1. HCM 325: Final Project Guidelines and Grading Guide
Overview
The final project for this course is the development of a
healthcare marketing plan based on an identified product or
service in a healthcare organization. You will choose a product
or service of an existing healthcare organization as the subject
for this project. The product or service should be chosen based
on an assumed potential for increased sales as the result of the
marketing plan. After conducting research, you will create a
healthcare marketing plan that identifies a target audience,
analyzes the market for the product or service, and executes a
plan for improving upon the product or service. A SWOT
analysis, competitive analysis, and budgeting will be
components of the healthcare marketing plan.
The project is divided into three milestones, which will be
submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold
learning and ensure quality final submissions. These milestones
will be submitted in Modules Two, Three, and Five. The final
draft will be submitted in Module Seven.
This assessment will address the following course outcomes:
· Explain common marketing issues present within healthcare
organizations
· Correlate the relationship between the needs assessment and
marketing processes
· Interpret market data applicable to the campaign process
· Propose strategies to maximize the effectiveness of healthcare
marketing campaigns

2. Prompt
Choose an existing healthcare organization and identify an issue
that exists with one of its products or services. Create a
healthcare marketing plan that provides suggestions for
improving upon this issue.
Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:
1. Organization
a. Explain your chosen healthcare organization and describe its
mission, goals, and current products or services.
b. Describe an existing issue with one of the products or
services offered by the healthcare organization.
c. Describe the product or service price and placement within
the market (for example, the Providence outpatient clinic for the
homeless utilizes Medicaid as its main payer source and is
located in downtown Portland).
d. Describe the root cause of the issue, and clearly state
assumptions for improving sales of this product or service.
2. Target Market
a. Clearly establish the target market that the marketing plan
will address.
b. Describe the demographics of this target market, including
age, sex, job description, and motivation for the product or
service.
3. SWOT Analysis
a. Analyze your organization’s internalstrengths and
weaknesses. Consider factors such as personnel, finances,
manufacturing capabilities, corporate culture, product or service
pricing, current promotion, and so on.
b. Analyze your organization’s external opportunities and
threats. Consider factors such as competitive position,
applicable legislation, technology, and any other

3. macroeconomic considerations.
4. Competitive Analysis
a. Define the scope and natureof the healthcare industry
segment (pharmaceutical, internal medicine, rehabilitation,
etc.).
b. Determine who the competitors are and describe their
individual strengths and weaknesses with respect to your chosen
organization and product or service.
c. Define the key success factors in the chosen industry and rate
competitors based on these factors.
d. Summarize the organization’s market position in light of the
analysis.
5. Proposed Strategies
a. Propose a strategy for solving the identified issue (sales plan,
advertising, process improvement, etc.) and explain the
rationale behind the chosen strategy.
b. Describe how your strategy will fill a need or find a
competitive advantage.
6. Proposed Budget
a. Complete a proposed budget for the entire healthcare
marketing plan. Include a financial estimate for promotional
materials and any advertising that would need to be included in
the budget.
7. Tracking Plan
a. Include a plan for tracking the effectiveness of the marketing
plan.
Milestones
Milestone One: Introduction of Organization and

4. Product/Service
In Module Two, you will submit a description of your chosen
organization and the product or service that will be the focus of
your marketing plan. Describe the organization’s mission,
vision, values, goals, and market objectives and describe the
product or service, along with your rationale for choosing your
product or service. The format for this assignment is a one-page
Word document following APA guidelines. This milestone will
be graded with the Milestone One Rubric.
Milestone Two: Target Market and SWOT Analysis
In Module Three, you will submit the chosen target market with
demographics and complete a SWOT analysis. Describe your
target market’s demographics to include gender, age, income,
occupation, education, household size, and relationship to the
product or service. Then complete a SWOT (strength, weakness,
opportunity, and threat) analysis that addresses the following:
· Analyze your organization’s internal strengths and
weaknesses. Consider factors such as personnel, finances,
manufacturing capabilities, corporate culture, product or service
pricing, and current promotion.
· Analyze your organization’s external opportunities and
threats. Consider factors such as competitive position,
applicable legislation, technology, and any other
macroeconomic considerations.
At least three items should be listed in each category of the
SWOT analysis, accompanied by a brief description of each.
The format for this assignment is a one- to two-page Word
document following APA guidelines. This milestone will be
graded with the Milestone Two Rubric.
Milestone Three: Competitive Analysis
In Module Five, you will complete and submit a competitive
analysis. This analysis will include a list of competitors with

