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At least 1,243 records · Page 69Linked to original sources
PubMed2006

When your contract manufacturer becomes your competitor.

PC maker Lenovo started out as a distributor of equipment made by IBM and other companies; now it has formed a joint venture with IBM and will eventually affix its own logo to its computers. Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) started out manufacturing vehicles for Volkswagen and GM; now it's preparing to sell its own cars in China, Europe, and North America. Lenovo and SAIC represent a host of formerly anonymous makers of brand-name products that are breaking out of their defined roles and pushing the brands themselves aside. In this article, the authors explore the double-edged relationships original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) forge with their contract manufacturers (CMs). On the one hand, an OEM can reduce its labor costs, free up capital, and improve worker productivity by outsourcing all the manufacturing of a product. The company can then concentrate on value-adding activities--research and development, product design, and marketing, for instance. On the other hand, an OEM that retains a contract manufacturer may find itself immersed in a melodrama replete with promiscuity (the ambitious CM pursues liaisons with other OEMs), infidelity (the OEM's retailers and distributors shift their business to the upstart CM), and betrayal (the brazen CM transmits the OEM's intellectual property to the OEM's rivals or keeps it for itself when the contract is up). OEMs cannot simply terminate their outsourcing arrangements--they need contract manufacturers in order to keep specializing, adding value, and staying competitive. But OEMs can manage these relationships so that they don't become weak or the CMs too strong. Doing so requires modesty about revealing trade secrets; caution about whom one consorts with; and a judicious degree of intimacy, loyalty, and generosity toward partners and customers.

Commerce↗
PubMed2004

Physico-chemical properties of a novel (-)-hydroxycitric acid extract and its effect on body weight, selected organ weights, hepatic lipid peroxidation and DNA fragmentation, hematology and clinical chemistry, and histopathological changes over a period of 90 days.

Garcinia cambogia-derived (-)-hydroxycitric acid (HCA) is a popular and natural supplement for weight management. HCA is a competitive inhibitor of the enzyme ATP citrate lyase, which catalyzes the conversion of citrate and coenzyme A to oxaloacetate and acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl CoA) in the cytosol. Acetyl CoA is used in the synthesis of fatty acids, cholesterol and triglycerides, and in the synthesis of acetylcholine in the central nervous system. Studies have demonstrated the efficacy of a novel 60% calcium-potassium salt of HCA derived from Garcinia cambogia (HCA-SX, Super CitriMax) in weight management. Results have shown that HCA-SX promotes fat oxidation, enhances serotonin release and availability in the brain cortex, normalizes lipid profiles, and lowers serum leptin levels in obese subjects. Acute oral, acute dermal, primary dermal irritation and primary eye irritation toxicity, as well as Ames bacterial reverse mutation studies and mouse lymphoma tests have demonstrated the safety of HCA-SX. However, no detailed long-term safety of HCA-SX or any other HCA extract has been previously assessed. We evaluated the dose- and time-dependent effects of HCA-SX in Sprague-Dawley rats on body weight, selected organ weights, hepatic lipid peroxidation and DNA fragmentation, hematology and clinical chemistry over a period of 90 days. Furthermore, a 90-day histopathological evaluation was conducted. The animals were treated with 0, 0.2, 2.0 and 5.0% HCA-SX of feed intake and were sacrificed on 30, 60 or 90 days of treatment. The body weight and selected organ weights were assessed and correlated as a % of body weight and brain weight at 90 days of treatment. A significant reduction in body weight was observed in treated rats as compared to control animals. An advancing age-induced marginal increase in hepatic lipid peroxidation was observed in both male and female rats, while no such difference in hepatic DNA fragmentation was observed as compared to the control animals. Furthermore, selected organ weights individually and as a % of body weight and brain weight at 90 days of treatment exhibited no significant difference between the groups. No difference was observed in hematology and clinical chemistry or the histopathological evaluation. Taken together, these results show that 90 day treatment of HCA-SX results in a reduction in body weight, and does not cause any changes in major organs or in hematology, clinical chemistry, and histopathology.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed2004

Making real options really work.

As a way to value growth opportunities, real options have had a difficult time catching on with managers. Many CFOs believe the method ensures the overvaluation of risky projects. This concern is legitimate, but abandoning real options as a valuation model isn't the solution. Companies that rely solely on discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis underestimate the value of their projects and may fail to invest enough in uncertain but highly promising opportunities. CFOs need not--and should not--choose one approach over the other. Far from being a replacement for DCF analysis, real options are an essential complement, and a project's total value should encompass both. DCF captures a base estimate of value; real options take into account the potential for big gains. This is not to say that there aren't problems with real options. As currently applied, they focus almost exclusively on the risks associated with revenues, ignoring the risks associated with a project's costs. It's also true that option valuations almost always ignore assets that an initial investment in a subsequently abandoned project will often leave the company. In this article, the authors present a simple formula for combining DCF and option valuations that addresses these two problems. Using an integrated approach, managers will, in the long run, select better projects than their more timid competitors while keeping risk under control. Thus, they will outperform their rivals in both the product and the capital markets.

