Unit Three Case Analysis
Read the CASE ANALYSIS in Page 786 on "Kid Stuff? Determining the Best Positioning Strategy for Akron Children's Hospital."
Write a 3 to 5 Page paper (1000 to 1500 words) in APA format. Below is a recommended outline.
1. Cover Page (See APA Sample paper)
2. Introduction
a. A thesis statement
b. Purpose of paper
c. Overview of paper
3. Body
a. Discuss the role of qualitative research in gaining a better understanding of how households select a hospital for their children when in need of health care for acute cases?
b. Describe possible survey methods that Norton could request if he commissioned a survey in this case? Which survey method would you recommend and why?
c. Select which of the plans you suggest Akron Children's Hospital pursue- plan A, plan B, plan C, or plan D?
4. Conclusion - Summary of main points
a. Lessons Learned and Recommendations
5. References - List the references you cited in the text of your paper according to APA format.
(Note: Do not include references that are not cited in the text of your paper)
Kid Stuff? Determining the Best Positioning Strategy for Akron Children's Hospital
"I'm not sure we are getting anywhere in this meeting," Aaron Powell thought to himself as he pushed his chair away from the conference room table and slowly stood up to stretch his legs after an hour had already gone past. Powell, Akron Children's Hospital's (ACH; akron- childrens.org) marketing director, stood to gaze out the conference room windows onto the two ribbons of train tracks that curled near the hospital on the north side of this midsized city in Northeast Ohio. He was thinking about how rival hospitals, such as Akron City Hospital, Akron General Medical Center, and St. Thomas Hospital, had recently hired marketing directors like himself. The urgency to advance Akron Children's Hospital's market- ing effort was going to intensify in the next year.
Powell's meeting was going into its second hour. In addition to Powell, the meeting's participants were Mark Norton, the hospital operations officer (Powell's boss), and Janet Jones from the Cleveland-based Marcus Thomas com- munications and research agency (marcusthomasllc.com). One staff member from finance was there, along with the soon to be retiring public relations director for the hospital. In the past, both of these staffers would support whatever Norton proposed or liked. It now looked like Powell and Jones were on the other side of a divide about how to approach positioning Akron Children's Hospital in next year's advertising campaign. To make matters worse, Powell and Jones appeared to be outnumbered, and the tension in the room was palpable. "Let me read the research problem statement all of us revised in the first hour of our meeting," Jones said. "Akron Children's Hospital board wants the hospital to become the preferred hospital in the high-growth areas of the region. Accordingly, we are studying positioning possibilities, so that the board can select the best positioning for next year's communications campaign intended to boost the number of patient cases 10 percent in the following year."
"That's it. That's what we want," Norton said. "But I don't think we have to pursue a research project with a survey that just may lead us to reinvent the wheel-and for $60,000, too." "What wheel is that?" Powell asked, turning away from the window to face Norton.
"Aaron, you know as well as I do that this hospital is all about children. It's even in our name," Norton said. "Emphasize the kids. Whatever we do in the media should feature the kids. Just do some focus groups that will allow Marcus Thomas to get some ideas for their advertising about kids and our hospital. That should only cost about $20,000. But honestly, I am not sure we even need that." "Mark, remember that McDonald's tends to emphasize kids, too, but adults are featured in their advertising most of the time," Powell said. "Marcus Thomas needs to cover the entire range of issues families consider when choosing a hospital for their kid. If we miss something important, one of the other hospitals in Akron might claim they are the better hospital when it comes to this."
"Aaron is making a good point," Jones said. "Right now, we don't know which positioning would help Akron Children's the most." "So describe which paths we can pursue now," Norton said. "Plan A-do focus groups only, as you suggested," Jones said. "Plan B-do focus groups with a follow-on survey. Plan C-do a survey with follow-on focus groups. And plan D-do no research."
"So describe which paths we can pursue now," Norton said. "Plan A-do focus groups only, as you suggested," Jones said. "Plan B-do focus groups with a follow-on survey. Plan C-do a survey with follow-on focus groups. And plan D-do no research." "Tell me more about each of these," Norton said. "In plan A, Marcus Thomas would conduct four focus groups, with an average of 10 respondents per group," Jones said. "We'll ask participants to discuss their experiences while at a hospital. Participants will be required to be the primary decision makers for health-care decisions within the family and have a child-newborns to 18 years old-with an acute condition and who had spent at least 3 consecutive days in a hospital. Because most health-care decision makers within a family tend to be women, most of the participants will be female between 25 and 54 years old with one or more children ranging from newborns to 18 years old." "Cost?" Norton asked. "About $20,000," Powell said.