Small Business Enterprise

Task 1

1.1 Profile for chosen business

After devastating effects of First World War, world business and industrialization have seen a period of great struggle. This wants and need for industrialization cannot be achieved unless having required capitalization and experiences. In order to provide all those necessary requirements, various television shows are organized in Britain. Several new entrepreneurs took part in this show and put forward all their career plans in those discussions (Cocofina-The Coconut Experts-Coconut Oil Water Milk Flour Sugar Amino 2017).

• Business name- Just like all other business firms this chosen entity named Cocofina also took part in this reality show named Dragon’s Den to take its company to success.
• Owner This enterprise in founded by a very small business entrepreneur named Jacob Thundil, an Indian-origin British who started these whole proceedings in the year 2004.
• Historical background - In2004 when this entrepreneur was spending a vacation in coastal areas of Brazil, he was drinking a relishing coconut drink with his friends. At that time he was struck with an idea of building his own business firm of coconut drink producers. He started these proceedings by searching for best quality coconuts and utilizing them in a production process (Ellis & Kiely, 2015). This idea was sounded very catchy and several high-end investors liked this innovative idea and wanted to invest in this process. In the year 2005 this firm achieved its first sense of success when it received its first award and recognition in front of an audience of UK. After that, this firm started climbing all those ladders of success and now it sold in over 3000 specialty and health drinks outlets in the UK. This company now has over a decade of experience in this sphere and is looking for expansion of business worldwide in upcoming years.
• Activities - It is now showed its interest in manufacturing several coconut related food items and sweet products.
• Location - This Company is mainly operating in the United Kingdom and several areas surrounding it and it is looking for expanding its business by strengthening its activities in the international market.
• Strengths and weakness - The main strength that this company has are its selling process is directly related to the customers. Products are priced in such a way so that all types of buyers can afford and this automatically enhances their business outcomes.As per Flynn, McKevitt, & Davis (2015) its main weakness is the partnership process is very thin and so its business expansion in all parts of UK is falling short. The effective manpower and experience are required for this firm in overcoming these criteria (Dragons' Den 2017).

1.2 Comparison of performances in areas of marketing, production, and sales

Financial performance is mainly referred to as the measurement of the activities done in a particular time period by a company and its effect on the financial statistics of the same. Hatten (2015) agreed that, it is generally calculated by a comparison method which includes calculation of all the data registered by a rival company in the same time period. The most promising rival firm of this chosen organization is kokoso skin limited. This company mainly belongs to the same geographical area and is a similar-sized firm who more or less develops the same revenue when compared.

The revenue generation of the chosen firm is 8.23 GBP on a daily basis. This is mainly worthing 3130 GBP yearly income. Whereas, the total revenue collection of kokoso skin limited is 6.58 GBP with company revenue collection of 2886 GBP last financial year.

The company’s banks statements are also similar in terms revolving around 500 UK pounds.

The raw materials used by both the firm are coconut. Though there is a difference in the product materials. This chosen organization mainly produces coconut related food products and health drinks like coconut water, energy drinks, sweets made from coconut flesh and coconut energy bars. Holsapple, Lee-Post, & Pakath (2014) said that, while the rival company of this organization mainly produces products which are beauty products, skin care products, creams and skin softeners. Along with this they also manufacture several baby creams and powders moisturizers and nappy creams. Coconut baby oil and baby skin softeners are also produced.

Both of this company is based in the United Kingdom so the competition is very stiff. Each of them buys their raw materials from same coconut suppliers so the rivalry is very high. Marketing and sales department of this two companies are very similar because both of them operates their units in various regions of London. The buyer of their manufactured products is also belonging to the same region and so the advertising and promotional areas are highly compared between those two companies.

The human resource policies adopted by these two organizations are also very similar. Both of them faces stiff competition from their respective rival large companies. Kitchin & Lauriault (2015) opined that, it is for that reason the human resource operator is appointed in both of these organizations to deal with all those areas which need special attention. The line of communication with customers is also given special attention because this is directly affecting revenue generation and sales output. The business outcomes are mainly dependent on the performances of the newly appointed sales managers in the respective organization. However, when compared with each other, the chosen firm’s HR manager is a little more experienced in his operations than its nearest rival so the overall turnover and revenue data collected in the last fiscal year shows a comparatively higher profit. This rival company is new in this business so its HR manager is also a little weak in taking all those necessary steps for the benefit of the company. HR manager of this picked organization collects all the necessary information in his handbook and thoroughly analyze those figures in accordance with current market standings. Loebbecke, & Picot (2015) said that, all those rules and regulations mentioned in the state and national government guidelines are effectively maintained and this has helped this company in acquiring success in the UK market. Those weak points which this firm is suffering from are under the radar of the HR manager. The manager is constantly trying to build a strong and trusted partnership with other UK manufacturing firms so that the current scenario could be changed.

