Health Organization Evaluation

Posted: January 5th, 2023

Health Organization Evaluation

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Health Organization Evaluation

Describing the Organization

The UnitedHealthcare Group in Minnetonka provides a wide range of health care insurance services and products. The firm that commenced its operations nearly four and a half decades ago is one of the leading health insurers in the U.S. and the world (UnitedHealthcare 2021). It was ranked the second healthcare firm in revenue production after CVS Health after it generated close to $257 billion in 2020 in form of gross revenue. In terms of net premiums, the company leads the rest (UnitedHealthcare 2021). Consumers can select various health insurance options such as UnitedHealthcare Select and UnitedHealthcare Choice that attract different rates (UnitedHealthcare 2021). Overall, the organization is committed to dominating the sector, which is why it continuously comes up with effective strategies to enhance its operations. 

UnitedHealth Group’s Readiness

UnitedHealthcare Group is committed to serving its buyers and other stakeholders in the most appropriate manner. It is why it develops initiatives it believes will enhance its activities and conduct its activities in a way that could foster improvement. The group, for example, employs advanced technology to perform most of its activities (UnitedHealthcare 2021). Technology helps the company improve how it stores and retrieves data about customers and facilitates communication with all stakeholders (UnitedHealthcare 2021). Besides, communication plays a fundamental role in helping to reduce errors. UnitedHealth Group’s readiness is also evident in its mission and core values. The company’s mission is to improve the functioning of the health system and enhance the overall well-being and health of those who have the chance to serve and the communities where they belong. The firm is dedicated to collaborating with health care experts and other vital affiliates to broaden the reach of quality health care (UnitedHealthcare 2021). Furthermore, UnitedHealth is ready to serve its customers and the communities where it operates by adhering to core values such as compassion, integrity, relationships, innovation, and performance. 

Strategic Plan

UnitedHealth should embrace a strategic plan that would help the company improve its handling issues about patient satisfaction, resource management, staffing, and network growth. A suitable option is to rely on a strategic plan with the primary elements of an effective strategic plan (Ugboro, Obeng & Spann 2011). The strategy should bring together vision and implementation. The program should be more specific than the firm’s values, mission, or concept (Ugboro, Obeng & Spann 2011). An effective strategic plan that would improve operations in the various areas is built around the firm’s market context and needs. Besides, an effective strategic plan that is likely to elevate how processes happen in the different categories should map long-term aspirations and give actionable procedures that promote the innovative practice and thinking (Ugboro, Obeng & Spann 2011). The company should also focus on building a strategic plan that can forecast possible shortfalls and have strategies for mitigating any adverse eventuality. 

Issues within Organizational Culture and their effect on the Strategic Plan

Several issues with the organizational culture could tamper with the effective formation and implementation of the strategic plan. One of the major concerns is that the company employs workers from different backgrounds (UnitedHealthcare 2021), which could create some differences in the way employees react to change. The diversity is likely to make a scenario where. In contrast, some workers embrace change, and others feel reluctant because they are not conversant with the newly adopted change or feel that they may not be ready to deviate from how they operate daily (Shahzad, Luqman, Khan & Shabbir 2012). In addition, the diversity is likely to create a scenario that affects the implementation of the strategic plan because some employees may not respond to change fast enough to yield the best results, which is likely to affect how the method influences organizational performance (Shahzad, Luqman, Khan & Shabbir 2012). A possible remedy to the challenge is to remind everyone to have the same views and aspirations despite diverse cultural backgrounds.  

The other issue within the organizational culture is that not all employees are of the same educational level, which could derail how everyone contributes to the plan’s success in equal measure. The division is likely to create a scenario where some workers contribute to the formation and execution of the strategic plan while others do not play very active roles (Nguyen & Nguyen 2016). The possible effect is that the outcome may not reflect what everyone expects or wants. Nonetheless, the management should not seclude the unlearned group in deciding on strategy formation regardless of the variations in education and training levels (Nguyen & Nguyen 2016). The company can address the issue by encouraging the training of its workers to ensure that they are knowledgeable enough to contribute towards organizational practices. 

Model for Implementing the Strategic Plan

UnitedHealthcare should identify a suitable model to guide its implementation of the strategic plan. The management should settle on an appropriate model because strategic planning is vital to the organization’s long-term prosperity (Flemming 2014). Using the suitable model gives a sense of direction and helps to achieve identified goals and objectives and make decisions (Flemming 2014). A practical model that UnitedHealthcare can use to guide its strategic planning is the goal or issue-based framework that requires the firm to consider its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats and effects of the internal and external factors in forming strategic planning goals (Flemming 2014). The model then requires the organization to formulate action plans and mission statements that guide it on developing each aspect. The model is suitable because it provides room for a follow-up program that monitors how the strategic plan performs and whether it guides the company towards achieving its mission and vision (Flemming 2014). More importantly, the model encourages implementers to create a budget that would enhance all activities.

Conclusion

The organizational evaluation of UnitedHealthcare Group reveals that the firm is well-organized on how to conduct its operations. The groups work hard to achieve its mission, abide by its core values, and invest in the latest technology, improving how it conducts its activities. Nonetheless, the company can elevate how it handles various operations by developing and executing a strategic plan that includes all the components of an effective strategic plan. The plan should focus on the company’s vision, needs, and market and facilitate how the firm achieves its long-term aspirations. The program should also help the company to identify potential future issues and take appropriate remedies. The company should also overcome problems in the organizational culture that could derail proper formation and implementation of the strategic plan, such as cultural differences and unequal education levels. UnitedHealthcare increases its chances of effectively implementing the strategic plan by following the issue-based mod

References

Flemming, P. (2014). A review of strategic planning models developed over the past 50 years, and their effectiveness in public sector organizations. Conference: International Conference on Leadership, Management and Strategic Development at: St. Thomas Virgin Islands, U.S. vol.1, doi: 10.13140/2.1.4314.7044

Nguyen, H., & Nguyen, D. (2016). Factors affecting business strategy implementation of Vietnam garment companies. International Journal of Business and Management 12 (1), 133-139. doi:10.5539/ijbm.v12n1p133

Shahzad, F., Luqman, A., Khan, A., & Shabbir, L. (2012). Impact of organizational culture on organizational performance: An overview. Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business 3 (9), 975-985.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328027871_Impact_of_Organizational_Culture_on_Organizational_Performance_An_Overview

Ugboro, I., Obeng, K., & Spann, O. (2011). Strategic planning as an effective tool of strategic management in public sector organizations: Evidence from public transit organizations. Administration & Society 43 (1), 87-123. doi:10.1177/0095399710386315

UnitedHealthcare. (2021). UnitedHealthcare. Retrieved 18 May, 2020, from https://www.uhc.com/