The great management thinker, W. Edward Deming, once said, “Any manager can do well in an expanding market.”

This point is absolutely still appropriate. The first impulse most managers have when faced with a challenge is to spend more money to address what they believe to be the problem. This may mean a new training program or a new technology system. Invariably, the solutions posed by most consultants are tied with some kind of expensive product or system. Too often, these suggestions are shot down by a Board of Directors or C-Suite  that are concerned with, “throwing good money after bad” or spending more capital with increasingly smaller returns.

In his excellent book, “Antifragile,” Nassim Taleb challenges us to think of this state as, “fragility.” Then, he presents two other potential states. One is referred to as a “robust” organization and the other is, “antifragile.” Both of these are organizations that are not so negatively impacted by market forces. This week’s video by Dr. Alan Barnard does a great job of explaining these ideas at a memorable talk at the 2015 TOCICO conference in South Africa.

Considering this challenge that we all face as managers and would-by leaders, what can we do to prepare ourselves for when the market delivers a challenging event?  Is your healthcare organization fragile, robust, or antifragile?

Most importantly, please identify 1 idea gleaned from this class that could be adapted into your professional context that would assist you in making your organization less fragile. Take that idea and make a workable plan (2 or 3 action items). Finally, conclude your discussion post with a question soliciting some additional specific ideas from your colleagues.

Expectations

Initial Post:

• Due: Thursday Midnight
• Length: 150 – 250 Words

Please watch the video “William Ury: Getting to Yes” on YouTube.

After working through this video, please provide a short analysis of this idea William Ury proposes of the “negotiation revolution,” especially as to how it works in concert with our week’s challenge in understanding what is healthy conflict and how to maintain it. Please work at least one specific quote out of this video presentation into your post and include a question that is designed to support your colleagues in responding to the ideas you examined in this video.

Expectations

Initial Post:

• Due: Thursday Midnight
• Length: 150 – 250 Words

This week, for your discussion board post, please compose a professional memo to your boss that makes a claim for how you as a future nurse leader would change the organizational structure and/or would help the organization’s strategic position to make a change in the healthcare industry. Support it within the word limit of the assignment using at least one quote that can be attributed back to a well-known management expert.

Expectations

Initial Post:

• Due: Thursday Midnight
• Length: 150 – 250 Words
• apa format and source no older then five years 

 Module Rationale 

The purpose behind the Applied Marketing Project is to enable students to apply knowledge and skills acquired throughout the course to an organisational issue or problem. This module serves as an integrating mechanism for all other modules as well as developing powers of analysis and evaluation and project management skills. This module follows on from the Marketing Analytics module that students undertook in order to develop the appropriate skills to complete an applied marketing project efficiently and effectively.  Overall Aim of the Module  The overall aim of this module is to enable students to critically evaluate a specified real-life Marketing problem in order to develop a range of potential solutions.  Specifically, the aims of the module are: • To introduce students to marketing consultancy as a key area of applied business activity and to enable them to acquire knowledge and understanding of some of the core areas of marketing consultancy; • To develop research and project management skills to enable students to conduct a marketing consultancy project on a real-life business problem area;  • To ensure that students have the necessary competencies to prepare a well-structured and well-presented marketing consultancy project report; • To enhance and further develop knowledge, intellectual, professional and transferable skills that will help prepare students for a career in marketing consultancy.  

Successful students will be able to:  1. Demonstrate knowledge and experience of the role of a marketing consultant and when it is beneficial to use marketing consultancy within an organisation 2. Critically evaluate arguments, assumptions, evidence and techniques to support conclusions / recommendations, while ensuring its reliability, validity, significance and investigating contradictory information to successfully complete an applied project 3. Demonstrate skills in management competencies such as project management, to successfully complete an applied project creatively within agreed guidelines 4. Successfully develop the ability to select and manage information, completely undertake reasonably straight-forward research tasks and manage own learning using a full range of related discipline resources.

Assessment Guidelines1.

1. A Consultancy/Project Proposal of 2,000 words setting out consultancy project scope, key deliverables, timescales and project management reporting methods. A project area and client/case study will be identified during week 1 of semester. It is up to you to secure a company to work with or a case company that you can solve a marketing issue for. 

Assessment Guidelines 2.