This picked entity has highly maintained its business success and for that reason, it periodically follows internal SWOT analysis. In this regard, the company gets benefitted by understanding those areas which need to be taken care.

Strength - Strength of this firm is high-quality products and all the retail outlets are opened 24*7. This helps in generating much more profits. Besides the customer services are given special care. All those employees working under this manufacturing and selling units are well educated so their manners and conduct with its customer base are highly commendable.

Weakness - lack of marketing experience is troubling the manufacturing unit very much. It is for that reason the production of this firm is decreasing. Other than that, the delivery unit is also not very efficient. Customer satisfaction is not given a special care in this respect. The cost of operation in the United Kingdom is very high and for this reason, the space of overall operation is very tight and the marketing cost is very high.

Opportunities - They are offering various discounts and offers in their selling unit and for that reason; recent selling figures have taken a huge rise in performance graph. Apart from that, they are trying various innovative experiments so that they can manufacture various other products from their raw material which is coconut. Since a lot of products can be manufactured from coconut so they are giving a special thought on this department. They are also introducing new technologies in their infrastructure unit so that their overall company structure is well maintained. They are also looking to increase their distribution channel so that their business gets expanded.

Threats- Larger companies operating in the same region are posing a lot of threats to their business operation. Since their budget and financial power are higher, those large companies are trying every strategy to hamper the business of this firm. Apart from this, the younger generations are mostly targeted by this organization and also showing a lack of interest in their products.  In addition to this new tax structure produced by the government could decrease their overall revenue generation.

Task 2: Consideration of weakness

2.1 Appropriate actions for overcoming weaknesses

Every day offers a new opportunity to improve their business objectives. Several chances and opportunities are obtained for overcoming this present weaknesses and gaining benefit from the current situation. In order to gain a substantial advantage in the business, this firm should identify all those points which are creating deficits in this current situation and then it should implement necessary ideas for overcoming those deficits. All those weaknesses which are observed about this company are to be analyzed and various problem-solving strategies have to be implemented. Since the employee strength is very weak in this company they have to keep their operational targets smaller than that of its stronger rival industries. This will eventually help them in achieving those smaller targets and ultimately reaching higher objectives.

Besides this, they should keep a record of every aspect of business. This record keeping should help them in calculating its overall expenditure and estimate the future targets and financial goals. This thing also helps this company in following all those best practices which are benefitting the overall business market. In this respect, they can also make a market survey and take help from market professionals who are highly experienced in this type of situations.

Apart from this, staff motivation and employee retention policies must have to be applied in this current company structure to overcome this recent staff related weaknesses and achieving benefit from this situation.

They also have to strengthen their customer relationship and servicing aspects so that customers get a good impression about them. Customers should get impressed with the services and products sold by this organization. In that case, they can improve their customer relationship process and get periodical feedbacks from them to make their business successful.

2.2 Analysis for maintaining and strengthening of existing performances

Most of the companies particularly in small business firms tend to improve their current market situations by spending much more than they actually are. However, there are other strategies also for improving and strengthening this present scenario. This particular firm takes some of those innovative techniques in these circumstances. They always try to improve their existing customer base (McAdam et al. 2014). They give much importance to customer satisfaction. In order to maintain a fair share position in their market, they should apply additional staffing technique. Increased numbers of staffs help in delivering better and improved customer services. They should also apply some other tactics like timing strategy. This involves selling a particular product in a particular time maintaining the climatic scenario. Initiatives are to be taken so that particular products are manufactured and sold according to the demand of the market. They could invest in their infrastructure so that technological equipment is included in every aspect of business transactions and operations. Phillips-Wren et al. (2015) agreed that, they should prioritize some significant aspects and identify those places so that those parts can be improved.

They should not forget their basics while concentrating on other higher aspects. They have to employ some senior staffs in their operation because it is observed that some inexperienced staffs are not working properly and servicing facilities are lacking many experiences. The customers should be properly greeted and their queries should listen carefully. Even customer database are to be maintained and connected on a regular basis. Maintaining customer connection helps in retention of regular customers and building a good impression on their minds. The manufacturing unit is very congested so staffs are finding it difficult to work in this atmosphere. This is hampering the whole production process because staffs are lacking many interests in working under tight spaces.