Accounting↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The fall of the house of AHERF: the Allegheny bankruptcy.

The $1.3 billion bankruptcy of the Allegheny Health, Education, and Research Foundation (AHERF) in July 1998 was the nation's largest nonprofit health care failure. Many actors and factors were responsible for AHERF's demise. The system embarked on an ambitious strategy of horizontal and vertical integration just as reimbursement from major payers dramatically contracted, leaving AHERF overly exposed. Hospital and physician acquisitions increased the system's debt and competed for capital, which sapped the stronger institutions and led to massive internal cash transfers. Management failed to exercise due diligence in many of these acquisitions. Several external oversight mechanisms, ranging from AHERF's board to its accountants and auditors to the bond market, also failed to protect these community assets.

Academic Medical Centers↗
PubMed1998

Medicare's demonstration of competitive bidding for clinical laboratory services: what it means for clinical laboratories.

The purpose of Medicare's Demonstration of Competitive Bidding for Clinical Laboratory Services is to determine whether competitive bidding can be used to provide quality laboratory services at prices below current Medicare reimbursement rates. Here, we present key features of the preliminary design for the demonstration. The following areas are covered: scope of the demonstration, bidding process, selection of winners, reimbursement, quality, and administration and monitoring. The role of the Health Care Financing Administration's Laboratory Technical Advisory Committee is also described, and the future of competitive bidding in a Medicare managed care environment is evaluated. We close with some brief comments on how to succeed in competitive bidding for Medicare services.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S.↗
PubMed1991

Multi inter-organizational information systems: competitive strategies for teaching hospitals in the 1990s.

As the environment surrounding the health care industry has changed, the ability of administrators to manage these relationships remains very limited due to their ever-increasing complexity. These organizational relationships offer both challenges and opportunities for innovative strategies that address the issues of coordination and control. As these environmental changes take place, the application of information systems technology becomes more important for managing these relationships and achieving competitive advantages. A theoretical model is presented to serve as a basis for empirical investigations into the role of information systems technology in health care organizations--more specifically teaching hospitals.

Computer Communication Networks↗
PubMed1999

[The "Hersbruck Model". Application and integration of the DIN EN ISO 9001 quality norms with criteria of the European Foundation for Quality Management in a clinic].

The german health system has dramatically changed and still continues to do so. Modified aspects concerning economy, customer orientation, competition, quality assurance and quality management seem to be increasingly important. Appropriate response to this challenge demands a relevant adjustment of a quality "philosophy" within a hospital. The "Hersbruck Model" has proven to be a suitable approach: on the basis of a quality management system--established and certified according to DIN EN ISO 9001--it implements all components of the model of the European Foundation for Quality Management. The modern quality tools as Total Quality Management and continuous quality improvement allow a permanent increase of customer/patient satisfaction.

Europe↗
PubMed1984

Hospital pharmacy financial management: challenges of the 1980s.

This paper concludes a series on financial management of hospital pharmacies. A decade of expansion of health-care services is ending. Changes in health care are predicted by examining changes that followed deregulation of the banking industry. Pharmacists' need for training in financial management is reiterated, and the need for computerized financial reports is emphasized. Pharmacy departments should prepare for constant changes in reimbursement methods and fluctuations in workload that require flexible staffing. Marketing of pharmaceutical services and increases in productivity will be necessary. Health-care cost reductions can be achieved using the available technology, although hospital closure, restructuring, and staff reductions may occur. Pharmacist-managers need financial skills to remain competitive.

Education, Pharmacy↗
PubMed1995

Creating a managed care service network.

As health care services in general and pharmacy services specifically become more important, health care administrators may wish to consider focus strategies that include service differentiation in specific or narrow target markets. The type of strategy, whether cost, differentiation, or focus, will provide the mission and establish the organizational goals for health care providers.

Continuity of Patient Care↗
PubMed2002

AMGA survey shows medical group profits are on the slide.

Holding down increases in physician and nurse compensation and improved management of human resource costs helped capitated providers in the Eastern region improve per physician median profits to $1,686 in 2001 from a median loss of $767 in 2000, according to the 2002 financial operations survey from the American Medical Group Association. Find out what the successful groups have in common.

Capitation Fee↗
PubMed1986

Controllership in the public sector.

