Business organization
Alma Spa is a spa salon offering women a wide range of beauty products and spa treatments. It is a Limited Liability Partnership or a partnership that has elements of a corporation and a partnership. The main benefit of this type of business organization is that it limits significantly the liability of the partners for malpractice claims (Fishman, 2010) and that all the partners have a right to directly participate in business management. Business partners within this partnership are Jaleelah Al Felfel and Lameea Ojayan who are its private owners. A such number of partners is the most optimum for this type of business organization, but any LLP, including this one, can increase its number of partners up to 50 or even more, depending on its size.
Potential legal and ethical issues
There are several ethical and legal issues that Alma Spa may face. One of the most important ethical issues is price-fixing. The salon is located at the center of Qatif downtown and the closest spas are 50 and 70 km away. Since there are no spa centers closer, the customers have to visit those that are farther. The prices for spa and beauty procedures need to be fixed in accordance with those that the nearby salons have; otherwise, this would be an unfair business practice (Campbell, 2007). Another ethical issue to be faced is discrimination in hiring personnel because, in the near future, two massage therapists, one nail therapist, four stylists, and two receptionists will need to be hired. Lastly, a potential legal issue is professional negligence on the part of the personnel; this will be dealt with by hiring only professionals with good recommendations.
Business culture
The business culture of Alma Spa centers on a high level of management and employee relations and a desire to create the most favorable atmosphere for customer satisfaction. It is crucial for the organization to work as a team and to develop loyalty towards the business in each of the employees (Kroon, 2000). Alma Spa aims at changing the way women perceive their life in Saudi Arabia, as well as the way they see their beauty and well-being. Focusing on providing exceptional service to our customers, we also do not forget about improvements and innovations using only high-quality modern equipment for spa and beauty procedures.
Types of motivation
Two main types of motivation used within the organization are extrinsic and incentive motivation. Professionalism is the main quality valued by employees. They will be motivated extrinsically for holding their positions because working at Alma Spa will contribute to the development of their professional skills. In addition, the employees will be motivated through incentives. Apart from high payments, they will get bonuses and rewards for regular customers or the feedbacks obtained from the customers. Moreover, the salary will depend on how long an employee has worked for the company, which will help to retain the personnel that will get more and more qualified with each year, which, in its turn, will help to retain the regular consumer base and attract new customers.
Human resource management
Alma Spa will focus on developing, maintaining, and acquiring human resources (Pride, Hughes, & Kapoor, 2009). As already mentioned, new staff is planned to be hired. The acquisition of this staff will take place in two stages: firstly, the interviews with potential employees will be conducted and then each of the newly hired employees will pass a trial period. The maintaining of the existing personal will be ensured through providing benefits (material ones, first of all) and establishing good employee relations. Finally, the development of the personnel will take place by means of the annual upgrade of professional skills and constant monitoring of the quality of services provided (possibly, some of the employees will go on business trips or will participate in professional competitions).
Technology
The use of modern equipment is of primary importance for Alma Spa. A research group will be hired to trace the development of new technologies related to carrying out beauty and spa procedures. The existing equipment will be constantly upgraded and customer feedbacks and recommendations with regards to the equipment used will be analyzed and taken into consideration. The variants with purchasing foreign equipment (if there is such a need) will be evaluated and considered. This might significantly influence annual costs for the equipment, but the prices for procedures will range respectively, which is why it will be easy to cover expenses.
Operations and materials management
Alma Spa is going to hire an operations manager who will be responsible for different operations processes and the maintenance of equipment. An operations manager assistant will also be hired to deal with smaller tasks (such as materials purchasing, as well as storing and handling of materials). The Operations assistant manager will also contact the suppliers and will be responsible for ordering the materials. Possibly, some of the existing or newly hired employees will be able to fulfill these functions if they are qualified for this.
Reference List
Campbell, D. (2007). International protection of foreign investment. Salzburg: Yorkhill Law Publishing.
Fishman, S. (2010). Tax deductions for professionals. Berkeley: Nolo.
Kroon, J. (2000). General management. Cape Town: Pearson South Africa.
Pride, W.M., Hughes, R.J., & Kapoor, J.R. (2009). Business. Mason: Cengage Learning.