5. strengths and weaknesses, strategies and objectives, and market
outlook. The format for this assignment is a one- to two-page
Word document following APA guidelines. This milestone will
be graded with the Milestone Three Rubric.
Final Project Submission: Healthcare Marketing Plan
In Module Seven, you will submit your final marketing plan.
This plan must contain the three previous milestone elements as
well as additional elements, including the specific strategy to
exploit opportunities identified in your SWOT analysis, specific
promotional techniques, the budget necessary to execute your
plan, and a way to track the effectiveness of the plan. This
submission will be graded with the Final Product Rubric.
Final Product Rubric
Guidelines for Submission: Your submission should be 7–10
pages in length (in addition to the cover page and resources)
and should use double spacing,
12-point Times New Roman font, one-inch margins, and APA-
style citations.
Critical Elements
Exemplary (100%)
Proficient (85%)
Needs Improvement (55%)
Not Evident (0%)
Value
Organization: Mission, Goals, and Current Products or Services
Meets “Proficient” criteria and uses industry-specific language
to establish expertise
Outlines the company’s mission, goals, and current products or
services

6. Outlines the company’s mission, goals, and current products or
services but lacks specificity
Does not outline the company’s mission, goals, and current
products or services
6
Organization: Existing Issue
Meets “Proficient” criteria and provides specific examples of
how the issue will support or hinder the overall marketing
strategy
Defines an existing issue with one of the products or services
offered by the healthcare organization
Defines an existing issue but lacks specificity with regard to the
chosen product or service
Does not define an existing issue
6
Organization: Price and Placement
Meets “Proficient” criteria and provides specific, persuasive
examples of how the pricing and distribution strategy will
support the overall marketing strategy
Describes key attributes of the pricing and distribution strategy
with regard to the chosen product or service’s value and
placement within the market
Details a pricing and distribution strategy but lacks specificity
with regard to the availability or value to the targeted
consumers
Does not describe key attributes of the pricing and distribution
strategies
6
Organization: Assumptions for Improving Sales
Meets “Proficient” criteria and provides specific examples
Clearly states the assumptions for improving salesof the product
or service
States the assumptions for improving sales but lacks specificity
with regard to the chosen product or service
Does not state the assumptions for improving sales of the
product or service

7. 6
Target Market: The Market
Meets “Proficient” criteria and provides specific, persuasive
examples of how the target market will support the overall
marketing strategy
Defines the target market and justifies position with specific
examples from research
Defines target market but does not sufficiently justify position
with specific examples from research
Does not define target market
6
Target Market: Demographics
Meets “Proficient” criteria, and methodology aligns with
industry best practices
Selects demographics research that will be used to retrieve
information about the target market and consumers, and justifies
selection with research
Selects demographics research that will be used to retrieve
information about the target market and consumers, but does not
justify selection with research
Does not select demographics research that will be used to
retrieve information about the target market and consumers
6
SWOT Analysis: Internal Strengths and Weaknesses
Meets “Proficient” criteria, and analysis provides detailed
examples
Provides an analysis of the organization’sinternal strengths and
weaknesses, considering factors such as personnel, finances,
manufacturing capabilities, corporate culture, product or service
pricing, and current promotion
Provides an analysis of the organization’s internal strengths and
weaknesses but does not support position with specific
examples from research
Does not provide an analysis of the organization’s internal
strengths and weaknesses
6

