Strategic management of health topics

This is the fourth of the series of short discussions on strategic management of health topics.

Discussion 4 – Strategic Planning

In this discussion, you are going to examine a case study on NHS Direct; a 24 hour/7 days a week health service delivered by and internet in the UK.

Step 1 – Read the following case study carefully:

Murdock, A. (2010) NHS Direct: Managing in Difficult Times. NHS Direct. (see attached files).

Step 2 – Looking at Exhibit 6-4 Strategic Thinking Map (see attached files) – Hierarchy of Strategic Decisions and Alternatives (Ginter, 2018: 211) and examining the case study of NHS Direct, in your opinion, which type of strategic alternative has NHS health service adopted in creating the NHS Direct initiative. In your response consider if it only fits into one type of alternative strategy or a number of alternative strategies? Why?

Learning Outcomes:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the key approaches, theories and concepts that inform strategic management.
• Critically appraise different schools of thought to healthcare business practice and strategic management.
• Critically explain and analyse a range of strategies linking theory to practice.

Instructions:

Post a 300-word response to the question above. Use an academic tone, be evidence-based and supported by relevant literature, using Harvard referencing. Please note that referencing is not included in the word count.