SUSTAINABILITY AND DESIGN PROJECT
(The Project Itself: I and the other members of the group to which you have been assigned randomly are consultants in international management. Your client is a multi-national corporation (MNC) engaged in providing health services with locations in one "developing, third-world" country as well as in a highly industrialized, developed nation state. In the near term, it wishes to extend its global presence. Your client wants your recommendations about how to enhance its market share and its profitability through the adoption of sustainable business practices).
Questions that still need to be answered are:
1. How will culture influence your recommendations regarding sustainable business practices?
2. What relationships with government and not-for-profit organizations (NGOs') need to be fostered and why?
Assist Volunteer to help new refugees into Canada, partner with Foodbanks in the downtown Toronto area and raise awareness within the MNC clinics about lack of food or overall nutritional value that some people lack in their diet. Possibly create a tie into campaign that brings together clinic patients and give them passes to see local farmers markets raise awareness so to speak. For the food pantry nonprofits we could try to incentivize Canadians to donate money which may be easier as they don't normally pay co-pays unless they are picking up medicine prescriptions as well and for every luni or tuni up to a certain amount the MNC would match said donation and in the end they could get a tax deduction for their donations. Relationships with the government would be all the associations that we would have needed to be accredited with, and we can think of other ones as well. - brainstorming
MNC can donate the supplies they don't need to organizations such as Project C.U.R.E., Esperanca, and Medshare who provide medical supplies and equipment to developing countries around the world (WHO.int)
ABSTRACT
This paper reviews the sustainable business practice recommendations given by an international management consulting firm to a multinational corporation (MNC) wishing to expand its global presence. The company, INSERT NAME HERE, provides health care services with locations in Canada as well as Thailand. With both countries having contrasting developments socially, economically, politically, and culturally, the MNC must adopt different practices in each place in order to enhance its market share and profitability. The paper will explore the sustainable business practice recommendations given to the MNC for each country, strategy recommendations, and discuss the risks that the MNC should be aware of. In addition to these points, the paper will also cover the cultural influences, government and not-for-profit organization (NGO) relationships, and e-commerce involved in adopting sustainable business practices. This paper will examine the suggested sustainable business practices that the MNC should adopt including the benefits, obstacles, and required processes involved in the adoption.
MNC Adoption of Sustainable Business Practices
Recommendations for Canada and Thailand
INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE- is a multinational company that provides for-profit health care based in Ontario, Canada. For-profit health care delivery has been on the rise due to high wait times and the challenges facing a publicly funded health care system utilized by the country. This company has many brands, subsidiaries, and partnerships within Canada's provinces and has recently expanded its global presence by operating in Thailand. The company focuses its resources primarily on establishing private health clinics using an emergent/urgent care model within urban areas but also has found success in acquiring multiple outpatient service facilities. With an estimated 30 percent of Canadian health care privately paid for and a limited amount of public coverage on outpatient drugs, long-term care, and dental and vision care (Blomqvist & Busby, 2015, pg. 3). With such an unbalanced private-public financial mix, the company struggles with the provincial restrictions imposed by the 1984 Canada Health Act (CHA) (Blomqvist & Busby, 2015, pg. 5) and is looking for recommendations from our consulting firm to optimize profitability through a variety of sustainable business practices.
Canada
With the headquarters based in Toronto and a majority of facilities based in Ontario, the MNC is looking to adopt practices that not only benefit itself but the community in which it serves. The Canadian Government supports corporate social responsibility and has put in place many initiatives to promote responsible business practices locally and abroad. Canadian companies operating abroad have been given a dedicated source of internal funding by Global Affairs Canada, previously known as the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD). The country expects all businesses operating internationally to operate with transparency and respect all laws and standards (Canada.ca).
Recommended Sustainable Business Practices
Supply Chain and Inventory Methods
Healthcare facilities create waste and experience a high amount of loss in profits due to excess and expired supplies. The MNC would benefit from adopting a Kanban inventory method which maintains supply inventories and allows departments to track and reorder only the supplies that are utilized frequently. Inventory levels are reduced which lower stocking and storing costs used to maintain the inventory (Kelchner). Utilization of a lean stocking method allows for the purchasing process to be reexamined, supply rooms audited, and inventory to be calculated and tracked through Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). It will be challenging to determine the right quantities of each supply to have on hand in order to prevent delays and production shut downs however this system creates a better flow in the workspace, lowers labor costs, and maintains a reliable stocking system. Studies have shown that a reduction in unnecessary waste in landfills and water supplies as well as thousands of dollars in avoidable cost can be achieved through this system alone (Advisory.com). In addition to adopting this inventory system, the MNC can donate the supplies they don't need to organizations such as Project C.U.R.E., Esperanca, and Medshare who provide medical supplies and equipment to developing countries around the world (WHO.int).