8. SWOT Analysis: External Opportunities and Threats
Meets “Proficient” criteria and provides detailed examples
Provides an analysis of the organization’s external opportunities
and threats such as competitive position, applicable legislation,
technology, and other macroeconomic considerations
Provides an analysis of the organization’s external opportunities
and threats but does not support position with specific examples
from research
Does not provide an analysis of the organization’s external
opportunities and threats
6
Competitive Analysis: Scope and Nature of the Healthcare
Industry Segment
Meets “Proficient” criteria and definition is clear, uninhibited,
and persuasive
Defines the scope and nature of the healthcare industry segment
(pharmaceutical, internal medicine, rehabilitation, etc.) and
justifies position with research
Defines the scope and nature of the healthcare industry segment
but lacks specificity or does not justify position with research
Does not define the scope and nature of the healthcare industry
segment
6
Competitive Analysis: Competitors
Meets “Proficient” criteria and provides specific examples of
competitors supported by research
Determines who the organization’s competitorsare and describes
their individual strengths and weaknesses with respect to the
chosen organization’s product/service
Determines who the organization’s competitorsare, but
description of their strengths and weaknesses with respect to the
chosen organization’s product/service is lacking in detail
Does not determine who the organization’s competitorsare or
describe their individual strengths and weaknesses
6
Competitive Analysis: Key Success Factors

9. Meets "Proficient" criteria, and definition is rooted in
appropriate analysis
Defines the key success factors in the chosen industry and rates
competitors based on these factors
Defines the key success factors in the chosen industry but does
rate competitors based on these factors
Does not define the key success factors in the chosen industry
or rate competitors based on these factors
6
Competitive Analysis: Market Position
Meets “Proficient” criteria, and summary provides specific,
persuasive examples
Summarizes the organization’s market position in light of the
analysis and justifies summary with research
Summarizes the organization’s market position but does not
justify summary with research
Does not summarize the organization’s market position in light
of the analysis or justify summary with research
6
Proposed Strategies: Solving the Identified Issue
Meets “Proficient” criteria and provides specific, persuasive
examples of how the proposed strategy will support the overall
marketing plan
Proposes a strategy for solving the identified issue (sales plan,
advertising, process improvement, etc.) and explains the
rationale behind the chosen strategy
Proposes key attributes of the strategy but does not explain the
rationale behind the chosen strategy
Does not propose or explain the chosen strategy
6
Proposed Strategies: Filling a Need
Meets “Proficient” criteria and provides specific, persuasive
examples
Describes how the proposed strategy will fill a need or find a
competitive advantage
Describes how the proposed strategy will fill a need, but does

10. not describe how the strategy will find a competitive advantage
Does not describe how the proposed strategy will fill a need or
find a competitive advantage
6
Proposed Budget
Meets “Proficient” criteria, and proposed budget aligns with
industry standards
Provides a proposed budget for the entire healthcare marketing
plan, including a financial estimate for promotional materials
and any advertising that would need to be included in the
budget
Provides a proposed budget for the marketing plan, but budget
lacks specificity or does not include a financial estimate for
promotional materials and any advertising that would need to be
included in the budget
Does not provide a proposed budget for marketing plan or
include a financial estimate for promotional materials and any
advertising that would need to be included in the budget
6
Tracking Plan
Meets “Proficient” criteria, and tracking plan aligns with
industry standards
Includes a plan for tracking the effectiveness of the marketing
plan
Includes a plan for tracking the effectiveness of the marketing
plan but does not provide detail
Does not include a plan for tracking the effectiveness of the
marketing plan
6
Articulation of Response
Submission is free of errors related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, and organization and is presented in a
professional and easy to read format
Submission has no major errors related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or organization
Submission has major errors related to citations, grammar,

11. spelling, syntax, or organization that negatively impact
readability and articulation of main ideas
Submission has critical errors related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or organization that prevent understanding of
ideas
4
Earned Total
100%
Ashford 5: - Week 4 - Assignment
Computer Ethics PowerPoint
Review your initial post from this week’s discussion activity on
computer ethics. Use Microsoft
PowerPoint to create a presentation based on your initial compu
ter ethics discussion and
associated research. To view a brief 'How To' video for creating
a PowerPoint file for this
assignment, click on the video in your course shell: Creating a P
owerPoint (access this link
through your online course)
Your presentation Should:
● Identify the key points you want to highlight.
●
Contain a minimum of three slides in the body of the presentatio
n.
○
Each slide in the body of the presentation should have no more t
han three bullet

