PRELIMINARY PROPOSAL FOR RESEARCH: STRATEGIC PLANNING AT A MILITARY HOSPITAL IN SAUDI ARABIA
This document describes briefly a proposed research project that will examine strategic planning at a military hospital in Saudi Arabia. There are two types of military hospitals in Saudi Arabia considered within the context of national control. In this latter context, there are military hospitals controlled by the United States (providing care for American military personnel stationed in Saudi Arabia or evacuated to Saudi Arabia from battle zones), and there are military hospitals controlled by Saudi Arabia (providing care for Saudi military personnel and the families of such personnel). The focus of the proposed study will be on a military hospital under the control of Saudi Arabia.
Additionally, there are several types of military hospitals in Saudi Arabia when considered within the context of medical emphasis. Within this context, the focus of the proposed study will be on a general hospital. The specific military hospital examined will be the North West Armed Forces Hospital (NWAFH) in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
The managerial and administrative focus of the proposed research study will be on the need for and use of strategic planning at the NWAFH. Strategic planning is the process of determining the mission, major objectives, strategies, and policies that govern the acquisition and allocation of resources to achieve organizational aims.á Strategic planning is a process that generates specific actions which are required to carry out a particular strategy (Carson and Carson, 1994).á
Military hospital organizations in Saudi Arabia are non-profit institutions. Whether a hospital organization is a non-profit organization or a for-profit organization, however, it must manage its resources in a prudent manner and the organization must plan strategically to survive in its external environment (Fidellow and Hogan, 1998).
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