Value Creation
1. it has been said that the rules for success are written outside the organization but com- petitive advantage must be found within the organization. explain this statement.
2. Why is value creation an important concept for health care organizations? is value crea- tion more or less important in health care than in other industries?
3. Which activities, service delivery or support, are more important in the organizational value chain? explain your answer.
4. Why is the value chain consistent with systems concepts discussed in Chapter 1? Why is a systems approach to internal analysis important?
5. Why is the concept of competitively relevant strengths and weaknesses so important to internal analysis?
6. What is the difference between an objective and subjective strength and weakness? give examples of each type of strength and weakness in a health care organization.
7. Discuss the resource-based view of competitive advantage. Why is it important to understand organizational differences when using this approach?
8. Briefly define what is meant by competitive advantage. Are competitive advantage and sustained competitive advantage identical concepts? Why or why not?
9. What are the differences between capabilities and competencies? how are capabilities related to both resources and competencies?
10. When searching for competitive advantage, which characteristic of a strength or weak- ness (value, rareness, imitability, sustainability) is the most important in health care organizations? Discuss your response.
