College for Public Health & Social Justice

Undergraduate Program in Health

Management

HMP-460.01
STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT IN HEALTH CARE
Spring, 2014
Syllabus
Wednesdays, 2:30-5:00 p.m., Salus Center, Room 1412D
Instructor:
Suzanne J. Wood, Ph.D., M.S., FACHE
Assistant Professor of Health Management & Policy
3545 Lafayette Avenue, Salus Center 378
314-977-8148 (office), 314-977-1674 (fax)
swood19@slu.edu
cell: 757-651-4897
Office Hours:
Wednesdays, 1:00-2:30 p.m., or immediately following class, Salus Center, Room 378
--OR with Teaching Assistant:
Teaching Assistant:
Adam Corrado
acorrado@slu.edu
Office Hours:
Contact by e-mail for appointment
Course Overview
Introduction:
Strategic management is the process of examining the internal and external environments;
formulating an organizations objectives in relation to environmental conditions; and
implementing action plans focused on achieving specific outcomes. The overriding goal is to

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optimize an organizations internal strengths and rectify weaknesses to take advantage of

external opportunities and minimize the impact of threats.
Strategic management is essential to health care organizations of all types because it:

provides organizations with clearer goals and direction;

focuses managements attention on proactive engagement with regard to opportunities
and threats amidst rapidly changing environmental conditions; and
enhances managements decision-making capabilities pursuant to environmental
conditions.

Course material in HMP 460 is drawn from an extensive variety of sources, thus the concepts
and skills learned will be widely applicable across different types of health care organizations.
The course will include a dual emphasis on foundational concepts and techniques as well as
specific ideas and developments occurring within the health care industry.
During this course, there will be numerous occasions when relevant research findings are
presented and discussed. The results of health services research are useful because such findings
help us to understand the importance of theoretical models in explaining variation in everyday
management practice. In addition, course lectures, readings, and cases will address different
aspects of strategic management. Finally, it is assumed that although strategic management
issues may be discussed in other courses, students will enter this course with divergent levels of
knowledge and skills; therefore, every attempt will be made to ensure students attain a relatively
uniform competence in strategic management.
Purpose: This strategy course within the BSHM program is designed to increase student
knowledge, understanding and analytical skills with respect to strategic management processes,
problem solving structures, and perspectives. It will require students to use knowledge and skills
learned from other academic courses in the BSHM program.
Course Description
Course Format: This course will be delivered in a presentation-discussion format. Proactive
participation in all class-related seminars and activities is expected. To prepare for each session,
students will need to have thoroughly reviewed assigned readings (text, articles, cases, etc.).
The focus of class sessions will be to summarize and clarify concepts and issues. Special
attention will be placed on the practical application of material presented, underscoring the
importance of strategic thinking in healthcare management.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this course, students will be able to:

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1. Evaluate the efficacy of various management concepts and organizational practices that
impact the process of strategic management in healthcare organizations
2. Apply management concepts and principles, including those associated with the
formulation, implementation, and evaluation of strategy, to the development of a strategic
plan for a health-related organization.
3. Appreciate emerging forms of innovative strategic thinking and the potential impact of
revolutionary change on health services delivery and management of healthcare
organizations.
Course Elements and Requirements:
Text: Ginter, P. M., Duncan, W. J., & Swayne L. E. (2013). Strategic management of health care
organizations (7th ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. ISBN: 978-1-118-46646-9.
Supplemental readings will be distributed in class and/or via SLU Global (Blackboard).
Grading Determination and Policy: Student performance in this course will be assessed
through: (a) three separate examinations, and (b) class participation. The exams will take place
in class, and will include multiple choice, matching, & short-answer essay questions that relate to
significant issues addressed in course readings and class sessions. (NOTE: Expect examinations
to vary in format and to include increasingly more complex material over time.) The final
examination may include material from throughout the course. Students will be given a rubric of
criteria by which class participation will be assessed based on the quality of student input into
course discussions and presentations, timeliness, and professionalism, all of which are integral to
the practice of effective health services management.
A students final grade will be based upon the following: Exam 1 (30%), Exam 2 (30%), Exam 3
(30%), and class participation (10%). Grades are not rounded up for the purpose of enhancing
the final letter grade.
According to the University, the final grades that are allowed are: A, A- B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D,
F and AF. The following grading scale applies to all undergraduate public health, health
management and emergency management courses in the College for Public Health and Social
Justice:
A 92-100
4.0
A- 90-91
3.7
B+ 87-89
3.3
B
82-86
3.0
B- 80-81
2.7
C+ 77-79
2.3
C
72-76
2.0
C- 70-71
1.7
D 60-69
1.0
F
Below 60
0.0

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In addition, students are required to earn the following:

Minimum grade of C in all 200- to 400-level BS in Health Management Major Courses

Minimum grade of B- in all 500-level BS in Health Management Major Courses
Minimum grade of C- in all remaining courses counting toward the total 120 hours

