Learned, How is important change Management the Success of a Business?
The term change management approach is a way to describe uses for implementing controls on an organization that is either planned or unplanned. Change constantly, whether good or bad. How the organization tackles change often has the difference between success and failure. As the economy becomes more global and as technology should advance so early, change management should be a continuous, rapid-fire process. Also learn, the Methods of Economics, How is important change Management the Success of a Business?
Managing Change!
When an organization is working on a project, change management is important for the success of the enterprise. According to the Transformation Management Study Center, the direct relation exists between management change and success of a project. The Transformation Management Study Center refers to a 2002 study by a writer, McKinsey on the website, and the company has done more than 40 projects that study how effective management of investment-on-investment (ROI) was changing.
When change management methods were used, the principles of this project were 100% effective for the projects not implemented, compared to 50% of expected results. An example of this makes a new product a company. Every step in the way of making product changes can bring. Packaging can be different, marketing strategies may be different and even product testing may be different. People do not consider change on the project, or opposed to change, the product may fail.
The Pace of Change!
The author of Change Management Studies Center has said that not only changes happen all the time, but the speed of change is increasing. Staying With Rapid Changes There is a difference between getting a business or memorizing opportunities. Consider your company is selling a product in a regional area and you are contacting a national company that wants to distribute your product across the country. Within very short time, you will have to increase production, rent new employees, new distribution and possibly brand your product again, while maintaining its current sales while doing all this. If a change management process is not in place, any failure point can fail the whole project.
Contest!
Companies that produce similar products have always been in competition with an other-however, the competition has rapidly increased intensely. Principles of Change Management can help a company stay competitive. As an example to consider, a computer company that produces a new feature such as an interesting case design. Consumers buy the product due to “cool” factor. How quickly competing computer companies can influence the sale of similar product designs can amplify by offering. Partnership: How Does it work in Business?
Overcome Obstacles!
The overall concept of competition consideration, the speed of change and management of change is an underlying main issue. Change management is very important because it is the principle of identifying its essence and removing obstacles. An obstacle can be from a simple internal issue for multinational agreements. Consider an organization that buys a new piece of software. The issue is only that the staff needs to train on its use. The Steps of Manpower Planning with Features!
However, employees can resist changes or the software may not be compatible with some hardware. The way of managing organization software is to talk about the obstacles that arise to remove systematic. Consider, on a large scale, a product your company would like to implement within a country. Obstacles can be with the country’s government or with such a power supply that adheres to the rules of the country, it is necessary to have specific features product. Even in the US dollar, there may be a hindrance in changing the country’s wealth. Good honed change management quickly shows obstacles and develops ways to remove them.
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If you’re thinking of starting a business or raising money to expand an existing one, you need a plan. Running a successful business requires a great deal of forethought, so write a business plan and secure your venture’s future. How to Write a Business Plan will show you how to write the right plan for your business and design a loan package necessary to finance your business and make it work. 6 Secrets to Startup Success.
With this bestselling all-in-one guide you’ll learn how to:
Figure out if your business idea will make money.
Estimate operating expenses.
Prepare cash flow.
Create profit and loss forecasts.
Determine assets, liabilities, and net worth.
Find potential sources of financing.
Think first before borrowing from friends and relatives, and.
Professionally present your plan to lenders and investors.
How to Write a Business Plan provides spreadsheets that help you determine and forecast cash flow, financial statements, sales revenue, and profit and loss. It also provides three sample business plans you can modify for your own use. This edition is completely updated, providing all-new online resources and updated examples of successful business plans. What is an Entrepreneur?
“An excellent summary of what it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur. Every person who wants to start the ‘next big thing’ should read 6 Secrets to Startup Success. Before taking the leap forward.” — Guy Kawasaki, co-founder, Alltop.com, and author of Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions
Over six million Americans start businesses every year. That’s 11 startups a minute launched by passionate dreamers hoping to transform their lives for the better.
But a huge gap exists between the skyrocketing levels of desire and what entrepreneurs actually achieve. The harsh reality is that most new businesses fail within a few years of launch. Why do so few startups make it? And what distinguishes those that do succeed? Entrepreneur, consultant, and investor John Bradberry set out to discover. The answer and came to a surprising conclusion—that the passion that drives and energizes so many founders is also the very thing that leads many of them astray.
Filled with compelling real-life stories of both success and failure. This groundbreaking book reveals the key principles entrepreneurs must follow to ensure their big idea is on the right track. In 6 Secrets to Startup Success, readers will learn how to:
Convert their passion into economic value with a moneymaking business model. – Improve their readiness to launch and lead a new venture. – Manage funding and cash flows. – Chart a path to breakeven and beyond. – Avoid the pitfalls that often accompany unfettered passion. – Build the stamina needed to persevere over time.
