Archive for ‘Management’

November 1st, 2011

New Research on Innovativeness

In a national study recently conducted by FtcWindsor staff as part of their development programmes in achieving their Masters degrees, some new and interesting ideas on innovativeness were highlights which may be of interest to you.

 

  • Innovative firms are risk takers, creative, receptive and proactive.

    • Risk taking: Innovative firms take risks on new ideas, people, new products, new services, new technologies etc. This means that firms invest time, effort and money into new ideas knowing they might not gain from the investment. However, some of the firms managed their risk by gathering information before investing too heavily i.e. their risk taking CALCULATED.

    • Creativeness: Innovative firms produce creative ideas, products, services and technologies. Specifically, creative ideas where considered idea that broke with the norm. Alternatively, it is the use of current ideas, products and technologies in a new and dynamic way. No matter what type of idea it is – it creates new value for customers.

    • Receptivity: Innovative firms are receptive to new ideas and they seek out new knowledge and information. The knowledge gained is then applied to either reduce risk or create new ideas. Of key importance – firms need to be receptive to risky information and ideas as well as safe information and ideas. This means that firms need to listen and absorb information that 1) contradicts their current views or 2) means that their might be more time, effort or monetary investment required for which their might not be a return.

    • Proactiveness: Innovative firms take action on new ideas. They also see trends before other firms and take action on the trends before their competitors. TAKE ACTION – means these firms start to implement the idea or explore the idea before any of their competitors.

Next NewsBites there will be more on innovativeness- if you have any questions feel free to contact us on info@ftcwinsdor.com

CategoryManagement | CommentNo Comments »

June 29th, 2011

SMALL BUSINESS CAN DO STRATEGY

Small business owners are known to wear many hats, the operational hat, sales hat, marketing hat and so on. This has lead to people believing that small business are not capable of wearing hats such as the strategy hat. The problem is aggravated by lack of knowledge on strategy and the fact that it is placed on a pedestal. So many believe small business can’t strategise.

THIS IS A MYTH, all small business can strategise. All they need is to understand what strategy is using the KISS principle. With this knowledge strategy becomes possible for the small business. So, here is the break down of strategy for any sized business.

There are seven small stages to creating and implementing a strategy.

1)    Information: Gather information on customers, competitors, your environment or the areas of interest or potential.  Also gather information on the firm’s skills, resources and current activities (both on what is working and non working).

2)    Analysis: Examine the information gather for opportunities for you to explore or to expand your business. Also look for things that could impact the firm negatively or threats. Examine the information on your firm for areas of weakness and also strengths.

3)     Options: Generate ideas on what you can do next. How can you overcome weakness? What can to do with your strengths? Can your strengths help to overcome weakness? What do you want to do next? How can you pursue the opportunities available? What can you do to prevent the threats from impacting your business? Can your strengths be used to nullify threats or take advantage of opportunities? What improvements can you make?

Do not be afraid to flesh the ideas out by writing a paragraph or so on them, it will help you decide on their viability.

4)    Decision making: Decide which of the idea you would like to pursue.

5)    Plan: Write a list of what you have to do to make it happen and place it in order of priority. It would be good if you add a time limit to each item on the list, it is essential in cases where there is a event at a specific time that needs to be incorporated.

6)    Follow the plan: Start doing the things on the list generated in step 5.

7) Review and adjust: As you go along problems will be encountered and new information will be gathered. Use this  knowledge to review and adjust the plan.

CategoryManagement, Marketing | CommentNo Comments »

June 29th, 2011

We are a small business but since the recession commenced we have found that our cash flow is being squeezed. Now more and more customers are not paying their bills and I am beginning to think the business will go under. Is there any way I can turn it around?

Firstly let’s deal with the customers payments. Most businesses will simply continue to just send out copy invoices/ statements and hope that payment will eventually be made.

However you need to adapt to the changed circumstances.

  • Try calling or emailing the clients, it’s important that contact is made and payment demanded. Offering scheduled payment plans may be an option.
  • Always be polite and nice, but remember you are only there to do business. Often emotions get in the way and we deal with this situation badly. So if need to get someone to do this work for you, who is a little more detached, do so. Also be persistent but maintain your professionalism.
  • Maintain your own cash flow projections and be aware to ensure that you have sufficient cash in the pipeline to meet your own business needs.
  • Continuing to supply such customers on credit should be avoided where possible until normal trading can be resumed.
  • Consider methods which might encourage clients to pay up front, pay earlier or pay by credit card rather than using you as a credit facility for their own business needs.
  • For problem clients and/or new clients introduce a policy of payment up front or part payment in advance. Limit your exposure to bad debts.
  • The biggest challenge for many businesses in the current climate is to generate income so there may also be a need for you to examine other possible income streams to maintain liquidity.