Ineffective or incompetent controllership is, perhaps, the most common managerial failure found in the public sector. This failure affects outcomes and achievements in every area of public policy--often profoundly. Controllers design and operate management control systems. The effectiveness of alternative control system designs depends upon the cost and production behavior of the good or service in question. But control strategies are seldom consciously or effectively matched to circumstances. As a consequence, public programs are too often simultaneously overcontrolled and out of control.

Budgets↗
PubMed2006

[Integrated Health Care in cardiology].

Integrated Health Care forces rethinking of all partners. Health care providers need to cooperate and have to face an emerging competition among themselves. Health insurance companies are no longer the common enemy, but a business partner on an individual basis. Rethinking has already commenced. The Barmer insurance company has initiated a considerable number of similar contracts with respect to Integrated Health Care in cardiology. One of the first contracts was agreed upon at Recklinghausen (it is reported later in this volume) and a couple of them have been concluded in the Berlin/Brandenburg region (which are also reported in this volume).A special feature is the support for the general disease management programs that have been initiated in light of the new laws beginning in 2000. The Barmer company will enroll some 500,000 patients with coronary artery disease in these programs.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

The quality systems approach.

Health care as an industry is going through an evolution similar to that experienced by manufacturing and other service sectors of the world economy. When competition threatens, the traditional management approach is slash-and-burn to manage costs. This approach affects people, services, and facilities. When the slash-and-burn method runs out of fuel, organizations start to merge, thinking that bigger is better. Just getting bigger only looks like change, with a new cast of fewer people and organizational structure. The root cause for existing problems has not been fixed. The only real solution, as manufacturing and services learned, is to understand and improve work processes to ensure that the right work is being done in a high-quality manner and at a competitive price. The era of quality systems is just dawning in health care. The focus must remain on quality patient outcomes at a competitive price by improving supporting systems and processes to accomplish these goals.

Humans↗
PubMed1995

Power and new economic relationships.

We are going through a transformation of our health services from a community and patient focus fueled by fee-for-service and cost-plus reimbursement. This transformation, called managed care, is shifting power away from professionals and communities into both new and old organizations financed by Wall Street. Even traditional community organizations are driven by Wall Street-dictated financial ratios that represent scoreboards to determine who gets capital for growth and development. Times are changing, organizations are changing, and still more change is ahead.

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗
PubMed1991

Gaining a competitive edge through HIS technology.

Streamlined procedures, fewer errors, improved consultation on patient care, and lowered costs are among the advantages cited by healthcare facilities that are using information technology in efforts to outpace their competitors. Technology ranging from executive information systems to medical record imaging can provide improved access to data and aid strategic decision making. Even so, the perceived benefits of a particular form of technology should not outweigh sound business planning.

Computer Communication Networks↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Court decisions hold implications for managed care plans--Part two.

This article highlights selected legal developments from the past two years that reflect the causes and effects of the competitive environment in which the managed care industry finds itself. Additional cases were discussed in the January-February 1990 issue of the journal. "Health Law" is a regular feature of Physician Executive contributed by Epstein Becker & Green. Douglas Hastings, Esq., a partner in the law firm's Washington, D.C., offices, serves as column editor.

Financial Management↗
PubMed1983

Futuristic clinic management--computers keeping the bottom line up.

This article emphasizes the need for medical groups to stop reacting and start initiating. Every problem--be it competition, adverse legislation or declining patient visits--offers offsetting opportunities. Find these opportunities and one has a competitive edge. Futuristic or prospective management sows the profit of tomorrow through sound business decisions today.

Computers↗
PubMed2002

Divestiture: strategy's missing link.

Although most companies dedicate considerable time and attention to acquiring and creating businesses, few devote much effort to divestitures. But regularly divesting businesses--even good, healthy ones--ensures that remaining units reach their potential and that the overall company grows stronger. Drawing on extensive research into corporate performance over the last decade, McKinsey consultants Lee Dranikoff, Tim Koller, and Antoon Schneider show that an active divestiture strategy is essential to a corporation's long-term health and profitability. In particular, they say that companies that actively manage their businesses through acquisitions and divestitures create substantially more shareholder value than those that passively hold on to their businesses. Therefore, companies should avoid making divestitures only in response to pressure and instead make them part of a well-thought-out strategy. This article presents a five-step process for doing just that: prepare the organization, identify the best candidates for divestiture, execute the best deal, communicate the decision, and create new businesses. As the fifth step suggests, divestiture is not an end in itself. Rather, it is a means to a larger end: building a company that can grow and prosper over the long haul. Wise executives divest so that they can create new businesses and expand existing ones. All of the funds, management time, and support-function capacity that a divestiture frees up should therefore be reinvested in creating shareholder value. In some cases, this will mean returning money to shareholders. But more likely than not, it will mean investing in attractive growth opportunities. In companies as in the marketplace, creation and destruction go hand in hand; neither flourishes without the other.

Commerce↗