Complete with indispensable tools including an assessment to gauge a venture’s strengths and weaknesses. 6 Secrets to Startup Success will help entrepreneurs everywhere turn their dreams into reality.
Successful Writing at Work, Concise Second Edition, is a practical introductory text for students in business, professional, and occupational writing courses. As readers of the full-length edition of this text have found. Successful Writing at Work clearly helps students develop and master key communication skills vital for success in the workplace. Every Leader have to need Social Media Skills with Qualities.
The Concise Edition serves the same purpose, but it is design for those who prefer a more compact text. One that covers nearly as many business writing topics but is more streamline and focuses. On the most essential skills and strategies for writing successfully on the job. Whereas the full-length edition includes seventeen chapters. The Concise Edition contains ten chapters, yet fully covers the range of workplace communication: from essential considerations such as audience analysis and ethics, to writing increasingly more complex business documents (memos through long reports), to making presentations, to preparing a résumé and interviewing for a job.
This compact edition has design for a variety of educational settings where business writing is taught. It is versatile enough for a full semester or trimester course, or it can use successfully in a shorter course, such as on a quarter system. It can also meet the diverse goals of varied educational settings, including online, distance education, continuing education, and week-long intensive courses, as well as in-house training programs, workshops, and conferences.
Successful Writing at Work, Concise Second Edition. Provides students with easy-to-understand guidelines for writing and designing clear, well organized, and readable documents. Along with user-friendly guidelines. This edition provides students with realistic models of the precise kinds of documents. They will ask to write on the job. In addition, this text can serve as a ready reference that readers can easily carry with them to the workplace. Students will quickly find that this book includes many practical applications. Which are useful to those. Who have little or no job experience as well as those with years of experience in the world of work.
How to Start and Run your Own Business with Successful Entrepreneurs?
Successful Entrepreneurs were asked “What do you wish you knew before you started a business?” Here are there answers. 5 Best Tips and nine characteristics for Stat up with Video Clip of 11 Steps to Starting a Successful Business in Your 20s.When you start your own business, you’re certain to hear a lot of different advice. Most of it will come from people who don’t know the first thing about running a successful company. Turn to the Internet, and you’ll be overwhelmed by a multitude of articles and lengthy lists on the subject. Don’t make the mistake of over-thinking and over-analyzing it all. A few simple steps now can start your business down the path toward success. Why are the Need Entrepreneurship for Small Business?
Here, we outline the five basic tips we’ve followed to help us run our company.
Begin with a detailed plan
This one is a must: Develop an in-depth plan that fully details how you’ll attack the challenge ahead. Your plan should define any opportunities you’ve identified, clearly state your mission, describe your target, establish measurable goals, and set deadlines for each milestone along the way. Remember that while it’s important to have a plan, it’s equally vital to be flexible enough to pivot when needed.
Get out there and network
Our business would not be where it is today without all the professional networking we did when we first started. We continue to emphasize networking today. Until you’ve established your business, you’ll need to create your own word-of-mouth. Be your own brand ambassador, touting the benefits of working with your business and showing why people should give you a chance.
Start your own momentum. A wealth of events, trade shows, and networking groups exist to connect you with other professionals. These initial connections can lead to future business prospects, mentors, and strategic partners with the capacity to help grow your business.
Surround yourself with the right people
The right mentors and strategic partners aren’t the only people with whom you’ll need to align. Surrounding yourself with a great team is equally important. Build your staff with smart, talented, and driven employees who share your vision. They can not only transform your business but also accelerate its growth. Hiring positive, can-do employees helps create a culture that encourages teamwork. Foster an environment in which everyone participates, so you can collectively celebrate your company’s successes.
Stay ahead of the curve
You can’t afford to be rooted in the present and solely focused on the day-to-day. It’s crucial to keep one eye focused on the future, including upcoming movement in your industry. If you aren’t anticipating the next big thing, you’re destined to fall behind. Successful business owners study trends and anticipate what’s coming around the bend. This allows them to nimbly adapt and evolve.
Stay current on emerging issues in your field by faithfully reading trade magazines and websites. Keeping pace as your industry changes assures you’ll have your finger on the pulse to predict what customers will want — and which direction your competition might move.
Find a healthy work-life balance
Running a successful business requires an inordinate amount of time and energy. It’s paramount to find a healthy work-life balance, even though it can be a challenge to do so. It’s easy to let work dominate your life. Don’t. It could result in your losing touch with those whom you consider most important. It’s also crucial to take care of your own health and well-being. Your business can’t run without you. You might believe you need that perpetual hustle to stay sharp and succeed. But that pace can and will burn you out, ultimately limiting how much you can achieve if you don’t take time for yourself.
