Business Fundamentals

Business Fundamentals
By:
Global Text Project
By:
Global Text Project
Online:
< http://cnx.org/content/col11227/1.4/ >
CONNEXIONS
Rice University, Houston, Texas

This selection and arrangement of content as a collection is copyrighted by Global Text Project. It is licensed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).
Collection structure revised: October 8, 2010
PDF generated: October 29, 2012
For copyright and attribution information for the modules contained in this collection, see p. 298.
Table of Contents
1 The business eco-system: Your path to nding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!
1.1 The business eco-system: Your path to nding the pot of gold at the end of the
rainbow! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 The business eco-system: The business eco-system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.3 The sun rise of your new business Accessing market opportunity: the initial rim
of the wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.4 Sales: the essential rim of the wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.5 Strategy: the tactical rim on the wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.6 Branding will make your blossoms bloom! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.7 Stakeholders: the connective rim on the wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
1.8 Ethics: the authentic rim on the wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
1.9 Operations: the logistical rim on the wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
1.10 New product: the tangible rim on the wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
1.11 Let the fruits of your labor blossom: the new product/service launch event plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
1.12 Public relations: the sensational rim on the wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
1.13 Mentor insights: the Where the Rubber Meets the Road spokes on the wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
1.14 About this author and acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
2 The mind of the entrepreneur: Your entrepreneurial journey begins by embarking on your
own hero's journey!
2.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
2.2 Entrepreneur assessment survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
2.3 Entrepreneurial mindset enhancing activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
2.4 Chapter summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3 Business models and marketing:an overview
3.1 Learning Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
3.2 What is a business model? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
3.3 Success factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
3.4 Consumer marketing models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.5 The marketing model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
3.6 Identifying market needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
3.7 Business to business marketing models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
3.8 Chapter summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
3.9 Market research to determine the potential market for funeral services in Monter-
rey, Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
3.10 Discussion questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
3.11 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
4 How to organize and lead an entrepreneurial venture
4.1 Learning objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
4.2 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
4.3 Organizational issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
4.4 Organizational stages of growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
4.5 Flat versus tall organizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
4.6 Centralized versus decentralized organizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
4.7 Chapter summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
4.8 Discussion questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
4.9 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
5 Selecting and managing your team
iv
5.1 Learning ob jectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

5.2 Competitive advantage through human resource management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
5.3 Providing employee voice and inuence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
5.4 Recruiting workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
5.5 Evaluating recruiting policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
5.6 Employee training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
5.7 Aligning employee career development with organizational growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
5.8 Performance appraisal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
5.9 Determining base pay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
5.10 Meaningful job design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
5.11 Termination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
5.12 Discussion questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
5.13 Exercise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
5.14 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
6 Marketing on a global scale
6.1 Learning ob jectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
6.2 Dening marketing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
6.3 The role of marketing in the rm: a basis for classication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
6.4 Dening international marketing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
6.5 The international marketing plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
6.6 The international marketing environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
6.7 Discussion question . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
6.8 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
7 Operations management
7.2 What is operations management? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
7.3 The input/output transformation model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
7.4 Operations decisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
7.5 Chapter summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
7.6 Special topic: Total Quality Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
7.7 Special topic: supply chain management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
7.8 Special topic: just-in-time and lean systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
8 Securing and managing external relationships
8.2 Introduction to external relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
8.3 Marketing exchanges and partnerships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
8.4 Choosing the right relationship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
8.5 Strategies for external relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
8.6 Chapter summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
8.7 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
8.8 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
9 Financial and managerial accounting; nancing your organization
9.2 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
9.3 Why an accounting system is important . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
9.4 Basic types of accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
9.5 Chart of accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
9.6 Basic nancial statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
9.7 A short history of accounting and double-entry bookkeeping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11227/1.4>

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9.8 Ledgers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

9.9 Advanced reports and analyses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
9.10 Budgets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 183
9.11 Chapter Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
9.12 Discussion Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
9.13 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
10 Leveraging with information technology
10.1 Learning Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
10.2 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
10.3 IS tools for the Start-Up Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 192
10.4 Moving Forward With Information Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
10.5 Know What Your Customers Want . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 198
10.6 Using Information Technology Competitively . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
10.7 What is IS Risk Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
10.8 Chapter Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
10.10 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
11 Competitive intelligence
11.1 Learning objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
11.2 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
11.3 Denition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
11.4 Importance and goals of competitive intelligence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 213
11.5 Information collection methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 215
11.6 The industry environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 216
11.7 Porter's 5 forces and the analysis of competitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 218
11.8 Methods of evaluating competitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
11.9 Chapter summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 221
11.10 Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
12 Business ethics in a nutshell
12.1 What is ethics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
12.2 Management: the meta profession . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
12.3 Corporate social responsibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
13 Adding products and services
13.1 Learning objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
13.2 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
13.3 Where does innovation come from? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
13.4 Innovation through business models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
13.5 Evaluating new products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
13.6 When innovation fails: deleting products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
13.7 Chapter summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 248
13.9 Case: Apples: Newton and Pippin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
13.10 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
14 International business for the entrepreneur
14.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
14.2 Globalization: opportunities and threats to developing country business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
14.3 Harnessing technology for global business success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 256
14.4 Doing business across cultures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 258
14.5 Political and legal risk in international business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

vi
14.6 Global marketing: Assessing potential markets overseas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264

14.7 Global nance: initial considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
14.8 Organizational structure and human resource management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
14.9 Corporate Social Responsibility and sustainable development in the global envi-
ronment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
14.10 Case: Built to Last by Jim Collins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
14.11 Chapter summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
14.12 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
15 Growth strategies for start-ups
15.1 Learning objectives and overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 285
15.2 Denition and models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
15.3 Growth problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
15.4 Chapter summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 293
15.5 References, and further literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Attributions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .298

Chapter 1
The business eco-system: Your path to
nding the pot of gold at the end of the
rainbow!
1.1 The business eco-system: Your path to nding the pot of gold at
the end of the rainbow!1
Exhibit 1.1: Striking gold
Image created by: Taissia Belozerova, Graphic Designer, Artist, MBA Candidate at Pepperdine
University Class of 2009
1 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m35298/1.4/>.

1
2
CHAPTER 1. THE BUSINESS ECO-SYSTEM: YOUR PATH TO FINDING
THE POT OF GOLD AT THE END OF THE RAINBOW!
Dedication: In Memory of Nancy Wachs who believed in everyone's Startup time!
There are many ways to live your life. One of the most exciting yet challenging ways to live your life is to
start your own business or work for someone who has their own startup. People who start their own businesses
are known as entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs throughout the world are extremely enthusiastic individuals who
devise visionary methods to accomplish their new venture ideas while simultaneously convincing others to
help.
Merriam-Webster Online denes the term entrepreneur as follows:Etymology: French, from Old
French, from entreprendre to undertake more at enterprise Date: 1852 : one who organizes,
manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise 2
1.1.1 Are entrepreneurs born or made?

There is a long-standing discussion throughout the world that delves into whether you are born predisposed
to become an entrepreneur or is it necessary for you to work and study hard to make yourself into one. There
are many examples of individuals who were told they would never amount to anything and yet they went on
to become very successful entrepreneurs. So, if you think that you are unlikely to be an entrepreneur, please
realize it is possible for you to become an entrepreneur and to, potentially, even become a very successful one.
With that said, there are characteristics and an overall mindset you can adopt that will help predispose
you to having a greater opportunity of becoming a successful entrepreneur. Some of the most common
characteristics of an entrepreneur include the following attributes:
1.1: "The Mindset of an Entrepreneur"
Vision: Able to create and communicate an easily understandable mission for what the new venture
does in order to successfully launch a new business. This is accomplished while inspiring others to
join you in your new enterprise.
Creativity: Ability to inject imagination and uniqueness into a new business venture. It takes
skill and ingenuity to create a new venture equipped with strategies to outsmart the competition.
Focus: Able to maintain the vision of the company with unwavering diligence. It's very easy to
get sidetracked especially if you nd it necessary to evolve the original vision. Ironically, we have
encountered many successful entrepreneurs who get bored easily...
Passion: Desiring to succeed under your own steam [initiative] on a business venture...
Drive: Possessing intrinsic energy to accomplish the business goal even in the face of adversity.
Perseverance: Able to keep going even when faced with seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
Opportunistic Nature: Sees the possibilities even before they exist. Can take advantage of an
upcoming trend or unite unrelated processes to create a unique business venture...
Problem Solving Ability: Thrives on coming up with solutions to complex challenges...
Self-discipline: Able to be organized and regimented in pursuit of a successful business venture.
Frugality: Knows how to stretch every cent so that expenditures are as low as possible.
Empathy: Able to put yourself in another's shoes and therefore able to show sensitivity and
understanding of what others are communicating in the startup environment...
Social Responsibility: Ethics, caring and humanitarianism are characteristics that are commonly
found in today's entrepreneurs...
Spirituality: We have found that successful entrepreneurs have often devoted time to spirituality
development. Meditation and positive armations are two common examples of spirituality.
Good Timing: Able to identify a market opportunity and know when it's the optimum time to
launch a new venture or expansion of an existing enterprise.
2 Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Online, http://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/entrepreneur (<http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/entrepreneur>) (Assessed, August
30, 2008).

3
Luck: Can a person be predisposed to be lucky: Is luck a human behavior or a karmic universal
predisposition? 3
Read on: Section 2.1 is dedicated to this topic and delves deeply into The mind of an entrepreneur.
Blog Back 1: Mindset
Blog Back: Is an entrepreneur born or made?
What characteristics are necessary for an entrepreneur to be successful and why? What additional
entrepreneurial mindset characteristics could be added to the list and why?
Go to: http://www.Mentorography.com 4 and make your case.
1.2 The business eco-system: The business eco-system5

1.2.1 The business eco-system
Whether you possess the characteristics of an entrepreneurial mindset, or work for someone who does, you
can still be instrumental in starting a new venture by understanding the business eco-system. What is a
business eco-system? A business eco-system is a set of business components that form the foundation of
a new venture's creation. Figuratively, the business eco-system is like a wheel that rolls your new venture
forward which is why we represent the business eco-system in a wheel-shaped model .
3 The Mindset of an Entrepreneur is reprinted and adapted with permission from Mentorography, Inc. ©
2008. All Rights
Reserved. Entrepreneurial Marketing; Real Stories and Survival Strategies by Molly Lavik and Bruce Buskirk, introduction
pages xxviii-xxx.
4 http://www.Mentorography.com

4
Exhibit 1.2: Business eco-system wheel

The Business Eco-system Wheel is reprinted and adapted from the Entrepreneurial Marketing
Wheel with permission from Mentorography, Inc. ©2008. All Rights Reserved. Entrepreneurial
Marketing; Real Stories and Survival Strategies by Molly Lavik and Bruce Buskirk, Preface, page xxii.

5
1.3 The sun rise of your new business Accessing market opportunity:
the initial rim of the wheel 6
1.3.1 The sun rise of your new business
Accessing market opportunity: the initial rim of the wheel
Exhibit 1.3: Rising sun

Market Opportunity is positioned at the top of the Business Eco-system Wheel for a reason. Every new
venture starts with a single seed or kernel of an idea to do something in business that will result in money
being exchanged. Since there is always some risk associated with starting a new business, you will have to
take special care to plant the idea seeds of your new venture in a way that allows these seeds to some day
bloom into a successful venture.
1.3.1.1 When to plant your market opportunity seeds

Without a doubt it's challenging to know when to move forward and plant your new venture ideas in the
business garden where you want to grow your career.
Entrepreneurs who are considering moving forward with a new venture idea can utilize the following
questions and the Stop and Go Signs for Accessing Market Opportunity Matrix.
1.2: Stop and Go Signs for Accessing Market Opportunity Matrix
"Is there a customer for this product or service? Is there someone who will buy the product
or service you're considering selling? You can't eectively answer this question until you have
personally spoken to the potential customer and ascertained that this person will buy your product.
You need to know as much about this customer as the customer knows about himself: What are

6
the demographics of this customer? What inuences his buying behavior? What factors could lead
to this customer changing his mind about buying the product or services? What will be the impact
What will it cost to make a sale to this customer?

of a crisis during an emerging trend?
If there is a common pitfall for
entrepreneur, it's greatly underestimating the cost to acquire and repeatedly sell to a customer.
The entrepreneurial marketer must account for every last expense it will take to make the sale.
Commonly missed expenses include: sta time, travel and related expenses, overhead for oce,
payroll taxes, social security employer matching expenses (which occurs in the United States so
your countries' equivalent,) unemployment payroll related expenses, marketing expenses, and the
Is my timing right for this market opportunity?

overall amount of time it takes to make a sale.
You will have a brief window of oppor-
tunity to launch your new venture or expansion of an existing enterprise. Misjudging your timing is
often the dierence between success and failure with assessing market opportunity. If you are too
early, you have the right product or service but your market is not ready for it yet. If you are too
Can I sell this product or service for a prot?

late, giant competitors may have acquired a loyal following, blocking new entries to the market.
Even if you have an existing customer,
and have accurately estimated what it will cost you to acquire that customer; you might not
have a sustainable business model until revenues outweigh the expenses...You need to nd the
incremental steps you can take to get to protability. This is not easy. Again, there is no road
map, but remember that patience is needed to reach protability. (One solution that is becoming a
common practice throughout many parts of the world is micro-nancing. Micro-nancing is where
a small loan is made available to an entrepreneur in a developing country. While micro-nancing
is arguably one form of nancing micro-nancing has been documented to be a more sustainable
form of nancing because the amount of the loan is made in such a small (micro) amount that the
recipient of the loan does not have to leverage the startup's best interests and assets in order to
pay the loan back. The small amount of money loaned to the entrepreneur can usually be paid
back from the revenues that the new venture is generating. Check out this micro nancing website:
http://www.acion.org 7 .)
Be open and exible and recognize that along the way to protability you might stumble on to
a product or service that is in higher demand than the original concept.
When do I give up on my product or service? When should I pull up the roots of my new
venture?
In the characteristics of an entrepreneur...perseverance was listed. There is a point, however,
where you need to pull the plug and refocus your energies. You know you have reached this point
when:
You have run out of resources and can't further leverage any of the methods suggested in this
book.
The customers who said they would buy your product during your research phase are no longer
interested.
You can't eectively market to your customer.
It costs you more than you make to sell your product or service.
During market opportunity assessment, there are times when the entrepreneur needs to hit the
brakes and stop. Not stopping fast enough can lead to a failed business and/or bankruptcy. There
are also times when an entrepreneur should step on the accelerator and drive on to new market
opportunity territories. Knowing when to stop and go in your new venture market opportunity
assessment isn't easy.
To help you decide when to move forward with and when to forego an opportunity, please see the
Stop and Go Signs for Assessing Market Opportunity Matrix." It's common for an entrepreneurial
marketer to get caught up in what seems like a great idea or business concept. This matrix is
a concise, easy to reference and somewhat simplistic way to make decisions on judging market
7 http://www.acion.org

7
opportunity. This matrix suggests four major causes for a new venture to not nd a protable
market opportunity.
Recognizing when you are on the verge of going through a Stop Sign without braking is critical.
You can refer back to these stop signs in this matrix as constant reminders of when to turn your
market opportunity strategy in another direction.
Exhibit 1.4: Stop and Go Signs for Assessing Market Opportunity Matrix When to Access Market
Opportunity text and Stop and Go Signs for Assessing Market Opportunity Matrix adapted and
reprinted with permission from Mentorography, Inc. ©
2008. All Rights Reserved. Entrepreneurial
Marketing; Real Stories and Survival Strategies by Molly Lavik and Bruce Buskirk, Mini Module on
Assessing Market Opportunity, pages xxxix-xli.
If you encounter any of the four Go Signs when you are assessing market opportunity, don't
take time out to pat yourself on the back. This is because if you look over your shoulder you may
see someone else realizing what you have discovered. Keep driving on if you are encountering all
Go Signs. 8
Read on: Section 3.1 and discuss market opportunity in greater detail.
Blog Back 2: Go Signs
Blog Back: Analyze your new venture's market opportunity; do you have all Go signs? If you have all
or some Stop signs what can you do to remove the roadblocks that are causing your Stop signs? Enter
your strategy for obtaining all Go signs at http://www.Mentorography.com 9 .
8 When
©
to Access Market Opportunity text and Stop and Go Signs for Assessing Market Opportunity Matrix adapted
and reprinted with permission from Mentorography, Inc. 2008. All Rights Reserved. Entrepreneurial Marketing; Real Stories
and Survival Strategies by Molly Lavik and Bruce Buskirk, Mini Module on Assessing Market Opportunity, pages xxxix-xli.

8
1.4 Sales: the essential rim of the wheel 10
1.4.1 Sales: the essential rim of the wheel
Exhibit 1.5: The Business Eco-System Wheel and sales
1.4.1.1 What will I sell?

You can sell a product or service. A product is a physical item while a service is something you would
implement or execute on behalf of someone else.
Product ideas to consider selling
• Hand-crafted art and artifacts for exporting
• Fruit for selling at a fruit stand or using in the production of cosmetics
• Honey that you produce as a bee keeper
• Mustard condiments produced from mustard seeds
• Handcrafted furniture
• Paintings by emerging artists
• Recycled goods made into products such as purses made from recycled juice and soda containers

9
• A restaurant that oers food menus that others enjoy eating

• Yogurt served in containers that are edible
Ideas for services to consider oering
• Providing education to children as well as adults in a school

• Purifying water at the site of wells that may be tainted with arsenic
• Providing guide services to travelers
• Developing marketing campaigns for local businesses
• Running food stands for others
• Providing tailoring services
• Manufacturing furniture for businesses and residences
• Oering cooking services to families
• Selling wireless phones for phone corporations
• Providing people to build buildings, houses, roads and or bridges
• Oering out-sourced from other countries call center services
• Providing computer consulting services
1.4.1.2 Places for inspiration
"Kiva (www.kiva.org11 ) is the world's rst person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals
to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world. 12 Kiva provides a list of entrepreneurs
who seek loans and a description of these entrepreneurs' business concepts. Visit the Kiva website to read
the inspirational stories of these entrepreneurs. http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses. 13
Aid to Artisans (ATA), (http://www.aidtoartisans.org 14 ) an international nonprot organization, is
a recognized leader of economic development for the craft industry. By linking artisans to new markets and
buyers to culturally meaningful and innovative products, ATA provides needed economic opportunities to
artisans while preserving the beauty of global handmade crafts. 15
1.4.1.3 Financing: the fundamental rim on the wheel
One of the greatest talents that most successful entrepreneurs possess is the ability to persuade others to
invest funds and resources in a startup during the idea creation phase of a new venture. You are not alone if
you have major concerns about attracting the nances you need to get your startup idea o the ground. If
you are reading this and thinking you do not know anyone who would consider investing in your startup we
suggest transforming your thinking into a more constructive thought process in which you believe in yourself
and your own ability to achieve nancing.
Financing opportunities
• Micro-nanciers (Do a Google search at www.google.com using the key word "micro-nance" to
nd potential micro-nanciers that you may want to research as one method of nancing your startup
costs.)
• Family traditionally is the rst place to look for funds to pay for some of the startup costs associated
with a new venture. Even if your family has no resources to oer you can still talk to family members
about introducing you to people they know who might be able to help. More money then you can
imagine has been raised in this manner.
11 http://cnx.org/content/m35307/latest/www.kiva.org
12 Kiva, About: What is Kiva?, http://www.kiva.org/about (<http://www.kiva.org/about>) (Accessed January 11, 2009).
13 Kiva, Lend, http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses (<http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses>) (Ac-
cessed January 11, 2009).
14 http://www.aidtoartisans.org
15 Aid to Artisans, About Us, http://www.aidtoartisans.org (<http://www.aidtoartisans.org>) (Accessed January 12, 2009).

10
• Friends, even casual acquaintances, can at times provide nancing and resources for a startup. Even
if a friend is not able to directly help, you should ask each friend or person you contact for help to also
provide you with 3 names of others they know who may be able to help.
• Governmental support is also a possibility. If applicable, you can also let the local non-governmental
agency associated with what you are doing know your needs in case there is some support available.
• Barter or trade is a method by which you could provide a needed service such as consult-
ing/management advice in return for the resources needed for your startup.
• Savings take a long time and eort to accumulate in the amount most people need to start a new
venture. There are many risks involved and you may not ever be able to replenish the amount of money
you took from your savings to invest in a startup. On the positive side though, if you use your own
savings you do not have a loan to pay back.
• Bank loans are not usually available to early-stage entrepreneurs unless you have a track record of a
previous success and/or the assets to put up such as a home you own in return for securing the bank
loan.
• Networking refers to attending events, conferences, seminars, and any activity where by you can meet
others who might be able to help your further your startup's development.
• Online networks are online websites where you can connect with people you know to ultimately gain
connections to people they know. One well-known online network is LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com 16
. According to the About LinkedIn website, LinkedIn is an online network of more then 30 million
experienced professionals from around the world, representing 150 industries. 17 LinkedIn is available
in English, French and Spanish. You can use the search eld at the top of every LinkedIn web page
to search for people and companies that might be willing to nance your startup. You can sign onto
LinkedIn and connect with others that would in turn potentially be willing to connect you to the people
you are trying to meet.
• Memberships in community organizations may be a place where you can meet like-minded individuals
interested in your startup idea. Use the opportunity to share some information about your startup
with the people you meet. You may nd others who want to help you make your startup a success.
Read on: Section 10.1 contains more material on nancing your business.
1.5 Strategy: the tactical rim on the wheel18

1.5.1 Strategy: the tactical rim on the wheel
Strategy is the method you utilize to go about achieving the underlying goal of your startup. It's recom-
mended that prior to spending any money on your new venture that you rst come up with the strategy
or strategies you plan to utilize to make your startup successful. Devising the right strategy often requires
a great deal of market research on the history of your competition, potential customer needs and wishes as
well a taking into consideration the economic climate and cultural factors that could impact your startup.
Examples of startup strategies:
• Low cost leader by charging less than the competition
• Luxury cost leader by charging more than the competition
• First to market by having your product or service in the market place prior to anyone else. This
strategy is often referred to as the rst mover advantage.
• Creating sustainable growth for a startup means that the new venture will eventually make more
money then it takes to operate the company and that the protability of this venture is possible over
an extended period of time.
16 http://cnx.org/content/m35307/latest/www.linkedin.com
17 LinkedIn, About LinkedIn, http://www.linkedin.com/static?key=company_info&trk=hb_ft_abtli
(<http://www.linkedin.com/static?key=company_info&trk=hb_ft_abtli>) (Accessed August 15, 2008).

11
• Creating societal wealth means the company you are starting wants to create a product or service
that will make the world a better place. The product or service you plan to create will enhance societal
value. Educational institutions and schools are good examples. Another example is providing foods in
the market place that are nutritional in value can have a major positive impact on a society's health.
• Paradigm shifting brand for a startup means creating a product or service that revolutionizes the
world! Examples include the rst developers of airplanes that not only manufactured the airplane
but also found a way to commercialize the product in the market place. An emerging product in this
category is space ships. Although it may sound far-fetched today, there are several corporations today
developing the design and plans for the day where by we get in our space ship the way we get in our car
or on our bicycle. Some wealthy business owners are even today adding space ports to their garages.
Read on: Section 3.1 and Section 6.1 both contain more information in setting your strategy.
Blog Back 3: Strategy
Blog Back: Imagine that you are starting a new venture utilizing the strategy of creating a paradigm
shifting brand. What product and or service might you develop to implement such a strategy?
Go to: http://www.Mentorography.com 19 and share your idea as well as post a comment on what you
think of two other ideas that others shared regarding their paradigm shifting idea.
1.6 Branding will make your blossoms bloom!20
Exhibit 1.6: Mid day


12
1.6.1 Branding: The memorable rim on the wheel
Branding is the core foundation of your startup that is necessary to make your product or service blossom
and grow. Branding is a commonly used marketing term that refers to a distinctive image, usually in the
form of a logo or company mark that represents a company or product. In recent years a company's brand
has become an asset with a nancial worth known as brand equity. The marketing use of the word brand'
is borrowed from the process of burning a rancher's mark into the hide of a calf for identication purposes.
When building your brand, the following checklist is helpful for making your startup bloom.
1.6.1.1 Branding coaching

What is the meaning behind the message your product and/or service represents?
Coaching: Try writing the history of why you are starting this venture and what is the deeper meaning
behind why you are doing this and what you hope the legacy of the new venture will be in the market place.
Review the history and pull out any information that seems relevant toward the meaning. Then write up
some draft messages you hope to communicate when marketing the product or service.
What is the brand essence of your new product or service?
Coaching: The brand essence of your venture is the heart and soul behind the product and service you plan
to develop; the core DNA of your product or service. The brand essence is the foundation of your brands
true identity and the brand essence typically stays the same over time. An example of brand essence is the
medical corporation International Patient Assistance Centre headquartered in Singapore. A review of the
corporation's website (http://www.ipac.sg/en/About/ 21 22 ) leads one to believe the brand essence for the
medical company is dedicated and experienced patient care teams. If you are not able to come up with
the brand essence for your venture try reverse engineering the process by asking yourself what would you
like the brand essence of your venture to be and then make a list of action items you would have to do to
achieve creating a company with this type of brand essence.
1.3: What is the brand advantage?
Coaching: What sets our brand apart from that of the competition?
Try answering the following:
What is distinctive about the brand?
What dierentiates this brand from the competitor's?
How do customers perceive the brand?
What emotion does the brand evoke?
Who appreciates the brand? Why?
What do customers get from the brand?
Where do customers go to nd the brand?
What do customers see in the brand that the founders didn't? 23
Source: Understanding the Essence of Brand Advantages questions reprinted with permission
from Mentorography, Inc. ©
2008. All Rights Reserved. Entrepreneurial Marketing; Real Stories
and Survival Strategies by Molly Lavik and Bruce Buskirk, Branding that Works, page 79.
What can you do from the start to make sure that others cannot use the mark or brand name?
Coaching: Investigate what the trade-marking regulations are for protecting your brand. What are the
governmental processes for securing a trademark for your brand? Trade marking is the process one goes
through to register with a government entity the text and or visual depiction of your business name and,
if applicable, the business mark that accompanies the venture. A logo is the word utilized typically to
describe the visual depiction of the business name.
21 http://www.ipac.sg/en/About/
22 IPAC, International Patient Assistance Care, www.ipac.sg/en/About/ (<http://cnx.org/content/m35310/latest/www.ipac.sg/en/About/>)
(Accessed January 2, 2009.)
©
23 Understanding the Essence of Brand Advantages questions reprinted with permission from Mentorography, Inc. 2008.
All Rights Reserved. Entrepreneurial Marketing; Real Stories and Survival Strategies by Molly Lavik and Bruce Buskirk,
Branding that Works, page 79.

13
If you plan to trademark your logo or the text version of your business name for protection you can nd
out the necessary details of this process at the World Intellectual Property Organization at:
http://www.wipo.int/portal/index.html.en 24 25 by specically utilizing the Madrid System for Interna-
tional Registration Marks explained further at:http://www.wipo.int/madrid/en/ 26 .27
As of October 27, 2008, countries' statuses are listed regarding the Madrid Agreement Concerning the
International Registration of Marks and the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the
International Registration of Marks. View this information at:
http://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/treaties/en/documents/pdf/madrid_marks.pdf 28 .29
1.6.1.2 Looking for inspiration?

You can nd many examples of logos in the process of being trademarked in the United
States through the United States Trademark and Patent Oce website that posts online
The Trademark Gazette. Here is an example of one issue of The Trademark Gazette:
http://www.uspto.gov/web/trademarks/tmog/20081230_OG.pdf 30 .31
Once you have secured the trademark for your business name, you then process a legal standing to protect
against other businesses using your company name in the category you are doing business in. Trademarks
are considered assets to a business and have a monetary value if and when you want to sell or merge your
venture.
The Brand Identity Guide: A blueprint toward success
Once you have developed your business name into a logo and are in the process of trade-marking that name,
many entrepreneurs begin widespread use of the logo in marketing materials to raise awareness of their
product or service to their targeted customers. Well-known branded businesses assign someone the task of
making sure the logo is properly utilized, with the correct color ink, in the correct size, in the correct location
of the page layout especially when used in conjunction with other logos. A style guide for the use of the logo
is often called a brand identity guide.
Blog Back 4: Brand Identity
Blog Back: Brainstorm the development of a Brand Identity Guide to illustrate the use of your logo in
any materials you or others create to market the product or service you would like to create.
What is your brand essence?
What is your brand advantage?
What font and font size will you utilize for your logo?
What if any visual image/drawing/illustration will accompany the text of your logo?
What colors will you utilize for your logo? Using the pantone color chart, select the exact color(s) you
wish to utilize.
Will your logo be depicted dierently if it's used in a horizontal vs a vertical page lay out?
What is the smallest size your logo can appear?
What rules govern your logo's use when it appears with logos from other companies such as may be the
case with a sponsorship?
In what countries would you like to trademark your logo?
24 http://www.wipo.int/portal/index.html.en
25 World Intellectual Property Organization, http://www.wipo.int/portal/index.html.en
(<http://www.wipo.int/portal/index.html.en>) (Accessed January 11, 2009).
26 http://www.wipo.int/madrid/en/
27 World Intellectual Property Organization, Madrid System for International Registration Marks,
http://www.wipo.int/madrid/en/ (<http://www.wipo.int/madrid/en/>) (Accessed January 11, 2009).
28 http://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/treaties/en/documents/pdf/madrid_marks.pdf
29 World Intellectual Property Organization, Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Regis-
tration of Marks and Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Reg-
istration of Marks, http://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/treaties/en/documents/pdf/madrid_marks.pdf
(<http://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/treaties/en/documents/pdf/madrid_marks.pdf>) (Accessed January 11, 2009).
30 http://www.uspto.gov/web/trademarks/tmog/20081230_OG.pdf
31 United States Trademark and Patent Oce, The Trademark Gazette, http://www.uspto.gov/web/trademarks/tmog/20081230_OG.pdf
(<http://www.uspto.gov/web/trademarks/tmog/20081230_OG.pdf>) (Accessed December 24, 2008).

14
Is there anything else you would like to share about the brand you plan to create?
Go to: http://www.Mentorography.com 32 and share an outline of your Brand Identity Guide.
1.7 Stakeholders: the connective rim on the wheel33

1.7.1 Stakeholders: the connective rim on the wheel
Your brand cannot bloom unless you ensure that you develop your brand in a way that will please everyone
who comes into contact with your business. The people who come in contact with your business's brand are
known as your startup's stakeholders. Who will be your startup's stakeholders? Take aim carefully as you
decide. Consider establishing contacts with some of the following suggested stakeholder categories common
to new venture enterprises mentioned in the Startup Stakeholder Arrow.
Exhibit 1.7:
©
Startup Stakeholder Arrow created by Molly Lavik, founder, Mentorography, Inc., Jan-
uary 12, 2009. Reprinted with permission from Mentorography, Inc. 2009. All Rights Reserved.
1.7.1.1 The stems of growing startups: denitions of startup stakeholder arrow selected terms
Strategists: A strategist is a skilled person who may be adept at taking your overall vision for the business
and developing the plan of action for achieving the overarching goals. Strategists are experts at coming up

15
with the winning maneuvers for laying the foundation of having a successful venture. The term strategy was
originally utilized to dene military maneuver plans.
Exhibit 1.8: Mid Day (Adapted)

Strategic advisors: Advisors are people typically with experience in an area that you wish to learn more
about. Advisors impart valuable wisdom that you can utilize to learn valuable lessons regarding generating
revenue and prots for your planned venture.
Chambers of Commerce: Chambers of Commerce are large memberships of business federations
representing hundreds and sometimes thousands of business owners.
Network: Your business contacts that can help you today or in the future accomplish your goals.
Entrepreneurs need vast networks of people's assistance to achieve the venture's goals.
Financiers: Financiers are comprised of people or a business entity that provides nancial resources for
your new business to utilize.
Micro-nanciers: These are people who make cash loans in very small amounts to entrepreneurs in
emerging countries to people who have very little if any resources. Often the people who receive micro-
nanced loans have little to no experience in business. A website where people can see micro-nancing in
action is located at: http://www.accion.org 34 .
Venture capitalists: These are people who have a high net worth of resources or are part of an
institution that has a fund of high net worth. Venture capitalists seek out entrepreneurs who are starting
new ventures that have an opportunity to make a large and fast return on the nancial resources invested.
The main category that venture capitalists have previously invested in has been the technology industry.
A venture capitalist does not make any money until the new venture sells, merges or makes an initial
public oering known as an IPO when for the rst time that business oers common stocks to the public.
Entrepreneurs have had a "love and hate" relationship with venture capitalists because if the new venture
doesn't make the anticipated return on investment predicted the venture capitalists usually has the legal
right to take over part or all of the ownership of the new venture leaving the entrepreneurship often out of
34 http://www.accion.org

16
the venture from that point forward. Venture capitalists also have the ability to provide the cash as well as
mentoring resources needed for the new venture to thrive.
Angel investors : These are private individuals that typically have large amounts of resources to invest
in your startup. Angel Investors choose to invest in your startup because they share a common interest in
what you are doing.
Shareholders : A person who owns or holds stock in a business.
Vesting : Vesting occurs when a person associated with a business venture is granted legally the right
to possess stock-options if they work for a specied term. By way of example a person's stock options could
vest over a three year period with the person earning stock-options incrementally and fully vesting in all the
promised stock-options at the completion of the three year term.
Mentors : These are role models who you can receive instruction, advice and coaching from regarding
important lessons to follow to make your new venture a success.
Ministries : These are oces that provide service to the country or state of origin.
Consulates : These are the ocial oces of a government appointee. These oces can be located in the
country of the government that made the appointment and or abroad NGOs: Stands for non-governmental
organization and NGOs are run by people who are not part of the government although governments can
partially fund an NGO as long as the funding government agency doesn't retain any type of representative
or leadership role in the NGO. In the United States a type of NGO is referred to as a non-prot organization.
NGOs typically have organization missions and goals that are dedicated to creating greater societal value
versus existing to stay solely focused on generating prots.
Ad agency : This is a company that you hire to develop for pay advertisements to ensure that your
targeted market is aware and enticed to purchase your product or service.
PR agency : A company that you hire to generate favorable publicity about your new business to people
who have been found through market research potentially interested in buying your product or service
eMarketers : A group of people that you hire to implement your digital media strategy for the online
and potentially via cell phone marketing of your new business. eMarketers utilize ultimately any form of
electronic media to promote and advertise your business.
Netroots : This word is a newly coined termed that combines portions of the words Internet and grass-
roots to dene a type of marketing that targets blogs and digital media in order to cause powerful action for
achieving your new venture goals. The term originally described political action and has recently been utilized
to describe business action. Bloggers: This term describes someone who keeps an online diary/journal/log
of his or her activities or comments on others' activities. One of the most popular blogs in the world is
about entrepreneurs and is kept by Guy Kawasaki called, How to Change the World: A practical blog for
impractical people. Check it out: http://blog.guykawasaki.com 35 .
Social networks : These are websites dedicated to fostering a community of individuals around a topic.
We mentioned LinkedIn earlier; Facebook is another social networking example. According to Facebook's
website, "Millions of people use Facebook everyday to keep up with friends, upload an unlimited number of
photos, share links and videos, and learn more about the people they meet. 36
Readers of this chapter are invited to join my Facebook page by registering to become a Facebook member
at http://www.facebook.com 37 (it is free and a social networking site) and then enter Molly Lavik into the
search eld and click on my name. Then select add as a friend.
Texting : This is when you type in a message with photos or in some cases a video via a cell phone
Grassroots : This is a powerful movement of every day people for a cause. Currently there is a grassroots
movement to protect the environment throughout the world.
Viral: This happens when a marketing message is transmitted through people excitedly and enthusiasti-
cally spreading the message by telling others who tell others who tell others and so forth. When a marketing
message is spread via "word-of-mouth" the message is visually depicted as spreading in the same way a cold
virus spreads and multiplies through a growing number of people in the wintertime. Marketers spend a great
35 http://blog.guykawasaki.com
36 Facebook, Molly Lavik, http://www.facebook.com (<http://www.facebook.com>) (Accessed December 24, 2009).
37 http://www.facebook.com

17
deal of money to attempt to initiate the spread of messages via word-of-mouth. However, it's easier said
than done. An example of a marketing campaign that was spread via word-of-mouth was the marketing
campaign for the lm Slumdog Millionaire which is a lm about a poor orphan from Mumbai India's slums
who is a candidate for winning millions.
Inuencers: Persons who are copied for wearing or embracing a particular fashion or trend. Taste
makers are often known as trend setters.
Street teams: This term is used to describe a group of often young people between the ages of 15-25
years old, who travel up and down usually city streets actively promoting the product or service they are
paid to market.
Membership organizations : Trade and other forms of professional associations, unions, special interest
groups and work related clubs that one can join.
Community : The geographic, psychographic as well as online neighborhood in which your venture
operates on a regular basis.
Virtual: Pertaining to your image appearing in a perceived manner, live, somewhere other then where
you actually are currently located. The image would appear via a digital format such as through a web
camera, simulated articial intelligent agent and or three dimensional image such as a hologram image.
Suppliers: Companies that provide valuable resources to your new business are true suppliers.
Vendors: Typically the valuable resources are purchased from commercial resources known as vendors.
Consumers: These are people who buy your product or service.
Employees: These are individuals that work directly for you and are on your pay roll.
Read on: Several subsequent chapters discuss the importance of stakeholders further.
Blog Back 5: Stakeholder
Blog Back: Decide how you want to take aim carefully here. Who will be on your Startup Stakeholder
Arrow? Brainstorm ideas for who specically you would aim to have for your Startup Stakeholder Arrow.
Be sure to include exact names of businesses and people and titles for this list. Try to utilize all the aspects
mentioned in the provided categories of the Startup Stakeholder Arrow.
Go to: http://www.Mentorography.com/ 38 and post a draft of your Startup's Stakeholder Arrow list.
1.8 Ethics: the authentic rim on the wheel39

1.8.1 Ethics: the authentic rim on the wheel
Ethics refers to the heart and soul of the activities you engage in while starting your business .
How authentic and truthful you are during the startup phase will set the stage for the future ethical threshold
of your new venture. As the founder and chief visionary behind the concept you are bringing to market, it
is your responsibility to create the values and company culture that will be your business. Once a company
culture is set, it is virtually impossible to alter the path that you have set for your new venture to follow.
One way to try to ensure the ethical standards of your company is to rst make sure that you have a good
moral compass.
Your moral compass is the ethical stance you take on decisions and actions with your startup.
Here are some questions to consider when developing your own moral compass:
• What will the new venture's code of ethics state?

• How will I make decisions for the startup that will limit my revenue potential but will ultimately be
the correct action to take legally and ethically?
• What can I do to ensure that the people I hire have good values?
• Who will I go to for advice when I have a moral/ethical dilemma?
• Will I be capable of following the advice that I receive for taking the right ethical action?
• How will I know what is ethical and what is not?
38 http://www.Mentorography.com/

18
• What processes will I put in place to make sure that my sta and the stakeholders I associate the
startup with are acting ethically at all times?
• What will I do if a sta member or key stakeholder I'm associating with violates my new venture's
code of ethics?
• In a crisis how will I communicate to my stakeholders the situation in the most ethical manner possible?
• How often will I cross check that I'm following my new venture's code of ethics?
• What seminars, classes and guidance can I nd to make sure I'm acting ethically when running the
startup?
• What people can I go to in order to gain a role model/mentor for acting ethically with my startup?
• If I end up doing something that was unethical what will be my process to correct the situation and
to communicate the situation to my stakeholders?
• Will I listen to my gut if I have a strange ethical reaction to someone or something?
• Is there anything else I should ask myself to develop my moral compass?
It turns out in business that self-awareness of one's action is a key component to understanding how to
develop an ethical moral compass. Additionally, the translation of an entrepreneur's moral compass into the
development of a new venture leads to the establishment of the businesses' company culture. The company
culture is the values you decide to instill in the new venture.
1.8.1.1 Making good: elements of a values-based company culture

• Provide a safe work place and clean work environment.
• Pay fair wages to all employees.
• Provide benets of some kind for employees that may include health insurance, dental insurance, vision
insurance, a retirement investment plan, a pension of partial salary to be paid once an employee retires,
and reimbursement for continuous learning.
• Host employee appreciation events.
• Be respectful to all employees.
• Treat all stakeholders with respect and fairness.
• Have a suggestion box or method where by employees and stakeholders can make suggestions that you
review and consider.
• Be a good corporate citizen by supporting some NGO/non-prot entities either by paying your employ-
ees to volunteer for these named causes or making cash donations or sponsorships to nancially help
support these organizations. This type of activity is known as CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility.)
An example of a company that has been a good corporate citizen and routinely practices CSR is Grupo
Bimbo which, according to the company's website, was established in 1945 and is considered one of
the most important bakeries in the world. In 2007, Grupo Bimbo's net sales amounted to $ 6.7 billion
dollars. In keeping with the company's social responsibility, Grupo Bimbo participates in important
community projects such as the reforestation of protected natural areas in Mexico as well as in a series
of dierent projects for community welfare. You can read all about Grupo Bimbo's Social Responsi-
bility work in health, commitment to the environment, commitment to associates, and commitment to
society at: http://www.grupobimbo.com/display.php?section=6 40 41
• Adopt a triple bottom line philosophy. Triple bottom line means your company cares equally not
only about making a prot but also about taking care of the people associated with your company and
conducting business in a way that is good for sustaining a healthy environment for the planet. So to
summarize, the triple bottom line philosophy means you care equally about people, planet and prots.
• Develop sustainable business practices. One who cares about the environment of his business goes to
the trouble and expense to make sure that he:
40 http://www.grupobimbo.com/display.php?section=6
41 Grupo Bimbo, Social Responsibility, http://www.grupobimbo.com/display.php?section=6
(<http://www.grupobimbo.com/display.php?section=6>) (Accessed December 28, 2009).

19
· has a recycling program for not only garbage but also old electronic devices and toxic waste
disposal from batteries and printers.
· utilizes oce cleaning supplies that are environmentally safe and don't outgas. Outgassing is a
term that refers to indoor air quality and describes the slow release of gas from a manufactured
material such as furniture or carpets. Often the term is used to describe the potentially unhealthful
attributes of a newly manufactured material as this gas is released indoors.
· carries out oce remodeling and construction in a safe for the environment fashion by using low
VOC, (Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids.
VOCs include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short- and long-term adverse health
eects.)42 , paints that do not out gas as well as insulation made from recycled materials.
· replaces company light bulbs and lighting xtures with energy ecient light bulbs.
· produces marketing materials that use soy-based ink and are printed on recycled paper stock. He
uses the recycled logo mark on materials to communicate to stakeholders that he is concerned
with sustaining the environment.
· works with vendors, suppliers and all of his stakeholders that support environmental protection
tactics.
· conserves energy and resources whenever possible. Moving to a four day a week, ten hour a day
schedule can by way of example conserve energy and ultimately cut kilowatts to create a slender
gas and electric bill.
· rewards employees for traveling to and from work in sustainable ways such as walking, riding a
bicycle, taking public transportation and when appropriate car-pooling.
· if applicable, purchases company vehicles that are electric or electric hybrids.
· stays current with environmental literature to keep employee's knowledge base strong on conserv-
ing energy.
1.8.1.2 Going green on a shoe string

You may be wondering what you are going to do take the ethical stance on your company's proactive
sustainability plans to protect the environment when you are in the startup phase of your venture. It
happens that doing the right thing for the environment is not just good for the environment but it also
can be protable no matter what your socio-economic state is today with your business. The recommended
energy-saving tactics listed above will help you save money on your electric bill. By operating a sustainably-
focused company you will be generating a growing amount of good will for your venture. And good will is
something you can take to the bank! Goodwill is the dierence between what your company is worth and
what you are actually able to sell your venture for in the market place. The more goodwill you generate
the higher value of your company in comparison to your competition. Some of the most environmentally
conscious people in the world live in severely economically-challenged neighborhoods. Do not let your socio-
economic status challenge the entrepreneurial ethics behind your startup. The goodwill you are generating
from taking care of the environment could potentially come back to you in the form of good karma!
Read on: You'll nd more discussion of a socially responsible organization in Section 14.1.
Blog Back 6: Moral Compass
Blog back: Write a draft of your new venture's code of ethics and a description of your moral compasses'
stances including what sustainable practices your venture will adopt to go green and have a triple bottom
line focus.
Go to: http://www.Mentorography.com 43 and post a draft of your code of ethics, description of your
moral compasses' stances and green sustainability practices.
42 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Indoor Air Quality: An Introduction to Indoor Air Quality: Organic Cases (Volatile
Organic Compounds-VOCs), http://www.epa.gov/iaq/voc.html (<http://www.epa.gov/iaq/voc.html>) (Accessed January 16,
2009).

20
1.9 Operations: the logistical rim on the wheel44
The operations of your business are the tactics and processes you implement to run your business.
1.9.1 Water your plants: operations hydrate your startup

Operations in a startup begin with the composition of a business plan. A new venture without a business
plan is like a car without an engine; it exists but cannot get anywhere. In fact, researching and drafting the
new venture's business plan is probably the most important and necessary business practice you will ever
under take. Business plans are usually written to obtain nancing for a new venture. However, the business
document and planning process provides a much more important function. This document will be your road
map for getting your venture started. The ndings of your research contained in your business plan can tell
you from the beginning with pretty good certainty if your new business has a real chance of being successful
nancially and sustainable in the long run.
Traditional sections contained in a business plan:
• Company Description gives a background to the history of your startup and explains what your
venture will do.
• Statement of Mission or Mantra is a short phrase that explains the purpose of your new venture.
• Products and or Services describe what you plan to sell.
• Target Markets elaborate on whom you plan to sell to.
• Marketing Strategy explains what unique maneuvers your venture will under-take to accomplish
the businesses goals.
• Competitive Analysis documents who your main competitors are in the market place.
• Management Teams are the names, titles and backgrounds of the people who will lead your venture
to success.
• Operations for Investors explains what tactics you will undertake to nance the venture and the
exit strategy you plan to utilize for the initial investors to make a prot on their investment.
• Financials document the forecasted sales and expenses for the rst ve years of the new venture. The
nancials should be accompanied by a detailed assumption log which summarizes where the numbers
entered in your nancial spreadsheets originally came from. Most investors want to see your nancial
documents include balance sheets, cash ows, income statements and key ratios such is when you
anticipate breaking even.
• Long-term Goals explain what you hope to eventually accomplish with the new venture.
• Executive Summary which goes at the beginning of your business plan but is often written last
should contain a brief summary of each of the above mentioned business plan sections. Executive
summaries should be limited to two or less pages. The Executive Summary is often the most read
portion of your business plan so it's important to write and re-write this section until it's absolutely
perfect. Some entrepreneurs recommend that you draft the executive summary rst and use this
document as a planning document to cross check what you need in order to complete the business
plan.
After you have completed drafting your new venture's business plan it may be time to establish the legal
entity of your business. Check with your local government oce to get directed to the rules and regulations
and processes you need to follow in order to properly establish your business's legal entity
Some of the most universal company establishments are:
• sole proprietor
• private limited company
• state-owned enterprise
• public-limited company
• NGO

21
• corporations
If you can get the resources from family and friends to pay for an attorney to help you establish your
business legal entity you may lessen some of the risks associated with starting a new venture. The type
of business entity you form will more than likely impact the way in which you pay taxes on your products
and services and le your country's income tax ling. The denitions for the dierent forms of company
establishments vary from country to country. You will want to check with the portion of your government
that grants company established entities for clarication
With a draft business plan in hand and your legal company business entity established it's time to fully
map out the operations/processes you plan to utilize to implement your business plan. It's highly recommend
that you make a Gantt chart to stay organized with the correct sequence and timing of each business activity.
®
You can use Microsoft Excel and setup columns that list:
• tasks
• person(s) assigned to complete tasks
• dates that tasks must be completed by as well as proper task sequence
• an area to check o when a task has been eectively completed
• a comment section to keep a historic list of reactions to the considered tasks
• and given your unique plans, you may choose to have additional columns.
It is highly recommended that you post your new venture's Operations Gantt Chart on a wall in a visible
location so that as many people as possible have access to this information. This will allow others to make
updates as well as understand what you are working on when they are considering interrupting you during
the day.
Keep an open mind as you implement your operational plans for the startup. Remain exible to contin-
uous updates. Remember a startup is an evolving operational process that will need ne turning along the
way.
Read on : Operations is the subject of Section 7.1
1.10 New product: the tangible rim on the wheel45

1.10.1 New product: the tangible rim on the wheel
The new product can be a physical product and or a service oering. Developing a new product is an
operational task that goes above and beyond the call of duty of utilizing the Operations Gantt chart
described in the previous Operations section. Instead, we are recommending that you create a Process
Mapping Guide in order to eectively develop your new product oerings. The following section describes
in detail how to develop a Process Mapping Guide for your new product oerings
1.10.1.1 A new product bud is blooming: introducing the New Venture Instructional Manual
to Operational Excellence
1.4: New Venture Instructional Manual to Operational Excellence
Start by process mapping all of the organization's processes by creating a process log. Utilize a
word processing software program which has auto shapes that features a owchart. This will give
you the software necessary for developing your process map. It does take a long time to process
map the functions within an organization, even a newly formulated venture. It's time well spent.
Process mapping guide
There are many books and publications about process mapping and there are multiple ways to
process map. We are going to focus here on showing you how to map the processes that make up
new product development and marketing. We suggest the following:

22
Assemble the people who are involved in the development and marketing of a new product at
your organization.
Brainstorm a list of the day-to-day steps that are taken to develop and market a new product.
Review the list with your board, strategic alliance partners, mentors, vendors, and family mem-
bers for items that may have been missed.
Take the nal list and divide it into two categories: repetitive processes and rare processes.
Repetitive processes are steps that are taken repeatedly when developing and marketing a new
product such as manufacturing the product. Rare processes occur infrequently.
Analyze the rare processes list to see if any of the items mentioned can be combined with or
woven into the repetitive processes. Rare processes can drain resources and are often not budgeted
for. If you can combine a rare process with a repetitive process, you have taken a valuable step
toward improving the operational excellence of your business.
Make a owchart of the processes within your organization from the list that was prepared and
ne-tuned. This is where you take what might be explained in several paragraphs of text and drill
it down to several owchart icons. See Exhibit 1.9.
Process Mapping Diagram
Exhibit 1.9: The Process Mapping Diagram was developed by Molly Lavik, October 6, 2002
There is a growing trend for corporations to organize their management

systems by processes instead of products. Large and mid-size corporations are making this shift
to achieve cost savings.
Once you have completed your process log you must repeat the analysis phase. Gather your
resident experts as well as some new mentors and outside board members to analyze the rm's
processes. Look for current processes that could be streamlined.

23
Because areas to streamline are dicult to see, keep re-examining what has been documented in
the process log. Upon exhaustive examination of every possible streamlined scenario, the solution
to achieving operational excellence will come into focus. Stay open and exible to these new ideas.
Log the new process innovations. Embrace the new processes and apply them throughout the
organization with the committed support of top management. This can be the most challenging
step and requires a change management campaign.
A change management campaign is the internal communication campaign that is targeted at a
venture's employees regarding a shift in the way a business is managed. This means you have to
take a hands-on role in communicating the changes throughout the organization, making sure that
everyone understands the new game plan, and why it is necessary. Inevitably, some won't be willing
to go along with the new program and you may need to help them nd employment elsewhere. One
negative person can delay the whole group's transformation. 46
Source : Process Mapping Guide text and Process Mapping Image reprinted with permis-
sion from Mentorography, Inc. ©
2008. All Rights Reserved. Entrepreneurial Marketing; Real
Stories and Survival Strategies by Molly Lavik and Bruce Buskirk, Module on Savvy Strategies for
Marketing New Products, pages 188-190.
After your new product bud has bloomed through the implementation of a process mapping guide you are
ready to launch your new product oering into the market place. You should consider planning a New
Product Launch Event.
Read on : Adding Products or Services is discussed further in Section 13.1.
46 Process Mapping Guide text and Process Mapping Image reprinted with permission from Mentorography, Inc. ©
2008.
All Rights Reserved. Entrepreneurial Marketing; Real Stories and Survival Strategies by Molly Lavik and Bruce Buskirk,
Module on Savvy Strategies for Marketing New Products, pages 188-190.

24
1.11 Let the fruits of your labor blossom: the new product/service
launch event plan47
1.11.1 Let the fruits of your labor blossom: the new product/service launch event
plan
Exhibit 1.10: Sunny day
Your new business may be built around a product or service or both as we earlier discussed. We will discuss,
by way of example, a new product launch event but it's worth noting that the same general principles apply
whether you are planning a new product or new service launch event.
Events organized around a new product/service launch are typically postponed or cancelled because the
new product/service does not turn out as anticipated. Build this scenario into any planned event so that
you can recoup some of the costs if the event needs to be cancelled.
1.5: Checklist for a New Product Launch Event
Is the new product going to be fully functional in time for the event? What is your backup plan?
Have you assembled a well-connected board of advisers to help with the production of the event?
Have you determined your budget for the new product launch event? Is there anyone you can
bring in to cosponsor the event to help defray the cost?
Have you hired someone to be responsible for the myriad of details that must come together in
order for a new product launch event to be called a success?
Have you prepared a detailed spreadsheet, with deadlines, of all the items that need to take
place for the event to come together and assigned each item to a responsible person?

25
Have you devised the best forum for the new product launch event? Is the event scheduled
during an industry tradeshow where everyone will already be assembled and you can easily fold
your event into the bigger show, leveraging all the resources available at that event?
Have you outlined how you are going to communicate your new product message at the launch
event? (There is nothing worse than producing an expensive new product launch event that everyone
may enjoy but attendees leave not having any idea what brand was being promoted.)
Have you invited your targeted press to cover the new product event?
Do you have a contingency plan if few people respond to your invitation to the new product
launch event? Do you have takeaway logo items, commonly referred to as premiums, for attendees
so they can be reminded of the new product?
Have you decided how you will measure and evaluate your brand building strategy? 48
Source : New Product Launch Event Plan text reprinted with permission from Mentorography,
Inc.© 2008. All Rights Reserved. Entrepreneurial Marketing; Real Stories and Survival Strategies
by Molly Lavik and Bruce Buskirk, Module on Savvy Strategies for Marketing New Products, pages
191-192.
Read on: Launching your business is the topic of Section 1.3, Section 4.1, Section 5.1, and Section 6.1.
Blog Back 7: Launch Plan
Blog back: Develop a plan for your new product launch. Include the name and description of the venue
you plan to showcase your new product as well as a detailed budget of the researched expenses and a forecast
of the media coverage you hope to gain during the launch event.
Go to: http://www.Mentorography.com 49 and post your new product launch plan.
1.12 Public relations: the sensational rim on the wheel50

1.12.1 Public relations: the sensational rim on the wheel
Public relations are the activities one engages in to generate excitement about your new venture so that
editorial coverage will occur. Editorial coverage is thought to be much more valuable then advertising in
media because people perceive editorial coverage as authentic and of interest. Startups need to generate a
great deal of excitement known as buzz in order to make the case for media coverage. Because entrepreneurs
normally don't have much if any marketing budgets to initially launch his or her new venture, relying on
public relations coverage becomes essential for the success of a new venture.
In order to increase your chances for coverage of the new venture you will want to make sure that
communications with the media include information about your new venture that is written in what is
known as a tight manner including, if possible, the following attributes:
• concise/brief summary
• straight-forward
• timely and quite current
• a rst of its kind if possible
• attention-grabbing
• authentic and truthful
• tying-in if possible with an emerging trend
• remarkable
• and absolutely accurate
48 New Product Launch Event Plan text reprinted with permission from Mentorography, Inc. ©2008. All Rights Reserved.
Entrepreneurial Marketing; Real Stories and Survival Strategies by Molly Lavik and Bruce Buskirk, Module on Savvy Strategies
for Marketing New Products, pages 191-192.

26
1.12.1.1 The public relations practitioner's tool kit
Press releases: Newsworthy text regarding the Who, What, Where, and When of the story you are
pitching to the media.
Video News Releases (VNRs) : Usually responsible for coordinating the video production of news
announcements known as VNRs which are sent to television/broadcasting stations with the intention of
gaining news coverage
Newswire services: The Public Relations practitioner works with a company known as a newswire
service to disseminate news announcements to targeted media. One example is CSRwire service found at:
http://www.csrwire.com 51 which specializes in disseminating news releases from corporate socially respon-
sible companies often engaged in many CSR pursuits. 52
News agencies: The public relations practitioner is in direct contact with news services that cover large
batches of news happenings in specic regions. MEMERCOPRESS is an example of a news agency. Accord-
ing to this news agency's website, "MERCOPRESS is a news agency concentrating on Mercosur countries
which operates from Montevideo, Uruguay and includes in its area of inuence the South Atlantic and insular
territories."53 For more information on MERCOPRESS visit: http://www.mercopress.com/about.do 54 .
Media databases: Contain detailed information on how to reach media contacts. The more expansive
and current the media database, the more likely you are to achieve optimum press coverage in targeted
publications.
Style guides: Provide guidelines on the proper formatting of information to include when quoting from
another source and attributing in a citation the quoted source.
Extensive Rolodex: Public relations practitioners are major networkers with vast contacts with the
media as well as key stakeholders.
Timelines: Successful public relations practitioners are known for keeping long timelines of checklists
to make sure events and campaigns are carried out awlessly in order to achieve the maximum amount of
eective media coverage
Archives: The public relations practitioner usually is the one to maintain the press clipping les doc-
umenting media coverage as well as the video and image les. Images are sometimes used by the media so
keeping well-organized archive les is essential to any marketing campaign.
Because public relations professionals are dedicated to the tasks surrounding disseminating, documenting
and archiving news coverage, these practitioners are usually a great resource to any startup.
Blog Back 8: PR Plan
Blog Back: Write down a list of public relations plans you have for your new venture. Include what
you will do to get publicity for your startup. What news sources will you target? Be specic by naming
newspapers, magazines, newsletters. Leaets, signage and other media sources that you plan to target.
Go to: http://www.Mentorography.com 55 and post your Public Relations Plan.
1.13 Mentor insights: the Where the Rubber Meets the Road
spokes on the wheel56
1.13.1 Mentor insights: the Where the Rubber Meets the Road spokes on the
wheel
Mentor insights are the lessons learned by the protégé/mentee. Mentor insights are depicted as spokes on
the wheel because they are the glue that eectively holds together everything else. Understanding your
51 http://www.csrwire.com
52 CSRwire, Home Page, http://www.csrwire.com (<http://www.csrwire.com>) (Accessed on August 15, 2008).
53 MERCOPRESS, About MERCOPRESS, http://www.mercopress.com/about.do (<http://www.mercopress.com/about.do>)
(Accessed January 2, 2009).
54 http://www.mercopress.com/about.do

27
mentor's driving philosophies is essential if you want to gain the wisdom that your mentors possess. There
is a tremendous amount you can learn from a mentor's successes as well as their setbacks. Mentors come
literally in all styles, shapes and sizes. When you are away from home be sure to keep a look out for
people who might have some business wisdom to share with you.
Places you can go to nd mentors potentially ideal for coaching you with your startups include:
• faculty at schools
• libraries
• seminars/conferences/workshops
• town meetings
• management from other businesses
• classmates
• family
• friends
• co-workers
• religious institutions
• public markets
• neighbors
• near-by communities
• re-acquainting yourself with people you haven't kept in contact with
• entrepreneurs
• micro-loan recipients
To keep track of the insights that you pick up from mentors try keeping a journal of the lessons you are
learning that are applicable to your startup. Mentor insights can come from a business executive or role
model who you want to emulate. Mentor insights can also come from observations of others.
I was fortunate to meet a student named Jay Milbrandt while teaching a Social Entrepreneurship course
at Pepperdine University's Graziadio School of Business and Management. Jay had recently traveled to
Bangladesh and kept journals of his rst-hand observations of meeting people who were prospering through
micro-nance loans. I found these journal entries extremely inspirational and we hope you will as well. We
encourage you to be on the alert for micro-nance opportunities in your country as a proven method for
helping those that are less fortunate than yourselves. By reading these journal excerpts you can experience
how those less fortunate are nding success no matter what their economic situation. Micro-nanced loans
are imparting a great deal of opportunity to those that really need it and transforming the economies of
developing countries in remarkable ways! The following are excerpts from the journal of Jay Milbrandt.
1.6: Jay Milbrandt's Journal Entries from Bangladesh: Not Just Statistics
The shear numbers are impressive. 1.2 billion people throughout the world live in extreme poverty.
Accordingly, extreme poverty is dened by the World Bank as living below $1 per day purchasing
power parity threshold. The United Nations set the Millennium Challenge goal of eliminating
extreme poverty by the year 2025. In Bangladesh, at least, it appears to be well on the way. It's
easy to get lost in the numbers. But, when you travel through Bangladesh meeting the microcredit
borrowers, you realize that behind every number is a lifereal people and real families. Suddenly,
the statistics come alive.
I don't know what it's like to live on less than $1 per day. I have, however, met enough people
to garner some details about what such a life is like. Simply put, you consume in proportion to
what you grow; when you cannot aord more, you beg.
Meet Meera. She used to live on less than $1 per day. Now, she's a twenty-six year old business
owner with two daughters, eleven and seven years old. Her husband walked out on her a few years
ago, leaving her to fend for herself. In the culture of Bangladesh, she was in a very tough spot.
To give birth to only daughters and no sons is unlucky. Likewise, for a husband to walkout on his
wife is looked down upon even more. In spite of this, she became one of the most successful women
in her village. Through microcredit, she started and built a large poultry farm, raising thousands

28
of chickens and selling them to market. After showing us her farm, she invited us into her home,
which was considered a nice home by village standardsfour walls, two rooms, a cement oor, and
metal roof. Her home was also nanced through a Grameen 57 microcredit home loan. And, best
of all, she told us how happy she was and how microcredit changed her life.
Although Meera holds the distinction as the rst microcredit customer I met, that's the only
number associated with her. 58
1.7: Jay Milbrandt's Journal Entries from Bangladesh: Why I Have Hope
I've got this feeling of hopelessness, I admit to a traveling companion. I'm here to see the hope
that microcredit has brought, but our taxi has not even left Dhaka yet and I'm surrounded by the
most abject poverty I have ever seen.
I'm on sensory overload. There are so many people that the country seems ready to burst at
the seams. More than 140 million people are packed into this country, approximately the size of
Iowa. In Dhaka, garbage is everywherein the streets, in the ditches. Its obvious that the city
does not possess the infrastructure to service its 15 million inhabitants. Judging by the integrity of
the city streets, which appear to have been paved once left alone, I'm not the least bit surprised.
If the heap of garbage is fresh, a few people would be rummaging through itlooking for a meal,
I suspect. If the garbage was old, it served as a bed. Audibly, Dhaka pulses with the sound of
non-stop hornsthere need be no reason to use it. Dhaka is also a city of smells. Every street has
a dierent smell, many of which I nd both unfamiliar and unappealing.
The streets are a labyrinthif I were lost, I could never nd my way back. We round a corner
and roll past a lot of wood and metal. A salvage yard maybe? Those are the slums of Dhaka,
our guide explains. Our taxi comes to a stop, waiting for a train to pass. After a few seconds,
there's a bang on the window. It's a young boy, maybe seven years old, begging for money. He's
yelling in Bengali and motioning to his mouth with his hand. In Dhaka, people work together in
an organized system of begging, my guide explains. He cracks the window and tells the child to
leave. We start moving again and the child runs along until he can no longer keep pace.
Little did I know at this point, that over the succeeding two months, I would meet some of the
most disadvantaged people in the world: the poorest-of-the-poor, victims of tracking, prostituted
women, refugees, and the illiterate. Despite their perilous circumstances, I'm lled with more hope
than ever before. Why? The positive, successful change I would come to witnessand the great
potential for continued change.
My hopelessness, however, would be relieved. What I saw in Dhaka was probably a piece of
history for Bangladesh . . . Due to current laws, Grameen Bank is restricted from operating in urban
areas.
I have hope because of Bangladesh. I wish I could have traveled here 20 years ago to experience
the change. From the descriptions of the people I met, the change has been Bangladesha model
for global turn around; the man sitting next to me on the airplane was convinced that, given ten
years and right national leadership, the country could shine like Malaysia. 59
1.8: Jay Milbrandt's Journal Entries from Bangladesh: Moving the Mountains of
Poverty
How come I have never heard a sermon preached on the elimination of poverty? Christians
frequently talk about giving to those in need or feeding the hungry, but I have yet to hear a sermon
calling for a solution. Here is one to start with, I would like to call it Microcredit and the Mustard
Seed:
One evening just before dusk, we were riding a rickshaw down a narrow road in the village of
Salanga. Suddenly, our guide stopped the driver, had him turn the rickshaw around, and pull up
at a small metal building. Inside, the building was dimly lit with an organic smell and the hum of
57 Grameen Bank: Banking for the Poor, Home Page, http://www.grameen-info.org/ (<http://www.grameen-info.org/>)
(Accessed on December 10, 2007).
58 Jay Milbrandt's Journal Entries from Bangladesh, Pepperdine University JD/MBA alumni, Reprinted with Permission.
59 Ibid

29
a large engine. We met with the owner, Shameen, who had nanced his small business through a
Grameen microloan. Before Grameen, he had nothingbarely enough to feed his familyif that
year's rice harvest was plentiful. After founding and growing his business through Grameen loans,
he started generating income on his own, built a better house, and could aord to send his kids to
school. And his business? Processing mustard seeds.
Matthew 17:20 [from The New International Version, NIV, which is the English translation of the
Christian Bible] tells us that with the faith the size of a mustard seed, we can tell the mountains to
move. I took this verse literally with a good dose of skepticism until this day. Here was a mountain
right in front of us: More than 1 billion people clenched in the st of poverty. In Bangladesh and
throughout the world, millions of people are putting a lot of faith in tiny loansShameen's faith,
ironically, happened to be a mustard seed.
Soon, the entire building was ooded with local people wanting to gaze at the foreigners. Each
of these people was a microcredit borrower. None of them in the chains of poverty. This held true
for practically everyone in the entire village, followed by millions more throughout Bangladesh.
Microcredit was moving the mountain of poverty before my very eyes.
Deuteronomy 15:7-8 says If there is a poor man among you . . . do not be . . . tightsted.
. . .Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs. Is it coincidence that the word
lend is used? I believe microcredit is a sermon that every church should hear. I believe that if
Christians were to join the Muslims and Hindus of Bangladesh in the mustard seed of microcredit,
the mountain would move much faster. 60
1.9: Jay Milbrandt's Journal Entries from Bangladesh: What Third World?
The man staring at me has no shoes or shirt. This seems like the perfect opportunity to capture
the face of the human condition in rural Bangladesh. As I pull out my camera he mirrors me with
none other than a camera phone. I'm photographing him photographing mesomething seems
wrong here.
Earlier in the day, I spontaneously walked out into a rice eld to visit the eld workers. They
were excited to show a foreigner how fast they cut, then give a brief rice cutting lesson. I just about
took a Bengali man's leg othe sickle blade is sharper than it looks. They cut a few sheaths of
rice, then tie the bundle o with one of the stalks. The whole process takes but a few seconds. Rice
harvesting has been done this way here for hundreds of year. Occasionally, I would see a billboard
for a tractor or modern agricultural convenience, but I never saw any of them in action.
Third world technology transfer is an interesting phenomenon. Is a cell phone really what they
need? How about drip irrigation instead? Or maybe a rice harvester?
Grameen created an interesting microenterprise program throughout Bangladesh with village
phone ladies. A woman in each village is allowed to purchase a cell phone through a Grameen
loan. The phone ladies then sell use of their cell phone to other villagers. The result is that the
phone ladies have a very protable business and villages that previously had no phone line at all
now have a modern method of communication. As traveling is dicult for the poor of Bangladesh,
the villagers no longer have to leave if they need to communicate with a relative in another village
or ask a doctor a question. In other villages, the protability of phone ladies has diminished
because a majority of villagers now own a personal cell phone.
It's surprising how someone may not have running water, but own a nicer cell phone than I
do.61
Blog Back 9: Journal
Blog back: Keep a journal of the lessons learned from your own startup time mentor insights.
Go to: http://www.Mentorography.com 62 and post an excerpt of one of your journal entries that is
particularly applicable to someone on an entrepreneurial journey.
60 Ibid
61 Ibid

30
With the Mentor Insights providing strong spokes; this completes the description and elaboration of the
visual model of the Business Eco-system Wheel.

31
Exhibit 1.11: Striking gold
Early-stage entrepreneurs can rejoice when they invest the time and energy to build well thought out
Business Eco-systems. These hard-working, strategic-thinking entrepreneurs increase the chances of creating
a startup that has a real opportunity of potentially striking gold at the end of the rainbow!
1.14 About this author and acknowledgements63

1.14.1 About this author and acknowledgements:
Editor and Author: Molly Lavik, Founder, Mentorography, Inc. & StartupTime Coach,
[email protected] 64 , Professor, Vatel International Business School. Very special thanks to
the Academic Reviewer: Debbi D Brock, William and Kay Moore Professor of Entrepreneurship and Man-
agement, Berea College. Special Thanks to Michael Tanenbaum, Kaushik Shirhatti, and Sumeet Malik my
graduate assistants and my former students, Ann Shafer and Luiz Montoya from Pepperdine University's
Graziadio School of Business and Management who assisted by providing initial research on preliminary ver-
sions of this chapter. Special thanks to my former student Jay Milbrandt for providing his journal. Special
thanks as well to Taissia Belozerova, Graphic Designer, Artist, MBA Candidate at Pepperdine University
Class of 2009. Also, special thanks to Bruce D Buskirk, PhD, Professor of Marketing, Pepperdine Uni-
versity's Graziadio School of Business and Management who co-authored the gratefully acknowledged and
appreciated excerpts provided by Mentorography, Inc. from Entrepreneurial Marketing: Real Stories and
Survival Strategies. Additionally, special thanks to Estelle Holloway.

64 [email protected]

32

Chapter 2
The mind of the entrepreneur: Your
entrepreneurial journey begins by
embarking on your own hero's journey!
2.1 Introduction1
In this chapter we will explore what factors and characteristics are commonly found in an entrepreneurial
mindset. These may be characteristics that you can strive to possess and emulate. Perhaps you may need to
inherit from your parents a certain combination of entrepreneurial characteristics to become an entrepreneur
or perhaps that has absolutely nothing to do with if you are destined to become an entrepreneur. Is an
entrepreneur ultimately born or made? That question has no denite answer. We suggest you meet as many
entrepreneurs as you can to see if this is how you want to spend your life; then decide if you want to train
under these entrepreneurs as an apprentice. You control your own destiny and your life's journey is your
own so you decide!
Review:
In here
2 we discussed the characteristics of an entrepreneur as possessing the following attributes:
Vision: Able to create and communicate an easily understandable mission for what the new venture
does in order to successfully launch a new business. This is accomplished while inspiring others to join you
in your new enterprise.
Creativity: Ability to inject imagination and uniqueness into a new business venture. It takes skill and
ingenuity to create a new venture equipped with strategies to outsmart the competition.
Focus: Able to maintain the vision of the company with unwavering diligence. It's very easy to get
sidetracked especially if you nd it necessary to evolve the original vision. Ironically, we have encountered
many successful entrepreneurs who get bored easily...
Passion: Desiring to succeed under your own steam [initiative] on a business venture...
Drive: Possessing intrinsic energy to accomplish the business goal even in the face of adversity.
Perseverance: Able to keep going even when faced with seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
Opportunistic Nature: Sees the possibilities even before they exist. Can take advantage of an upcom-
ing trend or unite unrelated processes to create a unique business venture...
Problem Solving Ability : Thrives on coming up with solutions to complex challenges...
Self-discipline: Able to be organized and regimented in pursuit of a successful business venture.
Frugality: Knows how to stretch every cent so that expenditures are as low as possible.
2 "empty" <http://cnx.org/content/m35295/latest/>

33
CHAPTER 2. THE MIND OF THE ENTREPRENEUR: YOUR
34 ENTREPRENEURIAL JOURNEY BEGINS BY EMBARKING ON YOUR
OWN HERO'S JOURNEY!
Empathy: Able to put yourself in another's shoes and therefore able to show sensitivity and under-
standing of what others are communicating in the start up environment...
Social Responsibility : Ethics, caring and humanitarianism are characteristics that are commonly found
in today's entrepreneurs...
Spirituality: We have found that successful entrepreneurs have often devoted time to spirituality de-
velopment. Meditation and positive armations are two common examples of spirituality.
Good Timing: Able to identify a market opportunity and know when it is the optimum time to launch
a new venture or expansion of an existing enterprise.
Luck: Can a person be predisposed to be lucky: Is luck a human behavior or a karmic universal
predisposition?3
In this chapter we begin by introducing you to Costa Roussos, a young entrepreneur from the country
of Cypress who is creating a global music empire. We will share his story through an interview that Molly
Lavik conducted with him and look at his entrepreneurial tendencies and attributes. Then it is your turn
to take the Entrepreneur Assessment Survey which can be used as one indication of measuring your own
entrepreneurial mindset. However, it should be noted that a true entrepreneur would never rely on a survey
to determine how worthy or ready they are to become an entrepreneur. A true entrepreneur would simply
begin implementing his or her start up idea.
True story: Costa Roussos was one of my students several years ago and immediately I noticed something
quite dierent from Costa and that was his focus on starting a music company. It seems to take a certain type
of person to start a new venture because you do not have the security and structure of a more established
company not to mention the challenges of inspiring others to join your unproven venture and to help you
meet their deadlines associated with a new business. Do you have the type of mindset that Costa seems
to possess to get him through the many setbacks and challenges that faced him or any entrepreneur in the
making? If you are not sure do not worry. When the timing seems right you will know if an entrepreneurial
journey is your destiny. And you might even become a hero to someone or maybe even an entire group of
people such as how you will soon read Costa is becoming a hero to the independent music artist and music
listening enthusiast. This is your future we are talking about and it's your decision if you have a hero's
journey ahead!
As you read Costa's story pay particular attention to the characteristics described as his entrepreneurial
mindset. Do you possess some of the same characteristics? Read Costa's story to nd out.
http://www.startuptime.com/costamusicus.html 4
Do you possess any of the entrepreneurial mindset characteristics that Costa has?
Blog Back 10: Your Mindset
Blog Back: Go to http://www.Mentorography.com 5 and post your own entrepreneurial mindset char-
acteristics.
Still not sure if you are an entrepreneur or if you may some day have your own hero's journey ahead?
Try taking the Entrepreneur Assessment Survey but remember, this does not mean if you have the tendency
or not, again only you get to decide if you want to go on your own entrepreneurial journey. No one or no
survey can tell you that.
2.2 Entrepreneur assessment survey6

2.2.1 Entrepreneur assessment survey
Directions: Please circle your personal response to each question. Please be sure to go with the answer that
is your rst choice if and when you are in doubt of how to respond.
3 The Mindset of an Entrepreneur is reprinted and adapted with permission from Mentorography, Inc. ©
2008. All Rights
Reserved. Entrepreneurial Marketing; Real Stories and Survival Strategies by Molly Lavik and Bruce Buskirk, introduction
pages xxviii-xxx.
4 http://www.startuptime.com/costamusicus.html

35
1) Do you have an issue that is a major driving force behind your professional goals in life?
Yes Undecided No
2) Would you describe yourself as the type of person who gives up easily when faced with adversity?
Yes Undecided No
3) Do people who have known you since childhood describe you as the type of person who gives up easily
when faced with adversity?
Yes Undecided No
4) Have you been successful in the past convincing others to help you to accomplish your goals?
Yes Undecided No
5) Do you have a desire to make the world a better place that is a stronger goal for you then your desire
to earn money?
Yes Undecided No
6) Have you considered becoming an entrepreneur?
Yes Undecided No
7) Have you spent a substantial amount of time in your life considering what type of legacy you would
like to leave?
Yes Undecided No
8) When trying to raise support for an idea, do you ever start by identifying people to form alliances with
who may be sympathetic to your goal?
Yes Undecided No
9) If you were busy with a deadline for work and or school would you miss completing this deadline on
time because you gave your own new venture/start up/new product idea a higher priority?
Yes Undecided No
10) Will you use your score on this test to ultimately help determine if you should become an entrepreneur?
Yes Undecided No
11) How many of the entrepreneurial mindset characteristics do you possess? Give yourself 1 point for
each of the characteristics you possess from the list below.
Yes Undecided No
Total Score for characteristics:
2.2.1.1 Some key characteristics of an entrepreneurial mindset

In here7 some characteristics of an entrepreneurial mindset were shared; here are additional characteristics
and or similar characteristics to also consider.
Mentor Method 2
Humanitarian Organizing movements that can take many forms including campaigns, drives, gra
Worth 1 Point crusades for the express purpose of providing altruistic or charitable support.
Add 1 Point
Visionary Possessing the ability to potentially dene the future by making bold unsubstantiat
Worth 1 Point great deal of imagination and foresight in the process.
Add 1 Point

OWN HERO'S JOURNEY!
Values-centered Demonstrating worthwhile qualities of leadership that are lawful, ethical, considerate,
Worth 1 Point
Add 1 Point
Change-oriented Adopting a leadership style that attempts to transform the status quo by creating a n
Worth 1 Point tasks.
Add 1 Point
Self-reliant Depending on yourself to develop solutions for the problem or challenge at hand.
Worth 1 Point
Add 1 Point
Persuasive Able to convince others that the new organizations' mission and goals are viable and
Worth 1 Point
Add 1 Point
Hyper-focused Maintaining uninterrupted attention and concentration directed at implementing the
Worth 1 Point
Add 1 Point
Passion Having a tremendous amount of enthusiasm and excitement over the mission and goa
Worth 1 Point
Add 1 Point
Energetic Demonstrating an innite amount of drive and an enterprising nature toward accomp
Worth 1 Point When starting a new organization especially when starting a social enterprise, it requ
Add 1 Point all the objectives especially given that social enterprises usually require volunteer sta
beyond the standard needs of a traditional, long-established company.
Table 2.1
12) Ask someone who has known you since you were a child how many of the entrepreneurial mindset
characteristics they think you possess? Give yourself 1 point for each of the characteristics they feel
you possess.
Total Score for characteristics:
2.2.1.2 Answer key

Answer key for entrepreneur assessment survey
Directions: Please circle your personal response to each question. Please be sure to go with the answer
that is your rst choice if and when you are in doubt of how to respond.
1) Do you have an issue that is a major driving force behind your professional goals in life? Yes Undecided
No
Score: Ten points for Yes, 0 points for Undecided and No.
Reason: One of the rst steps toward creating a new company is to have a major reason or issue for
your new venture's mission or goal.
2) Would you describe yourself as the type of person who gives up easily when faced with adversity? Yes
Undecided No
Score: Ten points for No and 0 points for Yes and Undecided.
Reason: You have to be able to continue through all the setbacks to be successful and ultimately enjoy
being a social entrepreneur.
3) Do people who have known you since childhood describe you as the type of person who gives up easily
when faced with adversity? Yes Undecided No

37
Score: Ten points for No and 0 points for Undecided and Yes.
Reason: It typically takes a track record in life of dealing successfully with adversity to build up the
condence and credibility that comes with a No answer for this question.
4) Have you been successful in the past convincing others to help you to accomplish your goals? Yes
Undecided No
Score: Ten points for Yes and 0 points for Undecided and No.
Reason: New ventures do not have the funding to aord the sta to get work accomplished. Resource-
fulness is the key to succeeding and one must possess the ability to attract and retain volunteers and
non-paid experienced help at rst to get the tasks completed.
5) Do you have a desire to make the world a better place that is a stronger goal for you then your desire
to earn money? Yes Undecided No
Reason: Entrepreneurs are driven by their need to create societal wealth vs self-wealth. This desire
takes precedent and priority over other goals. This does not mean that someday you might not derive
a nancial bonanza for the work you have been doing associated with the start up. It just means that
is not what drives you today.
6) Have you considered becoming an entrepreneur? Yes Undecided No
Reason: Even if it was a subconscious or passing thought, usually you have to have some propensity
or interest toward becoming an entrepreneur for it to be your destiny.
7) Have you spent a substantial amount of time in your life considering what type of legacy you would
like to leave? Yes Undecided No
Reason: Perhaps your legacy is something to be considered in later years. With that said it is never
too soon to begin considering what type of footprint you may want to leave. If you have considered
trying to leave a legacy of making the world a better place then you may a hero's journey as your
entrepreneurial path for future.
8) When trying to raise support for an idea, do you ever start by identifying people to form alliances with
whom maybe sympathetic to your goal? Yes Undecided No
Reason: One of the best ways to increase your chances of being a successful entrepreneur is to enhance
your credibility by forging strategic alliances and partnerships with others.
9) If you were busy with a deadline for work and or school would you miss completing this deadline on
time because you gave your own new venture/start/new product idea a higher priority? Yes Undecided
No
Score: Ten points for No and 0 points for Yes or undecided.
Reason: This may appear to be a trick question. A values-centered leader would not sacrice one
important commitment for another even if it was to help a social enterprise. Part of starting a new
company is demonstrating ethical and honest business leadership.
10) Will you use your score on this test to ultimately help determine if you should become an entrepreneur
Yes Undecided No
Score: Ten points for No and 0 points for Yes and Undecided.
Reason: The truth of the matter is that if you are really meant to be an entrepreneur you do not
need a test and or survey to tell you this. In fact; a true entrepreneur does not depend on others to
make their decisions. Only you know your destiny; do not let anyone tell you what you can and can't
accomplish in life because statistically speaking they would not really know.
11) How many of the entrepreneurial mindset characteristics do you possess?Give yourself 1 point for each
of the characteristics you possess. Total Score for characteristics: The goal is to score a ten for this
question. Many entrepreneurs embody these entrepreneurial mindset characteristics.
12) How many of the entrepreneurial mindset characteristics do you possess? Give yourself 1 point for
each of the characteristics you possess.

