NURS-6241 / NURS6241 / NURS 6241
NURS6241 Strategic Planning in Healthcare Organizations
Week 2 Assignment
Identifying a Strategic Plan Issue
To Prepare:
Consider any feedback you received from your Instructor and colleagues during this week’s Discussion.
If appropriate, refine your focus to clarify the strategic plan issue. Conduct additional research as necessary to support your proposed plan.
Use the Strategic Plan Issue Template, provided in this week’s Learning Resources, to draft your Assignment.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
By Day 7
Submit your proposed strategic plan issue for Instructor approval using the Strategic Plan Issue Template provided in this week’s Learning Resources.
Note: Your Instructor will need to approve your topic/need before you proceed with your Strategic Plan.
Submission and Grading Information
To submit your completed Assignment for review and grading, do the following:
Please save your Assignment using the naming convention “MD1Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” as the name.
Click the Module 1 Assignment Rubric to review the Grading Criteria for the Assignment.
Click the Module 1 Assignment link. You will also be able to “View Rubric” for grading criteria from this area.
Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My Computer button. Find the document you saved as “MD1Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” and click Open.
If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click the checkbox for I agree to submit my paper(s) to the Global Reference Database.
NURS-6241 / NURS6241 / NURS 6241
NURS6241 Strategic Planning in Healthcare Organizations
Week 5 Assignment
Strategic Plan Sections 1 and 2
Photo Credit: [Anthia Cumming]/[E+]/Getty Images
This week, you will submit the first two sections of your Strategic Plan, an introductory summary of the strategic plan issue and a SWOT analysis. Conducting a SWOT analysis can have tremendous value in preparing for planned change. Review the Strategic Plan Overview and Template in this week’s Learning Resources. This document outlines all project components and due dates, and you should draft all sections of your Strategic Plan within the template.
As you create each section of your Strategic Plan, keep in mind that all resources that you use should be documented in APA style in Section 9: References, however Section 9 will not be graded until it is submitted in Week 10.
Section 1: Summary of the Issue
To prepare:
Consider the information on strategic planning in the Learning Resources.
Review any feedback you received from your Instructor on your Module 1 Assignment. If necessary, continue to refine your focus to clarify the strategic plan issue.
To prepare your Summary of the Issue section, proceed as follows:
Investigate the background related to this issue. What conditions have contributed to this situation? Is there data (beyond what you identified for the Week 2 Discussion) that should be examined?
Conduct research to assess what has been attempted in the past, by various individuals or organizations, to address this issue.
Think about any broader issues that should be examined to better understand this issue. For instance, consider economic, political, and/or social considerations.
To complete:
Write a 2- to 3-page summary of the strategic plan issue. Include the following in your summary:
The strategic plan issue and how the issue’s need is evident in the group or organization.
The mission and vision of the group or organization. (Note: Be sure you have reviewed and implemented feedback from your Week 4 Discussion 1: Mission and Vision Statements.)
Background, including:
Data from historical analysis and forecasting to support the need for the plan
Evidence from the literature to support the need for the plan
Previous attempts by various individuals and groups to address this issue
Stakeholders that should be included in the strategic planning process
Section 2: SWOT Analysis
To prepare:
Conduct a SWOT analysis for your Strategic Plan, reviewing and incorporating any insights you have gained from feedback from Week 4 Discussion 2: Preparing for a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats Analysis. Identify two strengths, two weaknesses, two opportunities, and two threats that warrant attention relative to the identified strategic plan issue.
Reflect on how you distinguished between weaknesses and threats and consider whether the threats or weaknesses also pose opportunities.
To complete:
Write a 2- to 3-page summary that conveys the results of your SWOT analysis. Include:
Two organizational strengths
Two organizational weaknesses
Two market opportunities
Two environmental threats
An explanation of whether the threats and/or weaknesses may also pose opportunities
By Day 7
Submit the following sections of your Strategic Plan, using the provided template:
Section 1: Summary of the Issue (2–3 pages)
Section 2: SWOT Analysis (2–3 pages)
NURS-6241 / NURS6241 / NURS 6241
NURS6241 Strategic Planning in Healthcare Organizations
Week 9 Assignment
Strategic Plan Sections 3–6
Photo Credit: enot-poloskun / E+ / Getty Images
This week, you will submit the next four sections of your Strategic Plan. As you create each section of your Strategic Plan, keep in mind that all resources that you use should be documented in APA style in Section 9: References, however Section 9 will not be graded until it is submitted in Week 10.
Section 3: Goals, Objectives, and Strategies
Defining the goals, objectives, and strategies of your Strategic Plan will help to define the parameters of the project and give it focus and direction. A goal is usually broad and abstract, while an objective is specific and measurable. Strategies are the plans that will be used to achieve the identified goals and objectives.
To prepare:
Review information on goals, objectives, and strategies in Chapters 5 and 6 of the Martin text and in the other Learning Resources.
Consider if the goals and objectives are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound.
Evaluate how well the goals and objectives reflect the stakeholders.
To complete:
Write a 2- to 3- page summary of the goals, objectives, and strategies for your Strategic Plan. In your summary:
Identify the goals, objectives, and strategies for your plan.
Explain success in attaining each goal, objective, and strategy will be defined, monitored, and evaluated.
Explain how the goals, objectives, and strategies reflect the needs of relevant stakeholders.
Section 4: Proposed Core Team of Change Champions
To prepare:
Reflect on the results of your SWOT analysis (Section 2 of your Strategic Plan, submitted in Week 5).
Think about how effective stakeholder involvement would promote the successful adoption and implementation of your proposed change.
Consider the following:
What strategies would help you to develop a core team to generate buy-in for this change?
