The blue jet attempt of implementing change was by developing differentiation to increase customer’s satisfaction. Differentiation is an effective way of ensuring that the organization retains customer’s loyalty but it should not be utilized alone in implementing change. According to (Bhatnagar, & Bhatnagar, 2011) in overcoming reputation issues differentiation may not be effective because other approaches are required in ensuring that the clients are able to trust what the organization offers. The organization management should, therefore, develop a plan to regain the lost trust from the customers by developing their communication tools. Communication is an essential tool is building organization and customer relation. Effective communication will thus be purposed to ensure that the organization maintains better relations with the clients (Bhatnagar, & Bhatnagar, 2011). This will help in generating feedback of things that the company should change as well as what the customers requires. This should, therefore, be incorporated into the company’s mission and change plans to assist in changing the perspective of the clients towards achieving a desirable reputation.
Biblical Integration
Reputation is very crucial in defining an organization. Reputation should be earned in every mean as it determines the success of every organization or an individual (Verhezen, 2015). Proverbs 22:1 states that a good name opts rather than the option of great riches and it is better to acquire favor than to obtain gold or silver. Having an honorable reputation is, therefore, essential in ensuring that prosperity is achieved. Having a good name for the organization will ensure that the market segment is increased. This similarly indicates that the revenue generated will be raised since a good reputation will attract more clients. The organization should, therefore, opt for a good name by adopting strategies that will help in overcoming image issues.
References
Bhatnagar, N., & Bhatnagar, M. (2011). Effective communication and soft skills: Strategies for success.
Verhezen, P. (2015). The vulnerability of corporate reputation: Leadership for sustainable long- term value.
Good leadership and effective strategies help in solving branding and consumer’s issues. This helps in achieving sustainability by developing the capability to utilize the available resources. Stable leadership in Starbuck organization would ensure that the cooperation achieves better results. Ethical leadership encourages the organization employees to act in an ethical way by doing those things that are aimed to benefit all the involved individuals without being selfish. Ethics helps beyond loyalty because it penetrates into the market thus helping in designing principles and well organized and developed decisions. According to (Crane, & Matten, 2010) having organized strategies are crucial in ensuring that the company works with the right guidance without fail or favor. This, therefore, ensures that unethical conduct is eliminated as the operating principles are set. Good leadership should offer guidance to the employees by ensuring that communication is effective and that the developed thoughts are well utilized to increase the reliability and accuracy of the organization (Crane, & Matten, 2010).
Biblical Integration
Having positive business ethics is essential in achieving success. Ethics helps in developing of the organization image as well as developing the market segment (Treviño, & Nelson, 2011). Success can only be achieved with good and not bad ethics. Proverbs 10:4 holds that the person who operates with full negligent is poor while the individual who works with diligent is bale to attain riches. This, therefore, makes it clear that negligence may result to lose for any organization. This is poor riches can only be achieved with a good image which helps in attaining directions towards the set goals. Acting ethical implies that the decisions of the organization that is implemented are fully able to incorporate the risks as well as the benefits.
References
Crane, A., & Matten, D. (2010). Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Treviño, L. K., & Nelson, K. A. (2011). Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do it right. New York: John Wiley.
Q1 I totally agree with Ralph Lauren general manager’s philosophy ‘I’m a servant in suit’ because I believe it is the only way to make improvement in business. In RL case Varnes the general manger has taken the right step by simply acting like an employee while the mind is that of a leader (Lisa 1). This is the only possible way for him to understand the customers as well as able to prioritize their needs properly. Lowering your level as a leader gives one a chance to improve the communication between the workers hence, able to acquire full attention plus take notice of their body language to avoid making problems with them. Mr. Varness shows a good objective of leadership since he is easily able to help those workers doing poorly as well as encouraging those doing good to do better. It is not expected of such situations by customers where the general manager in any organization serves just as the junior employees does however, Varness makes an effort to ensure RL is unique in one way or the other. His major aim is make decisions with his team’s best interest mind, and ensure that everyone takes part in it plus, has the resources and knowledge they need to meet the objectives. No doubt that he is a good example of a servant leader with an advantage of bringing the restaurant at the top (Lisa 2).
Varnes is such a leader who focuses with the need of his workers as well as the customer’s before considering his own. Servant leaders are able to easily acknowledge other individual’s standpoints, offer them the support they need in meeting their satisfaction as well as personal goals. Varnes ensures that his leadership leads to higher engagement, more trust and stronger connection with his team and customers (Lisa 3).
Q2 RL culture is based on encompasses values as well as behaviours which contribute to the unique social and psychological environment of an organization. Ralph Lauren Restaurant represents collective values of principles on the member’s behaviours as well as products. Mr Varnes ensures there are no differences of culture at work place because it might lead to disagreement. The restaurant’s cultural heritage is prejudiced in the way that the common manger acts like his employees to encourage communication styles and other ways of relating with others (Lisa 3). Dressing code is another culture adhered to in RL where according to Varness they are genuine rules on clothing. Every employee’s mode of dressing is determined by their position especially where varness being the GM is always in suit even though he works like a servant (Lisa 1). It is the dressing code that builds the rules and signals which indicates the message being given by a person. Physical environment is another visible culture at RL especially the elegance white clothed tables and the colours used on the seats and wall for attraction and comfort. The bright colours are used particularly to reflect the dynamic environment thus indicating a traditional free environment (Lisa 2). The food offered at the restaurant makes one of the most noticeable manifestations of culture which is in variety. Culture must and should be installed in workplace thus, leaders are easily able to treat workers with respect thereby, furnishing and designing the organization’s name.
Q3 The most important thing to consider while hiring new staff is ensuring they are the best for its success. Best people to hire are not only the educated one but those who give 100% confidentiality to do their job perfect. Writing training manure to a new wait staff in a restaurant I would ensure that I put more emphasis on the vision and mission thus, showing the seriousness of the work. For anyone interested in the wait position it is important to train him or her on the essential of the restaurant’s size, nature and quality and how they vary. In every organization the vision and mission are its foundation thereby, it is important to use practical activities as well as guidelines while educating a new member on the foundation. It is even more understood when a draft is used in the training while a discussion follows thus, the employee is given a chance in making suggestion. The foundation is a major effective factor in organizations that should be paid attention to since; it is aimed at the new members where it helps them in becoming familiar and comfortable in the organization. With better understanding of the organization’s vision and mission, new staffs will easily perform their duties better thus, put their focus on a particular skills and knowledge required of them. It is important to aid the new member in understanding the philosophy of the business organization as the structure as well as general position. It is the philosophies which encourages her on the kind of resources she have access to at work as well as how and from whom should she get information from (Lisa 2).
Q4 RL restaurant DNA is not only on building its brand but also on the customer services. It is genuine from the article that the workers in the bistro particularly the general manger guarantees they gets the concepts of the DNA because they want to make sure their customers exists always. Whatever compels on the customers is effective because it is what makes them resolve on whether to derived back thus, is a problem is done in RL quick and immediate solution is applied (Lisa 3). Customer DNA at RL gives me the confidence as an employees to come and enjoy the services we give them because we ensures that the whole visit process sets the best mood for the entire duration (Curtis , Erik & Richard 55).