OWN HERO'S JOURNEY!
Total Score for characteristics: The goal is once again to score a ten for this question as explained above.
If it turns out that you have a very dierent score for your self-assessment of this question in comparison
to what someone who has known you all your life then you need to come to an understanding why others
perceive you dierently then you perceive your own interests. Perhaps you are repressing or camouaging
your true interests or maybe you have changed. The reason for the dierence isn't as important as making
sure you are aware of your own interests.
Score:
• A score of 120-110 may mean that you know that you want to become an entrepreneur and you should
begin working out a strategic plan to make your goals a reality and to begin your own hero's journey.
• A score of 109-90 may mean that you most likely want to become an entrepreneur and you should
begin thinking of this possibility to give yourself a further self-assessment of your interests.
• A score of 89 or lower may mean that you probably are not going to be an entrepreneur but as
mentioned before; do not let this assessment be the nal or even partial determination; the choice is
clearly your own to make.
Blog Back 11: Start-up Story

Blog back: Post a story or interview with an entrepreneur who possesses some of the entrepreneurial
mindset characteristics you hope to develop in yourself at: http://www.Mentorography.com 8 . Whether you
possess condence in your own entrepreneurial mindset or hope to enhance or inspire further development
there are resources and things you can do today to build your entrepreneurial mindset!
2.3 Entrepreneurial mindset enhancing activities9

2.3.1 Entrepreneurial mindset enhancing activities
• Set up a Google Alert for the key words: entrepreneurial mindset at http://www.google.com/alerts 10
. A Google Alert is a query of key words and allows you to receive in your e-mail inbox a list of all the
stories to be posted on the Internet that day associated with your key word. You can set the alert to
come to you immediately, daily or weekly.
• Discuss with entrepreneurs what attributes they possess that make these founders particularly adept
at starting new ventures. When you talk with these visionary individuals be on the look out for
unique characteristics that they people possess.
• Take some time and consider today what you want your lasting legacy to be and who you will accomplish
those goals. Keep a diary of this journey and try when possible to have journal entries about what
type of entrepreneurial characteristics you are developing to help you achieve your legacy goals.
• Do not let others dene your entrepreneurial journey! You know who you are and who you want to
be. The naysayers will always be around to try to prevent you from starting a new venture. Learn
to listen to your gut.
• Seek out educational programs and literature that will help you better develop your own entrepreneurial
characteristics. Make a list of the attributes you do not yet possess and then develop a plan of action
to achieve adding these entrepreneurial characteristics to your own personality traits.
• Schedule time every day for 30 minutes to keep rening your entrepreneurial characteristics and guring
out how to enhance your entrepreneurial personality. Many people think that what you spend time
thinking about will become ultimately your own reality.
• While each of you are from dierent countries and cultures there are some places that often will provide
resources for rst-time entrepreneurs.
These places include:

10 http://www.google.com/alerts

39
• Small business associations

• Banks, nancial institutions, and micro-credit agencies
• Educational Facilities
• Business related NGOs
• Libraries
• Community Redevelopment Agencies
• Most family and friends for moral support
• The Internet when using the right search terms associated with developing and or enhancing your
entrepreneurial mindset.
Now you are ready to go out and potentially create your own hero's journey
2.4 Chapter summary11

In Section 2.1 titled, The mind of the entrepreneur, we reviewed the characteristics of an entrepreneurial
mindset that were covered in Chapter 1, shared the story and entrepreneurial mindset attributes of Costa
Roussos during his start up journey with Music.us followed by sharing with you the Entrepreneur Assessment
Survey and answer key ending Section 2.1 with a list of entrepreneurial mindset enhancing activities so that
you can begin embarking on your own hero's journey.
Blog Back 12: Hero Post
Blog back: Post entries from your journal regarding your thoughts about your own journey.
Then
read what others have posted. Do you see anyone who you think is on his or her way toward
becoming a hero? Post your thoughts and comments on entrepreneurial mindset characteristics at
http://www.Mentorography.com 12 .


OWN HERO'S JOURNEY!

Chapter 3
Business models and marketing:an
overview
3.1 Learning Objectives1
• how to build and implement a successful business model
• understand the importance of a company to be market vs product oriented in a developing country
• how to identify consumers' wants successfully
• understand Porter's 5 forces of Industry Attractiveness
• how to perform a Market Research study
3.2 What is a business model?2

Business models can be approached from two perspectives. A general perspective denes a business model
as any type of conceptual framework explaining how to organize and evolve a business venture. On the other
hand, specic circumstances guide business modeling. For instance, industries such as tourism, banking in
the services sector, or automobile or shoe manufacturing demand specic models that take into account
critical variables found within the industry's specic environment.
One denition from the general perspective is provide by Alex Osterwalder:
A business model is a conceptual tool that contains a set of elements and their relationships
and allows expressing the business logic of a specic rm. It is a description of the value a
company oers to one or several segments of customers and of the architecture of the rm and its
network of partners for creating, marketing, and delivering this value and relationship capital, to
generate protable and sustainable revenue streams. (Osterwalder 2005, http://business-model-
design.blogspot.com/2005/11/what-is-business-model.html
3 . Accessed November 25, 2007).
Models are simplied representations of things in the real world. You are already familiar with many
kinds of models. You have played with a model air plane or boat when you were a child. You may have seen
models of buildings, dams, or other construction projects built by architects to show the sponsors of a project
how a completed building will look after it is built. In the same way, a business model lets an entrepreneur
try out dierent ways to put together the components of his or her business and evaluate various options
3 http://business-model-design.blogspot.com/2005/11/what-is-business-model.html

41
42 CHAPTER 3. BUSINESS MODELS AND MARKETING:AN OVERVIEW
before implementing the one that looks the best. This technique is especially important in today's business
environment, where technology gives business people so many more options than ever before.
Osterwalder goes on to say:
For managers and executives this means that they have a whole new range of ways to design their
businesses, which results in innovative and competing business models in the same industries.
Before it used to be sucient to say in what industry you were for somebody to understand
what your company was doing because all players had the same business model. Today it is
not sucient to choose a lucrative industry, but you must design a competitive business model.
In addition increased competition and rapid copying of successful business models forces all the
players to continuously innovate their business model to gain and sustain a competitive edge.
Based on his search of the literature, Osterwalder lists nine building blocks for managers to use in
developing an innovative and eective business model. We list them, along with some comments of our own:
• The value proposition of what is oered to the market; We have covered this issue earlier in the
chapter in general, and with specic reference to how Porter's analytical tools can assist managers in
generating a viable value proposition that consumers perceive as one that is superior to what is oered
by the competition.
• The target customer segments addressed by the value proposition; Managers soon learn that they
cannot be all things to all people, that what appeals to one segment of the market will not appeal to
another. We will discuss this in more detail later in this chapter.
• The communication and distribution channels to reach customers and oer the value proposition;
This issue relates to two of the four P's (promotion and place) we discussed briey when we discussed
the marketing mix. For example, do we promote the business by word of mouth, signs on a storefront,
ads in a newspaper, ads on TV, ads on the Internet, or some combination of all of these? Place refers
to where the product or service is made available to the customer. The three usual choices are in a
store, through a mail-order catalog, or from an Internet website.
• The relationships established with customers; In general, however, the important point is not just
to acquire customers, but to serve them in a way that your business retains them as customers. For
example, it is usually much more expensive to attract a new customer to your business than it is for
you to encourage a previous customer to return.
• The core capacities needed to make the business model possible; This point refers to the necessity
to dene the basic capabilities your business must have. For example, if you are opening an art gallery
to sell your own work, you had better have some talent as an artist!
• The conguration of activities to implement the business model; Another way of stating this is
to dene the business processes that your business must have in order to function properly.
• The partners and their motivations of coming together to make a business model happen; Partner-
ships and alliances are increasingly important in today's world.
• The revenue streams generated by the business model constituting the revenue model; In essence,
this is the Price component of the Four P's. Where does your revenue come from, what are the
projections for the future, and what are the plans to sustain the necessary revenue stream as business
conditions change?
• The cost structure resulting of the business model. The dierence between revenues and costs, of
course, is your prot. Without a prot, it will not be possible for you to stay in business very long.
3.2.1 Examples of successful business models

It may be helpful to illustrate the concept of business models with two examples, McDonalds and CEMEX.
In the case of McDonalds, it operates franchises all over the world. Franchises are proven and successful
business models whose business model prescription" is successful within the country of origin and even
overseas. Dominating the hamburger fast food market, McDonalds' franchise model has also proven to be

The focus of the balance of this section will be to review the main issues companies must consider in
order to successfully implement and test a business model.
3.2.2 Model implementation/testing pre-requisites
A model must have the following pre-requisites in order to implement and test it:
1. A company owner/sponsor: Organizational models must manifest themselves as a cascading eect
emanating from top to bottom. Therefore, the sponsor must either be the head of the company or
other high level executive. Usually sponsors are identied as the head of a company department.
2. Sound budget: Testing a business model will always require funds. The amount provided must be the
one demanded by the model to test it, no more and no less.
3. Leader: This is especially important since he/she will be the authority or responsible person who
will get results.
4. Qualied human resources: The leader gets to choose his/her team. This an important point since the
leader must look for the key individuals who are up to the test and have the necessary expertise to
successfully implement and test a business model.
5. Eective training: With all the above accomplished, the nal part of the pre-requisites is training. A
business model automated or manually developed, must be operated by human beings, therefore these
persons who will actually test and operate the model must have no doubts and be convinced about the
model's processes and the benets of working accordingly to the business model.
3.2.3 Real expectations outcome: benets

Usually companies have a tendency to be very optimistic about outcomes when a business model is tested.
Companies must be balanced between being aggressive and demanding about the model benets and be
realistic when evaluating outcomes of the test. The main benets to show when a business model is tested
must be outlined around the next three aspects.
Economical: They must reect tangible economical benets, such as: cost reductions or sales increases.
Process: They must improve connections between the company's value chain activities such as production,
maintenance, procurement, nance, human resources, etc. so they are better coordinated and decision making
processes are more eective and timely.
Practice: They must improve the work ow of how things are done in the company. These improvements
can be translated into creating better historical data for a company e.g. real time inventory transactions
from a plant warehouse, or complete and accurate recording of a maintenance job performed on a specic
item of plant equipment. This creates a more accurate data set, later used as important information to make
decisions.
3.3 Success factors4

Once the benets have been shown, the next step is to preserve them. In order to do so, the following success
factors must be kept in mind.
1. Have the appropriate leadership. Person(s) that can make well based and quick decisions to assure the
continuity of the model once it has been implemented.
2. Create an internal environment of quick and exible response. All departments of the company must
be exible and adjust quickly to events
3. Have integrative indicators and measurements. This is a model thermometer, one that will indicate if
everything is going smoothly according to expectations or not. The indicators will show warning signs
in order to take corrective action.

45
4. Have corrective actions or model adjustments. Learn from actual results by quickly adjusting and
evolving the business model in an integrative way, being coherent, sound and aligned with the company
vision.
3.3.1 Conclusions
After seeing what a business model is and the required issues involved in having a successful business model
test and implementation; companies must keep in mind that there is no one time testing of a model and
guarantees of success in the business world. In our era, businesses are dynamical propelled by technology
that change constantly as we move more and more into a more global world. The keys for companies to
succeed are to be always focused and to be exible enough to adjust its business model quickly and eectively
according to the changing demands of customers and markets.
One of the most important functions that companies can have to anticipate competitive threats and to
recognize evolving market opportunities is to have a continuing competitive intelligence function within the
company. Management failures are frequently associated with the inability to anticipate rapid changes in the
markets, respond to new and proliferating competition, or re-orient technologies and the strategic direction
of their business toward changing customer needs and new industry standards. Competitive intelligence is
an important function in today's rapidly changing business environment.
3.4 Consumer marketing models5

The formal use of marketing concepts is a fairly recent activity in developing economies. In the past, most
companies focused on producing products or oering services without much emphasis on customers and
wants. Understanding consumer behavior was not considered to be important. The emphasis was on the
product or service per se. Given the emergence of a global economy, however, which brought the opening
of markets and increased competition, the traditional approach has changed dramatically. Companies are
increasingly focusing on what customers need and/or want. Market-oriented companies are beginning to
emerge in every developing economy in the world.
The purpose of this section is to introduce you to the importance of marketing oriented companies in
developing economies, as well as identifying business models which follow a marketing model
rather than
aproduct model .
3.4.1 The product model vs the marketing model

According to Philip Kotler, the product model is a management orientation that assumes that if a quality
product is produced, and oered to consumers at a price they nd to be acceptable, the company will
be successful in the market place. Another author who successfully introduced a marketing orientation is
Theodore Levitt. His orientation is sometimes referred as a marketing myopia approach since companies
dene their business in terms of products and not in terms of customer needs and wants. For example, a car
manufacturer may think they are in the car business while they are, in fact, competing in the transportation
industry.
Under the product model, management focuses on developing high quality products which can be sold at
the right price, but with insucient attention to what it is that customers really need and want. For example,
Apple determined that what customers wanted was the ability to purchase music one song at a time rather
than purchase an entire CD with 16 tracks, only three of which were really wanted. They subsequently
developed and introduced the iPod and iTunes online store which revolutionized the way consumers buy
music. In the meantime, traditional producers of traditional CDs lost market share to Apple, which had a
much better understanding of how to satisfy consumers.
The premises implicit in the product model are:

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
47
Value is created by increasing benets to the customers. For this reason, benets is specied in the
numerator of this equation (the higher the benets, the higher the perceived value by the customer); on the
other hand, price is placed in the denominator since the higher the price the lower the perceived value.
Now you must understand how value is created for your customers. To do so, managers use a technique
called the Marketing Mix (commonly called the four Ps)
• Product: What is the product/satisfactor that best fullls my customer's needs?

• Price: What should be the appropriate price for this product that reects not only its cost but also its
benets to compete with other products in the same segment or substitute products?
• Place: In what markets should the company oer the product?
• Promotion: How should the company promote the product or satisfactor?
One of the main advantages of the marketing model approach is that the company tries to be near the
customer's needs by understanding them and therefore developing products that fulll or exceed them in
the best possible way. On the other hand, and especially in developing economies, the main disadvantage of
this model is the cost in obtaining the information needed to understand the customer.
3.6 Identifying market needs7

As mentioned previously, the essence of applying the marketing model lies in the nding of needs and lling
them wisely. We will assess this issue of Identifying market needs by introducing a conceptual framework
known as Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs .
This model focuses in the psychological features that explain the basic dimensions of human needs.
3.6.1 Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, a staple of sociology and psychology courses, provides a useful framework for
understanding how and why local products and brands are being selected and additionally how they can be
extended beyond home country borders. Maslow hypothesized that people's desires can be arranged into
a hierarchy of ve needs. As an individual fulls needs at each level, he or she progresses to higher levels
(see Exhibit 3 Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs). At the most basic level of human existence, physiological and
safety needs must be met. People need food, clothing, and shelter, and a product that meets these basic
needs has potential for introduction into a specic market. However, the basic human need to consume food
and liquids is not the same thing as wanting or preferring a hamburger and a soft drink.
An additional consideration is that preferences are deeply embedded in local cultures. Responding to
such dierences has required the creation of products and brands for specic regional or country markets.
Mid-level needs in the hierarchy include self-respect, self-esteem, and the esteem of others. These social
needs, which can create a powerful internal motivation, driving demand for status-oriented products, cut
across the various stages of country development.
Luxury goods marketers are especially skilled at catering to esteem needs
on a global basis. Some
consumers aunt their wealth by buying expensive products and brands that others will notice. Such
behaviour is referred to as conspicuous consumption or luxury badging
. Any company with a
premium product or brand that has proven itself in a local market by fullling esteem needs should consider
devising a strategy for taking the product global.

Exhibit 3.3: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Source: http://www.provenmodels.com/19/image8
3.6.2 Identifying customer's wants successfully

A process to determine the actual needs of consumers requires the identication of the market factors that
produce them. In this process companies should nd real consumption motivators that eventually evolve
into product oerings. Furthermore, a correct business denition leads to a natural market orientation; for
instance, Charles Revson famous quote in the factory we make cosmetics; in the drug store we sell hope
(www.thinkexist.com) made possible for the company to develop cosmetic products based on women's hopes
rather than product features. Several potential pitfalls should be avoided. First, the natural tendency to
impose a personal point of view when launching a new product or entering a new market. Second, simple
imitation about competitors' moves. Third, lack of sucient research and market knowledge to produce
market proved ideas. A framework has been proposed to align customer's needs and wants with companies
capabilities. This framework was introduced by Sherri Dorfman in her 2005 marketing article entitled What
do Customers Really, Really Want.
In the article aforementioned, Dorfman proposes a three-step process to develop a natural market orien-
tation:
Step 1. Discovery: Finding out what customers really need To learn about customer needs and priorities, to
identify opportunities in the company to fulll these needs, and to create new or enhanced product
oerings. These ideas must be incorporated in a market research process involving customers and other
clients and suppliers in the Value Chain.
Step 2. Denition : Shaping the oerings to meet customer needs In this step, Dorfman proposes prioritizing
features and benets identied by clients, suppliers, and customers. Dierent qualitative research
techniques such as in-depth interviews, ethnographies, and focus group sessions permit the identication
of the core market needs.
Step 3. Validation : Insuring your oerings t into your customer's world. Further communication with
consumers validate the nal denition of a market based product or service. This validation takes
place as prototypes are assessed by consumers to identify potential problems and to smooth out design
issues.
8 http://www.provenmodels.com/19/image

49
All these models take into account the so-called end consumer perspective, which implies that consumers
buying, using, or recommending the products are the driving force behind successful marketing eorts.
However, there are other marketing perspectives that assume that organizations of many sorts, given
their importance in the overall size of the global economy are the real forces behind markets' success. This
implies that marketing eorts should be aimed at understanding their behaviour as consumption entities,
and use this knowledge to develop marketing strategies.
3.7 Business to business marketing models9

3.7.1 Models of industry attractiveness; the strategic perspective
In order to be successful in business, we must understand what our customer's needs and wants are and
deliver them in an ecient and protable manner. In order to do so, we must also understand the industries
in which the companies are immersed and what makes them attractive from the general point of view.
Industry attractiveness was initially described by Michael Porter in his book, Competitive Strategy
(Porter 1980). Porter's well-known Five Forces Model is often used as an analytical tool by companies
when they are deciding whether or not to enter a particular industry. According to Porter, what makes an
industry attractive or unattractive is determined by 5 forces:
1. Rivalry: This force is measured by how intense the rivalry/competition relationship in an industry is.
The factors aecting rivalry are: number of competitors, slow market growth, low levels of product
dierentiation, how aggressive competing companies are, etc. For example, retailing has always had
the reputation of being a highly competitive industry, while the rail road industry is thought to be less
competitive.
2. Threat of substitutes: In Porter's model, substitute products refer to products that can be substituted
for your own. Substitute products can be found within own or other industries. For example, if you
decide to start an inter-city bus company, you have to consider all the other options your customers
have to get from one city to another, for instance, city trains, small shuttle service, shared private cars,
among others.
3. Buyer power: The power of buyers is the impact that customers have on a producing industry. In
general, when buyer power is strong, the buyer has the ability to set the price because usually there
are very few buyers and many suppliers. Grain farmers are often used as an example. In most countries,
there are many small farmers who grow grain, but few large buyers who have the power to set the price
a farmer receives.
4. Barriers to entry: Barriers to entry are unique oerings of companies in an industry that any company
wishing to enter that industry must be prepared to overcome. Examples from developed economies are
online banking and ATM services for banks and frequent yer programs for airlines. In many cases,
development of these expected products or services is quite expensive for a new entrant, and, thus, it
s a barrier to entry.
5. Supplier power: Suppliers are powerful when there are few suppliers for a company to purchase neces-
sary items from. In a situation where there are few suppliers, it is typically dicult for a buyer to get
a lower price from another supplier. An example is the oil industry, where they are many buyers, but
relatively few suppliers, and most of the suppliers are members of the OPEC cartel which sets common
production quotas, thereby controlling the market price for oil.
Michael Porter developed two other tools that are widely used by organizations in their approach to markets:
Three Generic Strategies and the Value Chain.
Porter postulated that a rm should adopt only one of three generic strategies. They are illustrated in :

Exhibit 3.4: Source: http://www.provenmodels.com/27/image10
A rm can choose to be the low cost producer for a wide segment of the market; it can oer a dierentiated
product for a wide segment that customers are willing to pay more for because of its perceived greater value;
or it can focus on a market niche as a low cost producer or with a dierentiation strategy. For example, the
original Volkswagen automobile focused in a broad low-cost market. As a matter of fact, the word in German
means Peoples Car, indicating it was meant to be aordable by everyone. A good example of a dierentiated
automobile is the BMW. People pay more for a BMW because of the conspicuous consumption or luxury
badging aspects they have managed to create in peoples' minds, not necessarily because the BMW is
actually worth 30 per cent more than a comparable automobile from Cadillac or Nissan. An example of a
car positioned towards a low cost niche is the Mazda Miata, a two-seat sports car that costs much less than
comparable cars. Finally, you can consider the Hummer as a car that appeals to a dierentiated market
niche.
Porter's other widely-used tool is the Value Chain, which is used to model the rm as a chain of value-
creating activities or processes. Porter identied a set of interrelated generic processes common to a wide
range of rms. He divided them into primary activities and support activities, as illustrated in Exhibit 3.5.
10 http://www.provenmodels.com/27/image

51
Exhibit 3.5: Value chain

Source: http://www.provenmodels/26/image11
The primary activities in the value chain are: inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing
and sales, and service. The support activities are procurement, technology development and research and
development, human resource management, and rm infrastructure (top management). The primary value
chain activities are interrelated, to the extent that they can be formed with high quality and low cost, the
rm will be able to have value-added that will be returned to the rm as prot. As an example of the way
that primary value activities are interrelated, suppose that the inbound logistics process does not do well in
identifying raw materials of poor quality. This will cause problems with the next process, operations, and it
may cause problems as far down the value chain as service after the sale. The value chain is, thus, a useful
tool for analysing a company's business processes and searching for ways to lower costs, improve eciency
or search for process innovations.
3.7.2 Other Strategic Models

There are many other strategic models used by companies to help them formulate their overall business and
marketing strategies. Three of best known models are the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, the
McKinsey Matrix, and Larry Downe three forces. Each of these models is described below.
11 http://www.provenmodels/26/image

3.7.2.1 The BCG matrix
The BCG matrix method is based on the product life cycle theory that can be used to determine what
priorities should be given in the product portfolio of a Strategic Business Unit (SBU). To ensure long-term
value creation, a company should have a portfolio of products that contains both high-growth products in
need of cash inputs and low-growth products that generate a lot of cash. This model can be explained in
two dimensions: relative market share and market growth. The basic idea behind this model is that the
larger the market share a product has relative to its competitors or the faster the product's market grows,
the better it is for the company in an economic sense. The key components of the matrix are illustrated in
Exhibit 3.6 and discussed below:
Exhibit 3.6: BDG Matrix

Source: http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/matrix/bcg/12
1. Stars (high market growth, high relative market share). These are products that require large amounts
of cash and are also leaders in the business and therefore they should also generate large amounts of
cash. They are frequently roughly in balance on net cash ow.
2. Cash Cows (low market growth, high relative market share). These are products that generate high
amounts of prot and cash, and because of the low growth, investments needed should be low.
3. Given its characteristics, companies should avoid and minimize the number of products in this category.
If the product does not deliver cash, it may be discontinued.
4. Question Marks (high market growth, low relative market share). These products have the worst
cash characteristics of all, because of high cash demands and low returns due to low market share. If
nothing is done to change the market share, question marks will simply absorb great amounts of cash
and later, as the growth stops, it may become a dog. So, managers should either invest heavily in order
to improve market share, or sell o/invest nothing and generate whatever cash is possible.
12 http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/matrix/bcg/

53
3.7.2.2 The McKinsey matrix

The McKinsey matrix is a later and more advanced form of the BCG Matrix. It has several dierences with
BCG's matrix, as discussed below. It is illustrated in Exhibit 6.
Exhibit 3.7: McKinsey Matrix

Source: http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/matrix/bcg/13
1. Market (Industry) attractiveness replaces market growth as the dimension of industry attractiveness.
Market attractiveness includes a broader range of factors other than just the market growth rate that
can determine the attractiveness of an industry/market. For example, market attractiveness could be
determined using Porter's ve forces model.
2. Competitive strength replaces market share as the dimension by which the competitive position of each
Strategic Business Unit is assessed. Competitive strength likewise includes a broader range of factors
other than just the market share that can determine the competitive strength of a Strategic Business
Unit.
3. Finally the McKinsey matrix works with a 3x3 grid, while the BCG Matrix has only 2x2. This also
allows for more insight in the analysis of the business.
3.7.2.3 Downes' three new forces

Larry Downes (1999) identies three new forces that require a totally dierent perspective towards a strategic
framework and a set of very dierent analytic and business design tools: digitalization, globalization, and
deregulation.
Digitalization: As the power of information technology grows, all players in a market will have access to
far more information. Thus, totally new business models will emerge in which even players from outside the
industry are able to vastly change the basis of competition in a market. Downes gives the example of the rise
of electronic shopping malls, operated for instance by telecom operators or credit card organizations. Those
13 http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/matrix/bcg/

who use the Five Forces Model and who base their thinking on today's industry structure would never see
these changes coming in time.
Globalization: Improvements in distribution logistics and communications have allowed nearly all busi-
nesses to buy, sell, and cooperate on a global level. Customers, meanwhile, have the chance to shop around
and compare prices globally. As a result, even locally oriented mid-sized companies nd themselves in a
global market, even if they do not export or import themselves. In addition, global and networked markets
impose new requirements on organizations' strategies. It is not enough any more to position oneself as
a price-leader or quality-leader (as Porter suggests in his Generic Strategies model). Rather, competitive
advantages emerge now from the ability to develop lasting relationships to more mobile custumers and to
manage far-reaching networks of partners for mutual advantage.
Deregulation: The past decade has seen a dramatic shrinking of government inuence in many industries
like airlines, communications, utilities, and banking in the US and in Europe. Fueled by the new opportunities
provided by information technology, organizations in these industries were able and forced to completely
restructure their businesses and to be on the lookout for new opportunities and competitive threats. For
example, traditional land line telephone companies that did not enter the wireless telephony market found
themselves with a shrinking customer base. This is because young people frequently use only cell phones
now and do not bother to have a land line phone in their homes.

While each of these models (and others we have not covered) have their own strengths and weaknesses, what
organizations must learn is how to best utilize each of them. Porter still is the best known authority in
strategy models and complemented with Downes' digital age model works well for many companies. BCG's
Matrix and Mckinsey's Matrix help diagnose the dimensions in a product's life cycle. They are all tools, and
just as a workman has many tools in his tool kit, so managers must have many tools in theirs, and know
when to use the right tool in a given situation.
3.1: Establishing that a market exists: Market research
Understanding the market's needs, competitors' strategies, and to obtain information for decision
making, it is imperative to do market research. Next, we will introduce a case that demonstrates
the value of market research to any rm willing to spend time and resources using it. After this
example is introduced, two sections are developed. One, introducing the market research process,
and second, the general guidelines on how to conduct a market research study.
A Candy Store Company with subsidiaries in New York and other large cities in US was inter-
ested in opening a store in Monterrey, Mexico.
The New York subsidiary is located in one of the most visited areas of Manhattan. It is housed
on three oors, a huge locale focused on selling all type of candies. Every oor has a thematic
decoration, characters, and games, depending on the type of candies sold on that oor. Inside they
even have a coee shop. They employ a high price strategy, and most of their visitors are tourists
(a dierentiated niche in Porter's Three Generic Strategies model).
The plan for the store located in Monterrey was recently completed. It will be a big store, almost
the same size as the one in New York, with high prices and focused on high-income consumers.
Additional to the thematic areas dened in the New York store, this store will have a space for old
candy brands to attract older consumers. The store will also have a section for local brands.
A consultant was hired for advising the owners on how to achieve the plan. His rst advice
was to do some market research to understand the real opportunity. The market research results
were astonishing: there was no market in Monterrey. Consumers loved the idea, but they were
not willing to pay the high prices or even to visit the store more than once a month and being
Monterrey city with a small amount of tourists there would not be enough revenue to maintain the
business.

55
The investment for opening the store in Monterrey was about USD 1 million dollars. The
potential entrepreneurs spent around USD 10 thousand in marketing research, which kept them
from making a bad investment.
The market research process
There is an inherent risk when trying to expand the market, launching a new product, or starting
a new business. Dening that a market exists for your business idea will help in reducing that risk.
You may think that with a bunch of collected data and facts you will be able to decide whether
or not to go forward with your idea. But the challenge is not just collecting the data, but how to
transform it and how to use it. Market research will support you in collecting, transforming, and
getting meaning from the data.
Some of the reasons why market research is so important are:
1. The cost of errors. Launching and selling a new product that is not successful in the market-
place could cause you to lose your entire investment.
2. Conducting market research will help you identify new trends, market segments, and niches.
3. Market research will end up saving you time by developing focused strategies based on a
better understanding of your customers.
Market research involves all the activities that allow the company to obtain the required data for
decision support. Market research is collecting, interpreting, and communicating the information
used for strategic marketing. The most typical approaches are to conduct a tailored, one-time
market research study as described below, or to use readily available information such as the
periodical information provided by companies like AC Nielsen.
This section will describe how to conduct a market research study. The main steps are:
1. Identify and dene the problem: The rst step is dening the target or problem to solve for
your market research. Most of the time it is more than one problem to solve, but you should
prioritize. The right denition of the problem should allow us to obtain the needed data.
2. Dene the objectives: The objective should answer the question of what you want to obtain
from the market research. In this step you should dene the scope and action plan. Devel-
oping the objectives should consist of establishing a budget, understanding the environment,
developing the approach to analysis, and formulating hypotheses.
3. Developing a research plan: Based upon a well-dened problem and objectives, the frame-
work for the research plan should be apparent. This step requires the greatest amount of
thought, time, and expertise. It includes incorporating knowledge from secondary informa-
tion, analysis, qualitative research, methodology selection, question measurement and scale
selection, questionnaire design, sample design and size, and determining the data analysis to
be performed.
4. Collecting the data: This is the point at which the nalized questionnaire (survey instrument)
is used in gathering information among the chosen sample segments. There are a variety of
data collection methodologies to consider. For instance: Computer Assisted Telephone In-
terviewing, Mail Survey, Internet Survey, Mall intercepts, Traditional telephone interviewing,
Internet panel, home panel, among others.
5. Performing data analysis: This is the process of analyzing the collected data, and transforming
complex to simple information. Less complex analysis on smaller data sets can be handled with
any of a number of personal computer oce suite tools, like spreadsheets, while more complex
analysis and larger data sets require dedicated market research analysis software. Types
of analysis that might be performed are simple frequency distributions, crosstab analysis,
multiple regression (driver analysis), cluster analysis, factor analysis, perceptual mapping
(multidimensional scaling), structural equation modeling and data mining
6. Reporting and presentation: This is one of the most important steps. All business critical
information and knowledge that comes from your market research investment are limited by

how they are presented to decision makers. There are as many reporting styles as there are
research reports, but some are denitely better than others, and there are denitely trends
to be aware of.
It is important to mention that market research by itself does not arrive at solutions or marketing
decisions. It does not even guarantee your business success. However, when conducting a well-
executed market research study you can reduce the uncertainty in the decision-making process,
increasing at the same time the probability and magnitude of success.
To illustrate these concepts in a live situation, we have included a discussion of how a market
research study was performed to determine the potential market for a new concept for funeral
services in Monterrey, Mexico.
3.9 Market research to determine the potential market for funeral

services in Monterrey, Mexico15
Background: A group of investors thought about developing a new enterprise concept of funeral services in
Monterrey, Mexico. The main idea was to oer improved funeral services, satisfying a need not yet covered
in the city.
Concept of the project: The company will oer funeral services to people of socioeconomic level A and
B+. The new funeral services will include: Sale of cons or crematory urns, luxury transportation, memorial
vigils, chapel, owers and cafeteria services, religious ceremonies, wide parking with valet parking service,
legal requirements, condolences via Internet, publication of brief letters, private room for the family with
foods at the request of the client and pre-arranged funeral plans.
The architecture of the place will include many green areas, big spaces and a quiet and peaceful atmo-
sphere.
The added value will be to support the client in his pain, reason why a specic executive will be in charge
of all the proceedings and procedures for the memorial vigil and burial of his beloved.
Objectives:
• To understand if a potential market exists for a funeral services enterprise in Monterrey City.
• Identify current specic needs for the sector.
• Evaluate project concept.
• Evaluate project location.
• Evaluate project name and logo.
• Methodology:
Stage I
Qualitative study:
2 sessions group with the following prole:
Session 1: Men between 35 and 50 years of age, from socioeconomic level A and +B who experience in
the process of hiring funeral services in the last year.
Session 2: Women between 35 and 50 years of age from socioeconomic level A and +B who had experience
with the process of hiring funeral services in the last year.
Stage II
Quantitative study:
The size of sample was of 472 personal interviews to men and women of socioeconomic level A and +B,
ages between 35 and 60 years old, who live in Monterrey and its metropolitan area.
Main ndings and conclusions:

57
In this research we found an important opportunity at the funeral logistics services since 76 per cent of
the interviewed people consider that it is necessary to have a company of this type in the city, since at the
moment the companies that oer these services have many opportunity areas.
Cedillas del Toro, the most important funeral services enterprise up to date show us some opportunity
areas as: lack of parking, mentioned by 15 per cent of the sample; the lack of a comfortable cafeteria,
mentioned by 10 per cent of the sample; small chapel, mentioned by 7 per cent of the sample; and the
temperature of the very cold climate, mentioned by 7 per cent of the sample, among others.
In the qualitative study, people interviewed mentioned what they dislike about Cedillas del Toro is
that the memorial vigils have a common area for visits in where you can not identify whom each person is
accompanying, turning it very informal.
The challenges that we found at the second more important funeral services company of the city, Cedillas
Carmelo were: high price (20 per cent of mentions), lack of facilities for handicaps (crowded elevating) (15
per cent of mentions) and poor availability of chapels (only three) (10 per cent of mentions), among others.
The concept of the new funeral services enterprise was very well accepted by most of the people interviewed
(70 per cent), mainly the idea of having a person who facilitates all the funeral proceedings, seems to be
very helpful and important in those moments of grief.
The proposed location for the new funeral services enterprise had an acceptance of 80 per cent of the
people interviewed, mainly because they are near the most important churches of the city with easy accesses.
The options of names people interviewed preferred were Cedillas Marian or Cedillas de Maria by 45
per cent and 30 per cent respectively.
The people interviewed in the qualitative study suggested some ideas to improve the concept mentioned
like: To have a private area with all the comforts (telephone, computer, air condition, bath) for the family
who does not wish to receive visits, that have a pleasant decoration (not funeral), and personal attention,
among others.
Thanks to this market study, the investors could corroborate the idea that a funeral service enterprise in
Monterrey may be a good business opportunity. In addition they could delineate the concept according to
the market.
The funeral business has been an economic success so far, thanks to its clear denition of its mission and
its market oriented philosophy: always searching for and delivering an excellent service to its customers.
3.10 Discussion questions16

• Think of an industry with which you are familiar. Discuss the major elements of a business model
and apply it to the industry chosen. What features in the model appear to be a standard compared
to other industries?
• What are the steps in the process of customers' needs and wants identied in the chapter as dened
by Dorfman?
• Or: Refer to the section of this chapter entitled Identifying customers' wants successfully. In Dorf-
man's framework three steps lead to the identication of customers' need and wants. This process ends
on the validation of needs. What would be a further step geared to identify future needs?
• Read the case about the Market research to determine the potential market for funeral services in
Monterrey, Mexico.
· What objectives would you propose for this study?
· Methodology suggested?
· What policies could be derived from the information obtained by the Marketing Research study?

3.11 References17
Direccion de Mercadotecnia. Analisis, planeación y control. Philip Kotler, 4 ª edicion.
What Do Your Customers Really, Really Want? Sherri Dorfman. ?June 7, 2005
Osterwalder, Alex. Success = Business Model Design AND Implementation. June 11, 2006.
<http://business-model-design.blogspot.com/2006/06/sucess-business-model-design-and.html >18 .
CEMEX Web site. CEMEX S.A. DE C.V. April 2007. <http://www.CEMEX.com >19 .
McDonalds Web site. McDonalds Corporation. April 2007. <http://www.mcdonalds.com >20 .
Wikipedia. Business model denition by Osterwalder, Pigneur and Tucci. 2005.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_model >21 .

18 http://business-model-design.blogspot.com/2006/06/sucess-business-model-design-and.html
19 http://www.CEMEX.com
20 http://www.mcdonalds.com
21 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_model

Chapter 4
How to organize and lead an
entrepreneurial venture
4.1 Learning objectives1
• dierentiate between the growth stages of business organizations
• understand how businesses can organize their tasks and responsibilities
• compare the advantages and disadvantages of tall versus at organization structures
• distinguish between the various types of business legal entities (see skill head, US legal issues)
4.2 Introduction2
This chapter discusses organizational issues owners face while operating and attempting to grow their busi-
nesses. We examine four stages of organizational growth and the choices business owners face when deciding
how to manage tasks and responsibilities. Those management decisions shape an organization's structure,
which in turn inuences lines of communication and decision-making processes.
The end of the chapter includes a short description of business legal entities. Also, you will nd exercises
to help you better grasp these concepts and to determine what type of organizational structure and legal
entity might best suit your venture.
4.2.1 Moving from a one-person band to an orchestra

Most businesses start like a one-person band. The owner plays all the instruments, some better than others,
but all out of necessity.
Like any musical ensemble, a small business includes many roles. In the beginning, the owners are often
the best at making or delivering the product or service. Since they have the most at stake, they often assume
a wide variety of roles, including sales, accounting, and much more.
Through a combination of skill, planning, talent, and perhaps luck, some businesses manage to grow.
This growth leads to new and changing roles in the business for everyone, including the owner. Of all the
roles an owner has in the business, perhaps the most important one is to be the designer for the business.
In the role of chief designer, business owners have three critical duties:

59
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CHAPTER 4. HOW TO ORGANIZE AND LEAD AN ENTREPRENEURIAL
VENTURE
• Provide the vision and direction for the company . Owners set the direction for the values of
the company, develop its product and service strategies, and set the tone for its relationships with
customers.
• Develop and rene processes and procedures. Owners design the business model, or the big
picture formulas and processes of doing business. Then, they must ll in the details by analyzing
processes and nding bottlenecks.
• Create the organization's human resource structure . Owners identify the positions and types
of people the business needs, and then they nd the people to ll those roles. In the words of Jim
Collins, author of the bestseller Good to Great, Get the right people on the bus, the wrong people o
the bus, and get everyone in the right seats.
The payo for a well-designed business is immense. With clarity of vision, expectations and processes, and
with the right people pulling together, there is a strong foundation for growth. Instead of a grim never take
a day o grind, the business owner can now enjoy the rideand maybe take a day o from time to time. It
is also now possible for the owner to think about a protable exit, because a business that can run without
the owner is worth a lot more than one that falls apart when he or she is not at the controls.
Owners of a growing business eventually have to decide how to organize employees and delegate authority.
Doing so can be a frustrating task for many entrepreneurs. Most would rather concentrate on closing sales,
producing product, or managing cash. However, they do so at the peril of putting o planning for the future
needs of their enterprise.
4.3 Organizational issues3

4.3.1 Organizational issues
Entrepreneurs typically know when their company needs a structural overhaul. The owner can no longer
juggle all the critical day-to-day activities. Important decisions are delayed, customer contact suers, em-
ployees feel overwhelmed and confused about their and others' roles in the organization. As the employee
count rises, someone other than the owner has to manage and be empowered to make critical decisions. The
stress generated by these various dysfunctional symptoms eventually reaches a point where the owner has
to decide to either continue growing the business (but in a more managed way) or to restrict its growth to
eectively manage the rm single-handedly.
Acme Security Company's (the name has been changed to maintain its anonymity) original organizational
structure caused many problems for the company, especially as its customer base began to expand.
The company provides security and re alarm systems for high rise buildings and large corporate
and government customers. It had grown to more than 40 employees in a short time, but
was nding it increasingly dicult to provide the service customers expected. The company's
organizational structure had evolved to meet the needs of the many family members that worked
in the company, but not the needs of the customers.
The company had a product-based structure. The departments included Inspection, Maintenance, and
Alarm Installation. Each department had a manager, a sales manager, eld crews and administrative support.
Even though most customers needed and purchased all of the company's services, no one was responsible
for meeting the total needs of the customer. Each department focused on getting its work done. The lack of
communication and coordination resulted in scheduling snafus and invoicing problems. A growing number
of petty details quickly buried the CEO and prevented her from focusing on the important strategic and
nancial issues facing the company. She was also a bottleneck that contributed to customer service problems.
No wonder she kept a candy dish lled with antacids on her desk!

63
4.4 Organizational stages of growth4

As an organization grows, it generally progresses through four stages of increasingly formal management
structures.5
Stage 1: In a one-person operation, the owner does everything: sales, bookkeeping, marketing, produc-
tion and so on. Many rms remain one-person operations indenitely due to the owner's family obligations,
nancial constraints, or contentment with the status quo.
Stage 2: As more people join an organization, the business owner becomes a player-coach. The en-
trepreneur continues to perform day-to-day tasks, but along with other employees. So the owner assumes
additional employee management duties such as hiring, scheduling, supervising, and payroll.
Stage 3: Firms reach a major milestone in organizational development when they add an additional
level of supervision. The owner relinquishes some direct control and begins working through an intermediary
layer of professional managers.
Stage 4: As a company adds more layers of management and processes, it also adopts written policies,
budgets, standardized personnel practices, organizational charts, job descriptions, and control protocols.
4.4.1 Departmentation
New business owners do not ask themselves how they should organize their business. Rather, they organize by
objective: what does it take to get a job done, meet a goal or create wealth. How owners organize a company
depends on a multitude of factors: for example, are certain tasks performed in-house or out-sourced? Are
people (sta and management) with the necessary skills available?
Business scholars have categorized various organizational structures as described below. However, do not
assume that a growing business must at one point or another assume one of these structures. Rather, smart
entrepreneurs constantly tweak their organizations to remain agile to take advantage of new opportunities
or respond to new challenges. Sometimes the changes necessary to move from a small to larger business
require gut wrenching decisions: for example, personnel that might have played key roles in establishing a
new business might not be the right t for a larger, more structured organization.
As the business grows, its organizational structure is heavily inuenced by function (people grouped with
similar responsibilities), process (people involved in similar processes), product (people building a specic
product) or projects (members of a project). 6 A rm's structure might be inuenced by some or all of these
types of departmentation. Large rms usually employ a variety of departmentation styles, selecting the most
appropriate form for each subsystem.
4.4.1.1 Departmentation by function

Grouping activities by function is the most widely used form of departmentation. Similar activities are housed
in a department or under a single chain of command. For example, sales, advertising, public relations, and
promotion might be grouped in a marketing department; employee benets, employee training and employee
regulatory compliance may be housed in the human relations department and so on.
Functional departmentation takes advantage of employees' specialization. Employees with similar train-
ing, education, skills, or equipment work together and under a supervisor responsible for that department's
activities. Because one supervisor typically oversees a major area of activity, functional departmentation
also facilitates coordination. For instance in a larger retail operation, one marketing department supervisor
would control and coordinate the work of buyers, merchandisers and the sales force so that information and
activities of each function would be more ecient and productive.
5 Longenecker, Justin Gooderl, Moore, Carlos W.; Petty, J. William; Palich, Leslie. (1991). Small Business Management:
An Entrepreneurial Emphasis. South-Western College Publishing. Mason, OH.
6 Entrepreneurial Firms: An Examination of Organizational Structure and Management Roles Across Life Cycle Stages,
Watson, Kathleen M., Plascha, Gerhard R., paper presented at U.S. Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship
annual conference, Baltimore, Maryland, October 1993)

64
VENTURE
Exhibit 4.3: Departmentation by function
The process or equipment used in producing a product or service may be the basis for determining
departmental units. Since a certain amount of expertise or training is required to handle complicated
processes or complex machinery, activities that involve the use of specialized equipment may be grouped
into a separate department.
This form of departmentation is similar to functional departmentation. The grouping of all milling
machines into one department or the placing of lathes in another department is illustrative of departmentation
by equipment or process. As a further example, a large food products rm may be departmentalized by
processes such as manufacturing, package design, distribution, and shipping.3
Exhibit 4.4: Departmentation by process
4.4.1.2 Departmentation by products

Companies with diversied product lines frequently create departmental units based on the product. To
departmentalize on a product basis means to establish each major product in a product line as an independent
unit within the overall structure of the company. For instance, retail stores may organize their operations to
meet the needs of specic customer groups by forming special departments to cater to house wares, menswear,
children's clothing and so forth. Product departmentation can be a useful guide for grouping activities in
service businesses as well. Many banks have separate departments for mortgages, checking accounts and
commercial loans.

65
Exhibit 4.5: Departmentation by product
4.4.1.3 Departmentation by projects

Project organizations are specically designed to deal with changing environments. A project in this sense
is a series of related activities required to accomplish a work outcome, such as the development of a new
product. Projects and task forces or teams are generally uniquedesigned to work on a nonrecurring project.
They are tightly organized units under the direction of a manager with broad powers of authority.
A team is given a project with specic tasks or operational concerns. This team is composed of employees
from the rm who have expertise or skills that can be applied directly to the project. The members of the
team manage the project without direct supervision and assume responsibility for the results. When work
teams function well, the need for a large number of supervisors decreases.
4.4.1.4 Departmentation by matrix

Some rms are organized by using a mix of departmentation types (matrix organization). It is not unusual
to see rms that utilize the function and project organization combination. The same is true for process
and project as well as other combinations. For instance, a large hospital could have an accounting de-
partment, surgery department, marketing department, and a satellite center project team that make up its
organizational structure.
• Once the bases for departmentation are determined, another problem of structure immediately arises
concerning how many departments or how many individual workers should be placed under the direction
of one manager. This is referred to as a span of management or span of control issue. A number of
factors should be considered when deciding upon a span of control:
· the complexity of the subordinates' jobs and need for interaction with management
· the complexity of the supervisors' jobs
· the competence of the supervisors and subordinates
· the number and nature of the supervisors' other interactions with non-subordinates
· the extent to which sta assistants provide support.

66
VENTURE
4.5 Flat versus tall organizations7
By denition, a small business is typically a at, centralized organization. The founder/owner is the boss and
makes all the critical decisions. However, as the personnel count grows, the rm's structure typically expands
either horizontally (at) or vertically (tall). Again, various factors including the owner's management style,
might aect what type of structure a business assumes.
4.5.1 Flat organizations

Flat organizations follow the decentralized approach, or organic system. There are fewer levels of manage-
ment which creates an environment for faster growth and response between all levels. Organizations that
follow this type of structure have wider spans of supervisory control and have more horizontal communication.
This type of structure promotes task interdependence with less attention to formal procedures.
More decisions are made at the middle levels of the organization. They are less bureaucratic and less
structured. Externally, the organization as a whole becomes more adaptable to its market and can quickly
react to changes. Internally, the organization as a whole encourages more participation between all levels of
the organization. As a result, all levels have the potential of working more closely together which enhances
a closer working environment with better communication and creativity.
Exhibit 4.6: Flat organization
4.5.2 Tall organizations

A tall structure is a more formal, bureaucratic organization or mechanistic system. In this environment,
multiple levels of management control decision making processes and employees within the organization.
When numerous levels become involved in daily operations, decision-making tends to be more impersonal.
Since this type of structure has more levels, the division of labor is much more specialized. Departments can
become more compartmentalized, which increases the communication within them, but does not lend itself
to communication with other departments.

67
Exhibit 4.7: Tall organization
4.6 Centralized versus decentralized organizations8

Communication is essential to disseminate information throughout organizations and can take place at many
levels. There are two communication models that are utilizedcentralized and decentralized. Again, each
style can be eective depending on the environment and each has its advantages and disadvantages, as are
outlined below.
4.6.1 Centralized
Centralized organizations require communications ow through a central person or location. Single leaders
are prominent and have a great deal of decision-making power. These persons have access to more information
and can therefore exercise a great deal of inuence over group members by controlling the ow of critical
information.
One disadvantage to centralized communication is that as the organization grows, the amount of informa-
tion can overwhelm the central hub (person or department) that processes this information. One advantage
to the centralized approach is that it encourages standardized processes that typically result in cost savings
and better quality control.
4.6.2 Decentralized
Decentralized organizations tend to utilize many channels of information ow, allowing for more open com-
munication between group members. This model is more conducive to solving complex problems.
One of the major advantages to decentralized communication is that problems and processes can be
solved and changed in a timely manner. Also, the needs of customers and employees are more easily and
quickly met because fewer levels of management are involved.
A major disadvantage to a decentralized organization is that departments can easily lose sight of the
organization's common mission. To ensure organizations stay on task, upper management should maintain
open lines of communication with local management.

68
VENTURE
So how does an owner begin to digest and pick between all the choices (function, product, process, project
or matrix structure, at versus tall, centralized versus decentralized) available when it comes to organizing
a business?
To design a better business, owners should take these steps:
• Schedule time to work on the business. This applies to start-ups and established businesses. There is
an old saying, If you are chopping wood, you need to take some time to sharpen the axe.
• Write everything down. Document all job descriptions, processes, and procedures, and then rene the
processes so the result is reliable and high quality output. In his book The E-Myth, Michael Gerber
makes the case that entrepreneurs should build and document their business as if it were the rst of
5,000 locations, even if they never plan to expand.
• Try to become unimportant to the day-to-day operations. A business that would cease if something
happened to the owner has very little value to a potential buyer. If the business is a turn-key operation
with documented and reliable processes, it has much greater value to the current owner and future
buyers.
• Be prepared to change roles as the business grows. As time goes on, the amount of time an owner
spends working in the business should decrease. He or she should embrace the role of a CEO who is
working on the business.
In the introduction of this chapter we likened the business owners' role to a musician. In the early stages of
the business, the owner had to play every instrument. But if the business is to grow and prosper, the owner
must become the conductor of an evolving orchestra. If an orchestra has good musicians, excellent sheet
music, and a talented conductor, the result is beautiful music.
4.1: US legal issues
Because laws regulating business vary greatly by country and locale, entrepreneurs should pick a
legal entity for their business in consultation with a local attorney that specializes in business law.
The legal issues discussed below reect general practices in the United States where laws governing
business vary not only by state, but by local jurisdictions within states.
Businesses activities are organized either by individuals, couples or groups of people.
Businesses with one owner (the most common and referred to as sole proprietorships in the
United States) can be launched without any legal assistance, and depending on the location, with
or without certain permits.
Businesses with multiple owners typically write out explicit guidelines regarding investment and
management issues using one of several types of legal agreements designed specically for business
organizations. Thus, one of the rst decisions facing new business owners is deciding what legal
entity to use for their business. That decision-making process typically weighs the following issues:
(a) how much time or involvement in the business is required

(b) what skills are required
(c) degree of risk associated with the business
(d) amount of capital needed
(e) tax regulations on labor and income earned by the business
In the United States, there are four basic types of business operations:
1. Sole proprietorships A sole proprietorship is an individual owner of a business (with or

without employees). This type of operation is the simplest to form, and the single owner,
or sole proprietor, may work as much or as little time as desired. The sole proprietor is
generally held accountable for all products and/or services produced by the business, as well

69
as debts and liabilities of the business. Since the owner's personal liability extends well beyond
amounts invested in the business or even beyond assets purchased by the business, this type
of operation is considered high risk.
The amount of capital required to start a sole proprietorship is generally minimal.
In addition to sole ownership of all assets and liabilities, the proprietor benets by receiving
all prots, which in the United States are taxed as part of the owner's total personal income.
The sole proprietor may employ workers or engage independent contractors to increase skills
available, but the business ceases to exist upon the owner's death.
A sole proprietor business can be organized at any time into a dierent legal entity. The owner
often decides to reorganize when prots substantially increase the individual's tax liability.
2. Partnership When two or more family members or people join together in a business op-
eration, they may choose to establish a partnership which can take the form of a general or
limited liability partnership. General partnerships are similar to the combination of a group
of sole proprietorships in that the partners share workloads, prots, and liabilities. Limited
Liability Partnerships, however, usually include one or more partners who manage daily op-
erations and are generally liable for the debts of the business while other limited partners risk
their investment in anticipation of prots.
Initial agreement is essential concerning how the partnership will operate, who will manage
daily operations, how prots will be disbursed, and who assumes liabilities and debts. Such
an agreement is normally formalized in writing and is known as a Partnership Agreement.
Partnerships, like sole proprietorships, are generally dissolved upon the death of a partner.
Prots are shared in accordance with terms of the Partnership Agreement and reported to
taxing authorities on personal tax returns of the partners.
3. Corporations In the United States, corporations are considered separate legal entities that
are chartered and regulated by an authority in each state, such as the Secretary of State.
Additionally, a separate agent who acts on behalf of the corporate entity is identied in the
initial application process to receive legal notications. Corporations must also submit identi-
cation and governing documents such as Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws. Corporate
entities are generally required to be kept in active status through annual updates to a regu-
latory authority. As a result, this type of entity is deemed slightly more complex to form and
manage.
Corporations require investment by one of more owners who are known as shareholders or
stockholders, and the amount of investment varies depending on the needs of the business.
Since this form of entity provides protection (widely known as the corporate veil) for the
personal assets of owners against certain types of claims, it is generally of lower risk. Corporate
entities may vary in numbers of owners from a single shareholder to an unlimited number.
States and federal agencies regulate nancial activities and reporting requirements that are
categorized by the number of shareholders and whether their shares are available to purchase
and sell on public stock exchanges. For example, US corporations with publicly traded shares
are regulated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
The corporation may employ workers and engage independent contractors as needed to in-
crease skills available. Corporations are required, however, to acknowledge formally (in a
written document) the individuals who are approved to engage in nancial transactions on
behalf of the entity.
In the United States, the Internal Revenue Service regulates federal tax codes. There are two
taxing options for earnings of corporations: a progressive structure on prots for the tradi-
tional corporation and another that allows owners to ow-through prots to their personal
tax returns.
4. The Limited Liability Company (LLC) In the United States, the Limited Liability
Company (LLC) is the entity of choice for the owner or owners who prefer the limited liability
aorded by a corporation and a tax treatment that allows prots to ow from the business to

70
VENTURE
the owner or owners. The LLC must also be registered with a State authority, but requires
less documented structure. Ownership is acknowledged by percentage as opposed to number
of shares and protection for the owners is similar to that of a corporation.

• Describe the characteristics of each of the four stages of growth a business organization might experi-
ence?
• Describe the advantages and disadvantages of a at versus tall organizational structure.
• Given your personality and past experience, do you prefer working in a at or tall organization and
why?
• What are the characteristics of the four types of business legal entities?
4.9 References11
Collins, Jim. (2001). Good To Great. HarperCollins, New York, NY.
Gerber, Michel E. (1995). E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do
About It. HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. New York, NY.


Chapter 5
Selecting and managing your team

• to understand the eld of Human Resource Management and its potential for creating and sustaining
competitive advantage
• to understand how an organization can eectively recruit, manage, and terminate its employees.
• to know the basic approaches to creating eective reward systems through base pay, benets, and pay
for performance
• to understand the relationship between work design and employee motivation
• to show familiarity with mechanisms to create employee voice and inuence
5.2 Competitive advantage through human resource management2

An introduction, by Cynthia V Fukami
A great deal of recent research has underscored the strategic advantage to be gained from managing
employees as if they are assets rather than commodities. Consider the commodities a business employspads
of paper, ballpoint pensthings that you purchase, use up, and then discard. Investing in a commodity
is never consideredrelling a ballpoint pen, for a simple examplebecause it simply is not worth the
expenditure of time and resources. A return on that investment is not expected. On the other hand,
consider the assets employed in businessthe physical plant, the equipment, and the moneythings that
are maintained and developed. When the paint peels on the oce walls, one does not throw away the
building and build a new one; a new coat of paint is sucient. Making investments in a business's assets
makes a great deal of sense, because these investments will bring a return. A growing number of companies,
recognizing that their employees are among their most valuable assets, are backing up that recognition with
solid investment.
In an important recent book, Professor Jerey Pfeer of Stanford University identied seven management
practices that have been associated with producing sustained competitive advantage for the companies
that have adopted them. These practices are: employment security, selective hiring, self-managed teams
with decentralized authority, high pay contingent on organizational performance, training, reduced status
dierences, and sharing information. Put together, these practices form the foundation of what is called a
high-commitment or a high-performance management system.
The evidence on the results of implementing a high-commitment management system is striking and
strong. Research has been conducted in many industries, from banking to automotive to semiconductors
to service. Some research has focused on one industry while others have looked across industries. Some
71
72 CHAPTER 5. SELECTING AND MANAGING YOUR TEAM
research has included companies from the United States and others have studied companies abroad. Overall,
the conclusions of these studies are remarkably similar. High-commitment management systems produce
higher organizational performance. Pfeer summarizes the results into three categories. First, people work
harder because they have more control over their work from the high-commitment management practices.
Second, people work smarter because they have stronger skills and greater competence from the investments
of high-commitment management practices. Third, companies save administrative overhead and the costs
by reducing the alienation of their workforce and the adversarial relationship with management.
In a study of rms representing all major industries, Mark Huselid found that a one standard-deviation
increased the use of high-commitment practices was associated with a 7.05 per cent decrease in employee
turnover, a USD 27,044 per-employee increase in sales, USD 18,641 more in market value per employee, and
USD 3,814 more in prots per employee. When he repeated the study several years later, he found that
a similar increase in the use of high-commitment management practices was associated with a USD 41,000
increase in shareholder value per employee.
Another noteworthy study examined the management practices of initial public oerings or IPOs to see
if there was a relationship between high-commitment management practices and the ve-year survival rate
of IPOs. This study concluded that the treatment of employees as assets and the use of stock options, prot
sharing and gain sharing programs for all employees (versus limiting the programs to key executives) were
signicantly related to the survival of the IPO to the ve-year milestone.
These studies, and many others like them, have put conventional wisdom on its ear. Typically, we have
assumed that success was related to factors such as size, or being global, or leading your market, or being
in particular industries such as high tech, or pursuing a brilliant strategy. Yet, research shows there is
virtually no connection between industry and success. As Wal-Mart and Southwest Airlines have shown us,
an individual business can be very successful in a terrible industry. Similarly, there is little or no connection
between success over time and company size or market dominance. Instead, competitive advantage comes
from the way business is conducted, and employees are the keys to this. The most successful companies
manage their workforce eectively as assets not commodities.
So why are more companies not adopting high-commitment management practices? Why are their execu-
tives proclaiming employees to be their most valuable assets, while continuing to treat them as commodities?
Perhaps it is a continual cultural emphasis on short run performance and stock pricesan emphasis that
makes it seem more protable to lay o employees or to cut training when times are tough. Perhaps it is
a preoccupation with systems that control rather than delegate. Perhaps it is our overwhelming tendency
to teach future managers technical tools at the expense of people-management tools. Whatever the reasons,
the challenge remains. If a business is able to meet that challenge, the odds are that competitive advantages
will follow.
5.3 Providing employee voice and inuence3

By Liz Evans
Employees are the resources of an organization in the same way as material assets but they are also the
rm's stakeholders. The concept of employees as stakeholders refers to the interest employees have in
the success of the company and the fact that actions taken by the organization directly aect the employees
(Olson, 2003). Employees' stakes in the company are economic in the fact that their livelihood comes from
the rm, psychological in that they derive pride from their work, and political in terms of their rights as
employees and citizens. Though employees are the stakeholders who are arguably most visible to management
on a day-to-day basis, they do not often command the majority of attention in terms of decision-making
inuences. The short-term, economic duties to stockholders often command more managerial attention in
the decision making process than employee opinion (Peterson, 2005). According to Jones, the best way to
incorporate employees' stake to improve rm performance is through employee participation and inuence
(Employees as Stakeholders, 1997).

73
Apart from unionization, employees can obtain inuence in organizational decisions in several ways.
Grievance and Due Process Systems allow employees to address grievances and to argue their point if
they feel they are wronged by management or another employee. Participation Systems provide employees
with inuence in the organizational or managerial decision making processes. This subchapter will discuss
the ways employees are given voice and inuence in non-unionized workplaces, with particular attention paid
to inuence in decision-making and organizational success. This will include the benets of employee input
to the rm, the dierence between voice and inuence, and the many participation mechanisms management
can use to harness employee inuence into decision-making.
There are benets to a rm for providing employee inuence. For one, strong employee voice and inuence
mechanisms are an important part of a High-Performance Human Resource System in which the
human resources of the rm are coordinated and designed to maximize the quality of human capital in
the organization (Becker & Huselid, 2001). Voice and inuence mechanisms allow employees to give input
and to contribute their expertise to business success; these mechanisms allow rms to get the most benet
from the skills of their human capital. Thus, rms with employee inuence mechanisms get higher nancial
return from their employee assets; high-performance HR systems improve the nancial bottom line of the
rm (Becker & Huselid, 2001).
Despite the many benets, there are various reasons not to implement voice and inuence mechanisms
perceived by employees and management. Voice and inuence can benet employees by helping them to
protect their rights and most employees want a voice in their workplace (Peterson, 2005). However,
employees may be hesitant to organize into employee associations or push for voice mechanisms for fear of
retribution due to perceived opposition to inuence by management (Peterson, 2005). Employers benet
from the increased trust that comes from sharing information and giving employees inuence (Pfeer &
Viega, Putting People First for Organizational Success, 1998). However, managers who are used to having
control often nd it disconcerting, dicult and even impossible to share power in the form of inuence in
exchange for the many organizational benets (Marken, 2004).
Voice and inuence are dierent, but both are necessary to garner the benets to the rm. Many managers
recognize the importance of giving their employees a voice , but often this open communication does not
result in authentic employee involvement or inuence on the actual decision making process (Golan, 2003).
Hearing employee voice is not the same as giving consideration to the received information; consideration is
what gives employees inuence in the organization (Garvin & Roberto, 2001). Visible action
is as important
to inuence as consideration (Solnik, 2006). Action provides the follow up that allows management to make
it apparent to employees that they have inuence; it also allows management to see real change and benet
from the insight provided by employees. Voice without consideration and action creates little benet for
employees or the rm.
Many dierent participation systems can be implemented to authentically get employee input and to cap-
italize on the benets associated with employee inuence. Open book management empowers employees
with the information they need to see the reality of the organizational situation and to give relevant and
helpful input (Case, 1997). Similar to open book management are open-door policies , where management
makes it clear that employees can informally raise issues or give input at any time. The open-door policy
page on the Central Parking Corporation website provides an example of such a policy and the procedures
employed by the company for submitting and receiving employee input (Central Parking Corporation, 2004).
Feedback programs , sometimes implemented in the form of employee surveys or through direct employee-
management interaction, can be a less expensive way to get feedback from employees concerning specic
programs or policies (Solnik, 2006). Surveys are particularly economical, especially when done online using
free survey programs such as SurveyMonkey.com 4 (Survey Monkey, 2007). Team mechanisms such as qual-
ity circles, work teams, and total quality management teams provide employees with the ability to
synthesize their individual input into a better solution to organizational problems.
In conclusion, there are many possible benets to a rm associated with providing employees with voice
and inuence within the organization. However, in order for these benets to be realized, management must
not only provide employees with an outlet to speak, but must also take the information into consideration
4 http://cnx.org/content/m35392/latest/www.surveymonkey.com

and follow up with visible action. In this way, an organization can attend to its most important stakeholders,
the employees, and garner return on its investment in its human capital.
5.3.1 Managing dierences in organizations

By Hanoi N Soto Garcia and Nora Martin
In today's business environment, an increasing trend towards teamwork, a larger presence of women
and ethnic minorities in the workplace, and a greater exposure to international businesses and cultures are
constantly challenging employees from a variety of industries in all parts of the world. This posts a greater
opportunity for people to learn from cultural and personal dierences and create a more productive work
environment. Thomas L Friedman, in The World is Flat, makes the following comment after one of his trips
to Bangalore, India: It is now possible for more people than ever to collaborate and compete in real time with
more people on more dierent kinds of work from more dierent corners of the planet and on a more equal
footing than at any previous time in the history of the world (2006). Due to the importance of managing
dierences eectively in organizations, there is a need to identify the types of dierences encompassed in
organizations, the eects of dierences in work teams, and the importance of understanding and diagnosing
dierences to maximize organizational performance.
Organizations usually take one of two paths in managing diversity: (1) they encourage people of diverse
backgrounds to blend in for the benet of fairness and equality; or (2) they set them apart in jobs that relate
specically to their backgrounds, assigning them, for example, to areas that require them to interface with
clients or customers of the same identity group. African American MBAs often nd themselves marketing
products to inner-city communities; Latino Americans are frequently positioned to market to Latinos or work
for Latin American subsidiaries. In those kinds of cases, companies are operating on the assumption that
the main virtue identity groups have to oer is knowledge of their own people. This assumption is limited
and detrimental to diversity eorts. Diversity goes beyond increasing the number of dierent identity-group
aliations on the payroll. Such an eort is merely the rst step in managing a diverse workforce for the
organization's utmost benet. Diversity should be understood as the varied perspectives approaches to work
that members of dierent identity groups bring (Thomas & Ely, 1996).
Leaders realize that increasing demographic variation does not in itself increase organizational eective-
ness. They realize that it is how a company denes diversity and what it does with the experiences of being
a diverse organization that delivers on the promise.
Group diversity refers to the amount of heterogeneity within a group determined by several char-
acteristics derived from informational, visible, and value dierences (Hobman, Bordia, & Gallois, 2003).
Informational dierences refer to dierent professional backgrounds and experiences; visible dier-
ences refer to things that become more physically apparent, such as age, gender, ethnicity, etc.; and value
dierences are shaped by each individual's set of beliefs, goals, and values. These three categories of dif-
ferences have a major impact on team performance because they can become the cause for multiple types of
conicts within a team. When approaching tasks, dierent members of the team will have dierent behaviors
based on their own set of informational, visible, and values characteristics. Employees with dierent views
of the same situation may have totally dierent ways of responding to it.
After the appearance of conict, team members can create a true learning environment where they can
perform far beyond expectations by leveraging their dierences. Hobman, Bordia, and Galois highlight
the ways in which group diversity can foster a higher organizational performance, It has been noted that
diversity can lead to higher performance when members understand each other, combine and build on each
others' ideas. This suggests that interaction processes within a diverse team are crucial to the integration
of diverse viewpoints. For example, Abramson found that organizations that had teams with high diversity
and integration had the best performance (Consequences of Feeling Dissimlar from Others in a Work Team,
2003). Along these lines, diverse groups have a higher ability to overcome initial diculties by identifying
the multiple angles of a problem and generating creative solutions.
The more openly they are recognized and discussed, the better chance there is for dierences to become
part of organizational success. Tomas and Ely believe in the notion that a more diverse workplace will
increase organizational eectiveness. It will lift morale, bring greater access to new segments of the market

75
place, and enhance productivity (Making Dierences Matter; A New Paradigm for Managing Diversity,
1996). By truly embracing diversity, leveraging the talent within multicultural teams, and approaching
diversity as means to higher knowledge and productivity, organizations will eectively manage dierences,
to achieve competitive advantage successfully.
Paradigms of diversity
Paradigm Focus Key success factors
Discrimination-and-fairness Equal opportunity, fair treat- Eectiveness in its recruitment
ment, recruitment, and compli- and retention goals rather than
ance with US federal Equal Em- by the degree to which companies
ployment Opportunity require- allow employees to draw on their
ments Leaders work towards re- personal assets and perspectives
structuring the makeup of the or- to do their work more eciently
ganization to reect more closely
that of society
Access-and legitimacy Need of a more diverse workforce Degree to which leaders in orga-
to help companies gain access nizations understand niche capa-
to the dierentiated segments- bilities and incorporate them into
Matches the demographics of the dierentiated categories aligned
organization to those of critical to their business strategy
consumer or constituent groups
Learning-and-eectiveness Incorporates employee's perspec- The promotion of equal opportu-
tives into the main work of the nity and acknowledgment of cul-
organization Enhances work by tural dierences Organizational
rethinking primary tasks and learning and growth fostered by
redening markets, products, internalizing dierences among
strategies, missions, business employees
practices, and even cultures
End goal: Leaders should thrive to shift to the Learning-and-eectiveness paradigm to approach diversity
as a means to higher knowledge and productivity.
Table 5.1
5.4 Recruiting workers5

Lukhvinder Rai
Recruitment of talented employees is an essential part of any company's ability to maintain success and
ensure the achievement of standards within an organization. Recruiting workers consists of actively compiling
a diverse pool of potential candidates which can be considered for employment. A good recruitment policy
will do this in a timely, cost-ecient manner. The ultimate goal of any human resources recruitment policy
is to develop relationships with potential employees before they may actually be needed while remaining
cognizant of the costs of doing so. In dierent industries, the constant need for talent creates a highly
competitive marketplace for individuals, and it is important for any manager to be aware of these factors
as they develop recruitment programs and policies. As retirement among baby boomers becomes increasing
prevalent, victory in the war for talent will depend greatly on recruitment policies.

5.4.1 Methods of recruitment
There are two principal ways to recruit workers: internally and externally. Most companies will actively use
both methods, ensuring opportunities for existing employees to move up in the organization while at the
same time elding new talent. Depending on the time frame and the specialization of the position to ll,
some methods will be more eective than others. In either case, the establishment of a comprehensive job
description for every position for which the company recruits will help to narrow the scope of the search,
and oer more qualied candidates, aiding in search eciency.
Internal recruitment is often the most cost eective method of recruiting potential employees, as it
uses existing company resources and talent pool to ll needs and therefore may not incur any extra costs.
This is done in two principal ways:
• Advertising job openings internally: This is the act of using existing employees as a talent pool for open
positions. It carries the advantage of reallocating individuals that are qualied and familiar with the
company's practices and culture while at the same time empowering employees within the organization.
It also shows the company's commitment to, and trust in, its current employees taking on new tasks.
• Using networking: This method can be used in a variety of dierent ways. First, this recruitment
technique simply posts the question to existing employees on whether anybody is aware of qualied
candidates that they know personally which could ll a position. Known as employee referrals, this
method often gives bonuses to the existing employee if the recommended applicant is hired. Another
method uses industry contacts and membership in professional organizations to help create a talent
pool, through simple word-of-mouth information regarding the needs of the organization.
External recruitment focuses resources on looking outside the organization for potential candidates and
expanding the available talent pool. The primary goal of external recruitment is to create diversity among
potential candidates by attempting to reach a wider range of individuals unavailable through internal recruit-
ment. Although external recruitment methods can be costly to managers in terms of dollars, the addition
of a new perspective within the organization can carry many benets which outweigh the costs. External
recruitment can be done in a variety of ways:
• Traditional advertising: This often incorporates one or many forms of advertising, ranging from news-
paper classieds to radio announcements. It is estimated that companies spend USD 2.18 billion
annually on these types of ads (Kulik, 2004). Before the emergence of the Internet, this was the most
popular form of recruitment for organizations, but the decline of readership of newspapers has made
it considerably less eective (Heatheld, Use the Web for Recruiting: Recruiting Online).
• Job fairs and campus visits: Job fairs are designed to bring together a comprehensive set of employers in
one location so that they may gather and meet with potential employees. The costs of conducting a job
fair are distributed across the various participants, and can oer an extremely diverse set of applicants.
Depending on the proximity to a college or university, campus visits help to nd candidates that are
looking for the opportunity to prove themselves and have minimum qualications, such as a college
education, that a rm seeks.
• Headhunters and recruitment services: These outside services are designed to essentially compile a
talent pool for a company; however they can be extremely expensive. Although this service can be
extremely ecient in providing qualied applicants for specialized or highly demanded job positions
the rate for the services provided by headhunters can range from 20 to 35 per cent of the new recruit's
annual salary if the individual is hired (Heatheld, Recruiting Stars: Top Ten Ideas for Recruiting
Great Candidates).
• Online recruitment. The use of the Internet to recruit a talent pool is quickly becoming the preferred
way of doing so, due to its ability to reach such a wide array of applicants extremely quickly and
cheaply. There are many ways to turn the Internet into a recruitment tool for your company.
First, the use of the company website can allow a business to compile a list of potential applicants which
are supremely interested in the company while at the same time allowing them exposure to your company's

77
values and mission. In order to be successful using this recruitment method, a company must ensure that
postings and the process for submitting resumes are as transparent and simple as possible.
Another popular use of online recruiting is through career websites (e.g. Monster.com or Career-
builder.com). These sites charge employers a set fee for a job posting which can remain on the website
for an agreed amount of time. These sites also carry a large database of applicants and allow clients to
search their database to nd potential employees. Although extremely eective, many companies prefer to
use their own websites to eliminate the ood of resumes which may result from these services.
Finally, many professional associations may have websites on which a company may post job openings.
For instance, the NCAA allows all of its member schools and conferences to post jobs on their website at a
minimal cost, allowing for a more specialized selection of candidates. It may also be in a company's interest
to contact area schools to see if they oer a career services site for their students for posting openings, further
expanding the reach of recruitment eorts.
To learn more about the growth of internet job postings:
http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3443851 6
To learn how to create an eective online job posting:
http://www.yourhrexperts.com/posting.html 7
5.5 Evaluating recruiting policies8

To evaluate recruitment policies, the concept of a yield ratio is often used. This calculates the eciency of
recruitment practices by taking the number of hirable individuals resulting from a recruitment policy divided
by the total number of individuals recruited by the same policy (Kulik, 2004). This equation is outlined
below:
Yield ratio = Number of hirable individuals
Total number of recruits
For many companies, this number can vary enormously, depending on the image, size and business of the
company. However, it is still an extremely useful measure as it oers insight into the ability of a recruitment
policy and whether it needs to be modied. A company like Microsoft may receive thousands of applicants
simply based on the image that the rm carries, distorting its yield ratio without telling anything about the
eectiveness of their recruitment strategies.
No matter how a company decides to recruit, the ultimate test will remain the ability of a recruitment
strategy to produce viable applicants. Each manager will face dierent obstacles in doing this; however, it
is important to remain concise and objective when searching for potential applicants. It is important to
remember that recruiting is not simply done at a time of need for an organization but rather is a yearlong
process that constantly maintains a talent pool and frequent contact with candidates.
5.5.1 Selective hiring

By Kristen Giacchino and Emily Gray
In recruiting, it is benecial to attract not only a large quantity of applicants but a group of individuals
with the necessary skills and requirements for the position. After obtaining a large, qualied applicant
base managers need to identify those applicants with the highest potential for success at the organization.
According to Pfeer and Veiga, selecting the best person for the job is an extremely critical piece of the
human resources inow process (Pfeer & Viega, Putting People First for Organizational Success, 1998).
Selective hiring helps prevent the costly turnover of sta and increases the likeliness of high employee morale
and productivity.
In order to evaluate the t, it is important for managers to create a list of relevant criteria for each
position before beginning the recruitment and selection process. Each job description should be associated
with a list of critical skills, behaviors or attitudes that will make or break the job performance. When
6 http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3443851
7 http://www.yourhrexperts.com/posting.html

screening potential employees, managers need to select based on cultural t and attitude as well as technical
skills and competencies. There are some companies, such as Southwest Airlines 9 , based out of the United
States, who hire primarily based on attitude because they espouse the philosophy that you hire for attitude,
train for skill10 . According to former CEO Herb Kelleher, We can change skill levels through training. We
can't change attitude (O'Reilly & Pfeer). After determining the most important qualications, managers
can design the rest of the selection process so that it is in alignment with the other human resource processes.
Managers must strive to identify the best applicants at the lowest cost. Companies have a variety of
processes available to screen potential employees, so managers must determine which system will generate the
most accurate results. The methods of selection vary both in levels of eectiveness and in cost of application.
In addition to biographical information, companies can conduct personal interviews, perform background
checks, or request testing. Because of the costs associated with these measures, companies try to narrow
down the number of applicants in each round of hiring. In some countries, such as the United States, the
selection procedures are subject to Equal Employment Opportunity 11 guidelines (Recruitment). Therefore,
the companies also need to ensure that the process is accurate, with a high level of validity, reliable and
related to critical aspects of the job. Proactively taking these measures will help companies avoid litigation
related to discrimination in the selection process.
5.5.2 Interviews
As mentioned, it is important to rst dene the skills and attributes necessary to succeed in the specied
position, then develop a list of questions that directly relate to the job requirements. The best interviews
follow a structured framework in which each applicant is asked the same questions and is scored with a
consistent rating process. Having a common set of information about the applicants upon which to compare
after all the interviews have been conducted allows hiring managers to avoid prejudices and all interviewees
are ensured a fair chance (Smith G.). Many companies choose to use several rounds of screening with dierent
interviewers to discover additional facets of the applicant's attitude or skill as well as develop a more well
rounded opinion of the applicant from diverse perspectives. Involving senior management in the interview
process also acts as a signal to applicants about the company culture and value of each new hire. There are
two common types of interviews: behavioral and situational.
5.5.2.1 Behavioral interview 12

In a behavioral interview, the interviewer asks the applicant to reect on his or her past experiences (Janz,
1982). After deciding what skills are needed for the position, the interviewer will ask questions to nd out if
the candidate possesses these skills. The purpose of behavioral interviewing is to nd links between the job's
requirement and how the applicant's experience and past behaviors match those requirements. Examples of
behavioral interview questions:
• Describe a time when you were faced with a stressful situation. How did you handle the situation?
• Give me an example of when you showed initiative and assumed a leadership role?
(Free Sample Behavioral Interview Questions).
5.5.2.2 Situational interview 13
A situational interview requires the applicant to explain how he or she would handle a series of hypothetical
situations. Situational-based questions evaluate the applicant's judgment, ability, and knowledge (Latham &
Saari, 1984). Before administering this type of interview, it is a good idea for the hiring manager to consider
9 http://www.southwest.com/careers/?ref=job_fgn
10 http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/04/hiring.html
11 http://www.eeoc.gov/
12 http://careerplanning.about.com/od/jobinterviews/a/beh_int_lng.htm
13 http://www.thelia.org/download.cfm?le=81429

79
possible responses and develop a scoring key for evaluation purposes. Examples of situational interview
questions:
• You and a colleague are working on a project together; however, your colleague fails to do his agreed
portion of the work. What would you do?
• A client approaches you and claims that she has not received a payment that supposedly had been
sent ve days ago from your oce. She is very angry. What would you do?
(Creating Situational Interviews and Rating Scales)
5.5.3 Selection tests

When making a hiring decision, it is critical to understand the applicant's personality style, values, and
motivations (Smith G.). Technical aptitude is important, but attitude is often more important. The reality
is that technical skills can be learned, but interpersonal work attitudes are usually more dicult to change
(Schaefer). Behavioral assessments and personality proles are a good way for hiring managers to learn how
the individual will interact with their coworkers, customers, and supervisors (Smith G.). Tests such as the
Myers Briggs14 and D.I.S.C Prole15 assessments are popular tools that provide an accurate analysis of an
applicant's attitudes and interpersonal skills; however, it is critical that the tests are administered, scored
and interpreted by a licensed professional. Other selection tests used in hiring, may include cognitive 16 ,
which measure general intelligence, work sample tests 17 that demonstrate the applicant's ability to perform
specic job duties, and integrity tests 18 , which measure honesty (Kulik, 2004).
5.5.4 Background checks

Background checks are a way for employers to verify the accuracy of information provided by applicants
in resumes and applications. Information gathered in background checks may include employment history,
education, credit reports, driving records, and criminal records. Employers must obtain written consent from
the applicant before conducting a background check, and the information gathered in a background check
should be relevant to the job.
5.5.5 Evaluation
Employers may choose to use just one or a combination of the screening methods to predict future job
performance. It is important for companies to assess the eectiveness of their selective hiring process using
metrics. This provides a benchmark for future performance as well as a means of evaluating the success of
a particular method. Companies can continuously improve their selection practices to ensure a good t for
future employees that will successfully accomplish all that the job entails as well as t into the organizational
culture. If companies are not successful in their hiring practices, high turnover or low employee morale, de-
creased productivity will result. Research shows that the degree of cultural t and value congruence between
job applicants and their organizations signicantly predicts both subsequent turnover and job performance
(Pfeer & Viega, Putting People First for Organizational Success, 1998). Thus, companies need to assess
their hiring in terms of technical success as well as cultural t. Evaluating the hiring process will help ensure
continuing success because human capital is often a company's most important asset.
14 http://myersbriggs.org
15 http://onlinediscprole.com
16 http://www.hr-guide.com/data/G314.htm
18 http://ndarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3495/is_n7_v37/ai_12787161/

5.6 Employee training19
By Peter Wright
For years, employee training was viewed as a necessary evil something unpleasant but needed. However,
with time it was realized that training could be used to the advantage of the company. When used eectively,
training provides the employee with skill and knowledge with relation to the job tasks, which then creates a
competitive advantage for the company (Pfeer & Viega, Putting People First for Organizational Success,
1998).
Training is generally dened as the act of teaching a skill or behavior. However, what does this mean
in business terms? Simply put, training in business is the investment of resources in the employees of a
company so that they are better equipped to perform the tasks of their job. The type of resources invested
may include time to learn, money to create programs and develop training materials, training eectiveness
evaluation systems, etc. (Fukami, Strategic Human Resources: Training, 2007). There are many training
methods from which a company may choose; these will be covered in the Training Methods section of this
article.
5.6.1 Benets of training

Training can be a source of a competitive advantage for a company. The primary benet to the company
is the result of an accumulation of smaller benets. Training provides greater skill and knowledge to the
employees, which translate into any number of improved job performances. The belief is that providing
employees with training will result in increased protsthe improved performance or error reduction of the
employees results in cost reduction for the company (Pfeer & Viega, Putting People First for Organizational
Success, 1998). The company is not the only beneciary of employee training; the employee benets quite a
bit as well.
The well-trained employee creates an advantage for him or herself. By attending training sessions,
employees can deepen their existing skill set, increase their overall skill set and increase their understanding
of the organization. Additionally, the trained employee becomes more marketable in the event that he or
she searches for another jobmore and better skills will often lead to better or higher paying jobs (Kulik,
2004).
These are not the only benets that the company and employee enjoy as a result of utilizing a company's
training systems. Below is a list of other benets that both may enjoy:
• increased job satisfaction and morale among employees
• increased employee motivation
• increased eciencies in processes, resulting in nancial gain
• increased capacity to adopt new technologies and methods
• increased innovation in strategies and products
• reduced employee turnover
• enhanced company image, e.g. conducting ethics training (note that this is not a good reason for ethics
training!)
• risk management, e.g. training about sexual harassment, diversity training (Duening & Ivancevich,
2003)
5.6.2 Need for training

The need for training varies depending on the type of organization that is being discussed; a manufacturing
company has dierent training needs than an insurance rm. But regardless of the type of company being
discussed, appropriate training systems can greatly benet the company. However, how does one decide on
a training system? The answer to this question stems from the example aboveit depends on the type of

81
organization that is being discussed as well as what the company wishes to address in the training. The
process begins with a training needs assessment. This assessment ought to be a systematic and objective
analysis of the training needs in three main areasorganizational, job, and person.
Organizational needs deal mostly with the skills the company is looking for, the labor force, etc. whereas
the job needs focus on the skills that the company views as necessary for a specic position. Then there
are the person needs, and these are the most variable needs. Often these needs arise after a gap is seen
in the expected performance compared to the actual performance of the employee. A large gap needs to
be addressed and is often dealt with through training or termination (see the Termination and Downsizing
section) (Fukami, Strategic Human Resources: Training, 2007). Other reasons for the person issues in regards
to training may include training to develop a skill set that is lacking but not aecting performance or that
the employee feels a need to develop. Training can also be a part of a young employee's exploration stage,
where training can be used to focus the employee's interest and development towards a specic area (Kulik,
2004).
Specic circumstances may also create the need for training. These circumstances usually occur rather
suddenly and infrequently, creating a need for a specic and highly directed training mechanism. Examples
of such circumstance are shifts in an organizations ethics (keeping the employees and organization in align-
ment), new legal requirements (such as Sarbanes-Oxley compliance in the United States), or during states of
change within the organization (Duening & Ivancevich, 2003). If a company, regardless of the circumstances
surrounding that need, deems training necessary a method for conducting this training needs to be developed
and implemented.
5.6.3 Training methods

Designing and implementing the training systems requires the company to consider a number of things; the
method of training, the material the training will deal with, who will provide the training, how to evaluate
the eectiveness of the training, etc. (Fukami, Strategic Human Resources: Training, 2007). There are also
a number of other items that can impact the training system, things like what the training program is called.
Because of the negative view that training has had for so long, some organizations are shying away from the
term training and replacing it with things such as (Learning & Development 20 ) in order to emphasize the
importance of learning for the individual and the organization. In other organizations, the term Human
Resource Development is used (Training and Development, 2007).
Two of the largest issues that a company faces with developing these training systems are: (1) what
type of training to use, and (2) how to evaluate the eectiveness of the training. It is important that these
training systems and evaluation procedures remain in-line with the culture and policies of the rest of the
company. Below is a partial list of common training systems:
• Lectures: Similar to a school classroom, the session is lead by a trainer/teacher who covers a specic
topic such as how to use a new computer program.
• Audio-visual media & computer-based training: With the advancement of technology, companies can
invest in video, audio and computer based learning such as instructional tapes, recorded lectures or
podcasts, or computer materials such as Flash presentations. The benet of these methods is that
they are relatively inexpensive and can be utilized by the employee at their discretion (Training and
Development, 2007).
• On-the-job: a training method that relies on the employee to recognize the skills and knowledge he or
she will need as they perform their work, and then develop those skills on his or her own.
• Technical training: specialized training that focuses on a specic need of specic employees. This
typically applies to manufacturing based companies in relation to training their employees on the
machinery and methods used.
• Mentoring & coaching: Mentoring systems pair a younger or less experienced employee with an individ-
ual that has experience and success within the company who can oer guidance, aid and insight to the
20 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_%26_Development

younger/less experienced employees (Craumer, 2001). Coaching systems are slightly dierent. They in-
volve the manager oering developmental assistance to the employee through observation, assessment,
providing feedback, questioning, etc. (Kram, 1985)
• Outdoor programs: the use of physical and mental activities such as ropes courses or problem-solving
tasks that encourage the use of team work.
After the training system has been developed and implemented, the eectiveness of the system needs to be
evaluated, and there are multiple ways to do this. Common methods includes surveys given to the employees
who have used the system, an ROI analysis and test at the end of the session (Fukami, Strategic Human
Resources: Training, 2007).
5.6.4 Training in the context of global business

When examining the need for and type of training in the context of global/international business, training
becomes even more necessary. The training of an employee who will be working in a country other than his
or her own can be broken into three segmentspre-departure, on-site, and repatriation.
The pre-departure training consists of formal language training, training with respect to the local cul-
ture (culture sensitivity), education about the country (history, geography, government, etc.), and education
about the companies operation in the foreign country. Such training allows for easier assimilation of the
employee into the country and the company's oce there.
Once on site, training takes the shape of training at any other branch of the company (see Training
methods section). When the employee abroad returns to his or her home country it is equally important that
the company oer some form of repatriation program. Such programs are designed to reduce culture shock
upon return and to integrate the experience abroad into the employees overall career plans and development.
These programs are often most eectively carried out through mentor programs (Asheghian & Ebrahimi,
2005).
5.7 Aligning employee career development with organizational

growth21
By Rahul Choudaha
Work is such a cozy place that it's sometimes dicult for Google employees to leave the oce . . .
(Lashinsky, 2007).
We all can predict at least one thing about the future of businessescompetition will increase. However,
the direction of competition will not only be for customers, but also for talent. Satised talent will attract
more customers and in turn will keep them satised. Losing talent in an era of talent scarcity is the last thing
an organization wants. Especially for small and medium enterprises, criticality and dependability on the
talent is much higher. Schweyer makes a case for improving the retention strategies within the organization
because winning the internal war for talent is as critical as losing a top performer and leads to general
employee dissatisfaction. Successful talent management inside an organization sets in motion a virtuous
cycle. Through word of mouth it becomes known as a great place to work. This reduces the external war
for talent to mere skirmishes in which talent will almost always choose the top employer (An Internal War
for Talent, 2006).
Recruiting and selecting the right talent is the rst stage, and identifying talent which ts into com-
pany's needs and values is critical. Subsequently, the challenge for the organization is to keep the talent
and consistently motivate them to over deliver. Baruch examines transforming models of career manage-
ment, arguing that there is a general shift in career trajectories from linear to multidirectional trajectories
(Transforming Careers from Linear to Multidirectional Career Paths, 2004). In this new model, workers'

83
experience of career development and progression does not follow a traditional linear model of moving up or-
ganizational hierarchies. The multidirectional career model suggests that as the individual career trajectories
gain multiple direction and possibilities, workers are exposed to greater diversity of relationships, involving
cross-functional, inter- and intra-organizational and multi-level encounters which transform the landscape of
relationships involved in career experiences.
5.1: Best of East and West
Google was ranked number 1 in the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For. Google receives
almost 1,300 resumes every day. The biggest challenge for Google is not how to attract the best
talent but how to retain them and keep them excited. Google provides innumerable perks at the
oce like free meals, free professional advice on health and nance, childcare, shuttle services, gym
etc. Google provides two key opportunities for career development. First, engineers are required
to devote 20 per cent of their time to pursuing projects of their interests which are in alignment
with organizational goals. Second, Google is exploring a sabbatical program and mobility within
the company for the developing and retaining talent.
TCS was ranked the number 1 technology company in the DQ-IDC India Survey: Best Em-
ployers. This is not an easy achievement considering size of TCS and its philosophy of being one of
the moderate pay masters. TCS has over 70,000 employees, and earned global revenue of USD 4.3
billion (2006-07). The key to success is the learning culture that the organization promotes. The
organization has adopted a two-prong strategy for developing talent. First, continuous learning
through technology: TCS has launched iCALMS, an integrated competency and learning manage-
ment system. Second, providing global assignments to employees and hence enabling a route for
professional and nancial growth (Dataquest, 2006).
The career development programs should provide excitement and satisfaction at various stages of employee
development. Marshall highlighted that leadership development programs for small organizations should
identify the talent early on and provide multiple opportunities of learning by job rotation (Leadership
Development for Small Organizations, 2002). These development programs should also leverage the internal
talent, who are already experts in their elds for creating inspiration and developing the next chain of leaders.
Komisar shared his experiences and mentioned that a passion-driven career has major virtues and ample
learning opportunities. This is good for the organization as they know that employee is enjoying the work,
and nally it provides uidity and exibility in the ever-changing landscape of the new economy (Goodbye
Career, Hello Success, 2000).
The changing nature of careers and organizations has increased the signicance of mentoring. It benets
and strengthens employer-employee relationship. Mentoring can be accomplished by immediate superiors,
peers within one's own organization, individuals outside of one's organization, subordinates, and any number
of other individuals (Baugh & Sullivan, 2005). Michaels, Handeld-Jones, and Axelrod in their book The
War for Talent mentions that talent development is critical for organizations and many think development
means training, but training is only a small part of the solution (2001). They suggest that development
primarily happens through a sequence of stretch jobs, coaching, and mentoring. However, organizations
are not leveraging the development opportunities. Companies need to adopt and accelerate development by
improving the frequency and candor of feedback and institutionalizing mentoring. Every leader at all levels
can and should be responsible for people development.
Hymowitz says that managers are not spending adequate time in understanding their team members
and providing them with opportunities to learn and grow on the job (When Managers Neglect to Coach
Their Talent, 2007). This is leading to employees feeling alienated, underutilized and ignored, and may be
searching for new jobs elsewhere. Managers who focus on talent assign their employees to jobs that play to
their strengths, make sure they have the resources they need to perform well, respect their opinions and push
them to advance (Hymowitz, 2007). The people manager should develop relationships and an environment
that is conducive to development. Five skill areas that successful developers of people have mastered are:
• encouraging an open climate for dialogue with employees

• providing employees with on-going feedback regarding performance

• helping employees understand the strategies of the organization
• helping employees identify multiple and realistic options for their career growth and development within
the enterprise
• helping employees compile meaningful, business-driven personal development plans (Kaye & Vultaggio,
2004)
. . .[I]n the new career model, employees make major shifts within the same company, or exit and reenter
the company at dierent career stages (Kulik, 2004). Organizations need to realize that talent is precious
and dynamic. Organizations need to create action strategies and provide a favorable environment to help
talent grow in line with the organizational goals.
5.8 Performance appraisal22

By Adam Ruberg
5.8.1 Purpose of appraisals
Historically, performance appraisals have been used by companies for a variety of dierent purposes, including
salary recommendations, promotion and layo decisions, and training recommendations (Kulik, 2004). In
general, performance elements tell employees what they have to do and standards tell them how well they
have to do it (United States Department of the Interior, 2004). This broad denition, however, can allow for
appraisals to be ineective, even detrimental, to employee performance. Second only to ring an employee,
managers cite performance appraisal as the task they dislike the most, and employees generally have a similar
disposition (Heatheld, Performance Appraisals Don't Work). One key item that is often forgotten during
the appraisal process (by managers and employees alike) is that the appraisal is for improvement, not blame
or harsh criticism (Bacal, 1999).
5.8.2 Creating an appropriate appraisal process

One signicant problem in creating an appraisal process is that no single performance appraisal method
will be perfect for every organization (Kulik, 2004). Establishing an appropriate process involves signicant
planning and analysis in order to provide quality feedback to the employee. The most crucial task in the
process is determining proper job dimensions that can be used to gauge the employee against accepted stan-
dards that aect the performance of the team, business unit, or company (Fukami, Performance Appraisal,
2007). Peter Drucker developed a method termed `Management by Objectives' or MBO, in order to address
the creation of such job dimensions. Drucker suggests that the objectives of any employee can be validated
if they pass the following six tests (Management by ObjectivesSMART, 2007):
• Specic
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Realistic
• Time-related
If an objective meets these criteria, it is considered a valid dimension on which to gauge performance. The
standards on which the objective is compared with should also be validated using the SMART method.

