Question Description

Assignment 1: SWOT Analysis

The SWOT analysis is a major component of the strategic planning process. It provides leadership with an evaluation of organizational performance in relation to competitors and external forces. This evaluation helps leaders capitalize on organizational strengths and improve its weaknesses in order to differentiate itself from competitors. For this Assignment, you conduct a SWOT analysis for a health care organization.

To prepare:

• Review the Jasper Gardens Nursing Home case study in this week’s Learning Resources.
• Analyze strengths of the organization. Consider the following questions:
  • What does this organization do particularly well? Does it have a specific and recognized niche?
  • What resources does the organization have that might set it apart from its competition or position it for future growth?
  • What does the market perceive as strengths of the organization?
  • What financial considerations are relevant to its strengths?
• Analyze weaknesses of the organization. Consider the following questions:
  • What needs improvement within the organization?
  • What resource deficits might impact this organization?
  • What does the market perceive as weaknesses of the organization?
  • What financial considerations are relevant to weaknesses?
• Analyze opportunities of the organization. Consider the following questions:
  • With strengths and weaknesses in mind, what opportunities are available to this organization?
  • Are there current trends that might translate into opportunities?
• Analyze threats to the organization. Consider the following questions:
  • What competitive threats exist for the organization?
  • Do insufficient or outdated resources hamper the organization?
  • Are there any current trends that might translate into threats?
  • Do any market, regulatory, and/or legal issues present threats?

Note: Your Assignment should show effective application of triangulation of content and resources in your conclusion and recommendations.

The Assignment

Using the SWOT Analysis Template provided in this week’s Learning Resources, complete a 1-page SWOT analysis matrix. The matrix should include a bulleted list of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for Jasper Gardens Nursing Home. Synthesize the information you have gathered from your analysis so that each bullet point clearly represents the most significant considerations within each category. While this is a 1-page document that might appear to be simple, each point must be the result of deep and critical thinking.

Note: Your Assignment must be written in standard edited English. Be sure to support your work with specific citations from this week’s Learning Resources and additional scholarly sources. Be sure to follow APA guidelines for your citations, title page, and reference page. Your matrix, however, does not need to follow APA formatting. Refer to the Essential Guide to APA Style for Walden Students to ensure that your in-text citations and reference list are correct. See the Week 3 Assignment Rubric for additional requirements related to research and scholarly writing.

Discussion: Operating and Financial Performance Indicators

Health care leaders depend on sound operating and financial performance indicators to make decisions regarding working capital management, capital budgeting, and resource allocation. These indicators help organizations maximize performance and strategically plan for new initiatives. For this Discussion, you select a health care organization and examine how its leaders and managers use operating and financial performance indicators in their decision making.

To prepare:

• Select a health care organization and locate its operating (i.e., utilization rate) and financial data. You may want to use a not-for-profit health care system, as they usually post their annual reports online.
• Identify one operating indicator (e.g., length of stay, admission, etc.) and two financial performance indicators (e.g., cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable, short-term loans, etc.).

Note: For this Discussion, you are required to complete your initial post before you will be able to view and respond to your colleagues’ postings. Begin by clicking on the “Post to Discussion Question” link and then select “Create Thread” to complete your initial post. Remember, once you click submit, you cannot delete or edit your own posts and cannot post anonymously. Please check your post carefully before clicking Submit!