Environmental Analysis of an Adult Day Care

Essay by siakajoeUniversity, Master'sA-, June 2010

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Abstract

St. Joseph Adult Day Care (JADC) is a hypothetical nonprofit family owned business founded by Caroline Sherman. Mrs. Sherman and husband Joseph will provide in-home care to these families allowing the immediate care provider a respite for the day or several hours to tend to personal business that otherwise could not be done because of the responsibilities and demands of providing care to their loved ones. Mrs. Sherman has been involved with the health care industry for over 10 years and holds a bachelor degree in health care administration; his husband Joseph, has been a volunteer in nursing homes over the period of her mother's stay in a residential home.

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Environmental Analysis of an Adult Day Care

According to Bryson and Alston (1996), the best way to carry out this plan is to use the SWOT methods which translate to Strength, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats. The provider must not only use this for the external environment but it is just as important to use this method for the internal environment of the organization or providers' office.

The SWOT method should be included during business planning because it allow for added value to the plan but also add creditability for the organization when applying for financing.

SWOT analysis is widely used technique through which managers create a quick overview of a company's strategic situation. It is based on the assumption that an effective strategy derives from a sound "fit" between a firm's internal resources (strength and weaknesses) and external situation (opportunities and threats). A good fit maximizes a firm's strengths and opportunities and minimizes its weaknesses and threats (Pierce and Robinson, 2005, p.166).

SWOT Analysis Worksheet

Strengths:

St. Joseph Adult Day Care offers:

Nursing care, home aid services physical therapy and trusted and offers quality care to clientele.

Weaknesses:

Lack of marketing and sales and not going after the available market segment, the Facility is antiquated.

Opportunities:

St. Joseph Adult Day Care location is ideal and it is on a bus route, the facility has the ability fro both employees and clients.

Threats:

Threat of competition from other adult day care

Strength:

The strength of the St. Joseph Adult Day Care is that it established in the community, offer nursing care, occupational therapy, physical, therapy, and home aid services. What is unknown about St. Luke Adult Day Care which in close proximity with St. Joseph Adult Day Care is if they are trusted and offer quality care to the clientele? Mrs. Sherman is unable to ascertain this information due to privacy and legal issues involved.

Weaknesses:

The main weakness of St. Joseph Adult Day Care it does not market the whole demographic; it concentrates on mainly on the black community even though its location is strategically located by the 14th Street Mall in Washington, DC which has a high traffic from a racial demographic groups. Another major weakness is that the facility neither offer seven day service, it operates only Monday through Friday and no holidays. Finally, St. Joseph Adult Day Care is using marketing to its full potential to tap the market of the aging.

Opportunities:

The location of St. Joseph Adult Day Care is ideal and it on a bus route, easy on and off interstate highway access allows for it to be easily found and recognized by clients and the community as a whole. The facility has the ability to allow parking for both employees and clients. Furthermore, the facility will be renovated and brought up to state and local codes that will offer a fresh and pleasant environment for the client. St Joseph Adult Day Care will have the opportunity to learn from the mistakes of its competition so that it can be competitive as well as take over as leader within the community when it comes to adult day care for the elderly.

Threat:

The threat from the competition is rarely unknown which in itself poses the threat. St. Joseph Adult Day Care will have to be in a defensive posture for the first six months to a year or two of its existence. This threat can also be seen as a catalyst to thrive to succeed in the community and get share of the market segment. However, St. Joseph Adult Day Care is in sense a no threat to its competition because they are already established in the industry and in the community and have a claim to the market segment. Until St. Joseph Adult day Care gets established and operational it must be assumed that St. Luke Adult day Care will not see it as a threat, however, as the market segment begins to shrink because of St. Joseph Adult Day Care impression on the market then it will react accordingly to the threat. Mrs. Sherman will need to remain cognizant this imminent threat to the business and have strategic plans to frustrate the competition when this does in fact occur.

Conclusion:

Sharma, et al (1997), proposes that business must incorporate into the strategic planning process to ensure continuity and stability operations when the time comes to put succession into action. There are four issues that need to be addressed with family succession: succession planning, succession timing, interest of the next generation, and who chooses the successor. The issues must all be determined and planned for while developing strategic plan for the family business so that goals and quality service and products are achieved and the business makes a name in the community.

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References

Bryson, J.M., Alston, F.K. (1996). Creating and implementing

your strategic plan. A workbook for public and nonprofit

organizations. Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco, CA

Pierce, J., Robinson, R. (2004). Strategic Management:

Formulation, Implementation and Control (9.ed.) Boston: McGraw Hill.

Sharma, P., Chrisman, J.F., Chua, J.H. (1998), "Strategic

Management of the Family Business: Past Research and Future

Challenges," Family Business Review, 10 (1) 1-35