Find ways to maintain perspective and preserve healthy relationships outside of work. Set aside time to get your body active in ways that energize and invigorate you, and schedule catch-up time with friends and family. They’ll help recharge your batteries and inspire you to persevere as you dream even bigger.
Here are Best characteristics you should ideally possess to start and run your own business:
Motivation
Entrepreneurs are enthusiastic, optimistic and future-oriented. They believe they’ll be successful and are willing to risk their resources in pursuit of profit. High energy levels and are sometimes impatient. Always thinking about their business and how to increase their market share. Are you self-motivated enough to do this, and can you stay motivated for extended periods of time? Can you bounce back in the face of challenges?
Creativity and Persuasiveness
Successful entrepreneurs have the creative capacity to recognize and pursue opportunities. They possess strong selling skills and are both persuasive and persistent. Are you willing to promote your business tirelessly and look for new ways to get the word out about your product or service?
Versatility
Company workers can usually rely on a staff or colleagues to provide service or support. As an entrepreneur, you’ll typically start out as a “solopreneur,” meaning you will be on your own for a while. You may not have the luxury of hiring a support staff initially. Therefore, you will end up wearing several different hats, including secretary, bookkeeper and so on. You need to be mentally prepared to take on all these tasks at the beginning. Can you do that?
Superb Business Skills
Entrepreneurs are naturally capable of setting up the internal systems, procedures and processes necessary to operate a business. They are focused on cash flow, sales and revenue at all times. Successful entrepreneurs rely on their business skills, know-how and contacts. Evaluate your current talents and professional network. Will your skills, contacts and experience readily transfer to the business idea you want to pursue?
Risk Tolerance
Launching any entrepreneurial venture is risky. Are you willing to assume that risk? You can reduce your risk by thoroughly researching your business concept, industry and market. You can also test your concept on a small scale. Can you get a letter of intent from prospective customers to purchase? If so, do you think customers would actually go through with their transaction?
Drive
As an entrepreneur, you are in the driver’s seat, so you must be proactive in your approaches to everything. Are you a doer — someone willing to take the reins — or would you rather someone else do things for you?
Vision
One of your responsibilities as founder and head of your company is deciding where your business should go. That requires vision. Without it, your boat will be lost at sea. Are you the type of person who looks ahead and can see the big picture?
Flexibility and Open-Mindedness
While entrepreneurs need a steadfast vision and direction, they will face a lot of unknowns. You will need to be ready to tweak any initial plans and strategies. New and better ways of doing things may come along as well. Can you be open-minded and flexible in the face of change?
Decisiveness
As an entrepreneur, you won’t have room for procrastination or indecision. Not only will these traits stall progress, but they can also cause you to miss crucial opportunities that could move you toward success. Can you make decisions quickly and seize the moment? In Business World Best Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs.
Best Common Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs in Business World
All of these world famous entrepreneurs are unique in that they believed in themselves mostly since they were kids and worked towards that goal to success and fame. All successful entrepreneurs take their work very seriously. Have you ever thought about striking out on your own? After all, being your own boss can be an exciting prospect. However, owning a business isn’t for everyone. To be a successful entrepreneur, you must have or develop certain personality traits. Entrepreneurship is itself a process through which the entrepreneur allocate the resources available to the business in a way or in other words in a systematic manner that the entrepreneur can meet the requisites of the business and achieve the objectives of the business as well as of his own.
Now a days businesses are being done on large scale or more businesses are being run in one organization therefore, the executive management or the entrepreneurs has to adopt the ways and system through which they can not even secure their time but to save their resources from drain. How Do You Know Your Company Wants Help From The Outside?
Entrepreneurship is the process of innovation that reallocates resources to new opportunities, often creating new opportunities through unusual combination of resources and skills of risk taking. The entrepreneurs some time has to face the problems because they prepare their plans personally and create innovations and believe that they are doing the best and when the problem in the market has to be faced by them, then they suffer losses and face the rejection of their self develop ideas, innovations, inventions or creations on the basis of incomplete information and evaluation of the factors because they personally believe in strategies and plans.
The success is behind the criticism because when the entrepreneur of such kind prepare plans for business before going to other persons, he himself cities his ideas, innovations, creations and plans which he develop and get the answer to check his satisfaction. Why are the Need Entrepreneurship for Small Business?
The entrepreneurs of successful type take and evaluate constructive and realistic criticism of their business on the basis of past and previous plan/strategies being adopted by them and others and before adoptions to any of them constructively consider the positive and negative possibility of such adoptions.
In summary, entrepreneurs are the persons who develop ideas of the business, invest their saving in the business, fulfill the demands of the customers, helps the government in developing the economic stability or satisfying of economic crisis, paid taxes to the government and finally perform all sort of activities in lieu of their business primarily for earning profits and secondly to satisfy the demand so the customers.
Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs
As we know the most important person for every business is the entrepreneur who develops the idea of the business, start it by using his resources of all kinds and run the business activities to achieve his personal objectives by achieving the organization objectives. Entrepreneurship is the such process which helps the entrepreneur in all respect of the business through which he can assess his plans possibilities and predict on the basis of collected information and plan for future if he possess the following characteristics;
1. Creative Mind
Creativity is the major characteristic of a successful entrepreneur. He should have the ability to create more value for their product and services. The business opportunity, creative imagination is regarded a unique asset in the business world.
2. Confidence to Take Initiatives
The business world of today is moving at a very fast speed and require timely and more effective decisions, planning and controlling to overcome the sudden challenges therefore, a successful entrepreneur should have the ability to take initiatives by producing new things, new methods of marketing the product and service as per expectation of the target customer.
3. Ethical Standard
The ethical standard of the business is that there should not be cheating, fraud and other commercial bribery in business. A good entrepreneur has the social, moral, and religious responsibility to follow the ethical standard of the business to earn profit and stay long in the market.
4. Conceptual Skill
Effective entrepreneur are characterized by their conceptual skills. Conceptual skills are specific abilities to analyze a situation, decision making, determine the root of any problem or opportunities and devise an appropriate plan. What are Managerial Skills?
5. Versatile Knowledge
A successful entrepreneur should have a versatile knowledge of his business as well as adequate knowledge of trade, finance, marketing, legal management issues, technical management concern, and other business areas.
6. Knowledge of Market
A successful entrepreneur should have sufficient knowledge of market as well as finding new market for expand their business. He should know the geographic, demographic, psycho-graphics and behavioral changes in the market. Entrepreneur should be honest in dealing with others. He should provide qualitative product and services to their customer. He doesn’t make any anti-social practices such as black marketing, smuggling, overcharging to earn profit.
7. Energetic and Diligent
A successful entrepreneur should be energetic and diligent person. He should complete their work in time. He must believe in this phrase “Don’t put of till tomorrow what you can do today”. They are hardworking person and complete their all task as soon as possible.
8. Responsive To Criticism and Suggestions
A successful entrepreneur should response to criticism intelligently. He should concentrate on customer criticism or complaints. He accepts criticism for their product and services and responds positively to overcome these complaints. An entrepreneur should have the aptitude for research and adaptability to apply scientific findings to complete and stay in business. He should be able to adopt the new technologies for producing the product or services and new method of marketing the product & services. Entrepreneur pays their attention toward suggestion from their co-workers, customer, suppliers, or venture distributes. If he collects any best idea from these resources, he should be carefully tried to implement these suggestion.
9. Eligible to Evaluate Risks
Although every business has some internal and external risk. But entrepreneur carefully evaluate these risks and implement their plan. Although there is no guaranty for success but the chances of success are more due to calculated venture planning.
10. Self-Confident and Optimistic
Effective entrepreneur are characterizable by self-confident and optimism quality. He is confident about their plans for their venture. Sometime he may due to some critical situation in their venture. But he faces these situations confidently.
The major characteristics of the entrepreneur are the commitment toward organization goals. He is willing to do anything and respond positively to venture challenges. Demanding challenge motivate entrepreneurs to achieve results and developing their own managerial skills and capabilities. An entrepreneur maintains a professional relation with their staff. He believes that business activity is carry on by the workers. Should be aware of the temperament, aptitude and belief of the staff working with him. Also know the limitation and feelings of the individual. The ability to solve any misunderstanding or conflict between the staff.
Possibly there never has lived a man who has excited more comment than has the subject of this narrative, who was born in Boston, January 17th, 1706. His father was a soap boiler and tallow chandler, and he was the fifteenth in a family of seventeen children.
Young Benjamin was expected by his parents to become a minister of the Gospel, and for this purpose was placed in school at the age of eight, but the reduced circumstances of his father compelled his return home two years later, and he began the work of cutting wicks in his father’s establishment. Afterward, he was bound to his brother James, who was a printer, where he worked hard all day and often spent half the night in reading.
This biography of Benjamin Franklin was written by H.A. Lewis in his book, Hidden Treasures: Why Some Succeed While Others Fail (1887). Interesting fact: “In 1776 Congress sent him to France, where he became one of the greatest diplomats this country has ever known. During his voyage over he made observations relative to the Gulf Stream, and the chart he drew of it nearly one hundred (over 230) years ago, still forms the basis of maps on the subject.”
The secret of his great success can be readily perceived, when we know that his favorite books were Mather’s “Essays to Do Good,” and DeFoe’s “Essays of Projects,” and many others of a like nature: instead of the modern “Three Fingered Jack,” “Calamity Jane,” “The Queen of the Plains,” or the more ‘refined’ of to-day’s juvenile reading.
