Entire paper including references should be in APA style. Include references throughout paper.Capstone Project: Implementing a Strategic PlanDue Week 10 and worth 400 pointsBuilding on Assignments 1 a

CONDUCTING AN ENVIRONMMENTAL ANALYSIS

BY

MICHELLE TABB

Dr. Prince Ordu

HSA 599

July 30, 2018

Conducting an environmental analysis

The health industry is currently being faced by many challenges and forces that affect the way of carrying out activities. There are forces from both inside and outside the working environment of the healthcare organization.

External environmental factors

1. Physical environmental factors

The physical environment in which the health facility is located affects the operations of the organization. Some of these factors include; pollution, access to the various health-related resources, and the overall community design. An environment that is not well kept and for the most part, pollution-infested, will always have many complications. The strategic location of the health facility and other health- related resources to the members of the community affect how soon they will be accessing the facility. In order to effectively help the people and have a good relationship with them, the facility must be as easily accessible to them as possible. The general physical environment can affect the health provision through the physical exposures. When the facility is within an area with many industries, then there will be many cases of pollution from air pollution, water pollution from the wastes released by these industries. Different countries and regions have their own environmental issues and there are many chronic diseases that are caused by the poor environmental care. The healthcare facilitators should then be always ready to handle such issues from their patients and educate them where needed.

1. Social environmental factors

Social environmental factors include the issues related to safety, violence, and social disorders in general. The operations of a health facility are heavily affected by these issues. The environment within which the facility is located affects the type of activities that will be carried out most of the time. In the areas that are highly affected by violence have a complete way of carrying out the health activities according to (Menguc, 2010). The workers of the hospital have to constantly be alert since these violent activities happen very often. It is also likely that there may be attacks to the facility. The social participation of the people around the organization appears to be very important in the way of maintaining the stability of the social connections of the workers and the surrounding community of the facility. The existence of a stable and well supportive local social environment influences the operations and the relationship between the health facility workers and the community around it. The neighborhood conditions can create stress on the workers and management of the facility when there is no peace and a good coexistence between the two. The effects they have on the facility will translate to the overall performance expected. They should be consulted regularly on matters that affect them to avoid chaos and misunderstandings.

Internal environmental factors

1. Employees

The employees of the healthcare facility will highly affect the way treatment is administered in the hospital. The employees should be well equipped at all times since the environment they work in is very unpredictable and uncertain. Their culture of work and how they relate with the local people in whom the facility is located affect their way of work either positively or negatively. The management should therefore ensure that all the workers that are hired in the organization should be very well qualified and competent for the job. The management is also mandated to ensure that there is good coexistence between the workers and the management to enhance smooth running of the institution. The workforce that is entitled to handle the administration work should all be in labor unions that are also part of the internal environment of the organization. When well-managed workers are taken care of properly, there can be a positive impact on the policies of the organization. On the other hand, if the management ill- treats the workers, there could be cases such as employees going on strike. In return, this can become a catastrophic situation in the healthcare facility. Employees should ensure that the facility runs smoothly and there are no faults in the plan. It would be best if they come from the locality in which the facility is located. This will make it easier for them to interact with the local members of society and create a good working relationship between the two.

1. Culture

The organizational culture and the behavior of the members of the healthcare organization is an internal factor that affects the overall performance of the management and the entire facility at large. Their own values, beliefs, visions, and their way and habits of doing things can affect their performance in the hospital. This may also bring about unnecessary conflicts that may affect the running and operations of the facility. The management should then be in a position to facilitate and accommodate these members since organizational culture plays a great role when it comes to shaping the performance and the success of the organization. It is in the center of determining how well the facility will perform. If the different cultures of all the workers are not well taken care of, the performance may be affected negatively and the provision of the intended care will not be as effective as it should be. The management and all the stakeholders involved should work hand in hand in maintaining that cultures lend the behaviors of the employees and the managers as well are in line with the expectations of the healthcare facility. This will ensure that things run smoothly and there are less misunderstandings when implementing the strategic plan.

Impact of internal and external forces

Provision of quality healthcare services is in the center of all the facilities. Competition is one of the major factors that affect the way of operations in these hospitals. Therefore, there is a need to create a good competitive environment for the provision of these services. In order to develop a good competitive strategy, both the internal and external environmental forces appear to have a great impact.

Internal factors

Employees and the culture of the members of the healthcare facility can highly affect the levels of competitive and use it for the better of the organization. Since there are many global changes in the way businesses and healthcare facilities are run, the management and workers should be in the centermost core in ensuring that the organization is moving in the technological direction the right way (Postma, 2001). The facility should invest in their workers and make them privy to all the skills that the other organizations are putting in place and practicing. They should even go ahead in training their employees to be well equipped and prepare them for the high competition that they experience from the other organizations around them. They should always be in the know on the changes and how to sustain their competitive nature for the benefit of the organization. Basically, the competitive nature is one of the determining factors of the facility’s success. The management and its workers should be able to strategically analyze their competitive environment and then work towards implementing their set strategies. This should in the end help in the expansion of the services provided by the organization and reduction of costs at the same time. Ensuring that there are no internal conflicts either between the workers or the management will put the organization in a good position for competition with other organizations.

External factors

The healthcare facility should envision them in setting the organization in a strategic position that will be easily accessible and affordable to the community around and their working environment. This will be in the first step of helping curb the competition from the other facilities that may be set up in the same locality. Having a good relationship with the members of the society around them will also work positively for the organization. It will be an added advantage if the facility ensures that they respect and understand the cultures of the people around them. Since these are the people they are targeting most, they should therefore aim to ensuring that they are well satisfied all the time. The management of the organization should prioritize these factors to help them in the decision-making processes that will ensure that the strategic competitive nature is maintained and that it benefits the overall performance of the facility. Although some of these external factors cannot be controlled, like the case of the occurrence of natural disasters and violence, the facility can work to maintain a good relationship with the neighboring society that will reduce the chances of the occurrence of threats and attacks on the organization. It will also build a lasting trust between the two which will be a good strategy for the competitive environment around them (Tiwari, 2009). The management should also ensure that they at all times comply with the set laws and regulations that may affect them and the levels of competition with other organizations around them.

Recommendation

The management should always have a good plan and investigation of both the internal and external factors that may end up affecting their operations. Consulting and involving the employees is key in ensuring the proper and effective implementation of the strategic plan. The employees are referred to as the most important asset of the organization and should therefore be in the frontline of the planning and decision-making on matters that concerns them. The managers should always aim at employing qualified members from the locality in which they operate. This will be easier since they understand the ways and cultures of their people and thus will be easier to service them and interact with them in all the issues that are related to them. They will also be able to create a lasting trust and working relationship that will reduce the occurrence of conflicts either within the facility or even with the society. For effective implementation of the strategic plan, the mangers and the entire management team should be willing to work together as a team and do away with any corruptive activities that may arise under any circumstances.

References

Menguc, B. (2010). The interactive effect of internal and external factors on a proactive environmental strategy and its influence on the performance.

Postma, TJ. (2001). Strategic research and performance of healthcare facilities.

Tiwari, V. (2009). Effects of competition between healthcare providers on strategic plans.