After reading Chapters Eight, Nine, & Ten, post on Canvas two areas of interest for discussion $($two to three paragraphs with five sentences each$)$ write a whole new post from the following information: Within Chapter $9,$ the topic of support strategies did draw my attention. The process for developing the support strategies really interested me$.$ The reason for this is because it provided organizations a sense of guidance for organizational units. This process involves six steps. The first step is to "Identify the support requirements of the strategy and support value$-$adding potential". The next step is to "Compare the strategy requiremnets with the results of the support activities internal analysis". The third step is to "Decide to maintain or change organizational culture". The next step is to "Decide to maintain or change organizational structure". The fifth step is to "Decide to maintain or change strategic resources". The final step is to "provide guidance to organizational units".

In Chapter $10,$ decision logic for the development of action plans was very intriguing to me$.$ This can provide guidance for all organizations and units. There are three levels of the development of the action plans, they are corporate$-$and divisional$-$level strategies, organization$-$level strategies, and unit$-$level strategies. The first level consists of directional, adaptive, market entry and exit strategies. The organization$-$level only has competitive strategies. The final level for this development of action plans consists of implementation strategies and unit action plans. Both of my topics come from Chapter Eight$-$ telehealth and branding. I find telehealth and telemonitoring fascinating because it allows for medical concerns to be addressed while carrying on with our lives which are on the go$,$ especially with families. It may not be as accurate as in$-$person, hands on but it suffices enough to at least alert an abnormality for it to then be followed up on further. Many patients for example have chest pain and will get an event monitor ordered to wear for x days. At the end of their trial, the report comes back clear. It doesn't mean they didn't have chest pain, it could have been muscular in nature. But the convenience of telemonitoring hopefully followed up by a visit with their physician, for this discussion assume telehealth, makes a potentially serious event very convenient to diagnose and help further the patient's work$-$up$.$ The patient satisfaction is high because they didn't need to miss work, pay for parking, etc. for the doctor to tell them everything appears non$-$cardiac.

The next topic about branding versus not branding is an interesting debate. As our textbook explains branding is an identity and assumes a certain level of guarantee of services rendered. If you have a choice to see a provider within UPMC Shadyside versus Dr John Smith who is an independent provider, most likely UPMC will gain the business because of the name it has built for itself. My personal example is the Cleveland Clinic. I will travel for my providers, testing, and any treatment because I know the expectations and results when I have given them business in the past. The strategic process behind it is why is one brand chosen over another, how does the brand stack up to competitors, and the possibilities for growth that may exist. The why is answered by satisfaction and quality. The how is what sets one apart from the other, again most likely coming back to services or quality of care, and the possibilities for growth a lot of times are restricted by finances.Over these $3$ chapters multiple topics are discussed including value$-$adding service delivery strategies, support strategies, and communication strategy and developing action plans. Many important strategic management concepts are discussed in these chapters. One of them being the importance of service delivery. One of the most important aspects for a health care organization is their service delivery, it is the point of intersection between customers and the organization. Value$-$adding support strategies add value and differentiate the organization. An organizations strategies must be implemented into plans and plans into actions to work toward the organization achieving their goals, filling its mission, and vision.

One area from chapter $8$ I found interesting was the target market in identifying the health care customer. In this section it is discussed that when customers participate in the purchasing experience their positivity level increases. Some of the challenges that marketers are faced with is trying to satisfy the broad variety of customers. Organizations are trying to market to physicians, other health care consumers, and even third party payers.