Scenario-based strategic planning: A new approach to coping with uncertainty

Management strategies in hospitals: scenario planning

“…Strategic planning must be applied to enable hospitals to quickly and flexibly adapt strategy to changes in the environment that become essential to their success [ 25 ]. To achieve this task, a modern strategic planning tool is needed with strategic planning processes offering the alignment and integration of external and internal perspectives enabling hospitals and managers to plan for multiple outcomes and options and therefore provides a sound basis for facing increasing challenges or future scenarios [ 25 ]. Several approaches to scenario planning have been developed since the method originated in the 1970 [ 11 ].…”

“…The most recent one was published in 2010 and is a standardized one with a structured procedure allowing a quicker and easier application in practice and reducing the complexity of the planning process [ 25 ]. Figure 1 (Fig.…”

“…All of the worldwide acknowledged methodologies integrate the following influence factors: political/legal, economic, social, technological and environmental forces [ 4 ], [ 18 ], [ 19 ], [ 21 ], [ 23 ], [ 25 ]. These influence factors are examined to develop the so-called critical uncertainties and predetermined elements [ 4 ], [ 18 ], [ 19 ], [ 21 ], [ 23 ], [ 25 ].…”

“…Thorough identification of uncertainties must be based on a “Stakeholder Feedback” [ 25 ] (Table 1 (Tab. 1) ), designed as a questionnaire that integrates the following influence factors: political/legal, economic, social, technological and environmental forces [ 4 ], [ 18 ], [ 19 ], [ 21 ], [ 23 ].…”

“…These changes can be regarded as internal as well as external. This developing complex situation of the global health care business environment necessitates an even more thorough ability to examine the forces of change in order to find possible and plausible solutions to potential problems [ 4 ], [ 7 ], [ 10 ], [ 20 ], [ 25 ].…”