Assignment Details
Assignment: Strategic Positioning & Future Direction of a Health
Care Organization
Group Size: 5 students
Duration: 6 weeks (to be uploaded by 15th April 2026)
Deliverables: Report + Presentation
What This Assignment Is About
In this course, we’ve studied strategic management as a structured and
integrated process. Now it’s your turn to apply it to a real organization.
Select a real healthcare organization and develop a clear,
defensible 3–5 year strategic direction for it.
The objective is not writing a profile or doing a descriptive SWOT/PESTLE.
You are also not summarizing the organization.
You are looking at the broad question: What should this
organization do strategically — and why?
Step 1: Choose an Organization
You may select:
A multi-specialty hospital
A specialty clinic (cardiac, oncology, fertility, etc.)
A diagnostic chain
A public hospital
A telehealth provider
A healthcare NGO
A day-care surgical center
Etc
The organization must be real and currently operating. You can also select
your current organization.
Step 2: Gather Context Material
You are expected to:
Conduct 1–2 semi-structured interviews (manager, doctor,
administrator, industry expert)
You can use publicly available sources
Collect local service area information (demographics, competitors,
media coverage, policy context)
You are not required to access internal financials or confidential
documents.
However, all claims must be supported by either: interview insight, public
data and credible secondary source.
Report Structure (Keep It to ~18–20 Pages)
You must structure your report under the following five sections:
Section I: The Strategic Issue (15%)
What is the single most important strategic issue this organization must
resolve in the next 3–5 years?
Explain:
Why this issue matters now
What makes it urgent
What uncertainty surrounds it
One assumption leadership may be making that deserves scrutiny
Section II: External & Competitive Reality (20%)
Define:
The service area (geographic + service scope)
The 4–6 environmental forces that truly matter
Then:
Identify the top 3 competitors (justify your choice)
Map competitors across two dimensions that matter in this specific
context
Identify one structural opportunity or threat emerging in the service
area
Avoid generic textbook templates. Focus only on what changes the
strategy.
Section III: Internal Capabilities & Competitive Relevance (20%)
Examine:
How value is delivered
What the organization claims as strengths
What you observed or learned from interviews
Then answer:
Which strengths are truly competitively relevant — and which are
overstated?
Identify:
3 competitively relevant strengths
3 key weaknesses
Evidence supporting each
This is about judgment, not listing. Justify your judgment.
Section IV: Alternatives & Choice (25%)
Develop two realistic strategic paths.
For each:
Strategic logic
Risks
Resources required
Likely stakeholder resistance
Then Choose one option.
Be explicit about:
Trade-offs
What must be stopped
Why this option fits best given your earlier analysis
Hint: If your recommendation could apply to any hospital anywhere, it’s
too generic.
Section V: 18-Month Action Blueprint (20%)
Outline the following:
3–5 prioritized initiatives
Logical sequencing
Who must lead each initiative
One implementation risk most likely to derail the strategy
One early success indicator
Thin of the questions:
If leadership fails to manage this properly, what will fail first?
Evidence Appendix (Required)
Attach:
Interview summaries
Data sources
Competitor evidence
Demographic or regulatory references
Final Presentation
Be prepared to answer:
What assumption changed during your analysis?
What insight came specifically from your interview?
What is the weakest part of your own strategy?
If the environment shifts, how vulnerable is your strategy?
Evaluation Criteria
Weig
Criteria
ht
Analytical depth 25%
Integration of
20%
evidence
Quality of strategic
20%
choice
Clarity of trade-offs 15%
Implementation
10%
realism
Insight & reflection 10%
What Will Not Score Well
Generic SWOT or PEST or Poeter summaries
Description without prioritization and logic
Strategy without trade-offs
Recommendations without evidence or being very generic
Broad statements like “improve quality” or “expand services”
What is being Tested:
Your ability to:
Think strategically under uncertainty
Integrate multiple lenses
Make choices
Defend trade-offs
Translate analysis into action
Engage with real-world complexity