Project Risk Management Guidelines, SWOT Analysis Example

SWOT analysis is a planning method to fully understand the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for a particular project, event or action.  With the SWOT analysis complete in identifying each of these key areas of the new product launch, the project team has better insight into each of the positive and negative aspects of the launch (Cooper, Grey, Raymond, and Walker, 2005).  The identification of the key information in each one of these areas provides direction and insight into the activities that will need to occur during the development and product launch to ensure a positive and successful implementation.  To note, the three healthcare organizations to be included in this analysis are the Department of Veteran Affairs, the NY Presbyterian Healthcare System and the Catholic Healthcare West.  These three healthcare organizations are to be observed in general in relation to the operations culture they adapt and the manner of development they consider in line with the constant determination of advancement as part of the general distinction by which the values of the public they serve are taken into distinct consideration.

Analysis

Background

Healthcare marketing has shifted over the course of the past few years.  Some of the change is how the consumer receives and interprets information but also it has changed in part due to how the consumer is choosing the type of healthcare they need. There are also different areas that are marketing their healthcare products. There are drug companies developing commercials and other advertisements that paint a vivid picture of the ailments their drug can alleviate or prevent while in the same advertisement they guide the consumer on the actions they need to take to ask their doctor about the specific symptoms.  Health insurance agencies have a different approach in that they push preventative maintenance because a healthy individual without chronic need for medical assistance does not put a financial burden on the insurance company’s bottom line.  Advertising through social media, pamphlets and sponsored events to get health screenings to prevent costly medical expenses is money well invested to potentially prevent larger costs down the road.

With drug companies pushing their products and health insurance companies trying to sell their insurance but prevent its use it all comes down to how the consumer takes action.  There is a shift from how insurance and healthcare was presented in prior generations to a new consumer-driven healthcare where the consumer chooses their healthcare options just as they would choose a home or a new car.  With this type of flexibility and opportunities, the healthcare marketing model has changed to pull in those consumers. Nevertheless, it is still considered as a point of weakness as it fails to address the actual needs of the public.

Strengths

The strengths of the product revolve around the quality of the product, the branding strategy and the labor force on both the healthcare supply and service. Hence, product development and improvement is one of the opportunities healthcare organizations are aiming to accomplish. The quality of the product ensures that the end good is reliable, functional and provides the level of customer satisfaction that builds client loyalty. For instance, the branding of the company provides an entry into the market that sets the product apart from the competitors which is important in the highly competitive market place.  The labor force is focused on quality and takes pride in their work.  This includes the entire product chain from the source material to the final construction and sale of the item.  Each step ensures a value add to the product that is valued by the customer.

Weaknesses

The weaknesses revolve around high pricing, limited promotions, hindered creativity and design.  The price of the product is slightly higher than the competitors and focusing on promotions does not correlate with the current business model.  The ability to push creative ideas from the ideation creation to implementation is hindered due to bureaucracy.  While there are weaknesses there are still opportunities.

Opportunities

These opportunities include an increasing demand for the product, large target market and increased efficiencies of the supply chain.  The demand allows for continued sales and allows for resources to be focused on retaining the quality of the product while also trying reducing the cost from the supply chain by increased efficiencies in the areas of lean management and six sigma opportunities.  The threats to the product are the increased amount of competitors vying for a piece of the target market and the increasing costs of manufacturing.  The increased competition will drive change to adapt and reduce cost while maintaining or creating value in the product and a focus on reducing the increasing cost of manufacturing by becoming less wasteful in the process is a necessity.

Threats

Risk is the possibility of a deviation from the expected result.  Many people that are monitoring, controlling, reviewing or evaluating risk associate risk as a potential loss or a type of undesirable outcome to an intended plan, project, process or system. The result of a risk can be associated to specific outcomes or costs associated with the risk.  This is heavily dependent upon the variables of the risk such as probability or likelihood of occurrence, level of deviation from the intended plan and the breadth or impact of the risk.  A risk that could shut down the entire facility working on the project would have a high level of deviation from the objective but it may also have a very low likelihood of occurrence.  Another risk may be schedule slips due to a project’s dependence on overseas resources and their holiday/work schedule is misaligned with the headquarters implementing the project.  This type of risk does not have the high level of project plan deviation that a facility shut down has but it has a higher likelihood of occurrence.  Each would be measured, monitored and controlled through different types of risk mitigation.  Assessing risk entails assessing the probability of a specific outcome to occur.

Reflection and Summary

This assessment can be accomplished through the application of the basic probability theory.  This theory is a mathematical theory that models specific events with different variables or risks to the outcome.  This theory allows the user to derive outcomes based on the inputs of variables to the situation.  This is extremely useful when trying to develop a picture of what could potentially occur when multiple risks are associated to the same project. With any type of project management activities in which risk is defined it then needs to be measured in both a qualitative and quantitative perspectives.  When measuring risk there are the two different areas of measure.  There are also different tools for measuring the types of risks and inputting those results into the project.  For qualitative risk management the first important tool is the risk management plan.  This pulls together all the findings, risks, mitigation plan, and other pertinent information required for the project team to perform their duties regarding to project scope, schedule and cost. Quantitative risk analysis helps assign specific values to risks and this is normally in either cost values or time values.  The value of the risk also plays into the risk mitigation plan and depending on the cost or schedule impact the amount of effort to mitigate the risk.

In this discussion, the function of the three institutions being observed has been recognized to be fully related to the overall function of healthcare in the public. Serving the needs of the population and giving them a better chance at distinctively embracing their role as the provider of health competence in the society allows them to become more effective in proving their organizational capacities. This improvement in operations could be seen especially through the ways they disseminate and apply healthcare operations that are sure to assist the public in their quest towards living healthier lives. The products released in the market, including medicines and insurance policies are all related to how the public could gain access to better healthcare assistance programs are all part of the system of healthcare. The way the institutions involve themselves in the acceptance of such programs for the sake of improving the way they serve the needs of the public is considered as the value for measurement that could be used to scale the concern the institutions have in protecting the public’s welfare in relation to healthcare concerns.

Conclusion

Among the three organizations presented and examined, the NY Presbyterian Healthcare System appears to be on the top level of being considered as the top performer in the field of healthcare compared to the two counterparts noted herein. The reason for this is the fact that being a community-defined institution for healthcare, the NY Presbyterian Healthcare entails to make a distinct course of change and development especially when it comes to making sure that the people, including the poor and homeless ones get distinct support from the organization and the programs they offer designed to make healthcare services and products reachable for the less fortunate ones in the community.

Works Cited

Cooper, D. F., Grey, S., Raymond, G., & Walker, P. Project risk management guidelines, managing risk in large projects and complex procurements. John Wiley & Sons. (2005). Print.

Mootee, I., (2011). Apple – a rare case of sustainable competitive advantage. Web. http://www.innovationexcellence.com/blog/2011/08/24/apple-a-rare-case-of-sustainable-competitive-advantage/