When he was about sixteen he wrote, in a disguised hand, an article for his brother’s paper. This article was published anonymously and excited great curiosity. Other articles followed, at length, the identity of the author was discovered, and for some unknown reason, the elder brother was offended. From that hour Benjamin resolved to leave Boston, as his brother’s influence was used to his disadvantage in that city.
Embarking, he worked his passage to New York, where he arrived at the age of seventeen, almost penniless, and without recommendations. Failing to obtain work here he continued on to Philadelphia, where he arrived, disappointed but not discouraged. He now had but one dollar, and a few copper coins, in the world. Being hungry, he bought some bread, and with one roll under either arm, and eating the third, he passed up the street on which his destined wife lived, and she beheld him as he presented this ridiculous appearance. Obtaining employment, he secured board and lodging with Mr. Reed, afterward his father-in-law.
Being induced to think of going into business for himself, through promises of financial help from influential parties, he sailed to London for the purpose of buying the necessary requisites for a printing office. Not until his arrival in that great city, London, did he learn of the groundlessness of his hope for aid from the expected quarter. In a strange land, friendless and alone, without money to pay his return passage, such was his predicament; yet he lost not his courage, but obtained employment as a printer, writing his betrothed that he should likely never return to America. His stay in London lasted, however, but about eighteen months, during which time he succeeded in reforming some of his beer-drinking companions.
In 1826 he returned to America as a dry-goods clerk, but the death of his employer, fortunately, turned his attention once more to his especial calling, and he soon after formed a partnership with a Mr. Meredith. This was in 1728. Miss Reed, during his stay abroad, had been induced to marry another man who proved to be a scoundrel; leaving her to escape punishment for debt, and, it is alleged, with an indictment for bigamy hanging over his head. Franklin attributed much of this misfortune to himself and resolved to repair the injury so far as lay within his power. Accordingly, he married her in 1830. This proved a most happy union. His business connection with Mr. Meridith being dissolved, he purchased the miserably conducted sheet of Mr. Keimer, his former employer, and under Franklin’s management, it became a somewhat influential journal of opinion.
It was through this channel that those homely sayings, with such rich meanings, first appeared in print. His great intelligence, industry, and ingenuity in devising reforms, and the establishment of the first circulating library, soon won for him the esteem of the entire country. 1732 is memorable as the year in which appeared his almanac in which was published the sayings of the world-famous ‘Poor Richard.’ This almanac abounded with aphorisms and quaint sayings, the influence of which tended mightily to economy, and it was translated into foreign languages, in fact was the most popular almanac ever printed.
After ten years’ absence he returned to his native city, Boston, and his noble instincts were shown, as he consolingly promised his dying brother that he would care for his nephew, his brother’s son. Returning to Philadelphia he became postmaster of that city, established a fire department, becomes a member of the Assembly, to which office he is elected ten consecutive years.
Although he was not an orator, no man wielded more influence over the legislative department than did Franklin. As is well-known, he invented the celebrated Franklin Stove, which proved so economical, and for which he refused a patent. For years he entertained the theory that galvanic electricity, and that which produced lightning and thunder were identical; but it was not until 1752 that he demonstrated the truth by an original but ingenious contrivance attached to a kite, and to Franklin we owe the honor of inventing the lightning rod, but not its abuse which has caused such widespread animosity to that valuable instrument of self-preservation.
These discoveries made the name of Franklin respected throughout the scientific world. Forever after this period, during his life, he was connected with national affairs. At one time he was offered a commission as General in the Provincial Army, but distrusting his military qualifications he unequivocally declined. Sir Humphrey Davy said: “Franklin seeks rather to make philosophy a useful inmate and servant in the common habitations of man, than to preserve her merely as an object for admiration in temples and palaces.” While it is said of him by some that he always had a keen eye to his own interests all are forced to add he ever had a benevolent concern for the public welfare.
The burdens bearing so heavily upon the colonies: Pennsylvania, Maryland, Georgia, and Massachusetts, appointed Franklin as their agent to the mother-country. Arriving in London in 1757, despite his mission, honors awaited him at every turn. There he associated with the greatest men of his time, and the universities of Edinburgh and Oxford honored him with the title of L.L.D. and the poor journeyman printer of a few years before, associated with princes and kings. At the end of five years he returned to America, and in 1762 received the official thanks of the Assembly. Two years later he was again sent to England, and he opposed the obnoxious stamp act, and where he carried himself with decorum and great ability before the entire nobility. Upon his return to America he was made a member of the Assembly the day he landed, where he exerted his whole influence for a Declaration of Independence, and soon after had the pleasure of signing such a document.
