The final project for this course is a written proposal.
While healthcare organizations differ greatly, managers in various departments of organizations must propose changes. Some changes managers might propose include updating processes, buying new equipment, and hiring employees. Managers also propose many other changes to executives and boards for approval. For this course, you will place yourself in the role of a manager in an organization of your choice. You will create a written proposal that will add value to an organization and will impact the budget. This may come in the form of adding updated equipment, changing a process to become more streamlined, and so on. You will be submitting your proposal to your instructor, who will be playing the roles of CEO and budgetary board, for consideration. This assessment requires you to defend the value added and the financial impacts to the organization that you outline in your proposal. Defending a proposal is a skill you can use in your future career.
You will select your organization from the list provided in the Milestone Two Guidelines and Rubric document. You also have the option of selecting your place of employment within healthcare as approved by your instructor. If you choose your own place of employment, you must ensure that sufficient financial information is available to support your work on this project.
The project is divided into four milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules Two, Three, Four, and Six. The final project will be submitted in Module Seven.
In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:
Articulate key managerial accounting principles in healthcare using appropriate terminology
Determine financial impacts in healthcare by analyzing major forces affecting the delivery of health services
Utilize financial statements to inform short- and long-term strategic planning
Craft high-level proposals that address budgeting consideration by justifying spending for healthcare services
Prompt
Your proposal report should answer the following prompt: Considering the major forces in healthcare today, what improvements or changes would you propose for your selected organization? How would your proposal add value to the organization, and what impact would your proposal have in terms of the financial and budgetary considerations?
The proposal that you are creating may require you to address these aspects in a different order. Please organize your report in the manner that seems the most logical for your topic.
Specifically, you must address the following rubric criteria:
Introduction
What are the major forces affecting the delivery of healthcare today? Discuss these forces and their corresponding impacts on today’s healthcare environment.
Impact of Forces: What healthcare service and delivery opportunities and challenges exist because of the forces discussed above? Define the challenges and opportunities that exist for today’s healthcare leaders.
Opportunities: Based on your analysis of the major forces, impacts, and opportunities provided, consider the specific organization that you selected. What opportunities exist for this organization, and how do these opportunities relate to the big-picture view of healthcare?
Proposal: What is your proposal for addressing identified issues or improvements within your organization? In other words, what changes are you trying to incorporate in your selected organization?
Financial and Budgetary Considerations
Financial Statements: What financial statements will you utilize in making your proposal, and how will you use these statements?
Proposal Impact: What impact will your proposal have on the organization’s financial statements? Articulate the impact using appropriate terminology.
Flexed Versus Fixed: How would your proposal be different if using a flexed budget versus a fixed budget? In other words, how would the use of one type of budget versus the other impact your proposal, and how would your proposal impact the budget? (Evaluate the differences between a fixed and a flexed budget.)
Proposal Justification
Ratio Selection: What ratios will you use to support your proposal and why? Select the ratio or ratios that would be the most appropriate.
Ratio Results: Calculate the selected ratios and articulate the results using accurate terminology. What do the results tell you about the viability of your proposal?
Short- and Long-Term Impact: Based on your calculations and financial statement analysis, determine the short-term and long-term impact on the organization and the organization’s financials. What is the short-term and long-term financial impact of your proposal for the organization? How can you plan to strategically mitigate the impact on the financials of the company, or how will your proposal help inform strategic planning in the short and long term?
Closing Statement/ Conclusion
Added Value: What value will your proposal add to the organization? Justify the value or improvement your proposal will add for the organization, in consideration of trends in healthcare.
Justification of Proposal: How appropriate is your proposal based on your financial analysis? Justify your proposal based on the financials and budgetary considerations. If you feel that your proposal is not appropriate given your analysis, explain why, with support of your reasoning.
What to Submit
Your written proposal should be long enough to sufficiently cover all necessary material, including key budgetary information and any external resources used in preparation. The number of pages is less important than the content and organization of the report. Your proposal should be organized logically since it will be used to convince your supervisor and budgetary board (your instructor) to approve your changes. Your paper must use APA formatting throughout, including headings, references, citations, and cover page.
