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Business Efficiency

Do you want to Reduce Admin and Boost Productivity?

To start a new business is often to follow a passion but the sudden reality can be that passion must take a back seat when the realities of running a business hit home. One of the challenges that occurs is business admin – and what soon follows is the need to reduce admin to remain […]

Top Tips to running a cost efficient small business

Aim for zero cost at all times How much can you get for free? Get office furniture by picking it up on Freecycle or the ‘free stuff’ section on Gumtree. Barter goods and services with other businesses. Look around the net for free versions of software you usually have to pay for. See if big […]

67. Leadership thinking for small business (part 2)

Leadership for small business is essential but so often forgotten. We scanned some of the theories in the last of these. So what should a small business person do with all this theory? Most importantly, to be aware. Be aware of the need to lead as well as to manage your business; be aware of […]

66. Leadership thinking for small business (part 1)

We have been looking at some of the motivational theories and how they apply to small business. In the area of leadership, the gurus come by the pile, with lots of theory and not much evidence. What it is critical for a small business to know is that leadership is not the same as management, […]

65. Douglas McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y for small business

McGregor published his book, The Human Side of Enterprise, back in 1960, and it has been influential ever since. He suggested 2 approaches to management. Theory X managers believe that employees do not like work and have to be managed with carrot and stick to get anything done; Theory Y managers believe that people get […]

63. Frederick Herzberg and executive pay – and MPs expenses!

My last post on Frederick Herzberg’s theory of motivation has given rise to a few thoughts in relation to the recent hot topics of pay and expenses. Just to remind you, Herzberg’s research identified that pay is what he called a ‘hygeine’ factor: if it is not adequate it will cause dissatisfaction but it is […]

62. Frederick Herzberg and motivation for small business

I thought it might be time to consider some gurus on the people side of business. Herzberg’s 1959 book, The Motivation to Work, has had a great influence – and if you do not employ anyone, please do not stop reading now as this is just as relevant to your own motivation. He introduced the matched […]

61. Corporate Strategy and Igor Ansoff for small business (part 2)

 Ansoff working on how corporates grew considered a number of important concepts taken up later by other writers, including the core capabilities of the organisation, its product and market scope (or marketing focus) and competitive advantage. The strategy for growth could exploit these factors and consider the options for development which Ansoff defined in his […]

60. Corporate Strategy and Igor Ansoff for small business (part 1)

Igor Ansoff (1918-2002) pretty much invented the concept of corporate strategy – all of course based on large corporate organisations (he worked with Rand Corp and Lockheed). But small businesses also have to make strategic decisions so what he had to say can be relevant. Ansoff drew a qualitative line between strategic decisions which were fundamental […]

58. Michael Porter and Competitive Advantage for Small Business (part 8)

Having looked at the five forces Michael Porter identifies in Competitive Advantage, Porter goes on to develop a theory of  what he calls the Value Chain in business. This looks at the elements in any business (some of which will not be very applicable to certain types of business) including processes:  inbound logistics, operations, marketing and […]

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