HCM 400 Final Project Guidelines and Rubric
Overview
The final project for this course is the creation of a written proposal.
While healthcare organizations differ greatly, managers in various departments in organizations must propose changes to processes, the purchase of new
equipment, the addition of employees, and many other changes to executives and boards to obtain approval. For this course, you will place yourself in the role
of a manager in an organization of your choice. You are tasked with creating a written proposal that will add value to an organization and will impact the budget.
This may come in the form of adding updated equipment, changing a process to become more streamlined, and so on. You will be submitting your proposal to
your instructor, who will be playing the roles of CEO and budgetary board, for consideration. This assessment will require you to defend your proposal in terms
of the value added and the financial impacts to the organization, as you would need to in the real world.
You will select your organization using the specific guidance provided in the Milestone Two Guidelines and Rubric document. You must ensure that sufficient
financial information is available to support your work on this project. You will confirm with your instructor that the topic or area of interest of your proposal
will allow you to sufficiently answer all of the questions in the prompt below. You also have the option of selecting your place of employment, within
healthcare, as approved by your instructor.
The project is divided into four 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, Four, and Six. The final project will be submitted in Module Seven.
In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:
• Articulate key managerial accounting principles in healthcare using appropriate terminology
• Determine financial impacts in healthcare by analyzing major forces affecting the delivery of health services
• Utilize financial statements to inform short- and long-term strategic planning
• Craft high-level proposals that address budgeting consideration by justifying spending for healthcare services
Prompt
Your proposal report should answer the following prompt: Considering the major forces in healthcare today, what improvements or changes would you propose
for your selected organization? How would your proposal add value to the organization, and what impact would your proposal have in terms of the financial
and budgetary considerations?
Specifically the following critical elements must be addressed, but the proposal that you are creating may require you to address these aspects in a
different order. Please organize your report in the manner that seems the most logical for your topic.
I. Introduction
A. What are the major forces affecting the delivery of healthcare today? Discuss these forces and their corresponding impacts on today’s healthcare
environment.
B. Impact of Forces: What healthcare service and delivery opportunities and challenges exist because of the forces discussed above? Define the
challenges and opportunities that exist for today’s healthcare leaders.
C. Opportunities: Based on your analysis of the major forces, impacts, and opportunities provided, consider the specific organization that you
selected. What opportunities exist for this organization, and how do these opportunities relate to the big-picture view of healthcare?
D. Proposal: What is your proposal for addressing identified issues or improvements within your organization? In other words, what changes are you
trying to incorporate in your selected organization?
II. Financial and Budgetary Considerations
A. Financial Statements: What financial statements will you utilize in making your proposal, and how will you use these statements?
B. Proposal Impact: What impact will your proposal have on the organization’s financial statements? Articulate the impact using appropriate
terminology.
C. Flexed Versus Fixed: How would your proposal be different if using a flexed budget versus a fixed budget? In other words, how would the use of
one type of budget versus the other impact your proposal, and how would your proposal impact the budget? (Evaluate the differences between a
fixed and a flexed budget.)
III. Proposal Justification
A. Ratio Selection: What ratios will you use to support your proposal and why? Select the ratio or ratios that would be the most appropriate.
B. Ratio Results: Calculate the selected ratios and articulate the results using accurate terminology. What do the results tell you about the viability of
your proposal?
C. Short- and Long-Term Impact: Based on your calculations and financial statement analysis, determine the short-term and long-term impact on
the organization and the organization’s financials. What is the short-term and long-term financial impact of your proposal for the organization?
How can you plan to strategically mitigate the impact on the financials of the company, or how will your proposal help inform strategic planning in
the short and long term?
IV. Closing Statement/ Conclusion
A. Added Value: What value will your proposal add to the organization? Justify the value or improvement your proposal will add for the
organization, in consideration of trends in healthcare.
B. Justification of Proposal: How appropriate is your proposal based on your financial analysis? Justify your proposal based on the financials and
budgetary considerations. If you feel that your proposal is not appropriate given your analysis, explain why, with support of your reasoning.
