1. INTRODUCTION
Bankruptcy
is
a
legal
procedure
for
liquidating
a
business
that
cannot
afford
to
pay
its
debts
out
of
its
current
assets.
A
recent
SWOT
analysis
conducted
at
Browne’s
and
Co.
indicated
that
they
have
problems
with
their
operations
management,
unmotivated
staff
and
ineffective
marketing
strategies,
and
thus
compromising
their
future
viability.
This
report
will
recommend
appropriate
strategies
to
reduce
the
risk
of
bankruptcy
of
Browne’s
and
Co.
and
improve
the
identified
problem
areas.
STRATEGIES
TO
IMPROVE
OPERATIONS
MANAGEMENT
Operations
management
is
the
management
of
the
activities,
processes
and
systems
that
are
in
place
within
a
business
in
order
to
effectively
and
efficiently
produce
goods/services
to
satisfy
customer
wants
and
needs.
The
recent
SWOT
analysis
of
Browne’s
and
Co.
indicated
that
they
have
poor
operations
management,
which
is
taking
a
toll
on
its
ability
to
generate
cash
flow
to
pay
for
debts
as
they
fall
due.
There
are
two
strategies
that
are
highly
recommended
to
rectify
this
problem:
• Adopt
a
Total
Quality
Management
(TQM)
approach
to
managing
operations-­‐
Total
Quality
Management
(TQM)
is
an
approach
to
operations
management
that
is
applied
to
every
aspect
of
the
business.
In
other
words,
everyone
is
responsible
for
the
quality
of
the
good/services
that
the
business
provides.
At
present,
staff
are
continually
micromanaged
and
are
not
given
enough
responsibility
to
ensure
high-­‐quality
service
is
provided.
This
was
clearly
evident
when
the
manager
asked
who
was
on
wash
duty
and
then
proceeded
to
wash
the
dishes,
rather
than
waiting
for
the
employee
to
complete
the
task.
If
employees
at
Browne’s
and
Co.
felt
empowered
and
responsible,
they
would
take
their
jobs
more
seriously
and
hence,
improve
the
quality
of
the
service
provided
to
their
clients.
A
TQM
approach
to
operations
management
will
ensure
that
all
staff
in
all
areas
of
the
business
are
working
towards
a
common
goal,
and
that
is
to
ensure
that
each
client
receives
a
high
quality
tailored
service,
which
will
encourage
them
to
return,
hence
improving
cash
flow
and
reducing
the
likelihood
of
bankruptcy.
Staff
and
duties
roster-­‐
A
staff
and
duties
roster
indicates
to
staff
when
they
are
expected
to
be
at
work
and
what
tasks
are
to
be
completed
by
the
end
of
their
shift.
A
well-­‐devised
and
clearly
communicated
staff
and
duties
roster
will
ensure
that
the
correct
number
of
staff
at
Browne’s
and
Co.
are
punctual
and
present
to
service
the
needs
of
their
clients.
This
will
encourage
efficient
client
service,
hence
allowing
for
more
clients
to
be
tended
to.
STRATEGIES
TO
IMPROVE
STAFF
MOTIVATION
Staff
motivation
is
key
to
success.
Happy
staff
are
productive
staff,
and
it
is
clearly
evident
that
staff
at
Browne’s
and
Co.
are
not
happy.
They
feel
that
they

2. are
incompetent
to
do
their
jobs
as
a
result
of
the
continuous
micro
management,
and
there
is
no
positive
reinforcement
provided.
This
was
evident
when
the
manager
advised
Tabatha
that
a
pat
on
the
head
is
not
necessary.
Considering
that
Browne’s
and
Co.
are
on
the
verge
of
bankruptcy,
there
are
some
cost
effective
strategies
that
can
be
adopted
to
improve
staff
motivation.
These
include:
• Staff
mentoring-­‐
it
is
clear
that
a
number
of
staff
at
Browne’s
and
Co.
are
quite
young
and
inexperienced.
If
management
at
Browne’s
and
Co.
implement
a
mentoring
program
whereby
a
senior
staff
member
is
responsible
for
mentoring
one
young
inexperienced
employee,
this
will
improve
not
only
the
performance
of
the
young
employee
but
also
their
motivation,
as
they
feel
that
they
have
someone
that
they
can
talk
to
when
they
are
experiencing
difficulties
or
require
assistance.
• Positive
reinforcement-­‐
simply
telling
staff
that
they
are
doing
a
good
job
is
one
of
the
most
cost
effective
methods
of
motivation.
Small
encouragement
can
go
a
long
way
and
if
staff
are
happy
and
motivated,
they
will
perform
better,
hence
increasing
the
quality
of
their
work,
keeping
clients
happy,
and
ultimately
increasing
cash
flow
to
reduce
the
risk
of
bankruptcy.
STRATEGIES
TO
IMPROVE
MARKETING
Marketing
is
the
process
of
communicating
the
value
of
a
product/service
to
customers,
for
the
purpose
of
selling
the
product/service.
Previously,
Browne’s
and
Co.
had
a
strong
marketing
campaign,
including
appearing
in
popular
magazines.
However,
currently,
there
is
little
to
no
marketing
strategies
adopted
by
Browne’s
and
Co.,
only
relying
on
word-­‐of-­‐mouth.
If
clients
are
leaving
the
salon
unhappy,
this
can
have
a
negative
effect
on
the
marketing
of
the
business
and
hence
increasing
the
risk
of
bankruptcy.
There
are
some
cost
effective
marketing
strategies
that
can
be
implemented
to
improve
the
promotion
of
their
service.
These
include:
• Facebook
promotions-­‐
Facebook
has
become
an
increasingly
popular
method
of
advertising
as
it
reaches
a
wider
target
market,
and
depending
on
the
way
Facebook
is
used,
is
extremely
cost
effective.
Browne’s
and
Co.
can
place
ads
on
Facebook
promoting
certain
services
such
as
cuts
and
blow
dries,
and
they
can
also
encourage
their
clients
to
‘check
in’
on
Facebook
when
they
are
at
the
salon.
This
is
a
cost
effective
way
of
getting
the
Browne’s
and
Co.
brand
‘out
there’.
• Samples-­‐
Browne’s
and
Co.
can
take
advantage
of
their
location
on
Miami
Beach
and
use
the
beach
to
provide
samples
of
the
service
that
they
provide,
such
as
a
trim
or
use
of
the
curling
iron.
This
will
encourage
sales,
as
people
are
able
to
test
their
service
before
purchasing
further
services.
In
turn
cash
flow
will
increase
and
hence
reduce
the
risk
of
bankruptcy,
as
ultimately,
clients
are
the
lifeblood
of
the
business;
an
increase
in
clients
will
lead
to
an
increase
in
cash
flow.

3. CONCLUSION
It
is
suffice
to
say
that
in
order
for
Browne’s
and
Co.
to
avoid
bankruptcy,
they
need
to
adopt
cost
effective
strategies
that
will
encourage
client
retention.
This
can
be
achieved
by
ensuring
that
staff
are
motivated,
have
strong
processes
and
procedures
in
place
that
foster
and
encourage
quality
throughout
the
business,
and
adopting
modern
marketing
techniques
that
will
attract
a
larger
target
market.
The
lifeblood
of
Browne’s
and
Co.
is
their
staff
and
clients,
and
hence
if
both
are
happy
the
likelihood
of
bankruptcy
is
reduced.