12. points.
○ Each slide must include animation.
●
Include graphics, audio, video or embedded links as needed to s
upport and enhance your
topics.
In addition:
●
Create a title slide that that includes a Title of PowerPoint, Stud
ents Name, Course
Number & Title, Instructor's Name, and Date, in that order.
●
Create a reference slide that identifies all sources used within th
e presentation (including
graphics or other multimedia)
●
Format your references according to APA style as outline in the
Ashford Writing Center,
and use in-text citations where necessary throughout the body of
your presentation.
Writing specialists are here 24/7, every day of the
year, ready to support you!
● Click HERE to instantly chat with an online tutor.
● Click HERE to submit your paper for a review. Papers are
returned within 24 hours with a revision plan.
● Click HERE to email us any writing questions.
● For additional writing resources like Grammarly, click on the

13. Writing Center tab in the left navigation pane.
●
Carefully review the Grading Rubric
for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.
https://awc.ashford.edu/index.html
http://toolmanagement.next.ecollege.com/tools/thirdparty/blti.e
d?launch=LS:LinkSystems:NetTutor:LINK_ID:LINK_DESCRIP
TION
http://toolmanagement.next.ecollege.com/tools/thirdparty/blti.e
d?launch=LS:LinkSystems:NetTutor:LINK_ID:LINK_DESCRIP
TION
https://bridgepoint.equella.ecollege.com/curriculum/file/77fdaf6
1-d89d-4816-8b1e-
5a238c3f86a0/1/The%20Grammarly%20Guide%20How%20to%
20Set%20Up%20%26%20Use%20Grammarly_LSWC.zip/story.h
tml
http://ashford.waypointoutcomes.com/assessment/5107/preview
Ashford 5: - Week 4 - Weekly Lecture
Weekly Lecture
Week Four Lecture
ELABORATION

14. Last week, we started to look at issues of privacy and security o
n the Internet. This week, we will
take a deeper look at the social Internet and how this new paradi
gm impacts our digital lives.
What is Web 2.0?
When the Internet first started, it was a great place to publish in
formation. Because publishing was
so difficult (one had to know HTML and have access to speciali
zed web servers), few individuals
created web pages. Websites were created by organizations or b
usinesses and focused on
delivering “read only” content, where individuals were consume
rs of the content. Few individuals
created personal webpages.
The term Web 2.0 refers to the second-generation of the Internet
, often referred to as the “social
Internet.” In this new Internet, individual users become both co
nsumers and creators of Internet
content. Did anything really change or is there really a new Inte
rnet? Yes and no. Technology
moved forward enough to provide new tools and services that m
ade it easy for the novice user to
create Internet content. Best of all, these tools and services are
generally available to the average
user free of charge!
What are some of these tools that make up Web 2.0? It’s difficu
lt to tell which came first, so I’ll
focus on categories of tools.
Social networking websites such as Facebook, MySpace, and Ya
mmer have gained popularity
among a wide range of users. Once thought to be the domain of
the young, social networking
sites boast a well-rounded population of users. According to a P
EW Institute research report
(Duggan & Brenner, 2013), a full 33% of all Facebook users are

15. 50 years of age or older. Social
media sites provide users with a way to connect with family, fri
ends, and colleagues by posting
just about anything that interests them.
Blogging, or creating a web log, is another way users can devel
op content for the Internet. With a
wide variety of free sites such as Blogger and WordPress, users
can create blogs for almost any
purpose and post content quickly and easily. Content can be si
mple text or rich media. Blogs can
contain multiple linked pages, similar to websites, making them
an excellent alternative to
traditional website creation. The popularity of blogging has incr
eased over the years, as publishing
tools have become even easier to use.
Along the same lines of blogging is micro-blogging, or Twitter.
Here the user can send tweets of
up to 140 characters on just about any topic and follow other T
witter users. These tweets are
pushed out to followers, making them available immediately to t
he entire Twitter community.
Because millions of users are connected worldwide, information
is available in almost real-time.
As a result, many news stories broke first on Twitter before the
rest of the traditional news media
was reporting the story. Indeed, Twitter followers often were th
e first to learn of major news stories
almost as they occurred. This is because those who were living t
he experience were reporting
what they saw through micro-tweets.
In addition to social networking and blogging sites, users can cr
eate content on a number of other
tools such as SlideShare (for sharing PowerPoint presentations),

