To any person considering the launch of an enterprise, the Shouldice Hospital story should serve as a refreshing reminder of how startups in any field - in this case, healthcare - can succeed with the right ingredients and passion to excel. This week's readings offer a brief summary of a successful startup that grew from an individual's (Dr. Edward Earle Shouldice) willingness to respond to a recognized need. Your challenge in this assignment is to develop a paper in which you apply the principles of capacity management and accurately reveal their reliance on forecasting based on the following scenario:
Generate responses to several categories of probing questions as a basis for discussion with two of your closest colleagues. The three of you are considering the launch of a start-up and believe that the Shouldice success story is relevant to your new venture. Since your findings will be presented in a practical format to enlighten the thinking of your two potential future partners, you may forego the formality of a case analysis in favor of a document that provides clear, accurate, and actionable responses to the questions listed below. If, during your writing, you discover additional areas of importance that are not triggered by these questions, feel free to include them in your paper.
- Identify three business components (within the broad categories of people, process/facility, or technology) that presented problems for Shouldice Hospital in the late 1940's. Define steps that your startup team might take to avoid similar problems when your service or product is launched.
- Determine the value of an accurate forecast in terms of its influence on quality of service delivery and/or potential growth to Shouldice Hospital. In what ways would an accurate forecast of hernia repair demand influence business decisions at Shouldice?
- How might Shouldice determine a practical limit to economies of scale? At what point should they decide to stop growing? What metrics should be monitored to determine that growth has plateaued?
Length: 5-7 pages, not including assignment coversheet, title page, and reference page(s). Use topic section headings for each of the questions listed above.