business 521 Week #8

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Slide 1

Scene 1

The Scene takes place in Dave’s Office - where Jacob and Dave discuss choosing the right technology.

Dave: Hello Jacob. This week I want to focus on a few important areas.

First, I would like to discuss the technology for your business. Later, I would also like to go over with you whether you should consider a partnership agreement and how best to protect yourself if this is an option you choose to consider.

I want to begin our discussion with the importance of choosing the right technology.

Have you given this some thought for your business plan?

Jacob: Yes, I have researched various ways that technology is utilized to benefit the business.

As you are well aware, technology is an integral part of every entrepreneur’s planning. In addition, it is an important piece to a company’s operations.

Dave: I am glad that you have thoroughly examined the importance of technology for your business, Jacob.

Jacob: Dave, can you explain in more detail the ways that technology can benefit a business?

Slide 2

Scene 2

5-tab interaction on Technology Benefits a Business in Five Ways.

Dave: Technology will benefit your business in many ways.

Dave: First, technology will save you money. For example, integrated data technology will reduce time and effort needed for data entry. A well-thought-out technology implementation will significantly reduce your operating costs.

Dave: Next, technology ultimately will save you time. With the proper systems in place, the day-to-day productivity of your individual employees can be higher and the overall organization can be run tighter. This will ultimately save you time and costs.

Dave: Technology also has the potential for improving on quality. For example, automation will dramatically reduce errors and defects that perhaps were created with human hands. The goal is to put in place systems that will help you improve the quality of the product or service.

Dave: Technology can also provide the benefit of increasing capabilities. For example, many cloud-based services will provide entrepreneurs and even start-up businesses with powerful capabilities that were once available only to large corporations.

Dave: Lastly, technology will ultimately enhance customer loyalty, as it will enable personalization and customization at very low costs. This will allow you to increase customer loyalty and satisfaction.

With all this in mind, how will you ensure you are choosing the right technology for your business?

Jacob: I will need to first develop a technology plan to identify which business functions will be needed to perform effectively and efficiently.

Dave: Very good, Jacob. I am glad you have considered the importance of a technology plan.

It is really easy to get entranced by some cool device or an application that seems to be cost-effective. But we want to make sure your technology funds are all utilized to achieve important business objectives.

Always keep in mind that once we commit to technology, it is difficult, time consuming, and costly to change. So you will want to make sure your technology choice involves careful planning.

Jacob: Thank you, Dave! You brought up many good points for consideration when choosing technology.

What advice do you have regarding the evaluation of technology, particularly the criteria for judging technology products?

Dave: Always keep in mind that when identifying technologies, you should ensure that they are aligned with your core business needs, and you should evaluate technology on a few high-level capabilities.

Slide 3

Scene 3

7 – tab on the criteria for judging technology products

Dave: The first criterion is ease of use. Here, we want to consider how quickly and easily employees can learn to use a new technology or system.

Jacob: This is a good point, Dave. I have always found that if a system is easy to use for employees, they will adjust better and use it more.

Dave: That’s right, Jacob. You will also find that not only will the ease of use make it much easier for the user, but it can also require less training to operate.

Dave: The next criterion is ease of management. In other words, how easy is the system to manage and to maintain long-term?

Looking at the types of technologies you are considering for your business, what issues would you think you would need to consider with respect to ease of management?

Jacob: I think that the most important issue for consideration is whether the system in place can be managed from a central location or whether we must access each user’s machines to do work on the application.

Dave: This is a true concern for your business, Jacob. Also, keep in mind that these issues will ultimately affect the overall cost of the system and can affect operations.

Dave: Another important criterion is integration. Since your business will almost certainly run multiple applications from multiple vendors, you need to understand how these will work together.

Jacob: This is a good point, Dave. There are some applications today that come with several interfaces that allow them to be easily hooked to other systems. But there are many other applications that may not have this ease of integration.

Dave: Scalability is the next criterion. Can your application grow with you? This is an important question you need to ask yourself when considering any new technology. At what point will you likely run into capacity or performance issues as a result of your data or users that are interfacing with the applications? Scalability, if considered properly, will enable your system to grow in power or capacity as you need it.

Dave: Mobility is another important criterion. Here, you need to make sure your employees, contractors, and partners will be able to access the applications they need remote or via mobile locations.

Have you researched how you will address mobility in your business, Jacob?

Jacob: Yes, Dave - with more business being done remotely today, I will consider telecommuting as a way to reduce overhead costs and provide some flexibility for employees.

Dave: This is a good approach, as you want the ability to securely access both data and functionality from off premises.

Dave: The next criterion is vendor support. Here, you need to ensure the quality of the support the vendor provides. For example, you want to know the time that tech support is available and where this support is located. This is important because you are going to be so dependent on technology to run your business. Having a vendor that is able to provide you with the necessary support when you need it is crucial.

Dave: One last important point and factor for judging technology products is to evaluate cost.

Have you had time to evaluate the costs of equipment and various technological systems for the business, Jacob?

Jacob: Yes, I did some research. As you know, we also have to consider how much the solution to new technological enhancements will cost. In fact, we should always consider the return of investment for any technology that is being considered.

Dave: Good, Jacob. Don’t forget to consider the ‘total cost of ownership”.

You need to consider all expenses of the technology, including initial purchase price, subscription costs, upgrades, maintenance, training, and the cost of any downtime or loss of productivity if the wrong technology is implemented.

Consider all these areas, and let’s meet later to discuss how you should establish sensible technology policies that will work for your business.