Milestone One: Draft Proposal: Major Forces
Milestones
In Module Two, you will submit a draft proposal for critical elements located in Section I, parts A and B (see above under Prompt), defining the major forces
affecting the delivery of healthcare. You will be required to describe the opportunities and challenges as they relate to healthcare leaders. Additionally, you
should include the types of leases that might be considered for financial operations. In your response, consider the opportunities and challenges for today’s
healthcare leaders. The format should be a minimum of 2 pages in length. This milestone is graded with the Milestone One Rubric.
Milestone Two: Healthcare Organization Selection
In Module Three, you will select a company within the healthcare industry that you will use later for your capital budget proposal research. You will submit the
healthcare organization selection to the instructor to ensure that you are able to attend to each aspect of the assessment. The format should be a 2- to 3-
paragraph journal assignment. This milestone is graded with the Milestone Two Rubric.
Milestone Three: Draft Proposal: Capital Budget Item Selection and Opportunities Available for Proposal
In Module Four, you will submit a draft proposal for Section I, parts C and D. Using the approved healthcare organization and the information gathered, identify
the capital budget item or items that will be used as the basis for the written capital budget proposal. You must include how the proposal recommendations
reflect the big-picture view of healthcare. Refer to the Note on Operational Budgeting in Health Care (located in your coursepack) for final project budget
guidance. The format should be a minimum of 1 page in length. This milestone is graded with the Milestone Three Rubric.
Milestone Four: Finance, Budget, and Justification
In Module Six, you will submit a draft proposal for Sections II and III. You will provide financial statement analyses, profitability ratios, and ratio analyses to
support the capital budget proposal formulated in Milestone Three. You will also use financial calculations to support proposal recommendations and to explain
the short- and long-term financial impact for the organization. The format should be a minimum of 2 pages in length. This milestone is graded with the
Milestone Four Rubric.
Final Product: Written Proposal
In Module Seven, you will submit a written proposal on your selected organization. You will provide an explanation of how the capital budget proposal supports
the operational and strategic goals of the organization. You will be required to explain the value of the capital proposal in consideration of current trends in
healthcare and to provide financial statement support and analysis. The written proposal should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the critical
elements of the final product. It should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course. The final product will be graded using the Final
Product Rubric.
Deliverables
Milestone Deliverables Module Due Grading
One Draft Proposal: Major Forces Two Graded separately; Milestone One Rubric
Two Healthcare Organization Selection Three Graded separately; Milestone Two Rubric
Three Draft Proposal: Capital Budget Item
Selection and Opportunities Available
for Proposal
Four Graded separately; Milestone Three Rubric
Four Finance, Budget, and Justification Six Graded separately; Milestone Four Rubric
Final Product: Written Proposal Seven Graded separately; Final Product Rubric
Final Product Rubric
Guidelines for Submission: Your written proposal should be long enough to sufficiently cover all necessary material, including key budgetary information and any
external resources used in preparation; however, the number of pages is less important than the content and organization of the report. Your proposal should be
organized logically, as it will be used to convince your supervisor and budgetary board (your instructor) to approve your changes.