85
5.8.3 Appraisal methods

Numerous methods exist for gauging an employee's performance, and each provides strengths and weaknesses
for given environments. The following outlines some of the more commonly used methods, as well as some
recently developed ones that can be useful for various feedback situations:
Graphic rating scales: This method involves assigning some form of rating system to pertinent traits.
Ratings can be numerical ranges (1-5), descriptive categories (below average, average, above average), or
scales between desirable and undesirable traits (poor ↔ excellent). This method can be simple to setup and
easy to follow, but is often criticized for being too subjective, leaving the evaluator to dene broad traits
such Leadership ability or Conformance with standards (Kulik, 2004).
Behavioral methods: A broad category encompassing several methods with similar attributes. These
methods identify to what extent an employee displays certain behaviors, such as asking a customer to
identify the usefulness of a sales representative's recommendation. While extremely useful for jobs where
behavior is critical to success, identifying behaviors and standards for employees can often be very time
consuming for an organization (Kulik, 2004).
2+2: A relative newcomer in performance appraisal methodology, the 2+2 feedback system demonstrates
how appraisals can be used primarily for improvement purposes. By oering employees two compliments
and two suggestions for improvement focused around high-priority areas, creators Douglas and Dwight Allen
suggest that organizations can become more pleasant, more dynamic, and more productive (Formula 2+2,
2004). If the goal of the performance appraisal is employee improvement, this system can provide signicant
benets; however, if the goals are more akin to compensation changes and rankings, the system provides
little benet.
Appraisal methodologies depend greatly on the type of work being done; an assembly worker will require
a considerably dierent appraisal system than a business consultant. Signicant planning will be required
to develop appropriate methods for each business unit in an organization in order to obtain maximum
performance towards the appraisal goals.
5.8.4 Performing the appraisal

Performing an appraisal on employees can be nerve racking for both parties if the situation is not handled
correctly, and is thus seen as one of the most dicult tasks managers face. There are many acts a manager
can perform to make the process easier on both parties, and hopefully, mutually benecial.
Many assume that performance appraisals are meant to identify weaknesses to be worked on, and exposing
these weaknesses can be painful for employees. Martha Craumer suggests that organizations should be
leveraging the strengths of each employee rather than focusing on their weaknesses. By encouraging and
developing what people do well naturally . . .the organization could become more ecient by allowing their
people to do what they do best (Craumer, 2001).
The frequency of appraisal can be a notable factor in ongoing development. Yearly performance reviews
are becoming increasingly rare as companies begin to see the benets of frequent appraisal. Susan Heatheld
suggests that quarterly performance development meetings can allow for clear direction towards performance
goals (Heatheld, Performance Management is NOT an Annual Appraisal). Constant tuning of performance
can be much more eective than annual overhauls.
Any individual administering performance appraisals must realize the two-way conversation that is oc-
curring. Inviting feedback and listening to reactions and concerns from the employee during the appraisal
process becomes very important to establishing trust with the employee (United States Department of the
Interior, 2004). If the appraiser provides any negative feedback or improvement points, suggestions should
be made to help resolve the problem to develop the person's performance. With the suggestions made,
follow-up should occur to assist with any problems with the development and to track progress, rather than
waiting until the next performance review (Fukami, Performance Appraisal, 2007).
Often being seen as a strictly hierarchical feedback tool, performance appraisals can be less scary
if employees have the opportunity to appraise their managers as well as their peers. With this 360-degree
feedback process, employees and managers will see multiple vantages of their performance and can participate

∼
∼
87
a result, the eectiveness of communication is related to how well one mirrors the culture and behaviors of
the person to which one is talking. Matching a person's voice tone, tempo, body posture, movements, and
gestures creates a feedback environment where the ideas being communicated are easily understood.
In addition to mirroring the person you are communicating with, there are nine easy steps that can be
followed when giving feedback. First, be clear about what you have to say. Second, emphasize the person's
ability to change in a positive way. Third, avoid general comments and clarify pronouns such as it and
that so the person understands exactly what you are attempting to communicate. Fourth, make sure to
pick the right time. Fifth, focus on the behavior that can be changed rather than the person or your opinions
(Meister). Sixth, be descriptive rather than evaluative. Seventh, own the feedback by using I statements
that clarify your feelings related to the person you are giving feedback to. Eighth, avoid generalization
words such as all, never, always etc.; rather, use more specic examples of the behavior you are trying
to change or encourage in the future. Ninth, to ensure mutual understanding after giving feedback, ask the
person you are communicating with to restate their understanding of the issue being discussed (McGill &
Beatty, 1994).
When thinking about feedback in an organization, it is likely a person will think of performance reviews.
One common problem that managers overlook when reviewing performance is remembering that feedback
is not all about forms. Traditional performance reviews have checklists, ratings or reports that are used as
tools to analyze feedback in the organization. While these forms are useful in documenting and appraising a
person's performance, feedback should not be dictated by the type of form an organization uses. Performance
appraisals are often given at benchmarked times throughout the year. As a result, feedback is often delayed.
Increased amounts of time that pass between the time the behavior took place and the time the recipient
receives the feedback greatly aects the recipients ability to accept the feedback as useful information.
In one's personal life and in the work environment, it is important to understand that feedback is
something that can be asked for. As such, the giver and receiver of feedback are equally accountable for
communicating the need and desire to give and receive feedback. Finally, it is important to ask for comment
on the way one gives feedback because most humans are great at self-delusion. It is much easier to think
that our suggestions are useful to another person than to actually understand how our feedback is being
interpreted by another. In the end, feedback is a continuous process which ensures goals and expectations
are being met through communication between two parties.
5.8.7 Receiving feedback

While giving feedback is extremely important, receiving feedback and changing one's characteristics to reect
that feedback is just as important. Often, employees become defensive when they are receiving feedback
on their performance. Ken Blanchard, co-author of The One Minute Manager states, [t]he reason a lot of
people get defensive with feedback is they don't distinguish feedback from reaction. While they are listening
to the feedback, they have a reaction to the demand for action that your feedback implies (Blanchard,
1996). For example, when a boss is telling an employee the aspects of the job the employee needs to work
on, he may only focus on the negative points and not the positive.
Receiving feedback should not only be looked at from a downward point of view, such as a boss giving
his employees critiques; but it should also be studied in an upward way. According to Richard Reilly, James
Smither, and Nicholas Vasilopoulos, authors of A Longitudinal Study of Upward Feedback, upward feedback
(that is, subordinates rating the performance of their immediate supervisor) is growing in importance as a
tool for the individual and organizational development (1996). Upward feedback allows management to see
the eects they have on their employees. It is then up to the managers to act on that feedback. Atwater,
Roush and Fischthal found that follower ratings of student leaders improved after feedback was given to
leaders and that leaders receiving 'negative' feedback (dened as self-ratings that were considerably higher
than follower ratings) improved the most (The Inuence of Upward Feedback on Self and Follower Ratings
of Leadership, 1995). This shows that there is a bigger reaction when the upward feedback is negative instead
of positive.
In order to eectively receive feedback, a person has to be ready to understand that they may hear
critiques that they do not want to hear. Jan B. King, the former President and CEO of Merritt Publishing

states that an individual is ready to receive feedback when he:
• wants to know him as others see him and he is clear that this is their perception, net necessarily what
is true about you inside.
• trusts his co-workers to care enough about his development to risk hearing their opinion.
• has a place outside work where you can talk it through.
• Has opportunities for additional feedback so he gets validation of the changes he has made (Receiving
Feedback Gracefully is a Critical Career Skill).
If an individual is not ready to constructively receive feedback, then the feedback he does receive will not
be eective. King continues to state that individuals must remember this about feedback, it is one opinion
coming from another individual's unique perspective (Receiving Feedback Gracefully is a Critical Career
Skill). Just because one person views another individual in a particular way does not mean that the rest
of world views that person in the same way, but it is a good way for an individual to nd out what others
think of him/her that is not known.
There are several tips that an individual can use when receiving feedback. These tips include:
• Try to show your appreciation to the person providing the feedback. They will feel encouraged and
believe it or not, you do want to encourage feedback.
• Even your manager or supervisor nds providing feedback scary. They never know how the person
receiving feedback is going to react.
• If you nd yourself becoming defensive or hostile, practice stress management techniques such as taking
a deep breath and letting it out slowly.
• Focusing on understanding the feedback by questioning and restating usually defuses any feelings you
have of hostility or anger.
• If you really disagree, are angry or upset, and want to dissuade the other person of their opinion, wait
until your emotions are under control to reopen the discussion (Heatheld, How to Receive Feedback
with Grace and Dignity).
These tips are helpful in becoming a better receiver for feedback, but they will only work as long as they are
practiced on a regular basis.
With the above facts and gures workers can see that giving and receiving feedback does not have to be
scary. As long as people give and receive feedback in a constructive way and practice their feedback skills it
will eventually become second nature to the employees. It will also show that feedback provides benets for
both the individuals that work for the company, and the company itself.
For further investigation:
For information on Ken Blanchard, his Book One Minute Manager, and various facts on feedback visit:
http://www.answers.com/topic/ken-blanchard 25
For more information on the ndings of A longitudinal study of upward feedback visit:
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/ doi/ abs/10.1111/j.1744-6570.1996.tb01586.x 26
Link your knowledge:
Click on this link to nd an exercise to practice eective ways to receive feedback:
http://humanresources.about.com/cs/communication/ht/receivefeedback.htm 27
5.9 Determining base pay28

By Cynthia V Fukami
25 http://www.answers.com/topic/ken-blanchard
26 http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/ doi/ abs/10.1111/j.1744-6570.1996.tb01586.x
27 http://humanresources.about.com/cs/communication/ht/receivefeedback.htm

89
Have you ever wondered how a company decides how much to pay for a particular job? Imagine that you
have seen a job posted on the Internet. It reads, Oce Assistant Wanted. Will answer the phone and greet
visitors. Some word processing duties. Other duties as assigned. Start at USD 8.00 an hour. How did the
manager decide to pay USD 8.00 per hour? Why did she decide that was fair? In this subchapter, we will
cover the two types of fairness important in designing a base pay system.
5.9.1 Internal equity

The rst consideration is that the base pay system needs to be internally equitable . This means that
the pay dierentials between jobs need to be appropriate. The amount of base pay assigned to jobs needs
to reect the relative contribution of each job to the company's business objectives. In determining this,
the manager should ask his or herself, How does the work of the oce assistant described above compare
with the work of the oce manager? Another question to be asked is, Does one contribute to solutions for
customers more than another? Internal equity implies that pay rates should be the same for jobs where the
work is similar and dierent for jobs where the work is dissimilar. In addition, determining the appropriate
dierential in pay for people performing dierent work is a key challenge. Compensation specialists use two
tools to help make these decisions: job analysis and job evaluation.
Job analysis is a systematic method to discover and describe the dierences and similarities among jobs.
A good job analysis collects sucient information to adequately identify, dene, and describe the content
of a job. Since job titles may in and of themselves be misleading, for example, systems analyst does not
reveal much about the job; the content of the job is more important to the analysis than the title. In general,
a typical job analysis attempts to describe the skill, eort, responsibility, and working conditions of each
job. Skill refers to the experience, training, education, and ability required by the job. Eort refers to the
mental or physical degree of eort actually expended in the performance of the job. Responsibility refers
to the degree of accountability required in the performance of a job. Working conditions refer to the
physical surroundings and hazards of a job, including dimensions such as inside versus outside work, heat,
cold, and poor ventilation. A job description summarizes the information collected in the job analysis.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Job_analysis 29 for more information about job analysis.
Job evaluation is a process that takes the information gathered by the job analysis and places a value
on the job. Job evaluation is the process of systematically determining the relative worth of jobs based on
a judgment of each job's value to the organization. The most commonly used method of job evaluation
in the United States and Europe is the point method. The point method consists of three steps: (1)
dening a set of compensable factors, (2) creating a numerical scale for each compensable factor, and (3)
weighting each compensable factor. Each job's relative value is determined by the total points assigned to
it. See http://www.hr-guide.com/jobevaluation.htm 30 for more information about job evaluation and the
point system.
The result of the job analysis and job evaluation processes will be a pay structure or queue, in which jobs
are ordered by their value to the organization.
5.9.2 External equity

The second consideration in creating a base pay system is external equity. External equity refers to the
relationship between one company's pay levels in comparison to what other employers pay. Some employers
set their pay levels higher than their competition, hoping to attract the best applicants. This is called
leading the market. The risk in leading the market is that a company's costs will generally be higher than
its competitors' costs. Other employers set their pay levels lower than their competition, hoping to save
labor costs. This is called lagging the market. The risk in lagging the market is that the company will be
unable to attract the best applicants. Most employers set their pay levels the same as their competition.
This is called matching the market. Matching the market maximizes the quality of talent while minimizing
labor costs.
29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Job_analysis
30 http://www.hr-guide.com/jobevaluation.htm

An important question in external equity is how you dene your market. Traditionally, markets can be
dened in one of three ways. One way to dene your market is by identifying companies who hire employees
with the same occupations or skills. For example, if a company hires electrical engineers, it may dene its
market as all companies that hire electrical engineers. Another way to dene a market is by identifying
companies who operate in the same geographic area. For example, if the company is in Denver, Colorado,
the market would be dened as all companies in Denver, Colorado. A third way to dene a company's
market is by identifying direct competitors, that is, those companies who produce the same products and
services. For example, Shady Acres Veterinary Clinic may dene its market as all other veterinary clinics.
Notice that these three characterizations can interact, that is, Shady Acres might dene its market as all
veterinary clinics in Denver, Colorado that employ veterinary technicians.
Once you have dened your market, the next step is to survey the compensation paid by employers in
your market. Surveys can be done in a variety of ways. First, there are publicly available data through
the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the United States. Second, there are publicly available data through
the Internet, from sites such as www.salary.com 31 or www.haypaynet.com 32 . Third, salary information
can be obtained from a third party source, such as an industry group or employer organization, which has
collected general information for a geographic region or industry. Fourth, the company can hire a consulting
organization to custom design a survey. Finally, one can conduct a survey one's self. See http://www.hr-
guide.com/data/G474.htm 33 for more information about salary surveys.
5.9.3 Combining internal and external equity

A company that has performed appropriate research has two sets of data. The rst is pay structure, the
output from the job evaluation. The second is market data, the output from the market survey. The next
step will be to combine these two sets of data, to create a pay policy line. The pay policy line can be
drawn freehand, by graphing actual salaries and connecting the dots. Alternatively, statistical techniques
such as regression analysis are used to create a pay policy line. Regression generates a straight line that
best ts the data by minimizing the variance around the line. In other words, the straight line generated by
the regression analysis will be the line that best combines the internal value of a job (from job evaluation
points) and the external value of a job (from the market survey). You can also enact a policy of leading
the market by raising the line, and the policy of lagging the market by lowering the line.
How do companies decide the pay associated with each job? First, they analyze the content of each
job. Second, they assess the value each job contributes to the company. Third, they price each job in the
market. Finally, they look at the relationship between what they value internally and what the market
values externally. By following each of these steps, a company will have a fair base pay system, which will
lead to attracting and retaining the best employees.
5.9.4 Benets and non-monetary compensation

By Julie Wells
In order for most businesses to function, employees must be provided with a payment in exchange for their
services. Cash is one way to compensate employees, but cash alone is rarely enough payment. Compensation
is becoming more variable as companies base a greater proportion of it on stock options and bonuses and
a smaller proportion on base salary, not only for executives but also for people further and further down
the hierarchy (Pfeer, Six Dangerous Myths About Pay, 2000). Benets and other forms of non-monetary
compensation are becoming more appropriate forms of compensation for employees in today's workplace.
A benet is a general, indirect and non-cash compensation paid to an employee that is oered to at
least 80 per cent of sta (Employee Benets Denition). On average, 40 per cent of payroll is dedicated to
non-cash benets (Kulik, 2004). In order to attract, retain, and motivate the best employees, benets and
other sources of non-monetary compensation should be considered. There are three things a company must
31 http://cnx.org/content/m35406/latest/www.salary.com
32 http://cnx.org/content/m35406/latest/www.haypaynet.com

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fully consider before determining if and how they will issue employee benets: the industry structure, the
strengths of the company and its competitors, and the wage structure. A company should not issue benets
to employees if they have not considered the implications of these factors, specically the wage structure. If
a company oers employees extremely high wages compared to other businesses in the industry in addition
to non-monetary compensation, costs may increase at a faster rate than prot. Benets are also related to
the type of industry in which the company does business. If the company has an understanding of what
they can oer to employees and how those oerings will be received in the industry, benets can increase a
company's workforce quality and general happiness of employees.
Types of non-monetary compensation

Employee Benets Fringe Benets Perks (perquisites)
relocation assistance sick leave company cars
medical and/or dental insurance income protection hotel stays
plans
exible spending accounts vacation prot-sharing
retirement plans prot sharing leisure activities on work time, in-
oce exercise facilities
life and long-term insurance education funding stationary, business cards, per-
sonalized oce supplies
legal assistance plans rst choice at job assignments
adoption assistance and child
care plans
miscellaneous employee discounts
Table 5.2
5.9.5 The benet of benets

Benets can be required by government, oered willingly by employers, or arise from pressures within the
company. In the US, the government requires that businesses deduct Federal Income Contribution Act
(FICA) taxes from employee paychecks, which pay for Social Security and Medicare (Internal Revenue
Service). Workers' Compensation is paid to employees if they are injured while performing work necessary
for their job function; this can include breaking a bone, getting into a car accident, or payments made to the
family of someone killed on the job. Unemployment insurance provides wages to unemployed persons,
generally only if they are registered as unemployed and actively seeking a job. In Australia, these benets
are paid through the income taxes, but payments are issued by Centrelink, a governmental oce that seeks
to support unemployed individuals and help them become self-supporting (Centrelink). The Family Medical
Leave Act (FMLA) allows individuals to leave work for a semi-extended period of time in order to care
for an ailing family member, new child, or personal illness. This leave is unpaid, but it guarantees that
employees will not lose their jobs if they leave under these circumstances.
Employee benets that are not required by law are often provided. These are attractive to businesses as
well as employees because they provide both with some tax advantages. For example, if a company oers
employees a exible spending account, money that employees receive in this account may be deducted from
total earnings on employees' tax returns. Employees can use pre-tax dollars to pay for eligible health care
and dependent care expenses, however any money that remains in the account at the end of the year will
be forfeited (SHPS). This is a benet to employees because individuals will receive a portion of their income
tax-free. Employers also benet from oering these types of programs because they also receive tax benets
and they retain happy employees by providing programs that meet their needs.

Benets are also oered to employees as incentives. These are designed to attract, keep, and improve life
for employees. They are not usually required by the government but companies may receive tax benets for
some types of these non-monetary payments. There are a plethora of services that can be oered, including
complementary gym memberships, on-site daycare, company cars, and paid vacations. Companies oer such
these benets in order to create a culture for their employees, which have the ability to promote social
interaction, make life easier for working parents, or improve employees' quality of life. Depending on the
industry, benets may be more attractive than salary gures; this could allow companies to pay lower wages
to employees, thus reducing the total amount spent in payroll. In situations like these, a company may want
to be extremely creative in devising their benet packages.
5.9.6 Detriments of benets

Benets can provide companies with ways to attract high quality employees and help retain them especially
if the benets oered are signicantly dierent or better than the benets oered by competitors. However,
there are negative situations that can arise from oering too many or the wrong kind of benets to employees.
These can be better understood in the context of the following case study.
By attracting employees who desire a strong work/life balance, the SAS Institute has the potential to
create an overly homogenous culture. This can lead to a lack of dissent in the company; if someone disagrees
with a policy or practice, they may be less likely to voice their opinions for fear of demonstrating dierent
opinions than their friends and co-workers. This can also foster an environment that lacks cultural, ethnic,
or social diversity, which can lead to an inability to adopt change within the company.
Case, The SAS Institute
The SAS Institute, based in the southern United States, is a software development company that competes
against global software giants, such as Microsoft. In order to attract employees that t their unique company
culture, SAS has developed an extensive employee benet program that is oered to all employees at the
company. Salaries paid to SAS employees are not signicantly higher than competitors in the industry,
but they do maintain a competitive pay rate. For the ideal employee, however, the benets more than
compensate for an unimpressive salary.
Benets at SAS include: private oces for all employees; contributions of 15 per cent into employee prot
sharing plans; 200 acre natural campus setting with on-site hiking trails and picnic areas, sculptures, and
artwork; the latest technology and equipment; 35 hour work week; on-site medical facility (including nurses,
doctors, a physical therapist, massage therapist, and mental health practitioner), ve minute waiting time
for appointments, and free healthcare for employees and their families; health plans that cover most basic
needs and oer cost accountable services for services that are more extensive; on-site Montessori daycare
at 33 per cent of the cost of normal daycare; on-site private junior and senior high schools, open to students
from outside of SAS, with high tech laboratories and equipment; free on-site gym for employees and families
with a pool, exercise classes, yoga, weight room, etc.; cafeteria with high quality food at low prices, live piano
music, and the option of dining with your children if they attend the on-site schools; subsidized memberships
oered for health clubs and daycare o property; company owned country club memberships at signicantly
low costs for employees and their families; and more.
SAS is a unique example of a company that hires employees who desire a strong work/life balance. Not
all software engineers would desire this lifestyle, but SAS recognizes that they hire from a unique niche of
employees and seek to attract these individuals. This has been very successful; SAS is certainly among the
lowest [turnover] in the industryless than 4 per cent annually. For a company of more than 5,000 employees,
this is quite an achievement, and much of their success can be linked to their unique HRM practices (SAS).
5.9.7 Pay for performance

By Bonggi Yim and Chanakiat Art Samarnbutra

93
5.9.7.1 Compensation techniques

According to Kulik, it is important for companies to attract quality job applicants, motivate employees to be
high performers, and encourage long-term employee retention (Human Resources for the Non-HR Manager,
2004). Doing these things can increase companies' competitive power today. Compensation systems usually
consist of three categories: base salary, short-term incentive systems, and long-term incentive systems
(Kulik, 2004). Reward systems really aect work performance.
Reward systems can be applied to employees with dierent formula. Poorly designed and administered
reward systems can do more harm than good. It is important to design reward systems carefully, taking into
considerations base salary and incentives according to the dierent tasks of specic employees.
Companies should have well-designed base salaries. Nowadays, many websites (e.g. salary.com 34 , job-
star.org35 , wageweb.com36 ) provide detailed information to employees according to company mission (Kulik,
2004). When a company designs a base salary, they have to consider the company's unique aspects: locations
and acquisition period of skills and so on. Depending on ranking system of the company, employees need
to be evaluated dierently. A CEO's evaluation is dierent from that of management and evaluation of
management is dierent from that of employees.
Companies also provide short term incentives to employees. Most companies' compensation systems
include variable pay (Kulik, 2004). Depending on work performance, many companies reward their em-
ployees without aecting base salary. To achieve a set goal, many companies use bonuses. For example,
Nucor set its base pay at about half of the competition's. By emphasizing a bonus system, Nucor has shifted
the risk onto the employee's shoulders (Kulik, 2004). Companies should have exact evaluation systems that
support bonus pay. Many companies such as GE, HP, and Sun Microsystems are using software that directly
evaluates employees' behavior with respect to customer service.
Long-term incentives are also a part of reward systems. Stock options and prot-sharing plans are
representative long-term reward systems (Kulik, 2004). Even though employees are motivated by these
incentives, they do not receive benets until after few years. For example, employees cannot sell stock
options until after a few years after they receive stock options. In a prot-sharing plan, employees are
promised a payment beyond base pay that is based on company prots (Kulik, 2004).
5.9.8 Components of pay for performance

According to Dr Cynthia Fukami, a professor from the University of Denver, these are the main components
of pay for performance (Fukami, Reward Systems, 2007):
1. The company pays the employee beyond his or her job value.
2. Many forms for improving the pay system are available.
3. The company can divide up the pay into 3 levels that are individual, team, and company-wide.
5.9.9 Pay secrecy

Besides the compensation techniques, the companies should consider whether the compensation system
should be secret. Historically, employees and businesses both expressed concerns about the public discussion
of salary; however, such discussions should not be prohibited (Kulik, 2004). Companies need to conclude
what information they should reveal in their pay systems. Some US companies select to announce salary
ranges. For example, for each position American Express posts the market pay ranges so that its employees
can compare them with their salaries. Some companies disclose the formula and the factors they may use to
calculate salaries, such as education and experience.
34 http://cnx.org/content/m35406/latest/salary.com
35 http://cnx.org/content/m35406/latest/jobstar.org
36 http://cnx.org/content/m35406/latest/wageweb.com

5.9.10 Good outcomes of paying for performance
Dr Cynthia Fukami notes that reward system is a powerful tool if pay links with performance (Fukami,
Reward Systems, 2007):
1. Strategic objectives of the organization will be achieved.

2. The reward system will support the organizational culture.
3. Employees' working performance will be improved from the right pay practice.
4. Competitive advantages have increased continuously.
5.9.11 Folly of reward systems in dierent organizations

In politics : Politicians are separated from the general population when they speak only of ocial goals
that are purposely vague and generalized. In contrast, the electorate will punish the candidate who frankly
informs about the source of fund.
In universities : According to Steven Kerr, Society hopes that professors will not neglect their teaching
responsibilities but rewards them almost entirely for research and publications (p. 9). While it is easy
to recognize those professors who receive awards, quantifying a dedication to teaching is more dicult. To
resolve this problem, it is essential that university leadership should emphasize teaching and doing research
equally.
In sport: Coaches talk about teamwork, not individuals. Clearly, in a reward system, the best player will
receive the biggest reward. Therefore, players normally think of themselves rst and their team second. To
correct this problem, the team manager needs to reduce the gaps of pay among team players.
5.9.12 Cautions for introducing a pay system

• Much advice about pay is wrong (Kerr, 1995). Many executives learn that the employees will certainly
work more eectively in case that the company gives them higher compensation. Pfeer said that the
executives may not be spending as much time and eort as it should on the work environment-on
dening its jobs, on creating its culture, and making work fun and meaningful (Six Dangerous Myths
About Pay, 2000). Sometimes, companies pay well to create proactive work environment and get new
innovative ideas in return. This policy does not surely work, especially when the top executives and
employees are lacking of trust with each other.
• Pay systems need to align with the company culture. The top management should adjust the pay
system when it is not t with the current business strategy. However, changing the internal culture is
a wrong idea because it is embedded in the employees' minds. The confusion can make the growth of
the company stagnant.
• Implementing the reward system is hard and takes management time Most companies believe that
employees will work eectively when they get rewards for their eorts. Because of this concern, the
HR managers cannot maintain the policy in compensation. From Mercer survey, nearly three-quarters
of all the companies surveyed had made major changes to their pay plans in just the past two years
(Pfeer, Six Dangerous Myths About Pay, 2000). In addition, an example of changing reward system
occurred in Sears. Sears had to eliminate its commission system because Sears's employees wanted
high commission, so they oered unneeded services to customers.
5.10 Meaningful job design37

By Ryan Brown and Mike McClain

95
Job design is critical to the success of any organization. For our purposes job design is dened as
the allocation of specic work tasks to individuals and groups (Schermerhorn, Job Design Alternatives,
2006). Allocating jobs and tasks means specifying the contents, method and relationships of jobs to satisfy
technological and organizational requirements as well as the personal needs of jobholders. If successful job
design is not implemented, than the companies general strategy and direction will be strongly diverted.
Meaningful jobs must also exemplify the company's goals and culture.
5.10.1 Elements to job design

In order to better understand job design it is helpful to dene some key elements and their relationship with
job design processes. A task can be best dened as a piece of assigned work expected to be done within
a certain time. It is important to strictly and thoroughly identify tasks that need completion. In addition
individuals need to be compelled, excited, and passionate to do their work. Hence, it is essential to design
jobs that motivate employees. Motivation describes forces within the individual that account for the level,
direction, and persistence of eort expended at work (Schermerhorn, Job Design Alternatives, 2006).
In job design it is necessary to identify and structure jobs in a way so that the company's resources are
being eciently used. Resource Allocation occurs when organizations decide to appropriate or allocate
certain resources to specic jobs, tasks or dilemmas facing the organization. Jobs need to be constructed
so that eciency of the worker or department is maximized. Organizations need to use the resources
and creativity of their employees eectively and eciently. Appropriate resource allocation allows large
organizations to foster and develop innovation in their workforce (Dorenbosch, van Engen, & Verhagen,
2005).
Reward systems also play a role in job design. Reward systems include compensation, bonuses, raises, job
security, benets, and various other methods of reward for employees. An outline or description of reward
packages needs to be established while constructing jobs.
5.10.2 Brief history of traditional approaches to job design

Taylorism, also known as scientic management, is a foundation for management and managerial decisions.
Frederick Taylor developed this theory in an eort to develop a science for every job within an organization
(Taylorism).
Taylorism
Taylorism principles
Create a standard method for each job.

Successfully select and hire proper workers.
Eectively train these workers
Support these workers.
Table 5.3
Hertzberg's Motivation-Hygiene theory attempts to uncover psychological needs of employees and enhance
employee satisfaction. In regards to this theory employers are encouraged to design jobs that enhance and
motivate employees beyond simply meeting a daily or weekly quota. This theory highlights the importance of
rewards systems and monitoring when and how employees are rewarded. Simple recognition is often enough
to motivate employees and increase job satisfaction (Herzberg's Motivation-Hygiene Theory).
More eective jobs can be created when specic goals are established. Goal setting theory as described
by Edwin Locke mainly focuses on the motivational properties of task goals (Schermerhorn, Job Design
Alternatives, 2006). Task goals can be highly motivating when set and managed properly. One of the

problems with goal setting theory in job design is that individuals are more strongly motivated by establishing
or setting their own personal goals. If organizations set these goals for their employees the eectiveness of this
technique is diminished. Moreover, individuals are often times ineective at setting personal goals (Godwin,
Neck, & Houghton, 1999). If a company wants to implement goal setting theory with regards to job design
than a reasonable job criteria and description must be established.
5.10.3 Current approaches to job design

Technology and the attening of the global economy have contributed greatly to the changes we now see in
jobs and job content across the world. This shift is a signal for employers to meet changing job demands
and expectations (McDonald & Obenchain, 2003). We now recognize that a person presented with quality
meaningful work is more likely to do that work well. Because of this insight, job design now presently takes
a couple of prominent forms.
The rst of which is designed around the evolution from individual work to work-groups. This job design
practice is called socio-technical systems (STS) approach. This approach has the following guiding principles:
• The design of the organization must t its goals.
• Employees must be actively involved in designing the structure of the organization.
• Control of variances in production or service must be undertaken as close to their source as possible.
• Subsystems must be designed around relatively self-contained and recognizable units of work.
• Support systems must t in with the design of the organization.
• The design should allow for a high quality of working life.
• Changes should continue to be made as necessary to meet the changing environmental pressures (Accel
Team)
Click here38 to read more about soci-technial systems approach to job design.
Another modern job design theory is the Job Characteristics Model ( JCM), which maintains ve impor-
tant elements that motivate workers and performance: skill variety, task identity, task signicance, autonomy,
and job feedback. The individual elements are then proposed to lead to positive outcomes through three
psychological states: experienced meaningfulness, experienced responsibility, and the knowledge of results
(Parker & Turner, 2002).
A further evolution of this theory is Psychological Empowerment Theory (Spreitzer, 1995). This
theory posits that there is a distinction between empowering practices and cognitive motivational states.
When a person is aware of the impact that they are having, they benet more than if they cannot relate a
positive impact to any of their behaviors or practices.
There are many more iterations of job design theory that have evolved from the practices of previous
generations, but one general trend can be identied among them; the move towards autonomous work teams
and the importance placed upon the meaning derived from the individual.
5.10.4 Steps to eective job design

Key to eectively crafting a meaningful job for an employee is starting the thought process by looking at
the values and strategy of the organization. By framing the job in these contexts the job design process is
more likely to align potential employees with the purpose of the company. Once you have this context the
following steps39 will ensure both meaningful and eective job design:
1. Assess skills, needs, abilities, and motivations of employees and the organization.
2. Design the job to meet those needs, abilities and motivations.
3. Implement the new job design.
4. Audit the success of the job design and begin with step one periodically as well as when problems have
been identied.
38 http://www.accel-team.com/work_design/wd_03.html
39 http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/hsprograms/job_design.html

97
5.10.5 How meaningful job design can impact an organization

The goal of job design is to positively aect the performance of an organization. It (job design) aects how
well employees coordinate their work, the degree to which they are committed to the goals of the organization,
the extent to which their abilities are tapped, and the extent to which their psychological and ergonomic
needs are met (Beer, Spector, Lawrence, Mills, & Walton, 1984). As this quote shows, job design is the
base element for producing eective work organizations, and without meaningful job design, an organization
will never operate to its potential.
5.11 Termination40
By James Frasche
The termination of an employee is an uncomfortable event for all parties involved. Obviously, the employee
losing his or her job will be distraught for many reasons, and in many cases the manager responsible for
making the termination decision and the employee have formed a personal relationship during the employee's
tenure, thereby making the manager's responsibility of letting someone go an undesirable one. However,
there are ways that a manager can lessen the unpleasantness of the termination process.
There are many factors to take into consideration when terminating an employee. First and foremost,
an employer must take into account the nature of the relationship that exists between the organization and
the employee in order to assess the legality of the termination. In the United States, approximately 70 per
cent of employers and employees maintain an at will relationship with one another, that is, an employee
may quit their job for any reason, at any time, or an employer may re an employee for any reason, at any
time. The other 30 per cent of the workforce is employed under individual employment contracts or union
contracts that specify the length of an employment relationship, how the relationship can be severed, and
how the relationship can be extended (Kulik, 2004).
An at will relationship may give the impression that a termination decision may never be challenged.
Indeed, ring an employee for cause is made even easier when an at will relationship is present. Broadly
speaking, an employer can typically re an employee for cause when their behavior falls under the following
categories (Falcone, 2002):
1. Policy and procedure violations

2. Substandard job performance
3. Inappropriate workplace conduct
4. Attendance/tardiness problems
However, there are some instances in which employees can be wrongfully discharged or red for reasons
that are not legitimate, typically either because they are unlawful or because they violate the terms of an
employment contract (Lectric Law Library). Some of the illegitimate reasons for terminating employees
include, among many others, discrimination and violations of public policy. For a more complete list of ille-
gitimate reasons for terminating employees in the US, visit: http://smallbusiness.ndlaw.com/employment-
employer/employment-employer-ending/employment-employer-ending-wrongful-reasons(1).html 41 .
There are several laws that have been enacted in the United States in order to protect employees from
unfair termination in the workplace based on discrimination, the most prevalent of which are Title VII
of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 , the Age Discrimination and Employment Act of 1967 ( ADEA ) and the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ( ADA ). Title VII, the broadest of these statutes, protects employees,
applicants, and union members from termination and discrimination in the workplace based on race, color,
religion, gender, and national origin, regardless of the nature of the employment relationship (at will, union,
etc.) (Clarkson, 2004). For instance, if an African American or Muslim individual can prove in a court
of law that he or she was red because of race or religious preferences, that employee is entitled to both
40This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m35413/1.4/>.
41http://smallbusiness.ndlaw.com/employment-employer/employment-employer-ending/employment-employer-ending-
wrongful-reasons(1).html

compensatory and punitive damages under Title VII. Organizations that employ 100 people or less are
liable for USD 50,000 and organizations that employ 100 or more employees are liable for USD 300,000 in
punitive and compensatory damages under Title VII (Clarkson, 2004). For more information on Title VII,
including the claims process, bona de occupational qualication defense, and who is protected, visit the
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's ( EEOC) website at: http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/vii.html 42
.
According to West's Business Law, it is quite possible that discrimination based on age is the most
widespread form of discrimination, being that anyone, regardless of gender, national origin, etc. may nd
themselves a victim at some point in their life (Clarkson, 2004). The practice of laying-o older employees
and hiring younger, less expensive ones in order to cut costs is a common occurrence amongst organizations
that operate in the United States. Sec. 621 (Section 2) of the ADEA states, in the face of rising produc-
tivity and auence, older workers nd themselves disadvantaged in their eorts to retain employment, and
especially to regain employment when displaced from jobs. In an eort to promote employment of older
persons based on their ability rather than age, Congress enacted the ADEA, which prohibits employment
discrimination on the basis of age against individuals forty years of age or older (The US Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission). In order for the ADEA to apply to a specic employer (under federal law), that
employer must employ twenty or more people, and the employer must engage in interstate commerce.
Should a plainti successfully prove that age discrimination has occurred, the remedies under the ADA
stipulate that the employee may be awarded back pay, attorney's fees, liquidated damages (when a willful
violation has been proven), front pay (which is designed to compensate the victim for future losses), and
injunctive relief (which may include reinstatement). Unlike Title VII, punitive and compensatory damages
are not awarded under the ADEA (Clarkson, 2004). To view the ADEA in its entirety, visit the EEOC's
website at: http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/adea.html 43 .
According to the US Congress, 43,000,000 Americans have one or more mental or physical disabilities. In
1990, Congress enacted the Americans with Disabilities Act , which made it illegal for private employers, state
and local governments, employment agencies, labor organizations, and labor-management committees to
discriminate against individuals based on a disability (The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission).
Furthermore, the ADA was specically enacted in order to (1) provide a clear and comprehensive mandate
for the elimination of discrimination against individuals with disabilities, (2) provide clear, strong, consistent,
enforceable standards addressing discrimination against individuals with disabilities, (3) to ensure that the
Federal Government plays a central role in enforcing the standards established in this Act on behalf of
individuals with disabilities, and (4) to invoke the sweep of congressional authority, including the power
to enforce the fourteenth amendment and to regulate commerce, in order to address the major areas of
discrimination faced day-to-day by people with disabilities (US Department of Labor).
As of 1994, the ADA is applicable to companies that employ 15 or more employees and prohibits
such companies from discriminating based on a disability in all employment practices such as recruit-
ment, pay, hiring, ring, promotion, benets, etc. For more information on the ADA including reme-
dies under the act and the plainti's burden of proof, visit the US Department of Labor's website at:
http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/statutes/ofccp/ada.htm 44 .
Most states in the US prohibit employers from ring an employee in violation of public policy, that is,
for reasons that most people would nd morally or ethically wrong such as terminating an employee for (1)
refusing to commit an illegal act such as refusing to falsify insurance claims or lie to government auditors
(2) complaining about an employer's illegal conduct such as the employer's failure to pay minimum wage,
or (3) exercising a legal right such as voting or taking family leave (FindLaw.com 45 ).
The manner in which an organization terminates an employee can send a powerful message to the orga-
nization's remaining sta (Heatheld, How to Fire an Employee). Managers must be aware that seemingly
unfair or harsh terminations may cause some of the organizations best workers to become less eective or
seek new employment for fear of the same treatment. In some cases, it is appropriate for managers to en-
42 http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/vii.html
43 http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/adea.html
44 http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/statutes/ofccp/ada.htm
45 http://cnx.org/content/m35413/latest/FindLaw.com

99
gage in progressive discipline before terminating an under performing employee. Progressive discipline is a
process for dealing with job-related behavior that does not meet expected and communicated performance
standards. The primary purpose for progressive discipline is to assist the employee to understand that a per-
formance problem or opportunity for improvement exists (Heatheld, Discipline (Progressive Discipline)).
By attempting to assist an employee in xing any problems that they are experiencing in the workplace
before terminating them, the organization communicates a strong commitment to its employees, which can
go a long way in regards to retention, turnover, and other areas of concern.
Should the decision be made to move forward with the termination process after all other options have
been exhausted, it is important for managers to know how, when, and where to break the news to the
employee. Supervising managers should generally be responsible for terminating an employee, and it is
generally improper to pass this responsibility o to upper management or to the human resources department.
Most managers postpone telling an employee about their termination until the end of the week. However,
this may be a grave mistake, as the employee will have the entire weekend to complain about their treatment
to their coworkers and friends, thereby tarnishing the reputation of the organization. An alternative is for
managers to break the news of termination to employees at the beginning of the week. This will give the
employee time to cool o and think about their next move before they have the opportunity to socially
interact with former coworkers during the weekend (Kulik, 2004).
The termination interview is an important aspect of the exit process. The following are guidelines for the
termination interview provided by the experts at Hay Associates as seen in Framework for Human Resource
Management.
• Plan the interview carefully.
· Make sure the employee keeps the appointment time.
· Never inform an employee over the phone.
· Allow 10 minutes as sucient time for the interview.
· Use a neutral site, never your own oce.
· Have employee agreements, the human resources le, and a release announcement (internal and
external) prepared in advance.
· Be available at a time after the interview in case questions or problems arise.
· Have phone numbers ready for medical or security emergencies.
• Get to the point. As soon as the employee enters the meeting, give the person a moment to get
comfortable and then inform him or her of your decision.
• Describe the situation. Briey explain why the person is being red. Remember to describe the
situation rather than attack the employee personally.
• Listen. Continue the interview until the person appears to be talking freely and reasonably calmly
about the reasons for termination.
• Review all elements of the severance package. Describe severance payments, benets, access to oce
support people, and the way references will be handled. However, under no conditions should any
promises or benets beyond those already in the support package be implied.
• Identify the next step. The terminated employee may be disoriented and unsure of what to do next.
Explain where the employee should go next, upon leaving the interview.
note: The above is a brief summary of some of the issues surrounding the termination process
in the United States and, due to space constraints, in no way takes into account all of the factors
that managers should consider while terminating an employee. Readers are encouraged to explore
the outside reference material noted above as well as other literature that will provide more insight
into the termination process, as well as consulting with appropriate legal counsel.
5.11.1 Downsizing
By Logan Price
The goal of any company is to supply a product or service that customers are willing to pay for. If a
company provides a good that consumers are willing to pay a lot of money for, the company will similarly
earn a lot of money. As long as the amount of money the company brings in is more than the amount they
spend to make the good the company will prot and grow. To fuel this growth companies must invest in
additional resources and must increase its number of workers. During times of growth few employees are
laid o and the company is making money.
However, a company's product or service may no longer be desired by consumers over time. Some reasons
this might occur are because the good has gone out of date or a competitor may have created a better product
or may oer a better service. Loss of demand happens all the time in a competitive business environment.
With so many companies trying to sell their products or services it becomes essential for companies to
continually improve upon existing oerings so they do not fall behind competitors. But companies do fall
behind, and as a result growth and prots quickly turn to layos and losses. Sometimes losses are so bad
that the company cannot survive and simply closes down. Other times the lost revenue is not enough to
shut down the company. In this instance the company cuts some resources and workers in order to survive
the downturn in business. When companies decide to do this it is called downsizing.
To downsize, as dened by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is to re (employees) for the purpose of
downsizing46 a business. The reasons for downsizing businesses vary, but the main reason for doing this is
because the product(s) or service(s) that the company oers is not as successful as it once was. As a result
revenues decrease, and expenses (costs like materials and employees) must be cut to counter the lost revenue.
Obviously, employees do not like it when they get laid o. However, downsizing is something that neither the
company nor the employees want to see happen. Since both sides suer (the company loses money and the
worker loses a job) downsizing is often not met with strong resistance from employees. One reason for this
lack of resistance is that employees understand that they are not being red for doing a bad job. Employees
tend to be more understanding if a company is forced to reduce its labor force. Also, the employees that
are laid o during a downturn are normally the rst ones to be rehired if business picks back up. Business
will always have companies that are growing and companies that are dying, and downsizing and layos are
a natural part of that cycle. Since downsizing is a normal part of business it can often be seen as necessary
and reasonable.
There is one other main reason why companies would downsize. If a company observes that they could
be getting the same amount of output from fewer workers it makes economic sense to let the excess workers
go. As an example, imagine a job that it would take three workers an hour to do. Now, if a fourth worker
was added the job area would get crowded so everyone worked slowly and it took the four of them over
an hour to complete. Clearly, the fourth worker is not adding value to the job and the company should
downsize by ring the fourth worker. This practice is somewhat common, as most businesses continually
review their processes to look for areas of the business that could run more eciently with fewer expenses.
For example, by evaluating and changing a manufacturing process could be streamlined resulting in reduced
labor, material, and/or time costs while producing the same output.
In order to continue growth and avoid the need for downsizing, products and services must constantly
be made better, cheaper, and/or faster than what is being oered by the competition. A company that does
this successfully will enjoy increased revenues and most likely growth. Companies that fail to oer products
and services that are better, cheaper, and/or faster than their competition will not succeed. Companies are
constantly battling with each other for market share, and downsizing and growth are two results of how
eectively companies create demand for their good.
5.11.2 HR Metrics
By Ronald Tam
For any company that is implementing new human resource programs or adjusting existing ones, these
changes can quickly become a substantial company project. The roles of human resource programs are to
manage the employees of companies to increase the human capital in a company. However, the specic
46 http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/downsizing

101
goals or strategies that HR seeks to achieve may be dierent for each company or situation. Therefore, there
is no set standard for measuring the success of HR.
The business world is dominated by people who look at metrics, and the HR world needs to play in
that space. . .if you can measure manufacturing eciency with Six Sigma, why not use similar analytics to
measure human capital performance (Grossman, 2006). It is suggested that the business world is focused
on metrics in determining success. Similar approaches must be taken to value HR in order for it to be widely
accepted, but were the HR policies and practices really worth the time and eort? HR thought so, based
on overall company performance. But Poses, who also had served as a nancial analyst at AlliedSignal,
wanted more. He wanted substantive proof, validation that his HR investments were paying o (Grossman,
2006). This is the most common view of companies when it comes to HR, so the metrics sought out here is
a nancial measure.
The rst approach to HR metrics would be the approach in measuring the nancial success of the company
as a result of the HR implementations. Evaluations can be viewed as company projects or investments in
this case. The rst measurement is just a simple ratio of change in prots due to new HR divided by cost of
the new HR. This measure will give an idea of how well the new changes paid o relative to how much was
spent on it. Another measure is payback period, The payback period of an investment is the period of time
required for the cumulative cash inows (net cash ows) from a project to equal the initial cash outlay (net
investment) (Moyer, McGuigan, & Kretlow, 2006). The payback period is measured by the net investment
divided by the annual cash inows as a result of that investment; this measure will give a company an idea
of how long it takes the project to earn by its cost. The nal measure for nancial metrics of HR is a
net present value, The net present value of a capital expenditure project is dened as the present value
of the stream of net (operating) cash ows from the projects minus the project's net investment (Moyer,
McGuigan, & Kretlow, 2006). This is done by taking the present value of all future expected cash ows from
the HR change and subtracting it from the cost of the project. This will put the value of the HR project
in monetary terms like any other investment for the company. These are all measures that can be used to
express the HR program or changes in terms of a relationship between its nancial returns and costs. There
are no specic standards for determining whether an HR project was a good investment or not, but the
company should relate their results with industry results or historic results.
The other approach to HR metrics is more towards operations aspect of the company. The old HR
measures, such as head count, the cost of compensation and benets, time to ll, and turnover, no longer
cut it in this new world of accountability. They don't go far enough to create shareholder value and align
people decisions with corporate objectives (Schneider, 2006). Since the purpose of HR is to improve an
operational aspect of the company, it should also be measured in that context. Many companies are forging
ahead on eorts to create a new set of metrics that the traditional HR functions like recruiting, training, and
performance review [relate] to overall corporate goals (Schneider, 2006). Measurements here can include a
variety of traditional measurements such as employee turnover, average stay of employees, eciency of em-
ployees, etc. These measures all aect the operation aspects of a company and are standardized information
currently. A new measure that can be introduced is the measurement of human capital; human-capital met-
rics can provide meaningful correlations that help predict behavior and human-capital investment demands
well ahead of the annual budget. Another new HR metric can be directly related to the operational aspects
of the company. HR metrics might measure eciency, or the time and cost of activities; human-capital
metrics measure the eectiveness of such activities. Time to ll becomes time to productivity; turnover rate
becomes turnover quality; training costs become training return on investment (Schneider, 2006). The take
from non-nancial HR metrics is that there is no limit to any measurements or techniques. They can range
from something simple and standard such as employee turnover to something creative that measures the
eects of human capital increases, customer satisfaction increases, etc.
Human resources should be treated like any other projects that a company can undertake. It can be
measured both with nancial results or operational results. The nancial results are measures to compare
the cost against the return from HR. The operational measure can look at standards or more complex
and creative measures. Ultimately HR metrics are valued and judged against the goals or strategies of the
company and how well they are aligned with the results. Therefore, a company should not limit themselves

on how they are evaluating their HR success and build techniques around how they feel they feel they should
value it.

• Provide three reasons for a company to implement a high-commitment work system.
• Name and describe three examples of mechanisms a company could use to increase employee partici-
pation.
• Discuss the four dierent categories of diversity. Give one reason why each would be important to a
company.
• Discuss the pros and cons of internal and external recruiting. Which one do you prefer, and why?
• Should tests be used to select employees? Why? Why not?
• What are the primary benets of training employees?
• What is the relationship between career development systems and employee retention?
• Identify the critical parts of an eective performance appraisal.
• Provide two lessons for giving, and for receiving, feedback eectively.
• Dene internal and external equity in establishing a base pay system.
• Provide three reasons to provide employees compensation in the form of benets.
• Name and describe two examples of each: short-term incentives and long-term incentives.
• Name the ve characteristics of the JCM approach to job design, and provide an example of each.
• What are the four main reasons why an employee is terminated?
• How can a company avoid downsizing?
• Identify two ways to measure the eectiveness of your Human Resource Management policies.
5.13 Exercise48
1. Read the description of SAS Institute in the section on Employee Benets. Do some research on SAS
Institute. Based on the description and your research, be prepared to debate the following issue:
Is SAS smart to provide these abundant benets to its employees, or, are they spending too
much money on their employees?
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Chapter 6
Marketing on a global scale
As you read this chapter, you should develop an understanding of the following key marketing concepts:
• the important role marketing can play in the success of an organization
• the various kinds of marketing
• the strategic workings of marketing components
• understand the various bases for market segmentation
• understand the role of marketing research
• understand the behavior of the individual consumer in the marketplace
• understand the primary tools available to marketers and how they are used
6.2 Dening marketing2

Noted Harvard Professor of Business Theodore Levitt, states that the purpose of all business is to "nd
and keep customers". Furthermore, the only way you can achieve this objective is to create a competitive
advantage. That is, you must convince buyers (potential customers) that what you have to oer them comes
closest to meeting their particular need or want at that point in time. Hopefully, you will be able to provide
this advantage consistently, so that eventually the customer will no longer consider other alternatives and
will purchase your product out of habit. This loyal behavior is exhibited by people in the US who drive
only Fords, brush their teeth only with Crest, buy only Dell computers, and have their plumbing xed
only by "Samson PlumbingOn Call 24 hours, 7 days a week". Creating this blind commitmentwithout
consideration of alternativesto a particular brand, store, person, or idea is the dream of all businesses. It
is unlikely to occur, however, without the support of an eective marketing program. In fact, the specic
role of marketing is to provide assistance in identifying, satisfying, and retaining customers .
While the general tasks of marketing are somewhat straightforward, attaching an acceptable denition
to the concept has been dicult. A textbook writer once noted, "Marketing is not easy to dene. No one
has yet been able to formulate a clear, concise denition that nds universal acceptance". Yet a denition of
some sort is necessary if we are to layout the boundaries of what is properly to be considered "marketing".
How do marketing activities dier from non-marketing activities? What activities should one refer to as
marketing activities? What institutions should one refer to as marketing institutions?
Marketing is advertising to advertising agencies, events to event marketers, knocking on doors to sales-
people, direct mail to direct mailers. In other words, to a person with a hammer, everything looks like a
109
110 CHAPTER 6. MARKETING ON A GLOBAL SCALE
nail. In reality, marketing is a way of thinking about business, rather than a bundle of techniques. It is
much more than just selling stu and collecting money. It is the connection between people and products,
customers and companies. Like organic tissue, this kind of connectionor relationshipis always growing or
dying. It can never be in a steady state. And like tissue paper, this kind of connection is fragile. Customer
relationships, even longstanding ones, are contingent on the last thing that happened.
Tracing the evolution of the various denitions of marketing proposed during the last thirty years reveals
two trends: (1) expansion of the application of marketing to non-prot and non-business institutions; e.g.
charities, education, or health care; and (2) expansion of the responsibilities of marketing beyond the personal
survival of the individual rm, to include the betterment of society as a whole. These two factors are reected
in the ocial American Marketing Association denition published in 1988.
Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception. pricing, promotion, and
distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual (customer)
and organizational objectives.
While this denition can help us better comprehend the parameters of marketing, it does not provide a
full picture. Denitions of marketing cannot esh out specic transactions and other relationships among
these elements. The following propositions are oered to supplement this denition and better position
marketing within the rm.
1. The overall directive for any organization is the mission statement or some equivalent statement of
organizational goals. It reects the inherent business philosophy of the organization.
2. Every organization has a set of functional areas (e.g. accounting, production, nance, data processing,
marketing) in which tasks that are necessary for the success of the organization are performed. These
functional areas must be managed if they are to achieve maximum performance.
3. Every functional area is guided by a philosophy (derived from the mission statement or company goals)
that governs its approach toward its ultimate set of tasks.
4. Marketing diers from the other functional areas in that its primary concern is with exchanges that
take place in markets, outside the organization (called a transaction).
5. Marketing is most successful when the philosophy, tasks, and manner of implementing available tech-
nology are coordinated and complementary.
6.3 The role of marketing in the rm: a basis for classication3

Marketing is an individualized and highly creative process. Despite the availability of high-powered comput-
ers and sophisticated software capable of analyzing massive amounts of data, marketing is still more of an
art rather than a science. Each business must customize its marketing eorts in response to its environment
and the exchange process. Consequently, no two marketing strategies are exactly the same.
This requirement of marketing to play slightly dierent roles, depending upon some set of situational
criteria, has in turn provided us with a division of marketing into a number of dierent categories. This is
not to imply, however, that there are not general marketing principles that work in most businessesthere
are. There is a right and wrong way to design a package. There are certain advertising strategies that tend
to work more often than others. Rather, we are saying that because of certain factors, a business's approach
toward marketing and the ensuing strategy will require some modication from the basic plan.
Shown in Table 1 are the most common types of marketing categories. Since these various types of
marketing will be discussed throughout this text, a brief introduction is provided at this point.

111
6.3.1 Macromarketing versus micromarketing

The division of marketing into macromarketing and micromarketing is a fairly recent one. Initially, the
division was a result of the controversy concerning the responsibility of marketing. Should marketing be
limited to the success of the individual rm, or should marketing consider the economic welfare of a whole
society? Accepting the later, or "macro", point of view dramatically changes the way marketing is carried out.
In this light, every marketing decision must be evaluated with regard to how it might positively or negatively
aect each person and institution operating in that society. In 1982, Hunt and Burnett surveyed the academic
community in order to dene more precisely the distinction between macro- and mircomarketing.p. 129 Their
ndings suggest that the separation depends upon "what is being studied", "whether it is being viewed from
the perspective of society or the rm", and "who receives the consequences of the activity". Examples
of macromarketing activities are studying the marketing systems of dierent nations, the consequences on
society of certain marketing actions, and the impact of certain technologies on the marketing transaction.
The use of scanners in supermarkets and automatic teller machines in banking illustrates the last example.
Micromarketing examples include determining how Nikon Steel should segment its market, recommending
how Denver Colorado's National Jewish Hospital in the US should price their products, and evaluating the
success of the US "Just Say No" anti-drug campaign.
6.3.2 Service marketing versus goods marketing
The distinction between services and goods products is not always clear-cut. In general, service products
tend to be intangible, are often consumed as they are produced, are dicult to standardize because they
require human labor, and may require the customer to participate in the creation of the service product.
Goods products tend to be just the opposite in terms of these criteria. Consequently, marketers of service
products usually employ a marketing strategy quite dierent from that of goods marketers. For example,
a local family physician creates tangibility by providing an environment: waiting room examination rooms,
diplomas on the walls, that convinces patients that they are receiving good health care. Conversely, coee
producers create intangibility in order to appear dierent from competitors. This is done through colorful
packaging and advertisements showing people who are successful because they start each day with a cup or
two or ten of Starbuck's coee.
Kinds of marketing
Classication Example Factors
Macromarketing The devaluation of the yen Emphasis of study
Micromarketing A pricing strategy for Wal-Mart Perspective, receiver of conse-
quences
Goods Marketing Nabisco International Tangibility, standardization,
storage, production, involvement
Service marketing Chase Manhattan Bank
For-prot marketing Otis Elevator Concerns for prots
Nonprot marketing New York Museum of Art Tax status
continued on next page

Mass marketing Sony Nature of contact

Direct marketing Time Magazine Information
Internet marketing trip.com6 Process for purchasing and deliv-
ery
Local marketing Imperial Garden Restaurant Proximity of customers
Regional marketing Olympia Brewery Geographic area
National marketing American Red Cross Extent of distribution
International marketing Ford Motor Company Network, marketing
Global marketing Qwest variation commitment to country
Consumer goods marketing Kraft Foods Nature of consumer
Business-to-business marketing IBM Product function
Table 6.1
6.3.3 For-prot marketing versus nonprot marketing

As the terms connote, the dierence between for-prot and nonprot marketing is in their primary objective.
For-prot marketers measure success in terms of protability and their ability to pay dividends or pay back
loans. Continued existence is contingent upon level of prots.
Nonprot institutions exist to benet a society, regardless of whether prots are achieved. Because of
the implicit objectives assigned to non-prots, they are subject to an entirely dierent additional set of laws,
notably tax laws. While they are allowed to generate prots, they must use these monies in specic way
in order to maintain their non-prot status. There are several other factors that require adjustments to be
made in the marketing strategies for nonprots.
6.3.4 Mass marketing, direct marketing, and Internet marketing

Mass marketing is distinguished from direct marketing in terms of the distance between the manufacturer
and the ultimate user of the product. Mass marketing is characterized as having wide separation and indirect
communication. A mass marketer, such as Nike, has very little direct contact with its customers and must
distribute its product through various retail outlets alongside its competitors. Communication is impersonal,
as evidenced by its national television and print advertising campaigns, couponing, and point-of-purchase
displays. The success of mass marketing is contingent on the probability that within the huge audience
exposed to the marketing strategy there exist sucient potential customers interested in the product to
make the strategy worthwhile.
Direct marketing establishes a somewhat personal relationship with the customer by rst allowing the
customer to purchase the product directly from the manufacturer and then communicating with the customer
on a rst-name basis. This type of marketing is experiencing tremendous growth. Apparently, marketers have
tired of the waste associated with mass marketing and customers want more personal attention. Also, modern
mechanisms for collecting and processing accurate mailing lists have greatly increased the eectiveness of
direct marketing. Catalogue companies (Spiegel, J.C. Penney), telecommunications companies (Sprint), and
direct mail companies (Publishers Clearing House) are example of direct marketers. A modied type of
direct marketing is represented by companies that allow ordering of product by calling a toll-free number or
mailing in an order card as part of an advertisement.
Although (ocially), Internet marketing is a type of direct marketing, it has evolved so quickly and
demanded the attention of so many companies that a separate section here is warranted. Essentially, Internet
6 http://www.trip.com/

113
technology (which changes by the moment) has created a new way of doing business. In the Internet age,
the way consumers evaluate and follow through on their purchase decisions has changed signicantly. "Call
now!" is no longer an eective pitch. Consumers have control over how, when, and where they shop on the
Internet. The Internet has all but eliminated the urgency of satisfying the need when the opportunity is
presented.
6.3.5 Local, regional, national, international, and global marketers

As one would expect, the size and location of a company's market varies greatly. Local marketers are
concerned with customers that tend to be clustered tightly around the marketer. The marketer is able to
learn a great deal about the customer and make necessary changes quickly. Naturally, the total potential
market is limited. There is also the possibility that a new competitor or environmental factor will put a
local marketer out of business.
Regional marketers cover a larger geographic area that may necessitate multiple production plants and a
more complex distribution network. While regional marketers tend to serve adjoining cities, parts of states,
or entire states, dramatic dierences in demand may still exist, requiring extensive adjustments in marketing
strategy.
National marketers distribute their product throughout a country. This may involve multiple manufac-
turing plants, a distribution system including warehouses and privately owned delivery vehicles, and dierent
versions of the marketing "mix" or overall strategy. This type of marketing oers tremendous prot potential,
but also exposes the marketer to new, aggressive competitors.
International marketers operate in more than one country. As will become clear later in this book, massive
adjustments are normally made in the marketing mix in various countries. Legal and cultural dierences
alone can greatly aect a strategy's outcome. As the US market becomes more and more saturated with
US-made products, the continued expansion into foreign markets appears inevitable.
Global marketing diers from international marketing in some very denite ways. Whereas international
marketing means a company sells its goods or services in another country, it does not necessarily mean that
the company has made any further commitments. Usually the product is still manufactured in the home
country, sold by their people, and the prots are taken back to that country. In the case of Honda Motors, for
example, it means building manufacturing plants in the US, hiring local employees, using local distribution
systems and advertising agencies, and reinvesting a large percentage of the prots back into the US.
6.3.6 Consumer goods marketing and business-to-business (industrial) marketing

Consumer goods marketers sell to individuals who consume the nished product. Business-to-business mar-
keters sell to other businesses or institutions that consume the product in turn as part of operating the
business, or use the product in the assembly of the nal product they sell to consumers. Business-to-
marketers engage in more personal selling rather than mass advertising and are willing to make extensive
adjustments in factors such as the selling price, product features, terms of delivery, and so forth.
For the consumer goods marketer, the various marketing components are relatively xed. In addition,
consumer goods marketers might employ emotional appeals and are faced with the constant battle of getting
their product into retail outlets.
6.4 Dening international marketing7

Now that the world has entered the next millennium, we are seeing the emergence of an interdependent global
economy that is characterized by faster communication, transportation, and nancial ows, all of which are
creating new marketing opportunities and challenges. Given these circumstances, it could be argued that
companies face a deceptively straightforward and stark choice: they must either respond to the challenges
posed by this new environment, or recognize and accept the long-term consequences of failing to do so. This

need to respond is not conned to rms of a certain size or particular industries. It is a change that to a
greater or lesser extent will ultimately aect companies of all sizes in virtually all markets. The pressures
of the international environment are now so great, and the bases of competition within many markets are
changing so fundamentally, that the opportunities to survive with a purely domestic strategy are increasingly
limited to small-and medium-sized companies in local niche markets.
Perhaps partly because of the rapid evolution of international marketing, a vast array of terms have
emerged that suggest various facets of international marketing. Clarication of these terms is a necessary
rst step before we can discuss this topic more thoroughly.
Let us begin with the assumption that the marketing process outlined and discussed in Chapters 1-4
is just as applicable to domestic marketing as to international marketing. In both markets, we are goal-
driven, do necessary marketing research, select target markets, employ the various tools of marketing (i.e.
product, pricing, distribution, communication), develop a budget, and check our results. However, the
uncontrollable factors such as culture, social, legal, and economic factors, along with the political and
competitive environment, all create the need for a myriad of adjustments in the marketing management
process.
At its simplest level, international marketing involves the rm in making one or more marketing decisions
across national boundaries. At its most complex, it involves the rm in establishing manufacturing and
marketing facilities overseas and coordinating marketing strategies across markets. Thus, how international
marketing is dened and interpreted depends on the level of involvement of the company in the international
marketplace. Therefore, the following possibilities exist:
• Domestic marketing. This involves the company manipulating a series of controllable variables, such
as price, advertising, distribution, and the product, in a largely uncontrollable external environment
that is made up of dierent economic structures, competitors, cultural values, and legal infrastructure
within specic political or geographic country boundaries.
• International marketing . This involves the company operating across several markets in which not
only do the uncontrollable variables dier signicantly between one market and another, but the con-
trollable factor in the form of cost and price structures, opportunities for advertising, and distributive
infrastructure are also likely to dier signicantly. Degree of commitment is expressed as follows:
(a) Export marketing. In this case the rm markets its goods and/or services across national/political
boundaries.
(b) Multinational marketing. Here the marketing activities of an organization include activities,
interests, or operations in more than one country, and where there is some kind of inuence or
control of marketing activities from outside the country in which the goods or services will actually
be sold. Each of these markets is typically perceived to be independent and a prot center in its
own right.
(c) Global marketing. The entire organization focuses on the selection and exploration of global
marketing opportunities and marshals resources around the globe with the objective of achieving
a global competitive advantage. The primary objective of the company is to achieve a synergy
in the overall operation, so that by taking advantage of dierent exchange rates, tax rates, labor
rates, skill levels, and market opportunities, the organization as a whole will be greater than the
sum of its parts.
Thus Toyota Motors started out as a domestic marketer, eventually exported its cars to a few regional mar-
kets, grew to become a multinational marketer, and today is a true global marketer, building manufacturing
plants in the foreign country as well as hiring local labor, using local ad agencies, and complying to that
country's cultural mores. As it moved from one level to the next, it also revised attitudes toward marketing
and the underlying philosophy of business.
Ultimately, the successful marketer is the one who is best able to manipulate the controllable tools of
the marketing mix within the uncontrollable environment. The principal reason for failure in international
marketing results from a company not conducting the necessary research, and as a consequence, misun-

115
derstanding the dierences and nuances of the marketing environment within the country that has been
targeted.
6.4.1 Standardization and customization

In 1983, Harvard marketing professor Theodore Levitt wrote an article entitled, "The Globalization of
Markets", and nothing about marketing has been the same since. According to Levitt, a new economic
reality-the emergence of global consumer markets for single standard products-has been triggered in part by
technological developments. Worldwide communications ensure the instant diusion of new lifestyles and
pave the way for a wholesale transfer of goods and services.
Adopting this global strategy provides a competitive advantage in cost and eectiveness. In contrast
to multinational companies, standardized (global) corporations view the world or its major regions as one
entity instead of a collection of national markets. These world marketers compete on a basis of appropriate
value: i.e. an optimal combination of price, quality, reliability, and delivery of products that are identical in
design and function. Ultimately, consumers tend to prefer a good price/quality ratio to a highly customized
but less cost-eective item.
Levitt distinguished between products and brands. While the global product itself is standardized or sold
with only minor modications, the branding, positioning, and promotion may have to reect local conditions.
Critics of Levitt's perspective suggest that his argument for global standardization is incorrect and that
each market strategy should be customized for each country. Kotler notes that one study found that 80 per
cent of US exports required one or more adaptations. Futhermore, the average product requires at least four
to ve adaptations out of a set of eleven marketing elements: labeling, packaging, materials, colors, name,
product features, advertising themes, media, execution, price, and sales promotion. Kotler suggests that all
eleven factors should be evaluated before standardization is considered.
To date, no one has empirically validated either perspective. While critics of Levitt can oer thousands
of anecdotes contradicting the validity of standardization, a more careful read of Levitt's ideas indicate that
he oers standardization as a strategic option, not a fact. Although global marketing has its pitfalls, it can
also yield impressive advantages. Standardized products can lower operating costs. Even more important,
eective coordination can exploit a company's best product and marketing ideas.
Too often, executives view global marketing as an either/or proposition-either full standardization or local
control. But when a global approach can fall anywhere on a spectrum-from tight worldwide coordination
on programming details to loose agreements on a product ideas-there is no reason for this extreme view. In
applying the global marketing concept and making it work, exibility is essential. The big issue today is not
whether to go global, but how to tailor the global marketing concept to t each business and how to make
it work.
6.4.2 Reasons for entering international markets

Many marketers have found the international marketplace to be extremely hostile. A study by Baker and
Kynak,4 for example, found that less than 20 per cent of rms in Texas with export potential actually carried
out business in international markets. But although many rms view in markets with trepidation, others
still make the decision to go international. Why?
In one study, the following motivating factors were given for initiating overseas marketing involvement
(in order of importance):
1. large market size

2. stability through diversication
3. prot potential
4. unsolicited orders
5. proximity of market
6. excess capacity
7. oer by foreign distributor

8. increasing growth rate
9. smoothing out business cycles
Other empirical studies over a number of years have pointed to a wide variety of reasons why companies
initiate international involvement. These include the saturation of the domestic market, which leads rms
either to seek other less competitive markets or to take on the competitor in its home markets; the emergence
of new markets, particularly in the developing world; government incentives to export; tax incentives oered
by foreign governments to establish manufacturing plants in their countries in order to create jobs; the
availability of cheaper or more skilled labor; and an attempt to minimize the risks of a recession in the home
country and spread risk.
6.4.3 Reasons to avoid international markets

Despite attractive opportunities, most businesses do not enter foreign markets. The reasons given for not
going international are numerous. The biggest barrier to entering foreign markets is seen to be a fear by
these companies that their products are not marketable overseas, and a consequent preoccupation with the
domestic market. The following points were highlighted by the ndings in the previously mentioned study
by Barker and Kaynak, who listed the most important barriers:
1. too much red tape

2. trade barriers
3. transportation diculties
4. lack of trained personnel
5. lack of incentives
6. lack of coordinated assistance
7. unfavorable conditions overseas
8. slow payments by buyers
9. lack of competitive products
10. payment defaults
11. language barriers
It is the combination of these factors that determines not only whether companies become involved in
international markets, but also the degree of any involvement.
6.4.4 The stages of going international

Earlier in our discussion on denitions, we identied several terms that relate to how committed a rm is
to being international. Here we expand on these concepts and explain the rationale behind this process.
Two points should be noted. First, the process tends to be ranked in order of "least risk and investment"
to "greatest involvement. Second, these are not necessarily sequential steps, even though exporting is
apparently most common as an initial entry.
Firms typically approach involvement in international marketing rather cautiously, and there appears
to exist an underlying lifecycle that has a series of critical success factors that change as a rm moves
through each stage. For small-and medium-sized rms in particular, exporting remains the most promising
alternative to a full-blooded international marketing eort, since it appears to oer a degree of control over
risk, cost, and resource commitment. Indeed, exporting, especially by the smaller rms, is often initiated as
a response to an unsolicited overseas order-these are often perceived to be less risky.
6.4.5 Exporting
In general, exporting is a simple and low risk-approach to entering foreign markets. Firms may choose to
export products for several reasons. First, products in the maturity stage of their domestic life cycle may
nd new growth opportunities overseas, as Perrier chose to do in the US. Second, some rms nd it less

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risky and more protable to expand by exporting current products instead of developing new products.
Third, rms who face seasonal domestic demand may choose to sell their products to foreign markets when
those products are "in season" there. Finally, some rms may elect to export products because there is less
competition overseas.
A rm can export its products in one of three ways: indirect exporting, semi-direct exporting, and direct
exporting. Indirect exporting is a common practice among rms that are just beginning their exporting.
Sales, whether foreign or domestic, are treated as domestic sales. All sales are made through the rm's do-
mestic sales department, as there is no export department. Indirect exporting involves very little investment,
as no overseas sales force or other types of contacts need be developed. Indirect exporting also involves little
risk, as international marketing intermediaries have knowledge of markets and will make fewer mistakes than
sellers.
In semi-direct exporting, an American exporter usually initiates the contact through agents, merchant
middlemen, or other manufacturers in the US. Such semi-direct exporting can be handled in a variety of ways:
(a) a combination export manager, a domestic agent intermediary that acts as an exporting department
for several noncompeting rms; (b) the manufacturer's export agent (MEA) operates very much like a
manufacturer's agent in domestic marketing settings; (c) a Webb-Pomerene Export Association may choose to
limit cooperation to advertising, or it may handle the exporting of the products of the association's members
and; (d) piggyback exporting, in which one manufacturer (carrier) that has export facilities and overseas
channels of distribution handles the exporting of another rm (rider) noncompeting but complementary
products.
When direct exporting is the means of entry into a foreign market, the manufacturer establishes an
export department to sell directly to a foreign lm. The exporting manufacturer conducts market research,
establishes physical distribution, and obtains all necessary export documentation. Direct exporting requires
a greater investment and also carries a greater risk. However, it also provides greater potential return and
greater control of its marketing program.
6.4.6 Licensing
Under a licensing agreement, a rm (licensor) provides some technology to a foreign rm (licensee) by
granting that rm the right to use the licensor's manufacturing process, brand name, patents, or sales
knowledge in return for some payment. The licensee obtains a competitive advantage in this arrangement,
while the licensor obtains inexpensive access to a foreign market.
A licensing arrangement contains risk, in that if the business is very successful, prot potentials are
limited by the licensing agreement. Alternatively, a licensor makes a long-term commitment to a rm and
that rm may be less capable than expected. Or, the licensee may be unwilling to invest the necessary
resources as needed to be successful. Licensing may be the least protable alternative for market entry.
Scarce capital, import restrictions, or government restrictions may make this the only feasible means for
selling in another country.
Franchising represents a very popular type of licensing arrangement for many consumer products rms.
Holiday Inn, Hertz Car Rental, and McDonald's have all expanded into foreign markets through franchising.
6.4.7 Joint ventures

A joint venture is a partnership between a domestic rm and a foreign rm. Both partners invest money
and share ownership and control of partnership. Joint ventures require a greater commitment from rms
than licensing or the various other exporting methods. They have more risk and less exibility.
A domestic rm may wish to engage in a joint venture for a variety of reasons; for example, General
Motors and Toyota have agreed to make a subcompact car to be sold through GM dealers using the idle
GM plant in California. Toyota's motivation was to avoid US import quotas and taxes on cars without any
US-made parts.