In 1776 Congress sent him to France, where he became one of the greatest diplomats this country has ever known. During his voyage over he made observations relative to the Gulf Stream, and the chart he drew of it nearly one hundred years ago, still forms the basis of maps on the subject. As is well known, to Franklin more than all others, are we indebted for the kindly interference by France in our behalf, whose efforts, though ineffective in the field, helped the revolutionary cause wonderfully in gaining prestige. At the close of the war Franklin was one of the commissioners in framing that treaty which recognized American independence. His simple winning ways won for him admiration in any court of embroidery and lace, while his world-wide reputation as a philosopher and statesman won for him a circle of acquaintances of the most varied character. On the 17th of April, 1790, this great statesman died, and fully 20,000 people followed him to the tomb. The inscription he had designed read:
“The body of Benjamin Franklin, printer; Like the cover of an old book— Its contents torn out, and script of its lettering and gilding: Lies here food for worms.”
Yet the work itself shall not be lost. For it will, as he believed, appear once more, in a new and more beautiful edition, corrected and amended by the Author. Truly, America has been rich in great men, of which Franklin was not the least. Dr. Franklin, in his will, left his native town of Boston, the sum of one thousand pounds, to be lent to the young married artificers upon good security and under odd conditions. If the plan should be carried out as successfully as he expected, he reckoned that this sum would amount in one hundred years to one hundred and thirty-one thousand pounds. It was his wish, and so expressed in his will that one hundred thousand pounds should be spent upon public works, “which may then be judged of most general utility to the inhabitants; such as fortifications, bridges, aqueducts, public buildings, baths, pavements, or whatever makes living in the town more convenient to its people, and renders it more agreeable to strangers resorting thither for health or temporary residence.” It was also his wish that the remaining thirty-one thousand pounds should again be put upon interest for another hundred years, at the end of which time the whole amount was to be divided between the city and the State. The bequest at the end of the first one hundred years may not attain the exact figure he calculated, but it is sure to be a large sum. At the present time it is more than one hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars, and it has many years yet to run.
Understanding and Using the Library and Internet Research
What is Library? A library is a collection of sources of information and similar resources, made accessible to a defined community for reference or borrowing. It provides physical or digital access to material and may be a physical building or room, or a virtual space, or both. A library’s collection can include books, periodicals, newspapers, manuscripts, films, maps, prints, documents, micro-form, CDs, cassettes, videotapes, DVDs, Blu-ray Discs, e-books, audio-books, databases, and other formats. Libraries range in size from a few shelves of books to several million items.
What is Internet Research? Internet research has had a profound impact on the way ideas are formed and knowledge is created. Common applications of Internet research include personal research on a particular subject (something mentioned on the news, a health problem, etc.), students doing research for academic projects and papers, and journalists and other writers researching stories.
Research is a broad term. Here, it is used to mean “looking something up (on the Web)”. It includes any activity where a topic is identified, and an effort is made to actively gather information for the purpose of furthering understanding. It may include some post-collection analysis like a concern for quality or synthesis.
A third approach to generate new business ideas is to conduct library and Internet research. A natural tendency is to think that an idea should be chosen, and the process of researching the idea should then begin. This approach is too linear. Often, the best ideas emerge when the general notion of an idea, like creating casual electronic games for adults, is merged with extensive library and Internet research, which might provide insights into the best type of casual games to create.
Libraries are often an underutilized source of information for generating business ideas. The best approach to utilizing a library is to discuss your general area of interest with a reference librarian, who can point out useful resources, such as industry-specific magazines, trade journals, and industry reports. Simply browsing through several issues of a trade journal on a topic can spark new ideas. Very powerful search engines and databases are also available through university and large public libraries, which would cost hundreds or thousands of dollars to access on your own. An example is IBIS World (www.ibisworld.com), a company that publishes market research on all major industries and subcategories within industries. IBIS World published a 30-page report on the solar power industry, for example, in March 2011, which includes key statistics (about industry growth and profitability), a complete industry analysis, and an outlook for the future. Spending time reading this report could spark new ideas for solar powered devices or help affirm an existing idea.
Internet research is also important. If you are starting from scratch, simply typing “new business ideas” into Google or Yahoo! will produce links to newspaper and magazine articles about the “hottest” and “latest” new business ideas. Although these types of articles are general in nature, they represent a starting point if you’re trying to generate new business ideas from scratch. If you have a specific idea in mind, a useful technique is to set up a Google or Yahoo! “e-mail alert” using keywords that pertain to your topic of interest. Google and Yahoo! alerts are e-mail updates of the latest Google or Yahoo! results including press releases, news articles, and blog posts based on your topic. This technique, which is available for free, will feed you a daily stream of news articles and Blog postings about specific topics. Another approach is to follow business leaders and experts in the industries you’re interested in on Twitter. The best way to locate people on Twitter you might be interested in following is by typing into the search bar labeled “Who to Follow” relevant keywords preceded by the “#” sign. For example, if you’re interested in solar power, type “#solar power” into the search bar. All the results will be people or companies who tweet about solar power topics.