The services we offer to our clients generates a great experiences thus, determines whether we should walk away at the end with a satisfied or dissatisfied customer experience. It is the responsibilities of waiters on duty to serve me as a customer despite being their employee thereby, they ensures that when I make reservations they set the table according to my expectation about what I would prefer for the stay. RL is one restaurant which offers heavy hospitality services thus, demonstrates is support for employees by investing in professional developments. The General Manager creates a perfect employee engagement which is always at the heart of RL thus; the bound is formed within the restaurant’s cultural DNA. I would proudly buy in RL’S DNA because no matter the size or position one is in, the team takes good care of you and your properties. The strong level of engagement between leaders and the executive staff members generates a common thread with customers (Curtis , Erik & Richard 55).
Work cited
Lisa Bertagnoli. Ralph Lauren. Never forgets its customers.
Human resource information system creates an essential linkage of human resources and information technology by use of HR software. These systems make it possible for HR day to day activities to occur electronically. Accounting, management, and payroll activities can also be incorporated into the system. HRIS facilitate cost effectiveness, efficient management, and control of HR without excess resource allocations. They aid in making HR decisions that increase quality and productivity of employees and managers. HRIS comprise of flexible designs that incorporate databases that can be integrated with multiple features. They basically have the capacity to construct summarized reports and evaluate the information within short durations and with high levels of accuracy (Rietsema, 2015). They enormously reduce the time consumed by administrators to run non-strategic and mundane tasks of HR. HRIS ease communication within the firm and facilitate a fast flow of information by ruling out paperwork and constant movements of the managers. This is achieved by availing locations for single announcements, external web links, and organization policies. The communication is centralized and is easily accessible to the employees. In doing so, the system cut down redundancy within the restaurant. This is possible through the system as it is able to perform job analysis from the supervisors to the workers and design the information system that provides the manager with the tactical decisions. The recruiting information system facilitates the organization in developing an effective recruiting plan that will enable the organization to achieve its objectives without so much constraint. In the hospitality industries such as a restaurant, there are many employees hence the need to have compensation and benefit information system in place to avoid legal cases resulting from the employees. To increase effectiveness there should be an employee development and training system to increase employees’ capability.
HRIS TYPE
HRIS has various modules that include recruiting, turnout, electronic mail alerts, staff self-service, structural charts, management benefits, employee training tracking system, rapid report production and applicable succession plan. HRIS modules that are aimed at realizing optimum restaurant productivity should be adopted (Heathfield, 2015). The module should seek the inclusion of varying experiences, talents, and skills among the restaurant employees. HRIS of choice should fulfill the capabilities that the restaurant need. The restaurant has eight areas of operation and future expansion plans should be considered in settling for a HRIS. Castle Family restaurant face human resource management challenges demanding the manager to do endless travels to all the eight locations. The case scenario pointed out that hiring and employees’ recruitment process is a chief problem with the HR department. The restaurant has to adopt an HRIS that is focused on recruiting, training, talent, and workforce. The restaurant should consider a HRIS with some key highlighted characteristics. The system should avail recruiting module that has the provision for applicant tracking system. Core human resources within the restaurant should be captured in the software. The system should effectively track employee reporting and workflow (Johnson, Thite, & Kavanagh, 2011). The HRIS of choice should entail both absence and compensation management. Training and development module will be of the great essence for the Castle Family restaurant operations. The system should incorporate employee self-service and benefit administration applications. The restaurant should emphasize on human capital management module to add talent management and put on board global capabilities such as different currencies, different languages, and country-specific formatting (Maiorino, 2015). This is necessary for Castle Family restaurant localization objective and hopeful future expansion. These features will effectively manage people, support existing policies, and form a firm foundation for the restaurant procedures. The system should also provide a systematic workflow in the restaurant, self-service to the candidates, employee and to the manager as well as enhancing the reporting of the business.
HRIS VENDOR CHOICE
The restaurant needs to conduct a gap analysis aimed at understanding the existing processes, capabilities, technologies, and effects of the change. This is followed by development and integration where vendor collaboration is necessary. The vendor who will provide after sale services such as data validation, system test strategy, roll out and train will be suitable for the company. The vendor should collaborate with the restaurant to tailor a system that fit its operations. The vendor with the required tools and resources should be awarded the contract.
ECI (Electronic Commerce Inc.) is a HRIS vendor. The company provides HR solutions to mid-sized companies like Castle Family restaurant with a cloud-based option with a completely integrated platform. The clients easily transit from one service to another in a secure and in a single database. Adopting the system will leverage cloud version, enable software as a service and users will gain access to the platform with a single sign. Empower has multiple user-friendly features and simplify company communication, automate workflows and enhance user experience (ECIPAY, 2014). With such a customized HR system ECI provides a flexible system that easily adaptable. With this, the human resource personnel does not have to go for some training in order to operate and put the system in use. The vendor has made the system to be relatively cheaper due to its features. The vendor has been in the industry for a period enough to know what the medium sized companies need in a HR system. The vendor has made it possible to upgrade for the system to be upgraded from time to time rather than changing the whole system.
Castle Family has an option of adopting Bitrix24 HRIS. The system incorporates the identified elements plus over twenty-five HR tools which include employee portal, resume storage, and leave requests. The system has wide acceptability by HR departments, staffing agencies, and experienced recruiters. Britrix24 also avails a cloud version that is necessary to cut development and implementation costs. The system caters for a self-hosted version that can be run in the restaurant server and is compatible with other HR software such as payroll. The system has a centralized employee directory, news, and announcements platform. The package offer time off management, knowledge management, document management, recruitment and cater for the flexible workforce (Bitrix, 2016). The vendor has some of the most sophisticated HR systems. The vendor has made the system in a manner that it can be able to accommodate so many operations at once. The system is made in a complex manner making it not a user-friendly system. The vendor provides after sale services due to the nature of the system that requires constant maintenance to achieve its objectives. The vendor offers training of the users who will operate the system.
CONCLUSION
HRIS is a perfect answer for data entry, data tracing, and statistical data requests of HR. The restaurant should adopt a HRIS that is in alignment with it goals, objectives, mission, and values. The Vendor choice should be based on well-sought information and robust comparisons. The two vendor offer HRIS systems that can be used in the restaurant but they both have a different impact on the business. Bitrix24 is a system that can be used in the present though its cost will have an impact in the restaurant because it is a medium-size one but with a continuous use of the system, there will be no changes in future when the restaurant will expand. With the significant cost difference, both systems can be able to deliver the needs of the organization despite the size. Empower may fall short in catering for future restaurant expansion. Bitrix24 has suitable features for consideration. The restaurant should realize by embracing a customized, relevant and flexible HRIS, it will be investing for its future success. The Britix24 system is a comprehensive HRIS will cater for operational, tactical, and strategic functions of the restaurant.
References
Bitrix . (2016). Bitrix24 as a human resources information system (HRIS). Retrieved from Bitrix, Inc: https://www.bitrix24.com/solutions/hr/
ECIPAY. (2014). Electronic commerce soultions in human resource information. Retrieved from http://www.ecipay.com/
Heathfield, S. M. (2015, 11 26). Human resources information systems . Retrieved from about.com: http://humanresources.about.com/od/glossaryh/a/hris.htm
Johnson, R. D., Thite, M., & Kavanagh, M. J. (2011). Human Resource Information Systems: Basics, Applications, and Future Directions. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.
