Proposal for Business Plan Model for EMR Project
Proposal for Business Plan Model for EMR project
Business Plans are documents that represent the specific details of a business covering three major aspects of a business – the concept, market for the intended product or service and the financial sources which are further broken down into summary of the plan, details of the business, marketing strategies, competition assessment, growth strategies, operations and management, and financial information (Burns Millyard, 2016). The primary purpose of the business plan is to demonstrate the objectives and direction of the business .Six typical of Business plans have been described as start-up, internal, strategic, feasibility, operations and growth plans (Paige, 2016). We begin by comparing and contrasting four of these models namely start-up, internal, strategic and operations plans.
All the models listed above have some similar features as they address similar issues like markets and financial resources and the strategies. However they may differ considering the type of business for which they have been developed. We discuss the similarities and differences in the models below
Start up Business Plan Model
A start up model is used to present the details of a new business. It summarizes the different aspects of the new venture like the product or service, process and technology, functional management, competition, target consumers and arrangement of funds for the start up (Paige, A. 2016). The significant component of a start up model is its financial analysis computation which depicts the investment, cash flow and profits. It may follow the format of a standard plan to attract investments ( Hormozi, Sutton, McMinn, & Lucio, 2002)
Strengths. The strength of a start up business model lies in its flexibility, as it can be reviewed and revised annually to ensure that it is following the right track (Cavico, Orta, Muffler and Mujtaba, 2014). A detailed financial analysis also helps in attracting investors and explains the business objectives to suppliers, customers, employees and all other stake holders (Lawrence & Moyes, 2009).
Limitations. However the validity of the plan is only for initial period of the start up. Once the business is well established, new plans may have to be developed to outline its growth strategies. Also it is effective for small and medium sized businesses
Internal Business Plan Model
This model is used for describing a new project in an existing organization and meant for audience within the company. It summarizes the deployment of resources from within the company for successful completion of the project. It also evaluates the company’s current position and the significance of the project to its profitability. A market analysis may also be done to understand its market value (Paige, 2016).
Strengths. It gives a chance to evaluate the available resources of the firm and promotes positive behavior such as team work and coordination for successful completion of the project.
Limitations. They are very concise and may not be very meaningful to external stakeholders like investors. Also they tend to ignore external factors that may influence internal working of the firm.
Strategic Business Plan Model
A strategic model describes the long term goals and the strategies formulated to achieve them. It involves all functions of the entire company. A strategic plan is composed of business vision, mission statement, definition of critical success factors, strategies for achieving objectives and an implementation schedule (Paige, 2016). It integrates the role of all levels to realize the strategic goals.
Strengths. It gives a clear road map of the company’s future position and helps in tracking its progress. It gives an opportunity to examine the strengths and weaknesses of the organization and align them with the strategic goals.
Limitations. Strategic plans do not provide for unforeseen changes in external factors such as economic recession, market conditions and technological breakthrough.
Operational Business Plan Model
This model is a type of internal plan that focuses on the operational aspect of business. It includes the implementation milestones and project schedules as well as assigns responsibilities to employees. The operational budget is also a part of the plan.
Strengths. Defining timeline and roles of employees, helps in staying on track to meet schedules, avoids ambiguity of roles and facilitates assignment of priorities and evaluation of progress
Limitations. Being a type of internal plan, it also tends to overlook external issues. Also it focuses only on the operational aspect of the project and may neglect other functional aspects.
Comparison with Business Plan Models in Microsoft Project
The Microsoft project is software that helps in developing a business plan model. Any of the above models can be developed in Microsoft project by breaking down its constituents into sets of smaller tasks given in the software such as allocating resources, estimating task duration and creating task dependencies. A MS business model also has the same basic structure except that the software facilitates accurate computation of resources, time period using the task dependency data and the final milestone dates.
Selecting the Appropriate Business Model for EMR Project
The most appropriate model for Electronic Medical Records (EMR) of patients in a health care business will be the Standard Business Model developed in MS projects. The reason for selecting this model is that it is a project within the existing organization and although calls for internal deployment of resources, funds for the project will be arranged from outside.
A standard business plan must include information about the financial performance so as to convince the investors about the profitability of the project (Berry, 2016). The standard plan may incorporate the components of an internal plan but the author recommends that the executive summary be written at the end of the document. Also it should include standard charts and tables representing cash flow statements, financial ratios, projected profit and loss statement and market analysis.The specific components of the Plan include
Description of product or service
Providing Electronic Medical Reports of patients in a health care organization
Business and industry profile
The health care industry is gaining high prominence that reaches beyond pharmacy and hospitals. It now also encompasses health care services like diagnostics, nursing, maintenance of medical records and other specialized treatments. With more awareness in people about wellness, healthcare business has a profitable growth prospect in future.
Marketing components
With more healthcare firms competing to provide value added services to clients, there is bound to be high competition. However marketing strategies like advertisements, recommendations from doctors and celebrity endorsement will be used to promote the service.
Financial information
The funds for the project will be sourced from external investors like banks or venture capitalists.
Operational plan
The operation plan will consist of collection, sorting and feeding of patient information by creating individual patient files in the company website and all relevant information will be stored in them. The records can be accessed by the departments when needed.
References
Berry, T. (2016). A Standard Business Plan Outline. Bplans. Retrieved from http://articles.bplans.com/a-standard-business-plan-outline/
Cavico, F. J., Orta, M., Muffler, S. C., & Mujtaba, B. G. (2014). Business Plans as Legally Protected Trade Secrets under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act. Journal of Business Studies Quarterly, 6(2), 42.
Hormozi, A. M., Sutton, G. S., McMinn, R. D., & Lucio, W. (2002). Business plans for new or small businesses: paving the path to success. Management Decision, 40(8), 755-763.
Kathy Burns-Millyard (2016). What Is the Importance & Purpose of a Business Plan? Small Business. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-purpose-business-plan-760.html
Lawrence, S., & Moyes, F. (2009). Writing a Successful Business Plan.
Retrieved from https:// Leeds-faculty.colorado.edu/moyes/html/documents/WritingaSuccessfulBusinessPlan2009.pdf
Paige, A. (2016). 6 types of Business plans. Small Business. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/6-types-business-plans-2591.html