Critical Elements Exemplary (100%) Proficient (85%) Needs Improvement (55%) Not Evident (0%) Value
Introduction: Major
Forces
Meets “Proficient” criteria,
and discussion evidences
keen insight into the
current healthcare
environment
Discusses the impacts of major
forces in today’s healthcare
environment with emphasis
on the effect on healthcare
delivery
Discusses the major forces in
today’s healthcare
environment, but not
their impacts, or without
focus on the effect on
healthcare delivery
Does not discuss the major
forces in today’s healthcare
environment
5
Impact of Forces Meets “Proficient”
criteria and evidences
keen insight into the
greater environment of
healthcare and the recent
challenges and
opportunities
Accurately defines the
challenges and opportunities
faced by today’s healthcare
leaders based on the forces
in today’s healthcare
environment
Defines challenges and
opportunities faced by
today’s healthcare leaders,
but with gaps in detail or
accuracy based on the forces
in today’s healthcare
environment
Does not define challenges
and opportunities faced by
today’s healthcare leaders
8
Opportunities Meets “Proficient” criteria
and evidences keen insight
into incorporating the bigpicture views into
organizational settings
Translatesthe big-picture view
of healthcare to the selected
organization to identify areas
of opportunity
Identifies areas of opportunity
within the selected
organization but without the
connective detail to the bigpicture view of healthcare
Does not identify areas of
opportunity within the
selected organization
8
Proposal Meets “Proficient” criteria
and evidences keen insight
into needs and
opportunities within the
healthcare organization
Conceptualizes reasonable
change(s) for proposal within
the organization based on the
identification of opportunities
Conceptualizes change(s) for
proposal within the
organization, but changes are
not reasonable or not based
on the identification of
opportunities
Does not conceptualize
changes
for proposal within
the organization
8
Financial
Statements
Meets “Proficient” criteria
and
evidences keen insight
into the use of financials
for proposal creation
Identifiesthe correct financial
statements and information
for use in preparing the
proposal
Identifiesincorrect financial
statements and information
or misses key financial
elements necessary for
preparing the proposal
Does not identify financial
statements and information
for preparing the proposal
8
Proposal Impact Meets “Proficient”
criteria, and articulation
evidences keen insight
into the nuanced impacts
organizational changes
can have on financial
statements
Clearly articulates how the
proposal could impact the
financialstatements of the
organization
Articulatesthe relationship
between the proposal and
the financialstatement, but
does not correctly describe
the potential impact of the
proposal on the statements
of the organization
Does not articulate the
relationship between the
proposal and financial
statements of the
organization
1
0
Flexed vs. Fixed Meets “Proficient” criteria
and
evidences keen insight into
the
financial nuances of
fixed and flexed budgets
in healthcare
Accurately discussesthe
differences between flexed
and
fixed budgets in relation to
the proposal
Discussesthe differences
between flexed and fixed
budgets, but with gaps in
accuracy or not in relation
to the proposal
Does not discuss the difference
between flexed and fixed
budgets
8
Ratio Selection Meets “Proficient” criteria
and evidences keen
insight into the uses and
benefits of financial ratios
for budget proposal
Selects financial ratios
appropriate for support of
the proposal
Selects financial ratios, but
they are not appropriate for
supporting the proposal
Does not select financial ratios 8
Ratio Results Meets “Proficient” criteria
and evidences keen
insight into the use of
ratios and financial
terminology in healthcare
settings
Articulatesthe results of
ratio calculations accurately
using appropriate financial
terminology
Articulatesthe results of
ratio calculations, but with
gaps in accuracy or without
use of appropriate
terminology
Does not articulate the
results of ratio calculations
8
Short- and LongTerm Impact
Meets “Proficient” criteria
and
evidences keen
insight into financial
and organization
impact of proposalsin
healthcare
Determines accurately the
short- and long-term
potential impact of the
proposal on the
organization and the
organization’sfinancials
Determines short- and longterm impacts of the
proposal on the
organization and
financials, but with gaps in
accuracy, logic, or detail
Does not determine the
shortand long-term impacts of
the proposal on the
organization and financials
8
Added Value Meets “Proficient” criteria
and
shows keen insight into
valuing and justifying
proposalsfor
organizational
improvement
Justifies the value the proposal
will add to the organization
with support from trends in
the healthcare environment
Describesthe value the
proposal will add, but does
not justify with support from
trends in the healthcare
environment
Does not describe the value
the
proposal will add to
the organization
8
Financial
Justification
Meets “Proficient” criteria
and
evidences keen insight
regarding financial
needs and justification
in healthcare
Justifies or denies the
appropriateness of the
proposal in terms of financial
and budgetary considerations
Explains the financial and
budgetary considerations, but
does not justify or deny the
appropriateness of the
proposal in terms of these
considerations
Does not explain the financial
and budgetary considerations
8
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,
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
5
Total 100%