Table of Contents Case Ca se Bac Backg kgro roun und d – Emm Emma’ a’s s Par Parllor Statement of the Problem Objectives
4
Analsis
4
Alternative Courses of Action
3
3
7
!ecommendation Case Ca se Bac Backg kgro roun und d – "ho "ho #e #ets ts the the Pr Proj ojec ectt Statement of the Problem Objectives
3
Analsis
4
Alternative Courses of Action
3
4
!ecommendation 19 !eferences 32
%$CASE CASE BAC& BAC&#! #!O' O'() () – E** E**A A’S PA PA!+O! !+O!
3
Emma Lathbury, described as the indefatigable 52yearold, left her nursing !ob in the early 199"s due to burnout after #or$ing grueling hours, emotionally draining #or$, and lac$ of both res%ect and autonomy& 'he o%ened a co(y )ictorian tearoom in the small *llinois farming community near #here she li+ed and gre# u%& Emmas %arlor o#es its success in %art to %erfect timing #hen s%ecialty teas as in double digit annual gro#th& Emmas also #or$ed hard for -" and 7" hour %er #ee$, %ersonally chose the colors for the cottages e.terior, hung the lace curtains, selected the fresh flo#ers that grace the small circular tables, hired the staff, and trac$ed do#n and tested reci%es for the finger sand#iches, scones, !ams and /attenburg ca$e& Emmas %arlor earned glo#ing re+ie#s in numerous guideboo$s and a national re%utation& 0%on reali(ing that s%ecial e+ents #ere $ey to attracting customers, she organi(ed and %ublici(ed fanciful gatherings& The tearoom #as nearly al#ays com%letely boo$ed& Emma de+elo%ed a real e.%ertise #hen it came to teas& 'he started by conducting e+ening #or$sho%s on the efficacy of organic teas in treating e+erything from a sim%le u%set stomach to meno%ausal distress& 'he began blending her o#n Emmas arlor rganic Teas and selling them to retail stores, restaurants and indi+iduals o+er the eb& The ebbased business flourished, generating slightly less re+enue than she #as reali(ing from the tearoom& lso, the %rofit margins #ere higher& o# #ith t#o main business segments to o%erate, Emmas arlor and eb based rganic Teas is becoming too big for Emma to handle& $
%$S,A,E*E(, O- ,.E P!OB+E*
The gro#th of Emmas arlor is becoming too big for Emma to handle& t this stage of her business #here e.%ansion is imminent, she needed to consider all %ossible business o%tions& $$
%$OB/EC,$0ES
1&
Emma should consider the best o%tion gi+en her
entre%reneurial traits, the stage of the business, and the %ros and cons in e+ery alternati+e decision&
age 1 of 2
2&
Clearly state the direction of the com%any #hether to
e.%and or ma$e some changes in the current structure to %ro+ide her enough breathing s%ace to continue&
$0%
A(A+S$S
The follo#ing are the %ertinent insights re Emmas arlor that could lead to the decisionma$ing6 Business Stage
*f you %iece the information from the case from the s%ecialty teas %otential of earning double digit gro#th rate, 2" %eo%le em%loyed, al#ays fully boo$ed %lace, to e.%anding her sco%e to selling at retail stores, restaurants and eb, #e can say that Emmas arlor is in 'tage 3 or 'uccess 'tage of business gro#th based on the i+e 'tages of 8ro#th for an Entre%reneurial Com%any& t this stage, the %arlor is en!oying %rofit and Emma being in+ol+ed established already %rocesses and %rocedures on ho# to run things& *n this stage also, Emma can o%t to hire %rofessional managers or su%er+isors to assume her role in o%erating the business& t 'tage 3, this is #here the management function of organi(ing is highly utili(ed& #ners must learn to create organi(ation structure that could co%e #ith the fast %ace increase in si(e and gro#th of the com%any& /ut since the business is still in the early success stage, Emma must decide #hether to hire managers and delegate tas$s by creating a hel%ful o%erations manual to ensure consistency and smooth transition& *f this is too ta.ing ho#e+er, Emma can o%t to let the arlor remain as it is #ithout e.%anding& This #ill automatically ualify it under 'tage 5 or :esource ;aturity 'tage& This means that Emma, in her %ers%ecti+e chose to retain her business solely for the %ur%ose of catering to her customer base& 'ince she is reluctant to e.%and, the management no# is more focused in controlling #hich is an indicator that the com%any is in its maturity stage&