Maiorino, M. (2015, 11 15). Types of HRIS systems: HRIS VS. HCM VS. HRMS. Retrieved from hrms: http://www.hrmssolutions.com/resources/blog/types-of-hris-systems/
Rietsema, D. (2015, 1 7). Defining different types of HRIS Solutions. Retrieved from HR Software : http://www.hrispayrollsoftware.com/blogposts/defining-different-types-hris-solutions/
Innovation and Technology Management in Small Enterprises
Abstract
Small businesses enterprises try continuously to achieve a competitive advantage that is sustainable over their competitors who are mainly from the big businesses that are well established and stable. One of the major sources of small businesses competitive advantage may be derived from the innovation of products or services. However, the engagement in such innovations is threatening because they hold no guarantee for success. Therefore, the innovation success depends on the capability of the firm which is strengthened by the particular business strategy that it is utilizing as well as the environment that it is working in. Small business management helps in strengthening technology and innovation in the business market. The small business enterprises contribute greatly to the general economy by generating employment opportunities for a number of individuals which holds a significant growth and the general economy’s GDP. Knowledge has emerged to be a benefiting factor and an influence to success on the small enterprises which has replaced the prior factors such as capital and labor. Innovation and technological management are therefore used by the small business in surviving the globalized and competitive market. However, some small enterprises fail in managing the technology and innovation which is utilized in developing services and products thus attaining a non competitive position in the market. The objective of the study is to identify how the management of innovation and technology in small businesses can be developed and identified from the point of view of management.
1.0 Introduction
Innovation management is described as the departure mark from the principles, practices and processes of traditional management that affect the mode in which individual’s management work is performed (Morris, Pryor, & Schindehutte, 2012). On the other and the management of technology is described as integrated design, planning, operation, control and optimization of technological services, processes and products which involve the better management of the general use of technology in the firm for the purpose of human advantage (Morris, Pryor, & Schindehutte, 2012). Innovation can thus be termed as the means through which entrepreneurs are able to create fresh wealth producing resources which are enhanced with the potential of generating wealth. This definition, therefore, states clearly that innovation is directly related to entrepreneurs as an instrument of successful entrepreneurship. Innovation is, therefore, the procedure by which firms seeks to gain a competitive advantage in their operation market thus increasing their capability to generate wealth (Information Resources Management Association, 2012).
Small firms highly require managing their innovation and technology that is utilized in developing products in order to be successful. This is therefore achieved by the exploitation, application and identification of fresh services, processes, products as well as new opportunities by the firms in strengthening the competitive position (Morris, Pryor, & Schindehutte, 2012). Innovation and technological management necessitate that the firm should hold the ability to acquire fresh information, hold the ability to convert the gained information into knowledge and have procedures, processes, and resources of applying the converted knowledge in exploration and exploitation f opportunities that may arise. It is likely that the firm’s capability in becoming innovative may transform as it develops and grows (Information Resources Management Association, 2013).
2.0 Literature Review
Some enterprises hold an important role in the economy in the world today. Based on the recent studies suggestion have been made on that small business contribute make contributions to the economy in two distinct ways as they are crucial element of the general renewal process and also it is a single mechanism in which many individuals are able to utilize in entering the social mechanism and economic mechanism (Morris, Pryor, & Schindehutte, 2012). The performances of the small businesses are connected to the requirements of the customers wants. The business that is able to adopt and manage innovative and technologic strategies in the concept of marketing are therefore most likely to be effective when combined with differential and growth strategies. The most successful strategy of managing innovation is by utilization of the market-oriented strategic posture which is moderated by the requirements of the clients (Morris, Pryor, & Schindehutte, 2012).
Some businesses that are successful are the enterprises which are capable of balancing the two market views, customer led and market orientation with the future needs (Berger Kuckertz, & Springer International Publishing, 2016). Innovation plans for the small business are essential as they are connected to the future and present balance of the values of its customers. Innovation in the world today has become the major element within the small businesses in becoming innovative. This is driven by the resources and customers competition which is becoming more and more intense by the capability of the small firms to be innovative. Resources capability is, therefore, the most influencing factor than any other element in innovation and technological management and application (Berger Kuckertz, & Springer International Publishing, 2016). However, the small business is faced with the issue of resources inadequacy because product development requires well established and stable firms. Since innovation requires to be transcended in all the operation areas of finance, planning, management of resource as well as marketing small business manage net results to realization lack. This is due t the fact that the operation areas are managed by the firm’s owner manager and therefore the management fails in realizing the required processes in the implementation of technology and innovation within the small enterprises sectors (Berger Kuckertz, & Springer International Publishing, 2016).
If technology and innovation are utilized merely as a single dimensional function as it is common in small enterprises there is an actual probability that improvement will be required via major technological successor as an event in overcoming the potential difficulties that may arise (Lundström, Zhou, Friedrichs, & Sundin, 2014). For the small business innovation and the technological quest are procedures of changes and improvement. Innovation and technologic management strategies are therefore crucial in ensuring that the small business is fully able to acquire a competitive advantage even with the scarcity of resources (Lundström, Zhou, Friedrichs, & Sundin, 2014).
In small enterprises, the business culture that results in the interaction existing between the initial founder theories and assumptions, as well as those that are learned by different groups based on their own perspective based on individual experiences, are essential (Morris, Pryor, & Schindehutte, 2012). The assumption founder will generate professional executives into the small enterprise in contributing to the general organizational skills and functional skills. The mistrust element may result in when the mangers begin to question the assumptions and theories that were developed initially (Morris, Pryor, & Schindehutte, 2012).
Innovation and technological management in small enterprises are very challenging when the business surrounding within where the workers operate is seen by many as being ambiguous and certain. Transformations that are observed in the small enterprises are not special and many mutual small enterprises operate through a transformation in the styles of leadership as the impacts of the inevitable cycle of business (Lundström, Zhou, Friedrichs, & Sundin, 2014).
2.1 Research Objectives
To determine the general impact of leadership style strategy change on the specific process of innovation.
To establish the influence of subjectivity to the general innovation management task
2.2 Research Questions
How does innovation and technology management influence the success of small enterprises?
Do resources hinder a small business from effectively managing innovativeness?
What strategies can be utilized in attaining small business success and attaining a competitive position?
3.0 Research Methodology
The study methodology part will entail the investigation party of the research. This will, therefore, generate answers to the questions of the research proposal. The study methodology purpose will be accomplished by the utilization of a research plan to generate solutions in solving the research issues.
The current research will, therefore, utilize single random sampling techniques as well as descriptive research design. This will be purposed in investigating on how innovation and technological management can impact small enterprise in gaining competitive position.
3.1 Research Method
Qualitative and simple random sampling procedures were chosen with the objective of eliminating biases. The qualitative design that will be utilized in the study will involve the utilization of questionnaires and interviews. The questionnaires will contain closed and open-ended queries.
Random surveys will be utilized fully in ensuring that there are no involved biases in the target population selection. This method is essential in the research in ensuring that the provided feedback by the respondents is reliable and accurate in order to increase the study’s efficiency (Antonisamy, Solomon, & Prasanna, 2010). Simple random sampling procedure helps in ensuring that every member of the target population is well incorporated. The small enterprises will hold equal opportunities because the method holds no effect on the selected population.
Both quantitative and qualitative procedures will seek to answer on how innovation management strategies influence small businesses successes and competitive advantage. The open and closed questions will help in getting adequate research information in order to increase the research’s reliability (Antonisamy, Solomon, & Prasanna, 2010). The information will hence contribute to the organized understanding of the innovation and technological management issue in small businesses.
