EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE PROJECT
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE PROJECT
The document consists of a Project proposal for a new startup company in the United States of America. The new start-up will be named Everyone Walks Inc. The company will have the objective to offer mobility solutions to its clients with a wide variety of products as mechanic and electronic wheelchairs, crutches and other devices to people with mobility limitations. The future organization will be established in the United States of America with the intention to exploit this market first and then expand to other countries in the world. The hospitals, malls, and airports will be the core clients of the company. It is proposed for the organization to have a sole-proprietorship with the owner Don White. However, the business proposal proposes to the organization the design of a staff structure administrate the design, manufacture, and sales of the organization. It is not recommended to Don White to take control of the organization as a Chief Executive Officer of the company because it is necessary to have administrative and organizational skills to manage the organization. In this case, Don White must be the Chairman of the organization and a key participator in the design of the products of the organization.
■ Market Situation: The market situation requires the development of a SWOT analysis (Investopedia, 2016) of the market and the organization that is an internal and external analysis of the business. The Everyone Walks Inc., as a future manufacturer and seller of mobility devices, must consider the current and future requirements of mobility and the most important stakeholders in the government, medical system, and individuals.
■ Marketing Mix: The company needs to develop a marketing strategy considering the four P; Product, Price, Place, Promotion (Mind Tools, 2015). The product includes the form and design of the wheelchairs and other mobility devices. The Price of the product depends on of the production costs and the distribution channels. The place considers the context where the company will promote the product; for Everyone Walks Inc., the hospitals, malls and airports will be the most important places to promote the products. The promotion consists of the considered costs for the marketing process.
■ Business Strategy: The organization of the company, the staffing and the management team that will lead the operations of the company will be considered in the report. The design, manufacture, and sales of the company are under analysis.
■ Business processes: Once the business strategy is developed, the processes are established including the operations, internal controls, and risk management. The processes must meet the configuration of a small company (start-up) and the future state of the organization.
■ Financial Projections: The document includes the projected profit and loss and cash flow statement of the company for the following three years with normal and optimistic scenarios for the company. The financial projections give to the company the support to the potential creditors of the organization, having the assumption that the ownership of the company will be in one person.
The analysis of the project and business plan brings positive results related to the technical and financial feasibility of the new company. The conditions of the health market, the population longevity and the new requirements of mobility gives an impulse to the company to have rising sales year by year while the elderly population increases.
The report is limited to the strategic and financial analysis of the company; it does not include technical and engineering analysis of the products and its compliance with health regulations in the United States of America or other countries.
Company Goals
The company (Everyone Walks) intends to create products that are durable and affordable in a manner that the products will be in a position to meet the needs of the consumers in the most efficient way possible. According to the organization's management, the management feels successful when the customers are satisfied with the products (Kovalenko, 2016). The ultimate goal of the business is to make their products be appreciated in the market due to the impressive quality of the electronic wheelchairs, and their brand name to be recommended to others in the market.
Company Objectives
The business wishes to experience consumer satisfaction to an extent that they have repeat business with their loyal customers. The organization wants to be the leading in the market as far as efficient understanding of their esteemed customers is concerned (Frank & De Souza, 2013). The company seeks to share product benefit with their consumers in that while their customers enjoy the durability and affordability of the products, the company enjoys returns from the business for sustainability purposes.
Specific objectives
• Offer quality products to customers at affordable costs
• Give consumers a chance to enjoy life with an ability to adapt to different lifestyles and environment
• Impact positively on lives of many so as to experience an excellent reputation in the market
How the decision-making process proceeds
Since the organization employs strategic management, the executive director has the mandate of making decisions on the vision of the company indicating the future position of the business (Kovalenko, 2016). However, the long-term goals of the company will be made by the advisory board, which is made of all departmental heads and the organizational manager. The other corporate heads of the respective departments will make other short-term decisions on behalf of the organizational management. Therefore, top-down management is embraced which has proven useful for most business organizations (Mei-Hsiang & Tarng-Yao, 2016)
Explanation of Success according to Everyone Walks
The company management defines success as making the most vulnerable individuals in the society happy. Everyone walks as a company seeks to meet the needs of the physically challenged persons in the community. Besides, the company designs add-on accessories for wheelchairs, a feature that makes individuals who are bound to using wheelchairs for the rest of their lives to be more independent and adapt to more situations. More importantly, developing independence makes such individuals have a high self-esteem (Uggla, 2015). Hence, it is worth recognizing that the company's success lies on satisfying the consumer who will be achieved through engaging in production and supply of quality wheelchairs and at an affordable cost.