Once an entrepreneur has an idea, it often needs to be shaped and fine-tuned. One way to do this, in conjunction with the suggestions made previously, is to enlist a mentor to help. An explanation of how to use a mentor in this regard, and where mentors can be found, is described in the “Partnering for Success” feature.
Library VS Internet Research
Many people are confused about what constitutes library research versus what constitutes Internet research. Some people argue that effective research is never conducted on the Internet, that one needs access to the resources of a library to conduct thorough investigations. People in this camp argue that institutional libraries pay significant sums to provide access to proprietary databases to their customers that is, databases that offer abstracts, bibliographical information, and, oftentimes, full texts of articles published in scholarly journals. Also, research purists may argue that documents published on the Internet lack the authority of research that is peer-reviewed and published by major publishers. Something important to consider is the difference between an Internet resource and an academic resource accessed via the Internet. For example, if I simply Google “research method,” one of my first search results is from about.com – a good resource, but not necessarily an academic resource. Although I can glean about.com for useful information about the generics of a topic like “research methods,” for the purposes of an academic research assignment, it may be wise to use the Internet to access my library’s databases (like Academic Search Premier, JSTOR, etc.) for online access to a plethora of information pertaining to my search term. The Internet hosts a variety of resources, some of which are useful for casual, everyday references (like about.com) and others which are more appropriate for an academic research assignment (like my library’s databases: Academic Search Premier, JSTOR, etc.)
Because of a misunderstanding about the way in which the Internet serves both purposes (casual, everyday research and formal, academic research) some students report they never use their library’s resources. Studies of the research processes of students have found that many students limit their investigations to search engines such as Google, paying especially close attention to the first eight or so hits on any search. Unfortunately, students who conduct research in this way often end up with sources that they later realize aren’t useful in crafting informed, thorough, formal academic research and/or arguments.
To conduct effective research, you may need to use both the library and the Internet. Limiting yourself to the library cuts off some very innovative work that may not yet be accessible for your library’s periodical indexes and abstracts. In turn, relying solely on the Internet is like trying to dig a hole with your tongue rather than a shovel: extremely counterproductive and a waste of time.
Information junkies know arguments for using either the library or the Internet are out of touch with reality. As research libraries increase the number of electronic resources they subscribe to, many traditional resources are now accessible via the Internet although passwords may be required. In other words, distinctions between the library and the Web are blurring.
Meaning of Brainstorming: “Brainstorming is a group creativity technique by which efforts are made to find a conclusion for a specific problem by gathering a list of ideas spontaneously contributed by its members.”
Definition of Brainstorming
Process for generating creative ideas and solutions through intensive and freewheeling group discussion. Every participant is encouraged to think aloud and suggests as many ideas as possible, no matter seemingly how outlandish or bizarre. Analysis, discussion, or criticism of the aired ideas is allowed only when the brainstorming session is over and evaluation session begins. See also lateral thinking and nominal group technique.
A common way to generate new business ideas is through brainstorming. In general, brainstorming is simply the process of generating several ideas about a specific topic. The approaches range from a person sitting down with a yellow legal pad and jotting down interesting business ideas to formal “brainstorming sessions” led by moderators that involve a group of people.
In a formal brainstorming session, the leader of the group asks the participants to share their ideas. One person shares an idea, another person reacts to it, another person reacts to the reaction, and so on. A flip chart or an electronic white-board is typically used to record all the ideas. A productive session is freewheeling and lively. The session is not used for analysis or decision making the ideas generated during a brainstorming session need to be filtered and analyzed, but this is done later. Show the four strict rules for conducting a formal brainstorming session. As you’ll see, the number one rule for a brainstorming session is that no criticism is allowed, including chuckles, raised eyebrows, or facial expressions that express skepticism or doubt. Criticism stymies creativity and inhibits the free flow of ideas.
Formal Brainstorming Session
I. No criticism is allowed, including chuckles, raised eyebrows, or facial expressions that express skepticism or doubt. Criticism stymies creativity and inhibits the free flow of ideas. II. Freewheeling, which is the carefree expression of ideas free from rules or restraints, is encouraged; the more ideas, the better. Even crazy or outlandish ideas may lead to a good idea or a solution to a problem. III. The session moves quickly, and nothing is permitted to slow down its pace. For example, it is more important to capture the essence of an idea than to take the time to write it down neatly. IV. Leapfrogging is encouraged. This means using one idea as a means of jumping forward quickly to other ideas.
