Samenvatting

This research was conducted on behalf of the education of ‘Management in Healthcare’ at the University of Applied Sciences Leiden. The study of ‘Management in Healthcare’ is an dual education that is intended for working healthcare professionals to a middle manager position in the healthcare and welfare sector.

In the past academic year (2015-2016) ‘Management in Healthcare’ has introduces a flexible curriculum. This implies that the study program can be tailored to the individual student and the business situation of the employer. The changes made this year didn’t turn the decreasing amount of students. Therefore it is essential to have a good insight in the current market situation of the healthcare and welfare sector. Without this understanding a good value proposition for Management in Healthcare is not possible. This research will eventually answer the following central question:

What is the current market situation of the Dutch health- and welfare sector with regard to
the training/educating of middle management/management and staff?

This paper starts with the literature section to assign the direction of this research. The discussed theories and the conceptual model illustrates the dimension of business-to-business relationships and how they must be created and maintained. Creating value is the core of a business-to-business relationship. The conceptual model is based on the model of Osterwalders, Pigneur, Bernarda & Smith (2014). This model implies that the value proposition of organisations should be recognised by the customer segment in order to realize a perfect fit between both organisations and customer.

After constructing this framework, the desk research will indicate the value propostion of Management in Healtcare, what content there is given to Customer Relationship Management and which position the education is holding at the University of Applied Sciences Leiden. Thereafter an evaluation of the most important developments of the health and welfare sector will be given. The qualitative research reveals the composition of the strategic education policies of potential healthcare organisations and what the needs are regarding education middle managers.

It can be concluded that the Dutch healthcare- and welfare sector is under pressure because it is going through many changes in terms of course, price, quality and financing. Staff reorganisations resulting from this development, are leading to a cutback on the amount of management and staff members. In addition, organisations in the health sector are lacking a clear vision on the strategic education policy. Regarding to the current value proposition of ‘Management in Healthcare’ it can be concluded that there is not a fit with the needs of the potential customer segment. Furthermore, it can be concluded that due to the lack of knowledge with respect of the current value proposition a negative attitude towards management in general and the education ‘Management in Healthcare’ in specific is what this research shows. Finally there is a clear lack of customer focus with regard to the staff of ‘Management of Healtcare’.

There are several recommendations to meet the objective to increase the number of students of Management in Healthcare. First of all ‘Management in Healthcare’ should implement Customer Relationship Management in all its facets.. This means the presence of a customer information system, a customer centric culture and emphasis on market intelligence. By centralizing the Customer Relationship Management process a profitable customer portfolio will be realized. Finally, various sales- and relationship management activities are initiated to gain prospect information.