6.4.8 Direct investment
Multinational organizations may choose to engage in full-scale production and marketing abroad. Thus, they
will invest in wholly owned subsidiaries. An organization using this approach makes a direct investment in
one or more foreign nations. Organizations engaging in licensing or joint ventures do not own manufacturing
and marketing facilities abroad.
By establishing overseas subsidiaries, a multinational organization can compete more aggressively because
it is "in" the marketplace. However, subsidiaries require more investment as the subsidiary is responsible for
all marketing activities in a foreign country. While such operations provide control over marketing activities,
considerable risk is involved. The subsidiary strategy requires complete understanding of business conditions,
customs, markets, labor, and other foreign market factors.
6.4.9 US commercial centers

Another method of doing business overseas has come in the form of US Commercial Centers . A Commercial
Center serves the purpose of providing additional resources for the promotion of exports of US goods and
services to host countries. The Commercial Center does so by familiarizing US exporters with industries,
markets, and customs of host countries. They are facilitating agencies that assist with the three arrangements
just discussed.
US Commercial Centers provide business facilities such as exhibition space, conference rooms, and oce
space. They provide translation and clerical services. They have a commercial library. They have commercial
law information and trade promotion facilities, including the facilitation of contacts between buyers, sellers,
bankers, distributors, agents, and government ocials. They also coordinate trade missions and assist with
contracts and export and import arrangements.
6.4.10 Trade intermediaries

Small manufacturers who are interested in building their foreign sales are turning to trade intermediaries
to assist them in the sale and distribution of their products. These entrepreneurial middlemen typically
buy US-produced goods at 15 per cent below a manufacturer's best discount and then resell the products
in overseas markets. These trade intermediaries account for about 10 per cent of all US exports9. The
trade intermediary provides a valuable service to small companies, which often do not have the resources
or expertise to market their products overseas. The trade intermediaries have developed relationships with
foreign countries; these relationships are time-consuming and expensive to develop.
6.4.11 Alliances
Heineken, the premium Dutch beer, is consumed by more people in more countries than any other beer10.
It is also the number-one imported beer in America. Miller and Budweiser, the two largest American beer
producers, have entered into global competition with Heineken, partly because the American beer market
has been at. They are doing so by forming alliances with global breweries such as Molson, Corona, and
Dos Equis. Heineken has responded to the challenge, heavily promoting products such as Amstel Light and
Murphy's Irish Stout. Heineken has also begun developing an alliance with Asia Pacic Breweries, the maker
of Tiger Beer.
6.5 The international marketing plan8

It should be apparent by now that companies and organizations planning to compete eectively in world
markets need a clear and well-focused international marketing plan that is based on a thorough understand-
ing of the markets in which the company is introducing its products. The challenge, then, of international

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marketing is to ensure that any international strategy has the discipline of thorough research, and an un-
derstanding and accurate evaluation of what is required to achieve the competitive advantage. As such, the
decision sequence in international marketing (see Exhibit 6.1) is much larger than that of domestic markets.
As noted in the next Integrated Marketing box, it is also more complicated. See below.
Exhibit 6.1: The decision sequence in international marketing
6.5.1 The corporate level

We begin at the corporate level, where rms decide whether to become involved in international markets
and determine the resources they are willing to commit. Thus, this stage is primarily concerned with the
analysis of international markets. Decisions here will be dependent on matching the results of that analysis
with the company's objectives. These objectives, in turn, will be determined by the many motivating factors
we have discussed in the earlier sections. The level of resources that the company is willing to commit should
be determined by the strategy that is needed to achieve the objectives that have been set.

6.5.2 The business level
Business-level considerations begin with the assessment of the stakeholders involved in the business. It is
important to clearly identify the dierent stakeholder groups, understand their expectations, and evaluate
their power, because the stakeholders provide the broad guidelines within which the rm operates. In the
case of international marketing, it is particularly important to address the concerns of the stakeholders in
the host company.
The situation analysis concerns a thorough examination of the factors that inuence the businesses' ability
to successfully market a product or service. The results lead to a realistic set of objectives. Conducting
a situation analysis in an international setting is a bit more extensive. It not only includes the normal
assessment of external environmental factors and resources/capabilities , it also includes a determination
of the level of commitment exhibited by the business, as well as possible methods of entry. These last
two factors are interrelated in that a company's level of commitment to international markets will directly
inuence whether they employ exporting, a joint venture, or some other method of entry.
In turn, level of commitment and method of entry are inuenced by the evaluation of environmental
factors as well as resources and capabilities. The latter audits not only the weaknesses of the company,
but also the strengths of the company, which are often taken for granted. This is particularly important
in international markets; for example, customer brand loyalty may be much stronger in certain markets
than others, and products may be at the end of their life in the domestic market but may be ideal for less
sophisticated markets.
It is important, too, to evaluate the capacity of the rm to be exible, adaptable, and proactive, as these
are the attributes necessary, for success in a highly competitive and rapidly changing world.
Undoubtedly, environmental factors have received the most attention from marketers considering inter-
national markets.
6.5.2.1 Marketing objectives

Having identied stakeholder expectations, carried out a detailed situation analysis, and made an evaluation
of the capabilities of the company, the overall marketing goals can be set. It is important to stress that there
is a need for realism in this, as only too frequently corporate plans are determined more by the desire for
short-term credibility with shareholders than with the likelihood that they will be achieved.
The process adopted for determining long-term and short-term objectives is important and varies signif-
icantly, depending on the size of the business, the nature of the market and the abilities and motivation of
managers in dierent markets. At an operational level, the national managers need to have an achievable
and detailed plan for each country, which will take account of the local situation, explain what is expected
of them, and how their performance will be measured. Examples of objectives might be:
• nancial performance, including return on investment and protability

• market penetration, including sales (by volume and value), market share by product category
• customer growth, by volume and protability
• distribution, including strength in supply chain, number of outlets
• brand awareness and value
• new product introductions and diusion
• company image, including quality and added value (or service)
6.5.3 The functional level

Having set the objectives for the company, both at the corporate level and the business level, the company
can now develop a detailed program of functional activities to achieve the objectives. Following the integrated
approach employed throughout this text, each of the functional elements (e.g. nance, human resources,
research) must be considered jointly. The international marketing strategy is doomed to failure if human
resources can not nd and train the appropriate employees, or research can not modify the product so that

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it is acceptable to consumers in another country. Ultimately, this coordination between business functions is
contingent on the market entry strategy employed as well as the degree of standardization or customization
deemed.
Having integrated at the function level, we next consider integration of the marketing mix elements.
6.5.3.1 Product/promotion
Keegan has highlighted the key aspect of marketing strategy as a combination of standardization or adapta-
tion of product and promotion elements of the mix and oers ve alternative and more specic approaches
to product policy:
1. One product, one message, worldwide : While a number of writers have argued that this will be the
strategy adopted for many products in the future, in practice only a handful of products might claim
to have achieved this already.
2. Product extension, promotion adaptation : While the product stays the same this strategy allows for
the adaptation of the promotional eort either to target new customer segments or to appeal to the
particular tastes of individual countries.
3. Product adaptation, promotion extension : This strategy is used if a promotional campaign has achieved
international appeal, but the product needs to be adapted because of local needs.
4. Dual adaptation: By adapting both products and promotion for each market, the rm is adopting a
totally dierentiated approach.
5. Product invention: Firms, usually from advanced nations, that are supplying products to less well-
developed countries adopt product invention.
Another critical element that is closely aligned with the product and promotion is the brand. Anthony
O'Reilly, Chairman of H.J. Heinz, believes that the communications revolution and the convergence of
cultures have now set the stage for truly global marketing. The age of the global brand is at hand. For
example, Heinz was looking to expand its 9 Lives cat food brand and Morris the Cat logo into Moscow.
Although it is a stable and successful brand in the US, testing and research done by Dimitri Epimov, a local
marketing manager in Moscow, led Heinz executives to make a marketing change to ensure the product's
success in Russia. Namely, a fatter-looking Morris was created for packaging. Another discovery: While
Americans tend to treat their kitties with tuna, Russian cat-lovers prefer to serve beef-avored food.
As discussed earlier, product positioning is a key success factor and reects the customer's perceptions
of the product or service. However, in countries at dierent stages of economic development, the customer
segments that are likely to be able to purchase the product and the occasions on which it is bought may
be signicantly dierent. For example, while KFC and McDonald's restaurants aim at everyday eating for
the mass market in the developed countries, in less-developed countries they are perceived as places for
special-occasion eating, and are beyond the reach of the poorest segments of the population. The product
positioning, therefore, must vary in some dimensions. In conrming the positioning of a product or service
in a specic market or region, it is therefore necessary to establish in the consumer perception exactly what
the product stands for and how it diers from existing and potential competition by designing an identity
that conrms the value of the product.
6.5.3.2 Pricing
Pricing products in foreign nations is complicated by exchange rate uctuations, taris, governmental inter-
vention, and shipping requirements. A common strategy involves a marketer setting a lower price for their
products in foreign markets. This strategy is consistent with the low income levels of many foreign countries,
and the lower price helps to build market share. Pricing strategies are also strongly inuenced by the nature
and intensity of the competition in the various markets.
For these reasons, it is important to recognize at the outset that the development and implementation of
pricing strategies in international markets should follow the following stages:

1. analyzing the factors that inuence international pricing, such as the cost structures, the value of the
product, the market structure, competitor pricing levels, and a variety of environmental constraints
2. conrming the impact the corporate strategies should have on pricing policy
3. evaluating the various strategic pricing options and selecting the most appropriate approach
4. implementing the strategy through the use of a variety of tactics and procedures to set prices
5. managing prices and nancing international transactions
Perhaps the most critical factor to be considered when developing a pricing strategy in international markets,
however, is how the customers and competitors will respond. Nagle has suggested nine factors that inu-
ence the sensitivity of customers to prices, and all have implications for the international marketer. Price
sensitivity reduces:
The more distinctive the product is:
• the greater the perceived quality

• the less aware consumers are of substitutes in the market
• if it is dicult to make comparisons
• if the price of a product represents a small proportion of total expenditure of the customer
• as the perceived benet increases
• if the product is used in association with a product bought previously
• if costs are shared with other parties
• if the product cannot be stored
Finally, there are several inherent problems associated with pricing in international markets. Often companies
nd it dicult to coordinate and control prices across their activities in order to enable them to achieve
eective nancial performance and their desired price positioning. Simply, how can prices be coordinated
by the company across the various markets and still make the necessary prot? Diculty answering this
question has led to two serious problems. Dumping (when a rm sells a product in a foreign country below
its domestic price or below its actual costs) is often done to build a company's share of the market by pricing
at a competitive level. Another reason is that the products being sold may be surplus or cannot be sold
domestically and are therefore already a burden to the company. When companies price their products
very high in some countries but competitively in others, they engage in a gray market strategy. A gray
market, also called parallel importing, is a situation where products are sold through unauthorized channels
of distribution. A gray market comes about when individuals buy products in a lower-priced country from
a manufacturer's authorized retailer, ship them to higher-priced countries, and then sell them below the
manufacturer's suggested price through unauthorized retailers.
Considerable problems arise in foreign transactions because of the need to buy and sell products in
dierent currencies. Questions to consider are: What currency should a company price its products? How
should a company deal with uctuating exchange rates?
Finally, obtaining payment promptly and in a suitable currency from less developed countries can cause
expense and additional diculties. How should a company deal with selling to countries where there is a risk
of nonpayment? How should a company approach selling to countries that have a shortage of hard currency?
6.5.3.3 Distribution and logistics

Distribution channels are the means by which goods are distributed from the manufacturer to the end user.
Logistics, or physical distribution management, is concerned with the planning, implementing, and control
of physical ows of materials and nal goods from points of origin to points of use to meet customer needs
at a prot.
Essentially there are three channel links between the seller and buyer. The rst link is the seller's
headquarters organization, which is responsible for supervising the channel, and acts as part of the channel
itself. Channels between countries represent the second link. They are responsible for getting products to
overseas markets and payment in return. Finally, the third link is the channel structure (logistics) within
countries, which distributes the products from their point of entry to the nal consumer.

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Distribution strategies within overseas markets are aected by various uncontrollable factors. First,
wholesaling and retailing structure diers widely from one nation to the next. So, too, does the quality of
service provided. Dierences in the size and nature of retailers are even more pronounced. Retailers more
closely reect the economic conditions and culture of that country; many small retailers dominate most of
these countries.
Physical distribution to overseas markets often requires special marketing planning. Many countries have
inadequate docking facilities, limited highways, various railroad track gauges, too few vehicles, and too few
warehouses. Managing product inventories requires consideration of the availability of suitable warehousing,
as well as the costs of shipping in small quantities.
6.5.3.4 The budget

Marketing mix components must be evaluated as part of an overall marketing strategy. Therefore, the orga-
nization must establish a marketing budget based on the required marketing eort to inuence consumers.
The marketing budget represents a plan to allocate expenditures to each of the components of the marketing
mix. For example, the rm must establish an advertising budget as part of the marketing budget and allocate
expenditures to various types of advertising mediatelevision, newspapers, magazines. A sales promotion
budget should also be determined, allocating money for coupons, product samples, and trade promotions.
Similarly, budgets are required for personal selling, distribution, and product development.
How much should be spent? Consider the following example. A common question that marketers
frequently ask is, "Are we spending enough (or too much) to promote the sale of our products?" A reasonable
answer would revolve around another consideration: "What do we want to accomplish? What are our goals?"
The discussion should next turn to the methods for achievement of goals and the removal of obstacles to
these goals. This step is often skipped or avoided.
Usually, when the question is asked, "Are we spending enough?" an automatic answer is given, in terms
of what others spend. Knowing what others in the same industry spend can be important to an organization
whose performance lags behind the competition or to an organization that suspects that its expenditures
are higher than they need to be. But generally, knowing what others spend leads to an unproductive
"keeping-up-with-the-Joneses" attitude. It also assumes that the others know what they are doing.
6.5.3.5 Evaluating results

No marketing program is planned and implemented perfectly. Marketing managers will tell you that they
experience many surprises during the course of their activities. In an eort to ensure that performance
goes according to plans, marketing managers establish controls that allow marketers to evaluate results
and identify needs for modications in marketing strategies and programs. Surprises occur, but marketing
managers who have established sound control procedures can react to surprises quickly and eectively.
Marketing control involves a number of decisions. One decision is what function to monitor. Some
organizations monitor their entire marketing program, while others choose to monitor only a part of it,
such as their sales force or their advertising program. A second set of decisions concerns the establishment
of standards for performance; e.g. market share, protability, or sales. A third set of decisions concerns
how to collect information for making comparisons between actual performance and standards. Finally, to
the extent that discrepancies exist between actual and planned performance, adjustments in the marketing
program or the strategic plan must be made.
Once a plan is put into action, a marketing manager must still gather information related to the ef-
fectiveness with which the plan was implemented. Information on sales, prots, reactions of consumers,
and reactions of competitors must be collected and analyzed so that a marketing manager can identify new
problems and opportunities.

6.6 The international marketing environment9
A number of factors constitute the international environment: social, cultural, political, legal, competitive,
economic, plus technology. Each should be evaluated before a company makes a decision to go international.
6.6.1 The social/cultural environment

The cultural environment consists of the inuence of religious, family, educational, and social systems in
the marketing system. Marketers who intend to market their products overseas may be very sensitive to
foreign cultures. While the dierences between our cultural background in the United States and those
of foreign nations may seem small, marketers who ignore these dierences risk failure in implementing
marketing programs. Failure to consider cultural dierences is one of the primary reasons for marketing
failures overseas.
This task is not as easy as it sounds as various features of a culture can create an illusion of similarity.
Even a common language does not guarantee similarity of interpretation. For example, in the US we purchase
"cans" of various grocery products, but the British purchase "tins". A number of cultural dierences can
cause marketers problems in attempting to market their products overseas. These include: (a) language, (b)
color, (c) customs and taboos, (d) values, (e) aesthetics, (f) time, (g) business norms, (h) religion, and (i)
social structures. Each is discussed in the following sections.
6.6.2 Language
The importance of language dierences cannot be overemphasized, as there are almost 3,000 languages in
the world. Language dierences cause many problems for marketers in designing advertising campaigns and
product labels. Language problems become even more serious once the people of a country speak several
languages. For example, in Canada, labels must be in both English and French. In India, there are over 200
dierent dialects, and a similar situation exists in China.
6.6.3 Colors
Colors also have dierent meanings in dierent cultures. For example, in Egypt, the country's national
color of green is considered unacceptable for packaging, because religious leaders once wore it. In Japan,
black and white are colors of mourning and should not be used on a product's package. Similarly, purple is
unacceptable in Hispanic nations because it is associated with death.
Consider how the following examples could be used in development of international marketing programs:
• In Russia, it is acceptable for men to greet each other with a kiss, but this custom is not acceptable in
the US.
• Germans prefer their salad dressing in a tube, while Americans prefer it in a bottle.
• In France, wine is served with most meals, but in America, milk, tea, water, and soft drinks are popular.
McDonalds's Corporation has opened 20 restaurants in India. Since 80 percent of Indians are Hindu, Mc-
Donald's will use a nonbeef meat substitute for its traditional hamburger. The likely beef substitute will
be lamb, a very popular meat in India. In anticipation of its restaurant openings, McDonald's conducted
extensive market research, site selection studies, and developed a relationship with India's largest chicken
supplier. McDonald's has opted to market its product in India, largely because India's population of more
than 900 million represents one sixth of the world's population.

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6.6.4 Values
An individual's values arise from his/her moral or religious beliefs and are learned through experiences. For
example, in America we place a very high value on material well-being, and are much more likely to purchase
status symbols than people in India. Similarly, in India, the Hindu religion forbids the consumption of beef,
and fast-food restaurants such as McDonald's and Burger King would encounter tremendous diculties
without product modication. Americans spend large amounts of money on soap, deodorant, and mouthwash
because of the value placed on personal cleanliness. In Italy, salespeople call on women only if their husbands
are at home.
6.6.5 Aesthetics
The term aesthetics is used to refer to the concepts of beauty and good taste. The phrase, "Beauty is in
the eye of the beholder" is a very appropriate description for the dierences in aesthetics that exist between
cultures. For example, Americans believe that suntans are attractive, youthful, and healthy. However, the
Japanese do not.
6.6.6 Time
Americans seem to be fanatical about time when compared to other cultures. Punctuality and deadlines are
routine business practices in the US. However, salespeople who set denite appointments for sales calls in
the Middle East and Latin America will have a lot of time on their hands, as business people from both of
these cultures are far less bound by time constraints. To many of these cultures, setting a deadline such as
"I have to know next week" is considered pushy and rude.
6.6.7 Business norms

The norms of conducting business also vary from one country to the next. Here are several examples of
foreign business behavior that dier from US business behavior:
• In France, wholesalers do not like to promote products. They are mainly interested in supplying
retailers with the products they need.
• In Russia, plans of any kind must be approved by a seemingly endless string of committees. As a
result, business negotiations may take years.
• South Americans like to talk business "nose to nose". This desire for close physical proximity causes
American business people to back away from the constantly forward-moving South Americans.
• In Japan, businesspeople have mastered the tactic of silence in negotiations. Americans are not pre-
pared for this, and they panic because they think something has gone wrong. The result is that
Americans become impatient, push for a closure, and often make business concessions they later re-
gret.
These norms are reected in the diculty of introducing the Web into Europe (see the next Integrated
Marketing box).
6.6.8 Religious beliefs

A person's religious beliefs can aect shopping patterns and products purchased in addition to his/her values,
as discussed earlier. In the United States and other Christian nations, Christmastime is a major sales period.
But for other religions, religious holidays do not serve as popular times for purchasing products. Women do
not participate in household buying decisions in countries in which religion serves as opposition to women's
rights movements.
Every culture has a social structure, but some seem less widely dened than others. That is, it is more
dicult to move upward in a social structure that is rigid. For example, in the US, the two-wage earner

family has led to the development of a more auent set of consumers. But in other cultures, it is considered
unacceptable for women to work outside the home.
6.6.9 The political/legal environment

The political/legal environment abroad is quite dierent from that of the US. Most nations desire to become
self-reliant and to raise their status in the eyes of the rest of the world. This is the essence of nationalism.
The nationalistic spirit that exists in many nations has led them to engage in practices that have been very
damaging to other countries' marketing organizations. For example, foreign governments can intervene in
marketing programs in the following ways:
• contracts for the supply and delivery of goods and services

• the registration and enforcement of trademarks, brand names, and labeling
• patents
• marketing communications
• pricing
• product safety, acceptability, and environmental issues
6.6.9.1 Political stability

Business activity tends to grow and thrive when a nation is politically stable. When a nation is politically
unstable, multinational rms can still conduct business protably. Their strategies will be aected however.
Most rms probably prefer to engage in the export business rather than invest considerable sums of money
in investments in foreign subsidiaries. Inventories will be low and currency will be converted rapidly. The
result is that consumers in the foreign nation pay high prices, get less satisfactory products, and have fewer
jobs.
6.6.9.2 Monetary circumstances

The exchange rate of a particular nation's currency represents the value of that currency in relation to that
of another country. Governments set some exchange rates independently of the forces of supply and demand.
The forces of supply and demand set others. If a country's exchange rate is low compared to other countries,
that country's consumers must pay higher prices on imported goods. While the concept of exchange rates
appears relatively simple, these rates uctuate widely and often, thus creating high risks for exp0rters and
importers.
6.6.9.3 Trading blocs and agreements

US companies make one-third of their revenues from products marketed abroad, in places such as Asia
and Latin America. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) further boosts export sales by
enabling companies to sell goods at lower prices because of reduced taris. Regional trading blocs represent
a group of nations that join together and formally agree to reduce trade barriers among themselves. NAFTA
is such a bloc. Its members include the US, Canada, and Mexico. No taris exist on goods sold between
member nations of NAFTA. However, a uniform tari is assessed on products from countries not aliated
with NAFTA. In addition, NAFTA seeks common standards for labeling requirements, food additives, and
package sizes.
One of the potentially interesting results of trade agreements like NAFTA is that many products pre-
viously restricted by dumping laws, laws designed to keep out foreign products, would be allowed to be
marketed. The practice of dumping involves a company selling products in overseas markets at very low
prices, one intention being to steal business from local competitors. These laws were designed to prevent
pricing practices that could seriously harm local competition. The laws were designed to prevent large
producers from ooding markets with very low priced products, gain a monopoly, and then raise prices to

127
very high levels. In 1993, about 40 nations, counting the European Community as one, had anti-dumping
legislation. Those in favor of agreements argue that anti-dumping laws penalize those companies who are
capable of competing in favor of those companies that are not competitive.
Almost all the countries in the Western hemisphere have entered into one or more regional trade agree-
ments. Such agreements are designed to facilitate trade through the establishment of a free trade area
customs union or customs market. Free trade areas and customs unions eliminate trade barriers between
member countries while maintaining trade barriers with nonmember countries. Customs Unions maintain
common taris and rates for nonmember countries. A common market provides for harmonious scal and
monetary policies while free trade areas and customs unions do not. Trade agreements are becoming a grow-
ing force for trade liberalization; the development of such agreements provides for tremendous opportunities
for US companies doing business in Latin America and North America.
The creation of the single European market in 1992 was expected to change the way marketing is done
worldwide. It meant the birth of a market that was larger than the United States, and the introduction
of European Currency Units (Euros) in place of the individual currencies of member nations. Experience
in multilingual marketing would help non-European companies succeed in this gigantic market. With new
technologies such as multilingual processing programs, it would be possible to target potential customers
anywhere in Europe, in any language, and in the same marketing campaign.
Progress toward European unication has been slow-many doubt that complete unication will ever be
achieved. However, on 1 January 1999, 11 of the 15 member nations took a signicant step toward unication
by adopting the Euro as the common currency. These 11 nations represent 290 million people and a USD
6.5 trillion market. Still, with 14 dierent languages and distinctive national customs, it is unlikely that the
EU will ever become the "United States of Europe.
6.6.9.4 Taris
Most nations encourage free trade by inviting rms to invest and to conduct business there, while encouraging
domestic rms to engage in overseas business. These nations do not usually try to strictly regulate imports
or discriminate against foreign-based rms. There are, however, some governments that openly oppose free
trade. For example, many Communist nations desire self-suciency. Therefore, they restrict trade with
non-Communist nations. But these restrictions vary with East-West relations.
The most common form of restriction of trade is the tari, a tax placed on imported goods. Protective
taris are established in order to protect domestic manufacturers against competitors by raising the prices of
imported goods. Not surprisingly, US companies with a strong business tradition in a foreign country may
support taris to discourage entry by other US competitors.
6.6.9.5 Expropriation
All multinational rms face the risk of expropriation. That is, the foreign government takes ownership
of plants, sometimes without compensating the owners. However, in many expropriations there has been
payment, and it is often equitable. Many of these facilities end up as private rather than government orga-
nizations. Because of the risk of expropriation, multinational rms are at the mercy of foreign governments,
which are sometimes unstable, and which can change the laws they enforce at any point in time to meet
their needs.
6.6.10 The technological environment

The level of technological development of a nation aects the attractiveness of doing business there, as well
as the type of operations that are possible. Marketers in developed nations cannot take many technological
advances for granted. They may not be available in lesser developed nations. Consider some of the following
technologically related problems that rms may encounter in doing business overseas:
• Foreign workers must be trained to operate unfamiliar equipment.

• Poor transportation systems increase production and physical distribution costs.
• Maintenance standards vary from one nation to the next.
• Poor communication facilities hinder advertising through the mass media.
• Lack of data processing facilities makes the tasks of planning, implementing, and controlling marketing
strategy more dicult.
6.6.11 The economic environment

A nation's economic situation represents its current and potential capacity to produce goods and services.
The key to understanding market opportunities lies in the evaluation of the stage of a nation's economic
growth.
A way of classifying the economic growth of countries is to divide them into three groups: (a) industri-
alized, (b) developing, and (c) less-developed nations. The industrialized nations are generally considered
to be the United States, Japan, Canada, Russia, Australia, and most of Western Europe The economies of
these nations are characterized by private enterprise and a consumer orientation. They have high literacy,
modem technology, and higher per capita incomes.
Developing nations are those that are making the transition from economies based on agricultural and
raw materials production to industrial economies. Many Latin American nations t into this category, and
they exhibit rising levels of education, technology, and per capita incomes,
Finally, there are many less developed nations in today's world. These nations have low standards of
living, literacy rates are low, and technology is very limited.
Usually, the most signicant marketing opportunities exist among the industrialized nations, as they
have high levels of income, one of the necessary ingredients for the formation of markets. However, most
industrialized nations also have stable population bases, and market saturation for many products already
existing. The developing nations, on the other hand, have growing population bases, and although they
currently import limited goods and services, the long-run potential for growth in these nations exists. De-
pendent societies seek products that satisfy basic needs-food, clothing, housing, medical care, and education.
Marketers in such nations must be educators, emphasizing information in their market programs. As the
degree of economic development increases, so does the sophistication of the marketing eort focused on the
countries.
6.6.12 The competitive environment

Entering an international market is similar to doing so in a domestic market, in that a rm seeks to gain a
dierential advantage by investing resources in that market. Often local rms will adopt imitation strategies,
sometimes successfully. When they are successful, their own nation's economy receives a good boost. When
they are not successful, the multinational rm often buys them out.
Japanese marketers have developed an approach to managing product costs that has given them a com-
petitive advantage over US competitors. A typical American company will design a new product, then
calculate the cost. If the estimated cost is too high, the product will be taken back to the drawing board.
In Japan, a company typically starts with a target cost based on the price that it estimates the market is
most willing to accept. Product designers and engineers are then directed to meet the cost target. This
approach also encourages managers to worry less about product costs and more about the role it should
play in gaining market share. Briey, at Japanese companies like NEC, Nissan, Sharp, and Toyota, a team
charged with bringing a product idea to market estimates the price at which the product is most likely to
appeal to the market. From this rst important judgment, all else follows. After deducting the required
prot margin from the selling price, planners develop estimates of each element that make up the product's
cost: engineering, manufacturing sales, and marketing. US rms tend to build products, gure how much it
costs to build the product, and then ask whether the product can be sold at a protable price. US companies
tend not to assess what the market will be willing to pay.

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6.7 Discussion question10

• What is a competitive advantage? How does marketing contribute to the creation of a competitive
advantage?
• Describe the reasons for studying marketing.
• What adjustments are necessary as you apply marketing principles to various cultures/countries?
• List the steps in the market segmentation process.
• What is the value in conducting formal marketing research?
• Discuss several reasons why marketers continue to have a dicult time understanding, predicting, and
explaining consumer behavior.
• Present a diagram of the consumer decision process. What is the role of marketing in each stage of
this process.
• Briey describe the major strategies a rm might use to enter a foreign market.
• How does the cultural environment aect international marketing activities?
• Why is marketing critical to the success of a business?
6.8 References11
1 Dictionary of Marketing Terms, Peter D. Bennett, Ed., American Marketing Association, 1988 p. 54.
2. Shelby D. Hunt and John J. Burnett, "The Macromarketing/Micro marketing Dichotomy: A Taxo-
nomical Model," Journal of Marketing, Summer. 1982 pp. 11-26.
3 A New Recipe for the Family Dinner," Adweek, April 27. 1992, p. 46
4 Theodore Levitt, "Marketing Myopia," Harvard Business Review, July-August, 1960, pp. 45-66.
More references
1Isobel Doole, Robin Lowe, and Chris Phillips, International Marketing Strategy, International Thompson
Business Press: London, 1999, pp. 14-15.
2Theodore Levitt. "The Globalization of Markets." Harvard Business Review. May-June 1983, pp.
92-102.
3Philip Kotler, "Global Standardization-Courting Danger," Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 3,
No.2, Spring, 1986, pp. 13-20.
4S. Barker and E. Kaynak, "An Empirical Investigation of the Dierences Between Initiating and Con-
tinuing Exporters," European Journal of Marketers, Vol. 26, No.3, 1992.
5Ibid.
6Anne Chen and Malt Hicks, "Going Glob Avoid Culture Clashes," PC Week, April 3, 2000, pp. 68-69.
7Barker and Kaynak, op. cit.
8Eileen Cassidy Imbach, "US Commercial Centers: The Future of Doing Business Abroad," Business
America, November, 1994, pp.25-26.
9Michael Selz, "More Small Firms Are Turning to Trade Intermediaries," The Wall Street Journal,
February 2, 1995, p. B2.
10Julia Flunn and R A. Melcher, "Heineken's Battle to Stay Top Bottle," Business Week, August 1,
1998, pp. 60-62.
11Warren J. Keegan, "Conceptual Framework for Multinational Marketing," Columbia Journal of World
Business, Vol. 7, November 1973, p.67.
12 TT Nagle, The Strategies and Tactics of Pricing, Prentice-Han, Inc. Englewood Clis, N.J., 1999.



Chapter 7
Operations management
• understand the role of operations management in organizations
• dierentiate between strategic and tactical operations decisions
• describe the key operations management decisions faced by managers
• understand three of the most important operations management practices: Total Quality Management,
Supply Chain Management, and Just-in-Time/Lean Operations
7.2 What is operations management?2

Operations management is the management of processes that transform inputs into goods and services
that add value for the customer. The goal of operations management is to maximize eciency while producing
goods and services that eectively fulll customer needs. For example, if an organization makes furniture,
some of the operations management decisions involve the purchasing of wood and fabric, the hiring and
training of workers, the location and layout of the furniture factory, and the purchase of cutting tools and
other fabrication equipment. If the organization makes good operations decisions, it will be able to produce
aordable, functional, and attractive furniture that customers will purchase at a price that will earn prots
for the company.
In another example, the owners of a restaurant must make important decisions regarding the location,
layout, and seating capacity of the restaurant, the hiring, training, and scheduling of chefs and servers,
the suppliers of fresh food at the right prices, and the purchase of stoves, refrigerators, and other food
preparation equipment. If the restaurant owners make good operations decisions, they will be able to meet
their customers' needs for delicious and aordable food that is served in a pleasing atmosphere. The owners
in turn will be able to charge a price that earns a prot and allows the restaurant to stay in business.
7.2.1 One of three strategic functions

Operations is one of the three strategic functions of any organization. This means that it is a vital part
of accomplishing the organization's strategy and ensuring its long-term survival. The other two areas of
strategic importance to the organization are marketing and nance. For example, a company that makes
team jerseys for sport teams must have strong marketing ability to identify groups of customers, understand
their needs, and communicate with them to win their business. The company must also manage its nances
so it can pay for building and equipment expenses, bank loans, worker wages, and supplies. Finally, the
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132 CHAPTER 7. OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
company must have strong operations skills so it can provide customized team jerseys that are attractive,
durable, aordable and delivered on time to the customer.
The operations strategy should support the overall organization strategy. For example, JetBlue airlines
is a successful airline that has an organization strategy of providing high-value air transportation service
to travelers. JetBlue strives to provide fun, comfortable, and safe air service to popular destinations at
a price that middle-income passengers can aord. Given JetBlue's organization strategy, JetBlue features
an operations strategy that focuses on low costs, competent and service-oriented employees, and reliable
aircraft.
JetBlue's operations strategy is driven by its organization strategy. For example, JetBlue locates (lo-
cation is an operations decision area) its main transportation hub in New York City, a city of 19 million
people that helps ensure that JetBlue's planes y at full capacity. In the area of equipment decisions, JetBlue
operates only one type of aircraft, the Airbus 320. The Airbus 320 has high passenger carrying capacity
(to maximize revenue), provides good fuel economy and requires only two pilots (versus three) to operate.
Having one type of aircraft reduces training costs for pilots and mechanics, reduces investments in parts
inventories, and enables JetBlue to negotiate greater discounts on high-volume purchases from Airbus. In
another key operations area, JetBlue pays careful attention to hiring, training, and compensating employees
who can deliver excellent service, loyalty, and high levels of productivity.
In addition to an operations strategy, JetBlue also has nancial and marketing strategies that support
its organization strategy. One part of its nancial strategy is securing sucient amounts of capital to help
the start-up airline establish reliable service and gain a loyal clientele. JetBlue's marketing strategy keeps
advertising costs under control by attracting free media publicity that emphasizes its fun and aordable
airline service.
7.2.2 Strategic versus tactical operations decisions

Operations decisions include decisions that are strategic in nature, meaning that they have long-term conse-
quences and often involve a great deal of expense and resource commitments. Strategic operations decisions
include facility location decisions, the type of technologies that the organization will use, determining how
labor and equipment are organized, and how much long-term capacity the organization will provide to meet
customer demand.
For example, the leaders of a new hospital must decide where to locate the facility to be accessible to
a large number of potential patients. Hospital administrators must evaluate the performance and cost of a
wide variety of health equipment. Administrators must also assess and purchase information technologies
to keep patient records, fulll government regulations, provide accurate and timely communications, and
track nancial performance. Doctors, nurses, and sta must be hired and various departments (x-ray, lab,
pharmacy, physical therapy, etc.) must be arranged to maximize both eciency and eectiveness in patient
care.
Tactical operations decisions have short to medium term impact on the organization, often involve less
commitment of resources, and can be changed more easily than strategic decisions. Tactical decisions include
workforce scheduling, establishing quality assurance procedures, contracting with vendors, and managing
inventory. In the hospital example, scheduling the workforce to match patient admissions is critical to both
providing quality care and controlling costs. Selecting a food service vendor is important to serving both
employees and patients. Ensuring that the right drugs and supplies are on hand is achieved by working
closely with vendors in the supply chain.
7.2.3 Operations management provides competitive advantage!

Strategic and tactical operations decisions determine how well the organization can accomplish its goals.
They also provide opportunities for the organization to achieve unique competitive advantages that attract
and keep customers.
For example, United Parcel Service, an international package delivery service, formed a partnership with
its customer, Toshiba computers. Toshiba needs to provide a repair service to its laptop computer customers.

133
The old approach of providing this service was cumbersome and time-consuming: (1) Customers had pick up
their computers, (2) delivered the computers to Toshiba, (3) Toshiba repaired the computers, (4) picked up
the repaired computers and delivered them back to the customers. Under this traditional approach, the total
time to get a laptop computer repaired was two weeksa long time for people to be without their laptop!
Then they came up with an innovative idea for Toshiba to provide better service to its customers. United
Parcel Service hired, trained, and certied its own employees to repair Toshiba laptop computers. The new
repair process is much more ecient: (1) picks up computers from Toshiba owners, (2) repairs the computers,
(3) delivers the computers back to their owners. The total time to get a computer repaired is now about two
days. Most Toshiba customers think that Toshiba is doing a great job of repairing their computers, when
in fact Toshiba never touches the computers! The result of this operations innovation is better service to
Toshiba customers and a strong and protable strategic partnership between and its customer, Toshiba.
7.3 The input/output transformation model3

Operations management transforms inputs (labor, capital, equipment, land, buildings, materials and infor-
mation) into outputs (goods and services) that provide added value to customers. Exhibit 7.1 summarizes
the transformation process. The arrow labeled Transformation System is the critical element in the model
that will determine how well the organization produces goods and services that meet customer needs. It
does not matter whether the organization is a for-prot company, a non-prot organization (religious orga-
nizations, hospitals, etc.), or a government agency; all organizations must strive to maximize the quality of
their transformation processes to meet customer needs.
Exhibit 7.1: Example of typical transformation process
The 3M Company is a good example of the strategic importance of transforming inputs into outputs
that provide competitive advantage in the marketplace. 3M manufactures a top-quality adhesive tape called
Magic Tape. Magic Tape is used for everyday taping applications, but it oers attractive features that

most other tapes do not, including smooth removal from the tape roll, an adhesive that is sticky enough
to hold items in place (but not too sticky that it can not be removed and readjusted if necessary!), and a
non-reective surface. For several decades, 3M has enjoyed a substantial prot margin on its Magic Tape
product because 3M engineers make the manufacturing equipment and design the manufacturing processes
that produce Magic Tape. In other words, 3M enjoys a commanding competitive advantage by controlling
the transformation processes that turn raw material inputs into the high value-added Magic Tape product.
Controlling the transformation process makes it extremely dicult for competitors to produce tape of the
same quality as Magic Tape, allowing 3M to reap signicant prots from this superior product.
An opposite example of the strategic implications of the input/output transformation process is 3M's
decision in the 1980s to stop manufacturing VHS tape for video players and recorders. In the VHS tape
market 3M had no proprietary manufacturing advantage, as there were many Asian competitors that could
produce high-quality VHS tape at lower cost. Since 3M had no proprietary control over the transformation
process for VHS tape that would allow the company to protect its prot margins for this product, it dropped
VHS tape from its oerings. The two 3M examples of Magic Tape and VHS tape show how important the
transformation process and operations management can be to providing and protecting an organization's
competitive advantage.
A service example of the strategic importance of the transformation process is ING Bank, a banking
company that conducts all banking transactions through the Internet, phone, and mail. ING maintains no
traditional bank facilities, except for the buildings that house the employees that execute remote transactions
with ING's customers. This strategy results in tremendous cost savings and competitive advantage to ING by
not having to spend capital resources on land and buildings that traditional banks must spend. Consequently,
ING can oer its customers higher interest rates on savings accounts and lower interest rates on loans.
7.4 Operations decisions4

Countless operations decisions that have both long-term and short-term impacts on the organization's ability
to produce goods and services that provide added value to customers must be made. If the organization has
made mostly good operations decisions in designing and executing its transformation system to meet the
needs of customers, its prospects for long-term survival are greatly enhanced. Major operations decisions
areas include inventory, capacity, quality, scheduling, process type, technology, location, layout, and supply
chain management. Each of these nine decision areas will be discussed in this section.
7.4.1 Inventory decisions

The key question that must be answered for inventory is How much? Understanding the best inventory
levels to carry is critical to the organization because too much inventory and too little inventory are both
costly to the organization. Inventory that exceeds what is needed to satisfy customer demand imposes
unnecessary costs such as storage, deterioration, obsolescence, theft, and money tied up in inventory that
cannot be used for other purposes. Too little inventory means the organization cannot meet 100 per cent of
its customer demand and sales revenues are delayed or lost.
For example, a restaurant that specializes in serving fresh sh needs to make careful purchasing decisions
so it has enough fresh sh each day to serve its customers, but not so much that unsold sh must be severely
discounted or discarded at the end of the day. Computer companies such as Dell must carefully manage its
computer chip inventory so it can meet current customer orders, but not be stuck with too much inventory
if a new computer chip comes out or if vendors reduce prices.
7.4.2 Capacity decisions

The question managers must answer for the capacity decision area is the same as the question for inventory:
How much? Determining the organization's capacity to produce goods and services involves both long-term

135
and short-term decisions. Long-term capacity decisions involve facilities and major equipment investments.
In 2007, Airbus introduced its Super Jumbo Jet that carries up to 850 passengers and costs USD 3 billion.
The Super Jumbo provides huge amounts of passenger carrying capacity, but before an airline purchases
this jet, it needs to decide if it has enough passengers to generate the revenue to pay for the plane and earn
prots for the airline. A large single airplane like the Super Jumbo may not be the right capacity decision
for an airline that serves numerous medium sized cities. On the other hand, an airline that serves passengers
traveling between New York City, USA and Shanghai, China might nd the Super Jumbo to be a perfect
choice for meeting demand because of the large populations in each city.
Capacity decisions also involve short-term situations. In a grocery store, the number of customers that
need to pay for their groceries at any one point during the day will vary signicantly. To provide good
customer service, managers must make sure that sucient cash registers and employees are on hand to meet
check-out demand. Similarly, hotels must make sure that they have enough employees to register arriving
guests, to clean hotel rooms, and to provide food and beverages to customers. These decisions must be made
carefully to avoid excessive labor costs from having too many employees for the number of customers being
served.
7.4.3 Quality decisions

The decision relating to quality is not how much quality to have. If asked whether they support high quality
in their organization, virtually all managers will respond enthusiastically that they fully support high quality!
Rather, the quality of goods and services is determined by numerous decisions throughout the organization
that have both long-term and short-term consequences for the organization's quality performance.
For example, while all managers may say they support quality, how many will support the capital
expenditure to purchase new equipment that can meet tighter tolerance requirements more consistently?
How many managers will spend money to send their engineers out into the eld to talk to customers
to better understand necessary product performance standards? How many managers will send teams of
quality engineers to supplier facilities to assist suppliers with their quality programs? How much attention
and resources does management give to employee skill development and training in the use of quality tools
and in the philosophy of defect prevention? The outcome of these decisions will most certainly aect an
organization's ability to produce outstanding quality in products and services.
For example, in the air transportation industry, the prevention of crashes is obviously something that
everyone supports. Yet, for the past two decades in the United States, the press has reported on the
weaknesses and neglect of the US air trac control technology that plays a critical role in air travel safety. One
might conclude that although everyone supports safety in air travel, more investment in modern technology
and better decision making is needed to ensure the long-term safety of air transportation. Virtually all
organizations are faced with similar decision-making scenarios when it comes to the factors that determine
quality performance.
Another example is in the health care industry where one critical measure is the number of surgeries
where foreign objects (sponges, instruments, etc.) are left in surgery patients. Such incidents are considered
to be a serious oversight and totally unacceptable. In recent years, hospitals have developed processes for
preventing these mistakes. In one approach, a member of the surgical sta tracks every object that enters
the body cavity during surgery, then checks that object o when it is removed from the cavity. Any object
that can not be accounted for triggers an inspection of the cavity, and perhaps an x-ray to help nd the item
before the incision is closed.
Quality improvement eorts require a great deal of analysis and teamwork, as well as a determined
eort to make quality a top priority in the organization. Improving quality requires everyone to adopt a
continuous improvement philosophy, where everyone approaches their work with the view that there are
always opportunities to improve on the organization's key performance measures. Continuous improvement
eorts are complex, multidimensional, and require partnerships among workers, management, suppliers, and
customers.

•
•
•
•
139
• Proximity to sources of supply : Firms that process bulk raw materials usually locate close to the
source of supply to reduce transportation costs. Paper mills locate close to forests, canneries are built
close to farming areas, and sh processing plants are located close to the harbors where the shing
vessels dock.
• Proximity to customers: There are several reasons why an organization would locate close to end
customers. Service rms need to be close to customers to be convenient, as is the case for grocery stores,
gas stations, fast food restaurants, and hospitals. Transportation costs can also require proximity to
customers, as in the case of concrete manufacturing. Perishable products often require that they be
produced close to the nal market, as is the case for bakeries and fresh owers.
• Community factors: Communities may oer a number of incentives to entice companies, including
waiving or reducing taxes, and providing access roads, water and sewer connections, and utilities.
Community attitudes can also play a role in an organization's location decision. Some communities
may actively discourage companies that might bring more pollution, noise, and trac to the area.
Some communities may not want a prison to be located in their community. Other communities may
welcome such rms because of the jobs, tax revenues, and economic diversity they promise.
• Labor factors: Research shows that the majority of location decisions are largely based on labor
factors, since labor is a critical variable for many rms. Labor factors include the prevailing wage rate
in a community for similar jobs, the supply of qualied workers, and the average education level of
the local population (percentage of high school graduates, etc.). Other labor factors can include the
degree of union organizing and the general work ethic of a community, as well as other measures of
absenteeism and worker longevity in a job can play strong roles when a rm makes a location decision.
• Other factors: Many other factors can play a role in the location decision, including quality of life
(crime rates, good schools, climate, and recreation options), access to major transportation arteries,
construction costs, proximity of the competition, and opportunities for future expansion. As mentioned
earlier, the importance of any location factor can vary greatly, depending on the circumstances of the
decision.
In the 1990s, MCI, a major US telecommunications company, decided to relocate its engineering services
division from MCI's headquarters in Washington DC to Colorado Springs, Colorado to reduce labor and
facility costs. The decision was largely unsuccessful due to the high costs of employee relocation and the fact
that much of the ethnically diverse engineering workforce did not want to live in Colorado Springs. Unlike
Washington DC, Colorado Springs did not have cultural diversity to match with its diverse and highly
educated workforce, it lacked employment options for spouses, and the work ethic was more relaxed due to
the beautiful natural setting that provided unlimited options for outdoor recreation. In short, if MCI had
put more eort into researching how well the Colorado Springs location matched its strategic requirements, it
probably could have saved itself millions of dollars and a great deal of internal disruption to the organization.

Operations management is a strategic function of the organization that produces the goods and services that
are oered to the customer. Operations decisions determine how well these goods and services meet the
needs of the organization's target market, and consequently, whether the organization will be able to survive
over the long term.
This chapter concludes with discussions of three Special topics in operations management that deserve
special attention because they are widely acknowledged as best practices for successful organizations. They
include Total Quality Management, Supply Chain Management, and Just-In-Time/Lean Operations.

7.6 Special topic: Total Quality Management6
Total Quality Management (TQM) is the organization-wide management of quality that includes facilities,
equipment, labor, suppliers, customers, policies, and procedures. TQM promotes the view that quality
improvement never ends, quality provides a strategic advantage to the organization, and zero defects is the
quality goal that will minimize total quality costs. While this special topic on TQM is not a comprehensive
discussion of all aspects of TQM, several key concepts will be discussed.
7.6.1 Quality costs

An important basis for justifying TQM practice is understanding its impact on total quality costs. TQM is
rooted in the belief that preventing defects is cheaper than dealing with the costs of quality failures. In other
words, total quality costs are minimized when managers strive to reach zero defects in the organization. The
four major types of quality costs are prevention, appraisal, internal failure, and external failure.
Prevention costs are the costs created from the eort to reduce poor quality. Examples are designing
the products so that they will be durable, training employees so they do a good job, certifying suppliers
to ensure that suppliers provide quality in products and services, conducting preventive maintenance on
equipment, and documenting quality procedures and improvements. In a traditional organization that does
not practice TQM, prevention costs typically comprise the smallest percentage of total quality costs.
A good example of good product design occurs in all Honda products. Honda produces a wide variety of
items including automobiles, ATVs, engines, generators, motorcycles, outboard motors, snow blowers, lawn
and garden equipment, and even more items. To say the least, Honda engines last a long time. For example,
Honda Accords typically run for well over 200,000 miles.
Employee training is also a very important prevention cost. For instance, employees in a vegetable/fruit
packaging warehouse need to know what a bad vegetable/fruit looks like, since customers will not want
to nd spoiled produce in the store. Lifeguards at a swimming pool must know proper procedures for
keeping swimmers safe. In many circumstances in both manufacturing and service businesses, the training
of employees can make an enormous dierence in preventing defects.
Supplier selection and certication are critical prevention activities. A product or service is only as good
as the suppliers who partner with an organization to provide the raw materials, parts and components, and
supporting services that make up the nal products and services that the end customers receive. For example,
a home furnishings store might use an outside subcontractor to install carpeting, but if the subcontractor
fails to show up on time, tracks mud into the customer's home, or behaves in a rude manner, the store's
reputation will suer. Similarly, a car manufacturer who purchases defective tires from a supplier risks
incurring high costs of recalls and lawsuits when the defects are discovered.
Preventive maintenance is necessary for preventing equipment breakdowns. Many manufacturing compa-
nies use sophisticated software to track machine usage, and determine optimal schedules for regular machine
maintenance, overhauls, and replacement.
Documenting quality is a necessary prevention cost because it helps the organization track quality perfor-
mance, identify quality problems, collect data, and specify procedures that contribute to the pursuit of zero
defects. Documentation is important to communicating good quality practice to all employees and suppliers.
Appraisal costs are a second major type of quality cost. Appraisal costs include the inspection and
testing of raw materials, work-in-process, and nished goods. In addition, quality audits, sampling, and
statistical process control also fall under the umbrella of appraisal costs.
Inspection and testing of raw materials is very important, since substandard raw materials lead to sub-
standard products. Raw materials used for a bridge determine the strength of the bridge. For example, soft
steel will erode away faster than hardened steel. Moreover, the concrete bridge decking needs to be solid, as
concrete with air pockets will erode and crumble faster creating an unsafe bridge.
Finished goods and work-in-process inventory also need inspecting and testing. For example, worker
error is quite common in the home construction industry, and this is why inspections occur frequently on

141
newly constructed homes during and after the construction process is complete. Building inspectors ensure
that the house has the proper framing, electrical, plumbing, heating, and so forth.
Quality audits and sampling are also important appraisal costs. Quality audits are checks of quality
procedures to ensure that employees and suppliers are following proper quality practices. With sampling, a
company can ensure with condence that a batch of products is t for use. For example, a wooden baseball
bat manufacturer may test 10 out of every 100 bats to check that they meet strength standards. One weak
bat can signal that quality problems are present.
Statistical process control (SPC) is the nal type of appraisal cost. SPC tracks on-going processes
in manufacturing or service environments to make sure that they are producing the desired performance.
For example, a restaurant might statistically track customer survey results to make sure that customer
satisfaction is maintained over time. In manufacturing windshields for automobiles, SPC might be used to
track the number of microscopic air bubbles in the glass to make sure the process is performing to standard.
Internal failure costs are a third category of quality costs. This cost occurs when quality defects are
discovered before they reach the customer. Examples of internal failure costs include scrapping a product,
reworking the product, and lost productivity due to machine breakdowns or labor errors. Internal failure
costs are typically more expensive than both prevention and appraisal costs because a great deal of material
and labor often has been invested prior to the discovery of the defect. If a book publisher prints 10,000
books, then discovers that one of the chapters is missing from every copy, the cost of reworking or scrapping
the books represents a major loss to the company. It would have been much cheaper to have procedures in
place to prevent such a mistake from happening in the rst place.
In the case of internal failure cost due to machine failures, FedEx, and other courier services cannot keep
up with demand when a conveyor belt breaks down in the package distribution center. Major delays and
costs occur when such incidents occur. Other examples include a road construction company having a road
grader break down, a tool and die shop having a CNC machine break down, and a farmer having a combine
break down during harvest time.
External failure costs are the fourth major cost of quality. External failure costs when the defect is
discovered after it has reached the customer. This is the most expensive category of quality costs. Examples
include product returns, repairs, warranty claims, lost reputation, and lost business. One spectacular example
of external failure cost was when the Hubbell telescope was launched into space with mirrors that were ground
improperly. When the telescope was turned on, instead of a magnicent view of stars, planets, and galaxies,
the scientists could see only blurred images. The price of correcting the problem was over USD 1 billion.
External failure costs also occur when the wrong meal is delivered to a restaurant customer, when a
computer breaks down shortly after it was purchased, when the wrong kidney is removed from a patient, and
when a poorly designed automobile causes the death of drivers and passengers. Because of the enormous
costs of internal and external failures, all companies should strive for zero defects. Successful TQM practice
dictates that pursuing zero defects will result in the minimization of total quality costs by spending more on
prevention and appraisal activities in order to reduce the much higher costs of internal and external failure.
7.6.2 TQM's seven basic elements

Successful practice of Total Quality Management involves both technical and people aspects that cover the
entire organization and extend to relationships with suppliers and customers. Seven basic elements capture
the essence of the TQM philosophy: customer focus, continuous improvement, employee empowerment,
quality tools, product design, process management, and supplier quality.
• Customer focus : Decisions of how to organize resources to best serve customers starts with a clear
understanding of customer needs and the measurement of customer satisfaction. For example, the
Red Cross surveys its blood donors to determine how it can make the blood donation experience
more pleasant and convenient. It collects information on the place, date and time donors came in,
and asks donors questions of whether the donation time was convenient, whether they were treated
with respect and gratitude, how long they had to wait to donate, and whether parking was adequate.

By understanding donors' needs and experiences, Red Cross managers can determine strengths and
weaknesses of the donation service process and make adjustments if necessary.
• Continuous improvement : An organizational culture that promotes continuous learning and prob-
lem solving is essential in the pursuit of zero defects. The Toyota Production System (TPS) is a
universal continuous improvement system that has been eectively applied to many dierent types
of organizations, including the health care industry. Essential elements of the TPS culture include
studying process ow, collecting data, driving out wasteful non-value-added activities, and making
everyone responsible for quality improvement. In the case of health care, the TPS approach enabled
one hospital to analyze the causes of patient infections from catheters and pneumonia in patients on
ventilators. With simple changes in procedures that prevented patients from getting these secondary
illnesses, the hospital was able to save USD 40,000 per patient in these cases.
• Employee involvement : Employees in a TQM environment have very dierent roles and respon-
sibilities than in a traditional organization. They are given responsibility, training, and authority to
measure and control the quality of the work they produce, they work together in teams to address qual-
ity issues, they are cross-trained to be able to perform multiple tasks and have a greater understanding
of the total production process, and they have a more intimate understanding of the operation and
maintenance of their equipment. Employees are essential to the building of a continuous improvement
organization.
• Quality tools : Discussion of the details of quality tools extends beyond the scope of this chapter,
but there are seven basic quality tools that are used by front-line workers and managers in monitoring
quality performance and gathering data for quality improvement activities. These tools include: cause-
and-eect (shbone) diagrams, owcharts, checklists, control charts, scatter diagrams, Pareto analysis,
and histograms. The beauty of these tools is that they are easy to understand and apply in on-going
quality eorts.
• Product design : Product design is a key activity to avoid costly internal and external failure costs.
For example, when a dental oce designs the service process, it might have patients ll out a form that
covers important information on general health issues, allergies, and medications. This helps to avoid
future complications and problems. Sta, hygienists, and dentists are highly trained to follow proper
procedures, the facility is both functional and pleasant, and the equipment and tools are state of the
art to ensure that the patient's desired outcome is achieved. In a manufacturing setting, products
should be designed to maximize product functionality, reliability, and manufacturability.
• Process management : Quality at the Source is an important concept in TQM. It means that
managers and employees should be focused on the detailed activities in a process where good or bad
quality is created. For example, in a Toyota plant in the United States in Georgetown, Kentucky, one
of the work stations was responsible for installing seat belts and visors in every vehicle that came along
the assembly line. There were 12 possible combinations of visors and seat belts that would go into
any particular vehicle and the worker had to select the right combination and install the items in the
vehicle in 55 seconds. Even the best workers made several errors during a shift on this activity. After
studying the process, the workers came up with an idea to put all the items for a particular vehicle
model in a blue plastic tote. With this change, the worker only had to make one decision per vehicle.
Almost all the errors from the previous system were eliminated with this simple solution.
• Supplier quality : The focus on quality at the source extends to suppliers' processes as well, since
the quality of a nished product is only as good as the quality of its individual parts and components,
regardless of whether they come from internal or external sources. Sharing your quality and engineer-
ing expertise with your suppliers, having a formal supplier certication program, and including your
suppliers in the product design stage are important measures to take to ensure that quality at the
source extends to the supplier network.

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7.6.3 Quality awards and standards

There are several quality awards and standards that are available for organizations to access. The large
majority of organizations that use these programs use them as tools to help improve their quality processes
and move toward implementing and successfully practicing TQM. The Malcolm Baldrige Award is a United
States quality award that covers an extensive list of criteria that are evaluated by independent judges if an
organization chooses to compete for the award. In many cases, organizations use the Baldrige criteria as
a guide for their internal quality eorts rather than compete directly for the award. The criteria can be
accessed from the Internet at: http://www.baldrige.nist.gov/rnet 7 .
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) sponsors a certication process for organiza-
tions that seek to learn and adopt superior methods for quality practice (ISO 9000) and environmentally
responsible products and methods of production (ISO 14000). These certications are increasingly used by
organizations of all sizes to compete more eectively in a global marketplace due to the wide acceptance of
ISO certication as a criterion for supplier selection. ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 are described on the ISO web
page at: http://www.iso.org/iso/home.htm 8 .
The ISO 9000 family addresses "quality management". This means what the organization does
to fulll:
the customer's quality requirements, and
applicable regulatory requirements, while aiming to
enhance customer satisfaction, and
achieve continual improvement of its performance in pursuit of these objectives.
The ISO 14000 family addresses "environmental management". This means what the organization
does to:
minimize harmful eects on the environment caused by its activities, and to
achieve continual improvement of its environmental performance.
Another popular quality award is the Deming Prize, which is a Japanese quality award for which organi-
zations from any country can apply. The Deming Prize was named after W. Edwards Deming, an American
statistician, author, and consultant who helped improve United States production capabilities during World
War II, but is best known for his work in post-war Japan. He is widely credited with assisting the Japanese
in rebuilding their nation's production infrastructure in the areas of product design, product quality, and
testing through the application of statistical methods. Florida Power and Electric was the rst American
company to win the Deming Prize, due to its meticulous use of formal approaches to quality improvement,
data-based decision making, quality improvement teams, and the careful documentation of processes and
procedures. More information on the Deming Prize can be found at:
http://www.juse.or.jp/e/deming/index.html 9
7 http://www.baldrige.nist.gov/rnet
8 http://www.iso.org/iso/home.htm
9 http://www.juse.or.jp/e/deming/index.html

7.7 Special topic: supply chain management10
Supply chain management is the business function that coordinates and manages all the activities of the
supply chain, including suppliers of raw materials, components and services, transportation providers, in-
ternal departments, and information systems. Exhibit 7.5 illustrates a supply chain for providing packaged
milk to consumers.
Exhibit 7.5: Illustration of a supply chain
In the manufacturing sector, supply chain management addresses the movement of goods through the
supply chain from the supplier to the manufacturer, to wholesalers or warehouse distribution centers, to
retailers and nally to the consumer. For example, Apple, Inc uses sophisticated information systems to
accept orders for custom-built computers from individual customers all over the world. Apple assembles
the computers in Shanghai, China, to the customers' specications. It uses parts and components that are
provided by outside suppliers who can deliver the right parts in the right quantity in a timely way to satisfy
the immediate production schedule. The completed computers are own from Shanghai by FedEx, reaching
the end-user customers only a few days after the orders were placed. Apple's supply chain allows it to provide
fast delivery of high-quality custom computers at competitive prices.
Supply chain concepts also apply to the service sector, where service rms must coordinate equipment,
materials, and human resources to provide services to their customers in a timely manner. For example,
a retail store that sells electronic products may contract with an outside business to provide installation
services to its customers. In many cases, the customer does not even know the installation was done by
an outside contractor. Information and communication technologies such as global positioning systems
(GPS), barcode technology, customer relationship management (CRM) databases, and the Internet allow
service businesses to coordinate external and internal service suppliers to eciently and eectively respond
to customer demand.
The supply chain is not just a one way process that runs from raw materials to the end customer. Although
goods tend to ow this way, important data such as forecasts, inventory status, shipping schedules, and sales
data are examples of information that is constantly being conveyed to dierent links in the supply chain.
Money also tends to ow upstream in the supply chain so goods and service providers can be paid.

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7.7.1 Bullwhip eect

A major goal in supply chain management strategy is to minimize the bullwhip eect. The bullwhip eect
occurs when inaccurate or distorted information is passed on through the links in the supply chain. As the
bad information gets passed from one party to the next, the distortions worsen and cause poor ordering
decisions by upstream parties in the supply chain that have little apparent link to the nal end-item product
demand. As information gets farther from the end customer, the worse the quality of information gets as
the supply chain members base their guesses on the bad guesses of their partners. The results are wasteful
inventory investments, poor customer service, inecient distribution, misused manufacturing capacity, and
lost revenues for all parties in the supply chain.
For example, Open Range Jeans (a ctitious company) are sold in a popular retail store chain. The retail
chain decides to promote Open Range Jeans and reduce the price to boost customer trac in its stores,
but the chain does not tell the Open Range manufacturer of this promotion plan. The manufacturer sees
an increase in retail orders, forecasts a long-term growth in demand for its jeans, and places orders with its
suppliers for more fabric, zippers, and dye.
Suppliers of fabric, zippers and dye see the increase in orders from the jeans manufacturer and boost their
orders for raw cotton, chemicals, etc. Meanwhile, the retail chain has ended its Open Range promotion, and
sales of the jeans plummet below normal levels because customers have stocked up to take advantage of the
promotion prices. Just as end-customer demand falls, new jeans are being manufactured, and raw materials
are being sent to the jeans factory. When the falling end-customer demand is nally realized, manufacturers
rush to slash production, cancel orders, and discount inventories.
Not wanting to get burned twice, manufacturers wait until nished goods jean inventories are drawn
down to minimal levels. When seasonal demand increases jeans purchases, the retail stores order more Open
Range jeans, but the manufacturers cannot respond quickly enough. A stockout occurs at the retail store
level just as customers are purchasing jeans during the back-to-school sales season. Retail customers respond
to the stockout by purchasing the jeans of a major competitor, causing long-term damage to Open Range's
market share.
7.7.1.1 Causes of the bullwhip eect

The bullwhip eect is caused by demand forecast updating, order batching, price uctuation, and rationing
and gaming.
• Demand forecast updating is done individually by all members of a supply chain. Each member
updates its own demand forecast based on orders received from its downstream customer. The more
members in the chain, the less these forecast updates reect actual end-customer demand.
• Order batching occurs when each member takes order quantities it receives from its downstream
customer and rounds up or down to suit production constraints such as equipment setup times or
truckload quantities. The more members who conduct such rounding of order quantities, the more
distortion occurs of the original quantities that were demanded.
• Price uctuations due to inationary factors, quantity discounts, or sales tend to encourage cus-
tomers to buy larger quantities than they require. This behavior tends to add variability to quantities
ordered and uncertainty to forecasts.
• Rationing and gaming is when a seller attempts to limit order quantities by delivering only a
percentage of the order placed by the buyer. The buyer, knowing that the seller is delivering only
a fraction of the order placed, attempts to game the system by making an upward adjustment to
the order quantity. Rationing and gaming create distortions in the ordering information that is being
received by the supply chain.
7.7.1.2 Counteracting the bullwhip eect

To improve the responsiveness, accuracy, and eciency of the supply chain, a number of actions must be
taken to combat the bullwhip eect:

• Make real-time end-item demand information available to all members of the supply chain. Information
technologies such as electronic data interchange (EDI), bar codes, and scanning equipment can assist
in providing all supply chain members with accurate and current demand information.
• Eliminate order batching by driving down the costs of placing orders, by reducing setup costs to make
an ordered item, and by locating supply chain members closer to one another to ease transportation
restrictions.
• Stabilize prices by replacing sales and discounts with consistent every-day low prices at the consumer
stage and uniform wholesale pricing at upstream stages. Such actions remove price as a variable in
determining order quantities.
• Discourage gaming in rationing situations by using past sales records to determine the quantities that
will be delivered to customers.
7.7.2 Other factors aecting supply chain management

In addition to managing the bullwhip eect, supply chain managers must also contend with a variety of
factors that pose on-going challenges:
• Increased demands from customers for better performance on cost, quality, delivery, and exibility.
Customers are better informed and have a broader array of options for how they conduct business.
This puts added pressure on supply chain managers to continually improve performance.
• Globalization imposes challenges such as greater geographic dispersion among supply chain members.
Greater distances create longer lead times and higher transportation costs. Cultural dierences, time
zones, and exchange rates make communication and decision-making more dicult. Boeing and Airbus
have discovered the downside of sourcing from global suppliers. Much smaller suppliers of kitchen
galleys, lavatories, and passenger seats have been unable to fulll orders from Boeing and Airbus,
leaving the latter unable to deliver planes to its airline customers.
• Government regulations, taris, and environmental rules provide challenges as well. For example, many
countries require that products have a minimum percentage of local content. Being environmentally
responsible by minimizing waste, properly disposing of dangerous chemicals, and using recyclable
materials is rapidly becoming a requirement for doing business.
7.7.3 Supplier selection

Choosing suppliers is one of the most important decisions made by a company. The eciency and value a
supplier provides to an organization is reected in the end product the organization produces. The supplier
must not only provide goods and services that are consistent with the company's mission, it must also provide
good value. The three most important factors in choosing a supplier are price, quality, and on-time delivery.
A company must not only choose who it wants as a supplier, it must also decide how many suppliers to
use for a given good or service. There are advantages to using multiple suppliers and there are advantages to
using one supplier. Whether to single-source or multiple-source often depends on the supply chain structure
of the company and the character of the goods or services it produces.
If a company uses a single supplier, it can form a partnership with that supplier. A partnership is a long-
term relationship between a supplier and a company that involves trust, information sharing, and nancial
benets for both parties. When both parties benet from a partnership, it is called a win-win situation. It
is easy to see how choosing suppliers is one of the most important decisions a company makes.
There are advantages and disadvantages to using one supplier. One advantage is that the supplier might
own patents or processes and be the only source for the product. With one supplier, pricing discounts may
be granted because purchases over the long-term are large and unit production costs for the supplier are
lower. The supplier may be more responsive if you are the only purchaser of an item, resulting in better
supplier relations. Just-in-time ordering is easier to implement, and deliveries may be scheduled more easily.
Finally, using a single supplier is necessary to form a partnership. One disadvantage is that if that one

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supplier experiences a disaster at its warehouse like a re or a tornado, or its workers go on strike, there is
no other ready source for the product. Another possible disadvantage is that a single supplier may not be
able to supply a very large quantity if it is suddenly needed. Also, sometimes the government requires the
use of multiple suppliers for government projects.
There are also advantages and disadvantages to using multiple suppliers. Suppliers might provide better
products and services over time if they know they are competing with other suppliers. Also, if a disaster
happens at one supplier's warehouse, other suppliers can make up the loss. If a company uses multiple
suppliers, there is more exibility of volume to match demand uctuations. One disadvantage with multiple
suppliers is that it is more dicult to forge long-term partnerships. Information sharing becomes riskier,
lower volumes for each supplier provide fewer opportunities for cost savings, and suppliers tend to be less
responsive to emergency situations.
Partnerships are long-term relationships between a supplier and a company that involve trust and sharing
and result in benets for both parties. A good example of a partnership is the partnering between a Deere
& Co. farm equipment factory and its suppliers. Deere decided to outsource its sheet metal, bar stock, and
castings part families.
When Deere sent requests for bids to 120 companies, 24 companies responded to say they were interested.
Deere then sent a team of engineers, quality specialists, and supply chain managers to evaluate each company.
One supplier was chosen for each of the three part families. All three of the suppliers that were chosen were
located less than two hours of driving time from the Deere plant.
For many years, all three suppliers have continued to provide outstanding quality, delivery, and cost
performance to Deere. The suppliers beneted by gaining a long-term customer with a large amount of
protable business. Deere realized a 50 per cent drop in production costs on the three part families and was
able to better focus on its mission of manufacturing farm equipment.
7.7.4 Conclusion
Supply chain management concerns the development of communication and information systems to link
suppliers together in cooperative partnerships that promote advantage for all participants. Benets include
faster response times, reduced inventory costs, increased accuracy, and improved quality.
7.8 Special topic: just-in-time and lean systems11

Just-in-time (JIT) is a management philosophy that originated in the 1970s. Taiichi Ohno is credited with
developing JIT and perfected it for Toyota's manufacturing plants in Japan. The main goal of JIT is to
eliminate anything that does not add value from the customer's perspective. Non-value-added activities are
referred to as waste in JIT. Examples of waste include:
• overproduction beyond what is needed to satisfy immediate demand

• waiting time (work-in-process, customer waiting)
• unnecessary transportation (material handling, customer travel through a facility, etc.)
• processing waste (yield rates, start-up costs)
• inventory storage waste (space, deterioration, obsolescence, etc.)
• unnecessary motion and activity (waste in work techniques, etc.)
• waste from product and service defects (rework, scrap, warranty, etc.)
There are three essential elements that contribute to the successful practice of JIT:
• JIT manufacturing principles

• Total Quality Management (TQM)
• employee empowerment

7.8.1 JIT manufacturing principles
In a manufacturing setting, there are six major ways to pursue JIT goals: inventory reduction to expose
waste, use of a demand-pull production system, quick setups to reduce lot sizes, uniform plant loading,
exible resources, and cellular ow layouts.
7.8.1.1 Inventory reduction to expose waste

Inventory covers up a lot of wasteful practices (poor equipment, weak vendors, bad quality, long setup
times, etc.). By gradually lowering inventory, the weaknesses of the production system can be revealed and
addressed one by one. Machines can be replaced or better maintained, vendors quality and delivery can be
improved, machine setup procedures can be streamlined, quality practices can be implemented, and labor
and equipment can be laid out more eciently. These improvements permit the organization to operate with
less inventory, less costs, and faster response times in meeting customer needs.
7.8.1.2 Demand-pull production system

The traditional approach to manufacturing management promotes a strong focus on machine and labor
utilization. The view was that if managers make sure that workers and machines are always busy, then surely
the factory will be productive and ecient. This approach is called the push system of manufacturing,
where raw material and work-in-process is continuously pushed through the factory in the pursuit of high
utilization. The problem with this approach is that it usually produces high levels of inventories, long lead
times, overtime costs, high levels of potential rework, and workers who are competing with one another
rather than working cooperatively.
In contrast to the push system, JIT espouses a demand-pull system that operates on the rule that
work should ow to a work center only if that work center needs more work. If a work center is already
occupied with work activity, the upstream work center should stop production until the downstream work
center communicates a need for more material. The emphasis on maintaining high utilization is removed in
a JIT environment. The focus of a JIT environment is on addressing the challenges that aect the overall
eectiveness of the factory (setup time reduction, quality improvement, enhanced production techniques,
waste elimination, etc.) in meeting its strategic goals, rather than allowing excess inventory to cover up
ineciencies that reduce the factory's competitiveness.
7.8.1.3 Quick setups to reduce lot sizes

The longer it takes, and the more expensive it is to setup equipment and labor to produce an item, the
greater the quantity of items that have to be produced in a given production run. Traditional production
management philosophy promoted the notion that long production runs of the same item were the key to
driving down unit costs. The problem was that large production runs created large quantities of WIP and
nished goods inventory that far exceeded the demand. These items would consequently cause high levels of
inventory costs, long lead times, high potential rework, low exibility in responding to customer needs, etc.
Driving down setup costs and setup times are key to dramatically improving factory competitiveness in
a JIT environment. In the 1980s, the 3M company converted a factory that made a few adhesive products
in long production runs into a factory that made over 500 adhesive products in small production runs. To
keep unit production costs under control, 3M studied the setups on its coating machines. Since the cost of
chemical waste disposal was a major part of the cost of changing over a coating machine to make another
product, 3M shortened the length of hoses that needed purging and redesigned the shape of the adhesive
solution holding pan on the coating machine to be shallower. 3M also used quick-connect devices, disposable
lters, and work teams to speed up setups. The result was that 3M could maintain low unit costs on its
coating machines while producing small lots of hundreds of products to meet market demand quickly.

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7.8.1.4 Uniform plant loading

The successful practice of JIT means having the right quantities of the right products in the right place at
the right time. Driving down setup times enables the company to produce the product mix and quantities
that are demanded in the present time period.
7.8.1.5 Flexible resources

The enemy of JIT is uncertainty. A JIT environment thrives on predictability in customer demand, pro-
duction processes, suppliers, and workers. Of course, uncertainty cannot be completely eliminated in most
organizational environments.
The defense against uncertainty that cannot be driven out is to implement exible resources that can
adapt easily to changing circumstances. General-purpose, moveable equipment that can fulll a wide variety
of production requirements is one way to improve exibility. For example, drilling machines with quick-change
bits which can be wheeled into position to form new work cells allows the factory to maximize eciency
while producing exactly what is needed to satisfy immediate demand. Another example is Toyota's use of
paint canisters that attach to paint sprayers. Any car can be painted any color without having to purge
hoses in switching from one color to another.
Multifunctional workers are another way to bring exibility to the work environment. At Honeywell's
heating and cooling controls plant, workers are trained to operate all the machines on their work line. The
exibility that comes from multifunctional workers changes the nature of how work gets done. Instead of
workers being trained on one machine and working independently of one another, multifunctional workers
have a big picture view of the production line, where every worker understands all aspects of the line and
how to work together to meet quality and schedule goals regardless of the circumstances.
7.8.1.6 Line/cellular ow layouts

Earlier in this chapter, we described the eciencies that repetitive process layouts provide. Repetitive
process layouts are perfectly suited for driving out non-value-added activities and transitioning to a JIT
environment. Intermittent layouts feature dozens or even hundreds of dierent paths through the facility.
They are lled with complexity, uncertainty, and low visibility. Workers tend to have specialized skills, work
independently of other departments, and have little sense of ownership of the products they work on.
In contrast, cell layouts promote JIT goals by featuring unidirectional product ows, high visibility,
and fast throughput times. Workers with multifunctional skills are assigned to individual cells and have
responsibility and control of the products they produce. Workers in a cell environment tend to have a
greater sense of ownership and pride in their work because they have a big picture view of the product as
it is converted from raw material to a nished good. This deeper understanding of the production process
increases the opportunities for workers to contribute ideas for process improvements.
7.8.2 Total Quality Management

TQM was discussed in detail earlier. TQM goes hand in hand with the JIT philosophy because quality is a
major source of uncertainty and non-value-added activities in an organization with poor quality practices.
TQM promotes continuous improvement, doing it right the rst time, designing quality into products and
processes, and establishing an overall focus on prevention as the primary quality activity.
7.8.3 Employee empowerment

Front-line employees play a critical role in successful JIT practice. They work in partnership with man-
agement and each other in the continuous pursuit of excellence. There are several ways in which front-line
employees contribute to JIT success:

• Employees work together in problem-solving teams to gather data and build consensus on how to
improve work processes.
• Employees are responsible for understanding the quality measures of their work and what they need
to do to meet the needs of internal and external customers.
• Each employee is empowered to take action to correct problems.
• Employees have cross-functional skill sets that allow them to be assigned to areas which need help,
and to help them adopt a broader (big picture) view of the production process.
• Unlike a traditional push environment where line workers are relatively independent of one another in
their work activities, JIT employees are connected by the demand pull discipline, where work is not
produced unless the downstream work center needs it. Demand-pull promotes the inter-connectedness
of workers.
• Front-line employees are responsible for the basic maintenance of their machines. This helps employees
have a better understanding of the condition of their equipment and its ability to meet quality and
production requirements.
Management works with employees by being coaches and facilitators rather than authoritative supervisors.
Managers are charged with hiring employees who can work in a proactive team environment, and provide
the training and incentives to build a work culture that is focused on continuous improvement.
7.8.4 Conclusion: The evolution of JIT into lean operations

The JIT philosophy has evolved from a manufacturing-focused management approach to a set of management
principles that can be applied to any organization. Lean operations is a term that is replacing JIT, especially
in service environments. Lean operations captures the true essence and power of how a culture built around
continuous improvement and the pursuit of value-added activities leads directly to competitive advantage in
the marketplace. Lean operations is a management philosophy for any organization to achieve higher quality,
increased productivity, improved delivery speed, greater responsiveness to changing markets, and increased
customer satisfaction.

Chapter 8
Securing and managing external
relationships

• understand the fundamental elements of external relationships
• know the type of common relationships and the phases of developing relationships
• use the characteristics of the business situation to choose the right type of relationship
• understand the relationship between types of external relationship and business strategies
• understand the risks associated with various business strategies
8.2 Introduction to external relationships2

In today's business world, organizations increasingly depend upon developing external relationships to remain
competitive. This trend occurs for two reasons. First, organizations have come to realize that they cannot
be rst-rate in every phase of their business (e.g. marketing, production, information systems, etc). Instead,
they recognize that a better strategy is one in which they focus on core competencies, or the things they do
best, and establish relationships with other companies to perform those functions where they do not have
outstanding capabilities. For example, Amazon.com oers a wide variety of products and even recommends
personalized suggestions to its customers. It realizes, however, that other companies such as FedEx and UPS
have world-class competence in delivering goods. That is why Amazon.com 3 customers have their purchases
delivered by FedEx, UPS or a country's postal service. You do not see Amazon delivery trucks and likely
never will. Secondly, information and communication technologies make it much easier to operationally create
seamless relationships. Instant communications between two separate companies enable them to manage a
business process as if the two companies were a single company. Both companies and the customers benet
from relationships that work. The entire business process of ordering and delivering is world class for
Amazon.com. Additionally, FedEx or UPS receives more business, and customers benet from receiving
superior service.
External relationships provide access to additional information and nancial resources, which ideally
results in increased protability and success. Yet, forming relationships involves associated risks, and debate
continues about how to best realize benets and minimize costs (Street and Cameron, 2007). Nevertheless,
many managers now agree that strategies for establishing and managing external relationships are necessary
for all organizations in the current and future global business environment.
3 http://www.Amazon.com
151
152 CHAPTER 8. SECURING AND MANAGING EXTERNAL RELATIONSHIPS
This chapter describes the components of external relationships to provide the background needed to
understand and form the right relationships for organizations of all sizes. These include the types of common
relationships, the phases of relationship development, critical factors for successful relationships and the skills
needed to perform these essential tasks. Leveraging external relationships requires a strategic perspective
that ranges from obtaining reliable supplies of raw materials for internal production processes to outsourcing
entire business processes. Exhibit 8.1 shows that developing the right relationships depends on implementing
explicit strategies that are built upon an understanding of relationship fundamentals.
Exhibit 8.1: Developing relationships
An external relationship is dened as a commercially oriented link between two business institutions
with the intent of increasing tangible and/or intangible benets for one or both of the organizations in-
volved (Street and Cameron, 2007). Two common types of external relationships are market exchanges and
partnerships, which we will discuss later in this chapter.
8.2.1 Trends in management
The global business environment requires managers to integrate outside sources and business partners to
increase eciency. Technology has been proven to be a key factor in improving good relationships, while also
providing capabilities to evaluate and eliminate poor relationships (Scannell and Sullivan, 2000). Companies
are partnering together to form virtual organizational units, which work to the benet of core businesses as we
illustrated with the Amazon.com example in the introduction to this chapter. Managers must have business
management skills, technical skills, and a thorough knowledge of external relationship management in order
to take optimal advantage of opportunities and leverage the skills and knowledge of other organizations to
maximize returns on investment.
8.2.2 Trust: the foundation for a successful relationship
One of the most important elements in developing a successful, long-term relationship is trust. Trust aects
the quality of every relationship, every communication, and every project. Trust can be dened as the belief
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that one party will fulll its obligations. According to Jim Burke, former chairman and CEO of Johnson &
Johnson, You can't have success without trust. The word trust embodies almost everything you can strive
for that will help you to succeed (Covey, 2006). This key factor must be mutual between all organizations
involved, whether they are suppliers of materials or providers of outsourcing capabilities. If mutual trust is
established early on, all organizations will benet through a greater willingness to share ideas, goals, and
work together to solve problems. Error: Reference source not found reveals trust is a function of ve dierent
dimensions.
Exhibit 8.2: Dimensions of trust
• Dependability: Is one party making and fullling promises to another (Covey, 2006). Dependability
can also be exemplied via third party conrmations. For example, a credible source can vouch for a
rm when dependability has been proven through past experiences. Product demonstrations and plant
tours are other ways companies can illustrate the capability to be dependable.
• Competence : Is when an organization appears knowledgeable. Demonstrating competence can be
the fastest way to increase trust (Covey, 2006). A thorough understanding of suppliers, customers,
products, competitors, and the industry demonstrates competence. If a manager understands the
relationships they develop, the organization will be perceived as competent.
• Relationship orientation : Is the degree to which the company puts the partner rst (Weitz, Castle-
berry, and Tanner, 2005). A company cannot be successful if managers are only concerned about their
own prots within a transaction. The company has to make their partner feel valued and can accom-
plish this by tailoring a product or service specically for its partner. Creating a feeling of individuality
usually results in a loyal, reliable partner.
• Honesty : Incorporates truthfulness, sincerity, and dependability. For example, if a seller has estab-
lished a dependable reputation, the company is usually perceived to be honest. However, illustrating
honesty has many other facets as well. A good partner organization should provide all aspects of the
truth, whether it is positive or negative information. Creating a relationship based on a foundation of
lies is one of the biggest mistakes an organization can make. Partners typically discover the lies, which
may result in the loss of critical supplies and/or highly protable opportunities. One way to combat
this is to create a culture that values and encourages honesty. Studies have, in fact, shown that telling
the truth strengthens team-building eorts and increases morale and productivity (Smith, 2007).
• Likeability : Is nding a common, friendly ground between the partners. The relationships you select
should be ones where you would like to increase trust, and where, by improving trust, you would get
far better results professionally (Covey, 2006). This is likely the least important of the ve dimensions
of trust; however it is still noteworthy in the formation of an external relationship.

