Advanced Dental Prosthetics Company Analysis

Executive Summary

Advanced Dental Prosthetics is a small dental clinic and laboratory which will begin operation in January 2020 as a general partnership between Carol Duong, Kate Sheil, and Momo Shinohara. The establishment will initially house two dental prosthetists, one dental technician, and a receptionist. Located in Helensvale, the business strives to meet the demands of those in need of dental care and provide easy accessibility to the services. As there are only two denture clinics in the Helensvale area, the competition will be minimal. The necessity for dental prosthetic treatments in Australia is increasing due to the ageing population (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2015). Due to the increasing necessity, Advanced Dental Prostheticsendeavours to provide the Helensvale community with the highest standard and quality of dental services. The target market will be the elderly population, which makes up a large segment of the Helensvale population (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2016). Utilising the specialised skills and knowledge of each partner, the business will improve and maintain the oral health of its patients by providing them with full and partial dentures, occlusal splints, mouthguards, and bleaching trays.

Accounting for the materials and equipment required, the initial start-up cost of the business will be an estimated collective worth of $500,000 with funding for the establishment being garnered from personal savings and a bank loan. Each member has contributed $100,000 into starting the business, as this will only account for $300,000 of the initial start-up cost, a bank loan of $200,000 will be taken out for the remaining costs. In order to provide innovative, creative and superior patient care, Advanced Dental Prosthetics clinic has the advantage as an in-house laboratory, creating a more affordable and streamlined experience for patients. Direct communication between clinician and dental technicians, decreased laboratory turn-around time, and minimal miscommunication will ensure excellency and assure the success of the business.

THE STAFF PLAN

1.0 Introduction

The staff plan will outline the organisation structure, quality of recruited staff, and legal ownership of the business, demonstrating the competency of the management team to lead the business towards success (Alhabeeb, 2015). This will illustrate how Advanced Dental Prosthetics is planning to operate by describing the number and types of staff recruited, the managers level of responsibility, and how tasks will be allocated (Finch, 2016). In order to demonstrate effective organisation and management of Advanced Dental Prosthetics, an organisational chart, staffing outline, recruitment and training procedures, legal information, and future plans for staffing will be outlined (Griffin, 2017). This will demonstrate the structure of authority between the staff, while detailing the requirements of recruiting staff for particular positions, the current division of responsibilities among staff based on skills, and any future staffing plans for growing the business (Griffin, 2017). Advanced Dental Prosthetics will outline a practical staffing plan, aiming to develop an effective management structure which will facilitate a successful business.

2.0 Organizational Chart

The initial staff required for the business have been organised into a hierarchy with Kate and Carol as the practice managers, as shown in Graph 1 below. In order to effectively manage the business, Kate and Carol will take a Project Management online course prior to start-up, which will help to equip them with the skills necessary to operate. Both Kate and Carol will be in the position of Practice Manager and Clinical Operations Manager, as they will also attend to all clinical aspects of the business. As practice managers, they will largely oversee the receptionist and accountant, as well as the cleaner, equipment maintenance, material suppliers, and courier. The receptionist will also help manage these positions.  The cleaner, equipment maintenance, material suppliers, and courier will be independent businesses working for Advanced Dental Prosthetics, which aims to save costs. As a senior dental technician and owner, Momo will manage the laboratory operations and oversee the recruited dental technician.

3.0 Staffing Outline

Kate Sheil (Practice Manager and Dental Prosthetist).

Kate will act as a Practice Manager within the first year of running the business. She will be in control of some major aspects of the business, such as operations, marketing, and finances with the accountant. As a dental prosthetist, she will also be working in the clinic two days per week.

Carol Duong (Practice Manager and Dental Prosthetist).

Carol will also act as a Practice Manager within the first year. She will be in control of other major managerial jobs, such as operations, recruiting staff, absence and leave, the payroll, and workplace health and safety inductions. Similarly to Kate, she will be working as a dental prosthetist in the clinic two days per week.

Momo Shinohara (Dental Technician).

Momo will be working full-time in the laboratory as a dental technician. As a senior technician, she will be required to monitor the laboratory work coming in to ensure everything is getting completed on time. She will also be expected to monitor material stock, order when stock it is low, and inform practice managers of these expenses.

Dental Technician.

