small business management

Task

· Description: Individual task

· Submission format: Report

· Tasks you are required to perform

You are asked to develop and write a report to assess the following questions

PART A: Please read the following article summary about the Balance of Life in Small Business and answer the questions that follow:

Have you thought about, dreamed of, planned for work–life balance that you would create for your future small business? You’re not alone—that mythical balance is a hot button for aspiring entrepreneurs. The problem is that it’s more “myth” than “balance.” Fortunately, the topic of work–life balance is one of semantics and personal definitions. People who define work–life balance as having the “perfect” business that transitions into the “perfect” life are setting themselves up for disappointment due to unrealistic definitions and expectations.

Owners of small businesses get pulled in many directions because they are responsible for every facet of the business. Author Annie McKee states, “We tell ourselves that if we just ‘meet this deadline,’ get through the busy period or reach that next goal, then we will take care of ourselves. Then, we will have balance.” All areas of life are about choices and true 50–50 balance seldom occurs because there are always new goals (both personal and professional), new deadlines, new passions.

What will likely work better for you is to work on optimizing work–life integration, rather than balance. Finding how you can best blend your desires to engage with your business, your family, your friends, your health, and your community is more realistic than truly making such areas “balance.” We have a lot of moving pieces that are not the same size or importance but are all necessary for life to work. How can we do that?”

1) Connect. Small business owners are seldom “lone wolves.” We operate best by having personal connections at our business, with our families, in our communities, so connect and be sure to listen to the people we are connected to. They will provide feedback to us when one area of our life is taking over (even before we realize it ourselves).

2) Create multitiered support systems. When you are living an integrated lifestyle, you need to be open to receive help from each area.

3) Get healthy. Exercise and sleep are critical to staying healthy, and the health of a small business owner is closely tied to the health of his/her business.

4) Practice tactical imbalance. As stated earlier, balance doesn’t have to mean exactly equal. It’s OK to go out of balance in certain areas while still remaining committed to everything. Just be aware of the imbalance and recover when you can.

5) Combine your commitments with prioritization. Starting and running a small business takes a lot of time. Period. Few people have ever had the conscious thought that their family is not their highest priority, but there are always sacrifices to achieve commitments in every area.

Sources: Amy Nassisi, “Stop Chasing Work-Life Balance and Strive for Work-Life Integration Instead,” Inc., December 7, 2017, www.inc.com; Nick Thomas, “Entrepreneurship is an Imbalancing Act of Business and Family,” Entrepreneur, July 25, 2017, www.entrepreneur.com/article/296844; Rohit Prakash, “5 Ways to Keep You and Your Business Healthy,” Entrepreneur, October 24, 2017, www.entrepreneur.com/article/299108; Heather Huhman, “‘Work-Life Balance’ is Backfiring on Employers,” Entrepreneur, www.entrepreneur.com/article/302042.

Please answer the following questions:

1) What are the main characteristics of small business?

2) How can the new technologies optimize the work- life integration of the small business owners?

3) Name and review the most common causes of small business failure.

4) Why are small businesses more likely than large businesses to be innovative?

PART B: Strategic management and growth of the small business. Please prepare and answer the following questions

B.1. You must place the following list of business plan items in the correct sequence for writing a business plan for a small business. You have to explain the rationale for the order chosen for each step.

· Finalize the executive summary.

· Determine your business plan objectives and goals

· Decide the initial dollar amount needed to begin the business.

· Determine the new size and new location of facilities needed for the successful operation of the business during the upcoming years

· Plan the amount of cash needed for the next three years of operations.

· Analyze the amount and where funding could possibly be obtained.

· Decide if your new and updated ideas are actually ones to pursue.

· Decide how many dollars the idea will generate or improve your business

· Determine how your business compares to industry ratios.

· Present your plan to potential investors and creditors.

· Prepare alternative strategies and plans to address potential threats, risks and opportunities

· Assess your competitive environment

· Prepare estimates of the balance sheet for the next three years.

B.2. You are the owner of a small business and wish to perform a self-evaluation of your business environment. How would you go about this task? Be specific about what you hope to discover through the evaluation of your employees, product, management, and so on. What is the value of competitive analysis to the small business owner?

B.3. What does strategic planning mean to the small business owner? How does the size of the small business affect the strategic planning process, and how much input should be sought from outside sources while outlining the strategic plan?

Your analysis and answers should be through and include concepts, theories and methodologies studied in class

Formalities:

· Wordcount: 2500- 3000 words in total

· Font: Arial 12,5 pts.

· Text alignment: Justified.

· The in-text References and the Bibliography have to be in Harvard’s citation style.

Submission: Week 4 – Via Moodle (Turnitin). This assessment will be due on week 4 by the 21st June at 23.59

Weight: This task is a 40% of your total grade for this subject.

It assesses the following learning outcomes:

· Outcome 1: Distinguish the characteristics, competences and contributions of small business, as well as their challenges

· Outcome 2: Explain the key components of the strategic management of growth to small business contexts

Rubrics