final paper

1 Implementation of a Health Care Management Plan for gLeaf Chelsea English The University of Arizona Global Campus MHA 601: Principles of Health Care Administration Dr. Yvonne Lozano 11/20/2023

2 Implementation of a Health Care Management Plan for gLeaf gLeaf is a medical dispensary located in a few states. Specifically for this paper I will focus on the entity of the organization that has four locations local to Richmond, Virginia. The four locations are in the cities of Colonial Heights, Carytown, Manchester (Southside Richmond), and Glen Allen (Short Pump) areas. The mission of the company is to display a higher standard, higher knowledge, and higher calling. Operating under this mission allows for staff to focus on better products and services by providing patients with an experience that cannot be found anywhere else, have access to extensive training that will provide them with answers to question through compassionate conversations and the love for cannabis to connect with patients deeper, and to inspire those that set foot through the doors to see what cannabis can offer (The Cannabist Company, 2023). Currently in Virgnia retail spaces that intend to sell cannabis must operate as a medical facility. The served products consists of flowers (actual plan), vape cartridges (3 different types of extractions), edibles (various forms and flavors), oil tinctures (sublingual), topicals, and concentrates (hard wax). These products have various component combos like THC only, THC/CBD, or CBD only. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the substance in the products that is primarily responsible for the effects on an individual’s mental state (Hopp et al, 2019). Cannabidiol (CBD) is a cannabinoid within the plant that doesn’t present any mental impairment. CBD is primarily based around the relief of pain around a chronic illness or simple temporary pains like headaches or an upset stomach (Cox-Georgian et al.,2019). Along with these combos there is also the presence of terpenes that are mostly found in plants that have a wide range of medicinal uses that provide medical benefits. With the information provided above, the customers served are considered patients that have been medically evaluated from qualified healthcare professionals that provide

4 amounts of messages. It can also lose social or contextual information that can lead someone to receive a message differently than what the sender intended to say. Individual respect of higher authority is forced and not earned resulting in poor word choices and misplaced emotions. Since this company handles what is considered a narcotic in the state there is a lot of paperwork involved that needs to be obtained in order to distribute to the patients. Most of the time obtaining paperwork internally and externally from other vendors is a headache due to the lack of respect of position. It is the responsibility of the general manager to reach out or investigate any issues with products to keep the process of workflow moving so products can be distributed. Since this information is important to obtain it would make sense for it to become a priority task so it can be resolved in a reasonable time frame. At gLeaf these things seem to carry no importance making the response time lack any urgency. This leads to the supporting staff feel like management have no idea what they are doing and that they can do whatever they feel is befitting to them. The amount of daily workload between management and supporting staff is not equally distributed to accomplish task in a timely manner. Due to the high volume of products received weekly there is not enough staff able to place barcode labels on products that need to be moved to the shelves. When this type of problem arises staff start to encounter irritated patients that start to disrespect them or discredit their knowledge as an employee leading them to question whether they still want to be associated with the organization. The amount of support and training is very minimal. Since the cannabis industry is a consistent learning-based industry it requires individuals to do research about what they want to know on their own. At gLeaf the best way to learn is through shadowing but it is really ineffective if the process feels rushed making a new hire feel uncomfortable or “thrown to the

5 wolves” in a new job environment. An example would be someone that just started at gLeaf 5 days ago on the 7 th day it is an expectation that new hires understand their job role to an extent that they will be able to hold their own ground. This raises as a problem because the new hire may not feel comfortable having one on one interaction with a patient to suggest problems and can result in them leaving before their probationary period is over. These types of situations then start to disrupt others that do have a good handle on their responsibilities. Disruptions of any kind can lead to reduced productivity of the workflow process and cause frustrations to others leading to the possibility of an unsafe work environment. Management styles throughout the company is not cohesive. Each store has their own way of doing things. According to Osei et al., (2022), destructive leadership styles such as abusive supervision have been associated with adverse outcomes. Employees within the organization at gLeaf see constant displays of negative emotions from upper management. Sometimes these displays of emotion either leave the staff to not speak to anyone or displaying the same type of emotions that lead to poor customer service. These factors play a current impact on the morale at gLeaf and the reason behind the high turnover. These contributing factors are important to boost the morale of the organization. Without a positive trend from each factor the state of current customer satisfaction will decline bringing a negative reputation of the organization. Two Solutions to Resolve the Problem Two solutions to resolve the identified problem can be addressed by applying a theory developed by Douglas McGregor (Johnson & Walston, 2021) or applying an experienced based co-design framework. The first solution is known as Theory X and Theory Y. Theory X focuses on controlling workers whereas Theory Y focuses on engaging and empowering workers

7 Anticipated Obstacles and Opportunities Anticipated obstacles and opportunities can arise from the implementation of these strategies and solutions. From these suggestions and resolutions, there could be the possibility of rejection. Trying to evolve and transform departmental structure is not an easy task and can obviously have subordinates questioning decisions of management. Other rejections involved could be lack of commitment and responsibility. In order for the strategies and solutions to come together it is necessary for everyone involved to be responsible for themselves and for the betterment of the team. Within this industry it takes a lot of creative ideas and feedback in order to understand the day-to-day risks or issues that may arise. Without proper participation of the staff within the organization to evolve the morale the company will continue to decline and develop a bad reputation. Opportunities that may arise are the possibilities of increased revenue due to coherent acceptance of new guidelines and strategies. This can lead to possibility of new contracts with other vendors or better wholesale price points due to better product knowledge. Other opportunities that will arise are better patient-employee relationships that will help form bonds of trust.

8 Strategic Plan Goals Required Tasks Individuals involved Resources Needed Timeline Measurements Increase employee morale by April 20, 2024 1. Plan 1 on 1 meetings with staff to listen to concerns 2. Organize team outings every 3 – 6 months 3. Implement daily round checkups on staff 4. Implement a recognition and reward system 5. Create a drop- box for those who want to be anonymous Regional Manager, Manager of each building, Manager of staff, HR Manager and General Manager of the 4 locations Money allocated for team outings, time for observance, and training of the new system 11-23-23 to 4-20-24 Observe the time it takes for employees to warm up to higher authority, analyze if their perceptions change about their daily work tasks, morale should be going in a positive direction Update and transform employee training by 1. Analyze older training checklist 2. Get budget approval HR Manager, General Manager, and Managers of Money for new tools and resources, time to conduct training 11/23/23 to 02/15/202 4 Observe productivity of new training and resources tools

10 Conclusion gLeaf could be a more enjoyable place to work for its employees. Without taking the proper steps to identify the key issues and risks within the organization the morale will not be ideal. To fix these issues its best to identify possible resolutions or strategies that will help transform or restructure the current issue while understanding risks and opportunities that may arise. Clearly written well thought out goals and strategic planning will help implement the new suggested strategies and avoid possible risks. Committing to this new system and really putting in an effort to show employees that they are valued will bring the company a better reputation of perception internally and externally. References Bird, M., McGillion, M., Chambers, E. M., Dix, J., Fajardo, C. J., Gilmour, M., Levesque, K., Lim, A., Mierdel, S., Ouellette, C., Polanski, A. N., Reaume, S. V., Whitmore, C., & Carter, N. (2021). A generative co-design framework for healthcare innovation:

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