Final Project Rubric
Criteria Exemplary (100%) Proficient (85%) Needs Improvement (55%) Not Evident (0%) Value
Introduction: Major Forces Meets “Proficient” criteria, and discussion evidences keen insight into the current healthcare environment Discusses the impacts of major forces in today’s healthcare environment with emphasis on the effect on healthcare delivery Discusses the major forces in today’s healthcare environment, but not their impacts, or without focus on the effect on healthcare delivery Does not discuss the major forces in today’s healthcare environment 5
Impact of Forces Meets “Proficient” criteria and evidences keen insight into the greater environment of healthcare and the recent challenges and opportunities Accurately defines the challenges and opportunities faced by today’s healthcare leaders based on the forces in today’s healthcare environment Defines challenges and opportunities faced by today’s healthcare leaders, but with gaps in detail or accuracy based on the forces in today’s healthcare environment Does not define challenges and opportunities faced by today’s healthcare leaders 8
Opportunities Meets “Proficient” criteria and evidences keen insight into incorporating the big-picture views into organizational settings Translates the big-picture view of healthcare to the selected organization to identify areas of opportunity Identifies areas of opportunity within the selected organization but without the connective detail to the big-picture view of healthcare Does not identify areas of opportunity within the selected organization 8
Proposal Meets “Proficient” criteria and evidences keen insight into needs and opportunities within the healthcare organization Conceptualizes reasonable change(s) for proposal within the organization based on the identification of opportunities Conceptualizes change(s) for proposal within the organization, but changes are not reasonable or not based on the identification of opportunities Does not conceptualize changes for proposal within the organization 8
Financial Statements Meets “Proficient” criteria and evidences keen insight into the use of financials for proposal creation Identifies the correct financial statements and information for use in preparing the proposal Identifies incorrect financial statements and information or misses key financial elements necessary for preparing the proposal Does not identify financial statements and information for preparing the proposal 8
Proposal Impact Meets “Proficient” criteria, and articulation evidences keen insight into the nuanced impacts organizational changes can have on financial statements Clearly articulates how the proposal could impact the financial statements of the organization Articulates the relationship between the proposal and the financial statement, but does not correctly describe the potential impact of the proposal on the statements of the organization Does not articulate the relationship between the proposal and financial statements of the organization 1 0
Flexed vs. Fixed Meets “Proficient” criteria and evidences keen insight into the financial nuances of fixed and flexed budgets in healthcare Accurately discusses the differences between flexed and fixed budgets in relation to the proposal Discusses the differences between flexed and fixed budgets, but with gaps in accuracy or not in relation to the proposal Does not discuss the difference between flexed and fixed budgets 8
Ratio Selection Meets “Proficient” criteria and evidences keen insight into the uses and benefits of financial ratios for budget proposal Selects financial ratios appropriate for support of the proposal Selects financial ratios, but they are not appropriate for supporting the proposal Does not select financial ratios 8
Ratio Results Meets “Proficient” criteria and evidences keen insight into the use of ratios and financial terminology in healthcare settings Articulates the results of ratio calculations accurately using appropriate financial terminology Articulates the results of ratio calculations, but with gaps in accuracy or without use of appropriate terminology Does not articulate the results of ratio calculations 8
Short- and Long-Term Impact Meets “Proficient” criteria and evidences keen insight into financial and organization impact of proposals in healthcare Determines accurately the short- and long-term potential impact of the proposal on the organization and the organization’s financials Determines short- and long-term impacts of the proposal on the organization and financials, but with gaps in accuracy, logic, or detail Does not determine the short-and long-term impacts of the proposal on the organization and financials 8
Added Value Meets “Proficient” criteria and shows keen insight into valuing and justifying proposals for organizational improvement Justifies the value the proposal will add to the organization with support from trends in the healthcare environment Describes the value the proposal will add, but does not justify with support from trends in the healthcare environment Does not describe the value the proposal will add to the organization 8
Financial Justification Meets “Proficient” criteria and evidences keen insight regarding financial needs and justification in healthcare Justifies or denies the appropriateness of the proposal in terms of financial and budgetary considerations Explains the financial and budgetary considerations, but does not justify or deny the appropriateness of the proposal in terms of these considerations Does not explain the financial and budgetary considerations 8
Articulation of Response Submission is free of errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, and organization and is presented in a professional and easy-to-read format Submission has no major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization Submission has major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that negatively impact readability and articulation of main ideas Submission has critical errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that prevent understanding of ideas 5
Total: 100%
