Businesses should always strive to ensure that they are performing excellently. Good performance alone is not enough since sustainability must also be promoted. In order to ensure that organizations post good results continuously, there is a need for a keen analysis to be carried out. While trying to evaluate the performance of organizations in relation to others, the internal business environment, as well as the external one, must be considered. The Boston Emergency Medical Services (EMS) offers reliable pre-hospital medical response services to the residence of the area throughout the year. Remarkably, the organization cannot expect to operate in a smooth environment since some prevailing conditions may be favorable to its operations while others may not. The Boston EMS, just like any other organization has positive and negative sides, which can be evaluated by considering its SWOT analysis entailing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats associated with it.
Strengths
Boston EMS operates in the state of Boston, and, thus, it is able to make constant contacts with members of the population. It is worth to note that Boston EMS has roughly 24 frontline emergency ambulances at its disposal and also 16 stations, which are in good working conditions (City of Boston.gov, 2019). The 16 stations are evenly distributed in the entire state in places such as Roxbury, South Boston and Jamaican plain (City of Boston.gov, 2019). In order to respond to the variation in the need for emergency services, those stations are flexible. Based on the statistics about the call volumes, the stations are usually shifted from a region with less demand to the one that has a very high demand for their services (City of Boston.gov, 2019). By ensuring that the stations are flexible, the organization stands at a better position of responding effectively to the needs of the population while using minimal resources.
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It is, therefore, clear to argue that the organization’s operations are oriented towards the needs of their clients. As such, it is likely to offer just-in-time services, which are beneficial to the population and itself. Moreover, the organization is easily accessed using various technological platforms such as their official Facebook page, email, and emergency telephone numbers. Significantly, easier and smoother communication channels make the services of Boston EMS to be very useful to its clients. Furthermore, the communication channels also strengthen social connections with the residents and the organization can benefit from it. For instance, a good relationship with society offers a conducive opportunity for the sustainability of Boston EMS and may also influence the hiring processes. For example, many residences may wish to be associated with the organization. As a result, it stands a higher chance of obtaining highly qualified and efficient job seekers who are key tools for promoting organizational success.
Weaknesses
Boston EMS relies on the frequency of phone calls to shift resources like response stations from one region to another. However, there is no guarantee that the trend or estimation may be perfect. To make it worse, the condition may suddenly improve in the region that was making frequent calls and in contrast, gets worse in the area that had just been unoccupied. Consequently, the organization may waste a lot of resources such as time and fuel charges in trying to relocate to a newer area which improved abruptly. There is, therefore, an urgent need for the management and policy makers to keenly look into the issue and come up with a realistic solution, which would ensure that unnecessary movements of stations are not very common and uneconomical.
The organization offers its services to a limited area, that is, only in Boston. The restriction implies that the number of patients to be served by the organization are also likely to be limited. Specifically, the organization could serve a higher number of patients in other areas. Furthermore, concentrating in Boston alone may at times end up being uneconomical due to fluctuations in the number of clients. During certain durations, there could be few emergencies, which can render the facilities like ambulances, stations and human resource useless. Subsequently, the organization might end up making losses.
Opportunities
The services of the organization are based in Boston. In trying to understand the opportunities that Boston EMS has at its disposal, it is important that the demographic factors should be evaluated since they are directly related to the level of income, education and probability of disease infection that calls for emergency responses offered. Specifically, Boston has a population of about 617,500 residents and it is considered to be doing well as far as industrial activities, economic progress, education and transportation services are concerned (Infoplease, 2018). Accordingly, Boston city is one of the highly ranked cities with regards to healthcare services. Since the city is classified among the best in offering health services, it is clear that Boston EMS may get adequate support as well, and, thus, its performance may also improve significantly. Considered to be one of the best educational hubs, Boston EMS is likely to benefit from highly qualified employers who are readily available just after completing their learning in Boston. Logically, it would be a very huge challenge for Boston EMS to operate in an environment with poor educational system and health sector.
A higher number of residence also offers an added advantage to Boston EMS since it has a ready market for their services at any given time. Numerous technological advancements in Boston and the U.S.A.at large offers ideal opportunities for Boston EMS to expand its services, and makes it very effective. For instance, the proposal of introducing underground transportation, applications of Waze wars, optimizing on the use of passenger train and the autonomous revolution may be beneficial to the transport sector (Camoin Associates, 2019). Specifically, the use of Waze wars would open up locations that initially could be considered out of reach. Consequently, the emergency medical services could reach those regions with ease. The recent development of autonomous vehicles may also be useful to Boston EMS since it will reduce the time taken to transport patients in need from their homes to medical centers. Notably, underground transportation, and the use of trains may reduce congestions in major highways allowing Boston EMS ambulances an easier time to transport patients.
Threats
Boston EMS operates in an environment that is governed by rules and regulations. The law of the federal government or that of the state may require such types of organizations to operate in a certain manner. For instance, the law may guide the maximum period that workers of the institution should be on duty. Furthermore, laws may also govern the maximum speed and load capacity at which the ambulances should maintain. Failure to adhere to the provision of the laws may have adverse impacts such as huge penalty that may not be taken lightly by the management. Moreover, the fact that licenses have to be applied and renewed periodically implies that a significant amount of time and resources that could have been spent in running the organization may be channeled elsewhere.
Stiff competition for the available resources may also affect the organization negatively. Boston EMS does not operate in a monopolistic environment, and, therefore, a number of different organizations are also at liberty to either join or quit the industry. This condition implies that Boston EMS must invest heavily in terms of technology, hiring qualified and highly experienced staff and also maintain high standards of services to remain relevant in the industry. Failure to operate in accordance with the threshold set by competitors may contribute to poor performance since clients may prefer other service providers. Importantly, government agencies and institutions such as schools, the military and even religious organizations may have their own ambulances in place. In such a situation, Boston EMS is faced with threats due to excessive competitors.
Conclusion
Boston EMS is an organization based in Boston, which offers rapid emergency services to people living within the area. The success or failure of the organization is influenced by a variety of conditions in the business environment that act as either strengths, weaknesses, opportunities or threats. By restricting its operations to Boston, Boston EMS limits itself to a few number of patients, and this acts as a threat. Moreover, the fact that other investors can freely enter the industry threatens the existence of the organization. The existence of high population, quality education centers and technological advancements such as the introduction of Waze wars applications offer favorable opportunities for Boston EMS to thrive. The organization serves residences based on their demand, that is, their evenly distributed stations shifts in accordance with the frequency of calls. The fact that just-in-time services are offered makes the organization to serve a larger number of people while using limited resources. Constant interaction with customers using avenues like Facebook and phone numbers also strengthens the operations of Boston EMS, and, thus, it is likely to perform better. As such, the SWOT analysis has helped scrutinize the framework of Boston EMS’s competitive position. Hence, the company will be able to develop a strategic plan to ensure it overcomes its weaknesses, pursues its opportunities, and overcomes its threats. Subsequently, the needs of all stakeholders including patients, their families, investors, the government and others are met.
References
Camoin Associates. (2019). 5 Innovations Shaping the Future of Transportation. Retrieved from: https://www.camoinassociates.com/5-innovations-shaping-future-transportation
City of Boston.gov. (2019). EMS Stations Locations. Retrieved from:https://www.cityofboston.gov/EMS/about/locations.asp
Infoplease. (2018). Boston, Mass. Retrieved from: https://www.infoplease.com/world/us-cities/boston-mass.
