BUS/475

Strategic Plan Part 1

Nicholas Hall

BUS 475

Petra Yurchich

July 25, 2016

Business, Products, and Customers: Mission Statement

“LifePoint Hospitals® is a leading hospital company dedicated to providing quality healthcare services close to home. They provide their hospitals with the resources and support they need to deliver the highest quality care and services to growing regions, rural communities, and vibrant small towns across the nation. At LifePoint, local community involvement is at the center of our philosophy of care” ("Lifepoint Hospitals", 2014). According to Lifepoint Hospitals" (2014), “[Their] hospitals are among the largest employers, taxpayers, and businesses within their communities”. With the consideration of its current customers and potential clients, we realized that not everyone has the ability or convenience always to utilize the benefits a gym facility can provide. LifePoint’s mission is to make communities healthier. To separate LifePoint Hospital from other hospital companies, a new method will have to be added for its current and potential clients. Instead of just providing healthcare for the communities and assistance to the physicians, a maintenance and education system will be implemented in the communities. The new method will be adding a full access gym to the facilities for patients and physicians alike, along with educational videos that will consist of several types of exercise or workout training that will focus on building strength, cardiovascular exercise, yoga, building stamina, along with routines focused on certain illnesses such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and methods for the young and elderly (since not all will have the luxury of always utilizing the gym facilities.) Being able to log in to a site will add convenience to being able to work out any time. In addition to the videos of various types of exercises, healthy recipes for its customers will also be included. The recipes provided will help the customers eat healthier, which will allow them to have a complete healthy living according to their lifestyle. There will only be a small convenience fee added for the online access each month, which will be made affordable for all, instead of paying a full membership fee for the gym. The new method will complement the belief of LifePoint Hospitals mission in making communities healthier.

Organizations Vision

A vision statement is a declaration or goal where the organization wants to be midterm or long-term of an organization. A good vision statement can inspire the day-to-day operation of the organization and give a sense of direction strategically to achieve its goals (Business News Daily, 2011). The new division vision is “is to provide communities with healthy living assistance anywhere, and at any time” ("Lifepoint Hospitals", 2014). The goal is to expand globally and provide guidance to healthy living. As part of our marketing campaign to achieve this objective, the plan is to utilize the power of social media. Currently the company is already using LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. On top of the social media that is being utilized already, we will be adding video marketing through YouTube. With some research and a proper marketing campaign, it should keep the cost of marketing minimal and provide a higher ROI.

As far as values are concerned, it can be defined as standards that are strived to be achieved and attained through practical habits as individuals. The same characteristics apply when it comes to maintaining and running a business or organization. LifePoint’s value will help conquer their mission and vision of providing healthier communities through their services.

Guiding Principles

LifePoint Hospitals has several ethical principles and social responsibilities that currently influences major decisions in the strategic planning process of the company. The first concern of the company is to stay up to date with different types or healthcare. Considering that LifePoint Hospitals provides health care support to the physicians and patients alike, it would be significant to know the current extent of healthcare provided at each facility so we can facilitate and direct our videos and recipes to the needs of each facility. If the facility specializes in cardiovascular treatment, we will need to direct our attention to the specialty of the facility. It will also be vital to stay up to date with nutritional changes that may also occur. Building customer loyalty will be utilized by providing the quality customer service and training that will be key to the company’s success. Not being able to provide quality service and training could result in failure of the company.

To achieve the mission and vision while providing value, LifePoint Hospitals will need a company structure that will reflect their principles. The physician can approve the videos and education for patients so that patients are not endangering themselves by doing too strenuous or demanding activities. These videos will be created by the some of the top fitness and nutritional experts— along with insight from physicians— to build credibility and avoid any legal issues. By allowing the physicians to approve nutrition and exercise for its patients, this will result in quality customer service along with ethically providing the correct and most up to date information to the facility’s patients. Additionally, knowledgeable patients and physicians will allow the company to expand creating new opportunities.

Strategic Direction

The strategic direction is the plans made for what type of action the company needs to make in order for them to achieve their goals. The mission, vision, and value, along with an organization, structure will be the foundation for LifePoint Hospitals for their strategic decision making in order for the company to grow. Although the goal is to expand with the idea of expanding globally, this goal can only be achieved by having the right strategic direction and quality customer service.

Customer Needs and Competitive Advantage

Health fitness has always been a concern for many people. However, with the hectic schedule of most individuals in this day and age, many find it almost impossible to go to a gym facility or have the luxury to accumulate the knowledge of what to do once they are inside one. With that in mind, the new division of various exercise and educational videos (along with healthy recipes) will allow people the opportunity to receive the fitness they need even with a hectic schedule (thus allowing them the opportunity to still manage to eat healthy.) While LifePoint Hospitals is providing high value and staying true to its mission and vision, it is also separating itself from the competition. While other hospitals do not lean toward the health and upkeep of their staff and their patients, by adding a gym and education service for the physicians and patients alike, they will stay educated and have the ability to take care of their staff and patients. (And perhaps learn more about their own conditions.) A monthly gym membership may provide a similar service, and some may even offer instructional videos, but not to the extent that LifePoint will be providing its employees and patients. The new division will allow customers to pay a monthly subscription to the exercise and educational videos along with the access to the recipes without paying a full cost of membership. Naturally, for those who pay and utilize the brick and mortar gym facilities, the videos, education, and nutritional recipes will be available to them as well.

The fundamental thrust of this new concept is then rightfully surmised thusly: by availing opportunities to both physicians and patients alike to proactively engage in physical fitness, education, and healthier meal alternatives, LifePoint Hospitals will be at the vanguard of a new dynamic in healthcare. As most hospitals deal strictly in reflexive activities, LifePoint will differentiate them by giving individuals an opportunity to engage in preventative measures. By setting this new standard, LifePoint will alert other health care facilities to the new benchmark that has been set. The rippling effect, one would hope, is that others follow suit; not only for the economic fitness of their organizations, but also for the actual corporeal fitness of the American people.

Reference

Business News Daily, (2014), What is a Vision Statement. Retrieved from

http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/3882-vision-statement.html

Hoovers. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.hoovers.com/company-information/cs/company-profile.Lifepoint_Hospitals_Inc.10d8f1b9e0d52d63.html

LifePoint Hospitals. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.lifepointhospitals.com/index