Dental Assoc. of Northern Virgina

Dental Associates of Northern Virginia

As a highly regarded head administrator within the Dental Associates of Northern Virginia, Dr. Steven Fox is faced with a time sensitive decision that can add value or incur cost to his firm. Dr. Fox must report back within 24 hours to his group administrator, Dr. B, with a decision for or against the purchase of the CEREC3 porcelain crown making machine. Dr. Fox’s decision looms on three overarching business deliberations; he must analyze and base his decision on the “cost, time, and quality tradeoffs” that the product may impose on the firm (pg.4). Dr. B’s three key criterion for making a decision, “cost, time, and quality,” coincide with subsidiary themes embedded within the case. There are three themes that are viscous throughout this case. In assessing this major decision, Dr. Fox is affected by the underpinnings of key issues such as the growing form over functionality trend in the dental industry, the re-evaluation of previous risk averse business strategy, and the oddities present in his firm’s structural organization, in regards to the relationship between himself and Dr. B. These three key issues will influence Dr. Fox’s criterion for evaluating the purchase of the CEREC3 machine.

The first key issue in the Dental Associates of Northern Virginia business case, that will inevitably affect Dr. Fox’s criteria for decision making, is the ever-changing trend in the cosmetic dentistry arena, the debate of function versus aesthetics. Since inception, this firm has been very astute to externalities. As technology progressed, the Dental Associates of Northern Virginia recognized that it was not the dentists, but the “patients driving the dental industry” (pg 3). As the firm grew, they recognized their monthly expenditures reaching $30,000 per month on restoration procedures; more and more patients were taking advantage of the option to repair dental imperfections. This could be captured as a huge profitability...