Statistical methods are thus crucial in providing more reliable findings while qualitative method will provide the meaningful objective which is set by the sampling observations, interviews, and questionnaires. Additionally, the qualitative procedure will utilize data that is measurable in formulating and uncover research patterns. This will incorporate observations and interviews in gathering more study information.
3.2 Research Rationale
The study rationale for utilization of a mixed study is to exploit maximum information from the target population. The mixed method is essential as it provides essential information which can be utilized in comparison with the aim of generating an accurate analysis. The mixed procedure that the study will utilize will ensure that the results are utilized as references in generating solutions. This will, therefore, provide future researchers with grounds to conduct an investigation in providing a suitable recommendation.
Due to the project I realized that technology and innovation management are essential elements in overcoming competition issues by the small enterprises my education has thus improved because I understand the relationship that exists between innovation, technology and small businesses success.
3.3 Research Setting
The target firms will be selected based on their grounds of utilizing innovation and technology in developing provides.
3.4 Sampling
The target population will utilize a list of 30 small businesses as the study sampling frame which will be outsourced from the national corporation’s database with the necessary consent. The sampling frame was essential as it is linked with high processing speed, high level of information as well as favorable cost.
3.5 Research Instruments
Data gathering tools that will be utilized in the research will involve the use of interviews, survey tools, observation, and questionnaires. Interview conducted to the organization’s leaders will involve asking questions and noting down the responses. The recording will also be utilized with the consent of the respondent to ensure that omission of information does not occur. Questionnaires will be distributed prior to the interviews and collected at the agreed time.
The data that will be gathered from the study will be analyzed using SPSS. This is because the procedure is more reliable and accurate in measuring the correlation existing between variables. Qualitative information will be analyzed on manual basis while quantitative data will be analyzed using quick impressionist.
3.6 Methodology Conclusion and Summary
The research will be essential in developing solutions to the presented research questions. This is by establishing the impact of innovation and technology management strategies on success of small enterprises
The limitations anticipated is the respondent’s withdrawal based on organization explosion fear. Additionally finance and time may pose a potential threat to the study because the research requires huge finances and time in accomplishing its purpose.
References
Antonisamy, B., Solomon, C., & Prasanna, S. P. (2010). Biostatistics: Principles and practice. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill Education.
Berger, E. S. C., Kuckertz, A., & Springer International Publishing AG. (2016). Complexity in entrepreneurship, innovation and technology research: Applications of emergent and neglected methods. Cham: Springer.
Information Resources Management Association. (2012). E-marketing: Concepts, methodologies, tools, and applications. Hershey, PA: Business Science Reference.
Information Resources Management Association. (2013). Small and medium enterprises: Concepts, methodologies, tools, and applications. Hershey, PA: Business Science Reference.
Lundström, A., Zhou, C., Friedrichs, Y. ., & Sundin, E. (2014). Social entrepreneurship: Leveraging economic, political, and cultural dimensions.
Morris, M. H., Pryor, C. G., & Schindehutte, M. (2012). Entrepreneurship as experience: How events create ventures and ventures create entrepreneurs.
Business ethics are the moral principles that govern the conduct of individual in the business environment and the entire organization. These are contemporary standards that outline the actions and behavior of the organization. They are both normative and descriptive in nature. Barclay bank did not act accordingly a there some conspiracy, collusion with other organization and even deceiving the public. The executive of Barclays bank manipulated the LIBOR interest rate by giving lowest interest rates to create an image of more stability to the public when in actual sense the bank was not that stable. The level of ethical development by the executive was high because the executives were more determined to create an appealing image more than practicing the ethical standards. They acted in deception as they mislead the investor and loan-seekers to create profit for the bank at the cost of others (Treviño & Nelson, 2011).
An organization should be socially responsible. It is an ethical theory of any organization to behave ethically by being accountable and being able to fulfill their civic duty. In this way, there comes a balance between the welfare of the society and environment together with the economic growth of the society. The bank did not act in a socially responsible manner in that the actions of social responsibility are believed to be fair. They are meant to be beneficial to the society and not solely to an individual (Treviño & Nelson, 2011). The executives of Barclays bank failed in this aspect as they were only interested in the organization profit other than the society welfare by exploiting them indirectly. The organization was not interested in assisting the society in any manner. The organization could have adopted and implemented measures that would make them more socially responsible. This could have been made possible by educating the member of the society about their policy and shedding the light of the true status of the organization. The organization could have also have adopted a policy of enhancing and ensuring the integrity and making sure that the environment is protected (Treviño & Nelson, 2011).
After the scandal LIBOR came into light, the image of Barclays bank was damaged. This eroded the public confidence in Barclays bank due to the adverse publicity. Trust no longer existed and the members of the bank were ready to hop for other financial institution. To embark on this tragedy Barclays bank could have engaged in social responsibility to set thing right. Barclays bank should have launched reactive programs which will change the real practice of the executive and back on the code of conduct (Treviño & Nelson, 2011). This program will ensure that the business will run quite swiftly. Proactive programs will also ensure that the organization is back on track. This will ensure that real market problems are solved. Accountability and transparency will help to demonstrate non-financial performance which could have helped the bank to gain public confidence gradually. This strategy could have involved marketing promotion to create more awareness that could have made the public believe that the bank wanted to make it right (Treviño & Nelson, 2011).
If the executive asked themselves if what they were doing was right then there would have been some changes in the way they performed their duties. A much as they wanted a perfect image for the company to the outside world they would have placed the interest of the public as a priority. The morality level would have been better if the interest of the public were placed first together with the social responsibility (Treviño & Nelson, 2011).
Ethics and social responsibility are important aspects of marketing. In this scenario, Barclays bank could have been in a position to avoid adverse publicity if they practiced in proper ethics. It would have been seen a normal mistake of the interest rates which could not have been discovered as a mega scandal if the bank performed it act to solely transform the benefits to the society rather than the bank only (Treviño & Nelson, 2011).
Reference
Treviño, L. K., & Nelson, K. A. (2011). Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do it right. New York: John Wiley.
In the year 2015 mid of August a crew of hackers known as Impact hacked the extramarital affairs website. The hackers leaked troves of facts about Ashley Madison’s users and displayed the personal information like the account details of 32 million of its members (Taylor 2015). The hackers were motivated by one, criticizing Ashley’s core mission of arranging affairs between married couples. The other motivating factor of these hackers is the fact that they have attacked the business activities, particularly its requisite that customers should fee $19 for inclination of eradicating all their records from the place. However it was proved to be untrue that the site never fully deleted the user profiles formed on the site. They also unconfined monetary information about its parent company and the CEO’s emails (Taylor 2015). This presented evidence that the company’s executives were aware of the vulnerability of security even before the hack.
There had been very clear communication between the company and the general public. The company was meant to help people be whom they felt comfortable being in the face of the public through media. The company had granted to delete the accounts set against the email owners consent after preventing people to do it themselves. The company required people who confused their email addresses locating accounts for the wrong email address from people who often created profiles with fake addresses, to pay for the service of deleting the profiles (PEACE 2015). They affirmed that on paying the stated amount of money the profile would be deleted. This was their ethical obligation as a company to the public whom they served.
The victims were willing to benefit from the service after getting this information and many of them payed to have the profiles deleted. They got millions of users but some complained of the profile not being fully deleted (PEACE 2015). The message of assurance that the profiles would be deleted gave the company a lot of credibility from the public. They got many users of their site out of the great work they had promised to do for the affected individuals.