Management and Ownership
As mentioned earlier, the business is owned by a single individual who is Don White, and since it is starting a business, he will sum up as the executive director of the company.
Personnel for managerial functions needed skills of managers, and the organization of the company
Executive manager
The Executive Manager will be a full-time employee and will have the mandate to oversee all operations carried out at Everyone Walks. Don White is recommended to hold the above position as he has previously held an equivalent position though at the banking industry. Besides, White's strategic management skills have proven successful in his previous workplaces; however, the position holds many responsibilities which require a high level of qualification such as experience in financial management, and information management (Howaidy, 2015).
Production Manager
The above position will also be a full-time job as it holds a lot of responsibilities that will significantly have an influence on the success of the business. The manager will oversee the different operations in the organization that is carried out in the day-to-day activities. Moreover, the manager will have the responsibility of ensuring that the short and long-term goals of the organizations are met. According to Solomon et al., (2016), the manager sets a target for the different departments in the organization to ensure that the overall purpose of the business is reached.
Sales Manager
Since Everyone Walks is a new company and will not have most sales during its first year of operation, the above position will have one person but with time, more personnel will be added to boost sales. Due to the significant role of the individual in the above position, the sales managers ought to be full-time employees. Moreover, the individual has a significant influence on the success of the business, as he is responsible for conducting market research (Frank & De Souza, 2013).
Another important position in the business includes the position of the design manager who will help the organization on inventing new products. Other staffs in the organization management include the subordinate personnel who will assist in accomplishing other tasks in the business. It is important to note that the people in the above positions will form the advisory committee who will inform the management on how to engage in the smooth running of the business to realize the set mission of the firm (Mei-Hsiang & Tarng-Yao, 2016). Moreover, they have the responsibility of ensuring that effective communication is achieved in the firm.
Human Resource Policy Regulation for Everyone Walks
Respecting employee and human rights
Since Everyone Walks is a responsible company and is committed to respecting ethical concerns, the organization should uphold to the human rights concerns. The company should, therefore, adhere to the various missions, values among other significant virtues that are in line with achieving organizational goals and meeting community interest.
Employee Feedback
Everyone Walks upholds the different views of all staff by responding to the feedback offered by the employees as well as customers. Adhering to regular feedback helps the organization to respond to change and engage in continuous innovation (Howaidy, 2015).
Diversity and Internationality
The company embraces diversity as an important feature that gives the company a competitive advantage in the market. The virtue is essential to the management as it gives the firm a capacity to get adequate, competent employees to help meet the organizational goals.
Recruiting for the future
Everyone Walks as a company seeks to maintain a group of talented individuals for the sustainability of the business. The organizations seek to hire competent people who will help the experience company profitability in the market.
Environmental impact and social/community life
Production of an electric wheelchair is one strategy through which the physically challenged individuals can be made productive to the economy through increased mobility. The situation impacts positively to economic growth hence results in improved living standards among the people. Besides, the business seeks to make the people using the e-wheelchair independent, an aspect that will enhance their ego. Production of e-wheelchair will, therefore, impact well to the community as they will gain easy access to durable and affordable products that will be used throughout the year (Transparency Market Research, 2016).
Company Description
The venture into production of an electric wheelchair is a unique business with tremendous opportunities. The name of the company will be "Everyone Walks" and will be owned by Don White hence will be a sole proprietorship. The company seeks to design devices that will make living easier and affordable for all as it aims adequately to meet the needs of the physically challenged in society. The business will target larger areas such as airports, parks, and hotels where they can be hired through an online platform referred to as the e-wheelchair (Škraba et al., 2015). The business will start up in the United States but will later on spread to other countries based on the market demand for the services and products.
