Case Study Description of Xinhua Hospital: Implementation of EMR Project
Established in 1958, Xinhua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine (hereafter referred to as "Xinhua Hospital") is an integrated modern teaching and research hospital with a comprehensive set of disciplines and a specialization in paediatrics. Xinhua Hospital currently has 1,586 beds, 47 clinical departments and 66 specialties. It has three National Key Disciplines, one Shanghai Key Discipline, five Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine Key Disciplines, one Ministry of Education Key Laboratory (MOE-Shanghai Key Laboratory of Children's Environmental Health), and two of Shanghai clinical centres, respectively. In 2005, Xinhua Hospital co-founded Shanghai Xinhua Hospital Group with Shanghai Children's Medical Centre Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, No.3 People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Chongmingbao Town People's Hospital, and Xinhua Hospital Chongming Branch. Under the arrangement, members remain as stand-alone legal entities, and are financially and operationally independent. Since 2007, Xinhua Hospital has been importing talent to lead its disciplinary development and enhancing its management through informatization development. In 2011, the hospital had 3,400 employees and its number of accident & emergency unit patients reached 3.3 million, the highest in Shanghai; it treated 69,000 inpatients and undertook 41,000 operations. Xinhua Hospital is a large Class 3A (the highest grade in China) public hospital. The focus of this case study is to understand how was it able to implement an EMR-centered (electronic medical records, also known as electronic patient records or electronic health records) information system within its complicated, traditional organizational structure.
Authors :: F. Warren McFarlan, Ning Jia, Weiqi Liu, Shanshan Cao
Swot Analysis of "Xinhua Hospital: Implementation of EMR Project" written by F. Warren McFarlan, Ning Jia, Weiqi Liu, Shanshan Cao includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Xinhua Hospital facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Xinhua Hospital: Implementation of EMR Project case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Xinhua Hospital: Implementation of EMR Project casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, geopolitical disruptions, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing energy prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Xinhua Hospital: Implementation of EMR Project
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Xinhua Hospital: Implementation of EMR Project case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Xinhua Hospital, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Xinhua 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 Xinhua Hospital: Implementation of EMR Project can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Xinhua Hospital: Implementation of EMR Project case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Xinhua Hospital
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Leadership & Managing People field.
4. Making a Leadership & Managing People topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Xinhua Hospital
Strengths Xinhua Hospital: Implementation of EMR Project | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Xinhua Hospital in Xinhua Hospital: Implementation of EMR Project Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Xinhua 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 Xinhua Hospital: Implementation of EMR Project - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Xinhua Hospital: Implementation of EMR Project firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Xinhua Hospital to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Xinhua Hospital to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Training and development
– Xinhua Hospital has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Xinhua Hospital: Implementation of EMR Project 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.
Learning organization
- Xinhua 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 Xinhua Hospital is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Xinhua Hospital: Implementation of EMR Project Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Xinhua 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 F. Warren McFarlan, Ning Jia, Weiqi Liu, Shanshan Cao 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Xinhua Hospital is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Xinhua Hospital: Implementation of EMR Project Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Strong track record of project management
– Xinhua Hospital is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Xinhua Hospital is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Xinhua Hospital: Implementation of EMR Project are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Xinhua Hospital in the sector have low bargaining power. Xinhua Hospital: Implementation of EMR Project has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Xinhua Hospital to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Xinhua Hospital has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Xinhua Hospital 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Xinhua Hospital is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Xinhua Hospital: Implementation of EMR Project 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.
High brand equity
– Xinhua Hospital has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Xinhua Hospital to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses Xinhua Hospital: Implementation of EMR Project | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Xinhua Hospital: Implementation of EMR Project are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Xinhua 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Xinhua Hospital is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Xinhua Hospital: Implementation of EMR Project can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Xinhua Hospital: Implementation of EMR Project has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Xinhua Hospital 's lucrative customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Xinhua Hospital has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Xinhua Hospital: Implementation of EMR Project should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Xinhua Hospital is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Xinhua Hospital needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Xinhua Hospital to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Need for greater diversity
– Xinhua 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Xinhua Hospital: Implementation of EMR Project, is just above the industry average. Xinhua 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, F. Warren McFarlan, Ning Jia, Weiqi Liu, Shanshan Cao suggests that, Xinhua 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Xinhua 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, Xinhua 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Xinhua Hospital has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Xinhua Hospital even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Opportunities Xinhua Hospital: Implementation of EMR Project | 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 Xinhua Hospital: Implementation of EMR Project are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Xinhua Hospital can develop new processes and procedures in Leadership & Managing People industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing 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, Xinhua Hospital can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Xinhua Hospital operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Xinhua 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Xinhua Hospital can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Xinhua Hospital: Implementation of EMR Project 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Xinhua Hospital 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 Xinhua Hospital to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Xinhua 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, Xinhua Hospital: Implementation of EMR Project, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Xinhua Hospital can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Xinhua Hospital 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 Xinhua Hospital: Implementation of EMR Project - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Xinhua Hospital 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 Xinhua Hospital in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Xinhua Hospital to increase its market reach. Xinhua Hospital will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
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 Xinhua Hospital 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Xinhua 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 Leadership & Managing People segment.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Xinhua Hospital 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.
Threats Xinhua Hospital: Implementation of EMR Project External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Xinhua Hospital: Implementation of EMR Project are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Xinhua Hospital has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Xinhua Hospital needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Leadership & Managing People 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.
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 Xinhua Hospital in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The Leadership & Managing People 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.
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 Xinhua Hospital in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Xinhua Hospital 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 Xinhua Hospital: Implementation of EMR Project .
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. Xinhua 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Xinhua Hospital needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Leadership & Managing People industry regulations.
Environmental challenges
– Xinhua 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. Xinhua Hospital can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Xinhua 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Xinhua Hospital 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.
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 Xinhua Hospital.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Leadership & Managing People field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Xinhua Hospital can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of Xinhua 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 Xinhua Hospital.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Xinhua Hospital: Implementation of EMR Project 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 Xinhua Hospital: Implementation of EMR Project 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 Xinhua Hospital: Implementation of EMR Project 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 Xinhua Hospital: Implementation of EMR Project 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 Xinhua Hospital: Implementation of EMR Project 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 Xinhua Hospital needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
