A little learning is a dangerous thing

Every generation needs a revolution - an entrepreneurial revolution

Rizal Philippines
January 13, 2018

The growth area in the economy is health care. The external environment, the PESTEL has favored that:

         1. Growing population;
         2.  More lifestyle diseases because of pollution and modernization
         3.  Philhealth and govt supoort for universal health care
         4.  Open loan windows from govt banks to groups wanting to put up hospital. Thus a group of 30 to 50  doctors can put up a hospital of 100 beds or more to the tune of  P300 to P500 million.

Land Bank finance ACE hospital project in Ilollo

       But this post sees problems dark clouds ahead.  While there are many successful hospital ventures the stories I have been hearing do not forebode well  for the future of many MD hospitals  Even while teaching at MBAH I have heard horror stories about the faults in hospital management by the professionals.

    Such was encountered by Ms. Rose Montenegro - Reyes in turning around  Makati Med. The MDs should be allowed to practice what they know best -  patient care and curing illnesses. About managing.... leave it the professional  managers and other technicians    The MDs as in their case  were responsible for bringing the hospital to the brink.

How Rose turned around Makati Med

    One of her solutions was to divide the management of the hospital between  that  of running the curing side, and administrative side..... MDs cure, managers manage  And thus she  was able to turn around Makati Med.

   Some MDs management run hospital on basis of democracy ie giving management responsibility to those whose expertise are  more or less in the MD side. and infighting or mismanagement allowing to prospper

  Some take up MBAH or even had MBA MD degree.  Let us just see what is going to happen in the long term.

The Case for Case Analysis

H de la Costa Campus, Salcedo, Makati City PHL  |  February 12, 2013

We had the second oral, individual only case analysis (not case discussion -  it could not be a narration).  Before, I disregarded case analysis in the entrep class;  it is a heavy stuff.  It calls for heavy listening, alertness, thinking and preparation.  As the facilitator, you think as hard as your student and you must be able to keep track of the thread of the analysis to clarify issues.

All the while, I thought that students who enroll in Entrepreneurship, after having undergone various functional areas training should be able to breeze a case analysis.


Some notes:

l.  It is not a narration or recitation of facts.  The student must take a point of view, a hypotheses and gather only or recite only the relevant facts.

2.  Focus on the situation and hypothesize a problem;  test whether that is really a problem;  go to the alternative and solution.  Mentally test the solution  -  is it realistic, is it good for everyone concerned.?  Is it the best under the situation -  the time constraints.  The problem should be tested  against objectives  - sales income, financial (ROI, efficiency, turn over etc)

3.  So it is always SPADA:   situation, problem analysis, alternative and decision (the solution)

4.  Focus on the big picture:  do not focus on the trunk, the legs or the ear of the elephant.  Look at the entire elephant.  Be systems oriented (what are the parts of the system? Read Breakthrough Thinking by Hibino and Nadler)  Your long training on marketing, finance, or HR can make you myopic.   Or focus on the bottom line (what is the bottom line)

5.  Debate and contrasts (from other students analysis) enables the student to compare his thinking and his ability vs. his classmates.

6.  Insights come out during the analysis. Therefore, when students raise their hands and are eager to recite and talk there are Eurekas and moments of insights lighting a hundred lightbulbs in their brains

This is a step further in becoming a master...MBA, a guru