age 3 of 2
The same 'uccess stage is true for Emmas #ebbased rganic Tea business& inancial gains is stable #ith higher %rofit margin& The use of technology %romises a bigger o%%ortunity for e.%ansion& Business Snergies
s ;erriamebster defines it, synergy is the increased effecti+eness that results #hen t#o or more %eo%le or businesses #or$ together& Emmas arlor and ebbased rganic Tea /usiness are different touch%oints in her business& The %arlor as the %hysical store #hich can offer the ultimate tearoom e.%erience and the #ebbased store that %rioriti(es con+enience& /oth are catering to different mar$ets but has a common ground < lo+e for #ellness and tea& *n the fast %ace mar$et en+ironment, synergy is a critical factor in defining the success of the com%any& 'ynergy in business is actually geared to#ards im%lementing inno+ati+e a%%roach in aligning %rocesses, man%o#er, and resources that
cannibalization or
eating u% of mar$et share #ill be a+oided& *t is a
commensal relationshi% #here each business benefits& or e.am%le, the %arlor can focus on signature teas to create an e.clusi+ity to customers that they can a+ail of the e.cellent ser+ice and their fa+orite tea #hile en!oying the co(iness and ambiance of the %lace& s strategy, information on the #ebsite and other social media accounts of the com%any #ill be %osted #ithin the %remises to gain more follo#ers& Tieu%s can also be established li$e freebies on the s%ot u%on successful additional %urchase in the #eb& ;ore so, the #eb can be the %lace #here Emma can dis%lay all the teas included in the e.tensi+e selection& nline stores benefits the com%any for gathering faster customer feedbac$ and im%lementation of chea%er ;ar$eting strategies& ith the use of social media, the #ebbased business can easily get the %ulse of the customers for further mar$eting research, areas for im%ro+ement, and free %ublicity& The #ebbased business can also hel% the com%any get its steady gro#th if it decides to e.%and on unta%%ed mar$ets li$e young %rofessionals, lactating moms, etc& Emma’s Entre4reneurial Profile age 5 of 2
s an entre%reneur, Emma #as bra+e enough to lea+e her !ob to +enture into business& =er #or$ ethics is commendable loc$ing in -"7" hours %er #ee$ on the !ob& Emma sho#n distinct characteristics of an entre%reneur < internal locus of control, high energy le+el, need to achie+e, a#areness of %assing time, and selfconfidence& Emma belie+ed that she can ma$e the business #or$ and she actually did& Emma sho#ed ho# focused she #as #hen she turned her bac$ to her nursing !ob to +enture into business& hen she felt that e+erything she #or$s #ith doesnt ma$e sense anymore, she easily challenged herself to brea$ free and ma$e a drastic decision to achie+e bac$ her self#orth& The said action re+eals ho# Emma belie+es that her future is #ithin her control and she #as #illing to ris$ in order to be the boss of her o#n com%any& 'he sei(ed the o%%ortunity right a#ay #hen she sa# the 1>7"s +intage 8othic :e+i+al cottage for sale dis%laying her decisi+e and ris$ta$er attitude& The long hours Emma %ut in her business also e.hibited her industry, dedication, and #ill to succeed& 'he made sure that her e.%ertise and s$ills are utili(ed from conducting #or$sho%s on the efficacy of organic teas, to conce%tuali(ing and organi(ing s%ecial e+ents to attract more customers& 'he is a detailoriented %erson& The only counter%roducti+e trait of Emma #as her lo#er tolerance on ambiguity& 'he buc$led at the thought of handling a bigger business& 'he demonstrates sym%toms of burnout ha+ing in control of her business for long& 0%