Everyone Walks seeks to produce affordable and durable electronic wheelchairs for all and make its name is recognized in the market. The company objective is to enhance consumer satisfaction and experience repeat business among loyal customers. The uniqueness of the company is that it seeks to understand the diverse needs of their customers and satisfy them in the most efficient way possible; however, for sustainability of the business, the e-wheelchair will be designed in a manner that will be affordable to consumers and profitable to the business.
SWOT Analysis
The analysis plays a vital role in the business as it provides a comprehensive insight into the firm stating its corporate strategy, the nature of the business and its financial status. Moreover, the analysis can provide stakeholders with adequate information on the current management and operation status. Therefore, the tool will offer the business with a list of the existing competitors in the market, key products, and relevant information to the business. Different scholars have expressed their concerns that SWOT is a vital tool that is often used by business for purposes of understanding and making informed decisions (Jang et al., 2016).
Strengths
Everyone Walks company has diverse strengths including reduced barriers to market entry and ability to experience enhanced profitability and revenue. Moreover, the company's products have several unique features that make them experience brand recognition in the market. The e-wheelchair designed by Everyone Walks has an adaptable arm that is made of a steel rod attached to the back of the wheelchair. Besides, the wheelchair is powered, and the arm is attached on the back side of the left armrest which is then hooked on the right arm rest. By releasing the hook, the arm swings the backpack rack to the left side to enable the customers to retrieve their belongings, an invention that is yet to be embraced by most companies.
The invention seeks to make individuals using wheelchairs to be independent and comfortable. Moreover, the business has an efficient distribution and sales network that will allow it to experience significant growth prospects (Jang et al., 2016). The mere fact advantages Everyone Walks that competition is limited, and their products meet a very high standard. Competitors in the market have yet to invent a backpack rack on the wheelchair that can swing to the side to allow customers to retrieve their belongings. The adaptable arm makes the person in a wheelchair more independent.
Weaknesses
The business may experience competition from new entrants and by the mere fact that it is a startup; it will require a lot of funding which is a challenge. The company will need a lot of cash to invest in research and development to adequately understand the market.
Opportunities
The US market has a lot of possibilities based on the fact that most people are experiencing huge income level hence a chance for the business to experience increased sales and more revenue. Moreover, there are many emerging markets which offer the business opportunity to grow. Besides, the US economy is stable hence it is sustainable for business growth, which is vital for a starting business like Everyone Walks. Besides, the company seeks to go global in the future, an aspect that will impact positively on the business growth (Global Electric Wheelchair, 2016).
Threats
The business is subject to a lot of business risks, and change in tax rates will significantly influence its revenue. The industry is, however, experiencing an escalation in the cost of raw materials, an aspect that will make the cost of e-wheelchairs rise. The increase in labor cost is also a threat that will negatively influence the profitability rate of the business.
Economic environment
Electric wheelchairs have gained popularity in the recent past and are renowned for their utilization without any human assistance for mobility purposes. Innovation has helped companies to come with e-wheelchairs which are more friendly and convenient to be used by physically challenged individuals. Besides, they are relevant to people who cannot use the manual wheelchairs or engage in long distance movement (Škraba et al., 2015).
There are many aspects which are contributing to the introduction of electric wheelchair which includes the increasing population of the elderly in society. Besides, most the physically challenged individuals are turning towards the use of automated wheelchairs and the fact that most people in the developed countries experience huge disposable income hence can afford e-wheelchairs. Another aspect that has enhanced the need for an electric wheelchair includes the demand for the products in the sports industry to cater for the needs of the physically challenged persons (Gebrosky, Pearlman, Cooper, Cooper, & Kelleher, 2013). However, the industry is not without challenges such as increased costs of the electric wheelchair. Moreover, most people lack information on the availability of the products and adequate infrastructure to use the same.
Globally, the e-wheelchair market is further segmented into different classes based on some factors; however, it is worth acknowledging that despite the approach used in the segmentation, the industry is yet to be fully exploited and has huge potential if well-exploited. Some of the key players in the sector include OttoBock Healthcare GmbH, Sunrise Medical Limited, Permobil AB, Pride Mobility Products Corp., among others. Moreover, the different players in the industry seek to meet their consumer needs in the most efficient ways possible. Besides, the companies offer a broad range of varieties and sizes so as adequately to meet the varying demands of their customers in the market (Gebrosky, Pearlman, Cooper, Cooper, & Kelleher, 2013).
