The Challenge
M1 focuses significant attention on the extremely important topic of market structure, including environmental surveillance. Among other things, you were introduced to Porter’s Five Forces Model, via your readings, which serves as a useful reference for defining competition. Specifically, you are to place yourself in the role of Strategy Officer for a soon-to-be-established dermatology clinic based in Riverside, CA. This entity will be named Kingston Dermatology and it will offer the usual and customary array of services provided by dermatology clinics. (If you are not familiar with dermatology clinics and their role in healthcare, you can benefit by exploring operating establishments, such as Ark-La-Tex Dermatology – Part of the Willis-Knighton Physician Network and others. Be sure you have a thorough understanding of this modality of care BEFORE attempting this assignment.)
Kingston Dermatology’s owners, new in their role as healthcare entrepreneurs, wish to gain a better understanding of competition in the market and enlist you to prepare an associated assessment. The owners are familiar with Porter’s Five Forces Model and feel as though their knowledge of suppliers and buyers is sufficient. Noting the highly competitive market, however, they would like to bolster their knowledge of existing competitors, potential entrants, and substitutes and have requested your assistance and advice. Your task is to perform a market assessment, identifying existing competitors, potential entrants, and substitutes in the city of focus for dermatology clinics.
Doing so will require you to consult a variety of information sources (e.g., telephone directories, the Internet, industry databases), reflect on your own knowledge of the marketplace, conduct field research, and explore other relevant avenues in an effort to comprehensively identify the noted competitive forces across the three designated categories of Porter’s framework. Competitive forces in each category must be explicitly identified (e.g., existing competitors and potential entrants must be listed by their specific brand name, substitutes must be explicitly identified and named). Note that general portrayals will be penalized harshly; specificity is required.
The end result of your efforts should yield a comprehensive overview of the competitive threats in the city of focus, affording the dermatology clinic’s owners with details that will help them plan operations.
The Submission Requirement
Your submission in its entirety (i.e., all inclusive) must be at least 1200 words. It is to be typed (or pasted) directly into the Moodle posting window, after which you will submit your work.
Submissions must incorporate a minimum of ten (10) references, with at least three (3) being from scholarly academic journals. References may be prepared using the style guide of your choice (e.g., APA, MLA); just be sure to consistently use the selected style. Treat this as a formal report, rather than an informal web post. Note that references consisting merely of web links are unacceptable and will result in a 30-point deduction. Consult an acceptable style manual and assemble your references properly!
In presenting your work, identify the title, your name and student ID number, and submission date at the top of your submission and supply the following headings, exactly as they appear below, placing each in bold text:
Introduction (In this section, supply a brief introduction, helping the reader grasp the intent of the forthcoming work.)
Background
City Profile (In this section, supply a brief overview of the city of focus, noting its name, population, demographic characteristics, and any other helpful background information.)
Service Profile (In this section, supply an overview of dermatology services. Provide a definition, note major areas of focus, and offer other helpful details, demonstrating your grasp of this particular area of healthcare.)
Competitive Threats
Existing Competitors (In this section, identify dermatology clinics by name currently in operation in the city of focus. Be sure to supply brief profiles of leading clinics, aiding the owners in their quest to understand competitors.)
Potential Entrants (In this section, identify healthcare providers by name who are not currently providing dermatology services in the market, but might have the potential and desire to do so in the future. Be sure to indicate your view as to the likelihood that these entities actually might pursue offering such services.)
Substitutes (In this section, identify offerings that might serve as substitutes for dermatology services. Be sure to identify substitutes by name and indicate their threat potential.)
Conclusions (In this section, summarize the report, being sure to express your thoughts on the overall competitive environment faced by the given clinic.)
References (In this section, supply a list of references conforming with the instructions listed elsewhere in this communication.)
Assessment Criteria
Your submission will be assessed based on the following:
Compliance quality: The degree to which your submission complies with noted guidelines, including word count and reference specifications,
Communication quality: The degree to which your work meets standards expected in business communications, including matters concerning the use of proper grammar and punctuation, and
Content quality: The quality of the content presented in your work.
