Hospital Corporation of America HCA

Hospital Corporation of America
Introduction
Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) is not only one of the country’s largest hospital companies, but it also happens to be one of the most notable healthcare services providers in the country. At present, HCA manages more than 170 healthcare facilities offering a wide range of services across the nation. This for-profit organization is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. It is important to note that to remain relevant in the increasingly dynamic healthcare industry, organizations such as HCA ought to have the relevant strategies in place to address the various needs of citizens going forward. This text assesses the readiness of HCA to address the healthcare needs of citizens in the next decade. The paper also compares HCA to Singapore Airlines in an attempt to evaluate its readiness to tackle inherent marketplace challenges.
Discussion
HCA operates outpatient healthcare facilities, psychiatric hospitals, acute care hospitals, and general facilities that offer a wide range of services including, but not limited to, emergency services, diagnostic services, cardiac care services, and therapeutic programs (Yahoo Finance, 2019). To be able to continue addressing the healthcare needs of citizens going forward, HCA ought to not only capitalize on the opportunities available in the healthcare industry, but also navigate emerging challenges in the said industry. Some of the issues that HCA must address pertain to patient satisfaction, resource management, nurse staffing, and network growth.
When it comes to patient satisfaction, the organization points out that as far as caring is concerned, its focus is on not only its patients but also on its members of staff (HCA, 2019). It further points out that it provides the necessary support to its employees to successfully execute their core mandate. In essence, employees are the most important resource any organization has. This is more so the case given that they are the ones who are charged with the actual realization of organizational goals and objectives. Thus, a motivated workforce is likely to be more dedicated. Towards this end, HCA employees are likely to continue diligently executing their roles so as to help the organization attain its overall objective of “delivering outstanding patient care” (HCA, 2019).
On the resource management front, it would be prudent to evaluate the organization’s return on assets ratio in an attempt to determine how effective the management is in the management of available assets to generate returns. Using the organization’s most recent financials, its ROA (computed by dividing HCA’s net income with its total assets) is 0.06 and 0.10 for 2017 and 2018 respectively. Thus, the organization’s ability to utilize assets to generate returns has improved within the two years under consideration. If this trend is maintained, the organization is likely to further enhance its resource management capabilities over time – a factor that could be a source of competitive advantage. It is also important to note that with proper utilization of resources, the organization will be in a stronger position to exploit emerging opportunities in the healthcare marketplace, and hence further grow its network. This is more so the case given that within the two years under consideration, the organization was able to grow its total revenue by 7.9 percent – from 16.2 billion in 2017 to 17.5 billion in 2018.
Nursing staff shortage has in some quarters been identified as one of the most challenging factors healthcare organizations have to grapple with going forward. The situation has been worsened by the aging nurse population. In seeking to wither this challenge, HCA recently pledged “$300 million for employee benefits that are largely designed to attract nurses” (Mincer, 2018). This move is likely to ensure that HCA retains its current workforce.

Singapore Airlines and Hospital Corporation of America (HCA)
Although the two organizations differ on some fronts, it is important to note that they share similarities in others. In essence, companies that wish to remain relevant in a competitive marketplace ought to be appreciative of change. However, the implementation of change must be a well-thought-out and deliberate process. Otherwise, without a good change management process in place, an organization risks collapsing the entire change initiative (Griffin, 2007). With reference to Singapore Airlines, the company sought to differentiate itself in the marketplace via the replacement of sleepers with a business class section and the introduction of slot machines on transatlantic flights. Based on the responses to these undertakings, it is clear that this was not a well-thought-out initiative. Changes of this nature ought to be preceded by sufficient research so as to determine the viability of proposed ideas. Otherwise, the obvious result of an undertaking of this nature would be resource wastage. This is a lesson that ought to be apparent to HCA. Going forward, the health care organization is likely to encounter industry-specific opportunities for change. In this case, care must be taken not to rely on assumptions to guide change initiatives. This is more so the case as the organization seeks to navigate emerging challenges in the industry. In the words of Jones and Recardo (2013), “logic, environmental scans, market research and other data can be used to show how long-held assumptions are holding the organization back” (117). This is a lesson clearly learnt from Singapore Airlines.
Singapore Airlines, like HCA appears to appreciate the value of human resources in pursuit of its goals and objectives. This is more so the case given that it has in the past implemented an elaborate recruitment and selection process aimed at obtaining only the best talent. It is important to note that although the said process has its own inherent weaknesses, it is a pointer towards the realization on the part of Singapore Airlines that employees are the purveyors of its goals and objectives – and hence they ought to be up to the task. Although the airline has in place an employee development program that comprises of training and continued development, no significant effort has been adopted in seeking to further promote employee satisfaction (and hence motivation) like is the case with HCA. In addition to its special focus on staff members, HCA has in recent times sought to further increase employee benefits in what is seen as a nurse retention strategy. This is one key lesson that Singapore Airlines could learn from the HCA. This is more so the case given that there are fears of a greater turnover rate within the airline as a consequence of its move to hire a young workforce. In seeking to ensure that those it brings on board stay for longer, the airline could embrace a number of strategies. Some of the most effective employee retention strategies that have been used by companies in the past include, but they are not limited to, employee recognition programs, provision of opportunities for employees to build their careers, salary/benefits increments, etc. (Griffin, 2007).
Both organizations must also seek to promote a diverse workforce. This is especially a weak point for Singapore Airlines. With a diverse workforce, both organizations can promote creativity and innovation because of the infusion of diverse ideas anchored on the different employee backgrounds. Also, the promotion of diversity tends to give an organization access to a diverse clientele. This is a factor that Singapore Airlines ought to appreciate as its bottom-line is likely to be enhanced even further if in addition to its significant Asian clientele, it is seen as being welcoming to clients from other races.
References
Griffin, R. (2007). Fundamentals of Management (5th ed.). New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Hospital Corporation of America - HCA (2019). Who We Are. Retrieved from https://hcahealthcare.com/about/
Jones, D.J. & Recardo, R.J. (2013). Leading and Implementing Business Change Management: Making Change Stick in the Contemporary Organization. New York, NY: Routledge.
Mincer, J. (2018). Hospital Operator HCA Spends Big to Keep Nurses on Board. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hca-labor/hospital-operator-hca-spends-big-to-keep-nurses-on-board-idUSKBN1I510F
Yahoo Finance (2019). HCA Healthcare, Inc. (HCA). Retrieved from https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/HCA/profile?p=HCA