Assignment 1: Conducting an Environmental Analysis
Due Week 4 and worth 300 points
For  all assignments assume that you are the administrator of a fictitious  organization of your choice.  The organization can be any type of health  care organization such as a hospital, nursing home, rehabilitation  center, clinic, etc. As the administrator, you are faced with the  challenges of declining reimbursements from insurance providers and  increasing demands for patient services due to dramatic changes in the  external environment. Such changes include those imposed by the Patient  Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Your  first step in evaluating the position of your organization will be  conducting an environmental analysis. The purpose of this is to  determine your organization’s ability to continue to provide quality  care and remain financially solvent in the face of these challenges.
Write a six to eight (6-8) page paper in which you:
Determine two  (2) specific forces in the external environment that will have the most  impact on your organization. Provide a rationale for your decision.
Determine two  (2) specific internal factors that the organization’s leaders need to  consider in preparing for the future of health care and the future of  the organization. Provide a rationale for your decision.
Discuss the  impact of both the identified internal and external forces on the  organization’s ability to develop a competitive strategy.
Recommend one  (1) strategy that involves the organization’s managers in implementing  and maintaining the momentum of the strategic plan.
Use at least three (3) quality academic resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites to not qualify as academic resources.
Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
Be  typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with  one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA  or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional  instructions.
Include  a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s  name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover  page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment  page length.
The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:
Differentiate between strategic management, strategic thinking, strategic planning, and managing strategic momentum.
Analyze the significance of the external environment’s impact on health care organizations.
Examine the purpose and importance of service area competitor analysis.
Examine the role of internal environmental analysis in identifying the basis for sustained competitive advantage.
Use technology and information resources to research issues in the strategic management of health care organizations.
Write clearly and concisely about strategic management of health care organizations using proper writing mechanics.

The 1999 landmark study titled “To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System” highlighted the unacceptably high incidence of U.S. medical errors and put forth recommendations to improve patient safety. Since its publication, the recommendations in “To Err Is Human’ have guided significant changes in nursing practice in the United States.
In this Discussion, you will review these recommendations and consider the role of health information technology in helping address concerns presented in the report.
To prepare:
Review the summary of “To Err Is Human” presented in the Plawecki and Amrhein article found in this week’s Learning Resources.
Consider the following statement:
“The most significant barrier to improving patient safety identified in “To Err Is Human” is a “lack of awareness of the extent to which errors occur daily in all health care settings and organizations (Wakefield, 2008).”
Review “The Quality Chasm Series: Implications for Nursing” focusing on Table 3: “Simple Rules for the 21st Century Health Care System.” Consider your current organization or one with which you are familiar. Reflect on one of the rules where the “current rule” is still in operation in the organization and consider another instance in which the organization has effectively transitioned to the new rule.Post your thoughts on how the development of information technology has helped address the concerns about patient safety raised in the “To Err Is Human” report. Summarize how informatics has assisted in improving health care safety in your organization and areas where growth is still needed.