Based on statistics from the US economy, there are over 9 million individuals who rely on personal assistance every day and 1.6 million out of the figure are bound to use wheelchairs permanently (Stenberg et al., 2016). Only 48% of the above individuals can purchase wheelchairs on their own without assistance with the remaining portion being assisted by donors or through government funding.
One of the features that make e-wheelchair unique in the market is the adaptable arm that is attached to the backside of the powered wheelchair. However, with more growth, the company seeks to introduce more features in future such as turntable that will also be attached to the adaptable arm and can be flipped over to be used as a desk. The company's products seek to make their users comfortable and independent, an aspect that will improve their self-confidence. As mentioned earlier, the products will be available in the main hotels, parks, and airports in the US. Customers can request for the services online, an aspect that makes it easy and more convenient to most individuals (Mind Tools, 2015).
Everyone Walks e-wheelchairs are specifically designed for persons in need of wheelchair use. The products benefit people who are handicapped either from illness, birth defect, injury or even from accidents. Based on the market analysis, it is evident that only 1.6 million individuals in the US are permanently bound to the use of Wheelchairs. However, with further growth of the company, it intends to produce products and services that will meet the needs of temporarily physically challenged individuals (Investopedia, 2016). The company has no major competitors in the industry as most of the company produce wheelchairs backpacks that cannot be directly accessed by the users. Therefore, the invention to swing the backpack rack to the side gives the company's products an added advantage in the market.
The Roles of Everyone Walks in society
Everyone Walks has a major role to play in society and all seek towards creating wealth for their shareholders, employees, consumers and the community as a whole. It brings a large group of people together to utilize the available capital and resources in the production of different kind of merchandise which is an efficient way of impacting positively to society (Howaidy, 2015). The objective of the various types of business has therefore made a most organization to set in place effective values and principles for purposes of meeting its set goals.
The role of Everyone Walks in society is to enhance development, while adequately meeting efficient production and supply of merchandise to meet consumer needs. However, the process has to be accomplished in a manner that it can meet the stakeholder objective which is profit making. Therefore, for the different organizations to achieve their set goals, they ought to develop effective relations amid the consumers, suppliers, and other concerned stakeholders.
Businesses experience an improvement of their resources through the employment of innovative ways of accomplishing tasks. It is the mandate of the company to ensure that it adequately meets the demands of the market by responding to customer needs. Companies realize profits when they encourage consumers to pay more than the cost incurred in production. It is, therefore, the responsibility of the concerned stakeholders to create value on their products as sustainability is achieved through enhanced profitability.
In summary, business benefits the society by supplying them with necessary goods and services which consumers cannot produce on their own. Moreover, they contribute towards job creation to the people who can sum up as suppliers, distributors or company workers. The money generated from the respective jobs is used by the people to support their families and in meeting their concerned obligations. Another role of business in society is the fact that they help in enhancing innovation hence help introduce new products and services into the market (Sastry, 2011). Moreover, in the recent past, companies have been forced to embrace good practices as efficient strategies of meeting their desired goals.
Reference List
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Gebrosky, B., Pearlman, J., Cooper, R. A., Cooper, R., & Kelleher, A. (2013). Evaluation of lightweight wheelchairs using ANSI/RESNA testing standards. Journal of rehabilitation research and development, 50(10), 1373-1390.
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Solomon, I. G., Costea, C., & Nita, A. M. (2016). Leadership versus Management in Public Organizations. Economics, Management and Financial Markets, 11(1), 143.
Transparency Market Research. (2016, February 08). Global Electric Wheelchair Market to Surpass US$4.48 bn by 2020, Need for Tech-enabled Mobility Drives Growth: Transparency Market Research. Retrieved from PR Newswire: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-electric-wheelchair-market-to-surpass-us448-bn-by-2020-need-for-tech-enabled-mobility-drives-growth-transparency-market-research-568029781.html
Uggla, H. (2015). Aligning Brand Portfolio Strategy with Business Strategy. IUP Journal Of Brand Management, 12(3), 7-17.
