M1D1: Strategic Management: Using the Past and Present to Inform the Future

I’m working on a business discussion question and need an explanation and answer to help me learn.

TEXTBOOK: Ginter, P. M., Duncan, W. J., & Swayne, L. E. (2018). Chapter 1: The Nature of Strategic Management. In Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations (8th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishing.

TEDMED (2012). Can we rewrite the DNA of our healthcare system? [Video file, 16:49 minutes]. Retrieved from http://www.tedmed.com/talks/show?id  

• Strategic management concepts have been employed within healthcare organizations only in the past 25 to 30 years. Prior to this time, individual healthcare organizations had few incentives to employ strategic management because typically they were independent, freestanding, not-for-profit institutions, and health services reimbursement was on a cost-plus basis.  

QUESTIONS: 

Let’s start with a reflective question based on your experiences, any prior learning, and/or opinion.

• In your opinion, in this current age of rising costs and increasing demands for quality in health care, do you feel that health systems are equipped to address these pressing issues? Why or why not?

Please describe strategic management in the healthcare industry as you see it today. How has it changed in the past decade, in general and in terms of major activities of strategic management?

How do you see the role of leadership in strategy development? Please feel free to describe an example from your professional life.

Please speculate together on possible future changes to strategic management through 2025. Be sure to consider the role of leaders in the field as you discuss this question.