Shouldice Case

1 Model Shouldice Hospital as a processing operation with products, attributes and resources.

2 What are its competitive priorities?

3 What kind of market has it chosen to focus on?

Shouldice Hospital follows the business model of focus on a single standardized service for a narrow target of consumers, rather than to provide customized solution (as in a general clinic or hospital). It focuses on providing quick, convenient, and reliable cure for external types of abdominal hernias. The Hospital uses its own technique, called the Shouldice Method and claims to provide relatively short post-operative recovery period.

Shouldice Hospital focus on hernia repair surgery which is mostly performed on males. Shouldice operation strategy involves early ambulation following hernia repair surgery that was superior to others. Only external kind of abdominal hernias were repaired at Shouldice Hospital. Internal types, such as hiatus (or diaphragmatic) hernias were not treated. First time repairs (primaries) of hernias involved straightforward operating procedures that required about 45 minutes. Such cases represent 82% of all operations and remaining were patients suffering recurrences of hernias previously repaired elsewhere. The market was targeted by providing following services

1) The hospital promised early ambulation following hernia surgery. The hospital facility was designed to encourage movement without unnecessarily causing discomfort. Postoperative regimen designed and communicated by the medical team to patients

2) The Hospital provides free services to the clergy and parents of hospitalized children. Hospital provides annual checkups free of charge to its alumni mostly occurred at the time of the annual reunion.

3) The patients were attracted to the hospital by its reasonable rates compared with the total costs of operations performed elsewhere.

4 How does its operations strategy support its business strategy?

Shouldice Hospital had an excellent well-developed, focused service delivery system. The business