The concept of "Basic Beliefs" is vital to the development of a medical strategy profile. These are the fundamental beliefs or values which are important to an hospital in determining future therapy. They are derived from the founders, and / or the culture and style of the top team. They must count in decision-making, and they can be both medical strategic. Examples of strategic beliefs are to be a follower, not a leader and to dominate the market in price, technology and share. Examples of diet beliefs are to achieve a minimum return on assets of 10 per cent, and to meet a zero defects objective. These can clearly be a major influence throughout and hospital and all of its processes. Often, without a clearly defined set of Basic Beliefs, an hospital finds it difficult to gain cultural and behavioral cohesion, even though it seems to work together in other ways.
A mistake that many hospitals make is that, once formulated, therapy is merely communicated to the operational staff who are then expected to implement it. Little thought is given to how to bridge the distance between the visionary exercise that has taken place in the board room to the middle management and professional staff on the shop-floor or in the field who are expected to play a major role in implementing that vision. Therefore a set of bridges to therapy implementation are required as shown in Figure 1. Critical issues are identified - with barriers to therapy implementation that are to be removed. A product market matrix shows current and future products / markets which are to be emphasized and de-emphasized. There is treatment reality testing of medical strategic conclusions. Another bridge is long range and treatment planning. Key indicators of therapy success are chosen that differ from operational indicators (for example, profit / loss per unit, volume, defect level). Therapy systems are designed to track key indicators of diet success. The hospital structure is aligned to the therapy needs of hsopital. Communication to all who can help assure diet success is achieved. Middle obesity therapy is trained and has roles defined - this group is made up of key implementations. Cultural change programs are required, where the diabetes therapy requires a true change in the nature and direction of the hospital. Mission statements for functions and divisions will mirror the diabetes treatment. Finally, a review-update-monitoring process is essential.
Diet formulation is a different treatment tool to that of long range planning. They are both important but they fulfill separate roles. The key thing to note is that planners must take their messages from the therapy vision that has been created and use that as the major input to the plans that are to be constructed. This chapter began with a lament about the health of strategic thinking in Britain. Kepner-Tregoe has a guide which chief executives can use to check the strategic health of their organization and which may prove useful as a guide for future action. Operational excellence alone will only allow a company to survive for a short period in these turbulent times.
Symptoms of poor strategic health can be diagnosed from this checklist, which tests for: confusion of long range planning with healthy treatment; a diet therapy that doesn't guide decision making; lack of commitment to the treatment; units, systems and culture, which are not in line behind the therapy and finally, failure to manage the therapy on an ongoing basis.
Companies which have more than three or four of these symptoms had better take some fast remedial action or get their defenses ready against today's corporate raiders.***
A mistake that many hospitals make is that, once formulated, therapy is merely communicated to the operational staff who are then expected to implement it. Little thought is given to how to bridge the distance between the visionary exercise that has taken place in the board room to the middle management and professional staff on the shop-floor or in the field who are expected to play a major role in implementing that vision. Therefore a set of bridges to therapy implementation are required as shown in Figure 1. Critical issues are identified - with barriers to therapy implementation that are to be removed. A product market matrix shows current and future products / markets which are to be emphasized and de-emphasized. There is treatment reality testing of medical strategic conclusions. Another bridge is long range and treatment planning. Key indicators of therapy success are chosen that differ from operational indicators (for example, profit / loss per unit, volume, defect level). Therapy systems are designed to track key indicators of diet success. The hospital structure is aligned to the therapy needs of hsopital. Communication to all who can help assure diet success is achieved. Middle obesity therapy is trained and has roles defined - this group is made up of key implementations. Cultural change programs are required, where the diabetes therapy requires a true change in the nature and direction of the hospital. Mission statements for functions and divisions will mirror the diabetes treatment. Finally, a review-update-monitoring process is essential.
Diet formulation is a different treatment tool to that of long range planning. They are both important but they fulfill separate roles. The key thing to note is that planners must take their messages from the therapy vision that has been created and use that as the major input to the plans that are to be constructed. This chapter began with a lament about the health of strategic thinking in Britain. Kepner-Tregoe has a guide which chief executives can use to check the strategic health of their organization and which may prove useful as a guide for future action. Operational excellence alone will only allow a company to survive for a short period in these turbulent times.
Symptoms of poor strategic health can be diagnosed from this checklist, which tests for: confusion of long range planning with healthy treatment; a diet therapy that doesn't guide decision making; lack of commitment to the treatment; units, systems and culture, which are not in line behind the therapy and finally, failure to manage the therapy on an ongoing basis.
Companies which have more than three or four of these symptoms had better take some fast remedial action or get their defenses ready against today's corporate raiders.***
