Whispering Pines Business Report
Introduction
This case study is designed to assess the hypothesis that a new business model will perform better at Whispering Pines than the current business model. Tim Hayden from Whispering Pines board of directors requested Lee McBride to provide insight and recommendations on the operations of Whispering Pines, supposedly a retirement home. Tim has asked other board members for specific documents that has not been provided due to the business suffering from loss of revenue and not up to ethical standards.(The prior sentence does not show critical thinking. Board members are ask for documents but revenue and ethics impede that process?) Since Lee has a background in business, and experience managing several companies. Incomplete sentence He can provide the perfect business model for Whispering Pines and their board members.
Summary/ Background
Whispering Pines was founded nearly 92 years ago. The Whispering Pines facility wants to become a historic retirement home to current residents and future residents alike. Currently they are known as a boarding home that provides a place to rest, eat, and take necessary medication. There is only one manager who reports to the board treasurer and wears many hats for the company as they are understaffed.
Methods/ Procedures
In preparing a business model, Lee McBride decided to investigate Whispering Pines online in search of hoping to find a website, Facebook, or other social media sites. Afterwards, he researched necessities for retirement homes in comparison to boarding homes. The next day, Mr. McBride completed a walk-through of the entire facility. He checked out inspected the ground maintenance first. Where he noticed the outdoor premises needs to be cleaned up. Incomplete sentence Two days later, he scheduled an appointment to meet with every employee to get a better understanding their job responsibility and role. Once McBride arrived he used the front entrance, thinking it was a real entrance. And? Next, he learned the manager Gail completed minimal accounting tasks, and reconciliation of the facility was not up to date. The resulting solution was the financial information was very limited regarding revenue, checks and balances, and depreciation of Whispering Pines. This is not a solution but an observation. You are implying that information regarding limited revenue is a solution because of the way it is worded.
Results
As Lee researched the requirements of the facility, he learned employees do not need to monitor the dispensing of medication as they are not a licensed retirement home. Next, he contacted the Fire Marshal to find out the correct occupancy which was completed years ago and has not been updated since. What exactly was completed years ago – the occupancy or …?? Overall, the number of occupancies in the facility does not determine whether it is finalized as a boarding home or nursing home.
When McBride toured the outside facility, there were several problems that were noticed. One being the landscaping of the grounds were not completed on a weekly or bi-monthly basis. There were overgrown bushes, dead flowers, and the surrounding lawn needs to be mowed. To an outside person looking in, Whispering Pines was unattractive for any resident or prospective customer to visit. The facility needs a new sign to state the company name and what it is for passersby to see what the building has to offer from afar. Suggestion: A tour of the exterior of the facility revealed numerous problems including overgrown or dead foliage and grass. Potential tenants and their families would be disappointed in the appearance. A more comprehensive signage would help to identify the building and its purpose.
Lee went back to tour the interior of Whispering Pines a few days later. Once he arrived he attempted to go through the entrance door, all there was were furniture covered in dust. Unfortunately, the front entrance was a fake entry with no employees present, and the back was the correct way to arrive with employees present. The front desk operations of the building were in great standing. From an accounting standpoint, detailed lists, reconciliations, and other financial reports were not occurring on a weekly basis. The results also showed unethical procedures from employees and managers regarding residents. Suggestion: Upon further inspection, Lee determined that the front entrance was inaccessible thus rendering the back door the primary entrance. Though the furniture was dusty, the front desk operations was well kept. Operational and financial documentation was lacking. The dispensing of medication without a license presents legal implications and nonprofit status is in jeopardy as a result.
Discussion of Results
The results show several issues wrong with this property which is why it probably appears more like a boarding house than a retirement home. It all starts at the top with the by-laws for Society of Friends board members. Currently there are only four members, when the law states twelve members. The board members couldn’t figure out which side of the spectrum they were on. Such as being a historic retirement home or a group home historic landmark. The facility needs to comply with their Articles of Incorporation as a religious retirement home to members. The lines of shared values are blurred by loyalty to the old traditions of the Society of Friends and the new policy of accepting non-Friend members. Nonprofit status could be in jeopardy since identity, affiliation, and operational focus is ill-defined and ambiguous.
Primarily, the exterior of the facility needs to be kept in a better standing. The lawn needs to be mowed regularly. New plants need to be placed around the grounds. Mulch needs to go between the bushes and trees. The for rent sign needs to be removed and place a Whispering Pines sign. Which way the entrance faces on the building is very confusing to potential customers. Leaving medication available to any resident within the facility is unethical and shows poor performance. The fire extinguishers and chair lift need to be serviced immediately. As well as obtaining an Elevator Operating Permit for the chair lifts. The fire extinguishers and chair lift need to be serviced annually.
