SWOT and PEST Analysis Health, Medicine, Nursing Essay

SWOT and PEST Analysis
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
SWOT and PEST Analysis
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis is a planning technique that is used to evaluate an organization’s aggressiveness by determining what it can do or not do, as well as its potential opportunities and threats. Healthcare organizations need to incorporate this framework in their strategic planning efforts so as to fit in the competitive landscape. This is because the analysis will facilitate for uncovering of opportunities that would give a firm competitive advantage over its rivals. It would also enable a firm to eliminate threats that would have otherwise overwhelmed it. The strengths variable in SWOT represents the positive features that are within a firm’s control (Bull, et al. 2016). For instance, if a healthcare facility has adequate number of care providers who are well trained, that is said to be one of its strength. The weaknesses include features that could easily bring down the firm even though they are within its control. Such factors could include limited resources as well as offering substandard medical services. The opportunities aspect involves external factors which are an incentive for the firm to thrive. An example of opportunity in the healthcare sector is the increased need for quality and quantity care provision. On the other hand, the threats aspect represents features whose control is beyond a firm’s ability such as increase in the number of competitor firm’s providing similar services.
Political, Economic, Socio-cultural and Technological (PEST) analysis refers to a framework that is used to gauge the external environment of a business for purposes of strategic management. This analysis is necessary given that it provides details of the broader factors which affect an organization’s performance (Gupta, 2013). As such, PEST analysis is important since it enables a firm to foresee its future and identify possible obstacles early enough so that they can be factored in and circumvented should they occur. The political aspect in PEST is concerned with how the business’s operation would be influenced by the regulations of the government. Healthcare firms have to consider upcoming legislation and how they would affect their consequent operation. The economic feature factors in aspects such as credit availability and interest rates, both which are essential in paying for healthcare services. This feature affects strategic decisions of a firm since it influences employee’s salaries and a company’s profit margin. The social aspect is concerned with issues such as culture, population growth and client’s behavior. Firms should carefully make strategies that are in accordance with the community&rsquo...