Research Paper on Global Cancer: A Growing Concern

Introduction

According to Hullman, Robb, and Rand (2016), cancer is increasingly becoming a global concern in contemporary society. Cancer is a broad term describing the diseases that occur as a result of cellular changes that lead to uncontrolled growth and division of cells. Examples of cancer include prostate, breast, lung, and cervical. Currently, cancer is among diseases accounting for high mortality cases globally. The global cancer mortality rate stands at 163.5 per 100, 000 people on an annual basis. In 2018, researchers estimated a rise in the global cancer burden to an estimated number of 18.1 new cases. The number of people who died as a result of cancer in the same year stood at 9.6 million (IARC, 2018). This tremendous increase in the number of deaths and new cases of people diagnosed with cancer calls for global action. Therefore, Mari Cancer Society (MCS) is a newly founded non-profit organization with a special dedication to not only preventing but also eliminating cancer in the world. This paper provides a comprehensive strategic analysis of MCS in respect to its organizational overview, SWOT analysis, and strategic goals.

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Organizational Overview

MCS will be a worldwide non-profit health organization dedicated to preventing and eliminating cancer. The organization will bear its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia (Luqmani, Leach, & Jesson, 2017). MCS will have regional centers across the seven continents. The cancer prevention and elimination organization will also hire professional leaders to ensure effective management. Besides, MCS will operate more than 300 regional offices across the world to ensure effective coordination of its service delivery. The company's services will include highly integrated cancer prevention and elimination activities offered in its ultramodern national cancer management facilities (Fleischhacker & Ramachandran, 2016). Therefore, patients seeking for different cancer-related services will visit these facilities for specialized care.

MCS's Mission, Values, and Strategic Initiatives

According to Rubin, Singh, and Jacobson (2013), a company's mission is one of the most critical elements that determine its success. A mission statement explains the reason for the existence of an organization. The mission outlines the goals of an organization alongside the goods and services it seeks to offer. However, some company's mission statements go to the extent of identifying their primary customers, their geographical regions of operation, and their target markets. MCS's mission statement will entail doing all that is necessary to not only prevent but also eliminate cancer in the world. Consequently, values are crucial elements that define the mission and the vision of a company and help in shaping its culture (Braun, Wsche, Frey, & Weisweiler, 2012). MCS's values include integrity, compassion, diversity, courage, and determination to eliminate cancer across the world.

On the other hand, MCS will have different strategic initiatives aimed at eliminating the cancer menace globally. These strategic initiatives are the means through which an organization translates its mission and vision into practice (Hullman et al., 2016). The first initiative, cancer prevention, will entail critical activities such as early screening and creation of awareness. The initiative of preventing cancer also entails the process of sensitizing the public on cancer severity and the need for its eradication. The second initiative, saving lives, will target people diagnosed with cancer. MCS will provide high-quality services aimed at managing and treating already-identified cancer cases. Lastly, MCS focuses on reducing the suffering associated with cancer through continuous community education, research, and advocacy (Fleischhacker & Ramachandran, 2016). As a result, the organization entails forming collaborative actions with a plethora of partners to achieve its mission.

Identification of MCS's Stakeholders

Nwanji and Howell (2018) define a stakeholder as a person, party, or group with interest in a given organization and the outcomes associated with its actions. Therefore, the efforts of stakeholders have far-reaching effects on the company's operations. Similarly, an organization's strategic initiatives, objectives, and policies also impact a stakeholder in different ways. The stakeholders of a typical organization, such as MCS, can be either internal or external. Internal stakeholders are those who operate within an organization. Examples of such stakeholders include managers, employees, shareholders, and the board of directors (Ali & Abdelfettah 2016; Xue, 2016). External stakeholders are a group of entities that operate away from the organization. However, these stakeholders care about the activities of the organization. External stakeholders include the government, clients, creditors, unions, vendors, investors and the community in which the firm operates.

MCS's Stakeholder Analysis

According to Pontefract (2016), stakeholder analysis is the process through which organizations identify their impact on their stakeholders. This impact results from the firm's proposed action or project. MCS's stakeholders will have different effects on their operations. The first group of MCS's stakeholders, customers, will include people at risk of suffering from cancer. Customers will also be people already diagnosed with cancer. The company will, therefore, impact this group of stakeholders with its level of services in terms of quality and value. The second faction of stakeholders, employees, will consist of the organization's workforce members. Examples of potential employees will be oncologists with specialized knowledge of cancer prevention and elimination. The third group of stakeholders, investors, consists of an organization's shareholders and corresponding debtors (Pontefract, 2016). Shareholders usually invest their capital in a business and, in turn, earn a particular return on their investment.