Additionally, the financial reports don’t justify what purchases were being made, what revenue was coming in, and how much employee expenses were going out. Also, there was no one to write meeting minutes and follow up on what was discussed previously.
Conclusions
If management isn’t willing to change the business model than the current operating procedures will never improve. Accounting seems to be the biggest problem in the facility. Once revenue, income, expenditures, and assets are sorted then Whispering Pines can move forward with a positive attitude. Next, will be to work on standard operating procedures with Gail and all the employees. Test their ability within Whispering Pines to figure out if they are a good match. Finally, hire a landscaping vendor to complete the atrocious grounds. Once the exterior is completed and revenue is coming in, the grounds will need regular maintenance. This will be delegated to an employee for constant upkeeping. Furthermore, by increasing advertisement and branding the facility to be the best retirement home in the state. The retirement home will become more profitable than the last few years.
Below is an example of good sentence structure and succinct delivery. It is by no means meant to address the assignment completely but to give you an idea of the expectation for this assignment as to wording and writing development.
Suggestion:
The focus of the business is unclear, and the juxtaposition between a historical designation of the building and the operations of the facility blurs the objectives. The board’s disinterest and unengaged attitude minimize effectiveness. The laisse faire management style of Whispering Pines brings into question the legitimacy of the business. Since Gail is untrained and operates the center unilaterally, she represents a liability through her day-to-day decision making. Gail is not to blame for this lack of accountability: the board is as a result of their management-by-avoidance style of management.
Gail, a part-time employee who oversees the operational functions of the center, reports indirectly to the board. Her unilateral decision-making authority is a questionable business practice and diminishes any system of checks and balances for the company. Furthermore, though Gail is sensitive to the needs of the residents and knowledgeable about the operational aspects of the facility, the fact that no written policies and procedures are in place for uniformity of activities or continuity of operation should an employee change become necessary, is disturbing. The administration of medications presents a legal and financial liability and could jeopardize the company’s nonprofit 501©3 tax status.
While observing the behaviors, conversations, and attitudes of the board members, an inequitable division of focus is made apparent. The creation of committees specific to the landmark designation, employee policy and procedures, mission branding, and operational undertakings might bring into focus the various aspects of the agency while uniting the participants in a vision for the future. New board members need to be recruited with specific business experience.
Recommendations
This business report overviews McKinsey’s 7’s Framework broken down by hard and soft elements for Whispering Pines. It is highly recommended that management follows the subsequent hard protocol when performing immediate changes.
- Strategy. A few excellent strategies for the facility would be to determine the extent of service provided to residents as they will not want to transfer to another property. Obtain a license to become a retirement home. Fix up the facility in an appealing manner to make it seem lucrative. Immediately hire a certified accountant with over 10 ten years of experience in budgeting and reconciliations. Next, hire additional full-time and part-time workers, as this will lessen the stress load on Gail. Train each employee and give them 90 days to perform proficiently.
- Structure. To build structure within the workplace, it is required that all employees report to Gail for job duties and authorizations. As she is the leader and General Manager of Whispering Pines and has the most experience with each job role.
- Systems. The operations team needs to create standard operating policies and procedures for each department in the facility. Have all employees attend a quarterly mandatory Explain to them the facility organizational chart, who they should report to, and what their job duties are. Encourage and reward employees for completing their tasks daily. Have regular meetings weekly to keep employees on task and interested in learning what they can do to improve Whispering Pines.
Improving the workplace culture will create softer elements of style, staff, skill and shared values. These elements will take time in finding the correct candidates to fill the required positions.
- By improving team morale. Give direction and constructive criticism. Promote employees from within the company. Show and share leadership with others. Always support employees to do and be better. Make it a place employee’s love to work at.
- Hire the following departments: Administration, Quality Assurance, Staff Development, Environmental Services, Food Services, Nursing, Social Services, Activities, Finance, and Human Resources. Whispering Pines will need at least 2 accountants, 2 registered nurses for 8 hour shifts daily, 3 LPNs, 3 CNAs, and 2 Physical Therapists. Aides will need at least 75 hours of training. Each higher-level position must have a bachelor’s or master’s degree from an accredited university and work experience in a smaller retirement facility. To be more specific, hire the following: Direct Care Staff: Registered Nurse, LPN, Activities Directors, and Physical Therapist. Support Staff: Custodians, Maintenance, Groundskeepers, and Housekeepers.
- Depends on the job position. Skills needed in this industry are a positive attitude, communication, teamwork, time management, willingness to learn, problem solving and decision making, management, computer, interpersonal, leadership, listening, detailed oriented, strong work ethic, flexibility, dependability, organization, compassion, ethical, self-motivated, qualified, technical, and patience.
- Shared Values. The core culture and work ethic can be defined by providing residents with more staff, greater well being and wellness, and an added benefit of a surplus built relationships between the staff and resident.
Where are your references?