Kaiser Permanente: Creating a No-Wait Emergency Department SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Kaiser Permanente: Creating a No-Wait Emergency Department
In 2007, the emergency department at Kaiser Permanente's South Sacramento Medical Center was experiencing extremely long patient wait times, and it became clear that a new and better way of doing business was needed. The chief of the emergency department was inspired to change things and became the leader of the lean program-a system of management methods and tools widely used for over 25 years in the manufacturing sector. Changes were made over a six-year period to significantly improve key performance measures of the department. The goal was to create capacity and continuous flow in a health-care setting without negative implications to the emergency department and patients. Edward D. Arnheiter is affiliated with University of the Pacific.
Swot Analysis of "Kaiser Permanente: Creating a No-Wait Emergency Department" written by Edward D. Arnheiter includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Emergency Department facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Kaiser Permanente: Creating a No-Wait Emergency Department case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Operations management, Performance measurement and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Kaiser Permanente: Creating a No-Wait Emergency Department casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, geopolitical disruptions,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Kaiser Permanente: Creating a No-Wait Emergency Department
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Kaiser Permanente: Creating a No-Wait Emergency Department case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Emergency Department, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Emergency Department 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 Kaiser Permanente: Creating a No-Wait Emergency Department can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Kaiser Permanente: Creating a No-Wait Emergency Department case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Emergency Department
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 Emergency Department
Strengths Kaiser Permanente: Creating a No-Wait Emergency Department | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Emergency Department in Kaiser Permanente: Creating a No-Wait Emergency Department Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Emergency Department digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Emergency Department 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.
Learning organization
- Emergency Department 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 Department is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Kaiser Permanente: Creating a No-Wait Emergency Department Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Emergency Department is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Analytics focus
– Emergency Department 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 Edward D. Arnheiter 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Emergency Department is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Kaiser Permanente: Creating a No-Wait Emergency Department 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Emergency Department in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High brand equity
– Emergency Department has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Emergency Department to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Organizational Resilience of Emergency Department
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Emergency Department does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Emergency Department 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 Department in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Emergency Department has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Kaiser Permanente: Creating a No-Wait Emergency Department HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Emergency Department in the sector have low bargaining power. Kaiser Permanente: Creating a No-Wait Emergency Department has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Emergency Department to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Kaiser Permanente: Creating a No-Wait Emergency Department firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Emergency Department to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Emergency Department to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses Kaiser Permanente: Creating a No-Wait Emergency Department | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Kaiser Permanente: Creating a No-Wait Emergency Department are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Kaiser Permanente: Creating a No-Wait Emergency Department, in the dynamic environment Emergency Department has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Emergency Department has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Emergency Department 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Emergency Department 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.
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 Emergency Department supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Kaiser Permanente: Creating a No-Wait Emergency Department, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Emergency Department vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Kaiser Permanente: Creating a No-Wait Emergency Department HBR case study mentions - Emergency Department 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Emergency Department is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Emergency Department needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Emergency Department to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Emergency Department 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Emergency Department products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Emergency Department needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Kaiser Permanente: Creating a No-Wait Emergency Department 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 Emergency Department 's lucrative customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Emergency Department 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Emergency Department 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.
Opportunities Kaiser Permanente: Creating a No-Wait Emergency Department | 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 Kaiser Permanente: Creating a No-Wait Emergency Department are -
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Emergency Department can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Emergency Department can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Buying journey improvements
– Emergency Department can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Kaiser Permanente: Creating a No-Wait Emergency Department 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Emergency Department 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, Kaiser Permanente: Creating a No-Wait Emergency Department, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Developing new processes and practices
– Emergency Department 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Emergency Department 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 Emergency Department to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Loyalty marketing
– Emergency Department 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Emergency Department is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Kaiser Permanente: Creating a No-Wait Emergency Department 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.
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 Emergency Department 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, Emergency Department 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.
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. Emergency Department can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Emergency Department to increase its market reach. Emergency Department 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.
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 Department in the consumer business. Now Emergency Department can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Emergency Department has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Emergency Department to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Kaiser Permanente: Creating a No-Wait Emergency Department case study. Emergency Department can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Kaiser Permanente: Creating a No-Wait Emergency Department External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Kaiser Permanente: Creating a No-Wait Emergency Department are -
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.
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 Department.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Emergency Department 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Emergency Department is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Emergency Department 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Emergency Department with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Environmental challenges
– Emergency Department 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 Department can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Emergency Department 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 Kaiser Permanente: Creating a No-Wait Emergency Department .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Emergency Department has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Emergency Department 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.
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Emergency Department 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.
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. Emergency Department needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Department in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Kaiser Permanente: Creating a No-Wait Emergency Department 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 Kaiser Permanente: Creating a No-Wait Emergency Department 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 Kaiser Permanente: Creating a No-Wait Emergency Department 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 Kaiser Permanente: Creating a No-Wait Emergency Department 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 Kaiser Permanente: Creating a No-Wait Emergency Department 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 Department needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.