How competitive forces mold strategy in academic surgery

Rankings

“…It forces them to make decisions that they all too often have avoided. It helps people understand that strategy is about choices-choices that purposefully limit what the organization does [3]. It makes it crystal-clear that the strategic plan should be tied to measurable goals and that the resource allocation process should mirror the strategy.…”

Editorial: The core of leadership

“…The amount of turmoil that has pervaded these mammoth institutions in the past several years has been enormous. 2,3 One of the criticisms directed at academic medical centers is that they have been slow to respond to this rapidly evolving health care environment. This sluggishness may be due in part to ineffective leaders who are still trying to run their enterprises by outdated methods.…”

“…A number of techniques can be used to conduct an internal audit. 3 The SWOT analysis is commonly used to assess the department's competitiveness by examining its Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. The chair can begin the process by conducting an inventory of the department's existing strengths (assets) and weaknesses.…”

Competing in the New Health Care Environment: Strategies for Surgical Oncology

“…2,11 The product of cancer research is knowledge, preferably knowledge that can be used to improve care of the cancer patient. Although an industry analysis is not the key to launching a successful strategy, an understanding of how these forces operate will help academic surgical oncologists favorably compete for funding and focus on producing meaningful scientific results.…”

“…In meeting these challenges, the most distinguished programs in surgical oncology will do three things well: 2 (1) they will build research programs that consistently produce new knowledge; (2) they will rapidly translate this new intellectual capital into clinically relevant technologies and services; and (3) they will make these new services available to cancer patients before their competitors do. Successful programs (i.e., those that do these three things well) will carve out a distinctive competitive advantage in the surgical oncology marketplace and will prosper at the expense of those units that fail to adapt.…”