Wellcare: Outline Strategic And Operational Plans For Well-Care

Organizational Planning

Organizational Planning
WellCare Health Plans, Inc. was founded in 1985. The company is headquartered in Tampa, Florida and offers Medicaid and Medicare managed care health plans for over two million members. It offers “health plans for families, children, the aged and disabled, and provides prescription drug plans” (WellCare, 2014). Wellcare employs over 5,000 employees (SWOT Analysis, 2014). This paper will outline strategic and operational plans for WellCare, describe how these plans will achieve the goals, and pinpoint the effect of planning decisions on the internal and external stakeholders identified. “Strategic plans are important because they provide principals, managers, and employees
with structure and direction for pursuing the goals and objectives important to the business, and they provide measurable milestones to monitor progress and determine whether corrective action must be taken” (Kumpf, 2004). To create a strategic plan, a company must answer three questions: 1.) Where are we now? 2.) Where are we going? 3.) How will we get there? To answer these questions, it is necessary to know the company’s mission and vision statement. Also, the company’s SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) must be analyzed to assess the organization’s strategic position (Olsen, 2010). After the aforementioned is established, a clear plan of action must be made to get from where the company is now to where it wants to be in the future.
WellCare’s mission statement is “to enhance their members ' health and quality of life, partner with providers and governments to provide quality, cost-effective healthcare solutions, and create a rewarding and enriching environment for their associates” (WellCare, 2014).
Its vision is “to be the leader in government-sponsored health care programs in partnership with the members, providers, governments and communities that they serve” (WellCare, 2014). The strategic plan should be developed by WellCare’s upper-level management. The best way to develop a plan is to outline a five-year roadmap. zWellCare should focus on assessing its approach to healthcare solutions and quality customer care. The strategic plan should include reviewing its existing healthcare services over a period of time to ensure their procedures are up to par with current expectations. WellCare should also assess community and consumer needs to decide what changes should be made to expand and grow. Another part of the plan should be to build its financial resources for investment in further providing exemplary
services. The operating plan presents detailed information to direct people to perform day to day tasks needed in the management of a company. The operational plan asks, “what, who, when, and how?” It contains information, such as specific goals, human/physical resources required, budget required, and actions required to achieve the goal (Robbins & Coulter, 2012, p. 216). WellCare’s operational plan should be handled its lower-level management and employees.
The plan should consist of two separate categories: single-use plans and ongoing plans. The single-use plans will address specific problems during the current time; whereas ongoing plans can address any future periods (Robbins & Coulter, 2012, p. 216). Since one of WellCare’s weaknesses is its heavy reliance on the Medicaid and other third parties, it would be best for lower-level management to find out the reason for the reliance and expand WellCare’s client base in the U.S. WellCare’s lower-level management should also review any other specific problems and generate single-use/ongoing plans to correct each
one. In conclusion, creating strategic and operational plans is a great responsibility and must be completed with critical thinking by internal and external stakeholders. WellCare’s upper/lower level management, employees, and other stakeholders must take on the task to guide the organization through today 's economy and take the steps to ensure the company reaches its goals. Identifying the company 's long and short-term objectives allows the selection of a strategy that will identify WellCare 's greatest strengths.

References
Kumpf, William, A. (2004). Strategic Planning. ASHRAE Journal, 46(8), 70. Retrieved from www.apollolibrary.com
Olsen, Erica (2010). How to Write a Strategic Plan. Leading Your Team. Retrieved from www.onstrategyhq.com
Robbins, S. P., & Coulter, M. (2012). Management (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
WellCare Health Plans, Inc (2014). Retrieved from www.wellcare.com
WellCare Health Plans, Inc. SWOT Analysis. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.apollolibrary.com