The company should understand that to gain credibility they should be characterized as integral people. These are people who does right with right reasons and objectives. In these case they should be careful about the choices and promises they make in the face of the public. They should avoid making commitments that they cannot keep and wherever a mistake arises they should be ready to own it up and do the necessary corrections immediately. They should also be authentic, doing exactly as they say and ensure no secret in their intensions. They should also not be ignorant of the fact that people believe what they see and so they should be honest ensuring there is no guess work of what their intensions are (Carroll 2015). All this can lead to an assurance of credibility for Ashley Madison’s company.
References
Taylor, D. (2015). Ashley Madison hack reveals telling twist: The brand isn't even real. Central Penn Business Journal, 31(37), 13.
PEACE, E. (2015). Affair Site Hack Effects Linger. (Cover story). Credit Union Times, 26(32), 1-14. Top of Form
Carroll, C. E. (2015). The Handbook of Communication and Corporate Reputation. Hoboken: Wiley.
PLANNING AND CONTROL FOR SMALL BUSINESS ENTERPRISES
Jesse’s Security Alarms case study
SECTION ONE: Understanding the small business environment
What this means is that when starting a small business enterprise, there are various steps which need to be taken into consideration that are essential in planning, preparing as well as managing the business- while taking care also of the startup legalities (Barrow, 2012). Although not all of the steps do work or apply to all business enterprises, basically working through them effectively offers a sense of all that needs the owner’s attention and what he can check off. Conversely, as much as managing small business enterprises remain to be a critical step to take, operation management processes to be undertaken in fostering its continuity should remain to be what will assist the business in its production activities as well as delivering its products and services to the customers. This strategic planning can be well illustrated by the table below;
Additionally, in choosing this business as illustrated by the above table implies that personal preferences together with other mental and physical capabilities will be the main deciding factors. Similarly, the focus ought to be on the demand of the targeted market as well as its limitations which assists in determining whether the business will be successful. Below is the internal and external environment to consider in running the business;
External environment internal environment
ü Climate
ü Economy
ü
Strategic planning
Technology
ü Political
ü Legal
ü Organization resource
ü Human resource
ü Physical assets
ü Profit and cash flow management
Operating the business from home typically provides convenient, flexible, and affordable option. Regardless of that there are legal requirements or restrictions which will be associated with it. In most cases such requirements keeps on varying from one council to another and because of that, it is clear that home-based business enterprises do not require special operating permits in case the building that the business will be working from is the primary place of residence (Barrow, 2012). Contrary to that, in case workers will be hired from outside Jesse’s immediate family, it then means that such considerations will change. This is to say that it will be the requirement by the law to have a permit if the business will end up hiring more than one employee who does not share the owner’s home (Stokes & Wilson, 2006).
In addition to that, the size of the floor area to be covered by the business will also affect the nature of the kind of permit that will be required for the business to be operated from the home setting. It should be noted that majority of councils do stipulate that for those business that are to be operated from home, such a business should not occupy more than 50square meters or just a third of the total area of the owner’s home. Moreover, there will also be other restrictions which will be imposed prior to running the business out of an apartment. Conversely, in case operating it from home will also make it to be a meeting avenue for its customers, the council may demand extra off-street parking space to be provided or just a separate entrance to be provided for the business customers (Bloomsbury, 2012). If this will be the case or even if the owner will wish to erect any signage, it is likely that he or she will have to submit a Development Application (DA), requiring the approval of the council before any necessary alterations are to be made at the owner’s home. Furthermore, additional information, for instance site plan, a Statement of Environmental Effects and existing floor layout plans might also be required.
Despite of the above requirements or restrictions, there will be the need of giving the business a name. Therefore, choosing the name of the business will be an important step in its planning process. The reason for this is because not only the name will be reflecting the business’s brand identity or awareness but also it will ensure that it’s properly registered as well as protected for the long term (Bloomsbury, 2012). Moreover, there are various factors to consider when selecting the name and one of them is the legal requirement. After choosing the name, it means that that there is the ensuring that the name complies with the law. In most cases registering the name of the business remains to be a confusing area for majority of new business owners. Therefore, registering the name of the business will involve the process termed as Doing Business As (DBA) trade name. This process should not be confused with incorporation process since it doesn’t provide trade mark protection.
This means that registering the business will be the opportunity of letting the state’s local authority to know what the business doing as the name will suggest. Whenever the business will be expanding, it is the requirement by the law that the name of the business should be distinguishable from the names of other business organizations on the record of the state (Pakroo & Stewart, 2016). Nonetheless, it is the requirement by the law that the name of the business should include certain words which indicates the business structure.
On the other hand, there is the need of managing all the resources of the business especially the accounts receivables. Accounts receivables, or at times referred to as A/R, is basically the money which the business will end up receiving from its clients for all the goods and services to be provided at the end of the day. Therefore, the main reason for this consideration is because they are the lifeblood of the cash flow of the business. They will remain to be the most essential part of not only calculating the profitability of the business but also the clearest indicator of its income. In the long-run, they should be considered as an asset since they will be representing money which will be received into the business. Keeping track of the accounts receivables will also be a better opportunity of having documentation supporting proof of returns at tax time.
Nevertheless, the business will be needing money for the purpose of purchasing materials for resale, settling employees’ salaries as well as covering all of the other operating expenses. Thus the revenues to be collected are the ones which will be used to cater for that and also turn out as the realized profit. On the balance sheet, the accounts receivable will be regarded as assets since they are the guaranteed money which will be coming back to the business. The reason for this is because the client will have the legal application of paying the business and it will be an issue which the business could, in an extreme case, take to court for payment on the contract to be entered. As much as the accounts receivables will be the most visible asset on its balance sheet, it management will be a paramount activity since poor receivables management might hinder the business cash flow hence causing it to incur bad debt expenses (Richmond & Powers, 2009). Debt collection, credit application, early pay discounts, and timely invoicing will be the main practices that should be considered when managing these receivables. The table below indicates how sales should also be monitored;
Sales trailing for 12 months
Y-axis
100
Rolling annual 80
Sales (%) 60
40
20
Jan Feb. march April May June July august sept October Nov Dec X-axis
Key performance indicators that can be obtained from the Profit & Loss budget
I) Stock turnover-days_ this will assist in reflecting the number of days which will be consumed in selling inventory. This means that the lower the ratio the quicker the stock will be sold.
II) Debtors turnover-days_ this will ultimately reflect the average length of time form making sales as well as cash collection. The lower the ratio, the quicker the accounts are to be paid. From the viewpoint, it will be essential to keep the days outstanding to a minimum (McGrail, 2008).
III) Current ratio_ this will be used for the purpose of indicating the extent at which the business’s short-term assets will be in the position of covering its current liabilities (McGrail, 2008). It will also be the measure of the business’s capacity of meeting its short-term liabilities. This ratio should be 2:1. This is to imply that for every $1 of the liabilities the must be at least $2 short-term assets to be used in meeting such liabilities.
IV) Debt/equity_ this will be used for the purpose of measuring the degree at which the business will rely on external borrowing for the need of funding its on-going operations. After estimation, it will be found that the higher the ratio the more heavily that the debt financing is to be.
V) Gross profit margin_ this will be not only an indication of the business’s profitability but also a reflector of the control over costs of sales as well as its pricing policies. This ratio will be compared with preceding periods and with any other available industry data (Coles, 1997).
