Assignment:

Exercises: 

What competitor information categories are useful in competitor analysis? Are these categories appropriate for health care organizations? How can these information categories provide focus for information gathering and strategic decision making?
Why is it important to clearly define the service area? How does managed care penetration affect service area definition?

Professional Development: 

Conduct a service area competitor analysis within your community. Keep it fairly small in scope (i.e. laser hair removal business, extended care facility for ventilator-dependant patients, etc.) so that it is manageable. Begin by introducing the macro issues (general and health care) and then use this outline as an initial guide:

Specify the Service Category
Delineate the Service Area. 

General
Economic
Demographic
Psychographic
Health Status

Perform a Service Area Structure Analysis 

Threat of New Entrants
Intensity of Rivalry
Threat of Substitutes
Power of Customers
Power of Suppliers

Do a Competitor Analysis/Identify Service Category Critical Success Factors
 

Competitor Strengths and Weaknesses
Critical Success Factors
Strategic Groups
Map Competitors
Likely Responses of Competitors

Identify and Map Strategic Groups
Provide a Synthesis.

Ginter, P.M., Duncan, W.J., & Swayne, L.E. (2013). Strategic management of health care organizations (7th ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.