Which stakeholders should be included in the process as change champions? How and when should they become involved?
To complete:
Write a 1- to 2-page description of your core team of change champions. Include the following:
Identify internal and external stakeholders, and explain why they were selected.
Explain how stakeholders will be involved in the strategic planning process.
Explain how you will collaborate and communicate with stakeholders.
Explain how you will keep stakeholders motivated and engaged.
Section 5: Budgeting and Timeline Tools
To prepare:
Review the information on budgeting in the Week 6 Learning Resources. Which tools (e.g., Revenue Projection Model, Capital Budgeting Analysis, Depreciation Calculator, Profit and Loss Projection) would be most useful for developing your Strategic Plan?
Consider the feedback you received on your Week 6 Discussion posting.
Use one or more budgeting tools to outline the financial resources for your proposed change. Reflect on any challenges that arise as you evaluate the financial resources required for this change now and in the future.
Review the information on PERT and other timeline tools in the Week 6 Learning Resources.
Use PERT or another tool to analyze and represent the activities that need to be completed to successfully plan and implement your proposed change. Be sure to note dependencies (e.g., a task/milestone that must be completed in order to trigger the next step), and realistically assess the minimum time needed to complete the entire project.
To complete:
Write a 1- to 2-page description of your budget and timeline for your Strategic Plan. In your description:
Provide an analysis of the financial impact of your Strategic Plan. Provide?visual support (e.g., tables, charts, screenshots of Excel worksheets) for your financial analysis?directly within your template.?
Provide a timeline for the implementation of your proposed change using PERT or another timeline tool. Consider how your timeline can allow leeway for variance.
Section 6: Balanced Scorecard
To prepare:
Review your work on the summary of the issue and SWOT analysis from previous weeks.
Review the information about—and examples of—balanced scorecards presented by Dr. Carol Huston in the Week 8 Learning Resources in addition to the other relevant Learning Resources. Conduct additional research to see additional examples of balanced scorecards and to deepen your understanding of how balanced scorecards are used in various organizations.
Reflect on the comments related to balanced scorecards exchanged in this week’s Discussion.
Conceptualize a balanced scorecard that could be used to measure and evaluate the impact of your planned change on performance and determine if the costs are justified in terms of the outcomes. Consider what you would measure in terms of finances, customers, internal process, and learning and growth.
Think about how you would gather valid and reliable data.
To complete:
Create a balanced scorecard for your Strategic Plan issue. Directly provide the diagram/image for your balanced scorecard in your submission. (To do this, you may create the diagram in the template using Word SmartArt, or you may create it with an outside diagramming tool of your choice and copy and paste a screenshot of the image into your template.)
Then, in 1–2 pages, explain how your balanced scorecard could be used to measure and evaluate the impact of the planned change and how it could be used to determine if the outcomes justify the project costs.?
By Day 7
Submit the following sections of your Strategic Plan, using the provided template:
Section 3: Goals, Objectives, and Strategies
Section 4: Proposed Core Team of Change Champions
Section 5: Budgeting and Timeline Tools
Section 6: Balanced Scorecard
NURS-6241 / NURS6241 / NURS 6241
NURS6241 Strategic Planning in Healthcare Organizations
Week 10 Assignment
Strategic Plan Sections 7–9
Photo Credit: [maxuser]/[iStock / Getty Images Plus]/Getty Images
For this Assignment, you will create an evaluation plan, an Executive Summary, and a Reference List of resources you used to create your Strategic Plan.
Section 7: Evaluation Plan
To prepare:
Reflect on the elements of your Strategic Plan that you have developed thus far. Review the information on evaluation presented in the Learning Resources, and reflect on any insights you have gained from the Discussions throughout the course.
How would you evaluate the implementation of your Strategic Plan?
To complete:
Write a 1- to 2-page explanation of your evaluation plan. Include the following in your plan:
Explain what kinds of information you would use to evaluate your Strategic Plan.
Explain how often you would analyze the data.
Explain how you would monitor the goals, objective, and vision for your Strategic Plan.
Explain how you would keep stakeholders informed.
Explain how you would handle potential deviations or needed changes in goal or objectives related to your Strategic Plan.
Section 8: Executive Summary
An Executive Summary provides an overview of your proposed change and allows your target audience to become acquainted with the essential elements of the strategic plan. Your Executive Summary should be informative and persuasive, delineating the business case for your proposed change.
To prepare:
Review the information in the Learning Resources related to developing an Executive Summary.
To complete:
Provide a 1-page Executive Summary for your Strategic Plan issue that appeals to your target audience and presents key information related to your Strategic Plan.
Describe the unmet need you are addressing with your Strategic Plan and convey the urgency or significance of this problem.
Clearly state your proposed change and substantiate your recommendation.
Section 9: References
The inclusion of a Reference List not only allows you to credit others’ work appropriately but also provides the information readers would need to read resources of interest to them and learn more about the underpinnings of your Strategic Plan.
To prepare:
As noted in the Module 2 and 3 Assignment, you should have been documenting all resources used to develop your Strategic Plan.
Refine your Reference List as necessary, and add the resources you used to create Sections 7 and 8 of your Strategic Plan.
To complete:
Provide a Reference List for the resources cited when creating your Strategic Plan. (Your list should contain references used in all sections of your Strategic Plan, not just Sections 7 and 8.) Use correct APA formatting for the citations in your Reference List.
By Day 7
Submit all previous sections of your Strategic Plan, along with:
Section 7: Evaluation Plan
Section 8: Executive Summary
Section 9: References
The completed Strategic Plan will serve as the portfolio artifact for this course; however you will not be reassessed on previously submitted sections for your course grade. Your Week 10 Assignment grade will come from Sections 7–9 only.
