Gregory N. Stock

Operational and contextual drivers of hospital costs.

PURPOSE The purpose of this paper is to examine empirically how operational performance and contextual factors contribute to differences in overall patient care costs across different hospitals. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH Administrative data are employed from a sample of hospitals in New York State to construct measures of contextual factors, operational performance, and cost per patient. Operational performance and cost variables are adjusted to account for case mix differences across hospitals. Hierarchical regression is used to analyze the effects of contextual and operational variables on cost performance. FINDINGS Increased length of stay, increased patient volume, and educational mission were associated with higher cost per patient. Mortality performance was associated with lower cost per patient. However, it was not found that location, size, or ownership status had a significant relationship with cost performance. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS This paper identifies several significant relationships between contextual and operational variables and hospital costs. From a managerial perspective, these findings highlight the fact that some drivers of cost in hospitals are under the control of managers. One of the primary cost drivers in the study is length of stay, which implies that there is significant room for improvement in healthcare performance through a focus on operational excellence. ORIGINALITY/VALUE For researchers, the present study highlights the relative importance of operational versus contextual factors, with respect to cost performance in hospitals. The results of this study also provide direction for additional research into the role operational performance might play in determining the overall organizational performance in a hospital.

The Bachelor of Innovation™ Family of Degrees: Transforming Education in Engineering to Education in Innovation

Abstract- This paper focuses on the transformation of education in engineering to education in engineering innovation. In particular, this paper describes the award winning Bachelor of InnovationTM (BI) family of degrees at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, which is a unique partnership between the schools of business and engineering that includes four BI degrees in engineering. We first examine the motivation and need for a radically new approach. This approach is based on a new common core of innovation courses and family of degrees and majors, in contrast to efforts at many schools that offer only a single major or course. A critical element of this radical approach is that the program span across departments, colleges, and even beyond the boundaries of the university. Second, we describe in detail the BI degree structure and summarize the unique aspects of the program, from the three-year multi-disciplinary team experience to the trademarked name. We present our BI program as its own case study in innovation within higher education and review the key challenges we faced. We then review existing university engineering programs and demonstrate the unique position of the BI family of degrees relative to these other programs. We conclude with lessons learned and a look at some accomplishments so far.

ORGANISATIONAL SLACK AND NEW PRODUCT TIME TO MARKET PERFORMANCE

Using archival data from two different industries, this paper examines the relationship between organisational slack and new product time to market performance. Prior research has shown that there is a relationship between slack and performance, but this prior research has primarily considered slack as it relates to financial performance or the innovativeness of a firm or its products. In this paper, using data from the computer modem and video game industries across more than 40 years, we test the hypotheses relating organisational slack time to market performance for new products. Cox regression analysis in general supports the hypothesised relationships, although there are some differences in the exact nature of the relationship across the two industries. We conclude by discussing the implications of these results for research and practice.