EPGDIB(VSAT) 2009-10

Marketing of Services

Case 4 - Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai

INTRODUCTION

The case illustrates a live example in area of public health management. Aravind Eye Hospitals is an organization providing
paid as well as charitable eye care medical services in tamilnadu state of india. The case illustrates the vast importance of
efficient services management role and implementation of adept procedures while catering a service to masses.

KEY LEARNINGS

1. Efficiency in administrative skills is vital for success in area of public services.

2. Public services improvements are identified using a methodology of continuous assessments involving:
- Assessing level of current medical services provided to people.
- Ascertaining requirements as expressed by professionals, public and other key stakeholders.
- Identifying the most appropriate interventions.
- Considering the effect on resources viz financial and non-monetary.
- Agreeing and implementing any necessary changes.
- Assessing evidence of effectiveness (through public survey’s) and cost-effectiveness for proposed
interventions.
- The evaluation of healthcare to determine whether the activity in question is meeting its objectives i.e.
consistent following-up on the medical conditions of patients to whom healthcare has been administered.
- Supporting decision making in healthcare and planning health services.

3. Evidence of importance in capitalizing the advantages of a family run enterprises in South Indian society. The 5
hospitals under Aravind Eye Hospital are managed by family members of the founder director. This illustrates
leveraging the professional expertise available amongst individuals in a family and thus imparting a well oiled
efficient administration of services under an enterprise as a whole.

4. To have structured procedures in place for day to day operations is vital for people/professionals involved in
providing charitable/free public health services as it ensures effective quality levels in delivered service. Hence
professionally run operations are more vital to success in such service sectors as their profitability is measured in
terms of improving the population health.

5. In domain of public heath services, the motivation and incentives for people employed is primarily non-financial in
nature, and hence strong individual belief of community service acts as a driving force. Therefore, management role
is to ensure decisions/actions focusing on leading a widespread reach in terms of population covered under umbrella
of charitable health services (eg. Health camps being conducted in rural Indian locations not having access to quality
healthcare facilities).
Case Reading-5 Generation X and the Hotel Industry: How Hotel Brands are Changing

Generation X – the group of people born between 1964 and 1976 are traveling more and spending more
on leisure and entertainment than in previous generations. The hotel industry realized that there is a need
to make changes in the way they deliver service to customers in order to sustain in the market.
Many of the major hotel brands such as: Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton, Intercontinental, and Starwood brought
changes in their hotel. The hotel industry spent a lot on the renovation. The rooms now have hardwood
floors, satellite/flat-screen 30” TV service and stereos. The hotels are also trying to implement motion
sensor lights. In bedrooms - The old hard mattresses are being replaced with name-brand mattresses.
The typical “hotel artwork” is getting replaced with stylish black-and-white photography. Showers are
being made completely glassed-in. Foods and beverages brands are added in pantries that are open 24
hours a day, 7 days a week in response to Gen-Xers different eating schedules and food preferences.
Staff members will be wearing contemporary clothing and use causal language.
In order to win the hearts of the generation X the hotel industry is not only bringing changes in their
ambience but also changing the way it is delivered so that each customer have a memory before they
leave the hotel and could relate/recommend it to other people and definitely visit again.

Case Reading 6: Service-line Strategies for US hospitals

Introduction : The article talks about the transformation of US hospitals from full service, general
hospitals to limited and more focused service lines hospitals.

Key Learning’s:
1. It is very important to evaluate growth potential of various service lines and identify the most
competitive service lines to focus.

2. Specializing in a few service lines allow organizations including hospitals to build a critical mass
of consumers in select areas and to enjoy economies of skill and scale.

3. To make wise decisions about which service lines to emphasize, hospitals must have a deep
understanding of their own economics and competitive environments.

4. Simply relying on volume, payer mix, or revenues can be deceptive and leads, in many cases, to
incorrect conclusions. Therefore it is important to focus on profit margins

5. An accurate cost-accounting system is a prerequisite for effective service-line planning.

6. Customer focus is very important and it leads to larger base of loyal customers.

7. It is strategically important to track performance at critical stages and manage human

resources