Business Perspectives
Business Perspectives
Management Summary
La Brea Pharmacy is managed by one owner. This owner will provide funding from his own savings: cover the start-up expenses and provide the financial ground for the first six months of facility’s operation. The company plans to start as a single outlet and later expand the business by opening new outlets in other areas. Highly qualified employees willsupport the prosperity of the company.
La Brea Pharmacy is a sole proprietorship.At first, the owner will have full control of the business management. Financing business through personal savings will make a powerful incentive for its quick promotion. In addition, the owner will get the freedom and flexibility in making management decisions. With the expansion of the organization it is planned to transition to a limited liability company (LLC) or S corporation.
Management Structure
The staff of the first outlet of the company will consist of experienced and qualified employees, such as Chief Executive Officer, Pharmacist Manager, Information Technologist, Merchandize Manager, Cashier, Sales agents, and Сleaners.The creation of loyal team is essential in the development and prosperity of the organization. Our management approach will be focused on rising employees’ confidence, energy, initiative and responsibility. The attention isdirected to personal and professional growth. We are aware of the main clues to successful management of the pharmaceutical outlet, therefore honesty, kindness, friendliness to customers and the staff are as much the requirements as the years of experience.
The organization has chosen its ways of the achievement of the loyal team, such as careful selection of employees, maximum independence with strict control of key performance indicators, involving all categories of employees for all forms of company, the system to encourage employees, a working system of mentoring and talent pool, maximum transparency in the relationship, availability management, while maintaining reasonable sufficiency (Halvorson, 2013).
It was decided to choose the democratic strategy of company management. The main points of democratic style of management will include the collective decision-making, encouraging active participants in the communication process, extensive knowledge of all those involved in the discussion about the current problem of outlined goals and objectives.
Roles and Responsibilities
Owner and Chief Executive Officer:
Leads the organization, planning and realization of company’s development strategy;
Provides a high level of production efficiency, the introduction of new techniques and technologies, progressive forms of service and work organization;
Oversees the rational use of material, financial and human resources, evaluates the quality of customer service;
Signs business deals and contracts of delivery of medicines;
Represents the interests of the pharmacy and acts on its behalf;
Supervises pharmacy employees, sets duties to subordinate employees and takes measures to ensure their execution;
Responsible for the development and improvement of organization, taking into account the social and market priorities, increase profits, monitors the financial and economic performance of the organization;
Ensures preparation of financial and other documents, calculations performed by the established reporting organization works (services), and financial activities.
Pharmacist Manager:
Dispenses medications according to the prescriptions;
Advises customers on the pharmacological properties of drugs and medicines vacation;
Arranges medicaments according to their compounding, packaging, and labeling (Pharmacist career information, n.d.);
Implements quality control of medicines available in the pharmacy;
Abides by the infection-control protocols for customers’ protection, when needed;
Meets medical representatives and orders the required medications.
Information Technologist:
Promotes the introduction of progressive technological processes of production and improves the customer service organization;
Ensures the availability and rapid replacement of technical equipment;
Organizes the technical support of the Internet connection;
Supervises the functioning of the equipment (printers, copy machines) and takes prompt measures for its repair and consumables provision;
Develops and promotes the company's website.
Merchandize Manager
Responsible for client solicitation;
Maintains the relations with the client base;
Develops schemes, methods and technologies to increase the personage of goods sales;
Develops and organizes pre-sales activities to create conditions for the planned sale of the goods, to meet customer demand for products;
Helps to implement quality control of the medicaments.
Cashier:
Enters the payment received from customers to the cash register;
Clearly defines the sum of the payment and puts the money received from the customers into the cash desk;
Provides the receipt to the customers;
Prepares the profit report at the end of every month.
Sales agent:
Helps with ordering of the required medications;
Conducts product presentations;
Responsible for the implementation of cooperation programs;
Sources for most requested medicaments and other items not presented in La Brea Pharmacy, therefore expands the variety of the displayed goods.
Cleaner:
Dusts, sweeps and washes the walls, floors, ceilings, windows and glass door frames, and furniture;
Clean and disinfect toilets, sinks and other sanitary equipment;
Collect trash and carries it out to the specified location.
Objectives and goals
Among the main goals of organization is profitability. Without profitability there is no chance of the surviving of the organization. Therefore the evaluation of past and future profitability is essential.With reference to successful business organization it is taken into consideration that profit of the company is one of the main the criteria of its effectiveness. The listed objectives of gaining the profitability will ensure its development. The main source of profit is the increase in the market value of the organization. Profitability is not only a way of organization’s development but also defense mechanism that protects the company from the threat of bankruptcy (Hofstrand, n.d.).
