Veterans Affairs Strategic Planning - Research Paper Example

and Any company, firm or organization that has managed to cut out a market niche for itself definitely needs strategies to keep it up, hence the dire need for strategic planning. A strategic plan greatly, directly or indirectly reflects an organization’s mission and vision statements. Simply put, it’s a combination of the goals of an organization, that is, what the organization hopes, plans and aims to achieve, and the necessary steps and actions that will be undertaken to achieve the targeted and desired goals (Simmerson, 2011). Many large and small scale organizations have strategic plans to guide them towards achieving their short term and long term goals, and the United States of America Department of Veterans Affairs is one of them. The Veterans Affairs department is the second largest, the largest being the Department of Defense. This department currently has an approximate number of 280, 000 employees (Longman, 2012). Founded over eighty years ago, this department has many roles and responsibilities, goals and objectives, all of them are centered towards the well being of USA veterans. This department, being a major one, operates with an approximate budget to the tune of $ 80 billion (Longman, 2012). The VA helps take care of veterans patient care, some basic family needs, compensation for those veterans injured during their line of duty, provision of education needs and provision of manageable home loans. The department also takes care of the veterans’ surgery and rehabilitative needs, funeral and bereavement provisions among others. The department’s short and long term goals demand a strategic plan. In the healthcare sector, the main short term goal is to be able to provide cheap affordable yet quality medication for the veterans. This definitely requires a very appropriate strategy, since the provision of healthcare is very vital to any country and its citizens well being (Panangala, 2011; Peter et al, 2013). The aforementioned operational activities form the short term goals of the department. In addition, it also aims at improving its service delivery, reducing the paper work and making disability claims easier for the veterans. The use of more specialized IT in the healthcare sector is also another goal of the organization (Longman, 2012). The department also has some long term goals, one of them being the goal to reduce and eventually get to zero cases of homelessness among the veterans. The department realizes that some of the veterans who spend their life fighting for their country, both from within and without end up being homeless. The department therefore has a vision that homes for the veterans will be provided and that 2015, the cases of homelessness will have drastically reduced. This goal is considered long time since it has been there for a long time, dating to as early as 2007 (Williamson, 2009). In addition to this long term goal, the department also aims at making possible the access of disability claim forms and information easier for the veterans. Through its proposed online portal, (PC@HAC), the health care branch hopes to enable the veterans check their legibility and their claim status online. This is intended to further reduce paper work and increase the efficiency in the department. Care for veterans who suffer from traumatic brain injury will also be considered. Any registered veteran who suffers from TBI and another five illnesses will be eligible to receiving disability allowance (Longman, 2012). The strategic plan applied in the Defense Affairs Department, especially the health delivering system is a very effective one. Records show that the department has been rated. The short term goals and long term goals as outlined by the department is intended to help the department achieve the success it desires. Strategic thinking and analysis shows that the veterans affairs department has organized its goals in a way that makes them not just realistic but also attainable (Kotler, Shalowits and Stevens, 2011). Records show that this department has been recognized as one of the most effective, and it recognizes the need for strategic planning. Years to come, there will be many more veterans than what the USA currently has, and the issues of patient care, rehabilitation services, and homelessness will be paramount. This is why the department has set its long term and short term goals as it has, to be able to take care of the veterans in the future. There are several key stakeholders that play different roles and contribute to the success of the veterans affairs. The Compensation Service is a major stakeholder. It enlightens the veterans of their benefits and helps in compensation of the veterans (Williamson, 2009; Panangala, 2011; and Longman, 2012). The Health Administration Centre provides patient care to the veterans. Majorly, the Ste. Anns Hospital provides this care. The education centers provide education to the veterans while the Vocational, Rehabilitation and Employment provides rehabilitative services, and ideas on self growth through self employment. Lastly, the Veteran Service Organizations help the veterans understand all their benefits, to them and to their families and spouses. The health care provision centers also works in collaboration with the many drug use and drug abuse centers (Longman, 2012) In the plans of the department, the organizational level is the most outstanding. There are many subdivisions based on what each goal is all about. For instance, issues and goal related to IT development in the company are handled differently from those relating to health issues of the veterans (Ginter, 2013). A good example is seen in how the organization partners with the stakeholders to increase their efficiency. At corporate level, the department also partners with United States Interagency Council on Homelessness. The two aim to work long term together to reduce the number off homeless veterans and eventually bring the cases to zero. On the competitive analysis, the department, fortunately or otherwise does not face a lot of competition from non VA service providers. This is because the department provides its services to its clients at a subsidized cost. For instance in the health sector, health administration centers under VA provide their pharmaceuticals, surgeries and others at lower costs. Insurance and Medicaid for the veterans also make it cheaper (Williamson, 2009). Compared to the non VA service providers, the VA service providers are the cheapest. The department also buys bids from multiple suppliers, commonly referred to as reverse auction, hence reducing the competition from the rest (Simmerson, 2011). The directional strategies appropriate for this organization should depend on the company’s goals, vision and mission. Is it to grow; is it to diversify or to cut costs? (Peter et al, 2013) With this in mind, it is evident that the three intentions lead in defense affairs department. The growth directional strategy however would be the best for the department since this forms the backboard of its existence and its future (Marcinko and Hetico, 2012; Longman, 2012). The growth strategy will be helpful in identifying and clearly laying out the goals, and allocating them a sensible and meaningful time span. An alternative to use could be the complex alternative sources, but this would not be as appropriate as the directional strategies. The value added services in the veteran’s affairs are somehow a part of their major roles and activities. The veterans however enjoy other value services such as specialized, yet cheap and affordable medical care. They veterans families also have a chance to benefit from the benefits allowances, including the access to healthcare. References Kotler, P., Shalowitz, J., and Stevens, R. (2011). Strategic Marketing for Health Care Organizations: Building a Customer Driven- Health System. New York: John Willey and Sons. Longman, P. (2012). Best Care Anywhere: Why VA Healthcare Could Work Better for Everyone. London: A BC-CLIO. Marcinko, D.,and Hetico, H.(2012). Hospitals and Healthcare Organizations: Management Strategies, Operatrional Techniques, Tools, Templates and Case Studies. New York: CRC Press. Panangala, V. (2011). Veterans Affairs: Healthcare and Benefits for Veterans Exposed to Agent Orange. New York: Diane Publishing. Peter, M., Ginter, P., Jack, D., and Linda. S. (2013).The Strategic Management of Healthcare Organizations. New York: John Willey and Sons. Simerson, B. (2011). Strategic Planning: A Practical Guide to Strategy Formulation and Execution. London: ABC-CLIO. Williamson, R. (2009).VA Healthare: Long Term Care Strategic Planning and Budgeting need Improvement. New York: Diane Publishing. Read More