16. YouTube (for sharing videos), as
well as sites such as StumbleUpon, Diigo, and Pinterest for soci
al bookmarking.
Living in a Digital World
In Chapter 8, Bowles continues his discussion of what it means
to live in a digital world. Bowles
provides excellent warning about privacy, piracy, and pornograp
hy. Most importantly, Bowles
discusses how to protect yourself and your family from these da
ngers. Pay special attention to the
discussions on virus and malware attacks. According to Kaspers
ky (Raiu & Emm, 2013), a
manufacturer of Internet security products, the biggest threat of
malware is on mobile devices. In
addition, there appears to be an increasing attack on mobile ban
king, “the mobile world is one the
fastest-developing IT security areas” (Raiu & Emm, 2013, para.
1). As a result, security and
proper protection is very important.
However, viruses and malware are not the only threats to your p
rivacy and safety on the Internet.
There are many schemes that prey on human vulnerabilities to ta
ke advantage of Internet users.
“Get rich quick” schemes are everywhere. While there are many
ways in which one can
legitimately make money on the Internet (e-commerce being one
), there are many, many scams
that seek to separate you from your hard-earned cash. Email and
Internet fraud is everywhere and
one must be savvy to spot the schemes. Dvorak (2010) wrote a
wonderful article for PC Magazine
that describes how one can spot an Internet hoax. The number o
ne way that you can spot a hoax:
it’s on the Internet (Dvorak, 2010). I think what Dvorak is sayin
g is that we must be aware,

17. understand our own responsibility in protecting our digital ident
ity, and stay alert to possible fraud.
Because of digital connectivity, we have access to individuals fr
om around the world as well as
those individuals right in our own backyards in ways that remov
e the limitations of time and space.
We can carry on conversations through our computers whether t
hey are through chat or through
video conferencing. Businesses can save millions of dollars con
necting employees and customers
through web conferencing tools. Employees can enjoy the benef
its of telework. However, all of
this connectivity comes at a price: increasing bandwidth require
ments. Bandwidth is used to
describe how much data can be sent or received and how quickl
y the packets will be transmitted.
In the United States, bandwidth can be expensive. In fact, we ha
ve some of the most expensive
and slowest Internet connections available (McNicholas, 2011).
Not surprisingly, Asian countries
such as Japan and South Korea have made significant investmen
ts in Internet infrastructure. Here
in the United States, companies are worried that the costs of ma
king such improvements to our
infrastructure will be slow to recoup. But as the rest of the worl
d offers faster, cheaper Internet
speeds, the US will need to increase bandwidth in order to comp
ete in a global economy.
Finally, with all of this connectivity, we need to be mindful of t
he legal implications. Our world has
become flat (Bowles, 2013), we have great deal of information a
vailable at our finger tips.
Remember our discussions on intellectual property? The ease of

18. which we can obtain information
can blur the lines between ownership of intellectual assets once
they are made available on the
Internet. Be sure to take the time to understand why it is import
ant to honor those who provide us
with intellectual assets and give proper credit through appropria
te academic citations.
PowerPoint
PowerPoint is the third and final application in the Microsoft Of
fice suite that we will be exploring in
this class. PowerPoint is used to create presentations of all type
s, but most often, it is used to
create business presentations. One of the reasons PowerPoint is
such a powerful presentation
tool is because of the number of different types of elements that
can be embedded in a
presentation. A user can include graphic elements including ph
otographs and clip art, animated
content, live links to Internet content, embedded videos and sou
nd files, and elements created in
other Microsoft applications such as Excel data, charts, or graph
s.
Because presentations can be, well, boring, users need to learn h
ow to effectively use PowerPoint
to create professional presentations that get the message across
without putting the audience to
sleep. Learning how to avoid the “wall of words” is important.
According to Garr Reynolds (2013),
presentations should follow some basic guidelines to be effectiv
e. Consider simple, clean
presentations that use a minimum of distracting elements. Limit
bullet points and transitions, and
use high-quality graphics that are essential to your presentation.
However, the most important
thing to remember about PowerPoint presentations is the messag