8.3 Marketing exchanges and partnerships4
In 2005, Barton A Weitz, Stephen B Castleberry, and John F Tanner published their book Selling: Building
Relationships in which they discuss many of the aspects of modern business relationships, including market
exchanges and partnerships. According to their book, a market exchange is dened as a relationship where
each party is only concerned with their own welfare. A partnership, conversely, is based on creating a
mutually benecial aliation for both of the organizations. Market exchanges and partnerships both generate
commercially oriented connections, which classies the two relationships as external (Weitz, Castleberry, and
Tanner, 2005).Market exchange:
A market exchange is a type of relationship between a buyer and seller in which each party is only
concerned about that particular party's benet (Weitz, Castleberry, and Tanner, 2005).
Exhibit 8.3: Market exchange
A solo exchange is a transaction that occurs between the buyer and seller where each pursues' their own
individual self-interest (Weitz, Castleberry, and Tanner, 2005). Suppose you are traveling to visit relatives
in a nearby town on a warm and sunny Saturday morning. As you pass a small store that is having a sale
you see a wooden bench, much like one your grandmother had, with a USD 25 selling price. At this point
you might pay the USD 25 for the bench, haggle for a lower price, or walk away from the transaction. You
decide to make the seller an oer of USD 10 for the bench. After minimal negotiations the bargain price of
USD 15 is agreed upon.
This transaction is an example of a solo exchange. The two parties are not interested in or concerned
about the well-being of the other party. Neither you, nor the seller, expect to engage in future transactions,
and both parties are successful in pursuing their individual goals. The consumer receives the bench for the
lowest possible price, while the seller charges the highest acceptable price. A solo exchange should not be
considered an ethical decision, merely an uncomplicated, one-time choice.
8.3.1 Two basic relationship types

The two basic relationship types of market exchange and partnerships are divided further based on eight
factors shown in column 1 of Table 8.1: Types of relationships. Varying values of these factors represent
situations where the organizations reach greater levels of integration and provide greater returns to both
sides of the relationship.
Types of relationships

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(1) Market exchanges (2) Partnerships

Factors involved in Solo exchange Functional rela- Relational part- Strategic partner-
the relationship tionship nership ship
Time horizon short term long term long term long term
Concern for the low low medium high
party
Trust low low high high
Investment in rela- low low low high
tionship
Nature of relation- conict, bargain- cooperation accommodation coordination
ship ing
Risk in relation- low medium high high
ship
Potential benets low medium high high
Table 8.1
8.3.1.1 Functional relationship

A functional relationship is a long-term market exchange characterized by loyalty (Weitz, Castleberry,
and Tanner, 2005). This type of relationship portrays the buyer purchasing a product out of routine or
pattern. In a functional relationship, previous purchases will often inuence later purchases. Typically, the
buyer will continue to purchase from their selected seller as long as the price and the product stay relatively
consistent to the original transaction. Buyers often illustrate this loyalty for several reasons. One reason a
buyer remains loyal is simply convenience. It is easier for the buyer to avoid the arduous task of searching
and negotiating for a product every time a recurring purchase needs to be made, especially when they are
likely to come to the same conclusion and buy again from the previous supplier.
For example: A buyer for a school is in charge of purchasing all items that will be necessary for the
cafeteria to function. Assume the school in question is a small elementary school with only about one
hundred students. The buyer must purchase snacks, candy, meat, and drinks, just to name a few. This
particular buyer uses a wholesaler to purchase all necessary items. This wholesaler has no desire to establish
a partnership with the school; it merely wishes to sell as many items as possible. Similarly, the success of
this relationship will not make or break the school's success as an educational institution. This aliation
is established out of convenience. However, if the vendor begins to have poor service or inated prices, the
purchaser will simply choose a comparable wholesaler with little anxiety.
With a functional relationship, both parties are interested in their own prots, therefore, price is usually
the most important factor in the decision making process. The relationship established between the buyer
and seller is not permanent. Buyers will often change suppliers to try and get the best possible deal; however,
when deciding on a supplier other factors are often weighed into the equation such as quality, reliability,
trust, and commitment.
8.3.2 Partnerships
A partnership is two parties concerned about the welfare of each other in developing a win-win relationship
(Mohr, 1994). There are two types of partnerships: a relational and strategic partnership.

8.3.2.1 Relational partnership
A relational partnership is a partnership that develops on the premise of a close, personal relationship
built on trust (Mohr, 1994). With this type of partnership there is an open line of communication, and the
parties work together in order to overcome any potential problems. Both sides of the partnership are trying
to make money, but the more important factor is developing a long-term, working relationship that will
continue to generate money over time. When relational partnerships are successful, it is often not necessary
to have more than minimal negotiations about price. In addition, minor details will not be allowed to derail
or end the relationships because the goal is to establish an ongoing mutually benecial exchange.
Relational partnerships may develop because of personal ties, but more often they occur due to profes-
sional necessity. For example, every year large US businesses recruit new employees using booths at career
fairs across the country. Such a career fair program is not signicant enough for the company to enter into
a strategic partnership with an employment service to perform hiring at career fairs, but nding employees
with the necessary skills is still very important. Regional managers will likely be responsible for this job and
they may form a relational partnership with the organizations that host the job fairs in their area to ensure
that when the job fairs are planned the representative company will be included. A relational partnership
is more similar to a friendship than to a market exchange. Rather than showing concern only for their
own self interests, partners will oer their time and resources to continue the relationship, because of the
expected future benets of continuing interactions. James Cash Penney, the founder of the US department
store chain JCPenney, believed that all great businesses are built on friendship. If this ideal is applied, a
strong foundation can be formed through relational partnerships.
8.3.2.2 Strategic partnership

A strategic partnership is a long-term business relationship in which the partner organizations make
signicant investments to improve the protability of both parties (Mohr, 1994). Strategic partnerships
are created to uncover and exploit joint opportunities while minimizing joint weaknesses. Both parties will
contribute nancially, and consequently take signicant risks in order to provide the partnership with a
strategic advantage. This type of partnership is founded on the basis that both members are dependent on
each other. The partners will have the same goals, as well as agree on the best course of action to achieve
those goals. In order to achieve the target objective, partnerships must be based on an open-door policy; the
partnership cannot be successful if information is kept condential or there is a lack of willingness to accept
risk equally.
An example of a strategic partnership was evident in 2007 when Time Warner's AOL strengthened their
strategic partnership with Google. Google invested one billion dollars for a ve per cent stake in AOL. The
agreement created a global online advertising partnership, which has made more of AOL's industry leading
content available to Google users. These strategic partnerships tend to be very successful because products
and services are created that are not oered by competitors.
Before entering into any particular type of partnership, each company should consider all of the potential
benets and consequences. The next section of this chapter will help weigh the various costs and benets
related to choosing a relationship.
8.4 Choosing the right relationship5

Managers are responsible for establishing the type of relationship that is appropriate for each situation.
Every situation should be considered inherently dierent. The dynamics of every relationship are unique
and managers must customize their agreements to the situation. Therefore, before deciding what type of
relationship to develop several factors need to be considered (Weitz, Castleberry, and Tanner, 2005). These
factors include market issues (e.g. maturity, size, and barriers), the potential returns of the relationship, and

157
the capabilities provided by the partners (e.g. experience with technology or access to innovations). In addi-
tion, managers must assess the likelihood of success and other risks. These items include both quantitative
and qualitative measures that require a manager's complete attention when designing relationships.
In the previous example, the strategic partnership formed between Time Warner's AOL and Google was
justied, because the company expects a return great enough to justify the investment. Time Warner's AOL
was a suitable partner for Google because the company was large enough to meet Google's product demands.
Conversely, Google would not have entered into a strategic partnership with a small, local Internet provider,
because a smaller company would not have enough production capability to meet Google's demand. The
idea is that as partnerships are successful, the companies will make more money, i.e. Google believes benets
will exceed costs as does Time Warner's AOL.
Strategic partnerships may be established in order to gain access into a specic niche or market. The
relationship between Google and AOL may be an example of this type of relationship. Other partnerships
may be formed in an eort to improve a company's image. For example, large oil companies receive a
signicant amount of bad press due to pollution and environmental concerns. Therefore, it may be in their
best interest to partner with companies attempting to develop alternative energy sources, e.g. solar or wind
power, to gain goodwill among consumers.
A partnership may be developed in order to gain access to technological innovation. A company may
nd a relationship with a lead user benecial. A lead user is someone who has invented or resolved a
customer issue months or even years ahead of competitors in the marketplace. They provide information
and give companies the ability to co-develop novel products, which provide a competitive edge over other
market participants.
The key to every successful partnership is communication and, as a result, technology should be used
as a means of increasing communication lines. This may mean using e-mail to interact with customers,
or in a much more complex manner, using ongoing data exchange enabled by information technologies
designed to increase eciency. Wal-Mart is a perfect example of a company using technology in a highly
sophisticated manner. Wal-Mart has created a competitive advantage through managing their inventory
system. Their inventory is systematically programmed to replenish common items as they reach a minimum
level. This inventory control system has been central to Wal-Mart maintaining low operating costs and
providing competitive advantage through product availability.
8.4.1 Foundations of successful relationships

Earlier we discussed the importance of trust in a relationship. Trust, however, is only one building block of
several involved in the creation of strategic partnerships. This section will briey introduce ve foundational
elements and present how they form long-term, successful relationships.
These elements include:
• mutual trust
• open and truthful communication
• measurable mutual goals
• organizational support
• commitment to mutual gain

Exhibit 8.4: Elements of successful relationship
Mutual trust: Not all building blocks are created equally; the most important of the ve foundational
elements is mutual trust. As previously mentioned, trust is the condence one party has in another to
perform an action as agreed. In order for a partnership to be successful, trust must be mutual. As mutual
trust grows between partners, parties will not limit themselves to contractual requirements but actually go
to great lengths in order to satisfy the other partner, as well as strengthen the relationship.
Open and truthful communication : An additional element in building long-term, successful, relation-
ships is establishing open and truthful communication lines. Parties that communicate openly and truthfully
have a better understanding of each others' visions, missions and goals in the relationship. One way this
can be accomplished is by always creating environments where each party feels comfortable speaking up.
Once both partners gain a strong understanding of what motivates the other partner, dealing with changing
business conditions becomes signicantly easier. Communications often include the exchange of measures of
the eciency of shared business processes.
Measurable, mutual goals : A key element necessary for relationships to be successful is having both
parties share measurable, mutual goals. Mutual goals allow parties to pool together company resources
and strengths. In order to ensure goals are being met, they must be measurable and quantiable. Some
examples of measurable mutual goals include sales revenue, return on assets, or some performance indicator
of customer satisfaction. Measures may also include production levels, error-rates, or other items that
enable integration of the businesses processes of the partners. Agreeing on the items to be measured and
establishing a continuous measurement program is necessary to provide optimal cooperation among partners
and a substantive contributor to establishing mutual trust.
Organizational support : The support of employees throughout the organization is another key ele-
ment in creating successful relationships. The organization as a whole, from front line members to local
and corporate oces, must support the idea of a partnership. Structure and culture are the underlying
roots that create organizational support. Although it is expected that employees support management de-
cisions, it is necessary for managers to objectively understand and evaluate the structure and culture of the
organization when designing partnership relationships. Proposed partnerships perceived as contrary to the
existing structure or cultures are candidates for enhanced scrutiny. Once a partnership is entered into it is
necessary to develop programs such as training and rewards to establish the desired partnership behaviors.

159
Establishing these types of programs will increase the frequency of and improve the dynamics within the
interactions of both partners. Training teaches behaviors which are needed to achieve partnership goals and
rewards encourage the support of the previously taught behaviors.
Commitment to mutual gain : The nal building block in the foundation of successful relationships
relates to the level of commitment each partner has in creating mutual gain. Simply put, partners look out
for one another and do not take advantage of each other. If one party has more resources or more ecient
operating procedures than the other, this should not impact the relationship. If problems arise within the
partnership, both parties need to consider the mutual investment each has contributed to the relationship.
Mutual investments relationship-specic assets
, or , are the tangible investments and resources that
are specic to the relationship in nature. Although mutual investments strengthen mutual gain, they cannot
be easily transferred if a partner wishes to leave the relationship. Thus, it is important to evaluate the level of
intrinsic gain that has been established through the partnership. Ideally, such an analysis is performed before
entering the partnership, although it requires the manager to make a substantial number of assumptions.
These foundations of relationships comprise the broad range of factors managers must consider when
developing and implementing durable relationships. In addition, developing relationships consist of a series
of phases that explains how they are identied through how the partners become committed to continuous
improvement of the relationship. The next section presents these phases of relationship development.
8.4.2 Phases of relationship development

Strategic partnerships experience four major developmental phases Exhibit 8.5 represents the life cycle
of a relationship. The length of phases and transitions between phases will vary due to cultural and/or
social dierences. Managers should be aware of the current phase of the relationship and evaluate decisions
based upon how they impact the development of the relationship. Dissolution can occur at any time when
incompatibilities exist between partners as the relationship develops.
Exhibit 8.5: The relationship development process

The awareness phase begins before any transactions actually occur. During this phase, partners are
locating, identifying and qualifying various prospects. Since no transactions take place, company image
and reputation are weighed heavily during this phase. Awareness means assessing the business relationships
needed to advance organizational goals, evaluating potential areas that would benet from a partnership,
and identifying potential partners. Partnerships can have various types of relationships; some areas may
only need to be functional, whereas others may seek to be strategic. Consequently, identifying which type
of relationship would most benet the rms is imperative and a primary responsibility of managers
The exploration phase is considered the test for both parties. During this phase, parties engage in
exchanges to explore potential partnership costs and benets. Although neither side has committed to a
relationship at this point, each transaction between the two parties tests each of their capabilities. Managers
evaluate the transactions in terms of the foundations of relationships discussed above, e.g. identifying
potential measures that indicate successful transactions or estimating the impact on organizational culture
should the relationship become established. After both parties prove that they are capable of performing
as needed, the partnership will move to the expansion phase. In this phase, additional business interactions
focused on a long-term relationship are investigated. The expansion phase may be time consuming because
it requires extensive research to be conducted both internally and externally. The primary activity of this
phase is comparing the results of a series of nancial analyses of various possible interactions and relationship
types.
A contract, or at least a verbal commitment, for a certain period of time must take place for the com-
mitment phase to begin. This stage is usually the nal and most complex stage of a strategic relationship.
During this phase, the details of the transactions are decided, including initial investments that will be made
into the partnership and specication of how returns will be divided among the partners. The dissolution
phase is the decision to end the partnership. This may occur during any of the various phases of the rela-
tionship development process. Dissolution may arise for a number of reasons, including rising costs, poor
performance, or changes in corporate goals. The decision to end the partnership should not be taken lightly,
but when all other options have been exercised it may be the correct choice. While relationships will follow
this development life cycle, a manager's skills will substantially impact how the relationship develops and
the success of the agreements for the organization. Training and development programs for managers should
explicitly include skills for developing relationships.
8.4.3 Skills for building positive relationships

Two key skills that promote positive relationships are negotiation and facilitation. Negotiation skills
can
assist with problem solving and conict resolution with partner organizations. Facilitation skills
deal with
the understanding of group processes and feedback.
Negotiation skills are necessary for managers to ensure they understand the goals and tactics of others.
Negotiation involves understanding goals and the impacts of the range of possible outcomes on an organiza-
tion. Adept negotiators must be able to identify compromises such that both partners are supportive of the
resulting agreements.
Facilitation involves listening to the views of all parties and ensuring that critical issues are heard,
regardless of their origin. Active facilitation brings objectivity to group processes and results in shared
understandings of potential opportunities and the costs of pursuing those opportunities. Technology can aid
managers in facilitating group discussions and recording group interactions. In some situations, professional
facilitation may be appropriate if either side has reached a point where reaching a mutual understanding is
dicult.
8.5 Strategies for external relationships6

The rapid change in technology and the development of the Internet has changed the traditional denitions
of manufacturers, suppliers, and customers. Supply Chain Management(SCM) is the integration of

161
key business processes that add value for customers and other stakeholders. This added value is created
through the integration of networks of suppliers that provide products, services, and information. Supply
chain management allows this network of cooperating agents to perform one or more supply chain functions,
potentially reducing costs and resulting in a competitive advantage for the organization.
Exhibit 8.6: Movement through a supply chain
The above gure illustrates the movement of products through a supply chain network. The supply chain
begins when suppliers send raw materials to a factory. The factory may use the materials in a number of
ways. They can either manufacture subcomponents or assemble the materials into nished products to be
sent to the warehouse or distribution center where customers can get the products.
In order for the supply chain to be successful, organizations must recognize that they are but one player
in the long chain that starts with suppliers and also includes transporters, distributors, and customers. The
organizations must interact cooperatively with their channel partners (Gandhi, 2003). An important issue
relating to the development of a collaborative supply chain is following specied ordering and replenishment
policies. An example of Collaborative Supply Chain Planning (CSCP) is Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI).
Vendor Managed Inventory allows the supplier to receive electronic data to maintain constant infor-
mation about the manufacturer's sales and stock levels. The supplier is then responsible for creating and
managing the inventory replenishment schedule. VMI is dened as a process where the supplier generates
orders for customers based on demand information sent by the customer (Gandhi, 2003). VMI leads to
changes in both the buyers' and suppliers' inventory management activities. VMI has not become a stan-
dard way of managing the replenishment process in the supply chain due to some practical issues that have
slowed down its implementation in many organizations. One problem may exist because the supplier and
manufacturer are unwilling to share information because of a lack of trust. In order for VMI to be eective,
it has to produce observable benets, especially in the reduction of inventory costs.
Some of the benets of VMI include:
• lower customer inventories

• better forecasts
• reduced costs
• improved services
• strengthening competitive advantage
• strengthening buyer-supplier relationships
Similar to SCM and VMI, Collaborative Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishment (CPFR) was developed
to allow better communication of control information, which enables coordination and optimization of shared

business processes. CPFR is dened as an initiative among all participants in the supply chain intended to
improve the relationship among them through jointly managed planning processes and shared information
(Seifert, 2003). When successful, it also improves relationships between producers and retailers.
One of the rst CPFR projects was initiated by Wal-Mart and Warner-Lambert, which merged with Pzer
in 2000. This project was intended to reduce inventories across the supply chain. It provided comparisons of
sales and order forecasts of each trading partner and highlighted any visible forecast dierences early enough
for the partners to resolve any potential issues. Warner-Lambert applied CPFR to the Listerine mouthwash
products by sharing of forecasts and responding to inconsistencies between the collaboration partners' fore-
casts. In Warner-Lambert's case, Wal-Mart's promotions created large swings in consumer demand, which
Warner-Lambert was unaware of prior to CPFR. Warner-Lambert maintained substantial inventory as a
hedge in order to prevent supplies from running out of stock. Wal-Mart and Warner-Lambert independently
calculated the demand they expected six months in advance. The partners shared this information, as well as
the weekly forecast, and they worked together to resolve variations between their forecasts on a weekly basis.
Wal-Mart began placing orders six months in advance, instead of nine days, so that Warner-Lambert was
able to construct a smoother production plan. This allowed Warner-Lambert to maintain production based
on consumer demand for Listerine rather than maintaining sucient stock. Wal-Mart's in-stock position
improved and sales increased, while inventories dropped. Additionally, Warner-Lambert's supply manage-
ment improved substantially. Optimal applications of CPFR occur when, for example, many other retailers
join Wal-Mart in sharing their projected demand with Warner-Lambert. Combining demand forecasts from
many retail customers makes it possible for Warner-Lambert's production plans to be much better aligned
with total market demands.
Benets of using CPFR are:
• drastically improved reaction times to consumer demand

• higher precision of sales forecasts
• direct and lasting communication
• improved sales
• inventory reduction
• reduced costs
The CPFR process model is divided into three phases: planning, forecasting, and replenishment. The exhibit
below provides an overview of the phases and activities in the CPFR model.

163
Exhibit 8.7: PFR Process Model

Source: http://www.scdigest.com/images/misc/Original-CPFRModel. jpg7 . Accessed 30 December
2008
Planning consists of identifying an opportunity for collaboration, then developing an agreement to col-
laborate, as well as forming a collaborative business plan. Forecasting is the most important part of the
model. It provides the mechanism through which needs are determined. It is improvement of this aspect
of the supply chain through which all of these strategies provide advantages over more traditional methods.
Replenishment involves making and delivering the product consistent with the needs schedule developed by
the forecast. More accurate forecasts lead to production of only the needed products, which smooths the
production schedule and results in price stability. This allows for existing capacity to be used to enable other
products or to develop markets for additional production.
Many of the processes replaced by SCM, VMI, and CPFR strategies involve merely producing the
average of this month over the last 3 threes plus a small percentage. Such ad hoc strategies, although widely
employed, contain substantial ineciencies. Exploiting these ineciencies is the incentive for pursuing these
programs. Another reason such programs are popular with managers is that savings realized go directly to
the bottom line as customer needs are met while using less organizational resources.
An eective supply chain management program is one that develops processes shared among all the supply
chain members in order to minimize the waste of time and enable fast and reliable reactions to changes in
demand. Technology has exponentially increased the transfer of information between organizations, resulting
in improved supply chain performance. Two common practices, Just-In-Time (JIT) and agile inventory
approaches, are used to allow suppliers to react more quickly to changes in customer demand.
Just-In-Time emphasizes minimizing inventory and smoothing the ow of materials to ensure adequate
and prompt delivery of components. Products and materials are ordered and delivered just in time as they
are needed reducing inventory costs and ensuring unneeded materials are not ordered. JIT began at Toyota
Motor Company but it evolved into a system for continuous improvement of all aspects of the manufacturing
operations.
7 http://www.scdigest.com/images/misc/Original-CPFRModel. jpg

Lean production is a philosophy based upon a collection of management methods and techniques (Russell,
2006). Workers and machines are multifunctional in lean systems. Workers are required to perform various
tasks and help in the improvement process. The machines are arranged in small, U-shaped work cells; this
structure enables parts to be processed in a continuous ow. Workers produce parts one at a time and
transport them between the cells in small lots. The only schedules prepared are for the nal assembly line.
This schedule pulls sub-components through production by making requests to stations that cascade to
production lines. Nothing is done until requested by the next station.
The system is best implemented when suppliers are few in number and are reliable. The suppliers'
manufacturing system must be exible, because multiple deliveries may be requested of the same item in the
same day. Lean production produces items in necessary quantities at necessary times. Consequently, quality
must be extremely high, as there is little buer inventory between workstations and production schedules
include only requested products.
Lean systems can produce high quality service quickly at a low cost. Also, the system responds to changes
in customer demand. Many retailers use lean systems such as Zara and Blockbuster.
Benets of using lean production are:
• reduced inventory
• improved quality
• lower costs
• reduced space requirements
• shorter lead time
• increased productivity
• greater exibility
• better relations with suppliers
• simplied scheduling and control activities
• increased capacity
• better use of human resources
• greater product variety
8.5.1 Outsourcing
Outsourcing is a contractual relationship where an external organization takes responsibility for performing
all or part of a company's functions (Vita, 2006). Outsourcing is the term used to designate a relationship
in which a partner company performs business functions. Common examples of outsourced functions for
companies in the developed world are software development and call centers. The principle justication for
outsourcing functions like these from, for example, the US to India is that prevailing wage rates for these
kinds of tasks are much lower than in the US and the Indian partner companies hire and train employees
who speak English and are skilled at their jobs. There's a dierence between outsourcing and o-shoring.
When a vendor in another country performs an outsourced function, o-shoring is the correct terminology
for describing the relationship. The jobs being outsourced in an organization do not necessarily have to
be outsourced to another country. O-shoring can result in signicant savings due to wage and currency
discrepancies among countries. However, quality controls must be maintained to ensure that the products
and services provided are returning the expected results. Outsourcingis typically done by organizations
who outsource non-core processes that are inecient, dicult to manage, or too costly. Choosing a supplier
to meet an organization's outsourcing needs depends on the business process being outsourced, the scope
of the project to be outsourced, as well as geographic factors. Business processes that are often considered
good candidates to outsource include, but are not limited to:
• administration (audit, tax)

• asset and property management
• nance (accounting, billing, accounts payable, accounts receivable)

165
• human resources (benets administration, payroll)

• information systems (development and operations)
• miscellaneous (energy services, customer service, mailroom, food processing)
• procurement/logistics
Business process outsourcing is becoming increasingly important. The management of one or more processes
or functions by a third party is a means for the organization to reduce costs. The key benets of outsourcing
are realized by organizations that outsource business processes by transferring the entire function out-of-
house. This enables access to specialized knowledge and expertise in the area; sharing of new methodologies,
technologies and other resources; and standardizing processes across the organization.
An organization needs to outline the benets and risks of outsourcing when deciding whether to outsource.
The benets need to outweigh the risks in order for outsourcing to be ecient and eective (Halvey, 2000).
A typical benet/risk analysis is:
Benets:
• cost savings
• increased exibility
• better customer or employee service
• higher productivity
• ability to concentrate on the core business
• implementation of wide initiatives
• movement of assets o books
• more resources
• variety of skills
• access to new methodologies and technologies
• training expense reduction
• greater exibility
Risks:
• loss of control
• diculty in managing costs
• additional liability
• diculty in bringing the business process back in-house
• reduced exibility
Uncertainty in outsourcing occurs when an organization is not sure which business process function to out-
source. Organizations should be overly inclusive with what needs to be outsourced. Including an unbundled
requirement where the vendor provides separate pricing for certain functions can be helpful. Also, deci-
phering through the complexity of outsourcing can be easier once determining where the services will be
provided.
The next step in assessing outsourcing is to identify potential vendors that have the desired resources,
capabilities, and experience. The following will provide benecial information to help make an informed
decision:
• vendor information from industry reports/survey

• looking at industry publications
• talking to other outsourcing customers
• sharing goals and concerns with chosen vendors

8.5.2 Potential external relationship obstacles
Outsourcing oers a number of potential benets for companies; however they cannot ignore the obstacles
that come along with outsourcing. Some countries have not achieved the desired benets from outsourcing,
because they have not realized the expected cost reductions anticipated from outsourcing their business
processes to a third party. The lack of capable suppliers and service providers is a major problem. Losing
control over the outsourced process is not uncommon. Additionally, problems and issues may emerge due to
the integration of services and systems provided by the vendor.
Problems within the networked organization usually arise due to the failure in identifying all stakeholders
and network partners. All nodes and partners in the networked organization have to know and recognize all
the stakeholders involved. Another potential problem can result from having dominant nodes, which must be
eliminated in the early stages of the relationship. All nodes within a relationship must fully understand the
mission and goals. Having incompatible missions and goals will destroy a relationship and no benets will
be achieved. Also, problems may arise from clashing company cultures. Therefore, when choosing a supplier
or a partner in the networked organization, having similar goals, missions, and similar ways of performing
the business processes are vital for the success of the relationship.

This chapter presents the basics necessary for developing relationships among organizations. These include
the common types of external relationships, phases of relationship development, the building blocks of
successful relationships, and the skills necessary for developing a variety of relationships. Several strategies
for managing external relationships were presented that focus on the integration of the processes of multiple
organizations to create virtual suppliers that benet from rapid information exchange and just-in-time
adjustment of sales forecasts and production capacities.
Managers must consider the many factors of each situation and design a unique relationship or set of
relationships that enable the organization to accomplish its goals in the most ecient manner possible.
Yet eciency is not enough, as the needs for exibility and quality assurance lead to ever more integrated
networks of organizations, which require strategic perspectives for maximizing protability. It is expected
that every organization be involved in a variety of external relationships, where each relationship is justied
according to cost and quality.
8.7 Exercises9
List and describe the four dynamics that should be considered in order to choose the right relationship.
1. What are the two basic relationship types?

2. What is the dierence between a functional relationship and a strategic partnership?
3. List the ve foundational elements involved in the development of long-term, successful relationships.
4. Is any element more signicant than another? If so, which one and why?
5. List the four major phases involved in the relationship development process.
6. When in the relationship development process does dissolution occur?
7. Dene Supply Chain Management and state its goals.
8. Select a company and determine the dierent suppliers it has. What criteria does the company most
probably use for its suppliers?
9. Describe how Wal-Mart has used VMI to improve its supply chain management?
10. On what basis does a company decide whether to outsource or not?
11. What are some potential risks to outsourcing?


167
8.8 References10
De Vita, Glauco and Catherine L. Wang. "Development if Outsourcing Theory and Practice." Idea Group
Inc., 2006.
Gandhi, Ujval. "Vendor Managed Inventory: A New Approach to Supply Chain Management." Virginia
Polytechnic Institute and State University. 2003.
Halvey, John and Barbara Melby. "Business Process Outsourcing: Process, Strategies, and Contracts.
John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2000.
Mohr, Jakki. "Characteristics of Partnerships Success: Partner Attributes, Communication Behavior,
and Conict Resolution Techniques." Strategic Management Journal 15.1994 135-152. 12 Dec 2007.
Russell, Roberta and Bernard W. Taylor III. "Operations Management: Quality and Competitiveness in
a Global Environment." John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2006.
Scannell, Ed and Tom Sullivan . "Reining in external relation-
ships." Info World Media Group 18 SEP 2000 20. 29 SEP 2007
http://infotrac.galegroup.com.ezproxy.lib.vt.edu:8080/itw/infomark/797/834/13524898w18/purl=rc1_BIM_0_A65286562&
Seifert, Dirk. "Collaborative Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishment: How to Create a Supply Chain
Advantage." AMACOM Books. 2003.
Smith, Michael. "Honesty as a core value." Practical Strategies Newsletter 12 Dec 2007
<http://www.michaelhsmithphd.com/honesty.html >12 .
Street, Christopher and Ann-Frances Cameron. "External relationships and the small business: a review
of small business alliance and network research." Journal of Small Business Management. Apr 2007 239-254.
09 SEP 2007.

11 http://infotrac.galegroup.com.ezproxy.lib.vt.edu:8080/itw/infomark/797/834/13524898w18/purl=rc1_BIM_0_A65286562&dyn=33!xrn_14_
12 http://www.michaelhsmithphd.com/honesty.html


Chapter 9
Financial and managerial accounting;
nancing your organization
• to appreciate the importance of an accounting system
• to dierentiate between nancial accounting and managerial accounting
• to understand the basic types of accounts and their characteristics
• learn to set up a chart of accounts for your organization
• understand the advantages of double-entry bookkeeping; types of ledgers and basic reports
• to learn how to select and use accounting software
• to understand common options for funding a start-up
9.2 Introduction2
In this chapter, we will discuss the principles of accounting as well as some of the options you have for
designing and installing an accounting system for your business. There are many computer-based accounting
systems available now, for relatively low cost, that make it easier for an entrepreneur to use software on a
PC or the Internet to run an accounting system. We discuss some of the software options you may want to
consider in Section 10.1, Leveraging with information technology. Although it is possible to keep essential
accounting records manually, or perhaps on a series of spreadsheets, you will nd that it is much easier and
more reliable to simply use accounting software from the beginning.
You may need the advice of an accounting professional to work with you in setting up your accounting
records and helping you select and implement a suitable accounting package. On the other hand, you may
be able to handle the task yourself. In any event, starting your business with a well-designed accounting
system tailored to the needs of your business will be worth the eort.
9.3 Why an accounting system is important3

Professional accountants look at the accounting records and reports of a business from two perspectives. The
term they use to describe these two perspectives is nancial accounting and managerial accounting.

169
170
CHAPTER 9. FINANCIAL AND MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTING;
FINANCING YOUR ORGANIZATION
Wikipedia has good denitions of both perspectives in order to help you understand the dierence between
the two.
Financial accountancy (or nancial accounting) is the eld of accountancy 4 concerned with the
preparation of nancial statements 5 for decision makers, such as stockholders 6 , suppliers7 ,
banks8 , employees, government agencies 9 , owners, and other stakeholders. The fundamental
need for nancial accounting is to reduce principal-agent problem 10 by measuring and monitoring
agents' performance and reporting the results to interested users.
Financial accountancy is used to prepare accounting information for people outside the organi-
zation or not involved in the day to day running of the company.
In short, Financial Accounting is the process of summarizing nancial data taken from an orga-
nization's accounting records and publishing in the form of annual (or more frequent) reports for
the benet of people outside the organization.
Financial accountancy is governed by both local and international accounting standards.

(Wikipedia 2009a). In addition, nancial accounting records and nancial statements are essen-
tial sources of information for the preparation of tax returns.
Management (or managerial) accounting, on the other hand, is concerned with the provisions
and use of accounting information to managers within organizations, to provide them with the
basis to make informed business decisions that will allow them to be better equipped in their
management and control functions.
In contrast to nancial accountancy information, management accounting information is:

• usually condential and used by management, instead of publicly reported
• forward-looking, instead of historical
• pragmatically computed using extensive management information systems and internal con-
trols, instead of complying with accounting standards
This is because of the dierent emphasis: management accounting information is used within an
organization, typically for decision-making. p. 189
You will not need to be terribly concerned about nancial accounting when your business is just be-
ginning, inasmuch as the kinds of information you will need falls into the category of internal management
information rather than information for external stakeholders. Also, note that nancial accounting re-
ports must be prepared in accordance with national and international accounting standards. In the United
States the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has been the designated independent entity for
established accounting reporting standards since 1973. Independent auditors of an organization's nancial
statements must provide written assurance in their report that such statements were prepared in accordance
with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). While, in theory, there can be many supportable
4 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accountancy
5 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_statements
6 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shareholder
7 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vendor_(supply_chain)
8 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank
9 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_agencies
10 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principal-agent_problem

171
ways of presenting accounting information on such topics as business combinations, subsequent events after
the date of an audit, the fair value of nancial instruments and the like, FASB will typically specify the
ways such information should be reported. You can nd more information on FASB on their website at
http://www.fasb.org 11 .12
Since so many organizations are global in scope, a relatively new entity, the International Accounting
Standards Board (IASB) has come upon the scene. According to their website, their mission is to develop, in
the public interest, a single set of high quality, understandable and international nancial reporting standards
(IFRSs) for general purpose nancial statements (IASB 2009). Finally, when your business reaches the point
where you need to issue nancial statements to external stakeholders, (e.g. banks, stockholders, regulatory
agencies, etc.), your accountant will need to be familiar with and, ideally a member of, the national association
of accountants in your country. The reason for this is that there may be national standards for generally
accepted standards that are, in some ways, unique to your country. Examples of national associations are
the Institute of Certied Public Accountants of Kenya (http://www.icpak.com/ 13 ), the Malaysian Institute
of Certied Public Accountants (http://www.micpa.com.my/ 14 ), and the South African Association of
Chartered Accountants (https://www.saica.co.za) 15 .
Accordingly, the balance of this chapter is focused on how you can use a well-designed accounting system
as the basis for generating useful information to help you run your business.
9.4 Basic types of accounts16

The six basic types of accounts used in a typical accounting system, according to Wikipedia are:
• asset accounts
• liability accounts
• equity accounts
• revenue or income accounts
• expense accounts
• contra accounts
Each type of account is discussed below (adapted from p. 189). In subsequent sections of this chapter we
will discuss how they are used in an accounting system.
• Asset accounts: represent the dierent types of economic resources owned by a business, common
examples of asset accounts are cash, cash in bank, equipment, building, inventory, prepaid rent, good-
will, accounts receivable. Assets are usually broken down into three categories: Current assets, xed
assets, and intangible assets. Current assets are assets which could be converted to cash fairly quickly
if necessary, certainly in less than a year. Examples of current assets include cash, cash in bank, in-
ventory, prepaid rent, and accounts receivable. Fixed assets are assets of a more permanent nature like
manufacturing equipment, buildings owned, and the like. Intangible assets, like goodwill, are monetary
values assigned to intangibles like a brand name. It is typically used when accountants need to justify
the purchase price of one company by another when the price cannot be justied by the monetary
value of the purchased company's assets minus liabilities. Intangible assets are beyond the scope of
this chapter as they apply more to larger corporations than to a start-up business.
• Liability accounts : represent the dierent types of economic obligations by a business, such as
accounts payable, bank loan, bonds payable, accrued interest. Current liabilities are liabilities which
are scheduled to be paid within a short period of time, usually less than a year. Examples of current
11 http://www.fasb.org/
12 http://www.fasb.org/
13 http://www.icpak.com/
14 http://www.micpa.com.my/
15 https://www.saica.co.za/

172
liabilities include accounts payable to creditors, like suppliers, current amounts payable to employees
(payroll) and interest due on short term loans. Long-term liabilities (sometimes called xed liabilities)
are liabilities of a more permanent nature like loans that are not due in the current year (long-term
debt), and the like.
• Equity accounts: represent the residual equity of a business (after deducting from assets all the
liabilities). In the case of a start-up company totally nanced by the founder, it is often called owner's
equity and represents the capital provided by the owner. If the company is a corporation and stock
has been issued to the owner and to others, it is often called stockholders' equity.
• Revenue accounts or income: represent the company's gross income before expenses are deducted.
Common examples include sales, service revenue, commissions, and interest income.
• Expense accounts: represent the company's expenditures to enable itself to operate. Common
examples are employee costs (payroll and fringe benets), supplies, software, telephone bills, electricity
and water, rentals, depreciation, bad debt, interest, and insurance.
• Contra-accounts: from the term ciccia, meaning to deduct, these accounts are opposite to the
other ve above mentioned types of accounts. For instance, a contra-asset account is accumulated
depreciation. This label represents deductions to a relatively permanent asset like a building. It
accumulates an annual charge in recognition that a xed asset like a building is not used up over the
course of a year, but that it has a useful life measured in multiple years. Since in certain countries and
under certain economic conditions real estate tends to steadily rise in price, perhaps a better example
is a truck purchased for use in the business. Its value is more likely to continue to decrease over the
years. Even though the market value of a building might increase rather than decrease over the years,
accountants will still reduce its value by an annual depreciation charge each year. This is a good
example of how nancial accounting diers from managerial accounting from the owner's perspective.
Depreciation on a building or a truck reduces income for tax purposes in most countries, so it is to the
owner's advantage to reect depreciation charges in the company's accounting records. On the other
hand, you can bet that the owner knows the true market value of the building when it comes time to
sell it!
9.5 Chart of accounts17

Setting up an appropriate chart of accounts will take some careful thought on your part because you want
to be sure that accounts are set up in each category (i.e. assets liabilities, etc.) that will enable you to
accumulate accounting transactions in a meaningful way. As a starting point, you should consider the kinds
of information you will need in order to run your business. You may then go on to consider other types
of information that may be required for nancial reporting, as we discussed earlier. Setting up a chart of
accounts is best understood if we walk through an example. Let us suppose a young entrepreneur plans
to start a men's clothing store and needs to develop a chart of accounts. Typically, accounts in a chart of
accounts each have an account number. This is no dierent than you having a unique account number for
companies you deal with, such as a bank or a telephone company. A number uniquely identies you from
another customer that might have exactly the same name and is easier to use in a computerized customer
accounting system. In the same way, an account number in a chart of accounts uniquely identies an account
and is easier to use in a computerized general accounting system. It is common to assign a range of numbers
to each type of account. One common way is illustrated in Table 9.1:

173
Account Type Account Number Range

Asset accounts 100-199
Liability accounts 200-299
Equity accounts 300-399
Income accounts 400-499
Expense accounts 500-599
Contra accounts 600-699, or in the range to which they relate
Table 9.1: Range of account numbers in a sample chart of accounts

The next step is to decide the breakdown of accounts you need so that you set up an account for the
detailed information you need for each account type. For example, starting with the asset account category,
you may decide that you need to begin your business with at least the following accounts:
Account Number Account Name

100 Cash on Hand (Petty cash)
105 Cash in Bank
110 Accounts Receivable
115 Inventory for resale
120 Oce equipment
Table 9.2: Examples of current asset accounts in a chart of accounts

The same process is followed with all of the account types until your chart of accounts is complete, and
contains all of the categories you believe will be needed in order to accumulate accounting information in
meaningful categories.
Fortunately, there are many sources where you can obtain sample charts of accounts by type of business
that you can use as a guide and starting point. One source of such information can be the national associations
(or institutes) of professional accountants we referred to previously in this chapter. Another source is the
providers of accounting software we will discuss later in this chapter and in Chapter 10. One other option
is to do an Internet search for a sample chart of accounts for your type of business. For example, we did
a simple Google search for a Bed and Breakfast (B&B) sample chart of accounts and found a 98 page
document that discusses almost every issue someone who wants to start a B&B needs to know, including a
sample chart of accounts, beginning on page 90 (p. 189).
9.6 Basic nancial statements18

Later in this chapter we will discuss some of the other types of reports you will want to be able to produce in
order to plan and control your business nances, but for now, let us concentrate on the two most fundamental
statements of all: The Income Statement and the Balance Sheet. The Income Statement is important
because it will tell you if your business was protable or not for any given period of time. The Balance
Sheet will show you the nancial condition of your business, what you own, what you owe, and the owners'
nancial interest. You will sometimes hear the Income Statement referred to as the Prot and Loss Statement
and the Balance Sheet called the Statement of Financial Condition.

174
Here's a simple example of an Income Statement:
Income Statement - Bill' s Bicycle Shop - Year 2009
Sales $20, 000
Cost of goods sold − 8000
Gross Margin $12, 000
Payroll Costs −6000
Rent −2000
Other expenses − 1000
Net Income $3, 000.00
The only items that need additional explanation are Cost of goods sold and gross margin. The cost
of goods sold is the total cost the owner of a business paid for products sold. If the owner of Bill's Bicycle
Shop simply buys bicycles from the manufacturer and has them shipped to the shop, the cost of a bicycle is
whatever bill paid the manufacturer plus the cost of shipping it to the shop and any labor cost that might
be involved in assembling the bicycle before putting it on display for customers to see. The Cost of goods
sold shown on the Income Statement (USD 8,000) is the total costs associated with all of the bicycles sold
by Bill in the year 2009. This is the accounting concept of matching. (The Sales gure of USD 20,000 is
the total of the prices paid by all of the customers who bought bicycles from Bill during the year).
Gross margin is simply the dierence between Sales and the Cost of goods sold. It is an important gure
for owners to watch, and you will sometimes hear business owners talk about their margins or managing
their margins. The greater the gross margin is the more protable a business is likely to be. For example,
see if you can determine what Bill's gross margin and prot would be if he had to sell his bicycles at a
discount because of competitive pressure and his sales revenue for the year amounted to USD 17,000 instead
of USD 20,000.
This is, of course, a relatively simple example to illustrate the general outline of an Income Statement, but
it should give you an appreciation of why the Income Statement is important to the owner of any business.
Am I making money or not? And if not, why not?
Here's a simple example of a Balance Sheet:
Assets
Cash on hand and in bank USD 8,000
Accounts Receivable 3000
Inventory New Bicycles 12000
Parts Inventory 4000
Oce Equipment 2000
Repair Equipment 1000
Total Assets USD 30,000
Liabilities
Accounts Payable USD 10,000
Loan from Bank 15,000
Total Liabilities 25000
Owner's Equity 5000
Total Liabilities and Owner's Equity USD 30,000
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Table 9.3 : Balance Sheet Bill's Bicycle Shop 31 December 2009
You can see why it is called a Balance Sheet. It is because the sum of the asset accounts must equal the
sum of the liability and owner's equity accounts. In other words, they must be in balance. You can also
see why it is sometimes called a statement of nancial position. It shows the condition of the business, in
nancial terms, as of a specic date.
Next, we will discuss a short history of accounting and the invention of double-entry bookkeeping, a
technique that is of great assistance to accountants and bookkeepers in assuring the accuracy of accounting
records and the reports that are prepared from them.
9.7 A short history of accounting and double-entry bookkeeping19

There are many stories of how accounting began, but most writers agree that it has a long history, going
back 5,000 years or so. Legend has it that wealthy individuals, wanting to keep track of their possessions
(cattle, stores of grain, gold ornaments and so forth), hired scribes to keep records of additions and deletions
to their lists of possessions as they bought, sold, or traded them. One supposes that that they wanted to be
sure that any changes were legitimate; that losses were not due to theft, and that if 100 cattle were purchased
that the herd increased by 100. From time to time, a count of possessions would be made and compared to
the records maintained by the scribe. Any unexplained losses would be a signal that something was amiss
and worthy of investigation.
Modern bookkeeping is generally thought to have been invented during the Italian Renaissance (around
1494 AD, according to one version:
Formal accounting was invented by a Franciscan friar named Luca Pacioli in 1494 in his pa-
per "Summa de Arithmetica, Geometria, Proportioni et Proportionalita" ("Everything About
Arithmetic, Geometry and Proportion").The treatise described double-entry bookkeepingthat
for every credit entered into a ledger there must be a debit, a concept created by Florentine
merchants and hailed by Goethe as "one of the most beautiful discoveries of the human spirit".
Three traits shared by successful merchants, Mr. Pacioli wrote, were access to cash, a constantly
updated accounting system and a good bookkeeper. His contemporary Christopher Columbus
apparently knew that: On his voyage to the New World, he took a royal accountant to track
his "swindle sheet when he started to gure the cost of gold and spices he would accumulate",
according to Alistair Cooke's 1973 book "America." (p. 189)
In my opinion, Goethe was exaggerating when he called double entry bookkeeping "one of the most
beautiful discoveries of the human spirit". I can think of many other discoveries that are more beautiful,
but as the old saying goes: Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder and perhaps Goethe was a bookkeeper
at heart. At any rate, the discovery of double-entry bookkeeping was undeniably important, because, as
Wikipedia explains:
Double-Entry Bookkeeping is a system that ensures the integrity of the nancial values recorded
in a nancial accounting system. It does this by ensuring that each individual transaction is
recorded in at least two dierent (sections) nominal ledgers of the nancial accounting system and
so implementing a double checking system for every transaction. It does this by rst identifying
values as either a Debit or a Credit value. A Debit value will always be recorded on the debit
side (left hand side) of a nominal ledger account and the credit value will be recorded on the
credit side (right hand side) of a nominal ledger account 20 . A nominal ledger has both a Debit
(left) side and a Credit (right) side. If the values on the debit side are greater than the value of
the credit side of the nominal ledger then that nominal ledger is said to have a debit balance.
20 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_ledger

176
Each transaction must be recorded on the Debit side of one nominal ledger and that same
transaction and value is also recorded on the Credit side of another nominal ledger hence the
expression Double-Entry (entered in two locations) one debit and one credit (p. 189).
Here is a simple example to give you a feel for the way that double entry bookkeeping works:
Example 9.1
Let us assume that the owner of Bill's Bicycle Shop, which we discussed above, bought some new
bicycles on credit, for inventory. This is how the accounts would be aected:
Debit the inventory - new bicycles account: USD 2,000
Credit the accounts payable account: USD 2,000
Next let us assume that the owner had some extra cash and decided to pay down some of our
bank loan. This is how the accounts would be aected:
Debit the loan from the bank account: USD 1,000
Credit the cash account: USD 1,000
Note two things. First, a single transaction aects two accounts (a double-entry). Secondly, note that a
debit to an asset account increases the value of the account and a debit to a liability (or owner's equity)
account decreases its value. So, when USD 1,000 is paid to the bank, the debit to the loan from bank account
reduces the amount we owe to the bank, and the credit to cash decreases the balance in our cash account.
9.8 Ledgers21
The version quoted above states that debits and credits must be entered into a ledger, so it is important that
you understand what this term means, as it may be new to you. As you will see from some of the additional
sources we quote, oftentimes journal and ledger are used to describe the same thing.
So, what is a ledger? A ledger is simply a collection of the accounts of your business where transactions
are recorded using the double-entry bookkeeping method. If you are operating with a completely manual
system, your ledgers (you will have more than one, as discussed in a moment) are on paper, usually in a
bound volume pre-printed in a special way to accommodate the recording of transactions. If you are using
a pre-coded application software package on a PC for your accounting system, your ledgers will be on the
computer.
9.8.1 Types of ledgers

Most organizations operate with two types of ledgers, the General Ledger and one or more subsidiary ledgers.
The General Ledger contains a minimum of one page for each account in the chart of accounts. According
to one authoritative source:
It is also known as G/L and The Final Book of Entry. It is a collection of all balance sheet,
income, and expense accounts used to keep the accounting records of a company. A General
Ledger is a perpetual record of the activity and balances of the accounts. Each company has
only one General Ledger (p. 189)
However, some accounts, like accounts receivable or accounts payable, are comprised of the sum of a
number of individual amounts. Let us look at accounts receivable as an example. Suppose we have a balance
(i.e. total) amount of USD 3,250 in our accounts receivable account in the General Ledger. Remember,
accounts receivable are amounts our customers owe us. Therefore, the USD 3,250 balance we have in our
accounts receivable is the sum total of amounts owed to us by several individual customers. For the sake of
convenience, we keep a subsidiary ledger of individual accounts receivable as illustrated in Exhibit 9.1 below.

177
Exhibit 9.1: Accounts Receivable Subsidiary Ledger example
The Accounts Receivable Subsidiary Ledger has one page for each customer who has earned the right to
be extended credit, and is expected pay o their outstanding balance each month. The sum of the customer
balances in the Accounts Receivable Subsidiary Ledger must equal the Accounts Receivable balance in the
company's General Ledger.
In the case of the Accounts Receivable example, when a sale is entered in the ledger, a corresponding
entry is made in a Sales Journal. And, when a payment is received and posted to a customer's account in
the Accounts Receivable ledger, a corresponding entry is made in a Cash Receipts Journal.
Similar subsidiary ledgers are created any time there is a sucient number of detail accounts to warrant
it. Detailed accounts may be employee accounts for payroll, or product numbers for inventory, for exam-
ple. Setting up subsidiary ledgers and journals for special purposes like this shields the General Ledger from
an excessive amount of detail and, at the same time, preserves the principle of double-entry accounting,
makes reconciliations easier and, in general, promotes accuracy in a company's accounting records. In real
life, of course, things can get more complicated, but this is the basic approach that is followed.

178
In Section 10.1, we discuss the many opportunities that small businesses have to use computer software
to set up and maintain records of all sorts for their business, from accounting, payroll, customer relationship
management, inventory control and the like. Going much beyond this is beyond the scope of this chapter.
You can expect the most popular accounting software packages to assume you do not know a lot about
accounting. Therefore, most oerings will lead you through the process of setting up a chart of accounts that
is appropriate for your business and help you decide which basic reports you should have. Over and above
that, most will permit you to prepare the advanced reports and analyses discussed in the following section,
as well as custom reports tailored to your specic needs.
There are several sources on the Internet that compare the functions, features, and prices of software
packages for accounting to help you make the proper selection. One especially good one is Accounting
Software Review 2009 TopTenREVIEWS (p. 188).Quoting from their website:
Opening a small business in today's fast-paced economic climate can be an exciting, complicated
and expensive endeavor. On the surface, it seems simplejust make sure you're selling your
goods for more than it costs to produce them, right? Wrong. Without proper bookkeeping, your
blooming company can take an abrupt dive towards bankruptcy.
This is why accounting is a key component in any small business's success. It should play a
role in every nancial decision you makefrom purchasing vehicles, equipment and supplies to
increasing production, stocking inventory and determining salaries.
But if you, like most people, lack an extensive background in accounting, where do you begin?
Today's accounting software has the solutiongiving you the tools and the information you need
to keep your nancial records in check, while aiding you in making the most of your company's
cash ow.
Unfortunately, there are about as many software packages for accounting as there are types of
small businesses and determining which one best meets the needs of your company can be a
tricky transactionbut that's where we can help.
Within this site, you'll nd articles on accounting 22 and comprehensive reviews23 to help you
make an informed decision on which accounting software is right for your business. At TopTen-
REVIEWS, we do the research so you don't have to! If you have access to the Internet, we
highly recommend exploring this site for ideas on how to move forward with your accounting
system.
Here is an excerpt from the website where they compare ten software packages feature by feature. In
the table reproduced here, we only show the names of the packages and their prices. For more detail
you will need to visit the Accounting Software Review 2009 website itself (http://accounting-software-
review.toptenreviews.com/ 24 ).
22 http://accounting-software-review.toptenreviews.com/accounting-for-beginners.html
23 http://accounting-software-review.toptenreviews.com/peachtree-review.html
24 http://accounting-software-review.toptenreviews.com/

179
Package Name Overall Ranking Price in US Dollars

Peachtree Complete Excellent $249.99
MYOB Business Essentials Very Good Plus $99.00
Quickbooks Pro Very Good $178.95
NetSuite Small Business Very Good $1188.00
Cougar Mountain Very Good $1499.00
Bookkeeper Very Good $29.99
Simply Accounting Good Plus $149.99
CYMA IVAccounting for Windows Good Plus $595.00
DacEasy Good Plus $499.99
Bottom Line Accounting Good $399.00
Table 9.4: 2009 Accounting Software Review Product Comparisons
As you can see, there is a wide range of prices, from USD 29.99 to USD 1499.00, and the package which
sells for USD 29.99 is rated the same as the one that sells for USD 1499.00. Clearly, this shows that some
analysis is necessary before settling on a specic accounting software package. You may need to engage
the service of a professional accountant or, at least, a colleague who has studied accounting and accounting
software packages to help you make the right selection for your business. Here is some good advice from the
Accounting Software Review 2009 website:
With all the accounting software available, it's hard to know which program is the best t for
your business nances. Below are the criteria TopTenREVIEWS used to evaluate small business
accounting software.
• Ease of Use We look for nance software that is simple to install, set up, and understand.
The best accounting programs make navigating intuitive, so you never have to guess where
you are or what to do next.
• Accounting Modules Accounting modules are categories required to successfully main-
tain your business nances (such as Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable). Does the
accounting software have all the basic accounting modules you'll need? All the bells and
whistles of the software aren't relevant if the basics aren't covered. Will the nance software
grow with your company? We look for accounting software that lets you grow and customize
your system to t your individual business needs.
• Reporting Categories Consider accounting software that oers a wide range of reports.
You should be able to print at least one kind of report for every module. Reporting features
are often built into each section, but it's better if you can create reports from anywhere in
the program. Customizable reports save you time; look for accounting software that will let
you set your own criteria. With detailed nancial reporting, you can analyze what is and
isn't working for your business.
• Help Documentation Look for email and phone support; toll-free phone and live sup-
port, online help is a bonus. Online, we look for indexed help topics that can be searched
easily. You'll want quick access for both technical help and accounting help for your soft-
ware. Accounting software companies should have qualied people (both technicians and
accountants) answering these tough questions.
With the right accounting software, you will be able to manage your company books quickly and
easily. (p. 188)
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9.9 Advanced reports and analyses25
This section discusses some of the more common reports prepared from an accounting system that have,
over the years, proven to be valuable tools for managing a business.
9.9.1 Cash ow forecasts

There is a saying in business that Cash is King. One of the worst things that can happen to a company
is to run short of cash unexpectedly. This can make it dicult to pay suppliers and employees without
scurrying around to raise needed cash quickly, and when you must raise cash quickly you often nd it a
dicult and expensive task. Business owners are not always successful in raising cash quickly and in the
worst cases, must go bankrupt. This is why cash ow forecasts are prepared. They are easy to prepare and
can be quickly done using a spreadsheet program. They can also be prepared manually. What a cash ow
forecast does is estimate cash inputs and outputs over a period of time, usually at least 90 days in order to
give you assurance that your business will have the cash necessary to meet its obligations to others. If the
cash ow forecast shows, for example, that you are in a decit position two months out, you will have time
to raise the necessary cash you need and avoid a sudden cash crisis. Cash ow forecasts are often prepared
for longer periods of time as well, depending on circumstances. In addition, they are often prepared using
various assumptions about the future (e.g. general economic conditions, sales growth, increased expenses,
etc).
As one authoritative website states:
By knowing your cash position now and in the future, you can:
• Make certain you have enough cash to purchase sucient inventory for seasonal cycles;
• Take advantage of discounts and special purchases;
• Properly plan equipment purchases for replacement or expansion;
• Prepare for adequate future nancing and determine the type of nancing 26 you need (short
term credit line, permanent working capital, or long-term debt).
• Show lenders your ability to plan and repay nancing.
For a new or growing business, the cash ow projection can make the dierence between suc-
ceeding and failure. For an ongoing business, it can make the dierence between growth and
stagnation.
Preparing a cash ow projection is a something like preparing your budget and balancing your checkbook
at the same time. Unlike the income statement, a cash ow statement deals only with actual cash trans-
actions. Depreciation, a non-cash transaction, does not appear on a cash ow statement. Loan payments
(both principal and interest) will appear on your cash ow statement since they require the outlay of cash.
Cash is generated primarily by sales. But in most businesses, not all sales are cash sales. Even if you
have a retail business and a large percentage of your sales are cash, it is likely that you oer credit (charge
accounts, charge cards, term payments, layaway, trade credit) to your customers. Thus, you need to have a
means of estimating when those credit sales will turn into cash-in-hand. ()
9.9.2 Working capital analyses

Working capital is commonly dened as the funds a business needs to support its normal operations. In some
ways, a working capital analysis is similar to a cash ow forecast, but it diers in its focus on the operating
cycle of the business.
Quoting from the website Entrepreneur.com,
26 http://www.smallbusinessnotes.com/operating/nmgmt/capital.html

181
the operating cycle analyzes the accounts receivable, inventory and accounts payable cycles in
terms of days. In other words, accounts receivable are analyzed by the average number of days
it takes to collect an account. Inventory is analyzed by the average number of days it takes to
turn over the sale of a product (from the point it comes in your door to the point it is converted
to cash or an account receivable). Accounts payable are analyzed by the average number of days
it takes to pay a supplier invoice.
Most businesses cannot nance the operating cycle (accounts receivable days + inventory days)
with accounts payable nancing alone. Consequently, working capital nancing is needed. This
shortfall is typically covered by the net prots generated internally or by externally borrowed
funds or by a combination of the two.
Most businesses need short-term working capital loans at some point in their operations. For
instance, retailers must nd working capital to fund seasonal inventory buildup between Septem-
ber and November for Christmas sales. But even a business that is not seasonal occasionally
experiences peak months when orders are unusually high. This creates a need for working capital
to fund the resulting inventory and accounts receivable buildup. ()
A working capital analysis is prepared in a manner similar to what we described for a cash ow forecast in
that assumptions are made about the impact on working capital as a result of activities during the forecast
period in order to provide the business owner with assurance that adequate working capital to support
operations will be generated by normal business operations. If not, alternative sources of working capital
must be lined up, and the earlier such a need is recognized, the better.
9.9.2.1 Break-even analysis

A break even analysis is designed to show you how much revenue must be generated to cover your xed and
variable costs. Revenue below the breakeven point means the business is losing money and revenue above
the breakeven point means the business is protable.
Let us look at a simple example, one that assumes your business is selling only one product. In order to
calculate the breakeven point you will need to know three things:
• Your xed costs

• Your variable cost
• Your unit selling price
Once the breakeven point is passed and revenue continues to rise, your business will be protable. This is why
knowing your breakeven point in terms of unit sales is so important. The website About.com:Entrepreneurs
contains an easy to understand formula for calculating your breakeven point:
To conduct your breakeven analysis, take your xed costs, divided by your price minus your
variable costs. As an equation, this is dened as:
Breakeven Point = Fixed Costs/(Unit Selling Price - Variable Costs)

This calculation will let you know how many units of a product you will need to sell to break
even. Once you have reached that point, you have recovered all costs associated with producing
your product (both variable and xed).

182
Above the breakeven point, every additional unit sold increases prot by the amount of the unit
contribution margin, which is dened as the amount each unit contributes to covering xed costs
and increasing prots. As an equation, this is dened as:
Unit Contribution Margin = Sales Price - Variable Costs

Recording this information in a spreadsheet will allow you to easily make adjustments as costs
change over time, as well as play with dierent price options and easily calculate the resulting
breakeven point. You could use a program such as Excel's Goal Seek, if you wanted to give
yourself a goal of a certain prot, say USD 1 million, and then work backwards to see how many
units you would need to sell to hit that number. (This online tutorial 27 will show you how to use
Goal Seek.)().
9.9.3 Protability analyses (e.g. by customer, product, region)

There are many types of analyses that managers prepare in order to gain a deeper insight into the operations
of their businesses. One of the most important of these is protability analyses. Managers, know, intuitively,
that some customers are more protable than others, that they make more gross margins on some products
than others, and if the business has more than just local coverage, that some geographical regions are more
protable than others. While it is good to know such things intuitively, it is better to know them for sure.
And knowing them for sure requires that systematic analyses be prepared.
According to Wikipedia,
Customer protability (CP) is the dierence between the revenues earned from and the costs
associated with the customer relationship in a specied period.
Although CP is nothing more than the result of applying the business concept of prot to a
customer relationship, measuring the protability of a rm's customers or customer groups can
often deliver useful business insights.
Quite often a very small percentage of the rm's best customers will account for a large portion of
rm prot. Although this is a natural consequence of variability in protability across customers,
rms benet from knowing exactly who the best customers are and how much they contribute
to rm prot.
At the other end of the distribution, rms sometimes nd that their worst customers actually
cost more to serve than the revenue they deliver. These unprotable customers actually detract
from overall rm protability. The rm would be better o if they had never acquired these
customers in the rst place ().
The biggest challenge in measuring customer protability is the assignment of costs to customers. While
it is usually clear what revenue each customer generated, it is often not clear at all what costs the rm incurred
serving each customer. So, accountants try and develop some sort of reasonable method of allocating xed
and variable costs to customers. A typical method is to analyze each cost and try to determine the proportion
attributable to each customer. A simple and clear-cut example is a situation where a store has both walk-in
and on-line customers. The costs of renting and maintaining the physical store could reasonably be allocated
to the customers who purchase goods in person, based on the number of visits or more likely on the amount
27 http://www.homeandlearn.co.uk/ME/mes8p4.html

183
of sales to each customer. On-line customers could have the costs of developing and maintaining the website
allocated to them. With this information in hand, a customer protability analysis can be prepared. It is
usually prepared in descending order by customer protability, as illustrated in Exhibit 9.2:
Exhibit 9.2: Customer Protability Analysis
Assume you are the owner of the restaurant supply company illustrated in the exhibit. What kinds of
useful information can you gather from an analysis such as this?
Many companies prepare a similar type of analysis at the gross margin level and skip the step of trying
to allocate costs to individual customers. In this case, cost of goods sold is substituted for allocated costs
in column three of Exhibit 9.2, and column four will show gross margin by customer instead of protability
by customer. For many managers, gross margin by customer gives them the essential information they need
without going through the additional step of trying to allocate costs to customers, which is clouded by its
inherent inaccuracies.
9.10 Budgets28
9.10.1 Budgets
Earlier, we discussed cash ow forecasts and how they are used. An extension of the cash ow forecast
concept is the operating budget. Most organizations have them. A budget is the nancial expression of an
organization's operating plan for a period of time, usually at least a year. Prior to the beginning of the year,
managers prepare a plan for what they hope to accomplish in the coming year in terms of revenue, expenses,
and net prot.
A more formal denition of a budget is:
A budget is a nancial document used to project future income and expenses. The budget-
ing process may be carried out by individuals or by companies to estimate whether the per-
son/company can continue to operate with its projected income and expenses.
A budget may be prepared simply using paper and pencil, or on computer using a spreadsheet
program like Excel, or with a nancial application like Quicken or QuickBooks.
• Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11227/1.4>

184
• The process for preparing a monthly budget includes:
Listing of all sources of monthly income
• Listing of all required, xed expenses, like rent/mortgage, utilities, phone
• Listing of other possible and variable expenses. (Biztaxlaw.about.com 2009)
Then, as the year unfolds, actual income and expenses are posted to the accounting records, and compared
to what was budgeted, and a variance from budget for each item budgeted (e.g. sales, selling expenses,
advertising costs, etc) is calculated. Managers responsible for the various income and expense items then
examine each variance and, if it is substantial, search for an explanation. For example, it is one thing if
electricity costs are 20 per cent higher than what was budgeted for one month because workmen were using
power tools to repair the roof. In that case, we can expect costs to return to normal when the repair work
is completed. It is quite another thing if costs are higher because the electric company raised its rates. In
that case, we can expect that costs will be at least 20 per cent higher in the future.
9.10.2 Forecasts
Most organizations take budget variance to date into consideration each month, and then prepare a revised
budget (or forecast) for the balance of the year. This step is particularly important if variances to date
vary from the original budget in a major way. For example, if sales are less than projected because market
conditions are less favorable than anticipated when the budget was prepared, managers may look for ways
to increase sales or reduce expenses in order to avoid a loss for the year.
9.10.3 Scenarios
There are many other forecasts that managers ask for in order to try and anticipate what the future might
hold so they can prepare contingency plans in case of unforeseen events. Examples of unforeseen events
that may well aect future outcomes are the arrival of a new competitor, a change in the overall economic
outlook which could aect costs and/or revenues either positively or negatively, or even the arrival of a new
company in another line of business that could raise prevailing wage rates in your region.
So, what managers like to do is to develop forecasts of sales, costs, cash, prots, interest rates and the like
using dierent assumptions which, of course, result in dierent outcomes, some good and some bad. Another
word for such forecasts is scenarios. For example, let us assume that a forecast of the income statement for
a business at the end of the year assumes that sales will grow by 8 per cent over the previous year and costs
will grow by 6 per cent. A manager might ask for an alternative scenario where sales increase by 12 per cent
and costs increase by 9 per cent and another scenario where sales decrease by 3 per cent and costs increase
by 1 per cent.
The Wall Street Journal had a story recently on how businesses use scenarios for planning pur-
poses. Quoting from it:
Each spring, executives at JDS Uniphase Corp. plan for three potential sales scenarios for the
coming scal year, which begins in July. Last year, rattled by nancial-market turmoil, they
included an extremely pessimistic sales outlook and outlined potential cost cuts.
The planning proved useful when the economy stalled and customers began delaying orders later
in the year. We knew what levers to pull, says Dave Vellequette, chief nancial ocer at the
Milpatis, Calif., maker of ber-optic telecommunications equipment.
The experience highlights the value of scenario planning, or preparing responses to imagined
changes in conditions. It's not about predicting the future, says Peter Schwartz, a partner at
Monitor Group, a Cambridge, Mass. Consulting rm. Scenario planning is a tool for learning
and making better decisions. (p. 189).

185
9.10.4 Sources of nancing for your organization

Once you have your accounting system established, you can take your plans for the initial months and years
of operation of your organization, and prepare scenarios of the nancial results of operations for your own
peace of mind or as documents to discuss with potential investors. Keep in mind that potential investors are
interested in something they call the path to protability or P2P. In other words, while they expect that
your organization will not be protable immediately, they will want some assurance that it will be protable
relatively soon before they help you get started. While potential investors may like you as an individual,
they want to be sure they will get a return on their investment. The way you do this is to go over your
business plan with them, including the nancial analyses that shows them the path to protability. They
will ask you questions to make sure your assumptions are reasonable, so make sure you do your homework
in advance, anticipate their questions, and have good answers ready for them. The author of Section 2.1
discussed several possible sources you can explore to obtain the start-up nancing you will need:
• savings
• friends and family
• micro-nancers
• governmental support
• barter
• bank loans
• networking
• online network
• memberships
Savings: If you have been saving your money and have accumulated enough to provide the funds you need
to nance your start-up, this is the best way for you to go. It can be dicult to convince third parties that
your start-up is a good investment, and, in some cases, you may have to relinquish some degree of ownership
(and management control) over your business to an investor. This can lead to disagreements which, if serious
enough, could cause your investor to demand his or her money returned to them at an inconvenient time.
However, only a small percentage of entrepreneurs are fortunate enough to be able to fund their start-up
costs with personal funds, so most are forced to seeking funding elsewhere. Many entrepreneurs in the US,
for example borrow from their credit cards or take out a higher mortgage on their homes to avoid having to
get funds from others. While this is common, it can result in personal nancial disaster if the start-up fails.
Friends and family : Asking friends and families to invest is another common way that start-ups are
funded. Often the potential entrepreneur is young, energetic, and has a good idea for a start-up, but does
not have much in the way of personal savings. Friends and family may be older and have some money set
aside. While your parents, or other family members should not risk all of their retirement savings on your
start-up, they may be willing to risk a small percentage of it to help you out. Sometimes friends your own
age are willing to work for little or no wages until your cash ow turns positive. The term sweat equity is
often used for this type of contribution as the owner will often reward such loyalty with a small percentage
ownership of the organization in lieu of cash. A variation on this is barter or trade. As mentioned in here 29 ,
this is a method by which you could provide a needed service such as consulting/management advice in
return for the resources needed for your start up. This needs to be accounted for in your accounting records
also.
Networking, online networks, and memberships all can be ways of meeting managers who have
either successfully launched a star-up or who are in the process of moving their organization forward on the
path to protability. Adding to some of the examples given in here 30 , you may wish to consider your local
chamber of commerce, a Rotary Club, or a local organization comprised of entrepreneurs. For example, if
your start-up is located in Africa, the Africa Business Communities portal could be a good source for you
to locate networking opportunities in your community. According to their website:

186
The African continent is enjoying a period of unprecedented economic growth. The idea that
business is the key to sustainable development in Africa is gaining ground rapidly worldwide.
Africa Business Communities is a portal website that brings the visitor into the heart of the
African economy, by granting access to African entrepreneurs. Currently Africa Business Com-
munities hosts 35 Africa business networks, in the future that will be hundreds. (African Business
Communities 2009).
Bank loans (as stated in here31 ) are not usually available to early-stage entrepreneurs unless you have
a track record of a previous success and/or the assets to put up (as collateral) such as a home you own in
return for securing the bank loan.
Angel investors, venture capitalists : Venture capitalists are usually not interested in start-ups. They
tend to invest in young companies after they have demonstrated that they are clearly on a path to prof-
itability and they need additional capital to help them grow quickly. Angel investors, on the other hand, are
interested in start-up companies and, unlike venture capitalists who tend to seek control of the organization,
angel investors like to leave management of the organization to its founder(s). Angel investors are always
available to provide advice and counsel, however. This can be extremely valuable to a young entrepreneur
as angel investors are usually successful entrepreneurs themselves. For example, a recent article in Busi-
ness Week magazine describes a USD 300 million angel investment rm co-founded by Marc Andreessen,
of Netscape Communications fame. Named Andreessen Horowitz, the rm's investors (in addition to An-
dreessen's business partner Ben Horowitz) include prominent tech industry players including Reid Homan,
founder of the social networking site LinkedIn, and Peter Thiel, former CEO of the payment service PayPal.
The article goes on to say that
Andreessen Horowitz is expected to concentrate on making investments in technology, with an

emphasis on corporate services and Internet businesses that cater to consumers. Investors who
have heard the rm's pitch say it is adopting a "super angel" strategy in which a modest-size
venture rm invests morsels of money into many startups. They want to sprinkle as many
seeds in the ground as possible," says one investor who was approached to invest in the rm but
declined.
There's a twist though: While most super angels nance the rst round of a startup and work
closely with the company to launch a product, the investor says Andreessen and Horowitz told
him they intend to take a more hands-o approach: They'll invest in 70 or 80 companies with
minimal involvement in most, and then double or triple down on the dozen or so winners that
emerge. The strategy will allow Andreessen to back many more startups than the average venture
rm, but with less control (p. 189).
Micro-nancers If you do the Google search suggested in here 32 you will nd a number of organizations
that give small loans to budding entrepreneurs in developing economies. One such example is Micronancing
Partners in Africa. Here is a quote from their website where they describe their program:
Micronancing Partners in Africa (MPA) develops sustainable businesses and economically vi-
able communities. We work with community-based organizations to create and support funding
systems that furnish small, collateral-free, low-interest business loans. Grants are given to orga-
nizations that provide business, health and nutrition classes.

187
Very often, all that is required are loans as small as $20 to bring a business into full production.
Realistic micronancing terms, comprehensive training and the development of a community-
based support network result in a high percentage of on-time repayments. This funding system
provides the nancial basis for the provision of additional training, loans and business creation.
Ultimately, these thriving business communities provide the economic foundation for community
development projects, including schools, health centers, power sources, etc.(p. 189)
The one aspect of micronancers is that their loans are truly micro. They may be too small to be
helpful in getting your business started. But, you never know. Micronancing organizations can be a good
place to start, and if your needs exceed their normal limits they may be able to refer you to other sources
of funding. There may be micronancing resources available through UN programs, Rotary.org and other
sources.
Finally, governmental support is also a possibility. As an example, here is a quote from a website
describing government grants available to start-ups in the US, along with some of the reasons why the US
government is allocating federal funds to private business start-ups:
Economic development is very important for every country. The economic conditions are unpre-
dictable and volatile and so every country needs all the help it can get to improve its overall
standing. Businesses are the major contributors to the success of the economy and so the gov-
ernment is always willing to extend the needed nancial aid.
Some entrepreneurs are hesitant to get assistance from the government. But if you're one of
those entrepreneurs with capital problems, don't hesitate to ask for help from the government.
The government has a huge fund allocation for the grants. If you want to know more about
the government grants, you can simply log on to the internet and search for these entrepreneur
grants.
Before an entrepreneur decides to put up a business, he conducts a lot of studies to determine

if the business is feasible or not. If he can prove the feasibility of his business proposal, the
government will immediately provide the needed capital assistance through the entrepreneur
grants.
If the working capital that you've raised from family, relatives, and friends are insucient, try
to contact the local government and ask for the requirements in order to avail the government
entrepreneur grant. You can either do this online or you can visit the physical oce of the local
government of your state or country. (p. 189)
Does your country have a program of assistance for entrepreneurs?

188
9.11 Chapter Summary33
In this chapter we discussed the importance of having a well-designed accounting system for your organization
as well as the distinction between nancial and managerial accounting. While both nancial and managerial
accounting statements and reports are required and important, managerial accounting statements and reports
are more likely to contain the kinds of information you will need to help manage the operations of your
organization.
We explained the six dierent types of accounts, their characteristics, and how they are used to create a
detailed chart of accounts which is tailored to the specic needs of your organization. Next we covered the
advantages of the system of double-entry bookkeeping and how, together with ledgers and other accounting
records, it enhances the accuracy of information maintained in an accounting system, whether it is manual
or computer-based.
Next, since the cost of computers and software has dropped to the point where even many small organi-
zations can aord them, we covered some of the accounting software packages that are available, their costs,
criteria for selection, and the advantages of using them.
Finally, we discussed the common options for obtaining funds for your start-up organization, some of the
pros and cons of each, and the advantage you will have in approaching lenders or investors with accounting
reports that demonstrate a clear path to protability.
9.12 Discussion Questions34

• Explain the dierence between nancial accounting and managerial accounting. Which one is most
important to owner/managers of a start-up organization and why?
• List and give examples of the six basic types of accounts. What are the characteristics of each?
• Why is it important to have a chart of accounts that is tailored to particular types of organizations
rather than one chart of accounts that applies to all types of organizations?
• Where can you nd sample charts of accounts that apply to your type of organization?
• Explain the advantages of double-entry bookkeeping. Do you agree with Goethe's description of
double-entry bookkeeping as Goethe as "one of the most beautiful discoveries of the human spirit"?
• Please discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using computer software packages for your account-
ing system.
• What sort of diculty can you imagine the manager of an organization would be in if the organization
did not routinely prepare cash ow forecasts and working capital analyses?
• Why is it important for managers to understand the concept of a break-even point?
• Please give examples of how information from a customer protability report could be used?
• Why is it important for an organization to prepare and use a budget (or nancial plan)?
• Please give examples of alternative scenarios an organization should prepare and how they might be
used.
9.13 References35
(About.com: Entrepreneurs 2009) http://entrepreneurs.about.com/od/businessplan/a/breakeven.htm 36 ,
accessed July 5, 2009.
(Accounting Software Review 2009) http://accounting-software-review.toptenreviews.com/ 37 , accessed
July 4, 2009.
36 http://entrepreneurs.about.com/od/businessplan/a/breakeven.htm
37 http://accounting-software-review.toptenreviews.com/

189
(African Business Communities 2009) http://www.africabusinesscommunities.com/ 38 , accessed July 7,

2009.
(Biztaxlaw.about.com 2009) http://biztaxlaw.about.com/od/glossaryb/g/Budget.htm 39 , accessed July
6, 2009.
(Buchanan and Espeseth 2009) Developing a Bed and Breakfast Business Plan 2009, North Central
Regional Extension Publication 273, http://web.aces.uiuc.edu/vista/pdf_pubs/b&b.pdf 40 , accessed June
22, 2009.
(BusinessStartUpAssistance.com 2009) http://www.businessstartupassistance.com/a-government-
entrepreneur-grantits-easier-then-you-think.php 41 , accessed July 7, 2009.
(BusinessWeek.com 2009) http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_28/b4139032324083.htm 42
, accessed July 7, 2009.
(Entrepreneur.com 2009) http://www.entrepreneur.com/money/moneymanagement/nancialanalysis/article21940.html#
(Executive Caliber 2009) http://www.executivecaliber.ws/sys-tmpl/historyofaccounting/ 44 , accessed
June 23, 2009.
(IASB 2009) http://www.iasb.org/ 45 , accessed June 20, 2009.
(Micronancing Partners in Africa 2009) http://www.micronancingafrica.org/ 46 , accessed July 7, 2009.
(Smallbusinessnotes.com 2009) http://www.smallbusinessnotes.com/operating/nmgmt/nancialstmts/cashprojection.htm
(Universal Accounting 2009) http://www.know-accounting.com/glossary/index.php?terml=g&termid=90 48
accessed June 25 2009.
(Wall Street Journal 2009). Tuna, Cari, Pendulum is Swinging Back on Scenario Planning, The Wall
Street Journal, July 6, 2009, page B6.
(Wikipedia 2009a) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_accounting 49 , accessed June 20, 2009.
(Wikipedia 2009b) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Managerial_accounting 50 , accessed June 20, 2009.
(Wikipedia 2009c) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chart_of_accounts 51 , accessed June 20. 2009.
(Wikipedia 2009d) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-entry_bookkeeping_system 52 , accessed June
23, 2009.
(Wikpedia 2009e) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_protability 53 , accessed July 5, 2009.
38 http://www.africabusinesscommunities.com/
39 http://biztaxlaw.about.com/od/glossaryb/g/Budget.htm
40 http://web.aces.uiuc.edu/vista/pdf_pubs/b&b.pdf
41 http://www.businessstartupassistance.com/a-government-entrepreneur-grantits-easier-then-you-think.php
42 http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_28/b4139032324083.htm
43 http://www.entrepreneur.com/money/moneymanagement/nancialanalysis/article21940.html#ixzz0KJKa21Vk&D
44 http://www.executivecaliber.ws/sys-tmpl/historyofaccounting/
45 http://www.iasb.org/
46 http://www.micronancingafrica.org/
47 http://www.smallbusinessnotes.com/operating/nmgmt/nancialstmts/cashprojection.html
48 http://www.know-accounting.com/glossary/index.php?terml=g&termid=90
49 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_accounting
50 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Managerial_accounting
51 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chart_of_accounts
52 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-entry_bookkeeping_system
53 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_protability

190

Chapter 10
Leveraging with information technology
10.1 Learning Objectives1
• Dene the four components of an Information System
• Identify how information systems can assist a start-up
• Understand how to create a web presence for your organization
• Learn how to use information systems to gain a competitive advantage
• Understand how companies identify their information needs and set priorities
• Acquire an appreciation of why it is important to manage IS risks
10.2 Introduction2
This chapter explores how Information Systems (IS) can be used to by managers to better develop their
business idea, launch and sustain their businesses. It will also examine how IS forms the foundation for
operations management, customer relationship management and nancial and managerial accounting.
While you may be familiar with the term this is the information age it can mean dierent things to
dierent people. In His famous book, The World is Flat, (Friedman 2005) Thomas Friedman explains how
IS has changed the way the world works. He calls the World Wide Web a Global network for collaboration
and gives many examples of how many forms of knowledge work can now be done anywhere in the world,
that individuals from dierent countries can collaborate on projects without having to travel to distant cities
to meet each other face-to-face, and that projects can be worked on by contributors from anywhere in the
world. Examples of these three possibilities are listed below, in order to give you a better appreciation for
what is possible:
• Knowledge work can be done anywhere. Perhaps the most common example of this is software de-
velopment. Software engineers in developing economies can develop programs under contract from
companies in the developed world at much lower cost. Known as outsourcing, this is eective because
universities in many developing economies such as India, China, Brazil, and Eastern Europe have well-
trained programmers who are willing to work for wages above the prevailing wage levels in their home
countries, but less than what a trained programmer earns in a developed country.
• Colleagues can collaborate on projects without having to travel great distances. Videoconferencing has
reached the point where individuals can meet face-to-face over the Internet and have discussions re-
lated to a project they are working on together. These products can range from very sophisticated (and
expensive) products like Cisco's Telepresence conferencing tool (Cisco 2009) to relatively inexpensive
(or even free) software tools like Skype (Skype 2009).
191
193
10.3.1 The technology sub-system

An information system may not need the use of computers to make the accumulation, organization, and
reporting of information easier, faster, or more reliable. In your organization early stages, you may nd it
simple enough to just keep paper records and communicate face-to-face or by telephone rather than use email.
However, modern organizations increasingly rely on information technology as the core of their information
systems and part of the reason is that the cost of using computers has decreased as technology improves.
We dene information technology to include hardware, software and telecommunication equipment that is
used to capture, process, store and distribute information.
Hardware is the physical equipmentsuch as a personal computer, a laptop, a portable computing device,
and even a modern cell phoneused to process information. Software is the set of coded instructions (pro-
grams) that direct the hardware to perform the required tasks. A typical example is Google Docsa word
processing program designed to instruct a computer to create text documents. Telecommunication systems
are the networking equipment enabling users and devices to communicate. An example of a telecommunica-
tion system is a telephone network, which allows two callers to interact by voice over a distance.
These three elementshardware, software and telecommunication systemscomprise the technology
component of an information system.
10.3.2 The process sub-system

As discussed in Chapter 7, a process is the set of steps employed to carry out a specic business or or-
ganizational activity. In other words, a process maps the set of actions that an individual, a group or an
organization must enact in order to complete an activity. Consider the job of a grocery store manager and
the process he engages in when restocking an inventory of goods for sale. The store manager must:
• check the inventory of goods for sale and identify the needed items
• call individual suppliers for quotations and possible delivery dates
• compare prices and delivery dates quoted among several suppliers for the same goods
• select one or more suppliers for each of the needed items based on the terms of the agreement (e.g.
availability, quality, delivery)
• call these suppliers and place the orders
• receive the goods upon delivery, checking the accuracy and quality of the shipped items; pay the
suppliers
Note that there are multiple viable processes that an organization can design to complete the same activity.
In the case of the grocery store, the timing and form of payment can dier dramatically, from cash on delivery
to direct transfer of the payment to the supplier's bank account within three months of the purchase. The
critical insight here is that the design of the process must t with the other components of the information
system and be adjusted when changes occur. It must also meet the unique needs of the organization. For
example, imagine the grocery store manager purchasing a new software program that enables her to get
quotations from all of the suppliers in the nearby regions and place orders online. Clearly the preceding
process would need to change dramatically, and the store manager would need to be trained in the use of
the new software programin other words, changes would also aect the people component.
10.3.3 People
The people component of an information system encompasses all those individuals who are directly involved
with the system. These people include the managers who dene the goals of the system, and the users. The
critical insight here is that the individuals involved in the information system come to it with a set of skills,
attitudes, interests, biases and personal traits that need to be taken into account when the organization
designs the information system. Very often, an information system fails because the users do not have
enough skills, or have a negative attitude toward the system. Therefore, there should be enough training
and time for users to get used to the new system.

