HA 515 – Marketing/Strategic Planning: HC Course Discussions
Expectations for Weekly Discussion Questions.
Initial Response to Discussion Question
Each week, there will be one and/or two discussion questions posted. Questions will be determined by the scope of the course objectives for that week. Initial discussion question responses should be approximately 250 words (10 points).
All DQ responses should make linkages between theory, practice, and current events as applicable.
Discussions
Participation does not include your Initial Response. It means to actively engage by substantively contributing or responding to your peers’ discussion posts in all weekly discussion threads. Substantive means comments that demonstrate comprehension and involve dialogue which extends the depth and/or breadth of discussions. ‘I agree’ or ‘disagree’ alone or similar statements will not be considered as a substantive response.
Participation points will be awarded, as outlined in the Rubric, for substantive postings that advance the discussion, which may include comments, questions, etc. You must post at least two substantive replies, approximately 100 or more words each (5 points each.
Week One (1)
Discussion Week 1 Reflection
Week 1 reflection including what your expectations of this course (at least 3 paragraphs). (no rubric)
Week 1 Discussion 1
What are prospective and emergent strategy? Why is it important to understand the difference between prospective and emergent strategies? How might you management the balance between design and emergence strategizing processes in an organization? What are the major factors that distinguish levels of strategies in an organization? Please provide examples.
Week 1 Discussion 2
Why is it difficult to directly apply the marketing approaches used in other industries to healthcare? What is the distinction between goods and services, and what are the implication s of this distinction for healthcare? What is the role of marketing as it relates to the levels of the healthcare organization (e.g. senior managers versus product line managers)? What characteristics of healthcare make the four Ps of marketing difficult to apply directly to the healthcare organization?
Week Two (2)
Week Two Discussion one
How does a change in population demographics alter the use of healthcare? Which of the four market structures would be most preferable to consumers? How have technological advancements changed the provision of healthcare, and how might they affect healthcare in the future? What are the benefits and challenges of growing through internal expansion? What are the main differences between upstream and downstream vertical structures in a manufacturing organization and those in a healthcare organization? Please provide examples.
Week Two Discussion Two
What factors account for the difference rates at which healthcare organizations have adopted marketing techniques? In what ways does the marketing of individual health plans by insurance companies differ from the marketing of group insurance plans? What marketing techniques were so routinely used by healthcare organizations that they were not recognized as marketing? What roles has technology played in the evolution of marketing in healthcare?
Week Three (3)
Week Three Discussion 1
How might an organization’s culture reflect its established values? Why do many organizations fail to use their mission and vision effectively? How are products and services in healthcare different from one another? How can strategic groups be used to determine market competitors? how can driving forces be used to understand the future? Please provide examples.
Week Three Discussion 2
What are some of the ways marketers define healthcare markets, and what determines how market delineation differs for types of healthcare organizations? How can marketers identify unmet healthcare needs that may indicate an untapped market? Why is the ability to pay for healthcare an important factor to consider in a target market assessment? What factors have prompted the transition from a mass marketing orientation to a target marketing orientation in healthcare?
Week Four (4)
Week Four Discussion 1
What are the differences between resources, capabilities, and core competencies? What are the benefits and challenges of having culture as a core competency? What can be done to use SWOT analysis more effectively? What is an example of a commonly used algorithm in healthcare? What is the difference between data analysis and data extraction? Please provide examples.
Week Four Discussion 2
What are the distinctions between healthcare goods and services, and what are the implication of these distinctions for marketing? How do the challenges involved in marketing health services to consumers differ from the challenges involved in marketing products to healthcare organizations? IN what ways is the complexity of the product mix of large healthcare organizations a challenge for marketers? What is service line management, and what are the pros and cons of using a service line management approach in healthcare?
Week Five (5)
Week Five Discussion 1
Why do healthcare leaders need to understand finances and learn to use financial tools? What organizational aspect do liquidity ratios demonstrate? How can a public hospital have a low or negative operating margin yet have enough funds to survive and prosper? How does an organization combine its mission and vision with its environmental analyses to develop a strategic plan? How can an organization better align its employees’ perceptions? Please provide examples.
Week Five Discussion 2
How should an organization’s marketing strategy be linked to its strategic plan? What is the relationship between strategy development and the four Ps of the marketing mix? What determines which of the four Ps is most relevant to strategy in a particular case? Why is a branding strategy not universally employed by healthcare organizations?
Week Six (6)
Week Six Discussion 1
How are strategic plans and business plan similar and different? What factors determine the components included in a business plan? How does organizational structure influence the strategies an organization develop? What factors affect the successful use of functional, multidivisional, and matrix structures? Could a matrix structure be used across a large corporate organizations? Why or why not?
Week Six Discussion 2
Can it be argued that a major function of promotional activities in healthcare is educating the healthcare consumer? Why do many health professionals and even members of the general public resist the idea of using advertising to promote health services? What factors are encouraging the growing emphasis on integrated marketing among healthcare organizations? What marketing or healthcare factors are encouraging the adoption of contemporary marketing techniques? What developments in healthcare have encouraged the growth of business-to-business marketing?
Week Seven (7)
Week Seven Discussion 1
What makes change so difficult for many organizations? What actions might an organization take if leaders diagnose that it is not prepared for change? How can change be anchored in an organization’s culture and processes? Why might it be difficult to posses both strategic thinking and strategic management skills? How do learning and innovation encourage strategic thinking? Please provide examples.
Week Seven Discussion 2
What types of healthcare organizations have most rapidly incorporated social media into their marketing efforts? What are some of the barriers to applying social media to healthcare issues and activities? What are the common types of social media, and how do they differ from each other? What ethical issues are raised when health-related information is shared on social media?
Week Eight (8)
Week Eight Discussion
How should budgeting reflect strategic planning? What might influence the roles and titles of the person in charge of strategic planning? What are the key roles of the governing board in strategic planning? What are the advantages and challenges of using consultants for strategic planning? Why is monitoring critical to strategic implementation? Please provide examples.