19. e! Be sure that your message is
clearly told and not lost in the technology.
To help you remember these points, I recommend watching a ve
ry funny yet all too important
presentation by comedian and engineer Don McMillan titled, “
Life After Death by PowerPoint”:
http://youtu.be/KbSPPFYxx3o. Although meant to be a humorou
s look at PowerPoint
presentations, Don provides some very useful information for an
yone learning to create
presentations. Enjoy!
References
http://youtu.be/KbSPPFYxx3o
Bowles, M. D. (2013). Introduction to computer literacy
. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education,
Inc.
Dvorak, J. C. (2010, December 1).
Top 10 ways to spot an Internet hoax. PCMag . Retrieved from
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2373694,00.asp
Duggan, M., & Brenner, J. (2013, February 14).
The demographics of social media users – 2012
[PDF file]. Retrieved from PEW Research Center:
http://pewinternet.org/~/media/Files/Reports/2013/PIP_SocialM
ediaUsers.pdf
McNicholas, K. (2011, January 24).
The fastest Internet speeds in the world. Forbes . Retrieved
from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kymmcnicholas/2011/01/24/the-fas
test-internet-speeds-in-the-world/
Raiu, C., & Emm, D. (2013, December 10).
Kaspersky security bulletin 2013 . Overall statistics for
2013 . Retrieved from

20. http://www.securelist.com/en/analysis/204792318/Kaspersky_Se
curity_Bulletin_2013_Overall_sta
tistics_for_2013
Reynolds, G. (2013).Top ten slide tips . Retrieved from
http://www.garrreynolds.com/preso-tips/design/
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2373694,00.asp
http://pewinternet.org/~/media/Files/Reports/2013/PIP_SocialM
ediaUsers.pdf
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kymmcnicholas/2011/01/24/the-
fastest-internet-speeds-in-the-world/
http://www.securelist.com/en/analysis/204792318/Kaspersky_Se
curity_Bulletin_2013_Overall_statistics_for_2013
http://www.garrreynolds.com/preso-tips/design/
HCM 325: Milestone One Rubric
Prompt: Describe your chosen organization and the product or
service that will be the focus of your marketing plan. Describe
the organization’s mission, vision, values, goals, and market
objectives and describe the product or service, along with your
rationale for choosing your product or service. The following
critical elements must be addressed:
· Explain your chosen healthcare organization and describe its
mission, goals, and current products or services.
· Describe an existing issue with one of the products or services
offered by the healthcare organization.
· Describe the product or service price and placement within the
market (for example, the Providence outpatient clinic for the
homeless utilizes Medicaid as its main payer source and is
located in downtown Portland).
· Describe the root cause of the issue, and clearly state
assumptions for improving sales of this product or service.

21. Guidelines for Submission: Submit this milestone as a Word
document that is one page in length and uses double spacing,
12-point Times New Roman font, one-inch margins. Sources
must cited in APA style.
Critical Elements
Proficient (100%)
Needs Improvement (70%)
Not Evident (0%)
Value
Mission, Goals, and Current Products or Services
Outlines the company’s mission, goals, and current products or
services
Outlines the company’s mission, goals, and current products or
services but lacks specificity
Does not outline the company’s mission, goals, and current
products or services
20
Existing Issue
Defines an existing issue with one of the products or services
offered by the healthcare organization
Defines an existing issue but lacks specificity with regard to the
chosen product or service
Does not define an existing issue
20
Price and Placement
Describes key attributes of the pricing and distribution strategy
with regard to the chosen product or service’s value and
placement within the market
Details a pricing and distribution strategy but lacks specificity
with regard to the availability or value to the targeted
consumers
Does not describe key attributes of the pricing and distribution
strategies
20

22. Assumptions for Improving Sales
Clearly states the assumptions for improving salesof the product
or service
States the assumptions for improving sales but lacks specificity
with regard to the chosen product or service
Does not state the assumptions for improving sales of the
product or service
20
Articulation of Response
Submission has no major errors related to citations, grammar,
spelling, or syntax
Submission has major errors related to citations, grammar,
spelling, or syntax that negatively impact readability and
articulation of main ideas
Submission has critical errors related to citations, grammar,
spelling, or syntax that prevent understanding of ideas
20
Earned Total
100%