Guest blog: Mini-summit health care system

The “Mini-summits” entered the second round on September 11 on the topic of the “health care system”. Among the major challenges for health care professionals are the tension between an increasing cost pressure and the lack of public will to reduce health care services.

Organized by Prof. Sybille Sachs and Matthias Mölleney, these issues were discussed by: Dr. Leo Boos, partner at H Focus AG, Jeanette Bürki, former head of various hospitals, Andrea Dörig, head of the department of care of the hospitals Schaffhausen, Monika Eichelberger, director of long-term care of Schlössli Biel, Hans Groth, president WDA Forum St. Gall, Franz Schneller, consultant for health projects, Markus Stauffer, Co-Head of the Center for Health Care Management at HWZ and CEO of Wittlin Stauffer AG, Beat Stierlin, CEO of the hospital of Barmelweid AG, Dr. Tania Weng, head of the project “QualiCCare”, Dr. Peter Wittlin, Co-head of the Center for Health Care Management at HWZ and CEO of Wittlin Stauffer AG.

What new strategic challenges are arising for the health care system?

A stakeholder view on secession movements

One of the key assumptions of a stakeholder approach to the world – be it individual, social, economic or political – is that power should be both decentralized and inclusive. Implicit in this is that all stakeholders have a right to – also unilaterally - withdraw from participation in such a common enterprise. Often, such a withdrawal is however difficult, be it divorce from a marriage or a firm laying people off. At times, as for example with a small mom-and-pop store being subject to its country’s taxation policies, it is virtually impossible.

A critique of traditional economy

In an article in the NZZ of April 26, 2014, the editor Andreas Uhlig reported that Andrew Haldane, executive director of the Bank of England, has criticized the foundations of contemporary economy fundamentally. Haldane stated that “the unrestrained self-interest of individuals and companies, greed and unrestricted competition… have harmed society and made it poorer”. He made a case for “rethinking some of the central components of contemporary economy”. This would lead to a redefinition of the basic assumptions and insights of economic theory, and it would also have far-reaching consequences on the level of individual companies and for the Theory of the Firm.  

This critique, formulated by such a renowned figure, is of great interest for our institute, since we have aligned our own research of over ten years towards such a critique of the basic assumptions of the Theory of the Firm and of corporate strategy.