1. The assignment should the form of a consultancy report of 8,500 words providing solutions for a real-life Marketing problem, including recommendations. Report must set the context of the business environment and demonstrate a wide use of the management tools learnt throughout the course. These will be used to conduct the analysis within the company and develop the appropriate strategy that forms the solution. 2. During semester youwillbe allocated a case study project, you will be expected to solve a marketing problem for this company and produce the output as a consultancy report. This should include appendices of research and development you have conducted during semester.  3. You should include a 500-word reflection on your learning in this module at the end of the report. It should be structured using either Gibb’s or Kolbs reflective models.  4. Detailed guidance will be given in the live session in week 1 to provide samples and guidance on how to complete this task successfully 

Standard Assessment Guidance 

The following guidance is applicable to all coursework items.  1. Marks are awarded for content, quality of discussion and effective use of referencing. To achieve high marks, students will be expected to demonstrate a familiarity with the wider literature in the subject area, and not merely an ability to re-produce the lecture notes. Higher marks will also be awarded to students who provide strong evidence of analysis and critical evaluation of the various concepts and techniques identified and their application to real world situations. 2. Work should include references to journal articles and other relevant publications, and should be properly laid out using the Harvard system of referencing as indicated below: Buzzell R., (1968) ‘Can you standardise multinational marketing’, Harvard Business Review, (Nov-Dec) 46, pp102-113. Jeannet J.P. and Hennessey H.D., (2004) Global Marketing Strategies. 6th ed. Houghton Mifflin. More detailed guidance is available in the ‘Guide to Referencing in the Harvard Style’. We encourage you to avail of the Academic Support via the Library’s Support Service, further details in the Library Support Services Section. 3. Marks will be deducted for incomplete or inaccurate referencing.  4. Students may make multiple submissions in advance of the due date to receive feedback via Turnitin on their academic writing style (similarity score) and any potential plagiarism issues.  A similarity score of less than 20% is acceptable. 5. Students must adhere to the word limit policy so as to avoid penalties as follows: +10% – no penalty +>10% – 20% – 5% penalty +>20% – 30% – 10% penalty +>30% – 40% – 15% penalty +>40% – 50% – 20% penalty +>50% – maximum mark of 40 

Books Required (Must read) 

Wickham and Wilcock, 2020, Business and Management Consulting: Delivering an Effective Project, 6th Edition, Pearson Books Recommended (Should read/ Could read) Wickham and Wilcock, 2016. Management Consulting: Delivering an Effective Project, 5th edn, Pearson O’Mahoney, J., (2013), Management Consultancy, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press. Gardiner, P., (2012), Project Management (2e), Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Stokes, D. and Wilson, N., 2010. Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship, 6th edn, Andover: Cengage Learning EMEA. Turner, R., Huemann, M., Anbari, F. and Bredillet, C., 2010. Perspectives on Projects, ist edn, London: Routledge. Greiner, L.E., Olson, T.H. and Poulfelt, F. (Eds.) 2009. Management Consultancy Today and Tomorrow Casebook, 1st edn, London: Routledge. Useful Journals Journal of Digital & Social Media Marketing  Strategic Digital Marketing Journal of Interactive Marketing Journal of Marketing UsefulWebsites Forbes.com Gartner.com McKinsey.com 

Week 3 Assignment – Product Development

Health services continue to affect the gross domestic product, and this dramatic transformation has great demands on each dollar spent to deliver patient-centered products. Health care marketing must be repeatedly applied and practiced strategically to include environmental dimensions, such as technology, socioeconomics, competition, and regulatory.In today’s global economy, investors and potential entrepreneurs must tap into the so-called “unexplored” market. In this aspect, health care establishments must use marketing, advertising, as well as sales strategies when pursuing new customers. For example, suppose a health care investor wanted to build a small hospital in a rural community—this would entail exploration and logistical experimentation to determine who will patronize the facility. In an impoverished neighborhood, the feasibility of having lucrative profits may see diminishing returns, and so the venture may be not worth the effort. Also, suppose that the potential investor wants to sell mosquito deterrents (such as bedside netting in malaria-infested regions of Asia or Africa). In that case, it would be wise to investigate the number of beds that are in the village, and who would be willing to purchase them. These activities consider the investor portfolio, as well as the feasibility of marketing and selling the product. Such exploration also examines competitors, cultural differences, and—most important—identification of the customer.Using the health care organization you identified in the learning activity last week, determine its product development practices. Use the concepts from previous weeks to substantiate information, as needed. You may develop the discussion based on the ideas presented here, but feel free to inject any relevant marketing strategy that you believe might support your presentation.Write a 3–4 page paper in which you:

1. Justify the purpose of the selected health care establishments’ product(s) / service (s) and their associated life cycle(s).
2. Suggest one strategy to improve the marketing mix of the selected health care establishment. Support your strategy by highlighting one benefit of portfolio analysis and providing two examples that display differential advantages.
3. Discuss the impact of possible economic decline on product-market expansion and how it can affect business planning based on global operating environment.
4. Assess the importance of technology in providing patients with clear and accessible information about health care organizations and the product(s)/service(s) that they provide.
5. Use 3–4 sources to support your writing. Choose sources that are credible, relevant, and appropriate. Cite each source listed on your source page at least one time within your assignment. For help with research, writing, and citation, access the library or review library guides.

This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards. For assistance and information, please refer to the Strayer Writing Standards link in the left-hand menu of your course. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.The specific course learning outcome associated with this assignment is:

• Propose product development strategies for a health care organization that impact the marketing mix, the use of technology, and marketing research.