[ORDER SOLUTION] SWOT and Cost Analysis
Respond to Alexis by critiquing her SWOT and cost analysis, offering supporting or contrary ideas regarding strengths, weaknesses, opportunities or threats to be considered or additional thoughts about the impact of their cost and/or revenue projections. Use APA 7th edition: Leaders need an objective tool to assist them in weighing the pros and cons before making a big decision. One tool touted as helping leaders make the “right decisions or changes,” is the SWOT analysis tool (Stonehouse, 2018, p. 617). SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (Stonehouse, 2018). This discussion post will present the SWOT analysis for the toilet safety rails project. SWOT Matrix The first box in the SWOT matrix is strengths. This box represents “internal factors that are positive or beneficial” (Penner, 2017, p. 175. A strength identified for implementing the safety rails is the staff focus on patient safety. The employees would embrace any safety equipment to help them keep patients and themselves free from harm (Stonehouse, 2018). The second box in the SWOT matrix looks at internal weaknesses (Penner, 2017). One flaw is the staff’s management of equipment. Broken equipment is not always promptly reported. The product may be shoved into a corridor when not in use, causing an egress concern, and cannot be located when needed. The third box in the SWOT matrix looks at external opportunities (Stonehouse, 2018). The safety rails are designed to increase stability for the patient when getting on or off the toilet to prevent patient falls ultimately. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (n.d.) recommends having grab bars in the bathrooms as a fall prevention measure for older adults’ homes. There are regulatory and financial reasons to prevent patient and staff injuries. Another opportunity for the safety rails is they are relatively inexpensive and are removable, so they do not present a ligature risk in the patient bathrooms. The fourth box in the SWOT matrix is threats (Stonehouse, 2018). Risks associated with the safety rails are staff misuse of the safety rails, and a patient suffers injury or death. A significant patient injury or patient death would harm the organization in terms of regulatory scrutiny, litigation, media attention, and staff morale. SWOT Analysis Overall, the positive benefits outweigh the negative possibilities. The cost of the implementation and maintenance of the safety rails is both a strength and opportunity. The expense of this project is minimal and will pay for itself in the first year. It is not a huge capital investment, so funding should be easily obtained. The opportunity is the cost savings for future expenses related to the staff and patient injuries. The weaknesses and threats relate to staff management of the safety rails. If proper training and monitoring are instituted from the beginning of the project, the project’s negative aspects should be mitigated. In summary, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (n.d.) recognizes the benefit of safety rails by toilets to prevent patient falls. The proposed toilet safety rails are relatively low cost but could have a significant positive impact if used correctly. References Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). What you can do to prevent falls. https://www.cdc.gov/steadi/pdf/STEADI-Brochure-WhatYouCanDo-508.pdf Penner, S. (2017). Economics and financial management for nurses and nurse leaders (3rd ed.). Springer Publishing Company. Stonehouse, D. (2018). SWOT: What is it all about and how do you use it? British Journal of Healthcare Assistants, 12(12), 617-619. https://doi.org/10.12968/bjha.2018.12.12.617