Feedback on Assignments: Timely feedback on assignments is needed in order to assure that

students are aware of their progress. For routine assignments, quizzes, presentations, and exams
feedback will be provided within two weeks after the due date. For longer assignments such as
term papers and PhD exams, feedback will be provided within three weeks after the due date of
the assignment or the completion date of the doctoral exam. In the rare event that these
deadlines cannot be met, students should be informed of the delay and the extra time needed in
providing feedback.
Attendance: Regular class attendance is an important part of ones undergraduate education in
public health. Students are expected to attend all scheduled class meetings.
Unauthorized absence is a serious matter and must be resolved to the satisfaction of the
instructor before a final grade will be issued.
Examinations are to be taken and assignments are to be submitted as scheduled. Students will
adhere to all provisions for make-up examinations and guidelines for the acceptance of late
assignments established by the instructor of each course.
The responsibility for making arrangements for excused absences, make up examinations, or late
assignments remains with the student.
Academic Integrity Expectations and Policy
You have completed the Academic Integrity module for the College for Public Health and Social
Justice, and signed the Honor Code Pledge. The materials in the Academic Integrity module
provide you with detailed information regarding academic integrity, as well as links to further
resources. Please make use of them throughout your studies and beyond. Violation of Academic
Integrity expectations and/or the Honor Code Pledge may result in severe
consequences/penalties, up to and including expulsion.
All students enrolled in the College for Public Health and Social Justice courses are also
expected to abide by and uphold Saint Louis Universitys Policy on Academic Integrity and
Ethics. This policy is reprinted below:
The University is a community of learning, whose effectiveness requires an environment of
mutual trust and integrity, such as would be expected at a Jesuit, Catholic institution. As
members of this community, students, faculty, and staff members share the responsibility to
maintain this environment. Academic dishonesty violates it. Although not all forms of academic
dishonesty can be listed here, it can be said in general that soliciting, receiving, or providing any
unauthorized assistance in the completion of any work submitted toward academic credit is
dishonest. It not only violates the mutual trust necessary between faculty and students but also

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undermines the validity of the Universitys evaluation of students and takes unfair advantage of
fellow students. Further, it is the responsibility of any student who observes such dishonest
conduct to call it to the attention of a faculty member or administrator.
Examples of academic dishonesty would be copying from another student, copying from a book
or class notes during a closed-book exam, submitting materials authored by or editorially revised
by another person but presented as the students own work, copying a passage or text directly
from a published source without appropriately citing or recognizing that source, taking a test or
doing an assignment or other academic work for another student, tampering with another
students work, securing or supplying in advance a copy of an examination without the
knowledge or consent of the instructor, colluding with another student or students to engage in
an act of academic dishonesty; and making unauthorized use of technological devices in the
completion of assignments or exams.
Where there is clear indication of such dishonesty, a faculty member or administrator has the
responsibility to apply appropriate sanctions. Investigations of violations will be conducted in
accord with standards and procedures of the school or college through which the course or
research is offered. Recommendations of sanctions to be imposed will be made to the dean of
the school or college in which the student is enrolled. Possible sanctions for a violation of
academic integrity include, but are not limited to, disciplinary probation, suspension, and
dismissal from the University.
Policy on Style for Citation and Plagiarism
The two key purposes of citation are to 1) give appropriate credit to the authors of information,
research findings, and/or ideas (and avoid plagiarism) and 2) facilitate access by your readers to
the sources you use in your research.
Quotations: When directly quoting an outside source, the borrowed text, regardless of the
amount, must be surrounded by quotation marks or block quoted. Quoted text over two lines in
length should be single-spaced and indented beyond the normal margins. Every quote must
include a sourcethe author, title, volume, page numbers, etc.whether an internal reference,
footnote, or endnote is used in conjunction with a bibliography page.
Paraphrasing or Citing an Idea: When summarizing an outside source in your own words or
citing another persons ideas, quotation marks are not necessary, but the source must be
included.
Plagiarism is a serious violation of the academic honesty policy of the College for Public Health
and Social Justice. If a student plagiarizes others material or ideas, he or she may receive an F
in the course. The faculty member may also file a complaint with the Associate Dean for
Academic Affairs, who will investigate and possibly bring it to a hearing, per College Academic
Integrity policy.
Generally speaking, the three keys of acceptable citation practice are: 1) thoroughness, 2)
accuracy, and 3) consistency. In other words, be sure to fully cite all sources used

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(thoroughness), be accurate in the citation information provided, and be consistent in the citation
style you adopt. All references should include the following elements: 1) last names along with
first and middle initials; 2) full title of reference; 3) name of journal or book; 4) publication city,
publisher, volume, and date; and 5) page numbers referenced. When citing information from the
Internet, include the WWW address at the end, with the access date (i.e., when you obtained
the information), just as you would list the document number and date for all public documents.
When citing ideas or words from an individual that are not published, you can write personal
communication along with the persons name and date of communication. Typical formats for
citing references and books can be found in the American Journal of Public Health.
Student Support Services:
In recognition that people learn in a variety of ways and that learning is influenced by multiple
factors (e.g., prior experience, study skills, learning disability), resources to support student
success are available on campus. Students who think they might benefit from these resources can
find out more about:

Course-level support (e.g., faculty member, departmental resources, etc.) by

asking your course instructor.
University-level support (e.g., tutoring/writing services, Disability Services) by
visiting the Student Success Center (BSC 331) or by going to
www.slu.edu/success.

Students who believe that, due to a disability, they could benefit from academic accommodations
are encouraged to contact Disability Services at 314-977-8885 or to visit the Student Success
Center. Confidentiality will be observed in all inquiries. Course instructors support student
accommodation requests when an approved letter from Disability Services has been received and
when students discuss these accommodations with the instructor after receipt of the approved
letter.
Additionally, if you would find it to be beneficial due to your course content to list specific
information regarding writing assistance for undergraduate students, consider including the
following:
Writing Services
I encourage you to take advantage of the writing services in the Student Success Center; getting
feedback benefits writers at all skill levels. Trained writing consultants can help with any kind of
writing project, multimedia project, and/or oral presentation. They offer one-on-one
consultations that address everything from brainstorming and developing ideas to crafting strong
sentences and documenting sources. To learn more about the writing center, go to:
http://www.slu.edu/academic-support/university-writing-services/about-university-writingservices