Page 13 - CIMA MCS Workbook February 2019 - Day 2 Suggested Solutions

SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS

Support Activities, for Crowncare these are critical activities, contribute directly to the success of
the business and are inextricably linked to delivering value.

Procurement – for example, purchasing involving the negotiation of the best deals from our
suppliers is a key activity for Crowncare to ensure quality, reliability and on‐time delivery of the
dental products/ materials and compliance with environmental policies.

HRM – all matters relating to staff from recruitment through to dismissal. This is particularly
relevant for Crowncare, given the growth in the number of staff (now in excess of 370).
Historically, dental practices tend to think of HR simply as payroll and benefits, but we could
approach HR as a company resource to develop staff both at work and at home. This might mean
investing in on‐going employee training or personal health programs. We employ very talented
and professionally qualified people and when these talents are supported, the team members will
likely be more motivated and efficient in their jobs.

At Crowncare over 60% of our dentists have no ownership interest in the company. Providing
professional and personal growth opportunities can create real value for your practice.
Additionally, this investment can help minimise staff turnover as one of the most significant
competitive threats is associates leaving a practice and setting up in direct competition. Consider
that most industries offer career advancement and promotion. Dentists can offer individual
growth, allowing team members to contribute to helping the organisation run more elegantly. In
addition, investing in the HR support activity of the value chain can improve the intra‐office
operational feedback loops and have a positive impact on business culture.

Technology development – essentially how we at Crowncare will use technology. This is an area
upon which Crowncare will be increasingly reliant for future success with the changes in the
external environment creating almost a constant need for update to efficiency, sourcing of new
materials etc. Crowncare have invested time and money in technology, but is the team well
trained in its capabilities and are they utilising it to its fullest potential to make the practice run
more smoothly and efficiently, or are they using it the same way they always have? Essentially is
the technology creating value, or is it creating challenges? Could new or different technology
serve the practice better? In an optimized practice, the technology should be evaluated
constantly. It may or may not be adding value to the practice, but you won't know unless you
educate yourself about the options. For example, a new VoIP phone system may be less expensive
than a traditional phone system, and yet it instantly provides information about a patient's file as
soon as he or she calls in (like enhanced caller ID), making phone interactions faster and more
accurate.

Infrastructure – deals with how we at Crowncare are organised to include structure, culture,
finance and the policies and processes that Crowncare has in place. This is an area that will need
some additional work based on the potential reliance on two full time individuals (CEO and FD) to
lead the business forward.

Application of the value chain:

Our basic approach should be to work through the elements of the value chain, as identified by
the model and consider which of the activities Crowncare undertakes contribute towards our
client’s experience. The starting point would therefore be to understand what each link in the
value chain contributes, if anything, to the creation of added value.
It will be important to develop “linkages” in the value chain to determine how/if value is being
added. For example, between the primary and support activities to ensure that the most up to
date information is available for patient’s needs. Procurement can then ensure that we purchase

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