VI) Breakeven sales _ this will assist in reflecting the sales which must be generated for the purpose of covering all the expenses to be incurred. In other words, this will be the level of activity in which neither losses nor profit will be made or whether total costs will be equal to total returns. This will be an important ratio which the owner must monitor on each monthly basis (Coles, 1997).
Reasons why the cash flow budget is an important tool
In case the business will end up running out of cash or will not be able to obtain new finances, it will finally become insolvent. In the long-run there will be no excuse that the owner did not see such flow crisis coming. The inflow and outflow of cash for a start-up business enterprise must be regarded as being its life-blood. Because of this consideration, the identification of any potential shortfall in the cash balances will be the main reason as to way cash flow forecast will be essential. On the other hand, this forecast will assist in ensuring that the business has the ability of paying suppliers and workers. This is important because in case suppliers will not be paid in time they will be likely to stop supplying the business with resources but it will be worse if workers will not be paid on time (Fleming, 2000).
Moreover, cash flow forecasting will be essential in that it will aid in spotting problems associated with customer payments. This will be easier due to the fact that preparing the cash flow forecast will encourage the enterprise to look on how quick the clients are settling their debts. Additionally, as much as this will be an important discipline of financial planning, it will remain to be a significant management process just the same way as preparing a business budget (Weygandt et al, 2010).
Discuss the use of variances: Actual vs Budget
Majority of small scale business enterprises do assume the other half of budgeting. This means that although the owner will be preparing the budget for the purpose of planning the evolution of the business, the budgeted expenses will assist in setting prices, sales, as well as estimating profits (Carroll, 2007). For various reasons, revenues and costs might become higher or lower that calculated. Therefore, budget variance analysis will aid in not only addressing such differences but also adjusting the procedures so as to avoid similar discrepancies from happening in the near future.
Furthermore, when the business will be comparing budgets with actual figures, variance has the ability of including changes in sales, material costs, or labor costs (Hansen et al, 2009). Variance will in turn remain to be favorable in case revenues will be higher or costs are to be lower and vice versa. Ultimately, variance will arise from expenses or changes in price and volume.
SECTION THREE (3): Financial preparation & analysis – forecasting
Mostly, creating financial forecasts from old information becomes daunting for most business managers. Financial forecasting of the business should be considered as a technique or method which will assist in estimating the business’s future aspect or other operation. This is because the long-term success of this business will be closely tied to the extent at which its management is capable of foreseeing its future as well as developing appropriate strategies to be used for dealing with future scenarios (Sivanandam et al, 2006). Awareness, good judgment and intuition on how well the economy will be doing will in turn give the business owner a rough idea of what is to be expected or likely to evolve in the near future. Forecasting method, for instance regression, will be beneficial in the sense that it will aid the management of the business in estimating many such future prospects of its on-going operations.
For instance, assume that those who will be in charge of financial preparation and analysis are required to provide an estimation of the total sales for a particular product for the next there quarters. Basically, at the end it will be noted that various decisions will be impacted by such estimates or forecasts of sales to be offered by the business’s forecaster. Clearly, policies regarding inventories, production schedules, sales quotas, and raw material purchasing plans will end up affecting such forecasts (Sivanandam et al, 2006). As a result of this, it means that poor or ineffective forecasting can result into poor planning hence increased operating expenses to the enterprise.
SECTION FOUR (4):Financial preparation & analysis – finance options
For effective running of any business enterprise, there is need of having sufficient capital outlay. Conversely for the need of renovating the business’s existing property, acquire new equipments as well as an additional employee will depend on the availability of cash in order to meet or that. On the other hand, it might be that such cash cannot be available immediately but there are various options that the owner can take in meeting his financial obligations;
1) Raise money from family and friends_ hitting up friends and family will be the most common means of obtaining fiancés. It should be noted that when the owner will end up turning his loved ones into creditors, it will imply that he will be risking their financial future as well as jeopardizing significant personal relationship (Ang, 2015). Another mistake will be approaching family and friends before any formal business plan is in place. Therefore, in order to avoid this, the business should supply formal financial projections which will act as an evidence-based assessment. The goodness for this is that it will limit the likelihood of any unpleasant surprises. It will also let any willing investor to know that the owner will take their money seriously.
2) Venture capital_ This refers to the fiancés which comes from companies or other individuals in the enterprise. This usually offers finance to any small scale business organization for exchange for the ownership share of the enterprise. In most cases, venture capital firms does not desire to participate in initial business financing unless the business will proved a proven track record of its finances. Generally, they do prefer to be investing in other business organizations which have not only managed to receive important equity investment from its founders but are already profitable (Ang, 2015).
In seeking for venture capital, the owner should also understand that these individuals or companies do prefer business organizations which have a strong value proposition for instance proven demand for their products or diversified competitive advantage. This usually take a hand-on approach of their investments, hiring managers or just requiring representation on the board of directors. They have the ability of offering valuable guidance and advice to the business. Regardless of that, they will be looking for considerable returns for their investments as well as their objectives might be at cross purpose with the business owner.
Equally, although they at time remain to be focused on short-term returns, they will be creating an investment portfolio for any business that has high-growth potential which arises from high rates of returns.
3) Banks and other financial lenders _ Banks and commercial lender remains to be a popular sources of business financing. For this reason, the owner should know that most lenders will demand a positive track record, solid business plan or plenty of collateral. Although usually this may not be the case for a start-up business, once the enterprise will be underway, the business will have the opportunity of borrowing additional funds whilst presenting cash flow budgets, profit and loss statement, and a net worth statement (Fullen, 2006).
4) Commercial finance companies_ Moreover, commercial finance companies can also be regarded as being a good source of finances in case the owner will not be in the position of securing finances from other commercial sources. Such firms may be willing to depend on the quality of the business’s collateral in repaying the loan unlike its profit projections or track record. Despite that one, a commercial finance company cannot lend it money in case the business will not have substantial collateral or personal assets (Fullen, 2006)..
SECTION FIVE (5): Succession planning
To
JESSE TAWONG
JESSE’S SECURITY ALARMS
Dear Sir,
RE: SUCCESSION PLANNING
Effective succession mainly deals with the development of variety of feeder groups of individuals. Usually, succession planning remains does not remain to be an issue that majority of business enterprises address in a systematic way. The reason for this is because at times many nonprofits are small or they may be facing various organizational challenges, for instance about who will be the next manager or what might be encountered in case the financial director leaves (Rothwell, 2010). Therefore, there exist many reasons which will compel the organization to consider having succession planning. The most significant reason of all is the dependence of the staff in carrying out the business’s mission, provision of services as well as meeting its set objectives (Dahlke, 2012). Therefore, there is the need of first thinking of what might evolve or happen to such services or the capacity of fulfilling the business mission in case the staff member leaves.
Another reason to be focused during the succession planning is mainly the changing realities of the business’s workplace. The awaiting retirement of the baby boomers will be expected to be having major impacts on the workforce capacity. Moreover, with careful preparation and planning, the enterprise will be in the position of managing the changes which will result from generational transfer of leadership and other ongoing changes which will evolve repeatedly whenever key workers are to leave the business.