194 CHAPTER 10. LEVERAGING WITH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
For example, when implementing an automated payroll system, training on how to enter employees'
account information, how to correct wrong entries, and how to deposit the salaries into each account should
be provided to the human resources sta. The benets of the system should be communicated to both the
human resources sta and the employees in order to build up positive attitudes towards the new system.
10.3.4 Structure
The structure (or organizational structure) component of information systems refers to the relationship
among the individuals in the people component. Thus, it encompasses hierarchical and reporting structures,
and reward systems. Many of these issues are discussed in Chapter 5. The structure component plays a
critical role in an information system, simply because systems often fail when they are resisted by their
intended users. This can happen because individuals feel threatened by the new work system, or because of
inherent human resistance to change. When designing a new information system the organization needs to
be cognizant of the current and future reward system in order to create incentives to secure its success.
10.3.4.1 Relationships between the four components

At this point it should be clear how information systems, while enabled by IS, are not synonymous with
IS. Each of the four components discussed above can undermine the success of an information system
the best software application will yield little result if users reject it and fail to adopt it. More subtly, the
four components of information systems must work together for the systems to perform. Thus, when the
organization decides to bring in a new technology to support its operation, the design team must adjust the
existing processes or develop new ones. The people involved must be trained to make sure that they can
carry out the processes. If the skills of these individuals are such that they can't perform the required tasks
or be trained to do so, a dierent set of individuals need to be brought in to work with the system. Finally,
the design team must evaluate whether the organizational structure needs to be modied as well. New
positions may need to be created for additional responsibilities, and old jobs may need to be eliminated.
The transition from the old way of doing things to the new system needs to be managed, ensuring that
appropriate incentives and a reward structure is put in place.
10.3.4.2 Some practical advice for start-ups

• Don't invest in IS solutions unless until you can see that they will provide you with real benets. They
will require an investment of valuable time and money that you could perhaps use more eectively in
other areas of your business.
• Installing IS systems often take longer and cost more than originally estimated. You should have some
IS skills available to help you get over the rough spots.
• Remember that it is usually a mistake to be one of the rst to use a new technology. It can be risky,
and it is even more important that you have access to personnel with strong IS skills.
At the same time, it can be a mistake to wait too long to gain business benets from carefully chosen
IS applications, particularly if your competition is taking advantage of IS for eciency, eectiveness, and
innovation.
10.4 Moving Forward With Information Systems5

When you decide it is time to move forward with leveraging your organization with information systems,
you will appreciate the eort spent on developing a systems plan. The plan will state the kind of hardware,
software, and communications technologies you need, as well as the sectors of your organization which should
receive your attention rst.

195
Many small organizations begin operations with manual systems to keep track of their operations. They
may have simple lists on paper for customer, vendor, and employee information and keep a set of accounting
records on paper as well. This was the way business information was kept by all organizations, large and
small, before the advent of computers. When PCs became available, their cost was such that the power of
the computer was made available at low cost and so today, most organizations of any size have at least one
PC or laptop. You may well start out with keeping records manually, but before too long, you will appreciate
how much easier it is to keep records on a computer and how well-designed software applications can provide
you with valuable information quickly, in many dierent ways, whenever you need it.
One issue you will need to address early is your sourcing options, i.e. where will you obtain your hardware,
software, and human resources to help you acquire and manage the IS resources you need. In Chapter 8,
we discussed the ways that organizations partner with other organizations to perform essential business
functions. It is very common for organizations to partner with another company to supply them with the
specialized knowledge needed to acquire the right combination of hardware, software, and communications
services to meet the needs of the organization. We will discuss these issues more later in this chapter when
we discuss the ways organizations develop a systems plan. Suce it to say at this point, that you will have
many options:
For example:
• You can hire an IS professional if your needs require a full-time employee for manage your IS processes
(and if you can aord it). Organizations that don't need a full-time employee and do not have IS ex-
pertise available in-house on even a part-time basis typically make arrangements for part-time support
from an IS consulting rm. Sometimes the consulting rm is a sole proprietorship.
• You can acquire your own hardware (e.g. PCs) or you can buy time on another organization's hardware
to run your software applications. In developed economies, there are companies like Google and Amazon
that oer so-called cloud computing services. They have developed so much expertise in managing
server farms (i.e. data centers) that they now sell hardware capacity on demand to other companies.
Similar options are available in other parts of the world.
• As with hardware, you have similar options with software. Up until recently, if you needed a software
package to do the accounting for your organization, for example, you had to buy a package and install it
on your own computer. Now, many software packages can be accessed with a simple Internet connection
and a web browser. The software package resides not on your computer, but on the vendor's computer
(or perhaps another computer in the clouds).
All of the options have their advantages and disadvantages and we discuss them later in this chapter.
While it is certainly possible for you to hire a programmer and have him or her develop the software
programs your organizations need, it is rare when a start-up company needs to do this as there are so
many software programs available for you to use (and some of them are free). In all likelihood, you will
begin to move your organization into the information age in one of two ways, either (1) acquiring a suite
of commonly-used programs designed for meeting the needs of both individuals and organizations, or (2)
acquiring software programs designed specically to meet most needs of a small organization. Each of these
options is discussed below:
10.4.1 Acquiring a suite of commonly-used programs

Perhaps the best-known suite of commonly used programs is Microsoft Oce. A basic version of Oce,
Microsoft Oce Standard 2007 includes four programs:
1. Microsoft Word, used for preparing documents

2. Microsoft Excel, used for preparing spreadsheets (most commonly used for accounting analyses but
also useful for basic record-keeping such as customer lists or checkbooks).
3. PowerPoint, used for making presentations, and
4. Microsoft Outlook, used for managing email. (Microsoft 2009)

There are several other open-source options available as well, typically at no cost to you. Some of these are:
1. Open Oce (Openoce 2009)

2. Google Docs (Google 2009)
3. Zoho (Zoho 2009)
In addition to being free, the open source options have the ability to read and write computer le a format
compatible with the more widely used Microsoft products.
10.4.2 When to think about using database management software

As your business grows and you need to keep accurate records on a computer beyond what is reasonable to
do with a spreadsheet program, you should consider adding database management software.
Karen Stille placed a good comparison of the features of database and spreadsheet software a website,
QCISolutions. In summary, she states that:
As a general rule of thumb, databases should be used for data storage and spreadsheets should
be used to analyze data.
In a nutshell we use a database if...
• the information is a large amount that would become unmanageable in spreadsheet form
and is related to a particular subject.
• you want to maintain records for ongoing use.
• the information is subject to many changes (change of address, pricing changes, etc.).
• you want to generate reports based on the information.
Use a spreadsheet if...
• you want to crunch numbers and perform automatic calculations.
• you want to track a simple list of data.
• you want to easily create charts and graphs of your data.
• you want to create "What-if" scenarios.
In most cases, using the combination of a database to store your business records and a spread-
sheet to analyze selected information works best.(Stille 2009)
Microsoft's widely-used database management software is called ACCESS, and versions of Microsoft Oce
that use ACCESS are available for purchase. More information is available on the Microsoft site (Microsoft).
On the other hand, open source database management software is also available at no cost to you. You may
wish to examine one of the following open source packages to see if one of them meets your needs:
• MySQL (MySQL 2009)

• Zoho Creator (Zoho 2009)
One of the prevailing issues with using open source software rather than software you purchase is the level
of support you can expect from the software's creator. If you pay for software, you have a right to expect
excellent documentation and support. If the software is free, sometimes documentation and support do not
meet the same standards. Much of the support you get is from the community of users. As of this writing,
the worldwide community for ACCESS is much larger, and there are many books written about it. The
open source databases are just as useful, but nding information and support can be a more tedious process.
However, according to the Gartner Group, a highly-respected technology research company based in the US,
open source database management software is becoming more attractive. In a report released in November
2008, they made the following observations:

197
During 2008, since our last note about open-source database management systems (DBMSs), we have
seen an increase in the interest and use of open-source DBMS engines in a production environment. As this
trend continues to gain speed, the cost benets of using an open-source DBMS is increasing and the risk of
using it is decreasing.
Key Findings:
• Lower total cost of ownership (TCO), compared to commercial DBMSs, can be realized for non-mission-
critical applications.
• There are large third-party software vendors looking to certify open-source DBMSs as a platform for
existing applications, including SAP.
• The major open-source DBMS products are now available for installation as a package, without in-
volving the source code, including tools to help support the DBMS environment.
• If the technical capabilities of the sta are strong, use of an open-source DBMS in mission-critical
environments is possible now.
Recommendations:
• Open-source DBMS engines can be used today for non-mission-critical applications with reduced risk
over several years ago.
• Only use an open-source DBMS engine supplied by a vendor who controls or participates in the engi-
neering of the DBMS and always purchase subscription support when used in production environments.
• If open source is part of your overall IS strategy, plan for the use of open-source DBMS engines in
mission-critical environments in two to ve years. (Gartner 2008)
• Acquiring software programs designed specically to meet most needs of a small organization
• In the same way that Oce Suites are available which can perform many of the basic information
systems tasks of a small organization, there are suites of programs available to perform specic functions
like accounting, payroll, customer relationship management, inventory control and the like. Recall that
we discussed computer-based accounting systems in considerable detail in Chapter 9.
• (Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are the analogous software solutions for large and
medium-sized companies.) Examples of small business suites include the following:
Microsoft has a site devoted to software suite solutions for small businesses at
http://www.microsoft.com/business/peopleready/ 6
NetSuite (www.netsuite.com 7 ) NetSuite is in a category of software called software as a service (SaaS).
In the SaaS model, the software resides on the servers of the software provider rather than on the using
organization's computer. The advantages of this model are that users never have to worry about software
and data backups or software updates. These functions are provided at the software company's data centers.
Some SaaS models charge users by the month, others charge them at a variable rate, based on the number
of transactions per month and/or the size of their databases. The downside for some users with SaaS is
that the information is not kept in-house. Although hosted solutions are considered very secure, some
users worry about security and privacy issues. The website, www.2020software.com 8 compares several small
business software suites, and has links to the companies' sites.
There are a number of open source initiatives for small business software you may wish to investigate.
One such example is xTuple (http://www.xtuple.org/ 9 ). A comprehensive list of options is available at
SourceForge (www.sourceforge.net 10 ). Our previous cautions on the use of open source software products
apply here as well.
6 http://www.microsoft.com/business/peopleready/
7 http://www.netsuite.com/
8 http://www.2020software.com/
9 http://www.xtuple.org/
10 http://www.sourceforge.net/

10.4.3 Creating a web presence
Having a web site is now considered as necessary as a phone or fax number even an email address for
corresponding with customers. Since the site will be a reection of your organization, its product or service,
the most important step is to research and plan. For most business, a Web site can serve as a resource
for information and to promote the organization, its brand, and the value of the product or services being
oered. But many times, businesses as well as individuals create a site for the sake of having one, without
taking time to understand what customers and the business expect from a site. When you set down to create
your site, consider the following rst;
• Decide on a budget.
• Decide on a name (Domain Name or URL). Check http://www.whois.com 11 to see if the name is
already taken.
• Register the name (Domain Name or URL). Login to a registrar like http://www.godaddy.com 12 and
follow their instructions for registration.
• Decide how the site will be designed and maintained (who will handle this)?
• What will be the content of the site?
• Decide on a hosting company for the site. There are hundreds, if not thousands of hosting companies
will host your website for as little as $3.95US per month. A simple Google search will turn up many
candidates for you in your locale. To get an appreciation of the kinds of hosting services that are
available from US-based companies, go to http://hostingreview.com 13 .
• Decide whether you will hire someone to build the site for you or if you want to use one of the many
template-driven software packages to build it yourself.
Finding out what kinds of information your customers want, and then designing and developing your site to
provide up-to-date, ongoing resource materials can help you better position your products or services and
serve as a credible go-to spot. A web site can go from a simple one-page site with your name and mission
statement to a site with multiple pages that include on-line sales, newsletters and discussion forums.
10.5 Know What Your Customers Want14

Remember that your Web site should be a dynamic communication tool. Users today are conditioned to use
the Web as a where-to-turn resource, where they expect up-to-date news, information and tips related to
your product or services. Users will also use the information provide to compare you with others, specically
your competition. For you, it's also another opportunity where you can promote your services and serve the
community. There's nothing gained by having a Web site that posts dry, out-of-date content. Keep a pulse
on what kind of information about your product/services customers are looking for, and how and where
they expect to nd it. Don't be too quick to list the areas where you feel you're strongestremember to
put yourself in your customer's shoes and ask what they want to ask: What's in it for me (WIIFM) to visit
this Web site?
An eective site should:
• Recognize the needs of all who will use your site, vendors, customers and yes even employees, and
direct each to the content that will interest them most.
• Be easy to access, read and use with well-thought-out content, useful links, e-mail addresses or phone
numbers.
• Provide helpful information on how to keep customers coming back
Make your visitors feel condent about choosing your organization as a provider for the product or services
for which they are looking.
11 http://www.whois.com/
12 http://www.godaddy.com/
13 http://hostingreview.com/

199
10.5.1 Give your customer a positive experience

Knowing what your customer wants to see on your website is only half the challenge. In today's quick to
nd, instant gratication environment, your customers not only want to nd information on your services
and product quickly, the want to share it and have a positive customer experience when the do. A positive
experience is one that not only gives your customer their needed information but one, when your customer
do contact you via a web chat or internet phone, they have something positive to say afterwards. This gives
customers a incredible ability to quickly and easily inuence others as well as providing instant feedback into
your customers buying patterns and feelings about your site and company.
If you can better understand your customer, their needs and objectives you will better understand how to
measure and track the voice of the customer. Why? This will foster a better customer relationship and will
provide you with two outcomes: (1) having your customer extend your marketing without additional cost
and (2) having customer based testimonies on their experiences that will increase your companies' reputation
of the products or services you oer.
10.5.1.1 Know the basics

Whether you already have a site that's an oshoot of a current business you've done work with, or its a
stand-alone site (brochureware)or whether you're considering creating a Web site, the information you
provide is key. Looking at some of the best known websites, several sites stand out for their information,
creativity, usefulness and easy of use. One such site, video how-to site http://www.howcast.com/ 15 , is a
gem. At one time or another we have all tried to do things without reading the instructions. Howcast.com
not only addresses this, but provides video as well.
The key elements of any site are a user-friendly, clean appearance and consistently improving content.
As you determine your needs for a web site, one of the important goals should be to allow your customers
to access your site and avoid the time-consuming process of surng the Web for similar products or services.
They can visit your site and be taken to useful, informative sites.
The have-to's of an eective site:
• An introduction of your products or services: what is it, who uses it and why to buy it
• Basic information up front: contact information, product or services information, etc.
• Listing of products or services, grouped together by topic.
• News. Post the latest information about how your organization is changing, how your product or
services is being accepted or who is buying them. Consider an e-newsletter in PDF form with tips
readers can hold onto.
• Articles. Post in PDF form an article by your marketing or product development team on what's new
or what's coming
• A contact mechanisma way for customers to ask a question, request information, register for warranty
of your product or services, gets your newsletter or get a referral.
The next layer of your site:
• Where and how to send a customer information they're seeking.

• Printable/downloadable forms for transmitting.
• Product / Services tips and tools.
• Product updates.
• Upcoming events, such as industry or company seminars, with an agenda and how to register or request
information.
• Community outreach information that shows how your organization is helping members of the com-
munity.
• Periodic satisfaction surveys that poll customers
15 http://www.howcast.com/

The enhanced, special customer layer to your site:
• Password-protected forms
• Password-protected customer sensitive data
• Credit Card Encryption
• Personal Data (i.e., date of birth, social security number, contact info, etc.)
• Enhanced articles and updates
• Special programs and communications
10.5.2 eMarket your website

Register your web site with search engines, some registration domain sites may have this available (check
their pages and see if they do this) and what it will cost you to have your web site pulled to the front of the
list. The more search engines that you register with the more the site will be displayed to those looking for
products or services you oer. Note: a number of these site are fee based, the more times your site comes
up in a search the more it may cost you. At a minimum, you should consider registering your web page
with both Google and Yahoo (instruction with registering on these search engines can be found on there
respective sites). Both of these sites as will as MSN.com are the most commonly used web search engines
sites globally.
In this process, when you view your web page, at the bottom you will a see box called MetaTags (Meta
tags are text within the source code of a web page. It provides information to search engines about the
content of a specic page or site) Information. This is where you put in key words or phrases that the search
engines will pick up on when someone does a search.
Examples:
• Fish Store: Fish, Fresh Water, Fish Food, Guppies, Angel, etc.
• Pet Store: Dog, Cat, Hamster, Dog Food, Cat Food, etc.
• Computer Store: Computer, Hard Disk, CD, Hard Drive, DVD, etc.
If you are in a business that does not sell on the internet, you may want to hold o on paying for this
option as local people will go to your site from advertising, word of mouth or local web searches.
As noted earlier, having a web presence is a very important part of business today. You must make sure
to take the time to plan and design your site so that it has the professional look and a certain panache
or style that will help your business distinguish it from others. A site that not only will encourage visitors
to return, but oers the information they are seeking the rst time they visit. With careful and thoughtful
planning and decision making you can create a small business site that can and will compete with larger
company, enhance your business and increase your margins and prots.
10.6 Using Information Technology Competitively16

10.6.1 Competitive advantage
When you are starting your business, very likely you will just be interested in substituting computer-based
information systems for keeping the basic records of your business and preparing the reports you need to
be an eective decision-maker. As your business grows, however, you should start to think of the potential
benet of going beyond the basics, as larger companies do, and look for ways to use information systems for
competitive advantage. Many people use the term technology-enabled innovation to describe this process.
Since it is never too early for you to start thinking about such innovation, we'll cover the topic now.
Just about all businesses have competitors and customers have choices as to which businesses they decide
to patronize. For example, you, as a customer, may have several restaurants to choose from if you want

•
•
•
Buyer power can be reduced by using IS in ways that tend to restrict buyers' choices. A good example
is the frequent yer programs that are oered by most commercial airlines around the world. When they
enroll in the program, air travelers are awarded miles for every ight they take on, for example, British
Airways. Their accumulated miles are maintained by a computer system. Travelers can obtain tickets for
free ights once as certain number of miles has been accumulated in their account. What this does is to
encourage travelers to always use the same airline so they can qualify for awards more quickly. Frequent yer
programs, of course, have to keep track of a lot of information on the activities of thousands of travelers and
would not be possible to manage without computer systems. An airline without a frequent yer program is
at a competitive disadvantage to airlines which have them.
Supplier power is high when a business must rely on just a few suppliers. For example, if there is just one
store in a town which stocks oce supplies, businesses have nowhere else to buy supplies they need and may
be forced to higher than normal prices. On the other hand, if a local business is connected to the Internet,
it can choose from many other suppliers and possible nd cheaper prices, even when the cost of shipping is
considered.
The threat of new entrants can be reduced when IS is used to erect entry barriers. Entry barriers
are oerings that a business must make available to its customers if it expects to do business in a certain
sector simply because most or all of its competitors oer a certain feature to their customers. An example
is ATM machines oered by banks. ATM machines would not be possible without the use of computers and
communications networks. If you had to choose between a bank that oered ATM machines and one that
did not, which one would you choose? Most likely the one with ATM machines. ATM machines are this a
barrier to enter the banking sector in a particular locale.
The threat of substitute products can usually be reduced by using IS to bind customers more closely to a
business and create what is called switching costs. This means that the IS systems oered by a business are
so appreciated by the customer that customers are reluctant to switch to a substitute product. For example,
there are many free open content software products that equally competitive with the costly brands. Zoho,
Google Docs, Thinkfree, are examples. One of the reasons many PC users don't switch to them is that they
would have to learn how to use a new package. Even though the free packages are easy to learn, there is a
switching cost involved that binds users to Microsoft Oce: The time it would take to learn even a relatively
simple package is enough of an obstacle to many users that they conclude that switching is not worth the
eort.
The Intensity of Intra-Industry Competition can often be increased by IS-enabled innovations. For
example, the global reach of the Internet means that competitors for many products and services can be
located anywhere in the world. For example, tax accounting specialists may now nd themselves competing
with accounting specialists in low-cost countries. This is becoming a common practice as companies conclude
that IS makes it possible for many forms of knowledge work to be performed anywhere in the world.
Use IS to reinforce your basic strategic positioning.
19 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porter_5_forces_analysis

205
investment in IS). The three general approaches to setting priorities (also known as developing a strategic
plan for the IS function) are:
1. Have the IS Department set Priorities

2. Have a Cross-functional Steering Committee set Priorities
3. Conduct a Systems Planning Project
Each of these approaches is discussed in more detail in the following paragraphs.
10.6.3.1 Have the IS department set priorities

The person in charge of the IS functions, particularly in larger organizations is called the Chief Information
Ocer or CIO. The CIO is responsible for new system development, systems operations, and maintenance of
existing systems. Ideally, the CIO has a solid understanding of the organization's overall strategy and tactics
as well as a good understanding of IS issues. A competent CIO should be able, therefore, to do a good job
of setting priorities for the IS function. All too often, however, the CIO is more comfortable with technical
issues and undertakes projects that are interesting from a technical standpoint, but oer little in the way
of business benets. On the other hand, some CIOs have an insucient command of technical issues and
therefore overlook opportunities to use IS to make their organization more ecient, eective, and innovative.
Finding a person with the right blend of business and technical savvy has proven to be dicult, and, thus,
CIO has come to be known, in some circles as Career is Over.
10.6.3.2 Have a cross-functional steering committee set priorities

Many organizations use a cross-functional steering committee discuss and agree on overall priorities for the IS
function. All major areas of the company are represented, including, for example, accounting, nance, human
resources, operations, and sales and marketing. Having all areas involved provides some assurance that the
organizations needs and opportunities are addressed in the proper priority sequence. The shortcomings of
this approach, in practice, however is that some heads of areas may not be as supportive of IS as they should
be, and the process can become complicated when organizational politics intervene.
For example, the organization's best opportunity for obtaining business benets could lie with a new
information system to track how well sales are performing in order to be sure that customer demands will be
met, but this opportunity is not understood or appreciated by the sales manager. Without the support from
the sales manager and IS project in his or her area would be unlikely to succeed, so the organization's best
opportunity is lost. On the other hand, it could be the case that the operations manager is has a strong and
persuasive personality, and by force of argument in steering committee meetings is able to convince other s
that operations projects should get the highest priority.
10.6.3.3 Develop a formal plan for information systems

Even small companies will get benet from taking a relatively short to develop a formal plan for the in-
formation systems function. In Chapter 1, and elsewhere in this book, we have emphasized the value of
having a formal business plan to guide the organization. Many organizations take their business plan down
another level and have formal plans for individual departments, such as sales and marketing, operations, and
human resources. It is particularly important to have a written plan for the Information Systems function
as top management must be assured that the benets of IS are being applied in accordance with the overall
goals of the organization. IS professionals call the end result of an IS planning process strategic alignment,
which simply means that the strategic goals of the IS function are aligned with the strategic goals of the
organization.
In a very small organization an information systems plan can be developed by one or two individuals.
In larger organizations, it is usually developed by a project team, sometimes with the assistance of outside
consultants. The important thing is that resources devoted to developing an information systems plan have

knowledge of current and emerging information and communications technologies as well as a solid under-
standing of the organization's strategic plan. Development of a formal plan usually involves interviewing
managers in each organizational unit to obtain their perspectives on issues such as:
• The overall strategic plan or direction of the organization

• Plans of individual organizational units developed in support of the organization's plan.
• Industry trends, competitors' strategies and common practices.
• Legal and regulatory record-keeping and reporting requirements.
• Current problems and opportunities with operational processes.
• Information needs for planning and decision-making.
Identifying business entities (e.g. customers, products, employees, etc) and data (i.e. attributes) required to
describe each entity.
Once this is done, possible IS projects can be determined by identifying natural groupings of process
and data and/or unmet information needs of managers. Possible projects must then be ranked in priority
sequence.
Technical issues must be considered next, because the several applications that the organization
eventually uses often share a common technical platform (e.g. PCs, networked PCs, etc). As we discussed
earlier in this chapter, another option is to adopt the software as a service (SaaS) approach when
it is available and appropriate. Technical issues may cause a reassessment of the priority sequence
of possible projects. For example, it may be easier or more logical to install the organization's rst
application which uses database management software on a smaller project to let personnel get familiar
with the software before moving on to a larger, more risky project. More details on current techni-
cal concept and issues are available in Global Text's Information Systems Text, Chapter 7, available at
http://docs.globaltext.terry.uga.edu:8095/anonymous/webdav/Information%20Systems/Information%20Systems.pdf 22
You may also like to scan the table of contents of the IS Text for additional readings as it covers many of
the topics we discuss here in much greater detail.
Once a plan is agreed, it is implemented. Most organizations nd it useful to update the plan at least
yearly as business and technical issues can change quickly.
10.7 What is IS Risk Management23

The IS risk is the business risk associated with the use, ownership, operation, involvement, inuence and
adoption of information/technology solutions (Application, Hardware, Network and People) within an or-
ganization. IS risk consists of IS-related events that could potentially impact the business. It is also the
management of uncertainty within the functions of IS so as to provide the organization with assurance that:
• the possibility of a threat occurring is reduced or minimized, and

• the impact, direct and consequential, is reduced or minimized.
To provide this assurance, threats must be identied and their impact on the organization evaluated so that
appropriate control measures can be eected to reduce the possibility or frequency of a threat occurring and
to reduce or minimize the impact on the business.
Information is a key business resource which, in order to be of value, must be correct, relevant and
applicable to the business process and delivered in a timely, consistent and usable manner; it must be
complete and accurate and provided through via the best use of resources (planned or unplanned), and if
sensitive it must have its condentiality preserved. Information is the result of the combined application of
data, application systems, technology, facilities and people. IS Risk Management ensures that the threats
to these resources are identied and controlled so that the requirements for information are met.
22 http://docs.globaltext.terry.uga.edu:8095/anonymous/webdav/Information%20Systems/Information%20Systems.pdf

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10.7.1 Project management risks

Despite the fact that sound system design and installation methodologies have been well known for decades,
the IT profession is still plagued by troubled or failed projects, colloquially called an Ox in the ditch.
Studies like the Chaos Reports published by the Standish Group over the years have documented the extent
of IT project successes and failures. For example, the latest publicly available report, "CHAOS Summary
2009," states:
"This year's results show a marked decrease in project success rates, with 32% of all projects
succeeding which are delivered on time, on budget, with required features and functions" says Jim
Johnson, chairman of The Standish Group, "44% were challenged which are late, over budget,
and/or with less than the required features and functions and 24% failed which are cancelled
prior to completion or delivered and never used."
"These numbers represent a downtick in the success rates from the previous study, as well as a signicant
increase in the number of failures", says Jim Crear, Standish Group CIO, "They are low point in the last ve
study periods. This year's results represent the highest failure rate in over a decade" (Standish 2009). So,
you have to be aware of gure like these before you give the go-ahead for an IT project. Failed IT projects
can be disastrous to an organization, even forcing them to go out of business.
Some of the reasons IT projects fail are:
• An inadequate understanding of what functions and features (i.e. requirements) the organization needs
in the new system. It would be like trying to build a building before its design has been completed.
• Poor project planning, task identication, and task estimation. Usually this means that essential
tasks have been overlooked or under-estimated meaning the project's time and cost estimates are too
optimistic.
• Lack of proper skills on the project team. This would be like assigning carpentry tasks to an electrician.
Some IT professionals think they can do anything and this is almost always not true.
• Failure to address problems and/or no project champion. Just about every IT project has problems.
If they are not dealt with on a timely basis they don't go away by themselves, they just get worse. It
is helpful in addressing problems if a highly-placed executive is a champion of the project and can
step in and get problems solved if the project team is struggling.
• Inadequate testing. All too often, a new system is put into operation before it has been adequately
tested to be sure it handles all conditions it is likely to encounter. A system failure after conversion
can cause normal business processes (like accepting customer orders, for example) to fail.
• No fall-back plan. Before converting to a new system, the project team should have a tested fall-back
plan they can revert to in order to keep business processes working while the new system is adjusted.
• Executive champions should be aware that IT project risks are all too often known to the IT profes-
sionals but are not always shared with others. Therefore, you should always ask that a formal project
risk assessment be done at the beginning of a project and that plans are in place to keep risks at a
minimum.
10.7.2 Security risks

The biggest challenge companies' face in tackling IS security risks is the growing sophistication of hackers
and other cyber-criminals. Organizations must now contend with a range of hi-tech attacks orchestrated by
well-organized, nancially-motivated criminals. While large organizations often have independent IS security
stas, it is likely that your start-up can focus on just a couple of basic items, such as:
• Identifying the value of information stored on your computer(s) and making sure that access to such
information is restricted to employees who need to use for legitimate business purposes. For example,
your customer database and customer protability analyses should be protected as you would not
want such information to fall into the hands of a competitor as the result of actions taken by a disloyal
employee.

• Computers sometimes break down (crash). This is why it is important to have a procedure of backing
up critical les on a daily basis, and have written, tested procedures to recover needed information from
backup les quickly. Organizations have gone out of business as a result of failed computer systems
that were not properly backed-up.
If you have a website, you will need to be sure that it is adequately protected from both internal and external
threats. We discuss Internet risks in the next section.
10.7.3 Internet risks

Companies considering a web site or Internet-based services need to be aware of the various risks and reg-
ulations that may apply to these services. Over the past few decades, the Internet has become critical to
businesses, both as a tool for communicating with other businesses and employees as well as a means for
reaching customers. Each day of the week and every month, there are new internet threats. These threats
range from attacks on networks to the simple passing of oensive materials sent or received via the internet.
The risks and particular regulations that apply may vary depending on the types of services oered. For
example, Institutions oering informational websites need to be aware of the various consumer compliance
regulations that may apply to the products and services advertised online. Information needs to be accurate
and complete to avoid potential liability. Security of the website is also an important consideration. Com-
panies and some individuals traditionally have relied on physical security such as locks and safes to protect
their vital business information now face a more insidious virtual threat from cyber-criminals who use the
Internet to carry out their attacks without ever setting foot in an establishment or someone's home. More
often than not, these crimes are conducted from outside the United States. Security measures should protect
the site from defacement and malicious code.
It is clear that no single risk management strategy can completely eliminate the risks associated with
Internet use and access. There is no one special technology that can make an enterprise completely secure.
No matter how much money companies spend on cyber-security, they may not be able to prevent disruptions
caused by organized attackers. Some businesses whose products or services directly or indirectly impact the
economy or the health, welfare or safety of the public have begun to use cyber risk insurance programs as a
means of transferring risk and providing for business continuity.
10.7.4 Summary of IS risk management

Managing IS Risk is a daily decision making process aimed at reducing the amount of losses and threats to
a company. It is a pro-active approach to reducing ones exposure to data/information loss and ensuring the
integrity of the applications used day-to-day. An IS security plan should include at minimum a description
of the various security processes for specied applications, procedural and technical requirements, and the
organizational structure to support the security processes. A risk assessment should be performed rst.
Identifying risks provides guidance on where to focus the security requirements. Security requirements and
controls should reect the business value of the information assets involved and the consequence from failure
of security. Security mechanisms should be `cost benecial', i.e., not exceed the costs of risk. It should also
include what is expectable for risk within the overall IS security plan

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10.8 Chapter Summary24

Many people use Information Systems and Information Technology as if they meant the same thing. They
are dierent, and it is important for you to understand the dierence between them. As we illustrated in
, an Information System is comprised of two sub-systems, a Social sub-system and a Technical sub-system.
The Social subsystem has two parts: People and Organizational Structure. The Technical subsystem also
has two parts: technology and Business processes. The reason it is important to understand this is that all
four parts of an Information system must work eectively if the system is to meet the needs for which it was
designed and installed.
Information systems can be very powerful tools to help you run your organization. On the other hand, in
a start-up, be sure you need the support of information systems before you invest in them. It may be that you
can handle your operations manually for a time and avoid the cost and time investing in a computer-based
IS requires.
If you do decide to move forward with computer-based information systems it is wise to develop a plan
rst, and make sure you are proceeding in an orderly manner. There are three general approaches to
developing an IS plan. You will also nd that you have many options available for hardware and software,
and the options can vary widely in initial purchase price and the kind of support provided by the vendor.
If you see value in having a website there are some generally-accepted principles you should follow to make
your website eective.
Many organizations have found ways to use IS for competitive advantage. Michael Porter's frameworks,
the ve forces model, the three generic strategies, and value chain have proven to be useful tools in coming
up with ideas for innovative information systems.
Finally, when an organization has valuable information stored in computers, it is exposed to risks from
errors and from various internal and external threats. It is important for managers to evaluate the risks
and come up with cost-eective measures to be sure the organization is adequately protected from loss or
damage to valuable information.

1. Describe the four components of an information system. Why is it important to consider each of them
when designing and installing an information system?
2. Under what circumstances might it be wise for a start-up entrepreneur to postpone investing in
computer-based information systems for the organization?
3. What are the major options you have for obtaining hardware, software and support from IS profes-
sionals?
4. Dene a software suite. What are the advantages of using a software suite instead of a number of
stand-alone software applications?
5. When should you consider using database management software instead of a spreadsheet?
6. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of open source software applications for a start-up organi-
zation
7. What are the objectives of a Website? Who benets the most from your organization's web presence?
8. When having a web presence what is the single most important objective? What is the greatest risk
to a website?
9. Give at least three examples of organizations that have used IS in innovative ways to gain competitive
advantage. For each example, which of Porter's framework elements does it illustrate?
10. What are the three general approaches for setting an organization's IS priorities? What are the
advantages and disadvantages of each?
11. Why is important for start-up entrepreneurs to pay attention to IS risk management?
12. How do managers decide how much attention and resources they should devote to IS risk management?

10.10 References26
(Friedman 2005) Friedman, Thomas, The World is Flat 1st edition, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005, ISBN
0-374-29288-4.
(Gartner 2008) Feinberg, Donald The Growing Maturity of Open-Source Database Management Sys-
tems http://mediaproducts.gartner.com/reprints/sunmicrosystems/volume1/article2/article2.html 27 Ac-
cessed January 31, 2009.
(Google 2009) http://www.google.com/intl/en/options/ 28
(Information Systems 2008) Information Systems 2008, Global Text.
(Microsoft 2009) http://store.microsoft.com/microsoft/Oce-Suites/ 29
(MySQL 2009) http://www.mysql.com/ 30
(Openoce 2009) http://www.openoce.org/ 31
(Standish 2009) http://www1.standishgroup.com/newsroom/chaos_2009.php 32 , accessed July 27, 2009
(Stille 2009) http://www.qcisolutions.com/dbinfo1.htm 33
(Zoho 2009) http://zoho.com/ 34

27 http://mediaproducts.gartner.com/reprints/sunmicrosystems/volume1/article2/article2.html
28 http://www.google.com/intl/en/options/
29 http://store.microsoft.com/microsoft/Oce-Suites/
30 http://www.mysql.com/
31 http://www.openoce.org/
32 http://www1.standishgroup.com/newsroom/chaos_2009.php
33 http://www.qcisolutions.com/dbinfo1.htm
34 http://zoho.com/

Chapter 11
Competitive intelligence
At the conclusion of this chapter, you should be able to:
• dene competition and competitive intelligence
• dierentiate between parallel products and substitute products
• state the goals of competitive intelligence
• discuss public sources of information for competitive intelligence
• understand the role of industry structure in competitive intelligence
• complete a competitor analysis
11.2 Introduction2
Chances are competition for your rm's product is already well established. Other rms can be in direct
competition with you when they oer a similar product and target the same customers. They can be
indirectly competing with you by oering a similar product or service, but targeting a dierent demographic.
Competition can come from overseas. Competition can come from another rm in the same city. Competitors
are all around you whether you choose to be aware of it or not. Recognizing and dealing with competition
is necessary to your business success.
What every rm is competing for are buyers or customers. Customers are the nal evaluator of your
product. If they prefer your product above those of competitors, you will receive their business and the sales
which will keep you in business. Even a great business idea will fail unless it attracts buyers.
11.3 Denition3
Competing rms oer functionally interchangeable products to the same buyers. Competition occurs
when competing rms attempt to attract buyers by oering products with greater perceived benet. Common
benets include price, service, reputation, and image, but may include virtually anything else associated with
a product that the buyer values. A buyer's perceptions of what constitutes a benet may vary widely based
on the nature of the product. Since the actions taken by one competitor to attract buyers are likely to aect
the performance of other competitors, competing rms are said to be interdependent.

211
212 CHAPTER 11. COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE
Coke and Pepsi are interdependent. An attempt by Pepsi to attract buyers (increase sales) through an
advertising campaign will decrease the sales of Coke. Coke may counter this advertising campaign with its
own advertising or it may elect to take another competitive action such as a temporary reduction in the
price of Coke. How Coke chooses to react to Pepsi will be based on an analysis of how the rms have acted
in past situations. The industry's competitive dynamics is the ongoing series of competitive actions and
competitive responses that take place as Coke and Pepsi compete for customers.
Competitive intelligence is the systematic collection and analysis of publicly available information
about competitors. Intelligence about competitors is key to understanding the actions they are currently
taking to attract buyers. Competitive intelligence may also allow the rm to predict a competitor's future
actions and take measures to preempt or minimize the impact of those actions. The objective of a rm's
competitive intelligence is to understand its competitors.
Exercise 11.3.1
It should be easy to envisage Coke and Pepsi as interdependent competing rms. Can you come
up with ve more examples of interdependent competing rms, e.g. Honda and Toyota, Boeing and
Airbus,...
11.3.1 Why you have competitors (or how buyers have managed to survive with-
out your product and why you need buyers more than buyers need you)
Entrepreneurs commonly underestimate the impact of competition. Entrepreneurs who do underestimate the
impact of competition are failing to consider the fact that potential buyers are currently managing without
the entrepreneur's product. There are three arguments for why potential buyers are managing without the
entrepreneur's product or service:
1. parallel products exist in the market

2. reasonable substitutes exist in the market
3. parallel products and substitutes do not exist, but the public does not perceive, or is not aware, of the
benets oered by the entrepreneur's product or service
Parallel products are those that are functionally interchangeable with the entrepreneur's products, but vary
just enough on the product's perceived benets to exist in the marketplace. For example, many communities
have areas where a number of restaurants exist in close proximity to one another. These restaurants all oer
the customer a prepared meal, but may vary as to nationality or type of cuisine, complexity and originality
of preparation, level of service, seating, and other dimensions for which the buying public perceives a benet.
An entrepreneur opening a new restaurant in proximity to existing restaurants may be oering a heretofore
unavailable national cuisine, but the entrepreneur still has many competitors. In this market of parallel
competitors, the entrepreneur will be successful only if buyers perceive that the new restaurant oers desirable
benets that are unavailable from existing restaurants. The new restaurant must generate enough sales to
generate a prot. In reality, what often happens is that the new restaurant will initially generate a strong
trade as buyers try the restaurant's novel oerings. However, in a few months the new restaurant will fail
unless it has found the means of oering a mix of perceived benets not available in competing restaurants.
This suggests that the entrepreneur must learn enough about what buyers or customers need or want and
enough about how competitors are attempting to meet those needs, that the entrepreneur can oer enough
perceived benets to keep customers returning indenitely. Learning about buyers and competitors is the
role of competitive intelligence.
Substitutes often exist for the entrepreneur's product. Substitutes are products that ll the same
function but originate in dierent industries. Buyers may have a preference for a substitute due to the
substitute's greater perceived benet. For example, the basic construction material for houses varies greatly
on a geographic basis. Wood housing tends to be favored where wood is abundant and relatively inexpensive,
and a similar argument can be made for the wood substitutes, brick and stone. The entrepreneur is unlikely

213
to be more than marginally successful if s/he attempts to sell bricks where wood remains abundant and
cheap. S/he may be marginally successful because wood housing often has brick xtures and trim. However,
in a market where wood is becoming more costly due to a lack of abundance, brick may become an attractive
substitute for wood. Understanding substitutes place in the market is the role of competitive intelligence.
Perhaps the most dicult situation for an entrepreneur exists where there currently exists no functionally
interchangeable product. It may appear that a complete lack of competition would be to the entrepreneur's
advantage, but this is seldom the case. In those instances where rms oering similar products can be found
in other markets, the most likely explanation for a lack of competitors is a market that will not sustain the
rm. The market may be too small, or too seasonal, or the customer demographic may be skewed, etc. The
entrepreneur should proceed cautiously when a supercial inspection suggests a potential market lacking an
established competitor. A more thorough investigation will often reveal failed attempts to establish a market
for the product. This investigation is one of the roles of competitive intelligence.
In the rare instance where the entrepreneur has discovered or invented a unique product, s/he typically
faces a truly daunting task. Potential buyers must be educated as to the existence and benet of the new
product. Educating buyers and establishing a market for a new product is expensive. Unfortunately for the
entrepreneur, it is often the follow-on rms that are successful. In the electronics industry, the originators
of the personal computer, video game console, and personal data assistant provided the infrastructure for
successful follow-on rms, but were unable to capitalize on their own innovative products.
Exercise 11.3.2
A business that faces both parallel products and substitutes is likely to have a dicult time in
the marketplace. Example of businesses that have both parallels and substitutes include grocery
stores. Parallels include grocery stores with slightly varying themes, warehouse stores, e.g. Sam's
club and Costco, and natural food stores. Substitutes include specialty food stores, e.g. bakeries,
dairy stores, and butcher shops; restaurants; and take-out shops. Not surprisingly grocery store
prot margins are low. What other businesses are characterized by competition that includes both
parallel product and substitutes? Is the average prot margin for these businesses low, i.e. < 5 per
cent of sales?
11.4 Importance and goals of competitive intelligence4

11.4.1 Detecting competitive threats
Detecting competitive threats is crucial to every business. Microsoft has concerns with Google's growing
market share. Ford attempts to avoid losing market shares to Toyota. A local supermarket is concerned
with another supermarket opening up in the area and taking its customers away. When businesses are able
to detect a competitive threat, they are better equipped to handle that threat. Steps may be taken to ensure
that the impact of the new threat is minimized.
Competition is the eort of two or more rms, acting independently, to obtain the business of a buyer by
oering the most favorable benets. Competitive intelligence is the purposeful and coordinated monitoring
of competitors, wherever and whoever they may be, within a specic marketplace. Competitive intelligence
allows the rm to make informed decisions about the outcomes of its actions in the marketplace. For example
competitor A, through the scanning of new building permits in the local newspaper, discovers that competitor
B has taken out a permit for the construction of a new building on B's property. From this information,
and other legal sources, competitor A may draw some conclusions as to the purpose of competitor B's new
building and take actions designed to minimize the impact of B's new building. The goal of competitive
intelligence is to detect threats originating from competitors in all their forms.

11.4.2 Eliminating or lessening surprises
A rm needs to closely monitor the actions of its competitors. Detecting competitive threats early allows
the rm to take actions to mitigate the threat. Competitive threats may come from a number of dierent
sources, including new entrants, substitutes, competitors, and even suppliers in the form of a price increase.
For example, if a local competitor is building a new retail outlet that will capitalize on the industry's latest
trends, the rm will have to decide whether to follow suit. Perhaps a competitor has traditionally held a
major sale on a particular holiday, the rm will need to decide whether to follow suit, or give up sales while
its competitor holds the sale.
11.4.3 Enhancing competitive advantages by lessening reaction time

A rm that has planned for most common threats will be prepared to move quickly in the face of a threat.
Preparedness allows the rm to move past its less well prepared competitors as they devote valuable time
and other resources reacting to the threat. While competitors are reacting, the rm can move to increase
its competitive advantage over the competition.
For example, a trucking company might plan for an escalation in fuel prices. The trucking company
can do this in various ways, but the most common is to buy a contract that guarantees the rm the right
to purchase fuel at a xed price for some specied period of time. Should fuel prices increase during the
period the contract is in eect, the trucking rm is protected by its fuel contracts. The fuel contracts in
turn allow the trucking rm to honor existing quotations and contracts with its customers. By honoring its
quotations and contracts in the face of escalating fuel prices the trucking rm's reputation and good will
with its customers increases, furthering the trucking rm's competitive advantage.
11.4.4 Finding new opportunities

Ultimately, a rm must be able to grow in order to survive in the business world. The ability to grow is only
limited by the imagination of the decision makers of the company. New ideas turned into patents for new
products, buying a competitor in order to increase market share and economies of scale, and establishing a
sales force in a neighboring country are just a few of the ways that a company can continue to grow.
There are three principle avenues employed by businesses to develop new opportunities for growth.
1. Find ways to increase the sales of existing products to existing customers. Businesses can accomplish
this goal by nding new applications for the use of existing products by current customers. This process
market penetration
is known as .
2. Market development is the process of nding new customers for the rm's existing products. There
are two choices for market development, the rm can look to new geographic markets or the rm can
turn to a new demographic market. For example, a rm that sold exercise equipment that traditionally
targeted the 18-34 year-old male demographic might nd that they could sell the same equipment to
a 16-32 year-old female demographic. The only new cost the rm would incur is the cost of marketing
existing products to the new demographic.
3. Product development is the process of creating new products for customers. Product development
is often accomplished by asking customers what types of products would make their job easier. Once
a viable need is established, the rm can develop a product to meet that need.
Very few rms can aord to stand still for long. Competitors are constantly looking for opportunities and
those opportunities missed by your rm, will not be missed by all your competitors. Complacency in today's
business environment will quickly lead to years of dedicated work being usurped by competitors.

215
11.5 Information collection methods5

Information or data on products, suppliers, competitors, and industries has never been more available. The
Internet permits access to information and data from a wide range of sources. Often, there is simply too
much data, and data of dubious quality. When accessing data the entrepreneur needs to evaluate data on
its timeliness, source, and relevance.
11.5.1 Internet
Internet search engines make it possible to quickly access information on seemingly any subject. Unfor-
tunately, because anyone can establish and then fail to maintain a website, Internet data is often dated,
unreliable, and of dubious value. This places a burden on the entrepreneur to check Internet data carefully
before using it. Nonetheless, there is much useful information to be found on the Internet at government,
organization, and corporate websites. The information from these sources generally consists of reliable facts
and gures. Frequently, these facts and gures will need to be manipulated by the entrepreneur in order to
be rendered in a useful form.
In today's market, there are few products and services that are not rated by a third party, e.g. consumer
organizations, magazines, commercial sellers, and blogs. However, the qualications and impartiality of third
party raters may be questionable. The entrepreneur should not rely on a single source for product reviews
and exercise due diligence by checking multiple sources for product ratings. The entrepreneur should bear
in mind that his/her rm and products will eventually be rated on the Internet and check to see that the
rm's rating is favorable.
11.5.2 Human intelligence

Human intelligence can yield the most timely and accurate information, but it is the most resource intensive
form of information to collect. Human intelligence often tends to take the form of opinion rather than
the facts and gures found in documents. This leaves the entrepreneur in the position of evaluating the
veracity of opinions. Like product reviews, which can also be a matter of opinion, the entrepreneur should
rely on multiple sources. The entrepreneur's network should be the source of his/her human intelligence.
The network can be augmented by introductions from network members to others closer to the information
objective. Participants in trade shows and trade organizations are excellent sources of information as are
suppliers, customers, and employees.
11.5.3 Fee based companies

Fee based companies, such as Hoovers, LexisNexis, and the credit reporting companies are in the business
of collecting and compiling information on businesses and individuals. Their revenue is earned through the
sale of the information they collect. For the most part, they make no attempt to assess the specic validity
of the information they sell. Rather, they tend to rely on the fact that on average, their information is
quite reliable. The overall trend for fee based information is that reliability tends to increase with price. Fee
based companies can be a useful source of information on competitors that might not be otherwise available.
For example, credit reports are available for competing rms and credit reports can yield a good deal of
information about a rm's nancial condition.
11.5.4 Public documents

Public documents can be an excellent source of information on competitors. Many types of public documents
are available over the Internet, while others may only be available at records oces. For example, building
permits are typically reported in newspapers and can often be accessed online, while building plans are
usually available only through a visit to the public planning oce. A visit to the planning oce may be

warranted if a competitor is building a new plant. The plans will yield a good deal about the project from
which a knowledgeable competitor can deduce plant and warehouse capacity. Similarly, the annual report
that a public company les with the government is another example of a document that may yield a good
deal of information about a competitor.
There are a number of organizations that are concerned with the collection and use of competitive data.
Internet sites with a focus on competitive intelligence include:
http://cio.com/6
http://www.scip.org/ 7
http://www.brint.com/ 8
http://fuld.com/9
Exercise 11.5.1
Select a publicly traded company of interest to you. Using the Internet as an access point, nd
the following for the previous year: (1) annual sales, (2) prots as a percentage of sales, e.g.
prots/sales, (3) number of employees, (4) sales per employee, e.g. sales/employees, and (5) best
selling product or service.
11.6 The industry environment10

11.6.1 What is an industry?
The term industry loosely refers to any group of businesses that share a particular type of commercial
enterprise. This grouping of rms is also likely to generate prots in a similar manner, or at least share
related activities. In the business world, it is common to hear managers discuss particular industries as a
whole, for example, `the automobile industry' or `the magazine industry'.
In a more formal sense, the North American Industry Classication System (NAICS,
http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html 11 ) denes hundreds of dierent industries. The
NAICS is a commonly used system to group businesses. The NAICS typically identies an in-
dustry with a six digit code, with each additional digit narrowing the denition of the industry.
Similar classication systems include the International Standard Industrial Classication (ISIC,
http://unstats.un.org/unsd/cr/registry/regcst.asp?Cl=17 12 ) from the United Nations and the Gen-
eral Industrial Classication of Economic Activities with the European Communities (NACE,
http://www.ltck.se/PrjY1/nacekod/nacecode.htm 13 ). Data is gathered and reported for the indus-
try based on the six digit code. Data typically reported includes demographic measures for the industry
including employment, number of business, and total sales. Data is not reported for individual rms. Many
dierent agencies and businesses use these categories for statistical studies, business comparisons, and
benchmarks. Locating the industry for a business through the NAICS or similar classication scheme can
be a useful exercise in gathering competitive intelligence. For example, the average number of employees
and sales of rms in the industry can be found and from this information critical benchmarks like sales per
employee may be calculated.
6 http://cio.com/
7 http://www.scip.org/
8 http://www.brint.com/
9 http://fuld.com/
11 http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html
12 http://unstats.un.org/unsd/cr/registry/regcst.asp?Cl=17
13 http://www.ltck.se/PrjY1/nacekod/nacecode.htm

217
11.6.2 Industry structural characteristics

Industries have specic structures and the entrepreneur needs to learn and understand the signicance of
the structure for his/her industry. Industry structure includes size measures, e.g. industry sales, number of
rms, and number of employees. Rate of growth and the industry growth curve are an important element of
industry structure as is the extent to which an industry is unionized. There may be many more elements of
industry structure. Industry structure is one determinant of competition. For example, competition in an
industry comprised solely of union employers will be quite dierent than in an industry comprised of both
union and non-union rms. Competition is also aected by the extent to which the government is a large
buyer, or perhaps the only buyer, as in the defense industry.
11.6.3 Concept of strategic groups

Strategic groups exist within most industries. A strategic group is a set of rms within an industry that
employ similar practices in order to achieve comparable goals. An example of a strategic group within the
food service industry would be fast-food chains. The fast-food chains dierentiate themselves from other
restaurants by oering quick-service, popular foods, and relatively low prices. Within the same industry
we can nd a number of other strategic groups such as family restaurants, vegetarian restaurants, and
coee houses. Although fast-food chains and vegetarian restaurants both accomplish the same purpose, i.e.
providing a prepared meal, their target audience, their methods of marketing, and other methods of doing
business are decidedly dierent. Competition between rms within a strategic group is more direct than
competition between rms located in dierent strategic groups.
Competitive rivalry amongst rms in the same strategic group can be very intense, especially since they
are usually competing for the same customers. Consider Pepsi and Coca-Cola versus fruit juice. Pepsi
and Coca-Cola are competing for cola drinkers, and they market their products competitively against each
other. Although the customer could just as easily have a glass of fruit juice, Pepsi and Coca-Cola are not
aggressively marketing against the juice industry. The fruit juice customer has dierent wants and needs
than the cola customer, so the two strategic groups do not compete directly for the same clientele.
11.6.4 Key success factors in an industry

Key success factors (KSF) are areas of critical performance necessary for success in a specic industry. A
rm cannot expect to be competitive in its industry without an understanding of the industry's key success
factors. Key success factors are a function of both customer needs and competitive pressures. KSFs are
typically identied by completing a list in response to two questions:
1. What do customers in my industry want?

2. How do successful rms survive the industry's competitive pressures?
Grocery Store KSF

Customer Competition
Cleanliness Bargaining power over suppliers
Freshness Number of local competitors
Selection, including take-out Location relative to competitors
Competitive prices
Location & parking
Service & pleasant experience
Table 11.1
The entrepreneur must be aware of the key success factors (KSF) in his/her industry. Resources should
be directed to activities that increase competitiveness on KSF and not wasted on activities that are not
critical to KSFs.
Exercise 11.6.1
Since we all have decided preferences, it follows that a table of KSFs constructed by one person is
likely to omit, or overstate, an industry's KSFs. Select a common type of business-industry with
which you have some familiarity, e.g. oral arrangements, coee house, or bicycle sales.
Exercise 11.6.2
Construct a table of Key Success Factors by asking yourself the questions: What do customers in
my business-industry want? How do successful rms survive the industry's competitive pressures?
Exercise 11.6.3
Now ask the questions of two other people who have been customers of the business-industry. Are
you getting agreement on your list of KSFs, or will you need to ask more people for their opinions
to establish a clear list of KSFs?
11.7 Porter's 5 forces and the analysis of competitors14

Porter's ve forces, rst covered in Chapter 3 as a methodology for assessing industry attractiveness, plays
an important role in competitor analysis. The ve forces perspective of competitor analysis views each force
as a determinant of the level of competition in the industry. The level of competition in turn determines the
rm's ability to operate protably in the industry.
11.7.1 Bargaining power of buyers

A rm's buyers or customers have varying needs and wants. Meeting customers' needs represents a cost
to the rm. When the rm can easily meet the customer's needs the rm's cost is relatively low. Because
the rm can easily give the customer what he/she values, the rm is in a strong bargaining position and
sales are likely to generate healthy prots. When the customer's needs are not easily met, the cost to the
rm increases. Because the rm's product is less attractive to the customer, the rm must lower prices or
take other steps to entice the customer to make a purchase. Under these conditions the rm's prots are
likely to be low. Consequently, the rm can be seen as always bargaining with customers for the rm's
potential prots. The rm is in the strongest bargaining position when it understands its buyer's needs.
Understanding buyer needs is the role of marketing and may be viewed as a form of competitive intelligence.
Buyers are in a particularly strong bargaining position when they can easily switch from the rm's
product to a competitor's equivalent product. For example, a rm that has many competitors oering a
similar product will have customers with signicant bargaining power. If the customer is not happy with
the product oered by one rm, they can simply choose to go to another rm that provides the same item.
For this to be a powerful bargaining tool for the customer, the switch from one rm to another must be
cost-ecient and easy. Conversely, if a rm has desirable products and competing products are perceived
as less desirable, customers will have reduced bargaining power. If it is expensive or burdensome to switch
products, customers will also lose bargaining power. A good example of a rm in this coveted position is
Apple with their iPod product. While other MP3 players are on the market, none have the market share
and desirability enjoyed by iPod.
Customers almost always have choices and they will vote for their chosen rms with their purchases.
Customers will vote against rms by simply walking away. It is important to balance the needs of the
customer with the goals of the rm.

219
11.7.2 Bargaining power of suppliers

Like buyers, suppliers are competing for the rm's prots. Suppliers want to charge the rm more for inputs
and the rm wants to pay the supplier less for those same inputs. Consequently, competitive intelligence
extends to suppliers and it is in the rm's interest to know as much as possible about their suppliers. Suppliers
may oer exclusive territories, nancing, advertising, display, and other incentives to the rm to encourage
the use or sale of the supplier's product. The rm should evaluate and select its suppliers carefully in order
to take full advantage of any and all cost savings oered by suppliers.
In many industries it is common for buyers to form cooperatives in order to increase their bargaining
power relative to suppliers. The cooperative, sometimes comprised of hundreds of smaller rms, is able
to use its combined buying power to bargain with suppliers for better prices and terms. For example, in
North America, buyer cooperatives are quite visible in the retail hardware industry as represented by the
Ace, Hardware Hank, and True Value hardware stores. Despite the potentially antagonistic relationship
between the rm and its suppliers, suppliers often oer benets that can improve the rm's competitive
position in the industry.
11.7.3 Threat of new entrants

Entrepreneurs represent the threat of a new competitor for existing businesses. It is normally in the interest
of existing rms to prevent new competitors from becoming established. Consequently, it is in the best
interest of the entrepreneur to learn as much as possible about existing competitive businesses so that the
entrepreneur can target their weaknesses. The entrepreneur should also attempt to learn enough about
existing businesses so that he/she can anticipate and attempt to minimize the retaliation from existing
businesses. Retaliation may take many forms from political actions designed to delay or prevent the new
business from opening to deep price cuts intended to force the new business out of the market.
11.7.4 Threat of substitute products

Entrepreneurs often seem unaware of the competitive threat posed by substitute products. One of the reasons
entrepreneurs may be unaware of substitute products is that by denition, substitutes come from another
industry. Despite all the potential warnings, the retail and recorded music industries were hardly prepared
for the consequences when millions of customers switched from CD purchases to downloaded iTunes. Thus,
the entrepreneur needs to monitor not only his/her own industry for potential competitors, but also must
scan other industries that pose a potential threat.
11.7.5 The intensity of competitive rivalry

The intensity of the rivalry amongst the rms in a given industry will have an eect on the prots of all
rms within that industry. Within an industry, when rms are ercely competitive, the cost of competition
will increase because when one rm acts, other rms will feel the need to counteract. Costs for advertising
and promotions, prots lost through price reductions, and competitive rivalries occurring over the research
and development of new products will erode the prots of competing rms.
The rms within an industry are likely to be plagued by similar problems. One common problem that
entrepreneurs prefer to avoid is associated with industries with high xed costs. High xed costs are common
in manufacturing, communications, and transportation industries. When a product is encumbered by a high
xed cost, the rm will usually make every eort to recover at least a portion of those xed costs and
may resort to oering buyers a range of incentives, from drastic price cuts to rebates, to move the product.
These incentives are often met with a swift competitive response on the part of industry competitors. These
competitive actions can drive all prots out of the industry.
A problem accompanying, or similar, to high xed costs can be found in mature industries. When
industry growth slows, competition typically heats up. This occurs because the rms within the slow growth

industry are competing for the same pool of buyers and often that pool of buyers is in decline. Again, the
competitive actions taken by rms to attract this pool of buyers will drive prots out of the industry.
Rivalry also intensies when consumers see little dierentiation between the products oered by rms
within an industry. For example, few consumers see the dierence between various brands of ketchup and are
likely to simply purchase the brand that has the lower price. When consumers see little dierence between
products within an industry, these products become known as commodities. As expected, rivalry between
US ketchup makers Heinz and Hunt's is intense.
High xed costs, industry maturity, and commodity-like products contribute to a high-level of competition
within an industry, but there are often other factors that drive competition. The entrepreneur needs to study
and understand the industry and if possible, avoid industries where the level of competition is high as this
means the prot potential is low. Still, the entrepreneur may identify an under served niche or a need that
the entrepreneur is uniquely qualied to ll, in which case entry into the industry may be protable for the
entrepreneur.
In comparison, rms that are highly dierentiated from their rivals often are not engaged in strong
competition because these rms know that their product is meeting a need for their consumer base and their
customers are going to return to fulll that need.
11.8 Methods of evaluating competitors15

11.8.1 Identifying competitors and their relative advantage
An understanding of the industry and the key success factors for the industry allows the entrepreneur to
assess the performance of competitive rms. The process starts with the identication of competitors. In
many markets competitors will already be known to the entrepreneur. In other markets, the numbers and
identities of competitors may be less obvious. Operating under the assumption that the vast majority of
businesses need to communicate with the public, the best place to start with competitor identication is with
directories and other ocial and semi-ocial listings. In many countries, and for most markets, the business
telephone directory should be the starting point. City and other directories contain additional information
on competitors, including ownership, key employees, and the number of employees. Some products will
warrant an Internet search as competition may prove to be regional, national, or even international. After
assembling a list of competitors the entrepreneur should develop a method for collecting information on
his/her most immediate competitors, i.e. those competitors who will be competing for the same customers.
For smaller businesses, simply creating a le folder for each immediate competitor should be sucient.
The entrepreneur will need to collect more detailed information on his/her most immediate competitors.
The entrepreneur should be parsimonious in his/her approach to collecting information and one means of
being parsimonious is to focus on information related to the industry's key success factors (KSF). Competitor
information may come from a wide range of sources including visits to the competitor's place of operation,
word-of-mouth from suppliers and other third parties, competitor's advertisements, newspaper archives,
Internet searches, and public records. Since the best indicator of future performance is past performance,
the entrepreneur should pay close attention to the longevity and historical performance of competitors.
Having collected information, the entrepreneur is in a position to make comparisons between his/her rm
and the rm's immediate competitors. A spreadsheet or table is commonly employed for this assessment.
Relevant information beyond key success factors is commonly included in the comparison and may include
size measures, reputation, age, largest customers, key suppliers, and almost anything else deemed relevant
to the competitive environment.

221
Competitor Analysis
XYZ Industry, 123 Market
Entrepreneur's Competitor A Competitor B Competitor C Competitor D
Firm
Key Success
factor 1
Key Success
factor 2
Key Success
factor 3
Key Success
factor 4
Key Success
factor 5
Firm's age
Manager's rep-
utation
Market shareor
ranking
Other relevant-
considerations
Table 11.2
The entrepreneur should pay particular attention to the management capabilities of his or her own rm
and competing rms. The quality and the style of management will play the major role in establishing the
competitive environment. The methods for collecting information on management capability are similar to
those used for collecting information on competitorsthe rm should rely on word-of-mouth, the Internet
(especially management ranking websites, such as www.joost.com 16 ), trade publications, civic organization,
and industry events. Listening to competing managers will provide an invaluable insight into the industry
environment.
Exercise 11.8.1
Use the chart above to complete analysis for the rm and industry of your choice.

Competitive intelligence is the systematic collection and analysis of publicly available information about
an industry and its competitors. Competitive intelligence permits the rm to: (1) understand the industry's
structure and its potential impact on the rm's performance, and (2) industry competitors' relative position
in the marketplace. The judicious use of competitive intelligence allows the rm to anticipate competitors'
actions and act to minimize the impact of those actions. Through the use of competitive intelligence the
rm will improve its performance in the marketplace.
16 http://cnx.org/content/m35540/latest/www.joost.com

11.10 Reference18
http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html 19
http://www.12manage.com/methods_porter_ve_forces.html 20
Dussauge, Pierre and Bernard Garrette, Will Mitchell (2000). Learning from competing partners: out-
comes and durations of scale and link alliances in Europe, North America and Asia. Strategic Manage-
ment Journal; 21, 2: 99-126.
Davison, Leigh (2001). Measuring competitive intelligence eectiveness: Insights from the advertising
industry. Competitive Intelligence Review ; Volume 12, Issue 4: 25 38.
Dorf, Richard C. and Thomas H. Byers (2008). Technology Ventures: From Idea to Enterprise ,
2nd edition. New York: McGraw Hill.
Grant, Robert M. (2008). Contemporary Strategy Analysis , 6th edition. Malden, MA: Blackwell
Publishing.
Johnston, Lisa (2007). iPod, MP3 Accessories Pile On. TWICE Magazine; February 12: 12.
Pinkerton, Richard L. (1994). Competitive intelligence revisited: A history, and assessment of its use in
marketing. Competitive Intelligence Review , 5, 4: 23-31.
Young, Greg (1999). Strategic value analysis for competitive advantage. Competitive Intelligence
Review, 10, 2: 52-6.

19 http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html
20 http://www.12manage.com/methods_porter_ve_forces.html

Chapter 12
Business ethics in a nutshell
12.1 What is ethics1
Ethics is the branch of philosophy concerned with the meaning of all aspects of human behavior. Theoretical
Ethics, sometimes called Normative Ethics, is about discovering and delineating right from wrong; it is the
consideration of how we develop the rules and principles (norms) by which to judge and guide meaningful
decision-making. Theoretical Ethics is supremely intellectual in character, and, being a branch of philosophy,
is also rational in nature. Theoretical Ethics is the rational reection on what is right, what is wrong, what
is just, what is unjust, what is good and what is bad in terms of human behavior.
Business ethics is not chiey theoretical in character. Though reective and rational in part, this is only a
prelude to the essential task behind business ethics. It is best understood as a branch of ethics called applied
ethics: the discipline of applying value to human behavior, relationships and constructs, and the resulting
meaning. Business ethics is simply the practice of this discipline within the context of the enterprise of
creating wealth (the fundamental role of business).
There are three parts to the discipline of business ethics: personal, professional and corporate. All three
are intricately related, and it is helpful to distinguish between them because each rests on slightly dierent
assumptions and requires a slightly dierent focus in order to be understood. We are looking at business
ethics through a trifocal lens: close up and personal, intermediate and professional, and on the grand scale
(utilizing both farsighted and peripheral vision) of the corporation.
In spite of some recent bad press, business executives are rst and foremost human beings. Like all
persons, they seek meaning for their lives through relationships and enterprise, and they want their lives to
amount to something. Since ethics is chiey the discipline of meaning, the business executive, like all other
human beings, is engaged in this discipline all the time, whether cognizant of it or not. Therefore, we should
begin by looking at how humans have historically approached the process of making meaningful decisions.
Here are four ethical approaches that have stood the test of time.
12.1.1 Personal ethics: four ethical approaches

From the earliest moments of recorded human consciousness, the ethical discipline has entailed four fun-
damental approaches, often called ethical decision-making frameworks: Utilitarian Ethics (outcome based),
Deontological Ethics (duty based), Virtue Ethics (virtue based), and Communitarian Ethics (community
based). Each has a distinctive point of departure as well as distinctive ways of doing the fundamental ethical
task of raising and answering questions of value. It is also important to understand that all four approaches
have overlaps as well as common elements, such as:
• Impartiality : weighting interests equally
223
224 CHAPTER 12. BUSINESS ETHICS IN A NUTSHELL
• Rationality: backed by reasons a rational person would accept
• Consistency: standards applied similarly to similar cases
• Reversibility: standards that apply no matter who "makes" the rules
These are in a sense the rules of the ethics game, no matter with which school or approach to ethics one
feels most closely to identity.
The Utilitarian approach is perhaps the most familiar and easiest to understand of all approaches to
ethics. Whether we think about it or not, most of us are doing utilitarian ethics much of the time, especially
those of us in business. The Utilitarian asks a very important question: "How will my actions aect others?"
They then attempt to quantify the impact of their actions based on some least common denominator, such
as happiness, pleasure, or wealth. Therefore, Utilitarians are also called consequentialists, because they
look to the consequences of their actions to determine whether any particular act is justied.
"The greatest good for the greatest number" is the motto of the Utilitarian approach. Of course, dening
"good" has been no easy task because what some people think of as good, others think of as worthless.
When a businessperson does a cost benet analysis, he/she is practicing Utilitarian ethics. In this case, the
least common denominator is usually money. Everything from the cost of steel to the worth of a human life
must be given a dollar value, and then one just does the math. The Ford Pinto automobile was a product
of just such reasoning. Thirty years ago, executives at the Ford Motor Company reasoned the cost of xing
the gas-tank problem with their Pinto would cost more than the benet of saving a few human lives. Several
tanks did explode, people died, and the company lost lawsuits when judge and juries refused to accept these
executives' moral reasoning.
One of the most familiar uses of outcome-based reasoning is in legislative committees in representative
democracies. How many constituents will benet from a tax credit and how many will be diminished is
the question before the Revenue Committee at tax rectication time. Representative democracies make
most decisions based on the Utilitarian principle of the greatest good for the greatest number. Democratic
governments are naturally majoritarian, though in constitutional democracies there are some things that
cannot be decided by doing the math (adding up the votes). Some questions should never be voted on. The
founders of our nation expressed this fundamental concept with three words: certain unalienable rights.
Enter the Deontological Ethicists . Immanuel Kant is the quintessential deontological (duty based)
ethical theorist. Kant, who lived in eighteenth century Prussia, was one of the most amazing intellects of all
time, writing books on astronomy, philosophy, politics and ethics. He once said, Two things ll the mind
with ever new and increasing admiration and awe ... the starry heavens above and the moral law within.
For Kant there were some ethical verities as eternal as the stars.
Deontological simply means the study (or science) of duty. Kant did not believe that humans could
predict future consequences with any substantial degree of certainty. Ethical theory based on a guess about
future consequences appalled him. What he did believe was that if we use our facility of reason, we can
determine with certainty our ethical duty. As to whether or not doing our duty would make things better
or worse (and for whom), Kant was agnostic.
Duty-based ethics is enormously important for (though consistently ignored by) at least two kinds of
folks: politicians and business people. It is also the key to a better understanding of our responsibilities
as members of teams. Teams (like work groups or political campaign committees) are narrowly focused on
achieving very clearly dened goals: winning the election, successfully introducing a new product, or winning
a sailboat race. Sometimes a coach or a boss will say, Look, just do whatever it takes. Ethically, whatever
it takes, means the ends justify the means. This was Kant's fundamental criticism of the Utilitarians.
For Kant, there were some values (duties) that could never be sacriced to the greater good. He wrote:
So act as to treat humanity, whether in thy own person or in that of any other, in every case as an end
withal, never as a means only. Fellow team members, employees, campaign stas, customers, partners, etc.
are always to some extent means to our various goals (ends), but they are also persons. And persons, Kant
believed, cannot be just used, they must also be respected in their own right, whether or not the goal is
achieved. He called this absolute respect for persons a Categorical Imperative.
In any team situation the goal is critical, but treating team members with respect is imperative. Teams
fall apart when a team member feels used or abused (treated as less important than the overall goal itself).

225
Great leaders carry the double burden of achieving a worthwhile end without causing those who sacrice to
achieve the goal being treated as merely expendable means. Persons are never merely a means to an end.
They are ends in themselves! We owe that understanding to Immanuel Kant.
It is one thing to understand that there are duties which do not depend on consequences; it is quite
another to develop the character to act on those duties. This is where Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) comes in.
Aristotle wrote the rst systematic treatment of ethics in Western Civilization: Nicomachean Ethics.
Today we call his approach to ethics virtue ethics. For Aristotle and other Greek thinkers, virtue
meant the excellence of a thing. The virtue of a knife is to cut; the virtue of a physician is to heal; the
virtue of a lawyer is to seek justice. In this sense, Ethics becomes the discipline of discovering and practicing
virtue. Aristotle begins his thinking about ethics by asking, What do people desire? He discovers the usual
things wealth, honor, physical and psychological securitybut he realizes that these things are not ends
in themselves; they are means to ends.
The ultimate end for a person, Aristotle taught, must be an end that is self-sucient, that which is
always desirable in itself and never for the sake of something else. This end of ends Aristotle designates
with the Greek word eudemonia, usually translated by the English word happiness. But happiness does not
do Aristotle or his ethics justice. Yes, eudemonia means happiness, but really it means so much more. The
problem is not with Aristotle's Greek word eudemonia, the problem is in our English word happiness.
Happiness in English comes from the ancient word hap, meaning chance, as in happenstance. Why are
you smiling, we ask, did you win the lottery? For Aristotle happiness was not something one acquired by
chance. Happiness was the grand work of living; the very practice of being all that you can be. Fulllment
and ourishing are far better words to translate the concept contained in the Greek word eudemonia. For
Aristotle, this state of virtue is achieved not by accident but through intent, reason and practice.
Aristotle thought that one discovers virtue by using the unique gift of human reasoning, that is, through
rational contemplation. The unexamined life is not worth living, said Socrates almost 100 years before
Aristotle. Like Aristotle and Aristotle's teacher Plato, Socrates knew that we humans need to engage our
brains before we open our mouths or spring into some decisive action. For Aristotle, the focus of that brain
work was chiey about how to balance between the fears and excesses in which the human condition always
abounds. Between our fears (decits) and exuberances (excesses) lies a sweet spot, the golden mean, called
virtue.
At times of physical perilsay in a big storm on a small sailboata crew member may be immobilized by
fear and unable to function, thus putting the lives of everyone on the sailboat in danger. Or the opposite could
happen. A devil-may-care attitude in the face of real danger can as easily lead to disaster. Courage is the
virtue located at the mean between cowardliness and rashness. Yet, identifying such a virtue and making that
virtue part of one's character are two quiet dierent things. Aristotle thus distinguishes between intellectual
virtue and practical virtue. Practical virtues are those developed by practice and are a part of a person's
character, while intellectual virtue is simply the identication and understanding of a virtue.
Practice is how one learns to deal with fear; practice is how one learns to tell the truth; practice is how
one learns to face both personal and professional conicts. Practice is the genius of Aristotle's contribution
to the development of ethics. He showed that virtues do not become a part of our moral muscle ber because
we believe in them, or advocate them. Instead, virtues become characteristics of our selves by our exercising
them. How does one learn to be brave in a storm at sea? Just do it.
The ultimate goal behind developing characteristics of virtue is eudemonia, a full ourishing of our self,
true happiness. Practitioners of the Judaic-Christian tradition tend to think of ethics (or morality) as the
business of guring out how to be good rather than bad. That is not the true end of ethics so far as Aristotle
was concerned. The end is a state of fulllment; the ultimate goal is becoming who you truly are and
realizing the potential you were born withbeing at your best in every sense.
Just as the virtue of the knife is to cut and the virtue of the boat is to sail, the virtue of the self is to
become the best of who it can be. This is happiness (eudemonia). Just as the well-trained athlete seeks
to be in the zone (the state of perfect performance achieved by practice), Aristotle wrote about the truly
virtuous life and the pursuit of eudemonia. Just as a perfectly trimmed sailboat glides through the water,
eortlessly in synch with the waves and the wind, the man or woman in a state of eudemonia has achieved

the state of earthly fulllment.
All three approaches to ethics described above are principally focused on the individual: the singular
conscience, rationally reecting on the meaning of duty or responsibility, and in the case of Virtue ethics, the
ethical athlete practicing and inculcating the capacity to achieve the state of eudemonia. Communitarian
Ethics has quite a dierent point of departure: the community (or team, or group, or company, or culture)
within which the individual engages him/herself is the critical context for ethical decision-making.
The Communitarian asks the important question, "What are the demands (duties) that the commu-
nity(ies) of which I am a part make on me?" The Scottish ethicists W. D. Ross (himself a student of
Aristotle) focused his own ethical reections on the question of, "Where do ethical duties come from?" His
answer was that they come from relationships. We know our duties toward fellow human beings by the
nature and quality of our relationships with them. The duties we owe a colleague in the workplace is dif-
ferent from the duties we owe a spouse; those duties are dierent from the duties we owe our country. The
Communitarian asks us to look outward, and to face up to the duties of being social creatures. We dene
ourselves, and our responsibilities, by the company we keep.
Communitarians are quite critical today of the attitude of so many in our society who, while adamant
about their individual rights, are negligent of their social duties. The me generation has created a need
for a new breed of ethicists who insist that, from family and neighborhood to nation and global ecosys-
tem, the communities in which we live require us to accept substantial responsibilities. Environmentalists,
neighborhood activists, feminists, and globalists are some of the groups loosely identied today with the
Communitarian Movement.
Amitai Etzioni, in Spirit of Community: Rights, Responsibilities and the Communitarian Agenda de-
scribed the principles of this somewhat disorganized movement. Etizioni's thesis is that we must pay more
attention to common duties as opposed to individual rights. Our neighborhoods, he believes, can again be
safe from crime without turning our country into a police state. Our families can once again ourish without
forcing women to stay home and not enter the workforce. Our schools can provide, "essential moral edu-
cation" without indoctrinating young people or violating the First Amendment's prohibition of establishing
religion.
The key to this social transformation is the communitarian belief in balancing rights and responsibilities:
"Strong rights presume strong responsibilities." Etzioni states the Communitarian Agenda:
Correcting the current imbalance between rights and responsibilities requires a four-point agenda:
a moratorium on the minting of most, if not all, new rights; reestablishing the link between
rights and responsibilities; recognizing that some responsibilities do not entail rights; and, most
carefully, adjusting some rights to the changed circumstances.
Here, if nothing else, is a frontal attack on the Libertarian mindset of our age.
Communitarianism is not new, at least if one denes it as an approach to ethics and value referencing
signicant communities of meaning. Most of the world's great religions are in this sense communitarian. It
is from a community of faith that the faithful develops a sense of self and responsibility (or in Confucian
thought, the extended family which nurtures this development). Ethics cannot be separated from the ethos
of the religious or familial community. The modern communitarian movement may or may not be religiously
inclined, yet it is clearly a part of a tradition of ethical approach as old as human association.
In the context of teams, the communitarian approach to ethics has much to commend itself. How much
of one's personal agenda is one willing to sacrice for the overall goal of winning a sailboat race? Under
what conditions is one willing to let the values or culture of the team alter one's own ethical inclinations?
To what extent do the relationships one has with team members give rise to duties that one is willing to
honor? How willing is one to share the credit when the team succeeds? How willing is one to accept blame
when the team looses? Under what conditions would one break with the team? If Ross is correct that duties
come from relationships, paying attention to such questions about the company we keep may be more than
a social obligation; perhaps, our ethical duty.
There are two pervasive ethical approaches not treated here: ethical egoism and The Divine Imperative.
Each has a broad and dedicated following and each is deeply problematic to the ethical maturing of any

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society. Briey, and with pejorative intent, here is what these extreme, yet interestingly similar approaches
assert.
The ethical egoists say that ethics is a matter of doing what feels right to the individual conscience. If
one asks, "Why did you do that?" The answer is, "Because I felt like it." The approach is often dressed up
with statements about being true to yourself: "let your conscience be your guide", or "do the right thing".
But how does one know what is true for the self? How does one develop a conscience? How is one to know
that doing what is right (what feels right to you) is the right thing to do?
If nothing else, ethical egoism is a conversation stopper! How does one communicate to colleagues, friends,
children or any other human being when the reference point of behavior or ethical judgment is just about how
one feels inside? How does a civil society emerge if we civilians cannot deliberate in common, understandable
language about our motives, intents, values, or duties? In essence, ethical egoism is the ethics of teenagers
rebelling against being answerable to outside authority. To teenagers, to enter the ethical dialogue is to take
the radical risk of having one's values and actions challenged. Apparently, there are many of us who are just
not grown up enough to risk that! Better to repeat the mantra: "I did what my conscience dictated.
Just as there is no possible meaningful ethical dialogue with the Ethical Egoist, nor is there much hope of
creative engagement with Divine Imperialists. For this growing community, ethics is the simple business of
doing what God tells one to do. There is therefore no reason or need for discussion. The issue is conversion,
not conversation. In a constitutional democracy like ours with a fundamental commitment to "the non-
establishment of religion", the Divine Imperialist is stuck with a dicult dilemma: either to make all ethical
inquiry "personal" (that is, no social or political value deliberation), or take the ayatollah approach and
bring no state into conformity with the revealed will of God. Divine Imperialists do not deliberate. They
dictate, simply because there is nothing to deliberate about. God has spoken. It is in the book.
The aw in the Divine Imperialists' approach is quite clear to everybody but them: If God is good, then
He must reveal only good laws and rules. This creates two alternatives. The rst is that there is a reference
for "good" apart from the Divine itself. The only other, that God is undependable; that God is arbitrary;
surely this is unacceptable. God is not only good, but God wills the good. God's will, then, becomes a reality
discoverable even apart from belief in a particular represented manifestation of God. Religion, at its best,
should understand that faith confers no special status of ethical insight. Believers, agnostics, non-believers
can, and do, contribute to the culture's continuing struggle to understand what is good, what is just, what is
true. That is why democracies (as opposed to states founded upon some "Divine Right of Kings") survive.
A Postscript on Narrative Ethics. Among the professions, particularly medicine, law and counseling,
narrative has become a powerful tool in developing ethical insights and perspective. To tell a story is to
invite participation from the hearer, and it is to also a means of communicating the richness and complexity
of human dilemmas. Narrative Ethics is simply diagnosis through story. Its benet over the four traditional
ethical approaches is that story invites both ethical engagement and ethical creativity. In business, as in
law, a great deal of teaching is done through the use of cases. This is nothing more or less than using
the pedagogy of narrative ethics. The narrative invites the hearer into the complexity of issues involved
in personal, professional and organizational dilemmas, and provides a road through the complexity to the
simplicity on the other side.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, an American jurist who wrote stunningly comprehensible decisions, even in some
of the most complex cases imaginable, has a famous quote: I would not give a g for simplicity this side of
complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity that lies on the other side of complexity. It is the role
of narrative to lead us through the thickets of overwhelming complexity, to the clarity of enriched simplicity.
Of course, there are some people who congenitally can not stop to ask for directions when lost in life's
thickets. For them, storytelling is a waste of time. The male mantra, just cut to the chase comes to mind.
This may in part explain why women (feminist like Margaret Wheatley, for example) have such a fondness
for narrative. At all stages of the ethical decision-making process, narrative is a useful tool of analysis for
exposing the facts, conicts, feelings, and values that are the stu of the human predicament.