2.3 Suggestion for business expansion in new areas with justification

This firm is investing all types of strategies in strengthening of business and expanding it into different spheres. The most important step that has to be taken is increasing product range and inducting new materials in their selling lists. This will help in building an advantage over its rival companies and make a good impression in the customer's mind. They should also look for other strategies to increase their revenue generation so that those collected revenues can be invested in building other manufacturing units. Spence (2016) stated that, apart from this, they can also try to build and strengthen their existing partnership and alliance with other companies. Collaboration with different partners automatically increases the competition among the suppliers and eventually, the product quality of the raw materials will improve and the overall business will prosper in this situation. Another feature that can be applied is franchising strategies. In this respect, local franchisee takes the responsibilities and risks involved and spread this business in multiple locations.  Licensing a particular product is considered as a fantastic idea in business. In this context, some other company takes the responsibility of production and distribution whereas the lion’s share of profit is paid to this firm.

Task 3: investigating further plans of business

3.1 Assessment of planning of business objectives

Business objectives of this company are mainly to set on acquiring profit and growth in the business sphere. Their businesses objectives are based on a smart model which means being specific in its approach, measuring all the objectives before advancing. They are also focusing on agreeing all those concerned objectives, Realistic in its target and being time specific so that all goals which are targeted are achieved in a particular time frame. However, they have to make suitable changes in their objectives to survive in this competitive environment. They have objectified the ethical and social factors so that profits are maximized in a future market scenario. The profit which is generated in this current change of objectives are satisfying and this business organization relies on this current success and invest this profit in a future expansion.

They have also framed their objectives into two sections financial and nonfinancial objectives. This has helped in proper risk estimating and gaining a lot of courage and good luck.

Financial objectives include sufficient sources for financing options.

Survival and fulfilment of debts are the primary points for this enterprise. Another financial objective that this firm has implemented is a production of a viable business model and this has generated much profit.

The nonfinancial objective includes choosing a particular strategy to get the job done. This also includes being more flexible and convenient in their working schedule. In addition to this, the company's another objective is having confidence in their capabilities so that potential is not wasted.

3.2 Existing business plans review and suggestions on changeable areas

The very first thing that this industry has to make is to define and select an effective business plan which is suitable for handling its operations. This plan should revolve around the financial marketing as well as the sales department. They should devise those plans in accordance with production, productivity and also the personnel strength. Since they are in the beverage industry, they should try to concentrate on the product quality and pricing techniques primarily. They are very capable in an implementation of those plans by evaluating all the business objectives that are targeted. They are very agile in taking those possible decisions which are in accord with the customer demands. They employ their staffs who are well trained. However, they have to make sure those staffs are well paid so that they are satisfied with their jobs and improve their customer services. They will have to incorporate those plans in their changes of business objectives and adjust those changes in the business action plan for their survival in the business environment.

They should look at working in a good and professional manner and maintain a healthy relation with the supply chain, delivery chain, manufacturers as well as other entrepreneurs. They should employ effective strategies to implement the plans in all sections of distribution. The coordinator and operator have to be employed so that the products are kept fresh and quality of them is maintained. Sarapaivanich & Patterson (2015), stated that, the have to invest in the implementation of latest technologies in a preservation of raw materials to keep them fresh. Proper care and support should be implemented to drive those projects which are taken and formulate those projects for a success of this company and building reputation in the market of United Kingdom.

3.3 Action plans for implementation of those changes

Task 4: Report on collected data

4.1 Impact of changes on business and personnel

The business of Cocofina has seen a rise from the year of its origin and massive revolution occurred in working procedure of the firm. Financial functions and human resources of business firms reform entirely when business patterns change years after years (Ackermann & Audretsch, 2013). A similar state of business occurred in Cocofina and employees of this organisation changed their working process in order to bring success in business. For bringing innovation in business, top management and employees started to take decisions collectively for the sake of progression. As a result, load of work upon employees increases in order to attain success in business. However, staffs did not show any behaviour of agitation instead they willingly wanted to work for converting small-sized enterprise into large-sized enterprise. When size of ventures is enlarged, spacious place of work is requirement so that number of employees can be accommodated (Bell, 2016).

Cocofina has taken similar measures for maintaining good working environments for working personnel. The organisation is gaining popularity for its preparation of healthy and refreshing drink. There are large numbers of competitors in market that is why; use of advanced technology is required. This will help in proper preparation of refreshing drink and urge for drinking such new drink will enhance among people. Business plans are always taken after considering future risks and obstacles so that preventive steps can be taken from initial stage only. New plan of trade and commerce of this firm can be considered as a privilege for bringing glorious success in following years. Moreover, this small-sized enterprise can attain great popularity in local market. This will assist in expanding their business in across national borders.

