A process strategy is an organization’s approach to transforming resources into goods and services. Which process strategy would a hospital...

Process strategy involves figuring out the most efficient way to produce a good or deliver a service so that processes do not need to be outsourced and so that quality assurance is maximized. There are four types of process strategies: process focus; repetitive focus; product focus; and mass customization.

A hospital needs to implement the process strategy of process focus, which involves producing low-volume services that involve a high degree of variety. This type of process strategy permits a business to use flexible strategies to produce different kinds of services and to concentrate on the processes that are essential to a business. For example, a hospital would concentrate on the processes of patient care and patient outcomes, as these processes and everything that goes into them (including nursing, physician care, pharmacy care, nutrition, etc.) are essential to the core business of the hospital. 

Repetitive focus involves the mass production of goods and services through repetitive processes. A hospital uses these types of functions, such as in food production, but they are not as essential to the hospital as the special functions it provides in giving medical care. 

Product focus involves producing high volumes of a particular product without a great deal of variety or flexibility. This is not usually the focus of a hospital, unless it is a specialized hospital that focuses on one area, such as surgery, as most hospitals offer a variety of types of medical care.

Mass customization, which is the most complicated type of process strategy, involves using up the resources of the organization to suit the needs of its customers on a constantly changing basis. A hospital must also use this strategy at times, as the hospital must deliver what the patient wants when he or she wants it. For example, different patients will require different types of medical or other interventions depending on their needs. One person in a community hospital might need diabetes care, while another might need a knee replacement surgery. The hospital must customize its services for each patient.