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Objective. To determine if there is a hierarchy of improvement program adoption by hospitals and outline that hierarchy. Data Sources. Primary data were collected in the spring of 2007 via e-survey from 210 individuals representing 109 Minnesota hospitals. Secondary data from 2006 were assembled from the Leapfrog database. Study Design. As part of a larger survey, respondents were given a list of improvement programs and asked to identify those programs that are used in their hospital. Data Collection/Data Extraction. Rasch Model Analysis was used to assess whether a unidimensional construct exists that defines a hospital's ability to implement performance improvement programs. Linear regression analysis was used to assess the relationship of the Rasch ability scores with Leapfrog Safe Practices Scores to validate the research findings. Principal Findings. The results of the study show that hospitals have widely varying abilities in implementing improvement programs. In addition, improvement programs present differing levels of difficulty for hospitals trying to implement them. Our findings also indicate that the ability to adopt improvement programs is important to the overall performance of hospitals. Conclusions. There is a hierarchy of improvement programs in the health care context. A hospital's ability to successfully adopt improvement programs is a function of its existing capabilities. As a hospital's capability increases, the ability to successfully implement higher level programs also increases. Key Words. Quality improvement, program effectiveness, program implementation, Rasch model analysis, Over $2 trillion was spent on health care in the United States in 2006, the highest level of per capita spending in the world. With health insurance premiums doubling every [...]

As the economy evolves from manufacturing to services, it is important to understand whether the lessons learned in the manufacturing sector can be directly extrapolated to service supply chains. Unfortunately, the majority of existing supply chain research focuses exclusively on the manufacturing sector. To address this deficiency, this article compares the effect of traditional manufacturing-oriented supply chain strategies on the operational and financial performance of SUMMARY firms in both service and manufacturing sectors. The results highlight similarities and differences between the two sectors--demonstrating that effective supply chain strategies in one sector may not be appropriate in the other sector. This suggests that practicing managers should identify appropriate benchmarks and competitive priorities before pursuing specific supply chain strategies. The insights provided by this research should help guide companies toward strategies that may positively affect their specific organization's operational and financial performance., INTRODUCTION To compete in today's global markets, organizations strive to deliver their products and services in both an efficient and effective manner. A critical component in this effort is the [...]

Utilizing behavioral science principles to develop service design is discussed.