A full-time dental technician will work in the laboratory, constructing prostheses alongside Momo to help with the increasing workload. Recruitment for this position will occur mid-way through the first year, in June 2025.

Receptionist.

The receptionist will be working full-time, attending to the administration responsibilities as appointed by the practice managers. Recruitment for this position will occur three months prior to starting the business, in October 2024.

Accountant.

As neither practice managers have any experience in accounting, a part-time accountant will be hired for the first year to ensure the business finances are on track. This will also help both practice managers to learn financial management as a new skill. Recruitment for this position will occur prior three months to starting the business, in October 2024.

4.0 Recruitment and Training Procedures

Recruitment procedure.

All information related to the recruitment, selection and appointment of the employees will remain confidential to those involved in the recruitment process. Any personal information collected, stored, used or disclosed during the recruitment procedure will only be released if required by regulatory compliance (University of Southern Queensland, 2019). It is important to select high quality candidates, as poor selection will impact the businesses work productivity and team performance. The following four key elements will cover the procedures which will be used by Advanced Dental Prosthetics, providing an overview of the recruitment and selection process.

Preparing to recruit.

The job description will outline the type of position needed to the applicator. When recruiting candidates for a new position, the practice manager (Carol) will be required to design a new job analysis and document that states any position requirements. A document will provide details of the duties to be performed and required skills, qualifications, and experience for the candidates, determining the business organisation, work environment, and management practices.

Advertising.

Once the job analysis and document is written, the position will be advertised to reach the most appropriate candidates. Advertisements will be performed by:

●        On-line job boards

●        JobCentre

●        Local newspaper

●        Social media – professional social media platforms such as LinkedIn will be useful

Selection.

Once enough candidates have applied, the most suitable applicants will be selected to undertake an interview.  Referee reporting is one method of collecting information of the candidates to assess the suitability basework-related qualities needed to perform the duties required in the job.

Appointment.

Interviews are done by either in person, via telephone, video or other online medium.It must be structured in a way to collect the sufficient evidence of candidate  to confirm that the chosen candidate have the required skills, experience and motivation to carry out the duties of their work role and also be able to demonstrate a commitment to the work.  To operate the interview, the interviewer will prepare the list of general questions about the candidate’s skills, abilities and performance at previous workplace that is required in new work role. It is also important to prepare a list of prioritised and measurable criteria to analyse  and compare the candidates during the interview procedure.

Training procedure:

Essential steps in an on-job training program are:

●        Orientation

●        Performance trial

●        Testing

●        Follow through.

Orientation

With regard to the training of new employees, it is essential to conduct an  orientation sessions where the new employees are given an introduction to the business (David, 2019). During the orientation, employees will be meeting with the company’s existing employee, get an overview of company policies, and fill out the company documents to start the work. They may also be given tours of company to get an idea of facility and get the opportunity to seek answers to any questions that they may have about the company or their new positions.

Performance trial

An employer will provide the training trial session that gives new employees the ability to perform the work role that is given and those training will ensure that the employee is competent, skilled and being able to do their job once they have completed the training. Depending on the job position or the employees previous experience, the training may take just a few days or it may take for a week. During the training period, the employee is allowed to ask questions about their work duties and the trainer which will be the more experienced employee, should allow the new employee for person to person  hands on training as much as possible.

Testing

Once the training session is complete, the employer should test the new employee on how well training has followed and to check the employee’s understanding of the training materials and its concepts. As the work of dental laboratory involves the machinery and hazardous materials that require proper knowledge to handle, the testing will determine the employee’s ability to use the equipment safely. These tests will be the hands on implementation of what was taught in the training period.

Follow through

After the employee has completed the test, employees are required to show their work for a certain period of time so the employee could evaluate and assess their personal skills  (David, 2019). Those evaluation period provide an employee with feedback on their job performance and they could review themselves whether they could properly implement company procedures in which they have been trained. If the employee is not following their training, employees will have to be retrained on certain procedures.

5.0 Legal Information

Superannuation.

All employees of Advanced Dental Prosthetics, whether full-time, part-time or casual, will be paid a minimum of 9.5% of their base earnings towards their super. As the employers, it is our responsibility to pay the super contributions by the quarterly cut-off dates, provide eligible employees with a Standard Choice Form and choice of super fund, relay employee Tax File Numbers (TFN) to the nominated super funds, and keep records of the super contribution payments (Fair Work Ombudsman, 2019).