12.2 Management: the meta profession2
In 1912 Louis D Brandeis addressed the graduating students of Brown University. Tradition dictated that
the graduating class was divided between those receiving learned degrees in the professions of law, medicine
and ministry from those in the skill based disciplines, such as business management. The future Supreme
Court justice did an interesting thing that graduation day: he turned away from the professional degree
candidates toward the business degree candidates, and said:
Each commencement season we are told by the college reports the number of graduates who have selected
the professions as their occupations and the number of those who will enter business. The time has come for
abandoning such a classication. Business should be, and to some extent already is, one of the professions.
Brandeis minced no words in dening what professionalism was all about. It was:
An occupation for which the necessary preliminary training is intellectual in character, involving
knowledge and to some extent learning, as distinguished from mere skill; which is pursued largely
for others, and not merely for one's own self; and in which the nancial return is not the accepted
measure of success.
Spoken to clergy, physicians and lawyers in 1911, these words would have had a familiarif unheeded
ring. But to businessmen? Brandeis' intuition about the decisive character of business management for
human welfare has been borne out across the tortured years of this past century. His argument, however,
that business management was essentially professional in character is debated still.
The three characteristics of professionalism cited by Brandeis address detail the nature of the requisite
responsibility, and are the crux of why it is still controversial to call business management a profession:
• First. A profession is an occupation for which the necessary preliminary training is intellectual in
character, involving knowledge and to some extent learning, as distinguished from mere skill.
• Second. It is an occupation which is pursued largely for others and not merely for one's self.
• Third. It is an occupation in which the amount of nancial return is not the accepted measure of
success.
Within Brandeis' three paradoxical pronouncements lies the answer to what it means to be a professional in
business.
12.2.1 The paradox of skill

All professions require unique skills. While demonstrated prociency in particular skills is necessary for
admission into a profession, skill mastery alone is not sucient to dene the professional. If it were, a
surgeon would be simply a plumber employed to mend human pipes and valves; a lawyer simply a carpenter
crafting together legal words and phrases into motions, wills or contracts; a teacher simply an actor skilled
at presentation or lecturing. While the surgeon must be extraordinarily skilled in the crafts of incision and
suturing, while the lawyer must be adept at the craft of legal word-smithing, and the teacher a master of
the practical arts of communication, such skills are not the essence of who they are as professionals, nor are
they the be and end all of their practices. Understanding this dierence is the key to the classic distinction
between a trade and a profession.
Both trades and professions require the practice and perfection of signicant skills, but a trade is com-
pletely dened by its commensurate skill; a profession is not. As Brandeis explains: A profession is an
occupation for which the necessary preliminary training is intellectual in character involving knowledge, and
to some extent learning, as distinguished from mere skill. I would add that it is not just in preliminary
training that intelligence and learning are required, but in all aspects of the practice of the continuing
professional life.
In a time when everyone wants to be called professional, a real danger lurks in Brandeis' distinction,
an elitism (`mere skill'), a snobbery, a class bias that is inappropriate both to the tradesperson and the

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professional. Once, the trades were a source of enormous pride and distinction. Through Medieval guilds a
revolution in human worth and work was set in motion and the foundations of the industrial and technological
revolutions laid. Through the guild structure, the skills of trades were passed from generation to generation,
and the pride of association with quality and integrity maintained.
But the professions were something else entirely. Called The Learned Professions as the Middle Ages
yielded to the Renaissance, the Priesthood, Law, and Medicine obviously required rigorous training in
particular skills, but the application of these particular skills required a dimension of commitment and
integrity not necessitated of a trade. The wisdom to counsel human beings in the midst of spiritual, emotional,
physical or legal crisis necessarily requires more than technique. It requires a learned and practiced wisdom:
an ethic. It is one thing to entrust your bathroom to a plumber, another thing entirely to entrust your life
to a heart surgeon. Those willing to assume the unique burdens of the spiritual, physical, and legal care for
humans in existential need were designated, or set apart, as learned professionals.
As I write this chapter, I am in the process of recovering from open heart surgery. The experience of
putting my life in the hands of a physician is vivid. I am also sitting in my home that is being extensively
remodeled. I am fortunate to have a relationship with two excellent persons: Dick, my heart surgeon and
Craig, the skilled construction craftsman (carpenter, plumber and electrician) restoring our home. Both are
highly skilled and wise men. Dick, however, is integral to the care and counseling that guided me and my
family through my decision to go under the knife. Craig is full of sage wisdom about the public and foreign
aairs of our times, but in no sense is my life vulnerable to his lively and wise insights that we share while
he restores my kitchen and replaces the bedroom window.
Exactly three weeks ago Dick, sat on the side of my bed in a Denver, Colorado hospital surrounded by
twelve members of my family and talked to me about the alternatives for dealing with a most unexpected
heart problem. He showed me the very worrisome pictures of several partially blocked arteries, and told me
that, in his opinion, I had no choice but to have quadruple bypass surgery. Dick said he would send my le
to anyone I wished for a second opinion, but felt I should reach a decision soon. My kids asked all sorts
of nervous and caring questions and he responded openly and fully. Never have I been with someone as
obviously open and trustworthy at a time when so much was at stake for me.
As I made my decision to move forward with this personal ordeal, I would learn from friends in the
community that Dick was one of the most skilled surgeons in the country. That was reassuring. But I
already knew he was a professional: a person wise and caring enough for me to trust my life to.
12.2.2 The paradox of the public pledge

A profession is literally so called a profession because the aspirant to the oce is orally sworn to specic
public commitmentshe/she professes publicly legal and ethical obligations unique to the vocation of lawyer,
physician, counselor or priest. The public pledge is the portal condition into the unique relationships aorded
the vocation. Be clear, it is not primarily a privilege the professional assumes, rather it is fundamentally
self-imposed burdens. No one is forced to swear they will put another's interest above their own, yet this is
the condition of all professionalism.
There is a tension between a profession's public responsibility and its commitment (also made publicly) to
the private, vulnerable client. Brandies includes both in the observation that, A profession is an occupation
which is pursued largely for others and not merely for oneself. The paradox of the other is the paradox of
the public pledge.
Quite a great deal is made of the special relationship between professionals their parishioners, patients, or
clientsthe sanctity of the confessional, the doctor patient relationship, or the lawyer client relationship
each special, private and protected both in law and ethics. Thinking of the confessional booth, the exam-
ination room, and the lawyer's oce the idea of a uniquely protected privacy, of almost a sacred space,
emerges. Assuredly the priest, doctor and lawyer are sworn to hold sacred the disclosures within this zone of
professionally protected communication. Being a professional means nothing less than willingly and publicly
arming that the client's, patient's or parishioner's interest shall come before one's own interests.
For many professionals the matter stops with the pledge: I swear the patient's interests comes rst,
end of discussion. Yet this commitment to the vulnerable client is only half the issue, as the business and

professional crises of our times illustrate. Not only is the priest sworn to care for particular souls, he is also
sworn to see to the care of the people of God, the moral welfare of the parish, the salvation of the world.
Not only is the doctor sworn to put the interest of the patient above his own, but the health of the patient's
family, neighborhood, and the public is also his professional obligation. The lawyer is not simply employed
to represent the particular client, but also sworn to be an ocer of the court. While accountants may be
employed by Arthur Anderson to do the books for the Enron Corporation, they also are sworn to keep the
interests of the public uncompromised (after all, we call the profession Certied Public Accountants).
I know of no professional comfortable with the tension inherent in this public pledge. No one likes hard
choices; no one likes moral ambiguity; each of us wishes to live in a world where things can be reduced to
some least common ethical denominator (for example, a single duty). When teaching business students,
the mantra of Milton Friedman is the droning undertone of almost every class discussion: the business of
business is business, the sole responsibility of the business executive is to increase shareholder return.
Yet, the very essence of professional responsibility is to address the dicult and unavoidable ethical
tensions between public and private interestthe priest who hears the confession of a disturbed and homicidal
parishioner intent on killing yet again; the lawyer who discovers that a client has misrepresented the facts
of his case, and is asking for a plea to the court based in lies and distortions; the doctor who is asked to
prescribe extraordinarily expensive treatments to a patient too ill, or old to have any reasonable chance of
curative benet; or the engineer who is told that she is bound by a condentiality agreement, in spite of her
certain conviction that a plane, bridge, or space shuttle is likely to fail and potentially cause extensive loss
of life. These are not plot summaries for Hollywood; in an innite variety, they are the stu of professional
life in the complex world of the twenty-rst century.
It is by design, and not by accident, that professionals are thrust continually into such Hobson choice
predicaments. The professional's public pledge is an acceptance of ethical burdens not incumbent on the rest
of society. It is an acknowledgment of the reality of human existence where things do not come out even,
where real ethical insight must be exercised and where benign outcomes are far from assured. Someone must
live in the land between the rock and the hard place, and those who do so are designated professional.
I think of professionals as the value bearers for society, those particularly burdened and practiced to
address the most dicult and sensitive human ethical dilemmas. I do not mean to imply that a business
person, lawyer, doctor, psychiatrist, or teacher is better in some moral sense than anyone else. Instead,
that they have agreed to assume a unique ethical burden, to work at the transaction point where issues of
signicant human value are on the line. The professional is sworn not to desert this post, to be there to
counsel, reect and bear with the human condition in the midst of transition and crisis. This is, to me, the
essence of professional practicethe practice of raising the value content of human decisions and choices.
That is the professional's sworn burden, it is the very nature of the ethic that denes who the professional
is.
All this said, it astounds me that anyone would want the title of professional. But to make sure this
point is underlined, let us consider the Paradox of pay, perhaps the most complexing of all to the business
professional.
12.2.3 The paradox of pay

I am watching a sports show on the evening news. A local sportscaster is interviewing a member of the
Harlem Globetrotters, who are in town for a game. The interview goes something like this:
Sports Guy: Al, I was surprised you never turned pro.
Al: What do you mean? I am a pro, I get paid pretty good for playing ball.
Sports Guy: Well yeah? But I meant you never tried out for the NBA.
Al: Oh, well I like playing for the Globetrotters better ...
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Almost everyone assumes that being professional means getting paid (and paid well) for one's work.
There are professionals and there are amateurs, the former get paid, while the amateurs do it for the love of
it. Well, no. Originally, the professions were too important to receive wages in the usual sense. Professionals
were not paid for their work; instead, professionals received an honorarium, a gratuity from the community
intended both to honor and disassociate the vocation from the necessities of the market, to free the vocation
for the seless task of caring for others.
Three days before my heart surgery I happened to watch a Sixty Minutes piece on a cardiology group
in California which was prescribing and performing unnecessary bypass surgery in order to increase their
practice's revenues. It was chilling. I thought of a case we use in business school about how Sears some
years ago pressured employees in their auto servicing division to increase revenues by pushing unneeded air
lters, muers, and break re-linings, etc. But, heart surgeons re-aligning ethical responsibility due to market
dependency? I think the Medieval notion of honoraria for professionals may make a lot of sense in this time
of triumphant capitalism. There are some values the market is not designed to dictate.
I love to tease business students about the matter of pay and the power of money. I ask, Considering
the `oldest profession' what had you rather be known for: doing it for money, or doing it for love? In the
realm of love making, most us prefer to have non market forces determine the dimensions of our intimate
lives. Let us hear it for true amateurs!
In a real sense, professionals indeed do it for love. It is dicult to imagine bearing the burden of a
physician, lawyer, counselor, or a professor without having a deep and eusive passion for what one does.
Professionals cannot leave their work at the oce, because what they do is who they are. As I have discovered,
teaching is the most rewarding thing I can think of doing. I do not just teach; I am a teacher. I am glad I
am paid for my work, but truth be known I would do it for free. I walk away from a class where the students
and I have really lit it up, and I do not even have words to say how good it feels. I can describe historically
and intellectually what a professional should be, but even better, I also know what it feels like. No amount
of money can compensate for that feeling.
Consider the burdens of true professionalism that skill alone is not sucient to qualify: one is publicly
pledged to work on the unrelenting tension between the welfare of the client and the good of the society;
and that is not the criteria by which success will be judgedwhy would one choose to turn pro? I have
only one answer: professions are rightly designated as vocations. We become priests, lawyers, physicians,
professors because we cannot do anything else; who we are cannot be achieved outside the realm of what we
are impelled to do.
12.3 Corporate social responsibility3

The legal and historic roots of the modern corporation reach well back into the eighteenth century, but
it was in the Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth century that this truly extraordinary form of human
organization came into its own and, the twentieth century, became the dominant economic force on earth.
Consider its amazing characteristics concentration of management, accumulation of capital, shielding of
ownership from liability, and being granted a legal existence not necessarily bounded by either space or
timeboth ubiquitous and eternal! As well, however, consider its fearsome prospects vis-à-vis its lack of
accountability, its decit of democratic governance, its often-uncivilized competitive engagement with all
other sectors of society, not to mention its transcendence of both national sovereignty and legal jurisdiction.
And there you have it. Is the Trans-national Corporation the answer to the fundamental issues of human
survival, or the fundamental threat to life itself? In short, will the corporation of the twenty-rst century
be a corrupt Robin Hood, or a virtuous Sheri of Nottingham?
Corporations are not natural persons. Corporations are ctitious, corporations are juridical persons
created by law. The point is this: the ethical considerations one might use when dealing with a friend,
associate, or stranger, are signicantly dierent when the subject is the corporation.

Getting this straight is critically important to an adequate understanding of business ethics. People
their behavior and the products of their work and intellectare judged ethically and legally based chiey
on their intentions. Ethical analysis of the behavior of natural persons begins with considerations of what a
person meant by what he or she did, said, or produced. In contrast, ethical analysis involving the entity we
call the corporation must forever begin and end in law and public policy. With reference to the political
economy that brought forth the beast. The legal entity, known as the corporation, was created to shield
investors from liabilities beyond the limit of their investment (a result that neither sole proprietorships nor
partnerships could accomplish) with the legislative intent of facilitating the aggregation of private capital.
This legal experiment begun 19th century has succeeded spectacularly.
For people to survive, they need physical and emotional nourishment, and familial and social support.
Corporations survive solely by their ability to return value to their shareholders. Hence, corporations are
consequential critters, Utilitarian to the core. A friend may forget a lunch date and hurt your feelings, but
when he says, I'm really sorry, I can't believe I forgot. You say, Hey I missed you, but it's OK. Let's try
again next week. When a company launches a new product and if the 100 million dollar venture tanks,
shareholders do not want to hear about how sorry management is that things did not work out, or that
management meant well. It will do the CEO no good to say, My heart was in the right place.
When we talk about the ethical criteria for judging the behavior of corporations we speak not of intent,
but responsibility: quite literally, the capacity to respond. Corporate ethics is the ethics of corporate social
responsibility (CSR), not corporate personal responsibility. The responsibility of a corporation is shaped by
two realities: the obligations created by society through (1) law and public policy (legal responsibilities),
and (2) the obligations created by corporate culture, i.e. stakeholder (customers, employees, neighborhoods,
natural environments) obligations. The two overlap and reinforce each other, but their limits lie within the
boundaries of a company's tangible capacities.
Corporate ethics is really about gaining understanding of what are called mixed motives. When natural
persons have mixed motivesyou give a hundred bucks to the opera because you want your boss, who
supports the opera, to think well of youwe somehow know that this is not an unambiguously laudable act.
But when a company that makes computers gives 100 laptops to the public school system, and does so with
the hope that exposing children to their brand of computers will lead to increased salesthis doing good
to do well is not only laudable, it is responsibleresponsible both to shareholders and the stakeholders.
Corporations as a matter of fact, can only act with mixed motives. By law, they are created to serve
the bottom line of returning wealth to investors. The law says corporations have a duciary responsibility
(duciary = the highest standard of loyalty and trust owed by agents to principles) to their shareholders,
who are the legal owners of the corporation. To do good, a corporation must do well. As a business ethicist,
I argue the reverse: to do well, a corporation must do good. People have consciences, and some would
say souls; corporations have neither. Corporations are creatures of law and public policy, they are cultural
creations; as such, they have unique cultures of their own. Corporate ethics is therefore really about the
creation of a culture of responsibility within the corporation.
Dr Lynne Payne of Harvard University has made a major contribution to the understanding of CSR and
how it is achieved in her distinction between compliance based organizations and integrity based organiza-
tions. In reality, CSR is a product of both compliance (legal and regulatory constraints) and integrity (the
internal culture and self regulatory environment). This is underscored by new laws such as Sarbanes-Oxley
Act of 2002 and the almost two decade old US Federal Sentencing Guidelines (policy guidelines established
in part to determining corporate criminal punishment in US Federal Courts).
Sarbanes Oxley is particularly interesting given Payne's compliance/integrity construct, in that it requires
both integrity structures (such as a corporate board of ethics, and internal protections for whistleblowers) and
increases nes for violation of anti-trust and other federal statutes regulating inter-state corporate behavior.
Thus, corporations are creatures of law and policy and are regulated externally. Corporations have no
conscience per se, but like any social system can develop a guiding culture, maintained through education
and reinforced by the habits and interactions of the people within the corporation.
In a world of over six billion people, there is little alternative to large and complex organizations designed
to feed, house, heal, and help meet basic human needs. The multinational corporation is here to stay; the

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issues of how these behemoths are guided and controlled is far from settled. How the humans who work and
manage these organizations maintain their own integrity within the Utilitarian cultures of the multinational
corporation is a chapter of history we are only beginning to write.
The Social Contract between society and the multinational corporation today is being radically renegoti-
ated. The cascading collapses of the Dotcoms, the Enron, Worldcom, and Aldelphia scandals, and now, the
meltdown of capital markets across the globe portends a turbulent future indeed for both the corporation
and the business professional. Yet, it is in such times that fundamental changes most often emerge. Those
who dare to ride these currents of change will emerge in a new order of political economy.


Chapter 13
Adding products and services
After reading this chapter, you should:
• understand the strategic importance of adding and deleting products. understand some methods which
can be applied to assist in this decision-making process
• understand some dierent approaches for generating new product ideas
• be familiar with various ways of classifying products and innovations
• be able to discuss innovations related to business models
• know the basic methods for evaluating innovations
• be able to discuss the related topics of failed innovation and product deletion
13.2 Introduction2
The twenty-rst century marketplace is dynamic and fast changing. As a result, organizations are under
pressure to evaluate their existing product line and to make continuous decisions about adding new products
or deleting existing products. For instance, the graph in Exhibit 13.1 shows how an organization must
establish a series of successful products, if that organization wants to maintain a consistent stream of sales
or else grow sales over time. One reason for this pattern is the product life cycle. As shown in the graph,
no product lasts forever, and sales levels can uctuate dramatically over time. The company illustrated in
Exhibit 1 has marketed 8 dierent products over time. In the past, four of these products have been deleted
(the products labeled as A, B, C, and F). As a result, the sales level in the most current period depends
upon the success of the remaining four products. If the rm has a goal to increase sales in the coming years,
then it is imperative for that rm to introduce a new group of successful products.
Organizations invest a lot of money to create new products that perform eectively. Nonetheless, rms
often struggle to convince people to incorporate these new products into their routines (Arts 2008). For
example, it took 18 years for microwave ovens to gain acceptance in Greece (Tellis, Stremersch, and Yin
2003). The ultimate success of new products depends on consumers accepting them (Arts 2008).
The term product refers to both goods and services. A product is anything that can be oered to a
market to satisfy a want or need. There are a number of ways to classify products, and those methods are
discussed later in the chapter. In this chapter, we discuss the following topics: (a) Where do innovations
come from? (b) product categories; (c) Innovation through business models; (d) Evaluating innovations; (e)

235
236 CHAPTER 13. ADDING PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
When innovation fails: deleting products; and (f) chapter summary. In the next two sections, we briey
discuss innovations and their origins.
Exhibit 13.1: Sales of individual products and total sales
13.3 Where does innovation come from?3

We dene innovation as an idea or product that is new to the sponsoring organization. A discontinuous
innovation has the potential to alter existing consumption patterns, or else create new ones. For example,
portable audio equipment has evolved from the radio, to the cassette tape player, to the compact disk players
and to the digital audio player. At the extreme, a discontinuous innovation results in the creation of a new
generic category of products, such as the GPS navigation system.
In contrast, continuous innovations involve introducing a new entrant into an existing category. Con-
tinuous innovations do not challenge established patterns of consumption behavior. A good example of this
type of innovation is the smart phone. For this product, consumers already know what a phone is and how
to operate it. From this perspective, the operation of a smart phone can be viewed as a combination of
the functions associated with a mobile phone and the functions of a personal digital assistant (PDA). In a
more recent oering, a smart phone combines the functions of PCs and Macs through applying the software
and operating systems of each. As a result, consumers can access their current knowledge about existing
products and then easily grasp the smart phone concept.
On the one hand, the process of innovation is the life blood of an organization. New product innovations
are responsible for employment, economic growth, technological process, and high standards of living (Souder
1987). In a marketing context, innovation is crucial for the development of successful new products (both
goods and services). On the other hand, it is a challenge to develop and evaluate these innovations. In brief,
where do innovative ideas come from? We describe ve sources of innovation: technical breakthroughs, non-
technical idea development, ideas that emerge from environments, serendipity, and purposeful development.
These various strategies are outlined in Table 1 and described in more detail in the following section.
Technical breakthroughs refer to product innovations that result from technical developments. New
brands that have emerged from this process include MP3 players, GPS navigation devices, and cell phones.
In the long run, it is consumers who decide how new technologies will be used. For instance, Guglielmo
Marconi created the radio-telegraph so that ships could communicate with each other on the high seas in
1894. However, other applications emerged, and everyday uses eventually multiplied. For instance, in 1921,

237
the RadioShack Corporation was formed in Boston to sell equipment to ham operators. The company took
its name from the small wooden building for radio equipment on ships. As more families adopted radios,
it was a real challenge to develop content. Eventually, the advertising business model was created, and
the funds that were provided by advertisers were used to sponsor the development of popular content (e.g.
music, dramatic shows, variety shows) (Zinkhan 2005).
Non-technical development is another path to product innovation. This approach involves nding a niche
in the market without making radical changes to the basic product category (i.e. in terms of the underlying
technology). Build a Bear Workshop provides a good example of this style of innovation. Unlike other
conventional stued animal manufacturers, the Build a Bear Workshop allows customers to choose their
bear's body, sound, clothing, stung, and heart. For example, a customer can choose, a lower-priced paper
heart with their wish, or they can invest in a higher-priced electronic heart. After customers make choices,
they then observe the production process in the shop. In this way, customers create their own custom-
designed toy. This business model does not rely on developing new technology. However, there is a modied
production process, as the stung and sewing machine are located in the retail store.
Ideas that emerge from environments refer to innovations that result from importing products from other
cultures. Good examples of this style of innovation are Wal-mart in China and IKEA in the United States.
Traditionally, there were no large-scale retail stores in Asian nations, such as Japan, Korea, China or India.
Instead, small retailers or mom-and-pop stores dominated. Large-retail stores are now achieving success in
Asian nations, through importing the idea of economies of scale, which, in turn enable one-stop shopping
and lower prices. Similarly, IKEA achieved great success in the US and China through importing the idea of
a warehouse-type retail setting from Europe. IKEA oers high-quality furniture and home interior products
for lower prices. Consumer assembly is often required.
Serendipity plays a role in product innovation. The word serendipity derives from serendip, which
means Sri Lanka in Persian. The fairy tale, The Three Princes of Serendip, tells the story of three men who
continuously discover something that is completely unrelated to what they originally set out to nd. Thus, the
term serendipity describes a situation where one accidentally discovers something fortunate, while looking
for something else entirely. For example, penicillin was discovered quite by accident when Alexander Fleming
discovered that a mold contaminating one of his experiments possessed powerful antibacterial properties.
Purposeful development occurs when there is a strong need for certain goods or services. As described by
Plato in The Republic: Necessity is the mother of invention. In other words, this type of innovation occurs
when existing product lines cannot satisfy current needs or current demand. As a result, organizations
are willing invest considerable funds (e.g. in terms of research and development or marketing research)
to create a successful innovation. A good example of purposeful development is the heavy investment that
pharmaceutical rms make to discover new prescription drugs. For inspiration, pharmaceutical scientists rely
upon current developments in chemistry, physics, plant biology, and folk healing methods. In some instances,
this kind of innovation might result from marketing research, where considerable demand is forecast in the
marketplace.
Source of Innovation Denition Examples of Innovation

Technical breakthrough Innovation that results from tech- MP3 players; GPS navigation
nical development. system; Wireless Internet service
Non-technical idea development Finding niche markets without `Build a bear workshop;' Frozen
making radical changes to the ba- yogurt stores
sic product category. Does not
rely on new technology.

Idea from outer environment Importing ideas from other cul- IKEA in the US; Yoga or Taek-
tures, places, and settings wondo in Western nations
Serendipity Innovation through an accident, X-rays; Penicillin
when looking for something else
Purposeful development Innovation that derives from Prescription drugs; Pencils with
heavy investment, once strong erasers
demand is recognized
Table 13.1: dierent sources of innovation

It is also possible to create a new business model. Wal-Mart is a good example here, as the retailer applies
the philosophy of low prices and cost cutting to every aspect of its operations, including logistics, employee
compensation, managerial philosophy, packaging, merchandising, negotiations with suppliers, and so forth.
This manner of innovation is discussed in more detail in the section which follows, Product Categories.
13.3.1 Product categories

There are a number of ways to classify products (see Table 13.2 and Exhibit 13.2). For instance, a product
can be classied by durability and tangibility. Packaged goods are tangible and are consumed in one or a few
uses, such as in the case of beer, soap, or fuel. Durable goods are tangible and survive many uses. Consumer
examples include furniture, TVs, computers, clothing and automobiles. According to one convention, a
durable good lasts more than one year. Non-durable goods are tangible, but they provide benets for a short
time. Good examples include: gum, shaving cream, gas, batteries, and cosmetics. There are also controlled
goods which are often restricted by government action, due to their potential danger or addictive nature.
Good examples include: cigarettes, alcohol, tobacco, rearms, and even some over-the-counter drugs.
Business-to-business (B2B) products refer to goods bought by individuals or organizations for further
processing or for use in doing business. Examples in B2B include: buildings, our purchased by a commercial
baker, crude oil, steel for automobile manufacture, insurance policies for company buildings, and business
consulting services. Business-to-customer (B2C) products refer to goods that individual customers purchase
for personal and family use, such as passenger cars, hairdryers, TVs, medical insurance policies, and carpet
cleaning services for the home.
Convenience products are products that consumers want to purchase frequently, immediately, and with
a minimum of eort. Examples here include: soft drinks, cigarettes, fast foods, newspapers, public trans-
portation and candy bars. Shopping goods are purchased only after consumers make comparisons with
competing goods based on such attributes as price, quality, style, or color. Examples in this category in-
clude: MP3 players, passenger cars, clothing, furniture, and houses. Specialty products are products with
unique characters. Buyers often prize such goods and make a special eort to obtain them. Examples in
this group include collectable items, engagement rings, vacation homes, yachts, art works, luxury cars, and
special concert tickets.

239
Exhibit 13.2: Rough Classication of Products
Category Name Denition Example

Good A tangible physical entity Table, electronics, soda, candy
bar
Service An intangible result of the appli- Haircut, dry-cleaning, gardening
cation of human and mechanical
eorts to people or objects.
Durable Products that provide benet for Automobile, house, machines
a long time and are not used up
when used once.
Non-durable Products that provide benet for Milk, laundry detergents, tissue
a short time. paper
Controlled Goods Products that need to be regu- Tobacco, alcohol, rearms, phar-
lated due to their potential dan- maceuticals
ger or addictive potential.
Business-to-business Goods bought by individuals or plastics for a car manufacturer,
organizations for further process- insurance plan for plants
ing or for use in doing business.

Consumer The goods individual consumers Canned soup, medical insurance

purchase for personal or family
use.
Convenience Products that consumers want Chewing gum, beer, cigarettes,
to purchase frequently, immedi- fast food
ately, and with a minimum of ef-
fort.
Shopping Products purchased only after TV, automobile, house
the consumer has made compar-
isons with competing goods on
such bases as price, quality, style,
or color.
Specialty Products with unique character- Luxury sports car, jewelry,
izations that cause the buyer to
prize them and make a special ef-
fort to obtain them.
Table 13.2: Classifying products
13.4 Innovation through business models4

A good business model is a story that explains how an enterprise is designed to work (Margretta 2002). A
business model identies sources of competitive advantage and describes the rm's pathway to protabil-
ity and success. From a marketing perspective, the business model describes customers and what they
value. From a managerial perspective, the business model describes how an organization makes prot. See
Exhibit 13.3 (Six-step model).
In this section, we review some emerging models in the music industry, in order to illustrate how such
models can serve as a source of innovation. That is, a traditional way for organizations to remain protable
is to introduce a series of related goods. As shown earlier in , the organization introduces eight products
(labeled A through H). Over time, the sales for product A begin to decline, so the organization is under
considerable pressure to introduce new successful products. If represents the cumulative sales for a record
label, then product A might be a hip-hop CD, while product B is a CD created by a rock artist. In this
section of the chapter, we present an alternative source of innovationthe innovation that results from suc-
cessfully introducing new business models. All our examples are derived from the music industry, but related
industries (e.g. lms, books) are undergoing similar transformations and creating similar opportunities for
entrepreneurs.
13.4.1 Examples of business models from the music industry
Since the late 1990s, the availability of online music has caused a lot of confusion in the marketplace.
Traditional business models are no longer applicable for explaining the current business opportunities. The
music industry in the twenty-rst century provides a classic illustration of a disruptive technology, whereby
new technologies drive out established technologies and established ways of doing business.
Here, we briey review eight business models in the music industry. We distinguish among these models
via ve characteristics: current implementation, feasibility, legality, consumer satisfaction, and record label
satisfaction (See Table 3). Note that some of these models are currently implemented, while others are
speculative in nature.

241
13.4.2 Traditional business model

In this business model, the artists create music and try to be signed by a record label. After the artist is
signed by a record label, then that organization provides a number of services, including nancing music
recording and production; organizing concert tours; producing and selling merchandise; marketing the band's
creation; promoting the band through exposure on mass media; and more.
Next, the record label delivers the recorded music to manufactures who reproduce and package the music.
The supply chain members are in charge of distribution, including an eort to gain cooperation from key
retail outlets. Finally, the retailers market and sell the packaged goods to the nal consumers (Slater, Smith,
Bambauer, Gasser, and Palfrey 2005; see Exhibit 13.3 (Six-step model)).
Six-step model
Exhibit 13.3
13.4.3 Digital music stores

This model suggests that the retailers move online and oer content directly to consumers through websites.
This approach is similar to the traditional model, but there is an emphasis on the online delivery of content
(Slater et al., 2005). Amazon was one of the rst companies to implement this model in the 1990s. Since
the debut of this model, two major modications have been made. First, consumers can now purchase
digital downloads of the music, rather than receiving a physical product, such as CDs. This oers an
intangible and instantaneous approach to buying music. The second large modication is also related to
digital downloading, as users no longer have to buy an entire CD. Many digital music stores oer free
sampling of each song which allows customers to preview tracks that they want to purchase. The Apple's
iTune store successfully implements this model in the twenty-rst century.
13.4.4 Open content

This model is derived from the Ancillary Products and Services model that the Berkman center formulated
in 2005 (Slater et al. 2005). One main assumption here is that nothing can be done to stop the illegal sharing
of music. In order for the model to be successful, the content creator, record companies, and consumers
must encourage the use of peer-to-peer networking. Thus, every music download from this business model is
free of charge. This model is dierent in that free le sharing is encouraged. However, there is a concerted
eort to nd other sources of revenue (Berkman Center 2003). Other sources of income may include touring,
selling band paraphernalia, endorsements, and fan clubs. This model is illegal under current laws in the
US and many other countries as it violates existing copyrights. Note that, in most contexts, open-content
sharing is legal as long the owner signs a contract that allows such distribution.
There are conicting viewpoints on the open content model. On one extreme, there people like Lars
Ulrich, the Drummer for Metallica, who is outraged that this could even be an option. According to Ulrich,
The argument I hear a lot, that music should be free, must then mean the musicians should work for free.
Nobody else works for free, why should musicians (Ulrich and McGuinn 2000)? On the other extreme are

people who argue that copyrights are irrational since they deny consumers the right to use creative works
and suocate the creativity of Internet users (Lessig 2004).
At rst glance, the open-content model appears to be very radical, as it diers so much from other models.
Nonetheless, it has gained considerable attention in the last few years. This approach is very satisfying for
customers, but is a major threat for record labels and channel members.
13.4.5 Artist-centered website hub

This business model uses one large website as a database for music. Content creators contact the website
directly and set the price of their music. The website sets a minimum downloading fee to cover costs; the
fee is set on a monthly basis (or on a per-download basis). Customers access the website and purchase all
the music they want, knowing that the artist receives most of the prot.
Some websites are already implementing this model. For instance, CD Baby sells independent music that
comes directly from the artist. Since this model cuts out several middlemen, CD Baby claims that artists
receive USD 6-12 per album versus the USD 1-2 that artists typically receive through their record labels.
There are currently 248,891 artists on CD Baby and over USD 87,052,087 dollars have gone directly to the
artist since the company opened for business in 1998 (Heinger 2008).
13.4.6 Artist's personal website

Another potential model encourages users to access the artist's personal websites to purchase music. This
approach allows the artists to have the most control over their music. The band Radiohead tested this
model during the debut of their seventh album Only in Rainbows. The band alienated themselves from
their record label, EMI, and oered the album solely from their website Radiohead.com. Customers who
visited the site where allowed to decide what they were willing to pay for the album (Tyangiel 2007).
Although this model is attractive for popular artists, it is potentially troublesome for artists who are not
well known. Lesser known artists have great diculty standing out in a crowded market. This model also
eliminates the record label.
13.4.7 Non-traditional record labels

Currently, independent record labels are sprouting up in unexpected places. In 2003, the Cracker Barrel Old
Country Store created an American Roots record label called CB music, Ltd (Romero 2003). Starbucks, the
eternally popular coee house launched their own record label in March of 2007. Their plan involves signing
artists (e.g. Paul McCartney) and selling records through Starbucks stores (http://www.starbucks.com/).
13.4.8 Tax-the-device model

This model follows the open content model, in that music is provided free of charge for music downloads.
However, such downloads are tracked, and a sales tax is placed on all devices that are sold to play back
downloaded les. The money generated from taxes is then used to pay back artists. Of course, this model
is speculative in nature. At present, there is not a reliable method for tracking all downloads. In addition,
devices sold outside of the US would be dicult to tax.
13.4.9 Summary of new business models

A major purpose in describing these music business models is to illustrate how innovations do not have to
be tied to the success of a new good or service. Rather, an organization can innovate by introducing a
new method of doing business, and such innovation has the potential to turn the world upside down (a la
Google or Facebook).

243
Model Currently im- Feasible? Currently legal Consumer sat- Record label
plemented? or illegal? isfaction satisfaction
Traditional No Not anymore Legal No Yes
Digital music Yes Yes Legal Yes Yes
stores
Peer-to-peer Yes Yes Legal Yes Yes
Stores
Open Source Yes Yes Illegal Yes No
Artist centered No Yes Legal Yes No
website hub
Artist's per- Yes Yes Legal Yes No
sonal website
Non- Yes Yes Legal Yes if used No to tradi-
traditional with other tional record
record lables models labels
Tax-the-device No Not really Legal ? No
Table 13.3: Music Business Models
13.5 Evaluating new products5

When an organization adds a new product, there is both potential benet and risk. As a result, organizations
implement formal systems for evaluating new products. In particular, there is a concerted eort to forecast
projected sales and thus reduce some of the nancial risk. While evaluating new products, there is also the
possibility of generating innovative ideas that can later go through the testing process. Idea generation is
an essential part of marketing strategy and is critical to the success of a company. When such product ideas
move further along in the process, a key step is to create a prototype or working version of the new oering.
Again, market testing is crucial at every stage in the development process.
Here, we briey discuss three main alternatives for evaluating new additions to the product line: labora-
tory tests, expert evaluations, and customer evaluations (Urban and Hauser 1993). With respect to customer
evaluations, we distinguish between central-location tests and home-use tests (Crask, Fox and Stout 1995).
The laboratory tests provide information regarding the performance of new products in extreme settings.
For example, a new copy machine can be tested at various work loads, such as numbers of copies and speed
per minute to test the relationship between workload and paper jam. A disadvantage for the laboratory test
is that it may not fully represent real-life conditions. Consumers are famous for ndings new ways to abuse
products, and they are not such skillful operators as lab testers.
Expert evaluators can be used at all phases of the new product development process. For instance,
experts can be used to estimate whether or not a new product idea will be accepted in the marketplace
before a prototype even exists. Experts also play a role later in the process. For instance, a new passenger
car can be tested by a car expert, who provides a (published) review that covers topics such as: handling,
comfort, ease of use, styling, acceleration, miles per gallon, and so forth. Expert evaluation is relatively low
in cost, as just a few experts can provide estimates about the behaviors of many customers. At the same
time, the small number of experts on each project may lead to biased forecasts.
In later stages of development, customers can be recruited to evaluate prototypes. There is an attempt
to test new products under conditions that are relatively close to actual use. Here, we distinguish between
two types of customer evaluations: central-location evaluation and home-use evaluation.

Central-location tests are conducted at designated locations such as shopping malls, sporting events, and
college campuses. Participants are recruited by email, telephone, and print ads. Types of central-location
tests include:
• Discrimination test: conducted to determine the percentage of customers who can distinguish between
product alternatives.
• Paired comparison test: respondents evaluate a pair of options and then state their preference between
the options.
• Round robin test: all possible product pairs are evaluated, using a format where consumers compare
two products at a time.
• Blind test: a new product is compared to existing products.
Under the home-use test, customers are invited to use a new product as part of their everyday life. The
home use test is usually more expensive than the central-location evaluation, but it is more realistic. Popular
types of home-use tests include:
• Paired comparison test: participants evaluate two products in normal usage situation and provide
evaluations for both products.
• Single-product home-use test (monadic test): participants evaluate one product after using that product
for a specied time period.
• Proto-monadic home-use tests: a hybrid design where participants are asked to use a certain product
for a specic time period and then evaluate. Next, participants follow a similar procedure for a second
test product.
13.6 When innovation fails: deleting products6

13.6.1 Product failure
In general, a product fails when it does not meet the objectives that were established by the sponsoring
organization. Failure rates vary by industry. For instance, failure rates for new packaged goods range from
75 per cent to 90 per cent (catalinamarketing.com). When considering innovative new products, Gourville
(2005) estimates that approximately half of all such products fail. It often costs more to launch an innovation
nationally than to develop the good or service in the rst place.
In the following section, we describe Wal-Mart's failure as it tried to enter the German market. Our
purpose is to use this one example to illustrate key reasons that new products fail and subsequently must
be deleted. See Table 4 for a listing of major reasons that cause products to be deleted. Table 4 includes
a description of 13 reasons that products fail. Note that the Wal-Mart experience in Germany provides
concrete examples for 10 of these key reasons. In the table, the reasons for product deletion are divided into
5 groups: (a) Market Structure (MS); (b) Business Model (BM); (c) Culture (C); (d) Politics/regulation
(P): and (e) Product failure (PF). These same categories are highlighted in the sections which follow.
13.6.2 Case, example of product failure: Wal-Mart in Germany, 1997 to 2006

Wal-Mart is the biggest food retailer in the world and has a presence in several nations. In some nations
(e.g. the US, Canada, China), Wal-Mart is a great success. However, Wal-Mart has failed in some countries
(e.g. Germany, South Korea). First, we describe Wal-Mart's failure in Europe's largest economy. Second,
we use Wal-Mart's experiences in Germany to illustrate some key principles related to product failure and
product deletion (see Table 4). Wal-Mart's experiences are also an example of the importance to adapt to
culture when starting a business in a new country.
The German grocery industry

245
There is erce competition in the German grocery industry, due to the increasing number of discount
supermarket chains (KPMG 2006). As a result, there is low protability in the food retail sector; prot
margins range from 0.5 per cent to 1 per cent which is one of the lowest prot margins in Europe (Frankfurter
Rundschau 2007). By contrast, prot margins in Great Britain are 5 per cent, in this same sector. In
particular, Metro is a tough competitor, and it already applies some of Wal-Mart's successful strategies (e.g.
related to economics of scale and low prices). Of course, Wal-Mart is interested in other metrics beyond
prot (e.g. shareholder wealth, market share), but, as indicated above, protability and margins are of key
concern to retailers.
Wal-Mart: strategic concept
Wal-Mart is the world's largest retailer with approximately 6,500 stores worldwide (Business 2006). The
main feature of Wal-Mart's business model is to cut costs (continuously) and therefore oer lower prices than
their competitors. For instance, Wal-Mart has introduced new logistical technologies such as radio-frequency
identication (RFID) to optimize its logistic processes. RFID is an automatic identication method, relying
on storing and remotely retrieving data using devices called RFID tags or transponders. Wal-Mart tries to
minimize labor costs by oering minimal health care plans. Wal-Mart pressures its suppliers to cut costs, on
a continuous basis. In brief, Wal-Mart's managers are constantly seeking out ways to cut costs, and some of
their successes are passed on to shoppers, in terms of lower prices.
Wal-Mart's entry into the german market
In 1997, Wal-Mart acquired over 21 stores from the supermarket chain Wertkauf. One year later,
Wal-Mart bought an additional 74 stores from the supermarket chain Interspar. As a result, Wal-Mart
became the fourth biggest operator of supermarkets in Germany (Lebensmittelzeitung 2006). The objective
was to expand to 500 stores in Germany. However, the number of stores never exceeded the 95 stores that
were originally purchased in the rst two years. Wal-Mart's position in the marketplace deteriorated over
the years. In 2002, Wal-Mart had some nancial diculties due to a low turnover which resulted in the
dismissal of some employees. At the end of 2006, Wal-Mart was bought out by Metro, one of Germany's
largest retail groups. Finally, Wal-Mart left the German market with a loss of one billion dollars before tax
(Manager-Magazin 2006).
Mis-steps in the german market
In general, there are ve key issues related to Wal-Mart's ultimate withdrawal from Germany: ( a) market
structure; (b) business model (these rst two are discussed together here); c) cultural and communication;
(d) politics and regulation; and (e) product/service failure. Each of these issues is discussed in turn. Note
also that these ve issues are highlighted in Table 13.4.
Market structure and business model
A retailer that wants to follow Wal-Mart's strategy of low prices needs to expand rapidly. In Germany,
there not enough appropriate locations to support such expansion (see Table 13.4). As previously mentioned,
Wal-Mart did not build their own stores but took over 21 existing Wertkauf supermarkets that had a totally
dierent business model. The stores themselves were very small and had a limited range of goods. A related
problem is that these stores were located far apart, which resulted in high logistical costs.
When entering a new market, it is important to anticipate competitors' reactions. In Germany, Wal-
Mart's biggest competitor, Metro, wanted to expand their stores; at the same time, Metro wanted to prevent
Wal-Mart from executing their expansion plans (Senge 2004). Many times, a product has to be deleted
because the competition is too strong.
With the strategy of Every day low prices, Wal-Mart is very successful in the United States and also
in many other countries. In Germany, there is extreme competition in the retail food sector. Therefore, the
German customer is quite accustomed to the low prices that are oered by numerous discount supermarket
chains. For this reason, Wal-Mart's strategy of oering low prices did not create sucient competitive
advantage (see Table 13.4).
Culture and communication
When products are introduced, it is important to consider cultural factors. In this case, corporate
culture played a key role. Wal-Mart's top executives decided to operate the German locations from their
oces in the United Kingdom. Thus, Wal-Mart's corporate language was English. However, many of the

older Wal-Mart managers in Germany do not speak English. As a result, there were often breakdowns in
communication. Some managers of the acquired stores did not stay on after the Wal-Mart acquisition. Key
business connections were lost. As a result, several key suppliers (e.g. Adidas, Samsonite, Nike) declined
to work as suppliers for Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart did not just lose important suppliers; they also lost an
important part of their range of goods (Senge 2004). The situation could have been improved by retaining
and communicating eectively with the German managers who had know-how about the local market (see
Table 4).
Politics and regulation
The managers of Wal-Mart were not suciently familiar with the laws and regulations in Germany, as
they violated them several times. One of Wal-Mart's fundamental principles is to stay union free. However,
in Germany, unions have a powerful position. Through collective bargaining and related tactics, they can
have a strong inuence on political decision making. Ver.di is a German union in the service sector. With
2.4 million members, it is one of the largest independent, trade unions in the world (Ver.di 2008).
According to the German Commercial Code, all incorporated companies are obligated to publish a nan-
cial statement, including a prot and loss statement. Due to the fact that Wal-Mart refused to publish their
nancial statements for the years 1999 and 2000, Ver.di sued in a court of law. Wal-Mart was sentenced to
pay a ne. The coverage of this law suit in the German press led to a negative public image for Wal-Mart.
After the expansion strategy failed due to the lack of suitable store locations, Wal-Mart began a price
war to drive small competitors out of business. The intention was to take over the stores of the insolvent
supermarket chains and convert them into Wal-Mart stores. One part of the price war was to introduce a
private label called Smart Brand and sell most of these products below manufacturing costs. The reaction
of many competitors was to decrease their prices, which led to a prot setback for the entire industry.
However, the Federal Cartel Oce interceded and stopped the price war because there is a law in Germany
that enjoins companies from selling goods below manufacturing costs on a continuing basis (Knorr and Arndt
2003).
Product/ service failure
Wal-Mart planned to introduce a sophisticated customer service program which threatened many of
its competitors because German discount supermarket chains often do not provide good customer service.
Therefore, good customer service, combined with low prices, could have been a new market niche in Germany.
One part of Wal-Mart's customer service program was called the ten foot rule. Every ten feet, a service
employee oered some help to the customer (Knorr and Arndt 2003). However, the customer reaction was
rather negative, because customers who normally do their grocery shopping in discount supermarket chains
are used to self-service. They do not necessarily expect to talk with employees. Therefore, the ten foot rule
was perceived as rather annoying and did not result in a reputation for providing good customer service.
Wal-Mart also imported the idea of placing a greeter at the entrance to the store. Again, German
customers were not used to this custom, and they did not adopt this service with any enthusiasm.
Conclusion of Wal-Mart Mini-case
Wal-Mart tried to apply its US success formula in an unmodied manner to the German market. As a
result, they didn't have sucient knowledge about the market structure and key cultural / political issues.
In addition, structural factors prevented Wal-Mart from fully implementing its successful business model.
Also, there were some instances of product or service failure. The nal outcome was that Wal-Mart had to
abandon its oerings in Germany
Reasons for Failure Examples of Wal-Mart in Germany


247
Insucient demand (MS / BM) Wal-Mart's low price strategy didn't create any
competitive advantage since many German local re-
tailers were already using that strategy.
Existing competitors are too strong (MS) Wal-Mart's biggest competitor, Metro, took specic
counter-measures to prevent Wal-Mart from execut-
ing their expansion plan.
Failure to develop and communicate unique selling The prot margins in the German retail industry
propositions (USP) (BM) were already low before Wal-Mart entered. Wal-
Mart was not able to convince German consumers
that their prices were really that much lower than
the competition.
Unexpected change in the environment Economic N/A for Wal-Mart case
downturn
Competing new technology successfully introduced N/A for Wal-Mart case
Change in culture (i.e. change in corporate culture, Wal-Mart did not adapt well to the German corpo-
change in consumer taste or fashion) (C) rate culture.
Changing standard of government regulations (P) Managers were not familiar with German laws and
regulations, so there were violations. In general,
Wal-Mart's anti-union policies conicted with the
strong German union. Wal-Mart also tried to sell
their products below manufacturing costs, which is
illegal in Germany.
The price is too high, so trial is discouraged N/A for Wal-Mart case
Poor promotion/communication plan (C) Language barrier between English-speaking man-
agers and older German business people who don't
speak English.
In retailing, failure to secure attractive sites (MS) There were not enough appropriate locations for
Wal-Mart stores available in Germany.
Product failure (PF) tores were often located far apart. As a result, lo-
gistics costs were high. One of Wal-Mart's main
success factors is to minimize costs, but this goal
was restricted by high logistical costs.
Poor service qualityduring or after sales (PF) ome of Wal-Mart's methods for providing service
were not accepted by German customers. For in-
stance, the customers did not like the concept of
the greeter.

Failure to get corporation from key supply-chain Several key suppliers refused to supply goods, for
members (BM) fear of tarnishing their corporate image.
Notes for Table 4: The reasons for deletion are divided into ve categories according to the following
legend:MS: Market structure; BM: Business model; C: Culture and communication; P: Politics and regu-
lation; PF: Product failure
Table 13.4: Product failure: examples from Wal-mart's investment in Germany

New products improve people's lives, change markets, and aect the everyday world around us (Arts 2008).
From an organizational point of view, successful new products are essential for the survival of a rm. At the
same time, an organization must recognize when it is time to withdraw a product from the market. As shown
in Figure 1, this withdrawal may take place after some years of success in the marketplace. Alternatively, such
product deletion may occur before the product is even launched (see the section on Evaluating Innovations).
Sometimes, clear and straightforward reasons exist to explain why consumers do not accept a new product.
Other times, a clear answer is missing (Arts 2008). In this chapter, we highlight many of the key managerial
decisions associated with adding and deleting products. We emphasize the important role of marketing
research and market-based insights.

• Discuss various ways to classify innovations and products. Describe how these classication schemes
contribute to managerial knowledge and describe how they are related to the process of innovation.
• Using information from the Wal-Mart case that is discussed in the chapter, describe some decisions
that management handled well.
• Suppose that you are in charge of expanding Wal-Mart's operations to France. Describe some actions
that you would take to increase the probability of success in that nation.
• Your business partner comes to you with a new product idea. Specically, she has just returned from
a trip to the Netherlands. Based on her experiences there, she wants your company to start exporting
a specialty beer (Gulpemer) from the Netherlands to the US. Your rm has specic expertise terms
of distributing beer in the eastern United States, and you have some interest in your partner's idea.
Describe how you would evaluate this idea of adding of Gulpemer to your product line.
• A reporter from the New York Times asks you to forecast which method of distributing popular music
will be the most popular in the year 2014. Write a press release on this topic. Be certain to provide a
justication for your prediction.
• Discuss ve business models that are popular for distributing popular lms. Predict which of these
models will be the most successful, ve years from now. Provide a convincing justication for your
prediction.
• Your nephew is a drummer, and he has just formed an alternative rock band. His band is just beginning
to achieve some local success in Seattle, Washington. Your nephew views you as a new product expert,
so he asks your advice about how to increase the popularity and protability of his band's operations.
Make ve specic recommendations to help your nephew and to justify your reputation as an expert.
• Table 4 provides a description of some reasons that new products fail. Add three more factors to this
list.
• Discuss some dierent ways that rms try to develop innovations. For each method that you identify,
provide a specic example of a product that was developed following this approach.

249
• Imagine that you want to start your own business. What product would sell? In two paragraphs,
describe your business model.
13.9 Case: Apples: Newton and Pippin9

Apple Inc. (formerly Apple Computer Inc.) was founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald
Wayne. Steve Jobs is still very active with the company.
Apple has a long history of adding successful new products to its line up. However, in some in-
stances, Apple products have failed in the marketplace, and, subsequently, they were deleted. For instance,
both the hand-held Newton and the gaming machine Pippin were dropped from the Apple lineup. See
http://www.forbes.com/2008/10/29/apple-product-ops-tech-personal-cx_ag_1030apple.html.
Using this website and others, gather some information about the Newton and the Pippin. Then, using
the information from this chapter (e.g. see Table 13.4), discuss some reasons that Newton and Pippin failed.
To what extent did these two products fail for the same reasons? Identify one of Apple's successful products
(e.g. the iPhone, the iPod) and describe how the product managers have been able to avoid some of the
problems that sank the Newton and the Pippin.
13.10 References10
Arts, Joep (2008), Essays on New Product Adoption and Diusion, Amsterdam: the Free University.
Berkman Center (2003). "Copyright and Digital Media in a Post-Napster World, Research Publica-
tion No. 2003-05, GartnerG2 and The Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School.
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/publications.
Business (2006): World's Biggest Retailer Wal-Mart Closes Up Shop in Germany http://www.dw-
world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2112746,00.html
Crask, M., Fox, R. J., and Stout, R. G. (1995). Marketing Research: Principles and Applications.
Eaglewood Clis, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Frankfurter Rundschau (2007): Ende einer Expansion http://www.lexisnexis.de/e-
solutions/academic/de/index.html, 08.01.2008.
Gourville, J.T. (2005), The Curse of Innovation: Why Innovative New Products Fail, MSI Working
Paper Series, 5 (4).
Gutowski, George (2006), Lessons to be Learned from Walmart's Failure in Korea, Seeking Alpha (May
24), article 11141. http://seekingalpha.com/article/11141-lessons-to-be-learned-from-walmart-s-failure-in-
korea-wmt
Heinger, Mark (2008), Online India Music Retailer Acquired, Digital Media Wire, August 5.
Knorr, A; Arndt, A. (2003): Wal-Mart in Deutschland eine verfehlte Internationalisierungsstrate-
gie, in: Knorr, A. et al. (Hrsg.): Materialien des Wissenschaftsschwerpunktes Globalisierung der
Weltwirtschaft, Band 25, Bremen 2003.
KPMG (2006): Status quo und Perspektiven im deutschen Lebensmitteleinzelhandel
http://www.kpmg.de/library/pdf/060904_Status_quo_und_Perspektiven_im_deutschen_Lebensmitteleinzelhandel_2006
20.12.2007.
Lebensmittelzeitung (2006): Wal-Mart in Deutschland ein Überblick
http://www.lznet.de/links/hotlinks/pages/protected/show53679.html, 20.12.2007.
Lessig, Lawrence (2004), Free Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology and the
Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity. New York: The Penguin Press.
Manager-Magazin (2006): Metro übernimmt Wal-Mart Deutschland
http://www.managermagazin.de/unternehmen/artikel/0,2828,428960,00.html, 20.12.2007.

Margetta, J. (2002). What Management Is: How it Works and Why It's Everyone's Business. New York:
Free Press.
[email protected] (2007), Paul McCartney First Artist Signed to New Hear Music Label, Seattle,
March 21,
http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/pressdesc.asp?id=759
Romero, A. (2003), Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Creates New Ameri-
can Roots Record Label. Retrieved October 1, 2008, from World Music Central:
http://worldmusiccentral.org/article.php/20031114174754471
Senge, K. (2004): Der Fall Wal-Mart: Institutionelle Grenzen ökonomischer Globalisierung.
http://www.wiso.unidortmund.de/is/dienst/de/textonly/content/V4/V42/pdf/ap-soz04.pdf,21.12.2007
Slater, D., Smith, M., Bambauer, D., Gasser, U., and Palfrey, J. (2005, July 7). Content and Con-
trol: Assessing the Impact of Policy Choices on Potential Online Business Models in the Music and
Film Industries. Retrieved September 1, 2008, from The Berkman Center for Internet and Society:
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/
Souder, W. E. (1987). Managing new product innovations. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath and Company.
Tellis, Gerry, Stephan Stremersch, and E. Yin (2003), The International Takeo of
New Products: The Role of Economics, Culture, and Country Innovativeness, Marketing Science, 22
(2), 188-208.
Tyrangiel, J. (2007), Radiohead says: Pay what you want. Retrieved August 15, 2008, from Time
Entertainment: http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1666973,00.html
Ulrich, L., and McGuinn, R. (2000, July 1). Lars Ulrich, Roger McGuinn Testify Before Senate Judiciary
Committee on Downloading Music on the Internet. (D. Kagen, Interviewer) CNN.
Urban, G. L. and Hauser, J. R. (1993). Design and Marketing of New Products (2nd ed.). Eaglewood
Clis, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Verdi (2008) http://international.verdi.de/ver.di_fremdsprachig/was_ist_ver.di_-
_eine_einfuehrung_auf_englisch
Zinkhan, George M. (2005), Business Models, Advertising, and Emerging Technology, American
Academy of Advertising Newsletter, 1 (No. 4), 4-5.Adding products and services

Chapter 14
International business for the
entrepreneur
14.1 Introduction1
In Mastuj, a remote area in the Chitral district of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province, a young, recently
divorced woman with three children feared that she would not be able to make ends meet. Tradition held
that women should not work outside the home, further complicating her eorts to generate income.
Nevertheless, in 1998, she applied to the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) for training
in sewing. Soon after her course, she took out an AKRSP loan, which included business training, to buy a
sewing machine. She then set up a business stitching and selling ready-made clothes.
As with all AKAM loans, the credit package included two types of micro-insurance: Rs. 100 (USD 1.60)
for loan insurance that paid the outstanding balance in case of her death or permanent disability, and another
policy that would ensure a Rs. 10,000 benet for funeral-related costs in case of her accidental death. The
micro-insurance shielded the woman's children from debt should she have suered death or disability.
Exhibit 14.1: The credit package included two types of micro-insurance that has shielded the woman's
children from debt should she have suered debt and injury.

251
252 CHAPTER 14. INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS FOR THE ENTREPRENEUR
She has taken several other loans for machinery and material. Each time she has paid back her loan in
full and on time. Her monthly income has risen over six-fold from Rs 1000 (USD 16) to Rs. 7000 (USD 120)
in four years (2000-2004). She has been able to send her three children to a private school, extend her one
room house, and set up a shop near the home. Hygiene and health have improved thanks to better food and
the installation of a proper toilet. As of 2004, she had saved over Rs 30,000 (USD 500).
Perhaps most importantly, she has gone beyond subsistence to help those who are less fortunate than
herself. She has hired six employees and conducts sewing classes for other women in the community. In 2004,
in recognition of her eorts, Ms. Shahira was the recipient of the top prize in the United Nations Global
Entrepreneurship Award for Pakistan.
For Ms. Shahira, globalization can play an important role in her business. With the success of her sewing
company in her home country, Pakistan, she now has the opportunity to expand into new markets, partner
with another company, and continue to grow her company as a whole. Conversely, globalization has negative
implications for her company as well that include increased competition, and the risk of cultural issues that
would lead to her company not succeeding in a new market. As an up-and-coming entrepreneur, Ms. Shahira
must take into consideration all factors of globalization as she continues to operate her business.
For more information about this case, and others like it, visit the Aga Khan Agency for Micronance
website http://www.akdn.org.
14.2 Globalization: opportunities and threats to developing country

business2
14.2.1 Globalization: opportunities and threats to developing country business
To succeed in business today, it is critical to understand the changing global business world and the envi-
ronment in which a business operates. Not only are entrepreneurs faced with the internal factors aecting
their business, they must also understand the external environment in which they operate.
In the United States and Western Europe, globalization has been highly controversial and sparked protests
driven by fears of outsourcing jobs, ceding authority to international organizations and declining labor and
environmental standards. Views of globalization in lower income countries, however, are more positive. A
recent Pew survey found that there was more enthusiasm for foreign trade and investment in less industri-
alized countries than in industrialized ones. In sub-Saharan Africa, 56% of respondents thought, growing
global trade and business ties are very good for my country (Dollar, 2003). In developing countries in Asia,
37% had a positive view of globalization, while only 28% of respondents in the United States and Western
Europe had such a view (Dollar, 2003). This section discusses the concept of globalization and its positive
and negative implications for developing country business.
This chapter will utilize examples of large corporations, as these rms incorporate all necessary aspects
required to run a successful business.
14.2.1.1 What is globalization?

Globalization is dicult to dene because it has many dimensionseconomic, political, cultural and envi-
ronmental. The focus here is on the economic dimension of globalization. Economic globalization refers to
the quickly rising share of economic activity in the world [that] seems to be taking place between people
in dierent countries (World Bank Brieng Paper, 2001). More specically, economic globalization is the
result of the increasing integration of economies around the world, particularly through trade and nancial
ows and the movement of people and knowledge across international borders (IMF Issue Brief, 2000).

253
14.2.1.2 Case: United States Domestic Automaker, Ford

Nowhere are the eects of globalization seen more drastically than in the automobile industry, especially for
the United States Big 3 automakers: General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford.
Ford's history dates back to the Model T created by Henry Ford, with the goal of building a car for every
family. Today, Ford is in dire competition with not only their domestic competitors, but also now foreign
car manufacturers such as Toyota, Volkswagen and Hyundai.
At the current pace, the automotive market is approaching a 50/50 split between United States and
overseas-based control of the US market. As a result, Ford is challenged to constantly reevaluate and
revamp its market strategy. This is evident, as Ford decided that it was more cost-eective to buy existing
networks than to start from scratch, by bringing Jaguar, Volvo, Mazda, Aston Martin and Land Rover under
its control. However, Ford has recently decided to sell its stake in both Jaguar and Land Rover to the Indian
automaker, Tata, and may divest other divisions as well.
Today, Ford faces a number of important questions. As the globalization of the auto industry continues,
how should Ford market its vehicles? What target markets should Ford appeal to? How can it continue
to improve production and quality and adhere to the needs of even more demanding customers? And, how
should Ford position itself, as a company, in the face of formidable competition?
While the future of Ford is uncertain, one thing is clear, globalization will continue to aect the way
domestic and foreign companies do business.
Exhibit 14.2: Global Market Share, 2007-2008 (Edmunds.com, 2007) As this gure suggests, the Big
Three must adapt to changes in the market and globalization factors to remain key players in the
automotive market. At one point in 2007, for the rst time in history, US automaker's share of their
home market fell below 50 percent.
14.2.1.3 Elements of economic globalization

The growth in cross-border economic activities takes ve principal forms: (1) international trade; (2) foreign
direct investment; (3) capital market ows; (4) migration (movement of labor); and (5) diusion of technology
(Stiglitz, 2003).
International trade: An increasing share of spending on goods and services is devoted to imports and
an increasing share of what countries produce is sold as exports. Between 1990 and 2001, the percentage of

exports and imports in total economic output (GDP) rose from 32.3 per cent to 37.9 per cent in industrialized
countries, and from 33.8 per cent to 48.9 per cent in low and middle-income countries (World Brieng Paper,
2001). In the 1980s, about 20 per cent of industrialized countries' exports went to less industrialized countries;
today, this share has risen to about 25 per cent, and it appears likely to exceed 33 per cent by 2010 (Qureshi,
1996).
The importance of International trade lies at the root of a country's economy. In the constant changing
business market, countries are now more interdependent than ever on their partners for exporting, importing,
thereby keeping the home country's economy aoat and healthy. For example, China's economy is heavily
dependent on the exportation of goods to the United States, and the United States customer base who will
buy these products.
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) : According to the United Nations, FDI is dened as investment
made to acquire lasting interest in enterprises operating outside of the economy of the investor.
Direct investment in constructing production facilities, is distinguished from portfolio investment, which
can take the form of short-term capital ows (e.g. loans), or long-term capital ows (e.g. bonds) (Stiglitz,
2003). Since 1980, global ows of foreign direct investment have more than doubled relative to GDP (World
Brieng Paper, 2001).
Capital market ows: In many countries, particularly in the developed world, investors have increas-
ingly diversied their portfolios to include foreign nancial assets, such as international bonds, stocks or
mutual funds, and borrowers have increasingly turned to foreign sources of funds (World Brieng, Paper,
2001). Capital market ows also include remittances from migration, which typically ow from industrialized
to less industrialized countries. In essence, the entrepreneur has a number of sources for funding a business.
Migration: Whether it is physicians who emigrate from India and Pakistan to Great Britain or seasonal
farm workers emigrating from Mexico to the United States, labor is increasingly mobile. Migration can
benet developing economies when migrants who acquired education and know-how abroad return home to
establish new enterprises. However, migration can also hurt the economy through brain drain, the loss of
skilled workers who are essential for economic growth (Stiglitz, 2003).
Diusion of technology : Innovations in telecommunications, information technology, and computing
have lowered communication costs and facilitated the cross-border ow of ideas, including technical knowledge
as well as more fundamental concepts such as democracy and free markets (Stiglitz, 2003). The rapid
growth and adoption of information technology, however, is not evenly distributed around the worldthis
gap between the information technology is often referred to as the digital divide.
As a result, for less industrialized countries this means it is more dicult to advance their businesses
without the technical system and knowledge in place such as the Internet, data tracking, and technical
resources already existing in many industrialized countries.
14.2.1.4 Negative eects of globalization for developing country business

Critics of global economic integration warn that (Watkins, 2002, Yusuf, 2001):
• the growth of international trade is exacerbating income inequalities, both between and within indus-
trialized and less industrialized nations
• global commerce is increasingly dominated by transnational corporations which seek to maximize prots
without regard for the development needs of individual countries or the local populations
• protectionist policies in industrialized countries prevent many producers in the Third World from
accessing export markets;
• the volume and volatility of capital ows increases the risks of banking and currency crises, especially
in countries with weak nancial institutions
• competition among developing countries to attract foreign investment leads to a race to the bottom
in which countries dangerously lower environmental standards
• cultural uniqueness is lost in favor of homogenization and a universal culture that draws heavily from
American culture

255
Critics of economic integration often point to Latin America as an example where increased openness to
international trade had a negative economic eect. Many governments in Latin America (e.g. Peru) liber-
alized imports far more rapidly than in other regions. In much of Latin America, import liberalization has
been credited with increasing the number of people living below the USD $1 a day poverty line and has
perpetuated already existing inequalities (Watkins, 2002).
14.2.1.5 Positive eects of globalization for developing country business

Conversely, globalization can create new opportunities, new ideas, and open new markets that an en-
trepreneur may have not had in their home country. As a result, there are a number of positives associated
with globalization:
• it creates greater opportunities for rms in less industrialized countries to tap into more and larger
markets around the world
• this can lead to more access to capital ows, technology, human capital, cheaper imports and larger
export markets
• it allows businesses in less industrialized countries to become part of international production networks
and supply chains that are the main conduits of trade
For example, the experience of the East Asian economies demonstrates the positive eect of globalization
on economic growth and shows that at least under some circumstances globalization decreases poverty. The
spectacular growth in East Asia, which increased GDP per capita by eightfold and raised millions of people
out of poverty, was based largely on globalizationexport-led growth and closing the technology gap with
industrialized countries (Stiglitz, 2003). Generally, economies that globalize have higher growth rates than
non-globalizers (Bhagwati and Srinivasan, 2002).
Also, the role of developing country rms in the value chain is becoming increasingly sophisticated as
these rms expand beyond manufacturing into services. For example, it is now commonplace for businesses
in industrialized countries to outsource functions such as data processing, customer service and reading x-
rays to India and other less industrialized countries (Bhagwati et al, 2004). Advanced telecommunications
and the Internet are facilitating the transfer of these service jobs from industrialized to less industrialized
and making it easier and cheaper for less industrialized country rms to enter global markets. In addition
to bringing in capital, outsourcing helps prevent brain drain because skilled workers may choose to remain
in their home country rather than having to migrate to an industrialized country to nd work.
Further, some of the allegations made by critics of globalization are very much in disputefor example,
that globalization necessarily leads to growing income inequality or harm to the environment. While there
are some countries in which economic integration has led to increased inequalityChina, for instancethere
is no worldwide trend (Dollar, 2003). With regard to the environment, international trade and foreign direct
investment can provide less industrialized countries with the incentive to adopt, and the access to, new
technologies that may be more ecologically sound (World Bank Brieng Paper, 2001). Transnational corpo-
rations may also help the environment by exporting higher standards and best practices to less industrialized
countries.

Exhibit 14.3: The fortune at the bottom of the pyramid (Prahalad and Stuart)
14.2.1.6 Globalization and the small business entrepreneur

As the case in the beginning of this chapter demonstrates there are economic, social, and political factors an
entrepreneur faces when establishing their business. This chapter will utilize this case, and many others like
it, to show how business leaders like Ms. Shahira can incorporate the topics covered in the following pages
into their business.
14.3 Harnessing technology for global business success3

Over the last decade, the Internet has revolutionized the way companies do business. For an entrepreneur,
the Internet is a great tool for doing business both internationally and domestically. Information about
competitors, market trends, and global industries is also easily accessible and can help determine the path
that an organization takes.

257
Exhibit 14.4: Technology has become a critical aspect of a company's operating environment
14.3.1 Types of technology

Internet
The Internet is one of the most cost eective ways to promote products and services around the world. No
other advertising medium reaches as many people as the Internet. Using specialized software and other
tools, it is now easier than ever to build and run a successful website without a high level of computer
skills. Typical information found on a company's website includes a description of the rm, a prole of the
management team, products and services oered, and the way customers can contact the company.
Phone, Fax and SMS
Companies in less industrialized countries may not have viable access to the Internet due to a lack of
infrastructure. For entrepreneurs facing this issue, phone, fax and SMS text messages are alternative ways
in which to do business. Doing business via phone and fax is not dicult. Companies can send marketing
materials or receive orders via fax. The use of phone for marketing and sales options is also very useful.
Cold calls for marketing are still eective; likewise orders can be made and received over the telephone.
Sending and receiving SMS text messages is rapidly becoming a feasible alternative and allows for immediate
communication.
14.3.2 Technology for the business entrepreneur

There are multiple ways to implement and leverage technology into a business. If Ms. Shahira chooses to
do this, there are inexpensive alternatives with growing benets for her and her company. By using new
techniques to run and establish her business, Ms. Shahira would be able to compete on a greater scale with
companies in her industry.

259
on an informal level such as social control. Values determine good from bad, and are closely related to the
ideals shared by a group. A value in one culture may dier vastly from that of another, and therefore these
dierences must be studied and taken into consideration when doing business across cultures.
14.4.1.2 Cross-culture training

The creation of a stable and healthy workplace made up of people of varying cultural backgrounds is a matter
of increasing importance in the global business environment. Employers must take into consideration the
impact cultural diversity can have on both the homogeneity of the workplace and potential legal implications
for improper discrimination.
The objective of training programs is to foster the four characteristics of preparedness, sensitivity, pa-
tience, and exibility in managers and other personnel (Czinkota et al, 2005). Methods of training may
range from factual preparation involving books and lectures to experiential training involving simulations
and eld experience. Some topics to be addressed in training might be, but are not limited to:
• comfort levels of trainees' with people of a dierent background

• impact of trainees' behaviors on others
• understanding stereotypes
• transforming knowledge into empathy
• embracing diversity as a source of strength
• learning a new language
Businesses with diverse cultural backgrounds must maintain an environment suited for every constituent
so that the objectives of the business can be eciently met. Installing cultural diversity training programs
can help accomplish this by dening what cultural intelligence is, teaching employees to accept and work
eectively with others from dierent cultural backgrounds, and taking advantage of advice from those who
have cross-cultural experience.
14.4.1.3 Cultural classication

Cultures can either be distinguished according to descriptive characteristics or they can be broken up into
value categories, which are essentially dimensions of national culture.
14.4.1.4 Hofstede's Five dimensions of national culture

Geert Hofstede, a leading expert in cultural values classication, developed a model of ve dimensions of
natural culture that help to explain basic value dierences in culture. The model distinguishes cultures
according to the following ve dierent dimensions:
• Power distance
• Individualism/collectivism
• Masculinity/femininity
• Uncertainty avoidance
• Long-term orientation

Exhibit 14.6: Hofstede's ve cultural dimensions
14.4.1.5 Hofstede's 5 Cultural Dimensions

The Power Distance Index (PDI) focuses on the degree of equality, or inequality, between people in the
country's society. The Individualism (IDV) focuses on the degree the society reinforces individual or collec-
tive, achievement and interpersonal relationships. The Masculinity (MAS) focuses on the degree the society
reinforces, or does not reinforce, the traditional masculine work role model of male achievement, control,
and power. The Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) focuses on the level of tolerance for uncertainty and
ambiguity within the society. These dimensions are measured on a scale from 0 to 100, include 75 countries
or regions, and scores are determined by high or low rankings within each category.
Cultural values determine the way people think and behave. International marketers must understand
many subtle dierences that may aect the way their marketing is made and perceived in foreign markets.
One medium in which many such dierences reside is language. Because language is a reection of culture,
some words cannot be cross-culturally translated, which implies that it is often better to have local copywrit-
ers write and translate marketing and advertising content to avoid cultural misunderstandings. Because of
this phenomenon, global advertising, which is a main component of global marketing, often relies on symbol
recognition to convey meaning in their ads, instead of words.
The approach to discussing culture, as it relates to global marketing, in most textbooks is a three-pronged
approach. First, the concept of culture is dened, second, the various components of culture are identied,
and third, vivid examples of cultural dierences are provided. The dire consequences of rms not taking
these dierences into account are invariably described, as adherence to local culture is considered one of
the most important, if not the most important, components of success in international marketing (Hofstede,
1996).

261
14.4.1.6 Ethical considerations

Managers of businesses that conduct operations in an increasingly global environment face a dilemma when
selecting and applying ethics to decisions in cross-cultural settings. Although ethical values may be similar
across cultures in many cases, the application of those values to certain situations may vary. Ethics can be
described as the science of human duty. It is upon the ethical standards of a person that judges whether or
not an action is right or wrong.
Before a company does business across borders, it must rst decide what its motivation is regarding
ethical conduct, which will determine what kind of behavior is to be expected from employees.
14.5 Political and legal risk in international business5

Political and legal risks are two very important aspects of running a business of which an entrepreneur should
be aware. Failure to recognize these risks and adjust accordingly could potentially hinder the performance
of the overall business.
14.5.1 What is political risk?

Political risk is generally dened as the risk to business interests resulting from political instability or
political change. Political risk exists in every country around the globe and varies in magnitude and type
from country to country. Political risks may arise from policy changes by governments to change controls
imposed on exchange rates and interest rates (Barlett et al, 2004). Moreover, political risk may be caused by
actions of legitimate governments such as controls on prices, outputs, activities, and currency and remittance
restrictions. Political risk may also result from events outside of government controls such as war, revolution,
terrorism, labor strikes, and extortion.
Political risk can adversely aect all aspects of international business from the right to export or import
goods to the right to own or operate a business. AON (www.aon.com), for example, categorizes risk based on
economic; exchange transfer; strike, riot, or civil commotion; war; terrorism; sovereign non-payment; legal
and regulatory; political interference; and supply chain vulnerability.
14.5.2 How to evaluate your level of political risk

14.5.2.1 Forms of investment and risk
For a rm considering a new foreign market, there are three broad categories of international business: trade,
international licensing of technology and intellectual property, and foreign direct investment. A company
developing a business plan may have dierent elements of all three categories depending on the type of
product or service.
The choice of entry depends on the rm's experience, the nature of its product or services, capital
resources, and the amount of risk it's willing to consider (Schaer et al, 2005). The risk between these
three categories of market entry varies signicantly with trade ranked the least risky if the company does
not have oces overseas and does not keep inventories there. On the other side of the spectrum is direct
foreign investment, which generally brings the greatest economic exposure and thus the greatest risk to the
company.
14.5.2.2 Protection from political risk

Companies can reduce their exposure to political risk by careful planning and monitoring political develop-
ments. The company should have a deep understanding of domestic and international aairs for the country
they are considering entering. The company should know how politically stable the country is, strength
of its institutions, existence of any political or religious conicts, ethnic composition, and minority rights.

The country's standing in the international arena should also be part of the consideration; this includes
its relations with neighbors, border disputes, membership in international organizations, and recognition
of international law. If the company does not have the resources to conduct such research and analysis,
it may nd such information at their foreign embassies, international chambers of commerce, political risk
consulting rms, insurance companies, and from international businessmen familiar with a particular re-
gion. In some countries, the governments will establish agencies to help private businesses grow overseas.
Governments may also oer political risk insurance to promote exports or economic development. Private
businesses may also purchase political risk insurance from insurance companies specialized in international
business. Insurance companies oering political risk insurance will generally provide coverage against incon-
vertibility, expropriation and political violence, including civil strife (US Small Business Administration).
Careful planning and vigilance should be part of any company's preparation for developing an international
presence.
14.5.2.3 Government policy changes and trade relations

A government makes changes in policies that have an impact on international business. Many reasons may
cause governments to change their policies toward foreign enterprises. High unemployment, widespread
poverty, nationalistic pressure, and political unrest are just a few of the reasons that can lead to changes in
policy. Changes in policies can impose more restrictions on foreign companies to operate or limit their access
to nancing and trade. In some cases, changes in policy may be favorable to foreign businesses as well.
To solve domestic problems, governments often use trade relations. Trade as a political tool may cause an
international business to be caught in a trade war or embargo (Schaer et al, 2005). As a result, international
business can experience frequent change in regulations and policies, which can add additional costs of doing
business overseas.
14.1: China establishes a new employment contract law for 2008 (www.aon.com)
In an eort to promote better employment relationships between employers and employees, and
establish stricter guidelines for Employment practices, the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) passed
a new employment contract law in June 2007 which became eective on January 1, 2008. This
Alert provides highlights of the new law and the eect it will have on employees' rights and their
employer's legal liability.
14.5.1 Introduction
On June 29, 2007 at the 28th session of the standing committee of the 10th National People's
Congress, a new employment contract law was adopted which took take eect on 1 Jauary 2008.
This law requires all employers to enter into contracts with their employees within 30 days of full-
time employment and sets out guidelines for their implementation. By incorporating new legal
provisions with existing laws from the current PRC labor law, the committee hopes to meet three
main objectives: (1) to clarify the employment contract system by clearly identifying both the
employer and the employee litigation rights and duties (2) provide protection of an employee's
legitimate rights and interests and (3) construct and develop harmonious/stable work relations. All
regulations that aect employees such as compensation, work hours, rest, leave, work safety and
hygiene, insurance, benets, employee training, work discipline or work quota management must
be approved by the employee representative congress or by all the employees and determined with
a trade union (to be established by all employers) or employee representatives. Rules, regulations
and decisions having a direct bearing on employees shall be made public or be communicated to the
employees by the employer. The labor administration authorities of People's Governments at the
county level and above, together with the trade union and enterprise representatives will establish a
comprehensive tri-partite mechanism for the coordination of employment relationships. The trade
union will also assist employees with employment contracts in accordance with the law.

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14.5.2 Increased Legal Liability

Employers
Certain articles in the new law will establish increased legal liability and possible criminal
charges for employers whose actions cause an employee to suer harm, such as:
1. An employer's internal rules or regulations violate the laws.

2. An employment contract is not delivered to an employee or lacks any of the mandatory clauses
which the law requires.
3. An employee's resident ID cards, les or contract papers are retained by an employer illegally
or the employer collects an unrequired nancial guarantee from an employee.
4. An employer uses violence or threats to compel an employee to work, orders them to perform
dangerous operations or provides an unsafe or polluted environment resulting in harm.
5. An employer conducts business without the required legal qualications.
6. An employer terminates a contract in violation of the law.
Employees
Employees that terminate a contract in violation of the Law or breach any condentiality obliga-
tions or competition restrictions stipulated in the contract can be held liable for damages sustained
by the other party.
Joint Liability for Employers/Employees and/or Third Parties
• If an employer hires an employee whose contract with another employer has not yet been
terminated or ended, causing the other employer to suer a loss, it shall be jointly and
severally liable with the employee for damages.
• A stang rm that violates the law may be subject to nes and have their business license
revoked. If the employee(s) they placed suers harm as a result, both the stang rm and
company that accepted the employee shall be jointly and severally liable for damages.
• A contractor hiring employees in violation of the law who suer harm will result in joint
liability for the organization that employed such contractor and the contractor.
• Negligence on the part of a labor administration authority to act in accordance with the law
will also result in them bearing liability.
Penalties for an Employer's Non-Compliance

Within the new law there are nancial penalties for non-compliance with the terms of em-
ployer/employee contract guidelines, which include failure to conclude a written contract within
the 30 day period, setting an illegal probationary period, illegally retaining an employee's resident
ID card or other papers, etc. An employer that fails to pay an employee his salary, pays below
the local minimum wage rate, fails to pay overtime or terminates a contract without paying the
employee severance or without cause will also pay varying damages as stipulated in the new law.
14.5.3 Summary
The new employment contract law will enhance employees' rights in striving for better employment
terms and working conditions. Therefore, all companies, including foreign companies who have
invested in local subsidiary or representative oces in the PRC should re-examine their local and
master directors' and ocers' liability policies, as well as any employer's liability exposures and
relevant local or global policies. Although the level of compliance and the degree to which the new
law will be enforced is not yet known, it is important to be fully prepared for a 1 January 2008,
not only by reviewing all employment contracts, employee handbooks and internal guidelines, but
also by taking stock of any subcontracting agreements or the use of stang companies and their
policies.

14.5.4 Questions
How can the establishment of China's new employment contract benet other countries that are
looking to institute a new law like this one? How would this aect countries trading with China
today? How will this new employment contract aect companies doing business in China?
14.6 Global marketing: Assessing potential markets overseas6

14.6.1 What is legal risk?
Legal risk is the risk arising from failure to comply with statutory or regulatory obligations
(http://www.ec.gov).
Generally, all laws in the host country will apply to an entrepreneur's local business operations. Examples
include ling procedures, employment law, environmental law, tax law, and ownership requirements. The
World Bank has a rather extensive country business law library which can be accessed from their website.
This can be helpful in the initial phases of considering the legal ramications of direct investment in a given
country.
Many countries limit foreign ownership of assets and legally force foreign companies into a joint venture
with a local partner in order to do business there. Poland, for example, limits foreign ownership of farmland
and will continue to do so for another decade under agreements with the EU (Dadak, 2004).
It is important to remember that while doing business outside of the home country certain home country
laws will still apply. Applicable laws dier from country to country, but one common extension is employment
law.
The extent of jurisdiction beyond national boundaries varies widely. In anti-trust for instance, the United
States law covers only situations where the violation aects the US, (meaning that it does not matter where
the act causing the violation took place), while the EU considers only where the antitrust oense was
implemented (Shaer et al., 2005, pgs 657-664).
In order to minimize exposure to legal risks arising from confusion and excess cost, a company should
seek legal advice if possible. In making such arrangements, written contracts should be used. This can
minimize confusion in case of litigation.
14.6.2 Political and legal risk for the small business entrepreneur
While Ms. Shahira may be accustomed to a certain set of rules and regulations in her home country of
Pakistan, she must anticipate new and other laws when exploring the possibility of expanding internationally.
While Ms. Shahira and her small business of running a sewing company faces dierent political and legal
risk than those of a larger company, she is still liable and must understand the laws and regulations that she
may face in any country.
14.6.3 Global marketing: assessing potential markets overseas

14.6.3.1 Case: Toyota has a vehicle for every market
Each market has unique cultural characteristics and contextual circumstances that must be considered. For
example, in the United States roads tend to be wide; highways can accommodate a broad array of vehicles
with a high number of lanes, and people demand a mix of cars based on their needs. Conversely, in Europe
roads tend to be narrow, and the market demands smaller, more fuel-ecient vehicles. Therefore, while a
Toyota 4Runner tends to sell extremely well in the United States, it would not be a very popular model in
Europe for these very reasons. As a result, Toyota invests billions of dollars every year into market research
and market development to make sure they meet the needs and wants of its customers, in each specic


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Product Decisions Price Decisions

Brand Name Pricing strategy (price skimming, price penetration,
Functionality etc.)
Styling Volume discounting and wholesale pricing
Quality Seasonal pricing
Safety Bundling
Packaging Price exibility
Repairs and Support Price discrimination
Warranty
Accessories and services
Place Decisions Promotions Decisions
Distribution Channels Push, Pull Strategies
Market coverage (inclusive, selective, or exclusive Advertising
distribution) Personal Selling
Inventory Management Sales Promotions
Warehousing Public Relations and Publicity
Order processing
Reverse logistics
Table 14.1: All of these issues must be reconsidered in each market. The marketing mix will appropriately
vary as dierent circumstances dictate.
14.6.3.4 Importance of culture on markets

Because international marketing is closely correlated to the cultures in which a rm wishes to sell its product,
culture itself must be analyzed to understand the best way to integrate into both existing and emerging
foreign markets. There are ve essential areas within which culture must be continually studied in order to
achieve success in dealing with culture as it aects international marketing.
These are (Tian, 2008):
• culture impacts on marketing (international versus domestic)

• cross-cultural dimensions of marketing research
• cross-cultural aspects of marketing mix (products, price, promotion, and place)
• cross-cultural marketing education and professional training
• and cross-cultural practice in electronic marketing
note: Cross-cultural marketing occurs when a consumer's culture diers from that of the mar-
keter's own culture.
Consumer behavior diverges across country lines with increased wealth, globalization, and technology;
it does not converge (De Mooij, 2005). This simple fact proves the importance of culture knowledge in
cross-cultural marketing endeavors. In fact, the importance of cross-cultural study has inspired a denition
separate from that of international marketing. Cross-cultural marketing is dened as the strategic process
of marketing among consumers whose culture diers from that of the marketer's own culture at least in one
of the fundamental cultural aspects, such as language, religion, social norms and values, education, and the
living style (Tian, 2008).
A standardized marketing model utilizes the same functions in all markets. Conversely, a customized
marketing strategy adheres to the needs and wants of a particular target market.

