Case Study: The April 17 ^th 2000 issue of Business Week (p.8) presented an article that reported a study of the main causes of premature death.  The health-advocacy group Partnership for Prevention conducted the study in March 2000.  The findings demonstrate the gap between what Americans think are the main causes of premature death and the actual causes.  These results clearly imply that highly visible and emotional issues that are brought to the public’s attention through the media, politicians, and special interests groups skew our perceptions.  The results of the study are presented in the table below.

Causes of Premature Deaths in America

You are the manager for a major health services corporation that has always been responsive to its stakeholders and their demands. You have just been given responsibility for allocating a $95 million budget to be used for research or educational purposes related to major health problems.  The funds can be used for research purposes related to finding cures or for educational purposes related to prevention. You are being pressured by your stakeholders to base your decision on what they think is important to the community.  These groups are powerful and some of their most influential members make large monetary donations to your corporation for research.  Furthermore, they are vocal and have been known to have an influence on promotions made in the corporation. Their perceptions and demands for new services match perfectly with the perceptions found in the survey (see the diseases listed under perceptions above).  You also have the data and know the reality – the true causes of premature death in the community.

REQUIRED – Specify and discuss how you will allocate your budget. Prepare a table that shows the allocation by health issue and by the prevention/cure breakdown. For example, if you decide to allocate money to cancer, then you need to further break it down by the amount you would spend on research for cures and educational efforts for prevention. You can allocate funds to as many issues as you would like. Be sure to justify your budget and explain your thinking. Also, explain how you will present your decision to the Board of Trustees of the health services corporation where you are employed and indicate what (if any) ethical concerns you may have. Write a concise, cogent report explaining your decision. Include at least two graphs in your report depicting both the perceptions and reality of premature death.

Price: $11.96

Solution: The downloadable solution consists of 5 pages, 696 words and 2 charts.
Deliverable: Word Document