Equal opportunity.

It is National & State Australian law that workplace environments are free of discrimination (Commonwealth of Australia, 2019). Under the equal opportunity legislation, employees of Advanced Dental Prosthetics will not be disadvantaged due to race, colour, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental disabilities, marital status, family or carer’s responsibilities, pregnancy, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin. Diversity in the workplace will enrich workplace creativity with various perspectives, inspire innovation and improve decision making, therefore enhancing business growth and creating the foundation for future business endeavours (Commonwealth of Australia, 2019).

Affirmative action.

Under the affirmative action legislation, affirmative action aims to combat discrimination that has been deeply entrenched in certain groups and resulted in their disadvantage (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2019). As employers, affirmative action plans introduced may positively discriminate by proactively hiring women, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, those from non-English speaking backgrounds and people with disabilities. Lawful discrimination may be viewed as a moral and social obligation as it rectifies historical marginalisation and promotes fair treatment of the minority in the workplace.

Sexual harassment.

Sexual harassment is unlawful under the Equal Opportunity Act 2010. Unwelcome sexual behaviour that causes individuals in the workplace to feel offended, humiliated or intimidated will not be tolerated. Sexual harassment is covered in the workplace when it occurs at work, at work-related events or functions, and between people sharing the same workplace (Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, 2019).

Occupational health and safety.

Under Australian Work Health and Safety legislation, it is a legal obligation that businesses implement responsible practices that provide safe work environments for employees (Commonwealth of Australia, 2019). At Advanced Dental Prosthetics, risks will be assessed and appropriate measures will be implemented to manage them. Due to the use of potentially harmful substances and machinery in the laboratory, appropriate PPE and disinfectant procedures will be required of all employees. Staff will be thoroughly trained on the safe use, handling and maintenance of all materials and machinery. The business will have insurance and worker’s compensation will be provided for employees.

Worker’s compensation.

As the dental laboratory is a highly accident prone environment, it our responsibility as the employer to maintain a safe workplace, update and maintain acceptable worker’s compensation insurance, and prevent financial hardship should workplace injury occur. In the event of work-related accident or illness, Work Health and Safety laws require that employees have access to first aid, worker’s compensation and return-to-work rehabilitation (Commonwealth of Australia, 2019).

Enterprise bargaining.

An enterprise agreement is the consensus between the employer, employee and their bargaining representatives which establishes employee salary and conditions (Fair Work Ombudsman, 2019). Enterprise bargaining is the negotiation process to reach the aforementioned agreement and covers the relationship between employer and employee, any employee authorised wage deductions, and the operation of the agreement (Fair Work Ombudsman, 2019).

Awards.

An award is a legal document outlining the employment conditions and wages within a particular occupation or industry (Fair Work Ombudsman, 2019). At Advanced Dental Prosthetics, members covered by the Health Professionals and Support Services Award 2010 includes the dental prosthetists, dental technicians and laboratory assistants.

Employment contracts.

The employment contract will state the terms and conditions of employment between the employer and employee (Fair Work Ombudsman, 2019). The contract cannot provide less than the minimum as declared by the National Employment Standards (NES) (Fair Work Ombudsman, 2019). The employment contract will account for work hours, wages, annual leave, sick leave, overtime rates and conditions of dental technicians, receptionists and laboratory assistants.

Tax arrangements.

Pay as you go (PAYG) is a legal requirement as employers must withhold tax from payments for income tax purposes (Commonwealth of Australia, 2019). Newly registered employees must be registered with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) before employers are able to withhold tax (Commonwealth of Australia, 2019).

6.0 Future Plans

Practice Manager.

As Advanced Dental Prosthetics continues to expand, the clinical operations will likely become very time-consuming and Kate and Carol would not be able to sustain both positions as Practice Managers and Clinical Operation Managers, thus a practice manager will be recruited to take on managerial responsibilities. The practical manager will manage the many responsibilities that come along with running the business, ensuring that the dental practice runs smoothly and efficiently. In Advanced Dental Prosthetics, the practice manager will mostly be responsible for:

●        Hiring new staff

●        Maintaining equipment and raw material

●        Ensuring compliance with all government guidelines

●        Record keeping

●        Completing payrolls and preparing taxes

●        Ordering dental supplies

●        Marketing

Dental Technician.

