemarie University Hospital" written by Laurent Hublet, Omar Besbes, Carri Chan includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Emergency Hospital facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Emergency Department Congestion at Saintemarie University Hospital case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Manufacturing, Performance measurement, Supply chain and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Emergency Department Congestion at Saintemarie University Hospital casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing energy prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Emergency Department Congestion at Saintemarie University Hospital
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Emergency Department Congestion at Saintemarie University Hospital case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Emergency Hospital, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Emergency Hospital 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 Emergency Department Congestion at Saintemarie University Hospital can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Emergency Department Congestion at Saintemarie University Hospital case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Emergency Hospital
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Technology & Operations field.
4. Making a Technology & Operations topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Emergency Hospital
Strengths Emergency Department Congestion at Saintemarie University Hospital | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Emergency Hospital in Emergency Department Congestion at Saintemarie University Hospital Harvard Business Review case study are -
Organizational Resilience of Emergency Hospital
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Emergency Hospital does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– Emergency Hospital is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Laurent Hublet, Omar Besbes, Carri Chan can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Learning organization
- Emergency Hospital 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 Emergency Hospital is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Emergency Department Congestion at Saintemarie University Hospital Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Emergency Hospital is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Emergency Hospital in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Emergency Hospital 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Emergency Hospital 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 Emergency Department Congestion at Saintemarie University 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Emergency Hospital is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Emergency Department Congestion at Saintemarie University Hospital are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Innovation driven organization
– Emergency Hospital is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Emergency Department Congestion at Saintemarie University Hospital Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Emergency Hospital in the sector have low bargaining power. Emergency Department Congestion at Saintemarie University Hospital has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Emergency Hospital to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Training and development
– Emergency Hospital has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Emergency Department Congestion at Saintemarie University 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Emergency Hospital are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Emergency Hospital digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Emergency Hospital 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.
Weaknesses Emergency Department Congestion at Saintemarie University Hospital | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Emergency Department Congestion at Saintemarie University Hospital are -
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Emergency Department Congestion at Saintemarie University Hospital, it seems that the employees of Emergency Hospital 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Laurent Hublet, Omar Besbes, Carri Chan suggests that, Emergency Hospital 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 Emergency Department Congestion at Saintemarie University 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 Emergency Hospital has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Need for greater diversity
– Emergency Hospital has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Emergency Hospital, firm in the HBR case study Emergency Department Congestion at Saintemarie University Hospital needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Emergency Hospital has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Emergency Hospital needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Emergency Hospital 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Emergency Hospital is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Emergency Hospital needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Emergency Hospital to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Emergency Department Congestion at Saintemarie University Hospital, is just above the industry average. Emergency Hospital 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Emergency Department Congestion at Saintemarie University Hospital, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Technology & Operations strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Opportunities Emergency Department Congestion at Saintemarie University 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 Emergency Department Congestion at Saintemarie University Hospital are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Emergency Hospital has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Emergency Hospital to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Emergency Department Congestion at Saintemarie University Hospital case study. Emergency Hospital can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Emergency Hospital has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, 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, Emergency Hospital can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Emergency Hospital operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
Manufacturing automation
– Emergency Hospital can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Technology & Operations 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Technology & Operations industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Emergency Hospital can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Emergency Hospital 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, Emergency Department Congestion at Saintemarie University 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.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Emergency Hospital can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Emergency Hospital 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.
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 Emergency Hospital in the consumer business. Now Emergency Hospital can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Buying journey improvements
– Emergency Hospital can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Emergency Department Congestion at Saintemarie University Hospital suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Emergency Hospital can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Emergency Hospital can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Technology & Operations segment.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Emergency Hospital to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Threats Emergency Department Congestion at Saintemarie University Hospital External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Emergency Department Congestion at Saintemarie University Hospital are -
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Emergency Hospital.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Emergency Hospital has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Emergency Hospital needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Technology & Operations sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Emergency Department Congestion at Saintemarie University Hospital, Emergency Hospital may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Technology & Operations .
Environmental challenges
– Emergency Hospital 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. Emergency Hospital can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Emergency Hospital with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Emergency Hospital in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Emergency Hospital is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Emergency Hospital 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.
Increasing wage structure of Emergency Hospital
– 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 Emergency Hospital.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Emergency Hospital will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Technology & Operations field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Emergency Hospital can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Emergency Hospital 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Emergency Department Congestion at Saintemarie University 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 Emergency Department Congestion at Saintemarie University 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 Emergency Department Congestion at Saintemarie University 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 Emergency Department Congestion at Saintemarie University 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 Emergency Department Congestion at Saintemarie University 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 Emergency Hospital needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