Remember that a business can fail through lack of cash – even while trading profitably!

“Cash is the life blood of your business”

CategoryFinance, Management | CommentNo Comments »

June 27th, 2011

Weaving a Successful Team

Meridith Belbin’s explanation of how teams work has stood the test of time and spread across the Globe .While now in his eighties he is still active as a consultant and as a visiting professor at Henley Management College.

It was he who first expounded the 1970’s the idea that teams with a balance of different types of people were the most effective. This discovery followed detailed observation over many years of different groups taking part in management exercises. In 1981 he published Management Teams: Why they succeed or Fail.

It was first thought, he said, “that high intellect teams would succeed where lower intellect teams would not”. However the outcome of his research was that teams predicted to be excellent based on intellect failed to fulfil their potential. It was team balance that enabled a team to succeed.

Belbin identified nine distinct clusters of behaviour and called them “team roles”. Each role defines a tendency to behave, contribute and interrelate with others in a particular way and can be used “as a common meaningful language to bridge the gap between ourselves and our colleagues”

Belbins Team Roles

Plant: A creative imaginative, unorthodox team member who solves difficult problems. Sometimes they situate themselves far from other team members.

Shaper: A dynamic team member who loves a challenge and thrives on pressure. This member possesses the drive and courage required to overcome obstacles.

Recourse Investigator: The networker within the team. Being highly driven to make connections with people, he/she may appear to be flighty and inconsistent but their ability to call on their connections is useful to the team.

Co-ordinator: Seeks fairness and equity among team members. Those who want to make decisions quickly or unilaterally may feel frustrated by their insistence on consulting with all team members, but this can improve the quality off the decisions, made by the team.

Implementer: The practical thinker who can create systems and processes that will produce what the team wants. They may frustrate other team members by their perceived lack of enthusiasm for inspiring visions and radical thinking, but their ability to turn radical ideas into workable solutions is important

Complete Finisher: This is the detail person within the team. Some could become frustrated by their analytical and meticulous approach, but their work ensures the quality and timeliness of the output of the team.

Team Worker: Someone who seeks to ensure that interpersonal relationships in the team are maintained. This concern with people factors can frustrate those who are keen to move quickly, but their skills ensure long-term within the team.

Specialist: He or she who brings expert knowledge to the team.

Belbin is of the opinion that teams do not necessarily need all roles to function well, however having the right people for the right task is important.

Unless organisations value diversity, they can repeat mistakes because of an individual’s natural strengths interacting with the organisations culture. “If a company’s culture does not allow challenge, if people who suggest alternatives are castigated for not being “team players” you produce an environment of fear, stagnation and antipathy,” he says.

Finally he makes an interesting statement when he indicated that social insects know far more about team working and co-operation than humans do. Strengths based on their genetics he observes include the division of labour, complex communication systems, an ability to adapt and having no criminals and waste. He identified the classic Resource Investigator as the bee who has to look for good spots for the honey and do a dance to communicate its location. The hive (team) decodes the dance –distance, direction and amount – and the follow.

Interesting!

CategoryHRM, Management | CommentNo Comments »

May 25th, 2011

I have recently opened a new business and would like to know how to grow and retain my customer base.

The key to growing your customer base is to get them to return. Research has shows loyal customers account for more than 50% of a business’ sales and help a business to attract new customers based on their recommendations. A positive “word of mouth” often carries more weight than many other sources of information. On the other hand, customers that have had a bad experience with your business will tend to tell others about their experience and generate a “strong” negative image of your business.

So the key is to provide a positive experience for customers by providing a quality and cost effective service and hopefully earn their loyalty in return.

In order to ensure that a customer has a positive experience with your firm you first need to accept and understand that they are “KING”. Put simply your business would not exist without customers; you are in fact dependent on them. As a result you must never take you customers for granted.

If you accept the customer is “KING” you will focus on satisfying your customers needs more easily.

Customer satisfaction is achieved by;

1)   Satisfying your customers needs with your service/product

2)   Building a relationship with your customers.

Here are a few tips on how you to satisfy customers need and build a relationship with them.

1)   Accessible: Make it easy for your customers to locate your business

2)   Competent: Know your product or service and share this knowledge with your customer.

3)   Courteous: Be polite to your customers. Acknowledge they exist.

4)   Credible: Other customers’ satisfaction provides you with a positive reputation. The quality of your environment and service also provides credibility.

5)   Reliability: Provide a service or product consistently. Do what you promised!

6)   Responsive: Listen to what customers want and supply it. Also react positively to their complaints.

7)   Customer understanding: Listen to what the customer wants or maybe anticipating what the customer wants.

8)    Communicate: Listen to what customers want and respond to their queries.

9)   Supply: Provide a service or product that exceeds the customer’s expectations!

CategoryManagement, Marketing | CommentNo Comments »

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