Kaiser Permanente Organization, Essay Example

Since my organization, Kaiser Permanente, has been prominent in healthcare for more than 60, years, it would be difficult to change or expand the scope of its service line in order to reach new markets. It is important to understand that this difficulty is primarily due to the broad range of markets the organization has already reached. Aside from the services that I haven mentioned in previous assignments such as immunization services, clinics, and diversity health and research programs, the company also runs farmers markets and collaborates with many hospitals across the United States (Kaiser Permanente n.d.). As a consequence, the only direction that the company could reasonably take in expanding would be to reach to markets in other nations.

A primary issue with establishing itself in other nations would be due to how healthcare works in other countries (Kaiser Permanente International, n.d.). While Kaiser Permanente’s business is profitable in the United States, it is important to consider the variables the company would face in nations such as Mexico and Canada. Canada has a similar economy to ours, but has a healthcare system subsidized by the government. Before moving to this nation, my organization would therefore need to determine if it would be able to make a reasonable profit. If this is not the case, the company should forgo this expansion. Nations such as Mexico do not have a stable economy nor reasonable health insurance plans; Kaiser Permanente should therefore not expand to many South American nations because it would not be profitable.

Kaiser Permanente may benefit by expanding to nations such as England and France where there are similar healthcare systems set in place. However, it must educate itself on the local healthcare and insurance laws and policies and determine whether this research is worth the market expansion. Ultimately, the tail wags the dog because the feasibility of marketing in a number of situations defines what the company is ultimately capable of doing.

References

Kaiser Permanente. (n.d.). Medical Center and A Grocery Store? Retrieved from https://healthy.kaiserpermanente.org/static/health/en-us/landing_pages/farmersmarkets/index.htm

Kaiser Permanente International. (n.d.). About Kaiser Permanente International. Retrieved from http://xnet.kp.org/kpinternational/staff/index.html