Process Improvement Proposal Example Paper
Preparation
The goal of this assessment is to generate recommendations, in the form of a proposal for process improvement and organizational fitness. Make your recommendations for the organization you selected in Assessment 4 for the balanced scorecard presentation. Apply the concepts of balanced scorecards to create your recommendations.

Instructions
In your proposal, use specific language and include evidence-based concepts from peer-reviewed literature, including a minimum of four outside peer-reviewed sources. Communicate information and ideas clearly, accurately, and concisely, including reference citations and using correct grammar. Include the following in your proposal:

Describe the selected organization, including its vision and mission.
Analyze the company using any adaptation of the Kaplan and Norton balanced scorecard framework that fits your selected organization. Refer to the materials in the Resources.
Communicate vision, strategy, objectives, measures, targets, and initiatives for each of the following four elements through a macro-level discussion:
Financial performance measures.
Internal business processes.
Learning and growth.
Customer satisfaction.
Convey the organization\’s values through an ethical, organizational, and directional strategy.
Recommend evidence-based and best practices for monitoring and improving discussions.
Generate one recommendation for each of the following:
Process improvements.
Quality improvements.
Organizational efficiency.
Learning implementation.
Implementation and evaluation.
Additional Requirements
Written communication: Written communication should be free from errors that detract from the overall message.
APA formatting: Resources and citations should be formatted according to APA style and formatting guidelines. Use APA format for all of the following

Process improvement proposal

Background on Florida Hospital South (FHS)

FHS is a health care organization that is focused on offering medical services as a primary business activity. Located in Florida State, the organization first become operational in 1908 and has been offering medical services for approximately 110 years. The facility is managed by Adventist Health System, a non-profit protestant health care provider that operates medical facilities in the US. In fact, in addition to FHS, Adventist Health System manages 36 other medical facilities that are spread across twelve states in the US. Within the State of Florida, FHS is one facility among a network of twenty-five medical facilities (Florida Hospital, 2019).

FHS offers outpatient, inpatient and emergency care services. In fact, it handles 176,086 outpatient cases, 55,301 inpatient cases and 106,024 emergency cases annually. The facility has an operational capacity of 1,750 beds of which 1,414 are licensed beds while the remaining 336 are critical care beds. FHS employs approximately 8,000 staff members of which 2,000 are physicians. The facility’s vision statement is: “Improving Tomorrow, Innovating Today.” The mission statement is: “Extending the Healing Ministry of Christ.” The value statement is: “Florida Hospital is committed to providing quality care while reducing costs and confusion.” These statements show that FHS views patients’ needs in terms of care outcomes, quality and costs are primary concerns and not simply viewing patients as a logical business target (Florida Hospital, 2019).

The background information on FHS shows that the facility has extensive experience in managing external and internal mechanisms to address its business objectives while guaranteeing continued survival and functionality. As a medical facility with more than a century of operations in Florida, FHS is one of the oldest health care facilities in the US and plays a key role in the wellbeing, culture and history of Florida residents. Also, it is anticipated to continue surviving long into the future as long as it facilitates happier, healthier and longer living for Florida residents who use the facility’s medical services (Cherry & Jacob, 2013). In addition, it is evident that the facility’s focus should remain on meeting its patients’ medical needs through the provision of holistic care that always seeks to improve care outcomes through better management of the available medical resources. Overall, it is clear that FHS has the intention of delivering medical services as required by patients. Process Improvement Proposal Example Paper  This would assure patients that although achieving good health requires considerable effort, FHS eases that effort through the social responsibility of offering the best possible medical care to the community while also carrying out the duty of taking care of the patients (Weihrich, 2013).

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Strategic need for process improvement

Like any other business and medical organization, FHS understands that its continued survival depends on its capacity for growth and relevance. This is particularly true in the face of changing operational environments that include finances, patients and local community. As such, there is a need for the facility to develop and deploy a tailored strategic approach that maps out future management direction in the face of changing community needs (Marquis & Huston, 2017). FHS intention is to deliver safe and high quality health care in the face of increasing medical needs and within the parameters set by existing economic realities. This need highlights the importance of a strategic plan that would deliver a broad management roadmap for FHS, directing dynamic and integrated efforts from all resources. Ultimately, the process improvement simply focuses on making informed management choices on balanced frameworks to achieve the vision, mission and value statements (Mason et al., 2015).