However, MCS investors will be mainly Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs), charitable firms, and philanthropists. These stakeholders will generate the financial resources needed to ensure that MCS attains operational sustainability (Nwanji & Howell, 2018). On the other hand, MCS's vendors and suppliers will ensure the sustainable availability of tools used in the prevention and elimination of cancer. Such tools include X-ray machines, surgery devices, and chemotherapy equipment. The community provides an example of another group of stakeholders critical to the success of MCS. The community will benefit from MCS's operations through employment economic development. The global population will also benefit from improved health and safety standards as a result of successful cancer prevention and elimination programs. The last group, the government, and other regulatory agencies, will impact MCS's operations in different ways. For instance, governments in each respective county will bear the responsibility of collecting taxes from the organization alongside its employees (Braun et al., 2012). On the other hand, these governments will benefit from MCS's actions to prevent and eliminate cancer, which accounts for most of its healthcare expenses.

MCS's SWOT Analysis Model

Lotayif (2018) defines SWOT analysis as a type of strategic planning tool used by different organizations in conducting their situational analysis. Organizations also use this tool in evaluating their positioning in a competitive market. The SWOT Analysis of MCS can help it to make vital strategies that result in the achievement of its anticipated success. Strengths and Weaknesses are variables that impact an organization's activities with respect to its internal environment. Conversely, threats and opportunities affect its external environment (Fleischhacker & Ramachandran, 2016; Luqmani et al., 2017). The following matrix summarizes MCS's SWOT analysis.

MCS's SWOT Matrix

Strengths

MCS's geographic location and presence across the world will serve as its key strength (Fleischhacker & Ramachandran, 2016). It will increase its operational reach to the desired markets and ensure that it is easily accessible.

The organization's presence on multiple online and social networking platforms will increase its reach to numerous geographical regions. MCS will also have an active social media management approach to enhance its service delivery. Effective management of social networking sites will lead to improved customer relationships and create a positive organizational reputation.

MCS will stand out as one of the leading organizations in the fight for cancer and its related consequences.

The firm's ability to recruit highly competent health professionals will be a crucial strength in the prevention and elimination of cancer.

MCS's stable financial status will allow it to increase its overall investments in remote areas. This investment will enhance the organization's efforts in eliminating cancer.

The organization will have wide access to numerous suppliers that offer equipment at affordable costs (Fleischhacker & Ramachandran, 2016). Such suppliers will help MCS in providing high-quality cancer prevention and elimination services, which will increase its competitiveness.

The company's concept of volunteerism will help in generating adequate operating capital and ensuring sustainability in the long-run.

Opportunities

An increase in the global population transforms into a rise in consumer disposable income. Consumers across the world can use their high amounts of disposable income t support the company's activities.

The growing number of customers and the corresponding changes in their needs, tastes, and preferences present an opportunity to the MCS. The organization can increase its service delivery to cater for their needs.

M.S.C can utilize new technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to provide high-quality services to its customers across the world (Luqmani, Leach, & Jesson, 2017). These technologies are also crucial in reducing the company's costs of operation, improving its efficiency, and help in the provision of innovative products.

Reduced interest rates create an opportunity for the company to receive higher contributions from volunteering investors.

Most of MCS's customers will start demonstrating a higher preference for its new and innovative products and services due to changing tastes. This preference will, in turn, lead to better organizational performance.

The emergence of social media marketing approaches and e-commerce provides an opportunity for society to market itself.

The company's presence on different online platforms increases its engagement with customers and ensures improved service delivery.

Cancer has numerous untapped and emerging markets that MCS can pursue.

Government subsidies across the world can also increase patients' utilization of MCS's cancer services.

Weaknesses

The company will experience disparity in terms of funding initiatives undertaken by its volunteering investors leading to poor service delivery.

High operational costs, such as high salaries for employees may affect MCS's sustainability (Luqmani, Leach, & Jesson, 2017).

It may be difficult to eliminate cancer in the society successfully. This disadvantage may compel the organization to redirect its focus on prevention rather than the elimination of cancer.

Environmentalists may criticize the organization for poor waste management practices and the inability to incorporate sustainability in its operations.

Minimal expenditure on research and development may limit the firm's performance because of ha...