As Advanced Dental Prosthetics continues to expand, to maintain the increasing workload, it is likely that another dental technician will need to be recruited.

THE FINANCIAL PLAN

1.0 Introduction

The financial plan of the business must be considered as it will forecast the likely results of the business endeavours (Barrow, Barrow & Brown, 2018). For the business to succeed, it is critical that Advanced Dental Prosthetics demonstrates a safe financial strategy, indicating the start-up expenses and how much profit can be made (Barrow, Barrow & Brown, 2018). A safe financial strategy will be outlined by discussing the projected cash flow, profit and loss statement, balance sheet, break-even analysis, and future financial requirements of the business (Griffin, 2017). This will demonstrate the economic viability of Advanced Dental Prosthetics, while helping to monitor the performance of the business set by the proposed timetables and benchmarks (Alhabeeb, 2015). For business success, it is a high priority of Advanced Dental Prosthetics to outline a financial plan which will predict to generate a profit and create a fulfilling work environment for all staff involved.

The start-up expenses for the first year are described in Table 1 below, where the total expenses amounted to be approximately $445713. To pay for these expenses, each member has contributed $100000 into starting the business, which was earned by working for five years prior. As this only accounts for $300000 of the initial start-up cost, a bank loan of $200000 will be taken out to pay for the remaining cost. The bank loan will be taken out from the National Australia Bank (NAB), which will have an interest rate of 4.32% per annum.

The sales forecast for the first year is displayed in Table 2 below, where numerous assumptions were made to calculate the final estimated forecast. The assumptions include:

●        All appointments are filled with no cancellations

●        There is no sick leave taken by employees

●        Each month is four weeks

●        Each prosthetist will have clinic appointments for two days per week and begin by seeing 3 patients per day (as the business is not well established it will require time to acquire more patients)

●        Dentists will take 30% commission on products from referrals

●        Average cost of laboratory products $658

●        The growth rate of the business will be an average 2.5% per year

Table 2: Sales Forecast for the First Year

2.0 Projected Cash Flow

The projected cash flow will estimate the amount of cash flowing in and out of the business (Griffin, 2017). As displayed in Table 3, the projected cash flow is approximated by the amount of cash receipts, cash disbursements and open cash balance at the end of each year. The cash receipts is calculated by the total estimation from the first year and is increased by 2.5% per year as an assumption. As a result, the cost of supplies would likely increase by 2.5% each year due to the increase in sales. In the first year, an accountant will be recruited for the first year only and a dental technician will be recruited half way through the year with the increasing workload. In the second year, a practice manager will be recruited. These differences in staffing impact the operating expenses for the first two years. It was assumed that the bank loan would be paid within the first five years of operation, decreasing the interest each year. The final cash position at the end of December 2025 was $87518 and by the end of December 2029 was $872669.

3.0 Profit and Loss

The profit and loss will describe how much the business will be profiting or losing at the end of 2025 and 2026 (Griffin, 2017). In Table 4, the total expenses was subtracted from the estimated sales for each year to demonstrate a profit. At the end of the first year (2025), a small profit was made at $77518. At the end of the second year (2026), a larger profit was made at $173070, demonstrating an increasing profit from increasing sales and decreasing expenses.

4.0 Balance Sheet

The balance sheet provides a snapshot of the business on a particular date (Griffin, 2017). In Table 5, the particular dates are the 31 December 2025 and 31 December 2026. The current assets calculated is the cash, accounts receivable (calculated to be 10% of the cash receipts), inventory or supplies (calculated to increase by 2.5% per year), and prepaid expenses and goodwill (a rough estimation). The long-term assets includes long-term investments (half of the cash will be invested), equipment, and the depreciation. Equipment was estimated to need replacement every 10 years, hence the depreciation will be approximately 10% per year. The first liability is accounts payable, which is calculated to be 2 months worth of supplies. Wages payable is the fortnightly wages of the employees. The interest payable is the annual interest rate of 4.32% of the $200000 bank loan, which is gradually being paid. Taxes payable accounts for GST, therefore this is calculated as 10% of the accounts payable. Accrued expenses and unearned revenue have also been included as rough estimations. When considering long-term liabilities, the long-term debt of the bank loan is included. The total calculated assets, liabilities, and owner’s equity was calculated at approximately $339918 at the end of 2025 and $438988 at the end of 2026.