Through adopting process improvement, FHS becomes better positioned to adopt relevant strategies and objectives that aid the facility in offering the required care in terms of quality and intensity. The process improvements creates a framework that guides decision-making on how to advance in the current business environment and be better prepared for the future. This is based on the awareness that FHS has a responsibility to make wise business decisions in terms of partnerships and investments to guarantee the continued delivery of high quality care as required. Through improving, the facility has a better chance of flourishing as an outstanding health care provider (Roussel, 2013). Although financial justifications take prominence in process improvement, the principles of quality, safety, transparency, ethics and fairness are also considered important in the process since they have an influence on public image, and help when balancing sustainability, access and quality with the intention to deliver effective and efficient health care (Ferrell, O., Fraedrich & Ferrell, L., 2016).

It is important to note that process improvement is best achieved through incorporating input from all stakeholders. In addition, its odds for success increase when FHS personnel are engaged to offer their dedication, commitment and skills in the implementation phase. Also, the objective of the improvement is to ensure that patients are assured of receiving required care and supportive services. Besides that, the process improvement is important since it offers the facility a management direction that improves the opportunities for positive growth (Masters, 2015).

FHS balanced scorecard

A balanced scorecard is a management tool that assigns business processes to four broad organization quadrants. The first quadrant is financial performance measure that evaluates the organization’s market share, revenues and costs, profitability and competitive position. It makes use of financial data to review business performance. An analysis of this quadrant with regards to FHS shows that there is a need for planning changes with regards to the organization’s financial viability as it relates to incomes and expenditures. The analysis reveals that there is a need to improve FHS market share by 7% over the next one year, improve revenues while reducing costs, improve profitability by 5%, and invest 10% of profits in research activities (Kerin, Hartley & Rudelius, 2014).

The second quadrant is internal business processes that evaluates the management’s performance with regards to translating policy and statements into practice. Analysis of this quadrant with regards to FHS reveals that there is a need for changes in administrative processes. The analysis identifies the need for implemented matrices to measure management process performance, improving service and productivity, and measuring operations (Kerin, Hartley & Rudelius, 2014).

The third quadrant is learning and growth that evaluates the facility’s investment in its personnel. This is based on the awareness that personnel are not only a knowledge repository for the facility, but they also influence overall performance through their experience, competence and proficiency. The analysis identified as need to improve personnel satisfaction, improve personnel retention while reducing personnel turnover, increase organization capability, and improve the organization culture and climate (Kerin, Hartley & Rudelius, 2014).

The final quadrant is customer satisfaction that acknowledges the importance of patients as key stakeholders. It notes that patients are the principal source of revenue for the facility, and satisfying them ensures that they are able to continually patronize the FHS even as they provide free marketing while influencing others do patronize the facility. Failing to satisfy customers can have a serious negative effect on FHS continued survival. The analysis identified a need to reduce patients’ turnover while improving retention to achieve 70% repeat patronage. In addition, it determined that patients’ satisfaction can be directly achieved through setting up a patients’ care center. Besides that, patient value can be increased by setting up a public relations office to communicate with the patients as part of the public (Kerin, Hartley & Rudelius, 2014).

Strategic recommendations

The strategic recommendations have been made based on the analysis results as presented in the balanced scorecard. To justify the recommendations and improve their understanding, they have been made in response to the four quadrants of the balance scorecard. The first quadrant is financial performance measures that identified a need to improve market share, improve revenues while concurrently reducing expenditure, improve profitability, and improve competitive position. Firstly, market share will be improved through aggressive marketing and introducing innovative medical services to improve public awareness of the FHS. This will cause more patients to visit the facility and increase its market share by 7% over the next one year. Secondly, revenues will be improved and costs reduced through budget reviews that identify the more profitable investment alternatives while cutting down on unnecessary expenses. Thirdly, profits will be improved by 5% over the next one year by reviewing the budget with this in mind. Finally, the facility’s competitive position will be improved by investing 10% of its profits on research activities that present innovative solutions to the existing health care problems (Kerin, Hartley & Rudelius, 2014).

The second quadrant is internal business processes that will be improved by identifying administrative aspects that require change. First, process performance will be measured through feedback mechanisms that use established communication structures to collect stakeholders’ opinions on the specific management aspects that require change. Secondly, services and productivity will be improved by subjecting personnel to annual employment reviews that are established in their employment contracts to ensure that the facility engages knowledgeable and experienced personnel. Finally, operations will be measures that developing and using metrics that focus on actual performance, such as nurse-patient ratios for each department and how long it takes to complete a specific medical procedure with a given number of medical personnel (Kerin, Hartley & Rudelius, 2014).