14.6.3.5 Global brandingcreation of a marketing strategy
An important decision that international marketers must make is whether to utilize standardized marketing,
treating all markets in the same manner, or customized marketing, adhering to local customs and traditions
for greater eectiveness. This is an important distinction when analyzing the creation, perception, and trends
in global branding. In most countries and cultures, marketers do not compete with individual products,
but rather with competing brands markets. Many writers have reasoned that a standardized approach to
international markets is the most desirable strategy. The main arguments include that sales will increase when
a company can market a consistent product image across dierent geographical markets, and that cost can
be reduced through the formulation and implementation of a single standardized marketing plan. Still others
argue that because few markets are comparable across country lines, it is necessary to adapt the marketing
mix to ensure that sucient customization exists to satisfy consumer needs in each market. Additionally,
not all companies are able to adopt a standardized strategy as its appropriateness varies from industry to
industry. One must remember that even within markets there is great diversity of behavior and taste. In
the face of intensely increasing competition and globalization, studies show that people increasingly prefer
brands with roots in their national or regional tradition. This would indicate that most rms should lean
towards marketing customization in order to satisfy the increasingly nationalistic consumption tendencies of
their consumers (Bradley, 2005).
14.6.3.6 Global marketing and the small business entrepreneur

While marketing the products of the highly successful sewing company that Ms. Shahira has started in
Pakistan may not be something that she is looking to do today, it is critical for her, and small businesses like
the one she has set up, to understand what it would take to market to a completely dierent set of clients,
in a new country.
Companies like Toyota and Coca-Cola have created a dominant brand across the world with their global
branding and positioning strategies, and as a result have sustained tremendous nancial benets from doing
so.
14.7 Global nance: initial considerations7

14.7.1 Global nance: initial considerations
As the global economy has become more integrated, every company and individual is aected by the de-
velopments of the markets and the economies of countries other than their own. Entrepreneurs willing to
venture into the global nancial marketplace may nd lower-cost nancing alternatives than are available
in their home country. They may also want to obtain nancing in the local markets they choose to serve.
As a result, with constant economic changes, and uctuations in the marketplace, along with trade barriers
being lowered around the world, the entrepreneurs of tomorrow cannot limit their nance knowledge to just
their home country, but can be open to looking at alternative sources to fund their business operations. En-
trepreneurs will nd that understanding the functioning of the global nancial marketplace is a key element
of their knowledge and skill base, and a key aspect of furthering their business.
14.7.1.1 International currency market

Exchange rates
The price of one country's currency in units of another country's currency is known as a foreign currency
exchange rate. Exchange rates can be quoted in two ways. One way, known as a direct quote, is to state the
number of domestic units of currency per one unit of foreign currency. If an exchange rate is an indirect quote,
the exchange rate is stated as the number of foreign units per one unit of domestic currency (Beenhakker,
2001).

269
For a US company trading US dollars ($) for Swiss Francs (CHF)

Direct Quote $0.75/CHF
Indirect Quote CHF1.25/$
Table 14.2
14.7.1.2 Foreign exchange market

The foreign exchange (Forex) market is the mechanism, which facilitates the purchase and the sale of foreign
currencies. The Forex is a nancial market where the participants exchange one monetary unit for another
currency. The market operates continuously, 24 hours a day, because a nancial center is always open
somewhere in the world. The interconnection of the markets makes continuous trading possible (Carrada-
Bravo, 2003).
The foreign exchange market is generally divided into ve basic currency markets based on pricing
procedures ruling the exchange, the time to maturity, the degree of freedom available, the convertibility of
currencies, and how the currencies are quoted (Carrada-Bravo, 2003).
In addition, the foreign exchange market is one of the most traded and liquid instruments in the nancial
world, and serves as a barometer of broader nancial market conditions and risk appetite.
14.7.1.3 Introduction to currency risk

Currency risk is the potential consequence from an adverse movement in foreign exchange rates (Coyle,
2000). Organizations are exposed to currency risk when involved, directly or indirectly, in international
trade and nance. Currency risk arises because exchange rates are volatile in the short and the long-term
and the future movements of exchange rates cannot be predicted. Companies will as a result suer losses
due to adverse exchange rate movements when exposed to foreign currencies (Coyle, 2000).
Hedging is the term used to describe the actions that reduce or eliminate an exposure to risk (Coyle,
2000). Common ways of hedging currency risk involve:
• transferring the risk to your trading partner by placing the transaction in your domestic currency
• structurally hedging your risk by o setting income against expenditure in the same currency
• purchasing derivatives in the foreign exchange market (Coyle, 2000)
14.7.1.4 Introduction to derivatives

A nancial derivative is a nancial instrument where the price is derived from the value of an underlying
asset often used to manage risk exposure. There are three classes of derivatives.
Futures: A futures contract is a commitment to exchange a specied amount of one asset for a specied
amount of another asset at a specied time in the future (Butler, 2003).
Options: An options contract gives the option holder the right to buy or sell an underlying asset at a
specied price and on a specied date (Butler, 2003).
Swaps: A swap is an agreement to exchange two liabilities (or assets) and, after a prearranged length of
time, to re-exchange the liabilities (or assets) (Butler, 2003).
Financial derivatives are a very complex system of agreements. It is wise to consult a banking professional
for advice on how to implement.

14.7.1.5 International accounting standards board
The International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) Foundation, formed in March 2001, is the
parent body of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). The IASB, formed on April 1, 2001,
has assumed accounting standard-setting responsibilities from its predecessor body, the IASC (International
Accounting Standard Boards: About Us, n.d.).
The objectives of the IASB are:
• To develop, in the public interest, a single set of high quality, understandable and enforceable global
accounting standards
• To help participants in the world's capital markets and other users make economic decisions by having
access to high quality, transparent, and comparable information
• To promote the use and vigorous application of those standards
• To bring about convergence of national accounting standards and international accounting standards
to high quality solutions (Hussey, 2005).
Exhibit 14.8: The way the IASB functions (www.iasb.org)
Even though the IASB standards are not enforced internationally at this time, the standards are quickly
being processed. Therefore, a company looking to go international should abide by IASB standards.

271
14.7.1.6 Global nance and the small business entrepreneur

With the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) micro-loan, Ms. Shahira has begun to venture
into the global nancial marketplace. While the funding from the loan was sucient for Ms. Shahira's
small business at the time, upon expansion, she will require additional sources of capital. Understanding
the home country's nancial system, and the alternative funding sources available abroad, is a key element
of furthering her sewing company.
14.8 Organizational structure and human resource management8

14.8.1 Organizational structure and human resources management
One of the fundamental challenges facing companies of all sizes is determining how to organize and sta their
operations. This task becomes even more complex when a company decides to do business across national
borders.
A small business owner may start out as the only employee in his or her company. In this case organization
and stang simply involves the ecient allocation of the owner's time and attention to the various tasks
associated with the business. As the company grows, more employees will probably be hired. When this
occurs, it is useful to explicitly look at how tasks can be allocated across employees in a systematic way. As
the company grows still larger, it is often useful to begin organizing the company into departments.
In many cases, a company's early moves overseas involve reacting to an apparently random or unexpected
overseas business opportunity. At rst, such business may be conducted anywhere in the organization on an
ad hoc basis. As a company extends its operations overseas, it takes on additional complexity as decisions
have to be made which address global and local product design, local responsiveness to individual markets,
cross-border nancing, etc. As the international side of the business grows, many companies conclude that
a reorganization of some type can better handle the current international business demands, and better
position the company to take full advantage of international opportunities as they arise. In the following
section, several common international organization structures are briey described.
14.8.1.1 International division

Perhaps the simplest start for many organizations is to adopt what is known as an international division.
With the addition of an international division, the domestic organization may remain relatively unchanged
while an additional side structure is added. This additional structure (in collaboration with the domestic
structure) takes on the responsibility for virtually all international business. This structure assumes that
there are skills associated with doing business overseas that will transcend the typical business lines. Market
assessments, compliance with export/import regulations, arranging shipping, identication of local repre-
sentatives, establishment of dedicated sales oces, production facilities, etc. are all examples of tasks often
assigned to the international division.
Advantages : The international division is eective in consolidating international activity under one area
of responsibility. Such a division develops international expertise that can serve all areas of the organization.
This eliminates the need for every part of the organization to master the ins and outs of doing business
overseas (this can sometimes be quite complex).
Disadvantages : On the other hand, the existence of an international division encourages the organization
to approach their business in an articially dichotomous manner. Part of the business organization focuses
primarily on the home country market, while the international division serves the rest of the world. In most
organizations such a structure lends itself to a continuing preoccupation with the home country market.
As a company becomes more serious about overseas business, it often nds it useful to adopt a more
sophisticated global structure. Four examples of such organizations are included below.

14.8.1.2 Global functional structure
A global functional structure is often adopted by companies with a very limited product scope. A CEO will
oversee a number of business functions that have been identied as critical to business operations. Because
the product mix is singular or limited, the CEO can coordinate the work of the functions and bring the
resources of each to bear on the product line. In this case, the CEO serves as the common denominator
between the functions.
Advantages : In many organizations, the primary sources of expertise are functionally based. Therefore,
economies of scale can be achieved by grouping these resources by function. In the case of human resources,
for instance, a central human resources function can serve as a consultant to all parts of the organization
on issues such as pay and performance evaluation. This eliminates the redundancy occurring when multiple
parts of the organization attempt to develop such programs on their own. A functional organization also
enables the organization to standardize policies, practices and procedures that can be carried out throughout
the organization.
Disadvantages : The primary focus on business functional activity, often distracts organizations from spe-
cic product requirements, customer needs, and geographic idiosyncrasies. With the top of the organization
serving as common denominator and arbiter between the functions, strategies may not reect realities on the
ground as decisions are made without the benet of close interaction with customers and deep understanding
of local circumstances.
Exhibit 14.9: A global structure
14.8.1.3 Product structure

A global product structure is often chosen in companies with an array of diverse product lines. Each product
line is assigned to its own organization unit so that decision-making is focused on the product characteristic
and the customers who will be targeted. In many cases, the product unit will have its own functional
organizationin essence, operating as a stand alone business in the context of the larger organization. In
many cases, a product unit will be managed with full prot and loss responsibility.
Advantages : The main advantage of a product structure is that it focuses attention and resources toward
a single product and the customers toward which that product is targeted. Decisions are optimized for the
success of the product and distractions are minimized.
Disadvantages : Redundancies often exist across product organizations as functional responsibilities are

273
duplicated under each product organization. Economies of scale and scope are more dicult to achieve as
this organization structure encourages less cooperation and coordination across the product units.
Exhibit 14.10: A product structure
14.8.1.4 Area/geographic structure:

An area structure is often chosen by companies who want to emphasize geographically specic strategies and
focus decision-making on local needs. Organizations may be divided up into regional and country structures
where country managers operate rather autonomous businesses supported by an array of local functions. In
this case, the country organization often operates as a fairly self-contained business with substantial local
authority as well as prot and loss responsibility.
Advantages : The country organization is capable of sensing and understanding local conditions and is
able to formulate strategies which eectively meet the needs of local stakeholders. Policies in areas such as
human resource management can be tailored to meet the needs and expectations of local employees, product
mix and design can be optimized for local conditions, and the organization can respond more quickly to
changing circumstances on the ground.
Disadvantages : The disadvantages of the area structure are similar to those of the product structure.
Economies of scale will be harder to achieve as dierent localities develop and implement very dierent
product strategies on one hand, and invest resources in developing local functional expertise and eort
which may well be duplicated unnecessarily across geographic units.

Exhibit 14.11: Area/geographic structure
14.8.1.5 Matrix structure:

A matrix structure is often adopted in organizations that would like to optimize decisions across multiple
organization dimensions. In other words, they would like to achieve economies of scale where appropriate,
but do not want to lose the ability to respond to product/customer and geographic needs more eectively.
A matrix organization simultaneously utilizes two or more dimensions (product, geographic, function,
etc.) to organize the company's work. In this case, two or more dimensions may have direct links to the head
of the organization (see Exhibit 14.1) and key individuals throughout the organization may actually report
to more than one dimension. As can be seen in Exhibit 14.1, the orange juice product manager reports to
the head of the organization, as does the head of the nance function. In this example, the nance ocer in
the orange juice product group reports to two individuals: the head of nance and the head of the orange
juice group. At the same time, a geographic dimension may require that the function and product heads
interact as coequals with any number of country managers or regional heads as well.
Advantages : The matrix allows functional eciencies to be achieved while also allowing for the manage-
ment of discrete product lines. Product managers remain focused on specic customer and product issues,
yet can tap into the specialized support systems oered by strong functions. Where a geographic dimen-
sion is included in the structure, country managers or other local personnel can devote their attention to
the development of location specic strategies. Communication and information sharing may be facilitated
through the multiple dimensions.
Disadvantages : The matrix is complex and often involves additional coordination costs. Confusion and
ambiguity may result from multiple reporting relationships as a single individual may receive conicting
direction from their various supervisors.

275
Exhibit
Toothpaste Soap Orange Juice Batteries
North America
South America
Europe
Asia
Table 14.3: Matrix Structure
14.8.1.6 Beyond the matrix:

Each of the above organizational choices clearly oers advantages and disadvantages.
While some type of hierarchy exists at the heart of most organization designs, many organizations are
nding that the typical pyramid shaped organization no longer meets their needs. They are looking for
options that allow greater exibility and responsiveness. Such organizations may legitimize informal rela-
tionships between various organizational parts and levels. They may rely more on teams as coordinating
mechanisms and they may actively encourage collaboration and sharing across business units. Successful
global organizations in the 21st century will balance hierarchical control (which remains critical in most
organizations) on one hand, with less rigidity, more exibility and emphasis on individual empowerment on
the other.
14.8.1.7 Stang choices in a globally far-ung company

Stang choices in a far-ung global company are more complex as well. Issues of cost, cultural savvy,
familiarity with local conditions, language skill, family issues, and more must all be considered carefully as
stang decisions are made. In addition to many of the standard human resources challenges that inevitably
arise, determining where employees will be sourced from represents one of the most important decisions
facing companies as they set up operations abroad. In general, employees may come from any of the
following sources: the headquarters (home) country, the host (local) country, or a third country (neither
home, nor host). These choices are outlined briey below.
Ethnocentric stang involves stang overseas positions with home country personnel. These expa-
triates are usually assigned to fairly senior or technical positions in the overseas organization. An example
of this stang choice would be when a Japanese company sets up an oce in the United States and sends
a Japanese executive from their headquarters in Tokyo to sta the new oce in Chicago.
Advantages: Home country sta, when sent overseas, are familiar with the home country operations
and culture. Because of this, they may be able to better communicate with headquarters, access needed
resources, and tap into a home-country network. In addition, the home country may know these people well
from past collaboration that can lead to high levels of trust and condence between the parties. Familiarity
with the company often means that these individuals bring special company-specic expertise along with
them, as well as technical skills and knowledge related to the company's product oering. They may also
bring general technical, or managerial skills that may be in short supply in the host country. Ethnocentric
stang oers the additional benet of building a global mindset among the home country workforce. Those
individuals who are sent overseas as expatriates will often return home with a more globalized perspective.
Disadvantages: Home country employees are expensive. Many companies estimate that sending an
expatriate overseas costs about 2-5 times their annual salary. This means that sending an executive and
their family overseas can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars or more per year. The home country employee
is usually less familiar with the local culture and employment conditions, and the employee and the family
may nd it hard to adapt to the new local living and working conditions. In fact, according to widely

cited research, failure of the spouse and of the family to adapt to local cultural dierences are two of the
most frequent reasons that an employee assigned to an overseas post will fail to complete their assignment.
Ethnocentric stang practices are also sometimes criticized for preventing talented local employees from
lling the positions held by expatriates.
Polycentric stang involves hiring local personnel to ll needed overseas positions. For example, under
this model, a South African company setting up an oce in Brazil would hire a Brazilian to ll an open
position.
Advantages: A polycentric stang strategy is much less expensive than the ethnocentric model. Reloca-
tion costs are usually much lower and a standard compensation package consistent with the local market is
usually sucient. Local employees are usually more familiar with the local culture and language and may
have access to networks and relationships with local stakeholders.
Disadvantages: Talent is often short in host countries. Lack of familiarity with the home country con-
ditions, culture and language may become a barrier to eective communication with the headquarters sta.
Lack of familiarity with headquarters operations may make it dicult for the local sta to access needed
resources and assistance.
Geocentric stang involves stang a location without regard for the employees' place of origin. Com-
panies simply scan their global workforce for the best qualied candidate to ll a position. In this model, a
Chinese company might ll a position in their Mexico oce with an employee from the United Kingdom.
Advantages: The geocentric model oers the most employment exibility and choice to the company.
The company can search the entire global workforce to nd the most qualied candidate for a certain
position. Opportunities for cross-cultural development are extended to company employees no matter which
country they come from. The additional global interaction taking place can foster teamwork across countries
and a better cross-border understanding of company operations. A cadre of globally savvy employees with
experience in multiple company locations can be a powerful asset as the company continues to seek additional
overseas opportunities.
Disadvantages: Geocentric stang can be as expensive as ethnocentric stang practices. Employees
and families often have to be relocated across country boundaries and long distances. Geocentrically placed
employees may be unfamiliar with local practices.
Regiocentric stang involves stang within a global region. In this case, a Korean company might
ll a position in Italy with a Spanish employee.
Advantages: Moves are often made over shorter distances as employees are relocated. Cultural and
linguistic dierences may be less pronounced. Employees gain the benets of cross-cultural experience as
they work outside their home country.
Disadvantages: Costs of relocation often remain fairly high. While cross-cultural perspective is built,
a truly global perspective may still be lacking. It is also important to note that cultural and language
dierences will often be signicant factors even within region.
All of the above models have strengths and weaknesses which must be seriously considered. In most
companies with multiple employees in overseas locations a mixed strategy will often make the most sense
both in terms of eciency and eectiveness. A few select positions may best be lled with either home
country or third country nationals while the vast majority of employment positions are usually lled by local
employees. Because cross-cultural dierence will be encountered in almost any overseas stang conguration,
signicant investment in cross-cultural skills training will be extremely valuable.
14.8.1.8 Trends and challenges in a global HR environment

HR leaders in the 21st century will be challenged to address a number of issues to ensure availability of skilled
sta, regardless of which stang option the MNC pursues. As the global environment continues to develop,
MNCs are challenged to address the shortage in global skills and cross-cultural communication barriers.
The successful MNC will be able to adapt to the changing environment by globalizing their HR systems
and function, and globalizing the workforce mindset. These eorts must also be aligned with business and
organizational objectives and will require HR professionals to adopt a new way of thinking to identify and
implement new ways of getting work done.

277
HR systems in the MNC must be aligned with global business imperatives both in terms of pay and
performance systems. As the number of overseas transfers increases, MNCs must look to develop general
policies and compensation packages rather than negotiating these on a case-by-case basis in order to obtain
eciency and consistency of process. Systems must also be in place for succession planning on a local level
as well as a global level. Currently many MNCs are not operating an eective expatriate pipeline, either
not sending the most eective individuals to host countries or failing the repatriate them eectively. The
trend towards increasing reliance on integrated systems should contribute to better access across borders
and regions to better serve expatriate relocation and business decisions.
Another opportunity for MNCs in regards to creating a global workforce will be to standardize and
revisit current expatriate compensation packages to include soft benets. Until now, individuals have often
not been willing to take positions abroad because the incentives are solely nancial. Historically, systems
have not been in place to repatriate smoothly the individual and family following completion of their overseas
assignment. Many employees nd themselves out of their home HR system, and therefore are not made aware
of possibly enticing job opportunities at home. This can be improved greatly simply by creating alignment
and communication between the home and international HR department.
14.9 Corporate Social Responsibility and sustainable development in

the global environment9
The topics surrounding Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) have become more complex due to the glob-
alization of the economy and the issues that arise from companies competing in international markets.
Companies are manufacturing goods, hiring local labor, utilizing raw materials and resources extracted from
the environment in international locations.
This heightened awareness of CSR and sustainable development has been endorsed by an increased
responsiveness to ethical, social, environmental and other global issues. In recent years, companies have been
the center of scandals regarding accounting practices, damages to the environment, inadequate treatment of
employees and workers and the eect of its products on the society.
For example, in January 2009, the Chairman of one of India's largest technology companies, Satyam
Computer Services Ltd., said he fabricated key nancial results, including a ctitious cash balance of more
than USD 1 billion (Sheth, 2009). Cases like this, and others such as Enron Corporation and Worldcom in
the United States, prompt concerns about corporate governance and accounting standards globally. Further,
corporate fraud puts into question one of the fundamental reasons of why shareholders invest in public
companies, the need for transparency.
As a result, companies are responding to increased public expectations of responsibility and incorporating
the concept of CSR into their operating plans and strategy.

Exhibit 14.12: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a concept whereby companies integrate ethical,
social, environmental, and other global issues into their business operations and in their interaction with
their stakeholders (employees, customers, shareholders, investors, local communities, government), all on
a voluntary basis
Source : industryplayer.com
14.9.1 Corporate Social Responsibility and sustainable development dened

Traditionally, CSR has been dened as the corporation's responsibility to comply with the laws and respon-
sibilities to its shareholders. This concept of CSR has evolved to include the organization's responsibility
for its impact on dierent stakeholders such as employees, customers, investors, local communities, and
government.
A broader concept is that CSR involves the commitment on the part of the company to adopt behavior
that will result in the improvement of the quality of life of its stakeholders while contributing to the economic
development of its business. To improve the welfare of its community, the company may take on broad
environmental and social endeavors.
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development denes CSR as the continuing commitment
by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life
of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large (wbcsd.org). This
denition outlines the role of enterprises as active partners in the communities in which they operate, rather
than the more traditional view of enterprise as a separate, self-regulating, prot-making entity.
CSR Positives and Negatives
Milton Friedman, in his book, Capitalism and Freedom , argues that:
There is one and only one social responsibility of businessto use its resources and engage in
activities designed to increase its prots so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which
is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud.
Stockholder wealth maximization commands that corporate management should aggressively seek to
maximize stockholder returns by working to increase share prices and to continually grow the dividends paid
to shareholders (Czinkota, 2005).
Conversely, according to Professor Archie B. Carroll:

279
Corporate social responsibility involves the conduct of a business so that it is economically prof-
itable, law abiding, ethical and socially supportive. To be socially responsible then means that
protability and obedience to the law are foremost conditions when discussing the rm's ethics
and the extent to which it supports the society in which it exists with contributions of money,
time and talent (Carroll,1983).
Carroll's CSR model contains four categories of corporate responsibility organized from most to least
important. According to Carroll, the history of business suggests an early emphasis on the economic and
then legal aspects and a later concern for the ethical and discretionary aspects (Carroll, 1979). Economic
obligations are, therefore, seen to be moderated by ethical responsibilities or social expectations and norms.
Discretionary responsibilities go beyond ethical responsibilities and include philanthropic measures. In 1991,
Carroll presented his CSR model as a pyramid, and suggested that although the components are not mutually
exclusive, it helps the manager to see that the dierent types of obligations are in constant tension with
one another (Carroll, 1979).
Exhibit 14.13: Carroll's CSR Pyramid: A three-dimensional conceptual model of corporate social
performance.
There is no indication that CSR (corporate wealth maximization) and protability (stockholder wealth
maximization) are mutually exclusive (Czinkota, 2005). Corporate wealth maximization suggests that com-
panies consider and balance short-term goals against long-term societal goals of continued employment,
community citizenship and public welfare needs (Czinkota, 2005). The successful multinational enterprises
of the coming century will be those that nd the unique balance between nancial objectives and CSR.
CSR and Sustained Development initiatives
There are a number of projects and initiatives that are shaping the goals and principles of corporate
social responsibility and sustainable development, such as:
• OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ) is an international organization

with 35 industrialized countries as participants, which account for 76 per cent of the world trade.
The themes that this organization addresses include environmental, human rights, labor issues, and
information disclosure.

• UN Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with
Regard to Human Rights. The completion of these norms was possible through discussions with unions,
business, and NGOs. The norms include clarication of corporate social responsibilities of companies
in countries where they operate, and also refer to human rights in the workplace.
• ILO (International Labor Organization ) and its Tripartite Declaration focuses on the social aspects of
the activities of multinational enterprises, including employment creation in the developing countries
(Governing Body of International Labor Oce, 204th session). The principles established by this
organization are adopted voluntarily, and thus its reach is limited since non-compliance cannot be
sanctioned.
• United Nations' Global Compact was established in 1999 by United Nations' Secretary Ko Annan
as a voluntary international initiative. Participant companies are asked to demonstrate their support
to ten dierent international principles of human and labor rights, anti-corruption and environmental
protection, to seek solutions to the challenges of globalization and promote responsible corporate
citizenship. The initiative has more than 2,500 business participants from 90 countries around the
world.
• Kyoto Protocol was agreed on in 1997 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2012. A total of 1968
countries and the EEC have ratied the protocol (envroliteracy.org, 2007).
14.9.2 CSR and corporate strategy

A distinction must be made between charity and CSR. Charity refers to a company's eorts to donate
money or resources to an organization or a cause, promoting and allowing employees to volunteer in the
community, and the establishment or endorsement of foundations. Conversely, CSR is a concept that involves
a company taking into consideration the dierent stakeholders involved when making a business decision.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development identied CSR to be an integral part of a
company's value system and strategy (intranet.csreurope.org). For a company to fully integrate CSR, top
management must integrate social responsibility into the strategic level of the decision-making process in
order to develop a framework for economic decisions made at dierent levels of the organization's hierarchy.
The problem that a company will encounter if CSR is not integrated into the organization strategy is
that management and employees could bypass social responsibility considerations and CSR becomes personal
ethics rather than CSR. To adopt a CSR strategy the organization needs to take the following steps:
• Dene CSR for their particular business.

• Understand motivations underlying its commitment.
• Establish policies and goals to achieve CSR.
• Establish measures to monitor their accomplishments in CSR (bsr.org).
14.10 Case: Built to Last by Jim Collins10

How important is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a core value for the top companies in the world?
In the book Built to Last, by Jim Collins the results of a six-year research project into what makes
enduring great companies is outlined. Collins listed 18 companies identied as visionaries .A visionary
company is dened as one that is a leader in its industry, is widely admired by knowledgeable businesspeople,
made an imprint on the world, had multiple generations of CEO's, had multiple product/service life cycles,
and was founded before 1950. The list of 18 included companies such as Ford, General Electric, Johnson &
Johnson, Sony, and Wal-mart.
From 1926 through 1990 these companies outperformed the general stock market by fteen times.

281
A key attribute of the ndings is that all of these highly protable companies have sound social values and
CSR is an important component of their success. This study shows the relevance of CSR and the importance
of strong core values for a successful organization.
14.10.1 Successful Implementation of CSR and Sustainable Development

Tetra Pak Colombia worked with a small recycling company in Colombia to develop a technology they named
Ecoplak. The technology utilizes 100 per cent of the residuals of tetra pack carton packages to obtain the
material that can be used in the production of roofs and chipboards. With this technology, Tetra Pack has
built 24 houses for low-income families to date.
This company did not only take into consideration environmental issues in the recycling of waste from
packages; but it also worked with a local recycler to produce this technology. Additionally, this initiative
created jobs, developed knowledge in local businesses, and helped families in the community who probably
would not have had access to a home. Each house was built using 1 million packages and consisted of 2
bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1 kitchen, and a living room. The houses were also provided with electricity and
water.
Tetra Pak Colombia is currently working with the government to coordinate this eort and is still building
houses that are periodically awarded to low income people of the community (tetrapak.com).
14.10.2 CSR, Sustainable Development, and the Future of Businesses

Peter Drucker, in his article, The New Meaning of Corporate Social Responsibility, explained that the
proper social responsibility of business is to tame the dragon that is to turn a social problem into economic
opportunity and economic benet, into productive capacity, into human competence, into well-paid jobs,
and into wealth (Berkhout,2007).
As evidenced in the case of Tetra Pack Colombia, a company with CSR and sustainable development
aligned into its strategy can be eective in working with its community to solve a social problem. In
this case, Tetra Pack Colombia was able to utilize waste that impacted the environment; worked with the
government to coordinate eorts to improve the welfare and the quality of life of its community; worked
with companies in the community to develop knowledge and new technologies; and create new jobs and
alternative, environmentally friendly new sources of material.
According to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, By 2050, 85% of the world's
population of some nine billion people will be in (less industrialized) countries. If these people are not by
then engaged in the marketplace, business cannot prosper and the benets of a global market will not exist.
Clearly it is in our mutual interest to help societies shift to a more sustainable path.
Companies will increasingly be called upon to participate to address challenges of social and environmental
roots, both locally and globally. Sustainable development business opportunities exist everywhere and in
all forms. Such opportunities include recycling, reducing, and reusing. Improved eciencies, biotechnology,
and miniaturization are other ideas. Innovative leadership in life equality issues is becoming more and more
of a trend today. It is no doubt that unique economic and environmental needs exist in industrial and
less industrialized countries. CSR opportunities and challenges include promoting good labor practices and
diversity, supporting health and education programs in the community. There are few limits in the design
and implementation of socially responsible initiatives for a company.
14.10.3 CSR and the small business entrepreneur

For a small business entrepreneur, like Ms. Shahira, her company prots from its relationship with the
community. Its stakeholders, which include customers, the local community, and the government, are all
critical aspects to the company's growth in the future. As a result, Ms. Shahira must consider social and
environmental impacts of her decisions, in addition to the ways that they will make an economic impact to
her business.

This chapter presents the types of global challenges that Ms. Shahira's business could be presented with
in the future. As she has done so eectively in her home country, internationally Ms. Shahira has the
opportunity to grow her company, and even present her model to other small entrepreneurs to integrate into
their businesses. It is important to note however, that the issues discussed only begin to present the common
challenges among new entrepreneurs. This is just an introductory start into the journey of extending a small
business into new, international markets.
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Chapter 15
Growth strategies for start-ups
15.1 Learning objectives and overview1
15.1.1 Learning objectives
• dene what constitutes a growth rm
• describe the problems of growth and growth strategies
• describe growth mistakes and solutions
15.1.2 Overview
In this chapter we investigate possible strategies for the growth of start-up rms. First, we describe growth as
a phenomenon and basic problem for such rms. In particular we analyze the problem from the viewpoint of
new start-ups which plan from the outset to grow larger quickly. We then examine dierent growth strategies
which rms can pursue. In the second part of the chapter we present the most well-known mistakes made by
start-ups during the growth phase, and suggest ways to correct oreven betteravoid them. To conclude,
we provide recommendations for how entrepreneurs can prot best from growth. In this chapter we refer most
often to rms with products but the strategies and pitfalls reviewed here also apply to service companies.
15.2 Denition and models2

15.2.1 Denition and statistics
We start by dening what we mean by growth and growth-oriented rms. Criteria such as growth in
the number of employees, or sales growth are generally used by researchers. The Kaufmann Center for
Entrepreneurial Leadership, a leading institute of entrepreneurial research in the USA, for example, denes
high-growth rms as being those with over 30 per cent growth in sales or over 20 per cent growth in the
number of employees for each of the three preceding years. Other US researchers (Siegel/MacMillan 1993)
dene strong growth as over 25 per cent growth per annum over a three-year period.
The number of high-growth rms is no doubt limited. Even in the USA, only 5 per cent of rms each year
are estimated to take on extra sta (cf. Sexton/Bowman-Upton 1991, p. 12). However, these fast-growing
rms have a disproportionate signicance for the increase in the number of jobs. In the USA, for example,
it is estimated that only 12-15 per cent of all businesses are responsible for 100 per cent of the employment
growth in the US economy (cf. Sexton/Bowman-Upton 1991, p. 10). Research studies in Germany have
285
286 CHAPTER 15. GROWTH STRATEGIES FOR START-UPS
also shown that businesses with 50 to 250 employees recorded the greatest increase in employment (cf.
Kühlhorn/Wissdorf 2001). International comparative data can be found in the Global Entrepreneurship
Monitor (GEM). Based on a survey of all start-ups from 1999, the GEM presented the share of high-growth
start-ups (see Exhibit 1). (cf. Sternberg 2000).
Exhibit 15.1: Countries in comparison: Share of high-growth start-ups compared to total start-ups.
(Source : Sternberg 2000)
15.2.2 Growth models

In the eld of entrepreneurship research, life cycle models are often used to describe the entrepreneurial
process. These models are also used in research into growth problems. Kazanjian and Drazin (1980), for
example, developed a four-phase growth model, and identied the typical growth problems of fast-growing
rms in each phase.
Phase 1, Concept and development: Focus on the invention and development of a service or product.
Main problems:
• developing the idea

• testing a prototype
• nding investment support for the idea
Phase 2, Commercialization: Developing the product for introduction to the market. Main problems:
• setting up the organization and production

• solving technical problems
• market entry
Phase 3, Growth: The fast-growth phase is characterized by its focus on the market.
Main problems:

287
• Producing larger quantities

• Guaranteeing quality
• Expanding market share
• Personnel problems
Phase 4, Stability: In this phase the focus lies on consolidating the market position with the initial product,
and developing further products.
Main problem:
• Simultaneously managing the market entry of new products without losing the competitive advantages
of older products.
Although life phase models like these can help the decision-making process in research and practice, they also
have their pitfalls. In a review of such models, Sexton and Bowman/Upton (1991) warned that economic
phenomena cannot always be compared to biological phenomena (life cycles). Firm growth does not always
develop through the phases of such models in a straightforward, linear way, for example. Particularly in
fast-growing industries involving technological change, growth is more chaotic than ordered. Moreover, well-
known growth models with a bell-shaped, concave, or plateau structure are only useful as ideal reference
patterns for actual growth processes.
Building on this criticism, Covin and Slevin (1997) suggest another growth model from the complexity
management perspective. This model emphasizes that growth occurs through certain market factors in
combination with internal competences and resources. The main problem for entrepreneurs is overcoming
the increasing organizational and external complexity. In the following sections of this chapter we will dene
possible strategies for start-up growth. See Exhibit 15.2 below.
Exhibit 15.2: The complexity management growth model

Industrial change is often triggered by technological changes, for which there are many examples: the
substitution of digital technologies in a whole range of analog products, from oce equipment to telephones,
and the Internet as a communication medium. Technological changes like this enable start-up rms devel-
oping new technologies and introducing them to the market to take over the positions of their established
competitors.
A second catalyst for industrial transformations is change in consumer behavior. The increasing techno-
logical competence of customers, for example, has enabled the growth of direct computer sellers like Dell.
Customers are prepared to get information about even high-technology products from the Internet and order
them online instead of asking for advice in a shop.
Deregulation or liberalization can also be a reason for industrial transformation and change. In recent
years industry deregulation has created opportunities for start-up rms and growth opportunities in general
in various industries, such as the air trac, telecommunications, or nancial service sectors.
Changes in technologies, customer preferences, or regulations oer opportunities for transformation and
change, but it is up to entrepreneurs to make use of them. At the beginning of a transformation period, rms
must experiment with dierent strategies to tap the growth potential of the industry situation. We have
seen many dierent such experiments with Internet technologies in the last few years. Many of them came
to nothing, but several successful business models have survived. We have already given the example of Dell
as a successful direct provider of PCs via the Internet. Further examples are US company Auto-By-Tel's
sale of cars to traditional car dealers via the Internet, or E-Bay, the Internet auctioneers.
A period of experimentation is followed by a stabilization phase. In the literature, innovation management
researchers talk about dominant designs. A dominant design stabilizes a particular industry structure, and
the positions of competitors. There is generally a consolidation phase in the industry, and failed experiments
lead to certain rms disappearing from the industry. However, successful business models can mean even
faster growth for the survivors, as they can take over shares of the market from other competitors.
15.2.3 Growth through buying out other companies

The entrepreneurship management literature generally refers to internal growth. However, small, fast-
growing companies also have the possibility of growing by acquisition. These opportunities have become
even more frequent in recent years due to the increasing availability of venture capital, and of capital re-
sources from initial public oerings (IPOs). An acquisition strategy for a fast-growing start-up can bring
many advantages. First of all, just like large rms, small rms can try to obtain synergies by means of
complementary resources from bought-out rms. Sales growth as a result of buying out rms in the same
industry could be rendered more ecient by combined resources and the acquisition of competent employees.
An acquisition strategy can also be pursued to enable growth in new geographic markets. Moreover, the
opportunity for expansion via acquisition is particularly attractive in other countries, where it can be dicult
to establish new businesses.
Such a strategy can also oer the opportunity to go into related diversication, i.e. a start-up rm can
acquire other products or services which are related to its original ones. Synergy eects and reduced or
shared overheads can also be gained here. Firms can also integrate vertically through acquisition, i.e. by
buying out suppliers or customers to process more steps in the value chain in-house. Vertical integration
can sometimes bring advantages of cost or dierentiation. Cost advantages can arise either through buying
or building up cheaper distribution channels (forward integration), or cheap inputs (backward integration).
Advantages of dierentiation can be obtained by distribution channels or inputs which stand out from those
of competitors (cf. Porter 1992).
If the rm to be taken over is already successful, the take-over can provide additional nancial resources.
A further gain from an acquisition may be additional qualied personnel who might also be able to strengthen
the original rm. More customers can be won, or acquired more cheaply than if they have to be found using
conventional marketing methods. The acquisition of other rms can also be a chance to gain technological
know-how, or even new technologies in the form of patents.

289
15.2.4 Growth through cooperation

A cooperation strategy strikes a balance between internal growth and growth from the acquisition of other
companies. Several studies in the USA have proved that fast-growing start-ups sometimes use cooperation
with other small rms, and sometimes with large, established rms.
This cooperation is of various types. Licensing is a typical strategy in the biotech industry, for example.
Small biotech start-ups generally do not have the necessary complementary resources (cf. Teece 1986) to
carry new drugs through all the test phases and then to market them. Such rms often sell licenses to
established pharmaceutical rms (the danger of this strategy will be dealt with Inadequate or incorrect
marketing) Other cooperation strategies, such as Research and Development cooperation, or outsourcing
production, are possible. Cooperation strategies are pursued more frequently where there are networks of
start-ups (cf. Lechner 2001).
Although new rms can gain the complementary resources they lack through cooperation, they still need
basic competences in root technologies and key functions. In a study of high-tech start-ups in the USA,
McGee et al. (1995) showed that the start-ups which grew fastest were those which pursued cooperation
strategies to build on strengths, and not to compensate for weaknesses.
15.2.5 Stopping growth by selling the rm

An acquisition can be regarded as a growth strategy, but the sale of a company leads to a halt in growth.
Such a sale does not necessarily have to be described as a loss, however. On the contrary, a trade salewhen
a start-up sells itself to another rmcan be seen as the successful end of the entrepreneurial process. A rm
has the possibility of continuing to grow as part of another rm, or the founders can use the sales revenue
to pursue other activities. There are many examples of so-called serial entrepreneurs. These entrepreneurs
have founded several new companies, helped them to grow, and then sold them in order to pursue other
activities. The best example of this is Jim Clark from Silicon Valley. He is currently working on starting
his fourth and fth companies, both in the Internet eld. Prior to this he generated several billion USD for
himself and his colleagues with three very successful high-tech start-ups: Silicon Graphics, Netscape, and
Healthion. Clark recognized a long time ago that he is best at controlling the growth phase of a start-up,
but is too impatient to manage a mature organization professionally. He tries to choose the right time to
sell new rms to competitors which are better at dealing with the maturity phase (cf. Chong et al. 2000).
15.2.6 Growth through innovation

Times of technological change are an opportunity for start-ups to grow. New rms that use technological
changes to introduce new products or services as market leaders can gain competitive advantages quickly.
However, technological innovations like these must be able to be protected, or they will not last. The new
rms must also possess or acquire the necessary complementary resources for the products and the marketing
of them (cf. Teece 1986).
Certain types of innovation are especially advantageous for start-ups. In his book, The Innovator's
Dilemma, Christensen (1997) dierentiates between sustaining technologies and disruptive technologies.
Sustaining technologies improve existing product-market structures and are generally introduced most eec-
tively by established rms. Disruptive technologies, on the other hand, which enable new applications for
new customer segments, tend to be developed and marketed by start-ups. Christensen takes the example
of the computer hard drive industry to show how start-ups have very often seen successful growth over a
twenty-year period as spin-os of established rms. Similar developments can be seen in other sectors.
In the next part of this chapter, we analyze the most frequent growth mistakes in start-ups.

15.3 Growth problems3
15.3.1 Management mistakes
Of course, start-ups often make management mistakes in pursuing growth.
A classic rst mistake is in the choice of a product or serviceand/or even worse, a marketwith no
potential for growth. The only safeguard against this mistake is to conduct careful market and competitor
analysis (See Chapter 13) to estimate the total market potential. This analysis must be complemented by
the choice of a strategy for capturing the market with which an assumed market potential can be developed,
taking into account the given nancial restrictions. A second mistake is the failure to choose one of the
aforementioned growth strategies early on. A third mistake is to not recruit competent and professional sta
to implement the planned strategies. A fourth mistake is not to align product-market growth strategies with
the rm's other strategies, especially nance, HR, and organizational strategies. A fth mistake is to choose
the wrong nance model. Here, an almost classic mistake is for rms to renance long-term xed capital
with short-term returns, or with short-term revolving loans. A sixth mistake is to force growth. If growth
occurs too rapidly, the rm is in danger of losing sight of the risks involved in the individual activities of
the value chain, even when this growth can be nanced. Here, continuous development is better than erratic
growth (cf. Hutzschenreuter 2001), because it enables management to ll the gaps in their knowledge. We
will go into several of these management mistakes in more detail in the following.
15.3.2 Incompatibility of growth strategies and organizational structure

The growth of start-ups must be planned, and supported by one or more of the above mentioned strategies.
It is a signicant growth mistake to do without planning and strategic development. However, even when
these mistakes are avoided, and growth strategies exist, managers tend to overlook the fact that there is
a connection between the chosen strategy and the particular organizational structure of the start-up. This
oversight is a serious impediment to growth.
Firms which are still small and striving to grow should choose team structures, or, if necessary, tight
centralization as a structure for their organization so that they can handle knowledge management, and
decision coordination and implementation better. The lack of team management and networking in the
start-up and consolidation phases hinders growth, as the experience of start-ups from Silicon Valley has
shown.
If growth is achieved by increasing sales volume, start-ups can defer the adjustment of the original
organizational structure until decision decits, such as delays in decision-making, begin to surface. In growing
companies, maintaining the same team structures and management generally leads to a loss of coordination.
It also postpones the creation of a clear corporate structure. If the distribution of responsibility in the start-
up is unclear, or if the same team management has been continued despite growth, problems will arise due
to a lack of coordination. Therefore, the distribution of competences and responsibility must be achieved,
depending on the strategies the start-up pursues. If team structures impede this because they are too slow,
they must be replaced by hierarchical structures.
Dierent strategies may be necessary if the company pursues diversication strategies by expanding into
new markets, or bringing out new products by expanding the value chain, or into new networks. However,
this requires a good knowledge of the industry or industries in which the start-up wishes to diversify. In
this case, a more decentralized organizational structure with dierent, relatively autonomous departments is
advisable. However, department decentralization makes coordination essential. Some of the classic mistakes
made by young rms are either to wait too long before decentralizing, decentralizing too soon, and/or failing
to coordinate the new departments. Each of these mistakes, or a combination, can have a restricting eect
on the growth of a rm, and in the worst case can even increase the risk of a young rm's going bankrupt.

291
15.3.3 Inadequate or incorrect marketing, cooperation, nance, or HR strategies

Growth is also at risk if start-ups fail to develop strategic planning, marketing, nancing, risk management,
HR management, organization, or policies for internationalization. Growth mistakes made in regard to
marketing, nancing, and HR management are particularly serious. Many of the following issues have been
introduced in previous chapters.
The rst group of awed growth strategies is marketing strategies. Start-ups are particularly susceptible
to concentrating on developing a technical or scientic product further and developing new products, but
not paying enough attention to marketing. Marketing plans and their extrapolation are a prerequisite for
avoiding growth mistakes. If a rm does not conduct market research, identify customer preferences, generate
new customer wishes, or segment or capture the market, it will not grow. Start-ups can only nd out whether
or not they can achieve or have already achieved a dominant position in the market by conducting systematic
market research. If they already have a dominant position, they could try to push competitors out of the
market or prevent them from entering it in the rst place. Depending on the nancial resources available,
e.g. after a successful IPO, it could even make sense to buy out competitors and grow in this fashion.
A second group that can hinder growth is cooperation strategies, such as when a start-up becomes overly
dependent on a more established company as a senior partner, for example, when a small biotech rm depends
on a large pharmaceutical company to market its products. If larger established companies really commit
themselves to their junior partners and are successful, then cooperation often ends up with the senior partner
taking over the start-up. This only ensures the growth of the senior partner. Transferring licenses to larger
rms before a product is fully developed is also dangerousthis is a particular problem for biotech start-ups
if the government has not yet approved a new drug. However, what is much more common is opportunistic
behavior by the senior partner, where it is paid well by the junior partner for its marketing activities, but
then it does not in fact aggressively market the junior partner's products. Such a awed marketing strategy
is also a huge hindrance to growth.
A third group of awed growth strategies concerns the nancing of growth. In the initial phases of the
life cycle of start-ups, growth can scarcely be nanced out of their prots, nor can it generally be nanced
alone by the founders' equity. Start-ups in particular are often undercapitalized. The only alternative that
remains is seeking outside capital.
To nance growth strategies start-ups sometimes borrow long-term debt which is to be paid back with
interest from the revenues from implementing the strategy. Likewise, some start-ups redeem loans and
interest payments step-by-step over a long period by taking out revolving, short-term loans. Both nancial
strategies jeopardize growth considerably, or even hinder it completely if the rm does not generate the
planned revenues, or if no new short-term loans are available to pay o part of the long-term loan at the
right time. In addition, start-ups with high growth potential in certain industries, can trade partial ownership
in their rms for venture capital.
Start-ups can also make another growth mistake in nancing by launching their IPOs on the stock market
too soon and simply using this revenue to repay debt or venture capital and replace it with equity from the
capital market. What is even more serious after an IPO is when rms make the growth mistake of merely
increasing their cash management or randomly buying out other rms, rather than using their IPO funds to
nance wise growth strategies.
The fourth group of related business strategies where serious mistakes can be made is Human Resource
strategies. In many cases the founders and employees of start-ups are in their thirties, and sometimes only in
their twenties, and are frequently highly qualied university or college graduates (cf. Frank/Opitz 2001, p.
454). The homogeneity of the age distribution of managers and employees often leads to start-ups acquiring
new personnel from the same age group. However, a homogeneous age distribution may lead to a decline in
motivation as employees age at the same time. Start-ups must therefore be particularly careful to achieve
a heterogeneous age distribution in their personnel. They must also attempt to acquire older employees
with experience in the industry and with management competences from other successful companies. It can
be of great value to acquire more senior managers who enjoy the new challenge of working for a start-up
before they retire. Lack of loyalty in their personnel should lead start-ups to think about how to retain their
particularly talented employees. If start-ups fail to consider these points, obstacles to growth are a matter

of course.
Much more important, however, is developing the knowledge and competences of the entire sta depend-
ing on the start-up's chosen growth strategy. The knowledge and competences necessary for formulating
and implementing the growth strategies must be forecast as part of qualitative Human Resource planning,
and then provided by Human Resource development or by acquiring external personnel (cf. Drumm 2000).
If this does not happen, start-ups face a growth barrier which is hard to overcome. The failure to imple-
ment strategy-oriented HR development and build up and maintain internalized motivation of the employees
through attractive work and working conditions is a barrier to growth which is often overlooked.
15.3.4 Inadequate or incorrect internal accounting

All rms, whether young or mature, need cost accounting systems which can report costs andas far as they
are specically attributablerevenues per cost unit, cost center, and department. It is important that start-
ups establish systems for unit cost accounting, cost center accounting, and breakeven analysis (cf. Scherrer
1999) in order to be able to assess economic ineciencies and sources of loss by means of target/actual
comparisons and prot margins. If the competition is erce, rms should also establish target costing to be
able to undermine competitors by adjusting price policy.
Doing without any kind of cost accounting leads not only to the fact that sources of loss remain undis-
covered, but also that prot potentials stay hidden as well. Both of these points represent possible growth
risks. Start-ups must therefore avoid this risk by establishing cost and prot accounting, and a breakeven
analysis as quickly as possible.
15.3.5 Dependence on third parties

Many start-up, survival, and growth strategies lead almost inevitably to the dependence of new rms on
third parties. This causes no problem as long as the interests of all people and rms involved are relatively
equal and/or compatible. Dependence on third parties functioning as investors, licensors, partners, principal
customers in the sales market, or single suppliers does not necessarily lead to growth barriers. However,
dependence is a disadvantage if there are diverging interests, or if the partners behave opportunistically. In
this case, the growth of the start-up is inhibited and the rm is forced to ght the opportunistic behavior of
the partners. For the start-up these defense activities incur transaction costs which arise in the preparation
phase of a partnership and in the conclusion of cooperation contracts, and are added to later by transaction
costs arising from controlling, and correcting errors.
However, the older the rm becomes, dependence on third parties should be reduced. The dependence
on licensors should be compensated for by the rm's own research and development. The dependence on
outside investors, on the other hand, is generally unavoidable, but it can be put to positive use by raising
risk capital by prot sharing with investors to create homogeneity of interests.
As shown above, dependence on third parties can arise when a rm markets its products. It can, however,
also arise in the acquisition of preliminary products, or in nancing. It is at its highest in rm networks.
Start-ups must therefore ask themselves repeatedly whether these dependencies secure their existence and
survival, or whether they are endangering their growth. As long as the rm's survival is secured by suppliers
or customers through strategic dependencies, for instance within a network of cooperating rms, the start-up
can prot. If such dependencies however, endanger the success and growth of the rm, the start-up must
try to extricate itself by building up its own sales or supply channels. Homogeneity of interests must also
be taken into account when building an external network in order to minimize transaction costs which stunt
growth.
15.3.6 Acculturation problems when buying companies

Growth as a result of acquiring companies in the supply chain, or diversifying into other sectors not only
creates the potential for mistakes due to inadequate knowledge of the industry, but by insucient accultur-
ation of the companies acquired. Every company develops its own culture from the moment it is founded.

293
This is manifested in the founders' value system in regard to their employees, customers, suppliers, sponsors,
and other partners. Founders will always try to transfer their value system onto their employees and thus
form their behavior completely or at least partly. Company culture is also manifested in desired forms of
behavior, rituals, and accepted processes of analyzing and solving processes practiced by the founders which
they in turn would like their employees to implement. Communicating these values and forms of behavior is
part of the management process.
If other companies are acquired in the course of planned growth processes, the company also takes on
their foreign rm cultures. The confrontation between two or more incompatible rm cultures makes
acculturation essential. The dierent cultures must be adapted to each other, or the growth of the entire
company and its individual departments due to synergy eects is at stake.
There are three dierent acculturation strategies to choose from. In the case of usurpation, the man-
agement from the bought out rm is replaced by the management team of the rm that bought it out.
This model is generally expensive, but can be implemented relatively quickly. In the case of adaptation, the
buying and bought out rm(s) get to know and understand each other's cultures in order to change and
adapt them step by step. This model is much slower than usurpation, but also cheaper. The synthesis model
consists of consciously giving up the old rm culture and creating a new one. This model makes sense if the
acquisition means that the markets and thus market-oriented strategies change, or the national orientation
of the start-up can be expanded to an international one. Doing without acculturation strategies not only
stunts growth, but also increases the risk of bankruptcy.

Company growth must be planned by both old and young rms. It requires the choice of one or more of
the above mentioned strategies to promote growth. Product and process innovations, the dierentiation
of products and markets, the use of market niches, and networking with other companies are important
strategies for start-ups. Growth along the supply chain is a special case in vertical networking strategies.
Buying out entire companies is also suitable as a growth strategy, but it presupposes the availability of
sucient capital, and the solution of acculturation problems. Growth can be seriously threatened by the
management mistakes discussed above, but also promoted by growth strategies that are well implemented.
15.5 References, and further literature5

Chong, M.L. et al. (2000): The Silicon Valley Edge, Stanford, CA. pp. 120-121.
Covin, J.G. and Slevin, D.P. (1997): High Growth Transitions. Theoretical Perspectives and Suggested
Directions. In: Sexton, D.L, and Smilor, R.W., 1997. pp. 99-125.
Christensen, C.M. (1997): The Innovator's Dilemma. Boston.
Drumm, Hans Jürgen (2000): Personalwirtschaft. 4. Au. Berlin usw.
Frank, E. and Opitz, C. (2001): Internet-Start-UpsEin neuer Wettbewerber unter den Filteranlagen
für Humankapital. Zeitschrift f ür Betriebswirtschaft 71. Jg.: 453-469.
Hutzschenreuter, T. (2001): Wachstumsstrategien. Einsatz von Management-kapazitäten zur Wert-
steigerung. Wiesbaden.
Kazanjian, R.K. and Drazin, R. (1990): A stage-contingent model of design and growth for technology-
based new ventures. Journal of Business Venturing (5): 137-150.
Kühlhorn, G. and Wissdorf, F. (2001): Jobmotor Mittelstand. Impulse März 2001-05-28: 20-27.
Lechner, C. (2000): The Competitiveness of Firm Networks. Frankfurt usw.
McGee, J.E., Dowling, M.J. and Megginson, W.L. (1995): Cooperative strategy and new venture perfor-
mance. The role of business strategy and management experience. In: Strategic Management Journal 16(7):
565-580.

Porter, M. (1992): Wettbewerbsvorteile. 3. Au. Frankfurt/Main.
Porter, M.E. and Rivkin, J.W. (2000): Industry Transformation. Harvard Business School. Publishing
N9-701-008, July 10.
Scherrer, G. (1999): Kostenrechnung. 3. Au. Stuttgart.
Sexton, D.L. and Bowman-Upton, N.B. (1991): Entrepreneurship: Creativity and Growth. New York.
Sexton, D.L. and Smilor, R.W. (1997): Entrepreneurship 2000. Dover.
Siegel, R., Siegel, E. and MacMillan, I. (1993): Characteristics distinguishing high growth ventures.
Journal of Business Venturing 8(2): 169-180.
Sternberg, R. (2000): Entrepreneurship in DeutschlandDas Gr ündungsgeschehen im internationalen
Vergleich: Länderbericht Deutschland zum Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. Berlin.
Teece, D.J. (1986): Proting from technological innovation: Implications for integration, collaboration,
licensing, and public policy. Research Policy 15: 285-305. Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. (North-Holland).
15.5.1 About the chapter author

Professor Michael Dowling is Professor for Innovation and Technology Management at the University of
Regensburg. He received his PhD in Business Administration from the University of Texas at Austin in 1988.
His research interests include the strategic management of technology, especially in the telecommunications
industry, high technology entrepreneurship, and the relationships between technology, public policy and
economic development.
15.5.2 About the chapter editor

Professor Hans Jürgen Drumm is a retired Professor of Business Administration with a focus on Human
Resource Management and Organization Theory. He received his doctorate at the Free University of Berlin
and his Habilitation at the University of the Saarland.
Translated and reprinted with permission from Dowling/Drumm Gr ündungsmanagement (Entrepreneur-
ship) Springer Verlag, 2003.

INDEX 295
Index of Keywords and Terms

Keywords are listed by the section with that keyword (page numbers are in parentheses). Keywords
do not necessarily appear in the text of the page. They are merely associated with that section. Ex.
apples, 1.1 (1) Terms are referenced by the page they appear on. Ex. apples, 1
B Balance Sheet, 173 3.8(54), 3.9(56), 3.10(57), 3.11(58)

budget, 183
business, 1.1(1), 1.2(3), 1.3(5), 1.4(8), C Carroll's CSR Pyramid, 14.9(277)
1.5(10), 1.6(11), 1.7(14), 1.8(17), company, 1.1(1), 1.2(3), 1.3(5), 1.4(8),
1.9(20), 1.10(21), 1.11(24), 1.12(25), 1.5(10), 1.6(11), 1.7(14), 1.8(17),
1.13(26), 2.1(33), 2.2(34), 2.3(38), 1.9(20), 1.10(21), 1.11(24), 1.12(25),
2.4(39), 4.1(59), 4.2(59), 4.3(60), 1.13(26), 10.1(191), 10.2(191),
4.4(63), 4.5(66), 4.6(67), 4.7(68), 10.3(192), 10.4(194), 10.5(198),
4.8(70), 4.9(70), 5.1(71), 5.2(71), 10.6(200), 10.7(206), 10.8(209),
5.3(72), 5.4(75), 5.5(77), 5.6(80), 10.9(209), 10.10(210)
5.7(82), 5.8(84), 5.9(88), 5.11(97), competition, 11.1(211), 11.2(211),
5.12(102), 5.13(102), 5.14(102), 11.3(211), 11.4(213), 11.5(215),
6.1(109), 6.2(109), 6.3(110), 6.4(113), 11.6(216), 11.7(218), 11.8(220),
6.5(118), 6.6(124), 6.7(129), 6.8(129), 11.9(221), 11.10(222)
7.1(131), 7.2(131), 7.3(133), 7.4(134), Corporate social responsibility, 14.9(277)
7.5(139), 7.6(140), 7.7(144), 7.8(147),
8.1(151), 8.2(151), 8.3(154), 8.4(156),
E entrepreneur, 1.1(1), 1.2(3), 1.3(5),
1.4(8), 1.5(10), 1.6(11), 1.7(14),
8.5(160), 8.6(166), 8.7(166), 8.8(167),
1.8(17), 1.9(20), 1.10(21), 1.11(24),
9.1(169), 9.2(169), 9.3(169), 9.4(171),
1.12(25), 1.13(26), 3.1(41), 3.2(41),
9.5(172), 9.6(173), 9.7(175), 9.8(176),
3.3(44), 3.4(45), 3.5(46), 3.6(47),
9.9(180), 9.10(183), 9.11(188),
3.7(49), 3.8(54), 3.9(56), 3.10(57),
9.12(188), 9.13(188), 10.1(191),
3.11(58), 5.1(71), 5.2(71), 5.3(72),
10.2(191), 10.3(192), 10.4(194),
5.4(75), 5.5(77), 5.6(80), 5.7(82),
10.5(198), 10.6(200), 10.7(206),
5.8(84), 5.9(88), 5.11(97), 5.12(102),
10.8(209), 10.9(209), 10.10(210),
5.13(102), 5.14(102), 6.1(109), 6.2(109),
11.1(211), 11.2(211), 11.3(211),
6.3(110), 6.4(113), 6.5(118), 6.6(124),
11.4(213), 11.5(215), 11.6(216),
6.7(129), 6.8(129), 7.1(131), 7.2(131),
11.7(218), 11.8(220), 11.9(221),
7.3(133), 7.4(134), 7.5(139), 7.6(140),
11.10(222), 12.1(223), 12.2(228),
7.7(144), 7.8(147), 9.1(169), 9.2(169),
12.3(231), 13.1(235), 13.2(235),
9.3(169), 9.4(171), 9.5(172), 9.6(173),
13.3(236), 13.4(240), 13.5(243),
9.7(175), 9.8(176), 9.9(180), 9.10(183),
13.6(244), 13.7(248), 13.8(248),
9.11(188), 9.12(188), 9.13(188),
13.9(249), 13.10(249), 14.1(251),
10.1(191), 10.2(191), 10.3(192),
14.2(252), 14.3(256), 14.4(258),
10.4(194), 10.5(198), 10.6(200),
14.5(261), 14.6(264), 14.7(268),
10.7(206), 10.8(209), 10.9(209),
14.8(271), 14.9(277), 14.10(280),
10.10(210), 12.1(223), 12.2(228),
14.11(282), 14.12(282), 15.1(285),
12.3(231), 13.1(235), 13.2(235),
15.2(285), 15.3(290), 15.4(293),
13.3(236), 13.4(240), 13.5(243),
15.5(293)
13.6(244), 13.7(248), 13.8(248),
business models, 3.1(41), 3.2(41), 3.3(44),
13.9(249), 13.10(249), 14.1(251),
3.4(45), 3.5(46), 3.6(47), 3.7(49),
14.2(252), 14.3(256), 14.4(258),

296 INDEX
14.5(261), 14.6(264), 14.7(268), 11.9(221), 11.10(222), 12.1(223),

14.8(271), 14.9(277), 14.10(280), 12.2(228), 12.3(231), 13.1(235),
14.11(282), 14.12(282) 13.2(235), 13.3(236), 13.4(240),
entrepreneurship, 2.1(33), 2.2(34), 13.5(243), 13.6(244), 13.7(248),
2.3(38), 2.4(39), 4.1(59), 4.2(59), 13.8(248), 13.9(249), 13.10(249),
4.3(60), 4.4(63), 4.5(66), 4.6(67), 14.1(251), 14.2(252), 14.3(256),
4.7(68), 4.8(70), 4.9(70), 8.1(151), 14.4(258), 14.5(261), 14.6(264),
8.2(151), 8.3(154), 8.4(156), 8.5(160), 14.7(268), 14.8(271), 14.9(277),
8.6(166), 8.7(166), 8.8(167), 11.1(211), 14.10(280), 14.11(282), 14.12(282),
11.2(211), 11.3(211), 11.4(213), 15.1(285), 15.2(285), 15.3(290),
11.5(215), 11.6(216), 11.7(218), 15.4(293), 15.5(293)
11.8(220), 11.9(221), 11.10(222), growth strategies, 15.1(285), 15.2(285),
15.1(285), 15.2(285), 15.3(290), 15.3(290), 15.4(293), 15.5(293)
15.4(293), 15.5(293)
ethics, 12.1(223), 12.2(228), 12.3(231) I Income Statement, 173
external relationships, 8.1(151), 8.2(151), intelligence, 11.1(211), 11.2(211),
8.3(154), 8.4(156), 8.5(160), 8.6(166), 11.3(211), 11.4(213), 11.5(215),
8.7(166), 8.8(167) 11.6(216), 11.7(218), 11.8(220),
11.9(221), 11.10(222)
F nance, 9.1(169), 9.2(169), 9.3(169), international, 14.1(251), 14.2(252),
9.4(171), 9.5(172), 9.6(173), 9.7(175), 14.3(256), 14.4(258), 14.5(261),
9.8(176), 9.9(180), 9.10(183), 9.11(188), 14.6(264), 14.7(268), 14.8(271),
9.12(188), 9.13(188) 14.9(277), 14.10(280), 14.11(282),
14.12(282)
G global, 6.1(109), 6.2(109), 6.3(110),
6.4(113), 6.5(118), 6.6(124), 6.7(129), L leadership, 4.1(59), 4.2(59), 4.3(60),
6.8(129) 4.4(63), 4.5(66), 4.6(67), 4.7(68),
global text project, 1.1(1), 1.2(3), 1.3(5), 4.8(70), 4.9(70)
1.4(8), 1.5(10), 1.6(11), 1.7(14), ledger, 176
1.8(17), 1.9(20), 1.10(21), 1.11(24),
1.12(25), 1.13(26), 2.1(33), 2.2(34), M management, 5.1(71), 5.2(71), 5.3(72),
2.3(38), 2.4(39), 3.1(41), 3.2(41), 5.4(75), 5.5(77), 5.6(80), 5.7(82),
3.3(44), 3.4(45), 3.5(46), 3.6(47), 5.8(84), 5.9(88), 5.11(97), 5.12(102),
3.7(49), 3.8(54), 3.9(56), 3.10(57), 5.13(102), 5.14(102), 7.1(131), 7.2(131),
3.11(58), 4.1(59), 4.2(59), 4.3(60), 7.3(133), 7.4(134), 7.5(139), 7.6(140),
4.4(63), 4.5(66), 4.6(67), 4.7(68), 7.7(144), 7.8(147), 8.1(151), 8.2(151),
4.8(70), 4.9(70), 6.1(109), 6.2(109), 8.3(154), 8.4(156), 8.5(160), 8.6(166),
6.3(110), 6.4(113), 6.5(118), 6.6(124), 8.7(166), 8.8(167)
6.7(129), 6.8(129), 7.1(131), 7.2(131), marketing, 3.1(41), 3.2(41), 3.3(44),
7.3(133), 7.4(134), 7.5(139), 7.6(140), 3.4(45), 3.5(46), 3.6(47), 3.7(49),
7.7(144), 7.8(147), 8.1(151), 8.2(151), 3.8(54), 3.9(56), 3.10(57), 3.11(58),
8.3(154), 8.4(156), 8.5(160), 8.6(166), 6.1(109), 6.2(109), 6.3(110), 6.4(113),
8.7(166), 8.8(167), 9.1(169), 9.2(169), 6.5(118), 6.6(124), 6.7(129), 6.8(129)
9.3(169), 9.4(171), 9.5(172), 9.6(173), mentor, 1.1(1), 1.2(3), 1.3(5), 1.4(8),
9.7(175), 9.8(176), 9.9(180), 9.10(183), 1.5(10), 1.6(11), 1.7(14), 1.8(17),
9.11(188), 9.12(188), 9.13(188), 1.9(20), 1.10(21), 1.11(24), 1.12(25),
10.1(191), 10.2(191), 10.3(192), 1.13(26), 10.1(191), 10.2(191),
10.4(194), 10.5(198), 10.6(200), 10.3(192), 10.4(194), 10.5(198),
10.7(206), 10.8(209), 10.9(209), 10.6(200), 10.7(206), 10.8(209),
10.10(210), 11.1(211), 11.2(211), 10.9(209), 10.10(210)
11.3(211), 11.4(213), 11.5(215),
11.6(216), 11.7(218), 11.8(220),
O operations, 7.1(131), 7.2(131), 7.3(133),
7.4(134), 7.5(139), 7.6(140), 7.7(144),

INDEX 297
7.8(147) 13.4(240), 13.5(243), 13.6(244),

organization, 4.1(59), 4.2(59), 4.3(60), 13.7(248), 13.8(248), 13.9(249),
4.4(63), 4.5(66), 4.6(67), 4.7(68), 13.10(249)
4.8(70), 4.9(70), 9.1(169), 9.2(169), start-up, 1.1(1), 1.2(3), 1.3(5), 1.4(8),
9.3(169), 9.4(171), 9.5(172), 9.6(173), 1.5(10), 1.6(11), 1.7(14), 1.8(17),
9.7(175), 9.8(176), 9.9(180), 9.10(183), 1.9(20), 1.10(21), 1.11(24), 1.12(25),
9.11(188), 9.12(188), 9.13(188) 1.13(26), 10.1(191), 10.2(191),
10.3(192), 10.4(194), 10.5(198),
P products, 13.1(235), 13.2(235), 13.3(236), 10.6(200), 10.7(206), 10.8(209),
13.4(240), 13.5(243), 13.6(244), 10.9(209), 10.10(210), 15.1(285),
13.7(248), 13.8(248), 13.9(249), 15.2(285), 15.3(290), 15.4(293),
13.10(249) 15.5(293)
S selection, 5.1(71), 5.2(71), 5.3(72), T team, 5.1(71), 5.2(71), 5.3(72), 5.4(75),
5.4(75), 5.5(77), 5.6(80), 5.7(82), 5.5(77), 5.6(80), 5.7(82), 5.8(84),
5.8(84), 5.9(88), 5.11(97), 5.12(102), 5.9(88), 5.11(97), 5.12(102), 5.13(102),
5.13(102), 5.14(102) 5.14(102)
services, 13.1(235), 13.2(235), 13.3(236),

298 ATTRIBUTIONS
Attributions
Collection: Business Fundamentals
Edited by: Global Text Project
URL: http://cnx.org/content/col11227/1.4/
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Module: "The business eco-system: Your path to nding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!"
By: Global Text Project
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m35298/1.4/
Pages: 1-3
Copyright: Global Text Project
Module: "The business eco-system: The business eco-system"
Pages: 3-4
Module: "The sun rise of your new business Accessing market opportunity: the initial rim of the wheel"
Pages: 5-7
Module: "Sales: the essential rim of the wheel"
Pages: 8-10
Module: "Strategy: the tactical rim on the wheel"
Pages: 10-11
Module: "Branding will make your blossoms bloom!"
Pages: 11-14

ATTRIBUTIONS 299
Module: "Stakeholders: the connective rim on the wheel"

Pages: 14-17
Module: "Ethics: the authentic rim on the wheel"
Pages: 17-19
Module: "Operations: the logistical rim on the wheel"
Pages: 20-21
Module: "New product: the tangible rim on the wheel"
Pages: 21-23
Module: "Let the fruits of your labor blossom: the new product/service launch event plan"
Pages: 24-25
Module: "Public relations: the sensational rim on the wheel"
Pages: 25-26
Module: "Mentor insights: the Where the Rubber Meets the Road spokes on the wheel"
Pages: 26-31

300 ATTRIBUTIONS
Module: "About this author and acknowledgements"
Page: 31
Module: "The mind of the entrepreneur: Introduction"
Used here as: "Introduction"
Pages: 33-34
Module: "Entrepreneur assessment survey"
Pages: 34-38
Module: "Entrepreneurial mindset enhancing activities"
Pages: 38-39
Module: "Chapter summary"
Page: 39
Module: "Business models and marketing: Learning objectives"
Used here as: "Learning Objectives"
Page: 41
Module: "Business models and marketing - What is a business model?"
Used here as: "What is a business model?"
Pages: 41-44

ATTRIBUTIONS 301
Module: "Business models and marketing: Success factors"

Used here as: "Success factors"
Pages: 44-45
Module: "Business models and marketing: Consumer marketing models"
Used here as: "Consumer marketing models"
Pages: 45-46
Module: "Business models and marketing - The marketing model"
Used here as: "The marketing model"
Pages: 46-47
Module: "Business models and marketing - Identifying market needs"
Used here as: "Identifying market needs"
Pages: 47-49
Module: "Business models and marketing - Business to business marketing models"
Used here as: "Business to business marketing models"
Pages: 49-54
Module: "Business models and marketing: Chapter summary"
Used here as: "Chapter summary"
Pages: 54-56

302 ATTRIBUTIONS
Module: "Business models and marketing: Market research to determine the potential market for funeral
services in Monterrey, Mexico"
Used here as: "Market research to determine the potential market for funeral services in Monterrey, Mexico"
Pages: 56-57
Module: "Business models and marketing: Discussion questions"
Used here as: "Discussion questions"
Page: 57
Module: "Business models and marketing: References"
Used here as: "References"
Page: 58
Module: "How to organize and lead an entrepreneurial venture - Learning objectives"
Used here as: "Learning objectives"
Page: 59
Module: "How to organize and lead an entrepreneurial venture - Introduction"
Pages: 59-60
Module: "How to organize and lead an entrepreneurial venture - Organizational issues"
Used here as: "Organizational issues"
Pages: 60-62

ATTRIBUTIONS 303
Module: "How to organize and lead an entrepreneurial venture - Organizational stages of growth"
Used here as: "Organizational stages of growth"
Pages: 63-65
Module: "How to organize and lead an entrepreneurial venture - Flat versus tall organizations"
Used here as: "Flat versus tall organizations"
Pages: 66-67
Module: "How to organize and lead an entrepreneurial venture - Centralized versus decentralized organiza-
tions"
Used here as: "Centralized versus decentralized organizations"
Page: 67
Module: "How to organize and lead an entrepreneurial venture - Chapter summary"
Pages: 68-70
Module: "How to organize and lead an entrepreneurial venture - Discussion questions"
Page: 70
Module: "How to organize and lead an entrepreneurial venture - References"
Page: 70

304 ATTRIBUTIONS
Module: "Selecting and managing your team: Learning objectives"
Page: 71
Module: "Selecting and managing your team - Competitive advantage through human resource management"
Used here as: "Competitive advantage through human resource management"
Pages: 71-72
Module: "Selecting and managing your team - Providing employee voice and inuence"
Used here as: "Providing employee voice and inuence"
Pages: 72-75
Module: "Selecting and managing your team - Recruiting workers"
Used here as: "Recruiting workers"
Pages: 75-77
Module: "Selecting and managing your team - Evaluating recruiting policies"
Used here as: "Evaluating recruiting policies"
Pages: 77-79
Module: "Selecting and managing your team - Employee training"
Used here as: "Employee training"
Pages: 80-82

ATTRIBUTIONS 305
Module: "Selecting and managing your team - Aligning employee career development with organizational
growth"
Used here as: "Aligning employee career development with organizational growth"
Pages: 82-84
Module: "Selecting and managing your team - Performance appraisal"
Used here as: "Performance appraisal"
Pages: 84-88
Module: "Selecting and managing your team - Determining base pay"
Used here as: "Determining base pay"
Pages: 88-94
Module: "Selecting and managing your team: Meaningful job design"
Used here as: "Meaningful job design"
Pages: 94-97
Module: "Selecting and managing your team - Termination"
Used here as: "Termination"
Pages: 97-102
Module: "Selecting and managing your team - Discussion questions"
Page: 102

306 ATTRIBUTIONS
Module: "Selecting and managing your team - Exercise"
Used here as: "Exercise"
Page: 102
Module: "Selecting and managing your team - References"
Pages: 102-107
Module: "Marketing on a global scale: Learning objectives"
Page: 109
Module: "Marketing on a global scale: Dening marketing"
Used here as: "Dening marketing"
Pages: 109-110
Module: "Marketing on a global scale: The role of marketing in the rm: a basis for classication"
Used here as: "The role of marketing in the rm: a basis for classication"
Pages: 110-113
Module: "Marketing on a global scale: Dening international marketing"
Used here as: "Dening international marketing"
Pages: 113-118

ATTRIBUTIONS 307
Module: "Marketing on a global scale: The international marketing plan"

Used here as: "The international marketing plan"
Pages: 118-123
Module: "Marketing on a global scale: The international marketing environment"
Used here as: "The international marketing environment"
Pages: 124-128
Module: "Marketing on a global scale: Discussion question"
Used here as: "Discussion question"
Page: 129
Module: "Marketing on a global scale: References"
Page: 129
Module: "Operations management: Learning objectives"
Page: 131
Module: "Operations management: What is operations management?"
Used here as: "What is operations management?"
Pages: 131-133

308 ATTRIBUTIONS
Module: "Operations management: The input/output transformation model"
Used here as: "The input/output transformation model"
Pages: 133-134
Module: "Operations management: Operations decisions"
Used here as: "Operations decisions"
Pages: 134-139
Module: "Operations management: Chapter summary"
Page: 139
Module: "Operations management: Special topic: Total Quality Management"
Used here as: "Special topic: Total Quality Management"
Pages: 140-143
Module: "Operations management: Special topic: supply chain management"
Used here as: "Special topic: supply chain management"
Pages: 144-147
Module: "Operations management: Special topic: just-in-time and lean systems"
Used here as: "Special topic: just-in-time and lean systems"
Pages: 147-150

ATTRIBUTIONS 309
Module: "Securing and managing external relationships: Learning objectives"

Page: 151
Module: "Securing and managing external relationships: Introduction to external relationships"
Used here as: "Introduction to external relationships"
Pages: 151-153
Module: "Securing and managing external relationships: Marketing exchanges and partnerships"
Used here as: "Marketing exchanges and partnerships"
Pages: 154-156
Module: "Securing and managing external relationships: Choosing the right relationship"
Used here as: "Choosing the right relationship"
Pages: 156-160
Module: "Securing and managing external relationships: Strategies for external relationships"
Used here as: "Strategies for external relationships"
Pages: 160-166
Module: "Securing and managing external relationships: Chapter summary"
Page: 166

310 ATTRIBUTIONS
Module: "Securing and managing external relationships: Exercises"
Used here as: "Exercises"
Page: 166
Module: "Securing and managing external relationships: References"
Page: 167
Module: "Financing Your Organization - Learning Objectives"
Page: 169
Module: "Financial and managerial accounting; nancing your organization: Introduction"
Page: 169
Module: "Financing Your Organization - Why an accounting system is important"
Used here as: "Why an accounting system is important"
Pages: 169-171
Module: "Financing Your Organization - Basic types of accounts"
Used here as: "Basic types of accounts"
Pages: 171-172

ATTRIBUTIONS 311
Module: "Financing Your Organization - Chart of accounts"

Used here as: "Chart of accounts"
Pages: 172-173
Module: "Financing Your Organization - Basic nancial statements"
Used here as: "Basic nancial statements"
Pages: 173-175
Module: "Financing Your Organization - A short history of accounting and double-entry bookkeeping"
Used here as: "A short history of accounting and double-entry bookkeeping"
Pages: 175-176
Module: "Financing Your Organization - Ledgers"
Used here as: "Ledgers"
Pages: 176-179
Module: "Financing Your Organization - Advanced reports and analyses"
Used here as: "Advanced reports and analyses"
Pages: 180-183
Module: "Financing Your Organization - Budgets"
Used here as: "Budgets"
Pages: 183-187

312 ATTRIBUTIONS
Module: "Financing Your Organization - Chapter Summary"
Used here as: "Chapter Summary"
Page: 188
Module: "Financing Your Organization - Discussion Questions"
Used here as: "Discussion Questions"
Page: 188
Module: "Financing Your Organization - References"
Pages: 188-189
Module: "Leveraging with information technology: Learning Objectives"
Used here as: "Learning Objectives"
Page: 191
Module: "Leveraging with information technology: Introduction"
Pages: 191-192
Module: "Leveraging with information technology: IS tools for the Start-Up Organization"
Used here as: "IS tools for the Start-Up Organization"
Pages: 192-194

ATTRIBUTIONS 313
Module: "Leveraging with information technology: Moving Forward With Information Systems"
Used here as: "Moving Forward With Information Systems"
Pages: 194-198
Module: "Leveraging with information technology: Know What Your Customers Want"
Used here as: "Know What Your Customers Want"
Pages: 198-200
Module: "Leveraging with information technology: Using Information Technology Competitively"
Used here as: "Using Information Technology Competitively"
Pages: 200-206
Module: "Leveraging with information technology: What is IS Risk Management"
Used here as: "What is IS Risk Management"
Pages: 206-208
Module: "Leveraging with information technology: Chapter Summary"
Used here as: "Chapter Summary"
Page: 209
Module: "Leveraging with information technology: Discussion questions"
Pages: 209-210

314 ATTRIBUTIONS
Module: "Leveraging with Information Technology: References"
Page: 210
Module: "Competitive intelligence - Learning objectives"
Page: 211
Module: "Competitive intelligence - Introduction"
Page: 211
Module: "Competitive intelligence - Denition"
Used here as: "Denition"
Pages: 211-213
Module: "Competitive intelligence - Importance and goals of competitive intelligence"
Used here as: "Importance and goals of competitive intelligence"
Pages: 213-214
Module: "Competitive intelligence - Information collection methods"
Used here as: "Information collection methods"
Pages: 215-216

ATTRIBUTIONS 315
Module: "Competitive intelligence - The industry environment"

Used here as: "The industry environment"
Pages: 216-218
Module: "Competitive intelligence - Porter's 5 forces and the analysis of competitors"
Used here as: "Porter's 5 forces and the analysis of competitors"
Pages: 218-220
Module: "Competitive intelligence - Methods of evaluating competitors"
Used here as: "Methods of evaluating competitors"
Pages: 220-221
Module: "Competitive intelligence - Chapter summary"
Page: 221
Module: "Competitive intelligence - Reference"
Used here as: "Reference"
Page: 222
Module: "Business ethics in a nutshell: What is ethics"
Used here as: "What is ethics"
Pages: 223-227

316 ATTRIBUTIONS
Module: "Business ethics in a nutshell: Management: the meta profession"
Used here as: "Management: the meta profession"
Pages: 228-231
Module: "Business ethics in a nutshell: Corporate social responsibility"
Used here as: "Corporate social responsibility"
Pages: 231-233
Module: "Adding products and services: Learning objectives"
Page: 235
Module: "Adding products and services: Introduction"
Pages: 235-236
Module: "Adding products and services: Where does innovation come from?"
Used here as: "Where does innovation come from?"
Pages: 236-240
Module: "Adding products and services: Innovation through business models"
Used here as: "Innovation through business models"
Pages: 240-243

ATTRIBUTIONS 317
Module: "Adding products and services: Evaluating new products"

Used here as: "Evaluating new products"
Pages: 243-244
Module: "Adding products and services: When innovation fails: deleting products"
Used here as: "When innovation fails: deleting products"
Pages: 244-248
Module: "Adding products and services: Chapter summary"
Page: 248
Module: "Adding products and services: Discussion questions"
Pages: 248-249
Module: "Adding products and services: Case: Apples: Newton and Pippin"
Used here as: "Case: Apples: Newton and Pippin"
Page: 249
Module: "Adding products and services: References"
Pages: 249-250

318 ATTRIBUTIONS
Module: "International business for the entrepreneur: Introduction"
Pages: 251-252
Module: "International business for the entrepreneur: Globalization: opportunities and threats to developing
country business"
Used here as: "Globalization: opportunities and threats to developing country business"
Pages: 252-256
Module: "International business for the entrepreneur: Harnessing technology for global business success"
Used here as: "Harnessing technology for global business success"
Pages: 256-257
Module: "International business for the entrepreneur: Doing business across cultures"
Used here as: "Doing business across cultures"
Pages: 258-261
Module: "International business for entrepreneurs: Political and legal risk in international business"
Used here as: "Political and legal risk in international business"
Pages: 261-264
Module: "International business for entrepreneurs: Global marketing: Assessing potential markets overseas"
Used here as: "Global marketing: Assessing potential markets overseas"
Pages: 264-268

ATTRIBUTIONS 319
Module: "International business for entrepreneurs: Global nance: initial considerations"

Used here as: "Global nance: initial considerations"
Pages: 268-271
Module: "International business for entrepreneurs: Organizational structure and human resource manage-
ment"
Used here as: "Organizational structure and human resource management"
Pages: 271-277
Module: "International business for entrepreneurs: Corporate Social Responsibility and sustainable devel-
opment in the global environment"
Used here as: "Corporate Social Responsibility and sustainable development in the global environment"
Pages: 277-280
Module: "International business for entrepreneurs: Case: Built to Last by Jim Collins"
Used here as: "Case: Built to Last by Jim Collins"
Pages: 280-281
Module: "International business for entrepreneurs: Chapter summary"
Page: 282
Module: "International business for entrepreneurs: References"
Pages: 282-284

320 ATTRIBUTIONS
Module: "Growth strategies for start-ups: Learning objectives and overview"
Used here as: "Learning objectives and overview"
Page: 285
Module: "Growth strategies for start-ups: Denition and models"
Used here as: "Denition and models"
Pages: 285-289
Module: "Growth strategies for start-ups: Growth problems"
Used here as: "Growth problems"
Pages: 290-293
Module: "Growth strategies for start-ups: Chapter summary"
Page: 293
Module: "Growth strategies for start-ups: References, and further literature"
Used here as: "References, and further literature"
Pages: 293-294

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Business Fundamentals

Rice University, Houston, Texas

5.1 Learning ob jectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11227/1.4>

9.8 Ledgers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11227/1.4>

14.6 Global marketing: Assessing potential markets overseas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11227/1.4>

Exhibit 1.1: Striking gold

1 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m35298/1.4/>.

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11227/1.4>

1.1.1 Are entrepreneurs born or made?

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1.2 The business eco-system: The business eco-system5

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Exhibit 1.2: Business eco-system wheel

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Exhibit 1.3: Rising sun

1.3.1.1 When to plant your market opportunity seeds

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What will it cost to make a sale to this customer?

Is my timing right for this market opportunity?

Can I sell this product or service for a prot?

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Exhibit 1.5: The Business Eco-System Wheel and sales

1.4.1.1 What will I sell?

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• A restaurant that oers food menus that others enjoy eating

Ideas for services to consider oering

• Providing education to children as well as adults in a school

1.4.1.2 Places for inspiration

1.4.1.3 Financing: the fundamental rim on the wheel

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1.5 Strategy: the tactical rim on the wheel18

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Exhibit 1.6: Mid day

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1.6.1.1 Branding coaching

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1.6.1.2 Looking for inspiration?

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1.7 Stakeholders: the connective rim on the wheel33

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Exhibit 1.8: Mid Day (Adapted)

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1.8 Ethics: the authentic rim on the wheel39

• What will the new venture's code of ethics state?

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1.8.1.1 Making good: elements of a values-based company culture

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1.8.1.2 Going green on a shoe string

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1.9.1 Water your plants: operations hydrate your startup

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Can I sell this product or service for a prot?

• A restaurant that oers food menus that others enjoy eating

Ideas for services to consider oering

3.2.3 Real expectations outcome: benets

• Product: What is the product/satisfactor that best fullls my customer's needs?