Case Study: Akron’s Children’s Hospital

Management-Research Question Hierarchy for Akron Children’s Hospital

According to Blumberg and MacRae (2024), the management research question hierarchy is applied in business research to identify and address issues in business research. It involves six specific stages: management dilemma, management question, research questions, investigative questions, measurement questions, and management decisions. The research process is initiated upon the demand for a solution or decision. The questioning sequence is crucial in helping a research team look at various perspectives of the research question: Case Study: Akron’s Children’s Hospital.

Dillema Questions

Regarding the management dilemma, Akron is concerned about a drop in patients visiting the hospital due to the high competition in healthcare provision. The concern is that the hospital will suffer from financial losses due to the drop in the number of hospital visitations. Also, it is unclear what strategies competitors are using to gain a competitive edge, hence the need for a dedicated study to figure this out. Another dilemma that requires research is to find out why patients are visiting other healthcare providers and not Akron Children’s Hospital.

Management Questions

This stage of management research is meant to investigate the hospital and identify its specific characteristics and strengths. Key questions at this stage include;

• How can Akron Children’s Hospital set itself apart from competitors?
• What specific attributes of the hospital impact the patient’s decision and selection of medical services?
• How can Akron Children’s Hospital incorporate technology to enhance the quality of its care services?
• How can the hospital attract a high number of patients?

Research Questions

This stage of research questions is intended to investigate the overall market sentiments and how they influence patient rates at Akron’s Children’s Hospital (Blumberg & MacRae, 2024). Some of the key questions at this stage include the following;

• Is there a positive correlation between consumer choices and parents’ emotional drivers and perceptions about the hospital?
• What are the overall perceptions about the hospital in the healthcare market?
• What are patients’ satisfaction rates at Akron, and what factors are influencing satisfaction rates?

Investigative Questions

Investigative questions will help the healthcare facility conduct in-depth investigations of patient needs and develop tools to track these needs in the future.

• How do parents decide what facility to visit when their children require care?
• Do quality, financial, or any other factors influence the decision above?
• Which services attract patients in need of diagnosis?

Measurement Questions

• What differentiates Akron Children’s Hospital from other facilities?
• How can the hospital assess patients’ and parents’ emotional reactions when they visit the facility?

Management Decisions

The hospital’s situation demands weighted decisions from the management to help it gain a competitive edge (Blumberg & MacRae, 2024). One such decision is to build a distinctive brand with clear differentiation from competitors. Also, the hospital should adopt a proactive marketing strategy by informing parents of prospective patients that the hospital prioritizes quality care. Finally, expanding some specialities will contribute to improved care for patients.

Advantages/Disadvantages of an Observation Study for this Research

One of the advantages of using observation for this study is that it can provide a wide range of perspectives on patients’ behaviour (Boyko, 2013). For this case, observation will help the researchers identify the behavioural and emotional states of patients. Also, observation will help in providing rational and logical solutions specific to the Akron Hospital.

Further, observation will facilitate the identification of focus group features, which will help the hospital with targeted marketing in the future (Boyko, 2013). On the other hand, the downsides of an observation study for this research include its overemphasis on commercial interests over patient needs. Besides, the research is more focused on the market instead of looking inward to identify patient needs.

Brand Promise Recommendation

The brand promise recommendation shows the importance of branding in the healthcare sector. Branding will allow the healthcare facility to create an image that will attract and make it recognizable to clients (Evans et al., 2014). Notably, much trust is required for a brand to succeed in the healthcare sector. The Akron Children’s Hospital must portray itself as offering quality care for parents to entrust the hospital with the well-being of their ailing children.

Directing Researchers

If I were designing an observation study, I would direct researchers to be on the lookout for hospital services and patients’ emotional reactions. This will require a structured step-by-step process. Firstly, they should identify hospital specializations and services and compare them to market demands.

I would also recommend that they look at the hospital selection process and the criteria patients use to arrive at a choice. Further, sampling focus groups and conducting surveys about the hospital’s history, services, and promotional activities will provide crucial insights to improve the facility (Carlson & Morrison, 2009).

Ethical Issues

A key ethical consideration as the hospital conducts research is to uphold transparency. Transparency is meant to ensure that no patient’s rights are violated. Given that children are involved, the hospital’s case is more sensitive because they should not be used for research without their parents’ explicit consent (Wolf, 2000).

Another ethical consideration is paying attention to healthcare provision over commercial issues (Wolf, 2000). Moreover, researchers should avoid giving preferential treatment to high-income patients or those who offer charitable donations to the facility.

References

Blumberg, B., & MacRae, C. (2024). eBook: Business Research Methods 5e. McGraw Hill.

Boyko, E. J. (2013). Observational research — opportunities and limitations. Journal of Diabetes      and Its Complications, 27(6), 642–648. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdiacomp.2013.07.007

Carlson, M. D. A., & Morrison, R. S. (2009). Study Design, Precision, and Validity in             Observational Studies. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 12(1), 77–82.             https://doi.org/10.1089/jpm.2008.9690

Evans, W. D., Blitstein, J., Vallone, D., Post, S., & Nielsen, W. (2014). Systematic review of         health branding: growth of a promising practice. Translational Behavioral Medicine, 5(1), 24–36. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13142-014-0272-1

Wolf, L. E. (2000). Ethical issues in clinical research: an issue for all internists. The American        Journal of Medicine, 109(1), 82–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0002-9343(00)00465-4

ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE

We’ll write everything from scratch

From the Akron’s Children’s Hospital, Part A case, answer the following questions:

Each question must be answered using a peer-reviewed scholarly journal article as a reference.

Case Study: Akron’s Children’s Hospital

• 1. What is the management-research question hierarchy for Akron Children’s Hospital?
• 2. What are the advantages/disadvantages of an observation study for this research?
• 3. What does the brand promise recommendation reveal about what researchers experienced and concluded from their study?
• 4. If you were designing such an observation study, what would you direct researchers to record/look for/listen for?
• 5. What ethical issues would surface in hospital studies in general and this study in particular?