Slide 4

Matching interaction on judging technology products

1. Ease of use

2. Ease of management

3. Integration

4. Scalability

5. Mobility

6. Vendor support

7. Cost

1. How quickly and easily can employees learn to use a system?

2. How easy is the system to manage and maintain?

3. How will multiple applications work together?

4. How well can your applications grow with your business?

5. How well can your employees, contractors, and partners access the applications they need from remote or mobile locations?

6. What is the quality of support that the vendors provide to your business?

7. What is the total cost of ownership?

Slide 5

Scene 4

The Scene takes place in Dave’s Office

Click to learn interaction on the policies

Dave: Now, I would like to go over with you some technological policies. Have you had time to consider a few for your start-up business?

Jacob: Yes, I discussed with my team the need to put in place strict security policies. These will include everything from good password practices to who has access to the physical computer room, along with the devices that will connect to the corporate network.

Dave: Very good, Jacob. These policies will evolve and expand as your business grows, but they should also touch on other key points.

Dave: For example, along with security policies, which you addressed well, your business also needs to consider privacy policies. You need to define which employees will have access to the data and the steps necessary to ensure that private information is protected and not compromised.

Dave: I would also like you to consider establishing some email policies. This is an issue for many companies. It is important to train all employees on good email etiquette.

You may also want to adopt some policies covering the kinds of email that employees can send from their work account.

Dave: Web-surfing policies should also be considered and should define for all employees’ appropriate use of the Internet during work hours.

Dave: Lastly, please consider drafting policies on personal use of company equipment. Please let me know if you need assistance with the verbiage and/or definitions of the policies for employees.

Slide 6

Dave: The other issue I would like to go over with you is how to establish an effective partnership agreement.

Jacob: That would be great, Dave. As you know, I have been considering partnering with a few vendors and clients to help us become more efficient.

I would like to hear your perspective on how best to establish a good partnership while at the same time protecting ourselves.

Dave: Yes, Jacob. If you are planning on taking on a partner, you must carefully consider why you want or need such a partnership.

As you start your business, you may feel uncertain about being on your own, but this may pass quickly as you take on many management responsibilities.

Remember, a partner will own a part of your business. Even if you bring in someone with only a minority interest as a partner, your future is tied to theirs.

Let me show you a short video on common mistakes found with partnerships that you may find interesting.

Slide 7

Jacob is introduced to a video on Partnership Mistakes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pd5nqmpCWeY

Slide 8

Scene 5

The Scene takes place in Dave’s Office -

Jacob: Thank you for the excellent video, Dave. This really put many of my issues and concerns into perspective.

The most important thing that I got out of this video was that the best way to take on a partner is with clear-cut definitions of responsibilities and authority.

Dave: This is true, Jacob. What else did you get out of the video?

Jacob: I also learned that when considering a partnership, one must make certain the partner expectations are also realistic. For example, are they willing to work as hard as you? Do they bring the same level of talent or skill as those from my own staff? Do they also have the same long-term view of where they want to be?

Dave: Very good, Jacob. Partnerships can be terrific, but when things go wrong between partners, it can often mean the demise of the business.

This is not where you want to be if you have partnered with the wrong business vendor.

How else can you protect yourself with these types of partnership, Jacob?

Jacob: The most important thing is to formalize the formal agreement with a written partnership agreement.

We need to ensure all the important details have been agreed upon, as this helps to avoid difficulties later if one decides to go separate ways. Therefore, an exit strategy and dissolution agreement should be part of any agreement.

We also learned from the video the need to be clear about the nature of the relationship before actually developing a formal agreement.

Dave: Very good, Jacob. I would also suggest that you discuss with the company lawyer the legal form your partnership should take.

Remember that a single partnership does not provide protection for your personal assets. Instead, consider incorporating or becoming a limited liability partnership.

Jacob: Thank you, Dave, for your guidance on all these concepts that we went over today. I will surely take all these points that we discussed into consideration in my business plan.

Slide 9

Scene 6

The student will click “next” and the slide will transition to a scene where Jacob is back at Sara’s office

Jacob: Hi Sara. I just had an excellent session with Dave on choosing the right technology for my business and on business partnerships. It was really nice to acquire a few important points on these areas from Dave’s experience.

Sara: I’m so glad to hear that, Jacob.

You are now at the stage where you need to make many important decisions for your business that will require some investments.

Selecting the right technology for your business is not easy. But with a good technology plan and good research, you will be able to identify your technology needs.

Remember that with the technology that we have today; you will be able to find a system for virtually every business function. The ones that you will choose should be based on your business needs so take your time and do the research.

Did Dave go over with you how you should establish sensible technology policies for your business?

Jacob: Yes, we discussed many important policies, and some I had initially overlooked as essential, but Dave quickly discussed the importance of establishing not only security policies but also privacy, email, web-surfing, and personal use of company equipment policies.

Sara: That’s good, Jacob. You should develop policies that spell out clearly how employees are permitted to use the technologies and data entrusted to them to do their jobs.

I am also glad that you went over carefully how to protect yourself with partnership agreements. Is this something you are committed to establishing in your business, or you are still exploring?

Jacob: This is an area that I am exploring and considering all options for the business.

There are some risks involved in establishing a partnership, but with careful planning and research, I may opt for this option if the right opportunity becomes available and the costs and goals are in the best interest of the business.

Sara: Very good, Jacob. I am glad that you are considering several options for your business.

Do not forget to research everything about a potential partner and make sure your partner is honest.

You should also examine personal attitudes and how partners handle stress. These are important traits that often get overlooked.

I am glad that you had a good session, Jacob. Keep me posted on your progress with your business plan.

Lastly, don’t forget to go the Weekly Discussion Board to explore more on Evaluating Technology and Legal Issues.

Jacob: Will do, Sara! Thank you again for your continued support.