1. What are the key marketing decisions that Shouldice’s management has to make? Answer: The key marketing decisions are listed as following: a. Market expansion evaluation b. Advertising methods c. Weekend operations evaluation d. A succession plan e. The regulatory environment in Toronto f. Rooms g. Satisfied operators Analyses 2. Why do patients choose Shouldice Hospital over other hospitals? What are the benefits received by Shouldice’s patients that are different from other hospitals?
Answer: Patients choose Shouldice Hospital over other hospitals because the service they get from Shouldice is far away better than other hospitals. The benefits they received are as following: a. Appointments are driven by patient referrals. b. Patients are encouraged to self-diagnose to avoid a visit. c. The experience requires only one or two visits. d. A typical length of stay is about 3 days. e. All rooms are semiprivate, and patients are grouped with someone of like interest. f. Patients nearing discharge help orient new patients arriving. g. Surgery occurs on day 2.
h. Patients are encouraged to exercise regularly, explore the premises and make new friends. i. Professional (failure rate 0. 8 vs 10%) j. Low Price $2000 vs $5000 3. What are the key success factors of Shouldice Hospital? a. What is Shouldice’s target group of customers, who are they, and what do they have in common apart from a hernia? Answer: 1 million hernia operations in the US in 2000. Most commonly performed on males. b. What benefits keep the turnover of doctors and staff so low? Answer: The benefits keep the turnover of doctors and staffs so low are as following: ?
10 full time surgeons, 8 part-time assistants, 2 anesthetists on site, ? 30-36 operations per day. ? Each surgeon performs 3-4 surgeries per day. ? Salary is $144k + bonus (15% over competition). ? On call 1 weekday night in 10, 1 weekend in 10 ? Better quality of life than most surgeon schedule c. What are the key characteristics of Shouldice’s service process and design? How do they contribute to Shouldice’s success? Answer: Its unique service delivered by motivated and empowered staff in a friendly, comfortable environment.
Patients are viewed as the boss, so the patient experience is positive. Staff and physicians are treated well so turnover is low. Shouldice provides a unique service experience that distinguishes it from competitors. It’s a great place to work for healthcare professionals, so turnover is low. Production process is efficient and effective. Opportunities for growth are plentiful. 4. How transferable and replicable are the key success factors of Shouldice Hospital to a new location? Answer: With a backlog of 2400 cases and growing, Shouldice should seriously consider expanding.
Their unique technique is gaining in notoriety and improving in reputation. No serious effort has been launched to advertise, so expansion opportunities are strong. No formidable competition exists. Recommendations 5. What are the growth alternatives available to Shouldice? Which one would you recommend and why? Answer:The growth alternatives available to Shouldice can be stated as following: a. Local expansion b. Expansion within Canadian borders c.
Expansion into the US d. Global expansion I recommend considering becoming a teaching hospital to provide new revenue stream and spread the Shouldice technique around the world. As stated in the above key success factors, with a backlog of 2400 cases and growing, Shouldice should seriously consider expanding. Their unique technique is gaining in notoriety and improving in reputation. They can put more effort for advertising globally and selling their technique around the world by training their doctors and staffs. Meanwhile, no formidable competition exists, that’s ease the entrance pressure for global market.