Nonetheless, despite the fact that the type and extent of the succession planning will be different at the end of the day, the organization will be required to have sort of succession plan. The reason for that is because it is the effective succession planning which will support the organizational stability as well as sustainability through ensuring that there will be establishment process of meeting its staff requirement (Clutterbuck, 2012). Executive directors and boards can also demonstrate leadership through ensuring that processes and strategies are in place so as to ensure that such transitions have to occur smoothly, with little or no disruption to the business.
This is to imply that, with succession planning, the organization will be forced to ensure that workers are to be recruited as well as developed in order to fill each key role within it. Thus, through this process, there will be the need of not only recruiting superior workers but also developing their knowledge, skills, and capabilities as well as preparing them for promotion into ever more demanding duties in the business. Conversely, actively pursuing this process will ultimately ensure that workers will be constantly developed so as to fill each position in the business. This is to say that this will guarantee that there still will be enough workers to fill new roles.
Reference
Barrow, C. (2012). Business Start Up For Dummies Three e-book Bundle. Hoboken: Wiley.
Stokes, D., & Wilson, N. (2006). Small business management and entrepreneurship. London: Thomson Learning.
Bloomsbury. (2012). Good small business guide 2013: How to start and grow your own business. London: Bloomsbury.
Pakroo, P., & In Stewart, M. (2016). The small business start-up kit: A step-by-step legal guide
Richmond, T., & Powers, D. (2009). Business fundamentals for the rehabilitation professional. Thorofare, NJ: SLACK.
McGrail, A. (2008). The essential business guide. Hove: Essential Business.
Coles, M. (1997). Financial management for higher awards. Oxford: Heinemann.
Fleming, L. (2000). Excel preliminary business studies. Glebe, N.S.W: Pascal Press.
Weygandt, J. J., Kieso, D. E., & Kimmel, P. D. (2010). Managerial accounting: Tools for business decision making. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Carroll, N. V. (2007). Financial management for pharmacists: A decision-making approach. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Hansen, D. R., Mowen, M. M., & Guan, L. (2009). Cost management: Accounting and control. Mason, Ohio: South-Western.
Sivanandam, S. N., Sumathi, S., & Deepa, S. N. (2006). Introduction to neural networks using MATLAB 6.0. New Delhi: McGraw Hill Education (India) Private Limited.
Ang, C. S. (2015). Analyzing financial data and implementing financial models using R
Fullen, Sharon. (2006). How To Get The Financing For Your New Small Business: Innovative Solutions From The Experts Who Do It Every Day. Atlantic Pub. Group.
Rothwell, W. J. (2010). Effective succession planning: Ensuring leadership continuity and building talent from within. New York: AMACOM.
Dahlke, A. (2012). Business succession planning for dummies. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Clutterbuck, D. (2012). The talent wave: Why succession planning fails and what to do about it. London: Kogan Page.
According to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regulations, all registered public accounting firms are required to prepare and maintain audit documentations going back to a period of at least seven years. Audit documentation has been made a priority by the Board and the documentation made ought to give sufficient details that will be used to support the conclusions drawn in the auditor’s report. Through audit documentation, auditors are able to support conclusions made in their reports by showing their work product. They are also able to assist in planning, performance and supervising all engagements. Documentation of the conclusions made by the auditor also helps by creating a means to assess the quality of work that was done.
Due to its importance, auditors have various responsibilities when reviewing audit documentation and they must ensure that they abide by the auditing standards that have been set. They have a responsibility to ensure that they adhere to the standards set by PCAOB and must therefore prepare audit documentation for every engagement they conduct in the reviews. The documentation should be prepared in a way that its purpose is easily understood. This could be achieved by ensuring to use sufficient details so as to explain the conclusions that were reached at the end. The documentation should also be well organized so as to create a systematic flow among the conclusions drawn and the issues addressed (PCAOB 1).
Auditors also bear the responsibility of producing clear and comprehensive audit documentation and conducting meaningful reviews. This is because they not only enhance the audit quality but also makes it possible for the Board to inspect the registered public accounting firms, assessing whether they are compliant with the set standards and laws of operation. The compliance and reliability of these firms is therefore dependent on the assessment made by the board based on their audit documentation (PCAOB 1). This is especially because the Board is of the opinion that it is the record of the work audit performed, the conclusions that were drawn by the auditor and information the auditor used to support his conclusions that determine the integrity and quality of a firm’s audit. If the documentation was inadequate, the reviews would not be meaningful and the board may see this as a sign of poor quality audits.
Audit reviews also need to be based on factual, accurate and adequate information. If conducted well, the information on the audit documentation should be sufficient and easily understood by another auditor even if he does not have any prior involvement with the audit. This will help the auditor conducting a review to understand the work that was done, the identity of who did the work, the date and the type of conclusions drawn (PCAOB 1). The auditor should also find it easy to note any other person who may have previously reviewed the work and when the review was conducted. Such information will be sufficient as it will help the auditor to note all the work that was involved in the audit. In the case of Miss Stitts, her testimony was greatly influenced by the quality of the audits as she had to answer questions based on audits that were conducted more than seven years ago (Beasley et al 74). It is therefore important to maintain adequate documentation even when conducting reviews. Failure to document work raises questions as to whether the work was done, the conclusions drawn and how these conclusions were reached. Auditors therefore have a responsibility to ensure proper documentation is done to enhance the efficiency of their reviews.
The corporation does not focus on the distribution of their product mainly on the supermarket as they are much concerned with the coffee quality that if the coffee was packaged in plastic bags. As corporations advance, there can be a tendency to consider much on the increasing output and locations and less consider the quality and the brand of their product. Thus Starbucks need to move on with its own values that have made it successful. Starbucks has to importantly focus on a main plan based on cost leadership strategy. By them having a lower cost store will increase the different of it and its competitors. The company must also adopt the rules based on the development of products to counter the stiff competition in the global markets (Chamorro, Roy, Wegen, & Steele, 2003).
Biblical Application
According to Sweet who is a theologian, there is a great lesson that the church can learn from Starbucks. He argues that Christians would miss the warmth and the richness of the experience of living with God due to the failure to attract and involve people in expressive ways. Starbucks have their customers who flock not only to order for coffee but due to the experience they have. It is proofed that there is nothing like interacting with friend over the warmth of a cup of tea. The new culture in Starbucks is a hungry for an experience, one can have all the experiences that they want but your soul was only made for only an experience that is for contentment and unity. If people understand the hunger of the culture for experience, it can be said as a biblical approach. There is an experience in Starbucks where one does not only pay for the coffee but the current world has shaped the culture of Starbucks (Madsbjerg & Rasmussen, 2014).
Reference
Del-Rey-Chamorro, F. M., Roy, R., van Wegen, B., & Steele, A. (2003). A framework to create key performance indicators for knowledge management solutions. Journal of Knowledge management, 7(2), 46-62.
Madsbjerg, C., & Rasmussen, M. B. (2014). An anthropologist walks into a bar. Harvard Business Review, 92, 80-88.
While individual achievements are often welcome in various projects, there are instances where the work done will be more effective if it is conducted by individuals working together in a group. While groups may have they challenges, they stand to achieve great results if they manage to overcome the challenges faced. Groups offer advantages especially because there is more than one person tackling the issue being addressed. This means that there will be more people trying to resolve any issue that may arise by providing more than one method to accomplish the group’s goals. The members can present their ideas and suggestions on the best approach to take and then all the members can decide on the best possible approach to take, a decision that may save time, make the process easier and more effective. For this reasons and others, we decided to work as a group of three to address the importance of logistic management to Hi-Beau Company.
