Creating a Business Plan – Writing a Business Plan – Components of a Business Plan

Elements or Components of a Business Plan There are no substitutes for a well-prepared business plan, and there are no short cuts to creating one. Each business plan is unique and must be tailor made because each business is unique. So the plans are not cast in stone: Entrepreneurs may want to make alterations to suit the specifics of their business. The elements or components of a business plan may be standard, but how entrepreneurs tell their story should be unique and reflect their personal excitement about the new venture. Although building a business plan doesn’t guarantee success, it does raise an entrepreneur’s chance of succeeding in business. A business plan typically ranges from 25 to 55 pages in length. Shorter plans typically are too sketchy to be of any value and those much longer than this run the risk of never getting used or read. However, entrepreneurs must recognize Continue reading

Forms of Corporate Entrepreneurship

Corporate entrepreneurship is one that generates and exploits new technologies, products, or businesses under the corporate umbrella of an established firm. Corporate entrepreneurship can speed up processes inside the company and helps to invent and commercialize innovative products or services. Corporate entrepreneurship is the process by which teams within an established company conceive, foster, launch and manage a new business that is distinct from the parent company but leverages the parent’s assets, market position, capabilities or other resources. Corporate entrepreneurship is also more than the development of new products; it also implies innovations to existing products or brands. Corporate entrepreneurship is also defined as the process of stimulating innovative ideas and processes. The common goal of the concept is creating wealth. This definition differs from the other two definitions above in the sense that it doesn’t mention the protection of an established firm as a characteristic of corporate entrepreneurship. Innovation Continue reading

The Process of Employee Counselling

The process of  employee counselling  has three phases: rapport building, exploration and action planning, these are discussed below: Rapport Building: Initially the counselor-manager should level himself with his employee and tune himself to his orientations. General opening rituals like offering a chair, closing the door to indicate privacy, asking the secretary not to disturb are all important in demonstrating the manager’s genuine interest in employee’s problems. The counselor must listen to the feelings and concerns of the employee carefully and attentively. Leaning forward and eye contact are important signs of active listening. The employee must feel that he is wanted and the counselors is interested in him genuinely. Exploration: Besides active listening, the counselor should help the employee find his own weaknesses and problems through open and exploring questions. He should be encouraged to open up fully and talk more on the problem. This would enable both parties to uncover Continue reading

Securites and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992

Major part of the liberalisation process was the repeal of the Capital Issues (Control) Act, 1947, in May 1992. With this, Government’s control over issues of capital, pricing of the issues, fixing of premia and rates of interest on debentures etc. ceased, and the office which administered the Act was abolished: the market was allowed to allocate resources to competing uses. However, to ensure effective regulation of the market, Securites and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 was enacted to establish SEBI with statutory powers for: (a) protecting the interests of investors in securities, (b) promoting the development of the securities market, and (c) regulating the securities market. Its regulatory jurisdiction extends over companies listed on Stock Exchanges and companies intending to get their securities listed on any recognized stock exchange in the issuance of securities and transfer of securities, in addition to all intermediaries and persons associated with securities Continue reading

Management Information and Control Systems (MICS) Installation

The decision to establish a formal Management Information and Control System (MICS) becomes almost inevitable in today’s business climate. The accelerating needs for uniform, concise and timely information by all levels of management dictates the establishment of such a system. The results can be better control of and greater profitability from the enterprise. Essentially the functioning of a MICS involves transmission of all pertinent data necessary to the conduct of a business to one or more management information centers, where it is maintained mid then disseminated in discrete form to all levels of management. This description provides no reference to computers or any other specific type of data processing equipment. This is to emphasize that possession of data processing equipment is not a pre-requisite for Management Information and Control Systems. Computers, punched card equipment, data collection and transmission equipment, etc., are excellent tools that can, if costs and volume warrant, Continue reading

Methods of Measuring Advertising Effectiveness

Advertising is aimed at improving the sales volume of a concern so its effectiveness can be evaluated by its impact on sales. Most of the managers believe that the advertisement directly affects the sales volume and hence they evaluate the effectiveness of the advertising campaign by the increase in the sales volume. Methods of Measuring Advertising Effectiveness There may be two types measures of advertising effectiveness namely; Direct measures and, Indirect measures. Direct Measures of Advertising Effectiveness Under direct measures, a relationship between advertising and sales is established. A comparison of sales of two periods or two periods or two markets may be done and the corresponding changes may be noted. The following are some of the methods that are generally used in measuring that advertising effects. i. Historical Sales Method Some insights into the effectiveness of past advertising may be obtained by measuring the relationship between the advertising expenditure Continue reading