For this goal’s realization the profit should be controlled and the new measures of increasing the profitability should continually be sourced.
In order to gain profitability La Brea Pharmacy will:
Use key performance indicators (KPIs) to analyse the trading productivity and efficiency;
Sign long-term deals with suppliers to negotiate a lower price on the medicaments and other goods;
Research new opportunities and deals and finding new sources for expansion
Controlthe service and goods quality;
Reduction of production costs due to rational use of material resources;
Diversification of medications and other pharmaceutical goods;
Expansion of the sales market;
Rational expenditure of economic resources;
Reduction of production costs;
Elimination of non-productive costs and losses (Increase your profitability, n.d.).
One of the long-term goals is the expansion of the organization, i.e. opening new outlets in other locations.There are many advantages in owning several outlets: first of all, it is easier and cheaper to carry out advertising policies and conduct market research. Secondly, it is easier to maintain low pricing, primarily due to the discounts (the higher the volume, the more discounts you can get from suppliers).
In order to open a new outlet the organization has to:
Make sure that it has a stable permanent income and that the organization has shown steady growth over the past few years;
Analyze the trends, both economic and consumer, to test the endurance of the company;
Make sure that administrative systems and management team is well established;
Prepare a complete business plan for a new location;
Determine where and how the funding will be received;
In order to expand the sole ownership organization into a LLC or S corporation it is necessary to findreliable partners or investors. Funding search will begin with personal financial resources of the owner. In the first stage you need to be able to organize the work as quickly as possible. Reaching the seed stage of development (from the English. Seed financing) you will be able to show investors the fruits of creative work and proven business model.
The main goal of the organization is to create and maintain long-term customer relationship and provide accessible and affordable pharmaceutical goods for the customers.Clear, consistent communication is one of the most important aspects that affect the customer relationship. Any properly structured contact with the customer enables the organization to obtain new information about him.The objectives for achieving this goal will be:
Providing the population with high quality service and care while selling medicines and other goods of pharmaceutical assortment;
Becoming customers’ first call, by offering assistance and showing concernment, as a way to demonstrate the commitment to the relationship;
Building a meaningful dialogue with the customer through strategic segmentation: any interaction must necessarily be based on a deep understanding of customer preferences, unique needs and to have a purpose, a specific strategic segmentation dynamics;
Forming the positive image of the customer: finding the differences between the views of customers and the services provided. Employees should have the opportunity and the incentive to create a positive image associated with the organization;
Solving problems: employees willbe trainedthe efficient ways of dealing withproblems(Cates, 2013).
Another goal of La Brea Pharmacy is sustainability.Organization’s sustainability is the characteristics, indicating a stable position of the company. La Brea Pharmacy will focus on achieving sustainability by the means of:
Company’s quick and adequate respond to disruptions;
Maintenanceof the continuity of business processes;
Maintenanceof the confidence of partners and further development.
In order to gain organization’s prosperity it is very important to create strong and effective working environment. Positive emotional state of the employees is the essential in the organization for quality results. Under current conditions, it is often necessary to save money and reduce costs, сreating positive atmosphere for employees is an important goal, which achievement will increase loyalty and strengthen team spirit. The objectives of creating an effective team are:
Progressive team building:creating group unity;
Formation of skills of teamwork: the introduction of team management, structuring actions of team members;
Formation of team spirit: the development of psychological bonds between team members, unity in the pursuit of common objectives;
Development of employees' professional self-identification;
Development of employees' professional ethics;
Prevention and overcoming of communicative barriers;
Development of favorable socio-psychological climate;
Psychological support of the employees;
Increasing tolerance and reducing aggression;
Overcoming stereotypical attitudes in the communication.
These objectives can increase the organization’s profitability and effectiveness by 20-60%. Employees acquire qualities such as the ability to grow rapidly, to share experiences, to respond quickly to changing business environment, to apply the experience gained under the new conditions and attain loyal feelings to the company.
References
Halvorson, C. (2013, September 5).10 Steps to Increasing Employee Loyalty.When I work. Retrieved fromhttp://wheniwork.com/blog/10-steps-to-increasing-employee-loyalty/
Pharmacist Career Information.Pharmacy Choice.Retrieved fromhttp://www.pharmacychoice.com/pharmacy-jobs-careers/pharmacist_career.cfm.
Hofstrand D.Understanding Profitability.Retrieved from https://www.extension.iastate.edu/agdm/wholefarm/html/c3-24.html
Cates, T. (2013,August 15). Five Tips for Creating Relationships That Drive Sales.Marketing profs. Retrieved from http://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2013/11420/five-tips-for-creating-relationships-that-drive-sales