At present, the group is in the performing stage of development. In relation to Bruce Tuckman’s developmental sequence for groups, our group is in the performing stage of the five stages of group development (Hammersley & Reid, 2014). The realization was made after careful evaluation of the progress that has been made since the group was formed to the point it is at now. In the forming stage, the members came together with the common goal of discussing the importance of logistics management for the company. During this time, the members were polite to each other and often spoke politely when discussing issues concerning the group and the task ahead. All the members present were positive and looked forward to working together in order to accomplish the task that had led to the formation of the group.
After formation, the group entered the second stage which is the Storming phase (Hammersley & Reid, 2014). This stage came with its challenges because the team members had not yet learnt to function as a unit. Even though the group had a common goal, the members had different approaches on how to tackle the issue at hand. Each believed that his approach was most suited and that the rest should follow the others lead. Members also had different working styles which created more conflict. Some members were thorough and wanted to exploit all option before drawing conclusions and this would consume a lot of time. Eventually, the group got to the Norming stage and members slowly begun to cooperate with one another (Hammersley & Reid, 2014). Instead of pushing for an individual’s approach, the members learnt to identify each other’s strengths and used them to eliminate any weaknesses in the group. Members had become more acquainted with each other and this made it easier to approach other members for help. The group finally got to the Performing stage where discussions were conducted smoothly and members conducted their roles well enabling us to accomplish the goals set in the formation stage.
Due to the size of the group, we decided that there was no need to select one member as a leader but rather be respectful of each other and do all that was required of each member in the group. To enhance efficiency and the success of the group, each member had a role to play. Group member 1 was responsible for scheduling the day and time that the group was supposed to meet. He was also responsible for informing the members a day prior to the meetings. Group member 2 was responsible for securing a venue for the group to meet and ensuring that all the material needed was available. Group member 3 was responsible for taking notes and recording the progress of the group and the conclusions drawn for each session. While each member had a role to play, the members often helped each other and this played a major role in enhancing the effectiveness of the group.
The group also had a set of norms which were put in place to ensure that every member was satisfied. It was agreed upon that the meetings would start and end on time; that members could talk without being interrupted; that all opinions would be respected and considered; that members ought to respect each other; and that any concerns will be addressed effectively and without bias. These norms ensured that the group remained functional and that members were comfortable (Brushy Fork Institute, 2014). Due to the size of the group and the set group norms, there was no conformity issues faced in the group. Members not only felt respected in the group but also felt free to give their opinions. Since the members were given equal chances to share ideas, there was no pressure to give in to conform to the direction the group took. All the members were given equal status and therefore equal influence on the direction the group would take. This enhanced the group’s cohesion, making it more effective and efficient because every member’s strengths were exploited and put to good use.
When it comes to decision making, the group mainly relies on the brainstorming technique as it is both efficient and effective. The group members engage in free association where each member generates their own ideas on how to approach the tasks that the group was set to accomplish. These ideas are noted down and later on compiled and displayed in a manner that is visible to all members of the group. Brainstorming is efficient because it leads to the generation of a number of ideas that, to some extent, may be able to meet the group’s goals. It is effective in that out of all the ideas generated, there will be one or more that will be the most creative, unique and most suitable for accomplishing the task the group is trying to solve. This makes it ideal for the group because it offers the best results and will lead to successful satisfaction of the group’s goals (Hwang & Lin, 2012).
In the process of working together as a group, the most common problem that kept arising was the process conflict. We had some trouble as disagreements kept coming up in regards to who was responsible for certain tasks and what role they played in achieving the main goal. Lack of a leader meant that there was no one responsible for assigning tasks and this led to the process conflict (O’Connell & Cuthbertson, 2009). To address this issue, we decided to assign specific tasks to each group member so that each knew the role they played in accomplishing the overall goal. This helped to resolve the conflict and the group was able to perform well and accomplish its goals in due time.
References
Brushy Fork Institute, (2014) “Establishing group norms” Berea, KY
Hammersley R and Reid M, (2014) “Communicating successfully in groups: A practical guide for the workplace” Routledge
Hwang, C. L., & Lin, M.-J. (1987). Group Decision Making under Multiple Criteria: Methods and Applications. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
O'Connell, T. S., & Cuthbertson, B. (2009). Group dynamics in recreation and leisure: Creating conscious groups through an experiential approach. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
JetBlue is an airways Organization which is located in America. When had had improvement on it economic condition, it faced problems such as a snowstorm that hit the Northeast and Midwest which put the airline into disorder. The airline offers low travel cost but differentiates itself from its services such as entertainment in the flight and satellite radio. The company’s mission is to provide a low fare cost to its passengers and giving high quality customer service to their market and customers. The airline has the most advanced planes that are dependable. The company believes that having well educated workers will give a better experience to the customers. Thus the provision of a high quality service will make the company in becoming the most prominent in the airline industry (Argenti, 2013).
Corporate Advertising Recommendation
After the crisis, the company has to admit the organizational failures and move forward in making a communication strategy for them to have their customer’s attention. The director of the company will have gone to the media and made a public apology for the problems that the company had and the mismanagement of the incidence. The apology should be done as first as possible with no elaboration by stating that there will be a customer appreciation plan that will be formed. This will be helpful to the company as after them confessing to their failures they can then consider all their attention to making a new intellect of the customer devotion. This would show that the company is making a difference and backing up their claims to change (Shimp, 2007).
Conclusion
Since the company has been under many incidents, an advertising program would be helpful to the organization. This would be done by them regenerating themselves in the market with the current task force where all their new and old customers will be presented with the advanced JetBlue implementation on gratefulness of their clients.
Reference
Argenti, P.A. (2013). Corporate Communication. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Shimp, T. A. (2007). Advertising, promotion, and other aspects of integrated marketing communications. Mason, Ohio: South-Western Publ.
The leader that I chose to work on is Martin Luther King Jr. He is an exceptional leader who was involved in motivation individuals in doing what is right. His passion and enthusiasm in ensuring that America becomes a nation that is characterized with equality are qualities of a good leader.
He had several qualities of a good leader which included the abilities to provide solutions, good intellectual skills and good skills of communication (Daft, 2011). These characteristics make him an effective leader because through him individuals were able to acquire guidance of things that are right. An example is that he led the black Americans in raising their issues about discrimination which led to the implementation of laws to ensure that they are incorporated in the societies.
Response 2
A leader is an individual who is involved in offering leadership to others by providing guidance (Daft, 2011). One thing that motivates in a good leader is individualism and good communication skills. Good communication ensures that the operations in the organosation run effectively without hindrances thus achieving development. God communication is essential in ensuring that the employees are highly motivated because they clearly know what they expect and what is needed of them.
I apply good communication and positive individualism while relating to people in institutions as well in my personal life. In therefore ensure that I communicate effectively to ensure that there is no misinterpretation which may result to conflict. This helps me in developing solutions when issues arise. These characteristics of a leader are learned by gaining knowledge about communication and the generated benefits. They are gained from knowledge that is derived from experience while working with individuals (Daft, 2011).
References
Daft, R. L. (2011). Understanding management. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.
This website is owned and operated by PFS Limited.
Company Registration office is at:
2875 NE 194st St 404, Miami, FL 33180
Edudorm.com provides writing and research services for limited use only. All the materials from our website should be used with proper references and in accordance with Terms & Conditions