5.0 A Break-Even Analysis

The break-even analysis will calculate where the business will reach a zero balance (Griffin, 2017). Graph 2 was based on the estimated average selling price per unit, total variable costs, and total fixed costs. The average price per unit was $658, while the total variable costs amounted to be $40340, and the total fixed costs were $301425 per year and $21584 per month. A table with the extended list of costs is included in Appendix ?. As displayed in Graph 2, the minimum number of units required to sell to break-even was calculated to be 54 units per month. In order to break-even within the first year, an average of 13.5 units must be sold per week. The break-even analysis calculations are listed in Appendix ?.

6.0 Future Financial Requirements

Business will need financial management or accounting system to record all transactions, a bank account and a method of paying bills and buying supplies

Consider using professionals such as practice manager and bookkeeper to:

●        maintain the books

●        create a budget

●        monitor cash flow

●        consider buying new equipment, expanding the  business

●        Hire more employees

Through the year, compare the actual results with financial projections to see if the business is on the target or need to adjust. Monitoring will help to spot out financial problems for the future before they get out of control.

7.0 References

• Alhabeeb, M. J. (2015). Entrepreneurial Finance : Fundamentals of Financial Planning and Management for Small Business. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/lib/griffith/reader.action?docID=1895545#
• Australian Bureau of Statistics, (2016). 2016 census quickstats. Retrieved from https://quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/quickstat/SSC31327?opendocument
• Australian Human Rights Commission. (2019). Special Measures. Retrieved from https://www.humanrights.gov.au/quick-guide/12099
• Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, (2015). Oral health and dental care in Australia. Retrieved from https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/57922dca-62f3-4bf7-9ddc-6d8e550c7c58/19000.pdf.aspx?inline=true
• Barrow, C., Barrow, P., & Brown, R. (2018). The business plan workbook: A step-by-step guide to creating and developing a successful business. Retrieved from https://library-books24x7-com.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/assetviewer.aspx?bookid=137790&chunkid=702741049&rowid=615
• Commonwealth of Australia (2019). Equal opportunity and diversity. Retrieved from https://www.business.gov.au/people/hiring/equal-opportunity-and-diversity
• Commonwealth of Australia (2019). Health & Safety. Retrieved from https://www.business.gov.au/risk-management/health-and-safety
• Commonwealth of Australia (2019). Superannuation. Retrieved from https://www.business.gov.au/finance/superannuation
• Commonwealth of Australia (2019). Taxation and your employees. Retrieved from https://www.business.gov.au/people/hiring/pay-and-conditions/taxation-and-your-employees
• Commonwealth of Australia (2019). Workers compensation insurance. Retrieved from https://www.business.gov.au/risk-management/insurance/workers-compensation-insurance
• David, B. (2019). Procedures in Training Employees. Retrieved from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/procedures-training-employees-42799.html
• Fair Work Ombudsman. (2019). Awards. Retrieved from https://www.fairwork.gov.au/awards-and-agreements/awards
• Fair Work Ombudsman. (2019). Enterprise bargaining. Retrieved from https://www.fairwork.gov.au/how-we-will-help/templates-and-guides/fact-sheets/rights-and-obligations/enterprise-bargaining
• Fair Work Ombudsman. (2019). Employment contracts. Retrieved from https://www.fairwork.gov.au/awards-and-agreements/employment-contracts
• Fair Work Ombudsman. (2019). Employment contracts. Retrieved from https://www.business.gov.au/finance/superannuation
• Finch, B. (2016). How to write a business plan. Retrieved from https://library-books24x7-com.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/assetviewer.aspx?bookid=115179&chunkid=115373267&rowid=51
• Griffin, M. P. (2017). How to write a business plan: A step-by-step guide to creating a plan that gets results. Retrieved from https://library-books24x7-com.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/assetviewer.aspx?bookid=97675&chunkid=819492896&rowid=207
• University of Southern Queensland. Recruitment and Selection Procedure  (2019). Retrieved from https://policy.usq.edu.au/documents/13428PL
• Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission. (2019). Sexual harassment in the workplace. Retrieved from https://www.humanrightscommission.vic.gov.au/the-workplace/sexual-harassment-at-work