4.2 Management of changes on business

Incorporation of changes in business is required to be properly managed so that no flaws can occur after delivery of results (Calof, Richards & Smith, 2015). Today’s business world is very competitive and in order to handle such existing conditions, effective execution of business is a great necessity. For fetching sustainable changes in business, environmental factors like pollution have to be considered by the entity. This will aid in increasing efficiency of this company thereby ensuring profit in long run of business. Beverage industry has very powerful because large numbers of customers are attracted towards variety of drinks for refreshment (Cao, Duan & Li, 2015). That is why; change is required to be made after conducting calculation regarding future growth. The entity has seen drastic fall in some financial years because it was not capable of tolerating fast reformation taking place in beverage industry.

Moreover, marketing technique of their products are very poor as a result, fewer customers are bring attracted towards them. Cocofina did entire analysis so that proper business plan can be taken for bringing growth in firm. Employees eagerly want to accept changes positively and work very hard for fulfilling aims of this enterprise. That is why; real discussion is required to be done with every stakeholder of an organisation so that better decisions can arrive. There is a necessity of funds for incorporating changes in business (Carraher & Paridon, 2015). Arrangement for funds is required to be done by top professionals of firm so that immense market revenue can be attained. Moreover, competition in beverage industry has reached high level and customer like to use latest trendy products instead of traditional ones. Demand of users need to be understood and accurate changes can be incorporated in commerce of Cocofina.

4.3 Business Performance improvement in past two years

Business of Cocofina was started in the year 2004 and it has seen a lot of difficulties in their business. It became a matter of great concern when the organisation found that business performance is not well in initial years. They thought of investing more so that profit can be ensured. This business enterprise can take help from financial institutions so that better results can be ascertained. From year 2005, business has seen a rise in their performance. After years of operating, increasing trend is being seen from 2013. Top management of enterprises needs to continue to maintain this performance trend accordingly so that better results can be ensured (Cassar, Ittner & Cavalluzzo, 2015). However, business performance did not go well in between these financial years. A rising margin continued to be seen after 2013.

Quality of beverages delivered by this venture also increased a lot and people started finding interest in their products.

Moreover, loans or debentures are required to be undertaken by business house so that commerce can be explored more. For small-scale business, efficiency is required to be maintained along with strong will power of employees to work in a much better way (Donnelly et al. 2015). This business entity has to motivate their staffs more so that they can work in a much effective way than before. In addition to this, a number of employees is required to be increased so that good performance can be given in competitive market. Marketing of this beverage company seems to be lowered in these years that are why; marketing has to be improved further so that returns can be ensured accordingly.

Conclusion

The study related to small-sized industries showed in what way they perform their work and brings profit in these firms. For smooth execution of business, requirement of funds is very necessary. Cocofina has seen great rise in past two years but marketing of their products was not done properly. This might affect their business so sales rate, as well as marketing; have to be done equally for ensuring better outcomes. A new action plan has been incorporated so that business follows a right track to gain success. SWOT analysis is performed in order to analyse the effectiveness of micro business environment of Cocofina. Though the beverage entity has started their business from zero level, yet they are trying to make more innovation in their products. This will help in attracting more number of customers towards them. Significance of employment is also discussed so that business can flourish in coming years.

Reference

• Ackermann, S. J., & Audretsch, D. B. (Eds.). (2013). The economics of small firms: A European challenge (Vol. 11). Springer Science & Business Media.
• Bell, R. (2016). Fostering Globally Minded Entrepreneurs: Examining the Challenges of Cross-Cultural Enterprise through International Video Case Studies.
• Calof, J., Richards, G., & Smith, J. (2015). Foresight, competitive intelligence and business analytics—tools for making industrial programmes more efficient. Foresight-Russia, 9(1), 68-81.
• Cao, G., Duan, Y., & Li, G. (2015). Linking business analytics to decision making effectiveness: A path model analysis. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 62(3), 384-395.
• Carraher, S. M., & Paridon, T. J. (2015). Entrepreneurship journal rankings across the discipline. Journal of Small Business Strategy, 19(2), 89-98.
• Cassar, G., Ittner, C. D., & Cavalluzzo, K. S. (2015). Alternative information sources and information asymmetry reduction: Evidence from small business debt. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 59(2), 242-263.
• Donnelly, C., Simmons, G., Armstrong, G., & Fearne, A. (2015). Digital loyalty card ‘big data’and small business marketing: Formal versus informal or complementary?. International Small Business Journal, 33(4), 422-442.
• Ellis, J. H., & Kiely, J. A. (2015). Small Business Enterprise and Development: Consultation Modes. Journal of Small Business Strategy, 11(2), 48-59.
• Flynn, A., McKevitt, D., & Davis, P. (2015). The impact of size on small and medium-sized enterprise public sector tendering. International Small Business Journal, 33(4), 443-461.
• Hatten, T. S. (2015). Small business management: Entrepreneurship and beyond. Nelson Education.

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