Device Exchange and Reprocessing
https://www.environmentalleader.com/2016/05/18/how-reprocessing-medical-devices-can-save-millions-while-diverting-waste/ https://www.advisory.com/-/media/Advisory-com/About-Us/Community-Impact/Sustainability/Device%20Exchange_2_24_FINAL.pdf https://stream.advocatehealth.com/flashFiles/13SUPPORT1650/Publish/index.html
Risks
The current liberally elected Canadian government has made prior campaign trail promises such that 3 billion dollars over a span of four years would be put towards developing more in-home care facilities. Despite these party promises little of the money has yet to be seen even dispersed to the provisional governments that manage these programs (Hall, 2016). This is important to note as it could have a negative affect over how our MNC could profit long term. As the MNC could effectively profit from either offering extended hospice services for their own current patients who require such services or by partnering with other associated hospice or retirement facility centers within Ontario that would then provide the MNC with a commission of sorts upon a successful lead conversion. Another risk that may soon be faced by the MNC is a loss of talent associated with the increased taxes imposed by the newly elected Canadian government. Although the highest marginal tax rates don't affect but the top 1% of earners in the Canada, many doctors do fall into this category (MacDonald, 2015). For some doctors even just moving to a different province such as Alberta could shave off a few percentage points in yearly tax payments (Tips, 2015). In the end that could be enough for a large portion of the talented doctors to move from Ontario and go elsewhere, this would be detrimental as our client may have to better incentivize their current doctors into staying at their clinics (Boyle, 2012) and expanding into new practices may become more difficult as other clinics or hospitals will be trying to incentivize the same pool of individuals.
*Influence of Cultures
*Government and NGO Relationships
Thailand
Recommended Sustainable Business Practices Risks Influence of Cultures Government and NGO Relationships Strategy E-Commerce Conclusion References Advisory Board Company. (2015). Smart Supply Chain: The Kanban Inventory Method. Health Care Sustainability Initiative. Retrieved July 18, 2016 from https://www.advisory.com/-/media/Advisory-com/About-Us/Community-Impact/Sustainability/Kanban%20Inventory_2_24_FINAL.pdf. Blomqvist, A. & Busby, C. (2015). Rethinking Canada's Unbalanced Mix of Public and Private Healthcare: Insights from Abroad. C.D. Howe Institute, 420. Retrieved July 14, 2016 from https://www.cdhowe.org/pdf/Commentary_420.pdf. Boyle, T. (2012, May 11). How Ontario's doctors get paid | Toronto Star. Retrieved July 4, 2016, from https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2012/05/11/how_ontarios_doctors_get_paid.html Canda.ca. (2014). Global Affairs Canada. DFATD Supports Social Responsibility. Retrieved July 15, 2016 from https://www.international.gc.ca/trade-agreements-accords-commerciaux/topics-domaines/other-autre/csr-proj-rse.aspx?lang=eng. Hall, C. (2016, April 19). Trudeau tracker: Have the Liberals kept their promise on health-care spending? Retrieved July 13, 2016, from https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-tracker-health-care-1.3543861 Kelchner, L. What is an Inventory Kanban? Small Business Chron.com. Retrieved July 17, 2016 from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/inventory-kanban-13301.html. MacDonald, L. (2015, November 27). Doctors, lawyers concerned about Trudeau's small-business tax changes. Retrieved July 19, 2016, from https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-money/doctors-lawyers-concerned-about-small-business-tax-changes/article27480893/ Publications. (n.d.). Retrieved July 19, 2016, from https://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/public/publications/ohip/ohip_waiting_pd.aspx Tips, T. (2015, December 1). Ontario 2015 and 2016 Personal Marginal Income Tax Rates. Retrieved July 4, 2016, from https://www.taxtips.ca/taxrates/on.htm WHO.int. Organizations Working on Donations of Medical Equipment. Retrieved July 14, 2016 from https://www.who.int/medical_devices/management_use/donation_org_roles.pdf.