'he seems to ha+e a hard time letting go of the reins& A+,E!(A,$0E CO'!SES O- AC,$O( The follo#ing are the alternati+e courses of actions based on the abo+e analysis6 Action 1
Action )escri4tion =ire a
Pros 1& t 'uccess 'tage,
Cons 1& :is$ of
;anager?'u%er+isor
managers #ill ease out
mismanagement if
the burden of e.hausting
managers?su%er+isors
o%erational tas$s& 2& rgani(ational
doesnt li+e u% to
structure, %rocesses, and
e.%ectations& 2& Con+oluted
%rocedures #ill be
%rocesses if managers age 6 of 2
strengthened& 3& The o#ner can no# focus on the strategic
are not $een in maintaining alignment across the organi(ation&
%lans and other im%ortant decisionma$ing tas$s& 4& @uality of %roducts can be maintained regardless of e.%ansion so long that o%erational manuals are being religiously follo#ed& 5& E.%ansion could mean more em%loyees to hire 2
Choose ne ;ain
and more %eo%le to hel%& 1& roduct s%eciali(ation
/usiness
can actually hel% the com%any in directing all efforts and im%ro+ements into one ma!or business& 2& #ner can ha+e focus
1& Lesser %rofits& 2& Losing the o%%ortunity to hel% other %eo%le through hiring&
in one %roduct ma$ing it bearable in terms of effort and time& 3& @uality of the %roduct or ser+ice can be sustained gi+en that there #ould only be one business to 3
'ell the /usiness
monitor and o%erate& 1& Emma can earn money
1& There is no
ban$ing on the good
guarantee that her
re%utation of her com%any& 2& e# ca%ital to o%en a
ne# business +enture
ne# business #hich is less tiring& 3& Emma is in her fifties
#ill succeed& 2& 'he #ill lose her ma!or source of income& age 7 of 2
and stress could affect her 3& =er em%loyees health, selling the
might be affected by
business #ill s%are her
the changes in the
from sic$ness and other
ne# management
diseases&
thus, #ill %robably threaten their source of li+elihood&
0
%$!ECO**E()A,$O(
fter considering the %ros and cons abo+e, Emma Lathbury should consider %tion 1, Hire a Manager/Supervisor , as the best alternati+e among the three& /eing an entre%reneur ta$es a lot of hard #or$, %ersistence, determination, and e+en luc$& Aoull ne+er $no# #hen another o%%ortunity comes $noc$ing& 'o for Emma, #hile the business is in its 'uccess stage, she should grab the chance to continue %ushing to#ards more success& ot all businesses are gi+en the same o%%ortunity& ;ore are failing e+en at the starting %oint& Considering that her business is already in its e.%ansion %hase, it is the right time to hire ne# managers?su%er+isors for her to delegate the tas$s& ;ost of the business decisions es%ecially on a single %ro%rietorshi% comes from the o#ner& nd any #rong mo+e could e+entually led to the demise of the com%any& s the o#ner and business leader, Emma must fully gras% the conce%t of management from %lanning, leading, organi(ing, and controlling& 'he can actually start hiring on a smaller scale and #ill !ust continue doing so if the ne# organi(ational structure #or$s& /y delegating tas$s she can no# focus on more im%ortant things li$e assessing #hether the business +ision and mission are still on %oint, financial %ro!ections, and regulatory com%liance among the fe#& Emmas business is no longer hers alone& 'he no# ha+e a social contract #ith her su%%liers, em%loyees, and most es%ecially #ith her customers& 'he already has the fiery %assion #hen she started so #hat she needed is to re+i+e that& 'he should get a much needed brea$ to rela.& 'tress and burnout can affect her %roducti+ity and creati+ity, and #orse her health&
age 8 of 2
s a leader, she should maintain the same le+el of tenacity to continue being a role model to her em%loyees& *f they see that she is %essimistic about the future, it could ha+e a negati+e im%act on her em%loyees& nd if customers sense that the com%any seemed to be reluctant in im%lementing inno+ations, they #ill al#ays ha+e an o%tion to s#itch to com%etitors&
age 2 of 2