The third quadrant is learning and growth that will be achieved through focusing on personnel, investment in them and their value to the facility. This is because personnel influence how much knowledge is contained within the facility as well as performance in terms of meeting the patients’ medical care needs. Firstly, personnel satisfaction will be improved through implementing a feedback system to determine the issues they need addressed. In addition, their remunerations will be reviewed to reflect industry standards, workplace responsibilities and performance. This is anticipated to improve their satisfaction levels while motivating them to improve performance. Secondly, personnel turnover will be reduced and retention increased to ensure that the number of personnel who leave the facility (including retirees) do not exceed 4%. This will be achieved through the use of an entry and exit personnel feedback system that determines the issues that affect retention and turnover. This issues would then be manipulated to improve retention while reducing turnover. For instance, if personnel complain that the remuneration packages are low and they leave the facility to seek employment in other facilities that pay better, then FHS would review its remuneration packages upwards to ensure that personnel do not leave because of earnings (Kerin, Hartley & Rudelius, 2014). Thirdly, the level of organization capability will be improved by subjected personnel to regularly scheduled training programs that increase their proficiency, knowledge and skills. The training would also make them more familiar with the latest health care industry trends and technologies. Finally, the nature of the organization culture and climate will be revised to reflect the latest industry trends. This is based on the awareness that industry trends are intended to improve efficiency and effectiveness, and FHS can only achieve this through deliberate actions. The specific actions will involve acquiring and implementing the latest technological advances to augment personnel input. For instance, equipping each personnel with a communication devise that facilities access to health care records to improve their situational awareness of every patient’s case under their care (Kerin, Hartley & Rudelius, 2014).

The final quadrant is customer satisfaction that will be achieved through focusing on patients’ retention and turnover, patients’ satisfaction, and patients’ value. Firstly, patient retention will be improved and turnover reduced to achieve 70% repeat patronage by offering a wider range of medical services to ensure that patients have all their medical needs addressed within one facility. For instance, creating an imaging department (containing MRI, x-ray, CT scan and ultrasound equipment) to facilitate diagnostic efforts so that patients do not have to be referred to other facilities to undergo imaging procedures (Kerin, Hartley & Rudelius, 2014). Secondly, patients’ satisfaction levels will be improved by setting up a well-staffed patient care center that provides general information to patients while addressing their questions concerning the facility. For instance, interpreting facility specific codes and addressing complaints about services, personnel or a department. Finally, patients’ value will be increased through the creation of a public relations office that focuses on creating a good public image of the facility. For instance, the public relations office can make press releases concerning noted disease trends within the community and organize an open day to inform the public about the specific medical services offered at the facility (Kerin, Hartley & Rudelius, 2014).

The identified strategies can be summarized into four process improvement points. The first point is to increase the number of patients who visit the facility. This will be achieved through marketing activities that inform the public about FHS and the medical services it offers. Also, it would improve patients’ satisfaction by addressing their medical needs as expected. The second point is to improve personnel capacity through training, advancement opportunities, and improved earnings that motivate them to deliver the best possible care. The third point is to install modern medical equipment that complement efforts by medical personnel while addressing the patients’ medical needs. The final point is to improve strategic management efforts with focus on structure so that administrative efforts are aligned to link efforts with objectives (Winston et al., 2013).

References

Cherry, B. & Jacob, S. (2013). Contemporary nursing, issues, trends, & management (6^th ed.). Amsterdam: Elsevier Health Sciences.

Ferrell, O., Fraedrich, J. & Ferrell, L. (2016). Business ethics: ethical decision-making & cases (11^th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Florida Hospital (2019). Florida hospital system. Retrieved from https://www.floridahospital.com/about

Kerin, R., Hartley, S. & Rudelius, W. (2014). Marketing (12^th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.

Marquis, B. L. & Huston, C. J. (2017). Leadership roles and management functions in nursing: theory and application (9^th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.

Mason, D., Gardner, D., Outlaw, F. & O’Grady, E. (2015). Policy & politics in nursing and health care (7^th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.

Masters, K. (2015). Role development in professional nursing practice (4^th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Roussel, L. (2013). Management and leadership for nurse administrators (6^th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Weihrich, H. (2013). Management: a global, innovative, and entrepreneurial perspective (14^th ed.). New Delhi: McGraw Hill Education.

Winston, W., Stevens, R., Sherwood, P. & Dunn, J. (2013). Market analysis: assessing your business opportunities. London: Routledge.  Process Improvement Proposal Example Paper