People often balk at the concept of change

Change Is Necessary

Sometimes, change can be hard. People often balk at the concept of change. Why is that? For starters, there is a sense of comfort that accompanies the practice of routine. When the next steps are appropriately identified, fear of failing also diminishes. Contrarily, the word change is associated with new. And for many, anything new requires a disruption in the existing process; thereby, change is often associated with disruption and, as a result, has a negative stigma.

With so much trepidation associated with change, why do we continuously promote and embrace it? To put it simply, there can be no growth without change. An organization that does not have a vision for the future will surely fail. Change is necessary so that an organization can continue meeting the needs of its customers. When the needs of the customer change, the strategy of an organization changes to ensure alignment with the customer. Likewise, change is necessary to mitigate risks. A leader faced with an emergent decision to make must rely on his or her ability to change and motivate others to share the same vision for change.

To continuously meet the needs of the customer, organizations require continuous change and transformation. For a diverse target population of customers who have a wide variety of options at their fingertips, this is no simple task. This can be accomplished by either altering the products and services to meet the needs of the existing customer or keeping the products and services the same but changing the customer target. In either scenario, change is inevitable.

If an organization is unable to meet the needs of its customers, the customers will surely go elsewhere and find an organization that can meet their needs. Likewise, if the leader of an organization is unable to adapt to change, especially in an emergency situation, the viability of the organization is weakened. This is why it is important for leaders to have the ability to adapt to change.

Kotters Model

Review each tab to know more about Kotters 8-step change model.

Create Urgency

Creating a sense of urgency can be expedited by researching and supporting the need for change with evidence.

Form a Powerful Coalition

This is a step where individuals have the opportunity to learn more about the change process. This is also the step where a leader must effectively communicate this change to promote a potential buy-in.

Create a Vision for Change

When individuals support the need for change, they are able to come together and discuss what this change will look like and what its implications are.

Communicate the Vision

The leader must effectively communicate the potential outcome of this change.

Remove Obstacles

During the change process, various challenges and obstacles are sure to arise. Removing them quickly and effectively through decision-making processes will further support the overall change process.

Create Short-Term Wins

Having short-term wins helps keep the team motivated and enthused. Short-term wins must be well communicated to the team.

Build on the Change

Once the initial change process has occurred, it becomes necessary to assess any changes that occur. This allows additional adjustments to be made in order to obtain the desired outcome.

Anchor the Changes in Corporate Culture

Once the necessary changes have been made to finalize the change process, it is important for the larger entity, oftentimes seen as an organization, to openly acknowledge and accept the implications of the process. This can be seen in the form of a new vision statement or development of new policies and procedures to support the change process.

AdditionalMaterials

From your course textbook,Health Care Market Strategy, read the following chapter:

Strategy Development and the Strategic Mindset

From the South University Online Library, read the following articles:

From the Internet, review the following:

Kotter, J. P., & Rathgeber, H. (2006).Our iceberg is melting: Changing and succeeding under any conditions. New York: St. Martin’s Press. Retrieved from http://go.kotterinc..html

Robert, M. (2006).The new strategic thinking, pure and simple.New York: McGraw-Hill.

Disruptive Innovation

Disruptive innovation refers to a change in the status quo that inevitably changes the direction of the organization or creates a new avenue for the organization. For some, the effect of disruptive innovation creates a brand-new market altogether. This new market with its new pool of customers is now positioned to compete with other similar markets.

Clayton Christensen, chief founder of the idea, first introduced the concept of disruptive innovation in a 1995Harvard Business Reviewarticle and again in his 1997 book,The Innovator’s Dilemma. Most commonly associated with technological advancements in an industry, disruptive innovation is also a term used to describe the effects of what happens when a new idea is introduced into a particular market. This is essential in healthcare, where technology is continuously advancing and patient demographics are constantly evolving. Healthcare leaders are faced with the challenge of meeting the needs of existing patients, while remaining financially viable. New strategies and methods of providing quality care are constantly being introduced in an effort to balance an organizationsmissionwith itsmargin.

The concept of disruptive innovation, although relatively new, does not introduce a new system approach to strategic planning. The idea itself is relatively simple. Disruptive innovation permits the introduction of something new into the market. The development of something new in the market has the potential to create value for the customer. Value is identified as an organization having the ability to reach a previously excluded customer or developing a product or service that can be offered as an alternative to the original in an effort to reach a new market. When this value is recognized, it can then be ascertained whether the initiative was a disruptive innovation or merely the re-introduction of an existing product or service in the market.

 

 

AdditionalMaterials

From your course textbook,Health Care Market Strategy, read the following chapter:

Understanding the Strategic, Business, and Marketing Planning Process

From the South University Online Library, read the following articles:

Competition

The population of the United States is increasing, creating, in turn, an increase in the demand for healthcare services. We see this particularly in the gerontology sector, where the population segment aged sixty-five and older is rapidly aging. For the first time ever in US history, the will outnumber the K12 population. According to the US Census Bureau, the worlds sixty-five-plus population is expected to triple by 2050 (Brandon, 2009). All of these changes will result in more healthcare services in the United States. Ultimately, this will increase competition as well.

Although the concept of competition is nothing new, healthcare leaders are experiencing a new perspective on competition. Traditional competition may reveal two hospitals offering similar services, located in neighboring towns with a diverse, communal population. In this scenario, it is easy to visualize how each hospital would try to strategically place itself above its competition. This is especially easy since both are located relatively close to each other.

Now, consider a more contemporary illustration of competition in healthcare. For example, an uninsured patient is recently informed that he requires a quadruple heart bypass surgery, which would cost him in excess of $100,000. Rather than looking at local competition such as neighboring surgical centers, he decides to research alternative options. His research leads him to the concept ofmedical tourism, the patients international option for healthcare. With medical tourism, the patient travels abroad to receive healthcare services that would otherwise not be feasible or financially viable for him. At a fraction of the US cost, international hospitals are growing in popularity. For the first time ever, local healthcare providers must consider their international counterparts as competition, global competition. As a result of these new types of competition in the industry, existing healthcare organizations are revealing the need to rethink strategic planning initiatives.

In addition to understanding that global markets may be considered competition for healthcare organizations in the United States, leaders must also recognize their target market. As the population continues to change in the United States, we will continue to see a shift in the diversity of our customers. Leaders who are able to identify and accommodate the needs of their target population will be well prepared to change with shifting tides of the industry.

Reference:

Brandon, E. (2009).Census Bureau: World’s 65 and older population will triple by 2050: Europe and the United States are expected to age the most rapidly. Retrieved from https://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/planning-to-retire/2009/06/24/census-bureau-worlds-65-and-older-population-will-triple-by-2050

AdditionalMaterials

From your course textbook,Health Care Market Strategy, read the following chapter:

The Challenge of a Competitive Marketplace

From the South University Online Library, read the following articles:

From the Internet, read the following:

Leung, R. (2005).Vacation, adventure and surgery. Retrieved from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/vacation-adventure-and-surgery/