Brainstorming sessions dedicated to generating new business ideas are often less formal. For example, as described in more detail in Case 11.2, during the creation of Proactiv, a popular acne treatment product, Dr. Katie Rodan, one of the company’s founders, hosted dinner parties at her house and conducted brainstorming sessions with guests. The guests included business executives, market researchers, marketing consultants, an FDA regulatory attorney, and others. Rodan credits this group with helping her and her co-founder brainstorm a number of ideas that helped shape Proactiv and move the process of starting the company forward. Similarly, Sharelle Klause, the founder of Dry Soda, a company that makes an all-natural soda that’s paired with food the way wine is in upscale restaurants, tested her idea by first talking to her husband’s colleagues, who were in the food industry, and then tapped into the professional network of a friend who owned a bottled water company. Through the process, she met a chemist, who was instrumental in helping her develop the initial recipes for her beverage. Klause also went directly to restaurant owners and chefs to ask them to sample early versions of her product. While this approach only loosely fits the definition of brainstorming, the spirit is the same. Klause was bouncing ideas and early prototypes of her product off others to get their reactions and generate additional ideas. DRY Soda is the subject of Case 9.1.
Approaches to brainstorming are only limited by a person’s imagination. For example, to teach her students an approach to utilizing brainstorming to generate business ideas, Professor Marcene Sonneborn, an adjunct professor at the Whitman School of Management Syracuse University, uses a tool she developed called the “bug report” to help students brainstorm business ideas. She instructs her students to list 75 things that “bug” them in their everyday lives. The number 75 was chosen because it forces students to go beyond thinking about obvious things that bug them (campus parking, roommates, scraping snow off their windshields in the winter), and think more deeply. On occasions, students actually hold focus groups with their friends to brainstorm ideas and fill out their lists.
A focus group is small, but the demographically diverse group of people whose reactions are studied especially in market research or political analysis in guided or open discussions about a new product or something else to determine the reactions that can be expected from a larger population. It is a form of qualitative research consisting of interviews in which a group of people is asked about their perceptions, opinions, beliefs, and attitudes towards a product, service, concept, advertisement, idea, or packaging. Questions are asked in an interactive group setting where participants are free to talk with other group members. During this process, the researcher either takes notes or records the vital points he or she is getting from the group. Researchers should select members of the focus group carefully for effective and authoritative responses.
Define of Focus Groups
“A group of people assembled to participate in a discussion about a product before it is launched, or to provide feedback on a political campaign, television series, etc.”
Definitions of Focus Groups
Market research: Small number of people (usually between 4 and 15, but typically 8) brought together with a moderator to focus on a specific product or topic. Focus groups aim at a discussion instead of on individual responses to formal questions and produce qualitative data (preferences and beliefs) that may or may not be representative of the general population.
Problem-solving: Idea generation or forecasting technique where several experts or informed individuals share their point of view on a specific topic or problem.
A focus group is a gathering of 5 to 10 people who are selected because of their relationship to the issue being discussed. Although focus groups are used for a variety of purposes, they can be used to help generate new business ideas.
Focus groups typically involve a group of people who are familiar with a topic, are brought together to respond to questions, and shed light on an issue through the give-and-take nature of a group discussion. Focus groups usually work best as a follow-up to brainstorming, when the general idea for a business has been formulated, such as casual electronic games for adults, but further refinement of the idea is needed. Usually, focus groups are conducted by trained moderators. The moderator’s primary goals are to keep the group “focused” and to generate lively discussion. Much of the effectiveness of a focus group session depends on the moderator’s ability to ask questions and keep the discussion on track. For example, a retail establishment in which coffee is sold, such as Starbucks, might conduct a focus group consisting of 7 to 10 frequent customers and ask the group, “What is it that you don’t like about our coffee shop?” A customer may say, “You sell 1-pound bags of your specialty ground coffees for people to brew at home. That’s okay, but I often run out of the coffee in just a few days. Sometimes it’s a week before I get back to the shop to buy another bag. If you sold 3-pound or 5-pound bags, I’d actually use more coffee because I wouldn’t run out so often. I guess I could buy two or three 1-pound bags at the same time, but that gets a little pricey. I’d buy a 3- or 5-pound bag, however, if you’d discount your price a little for larger quantities.” The moderator may then ask the group, “How many people here would buy 3-pound or 5-pound bags of our coffee if they were available?” If five hands shoot up, the coffee shop may have just uncovered an idea for a new product line.
Some companies utilize hybrid focus group methodologies to achieve specific insights and goals. An example is “college drop-ins.” This approach involves paying college students to host a party at their campus and providing them a budget to buy food and snacks. During the party, the hosts interview and videotape other students about specific market issues. Everything is up-front—the partygoers are told that the information is being collected for a market research firm (on behalf of a client).
History of Focus Groups
Focus groups have a long history and were used during the Second World War (1939-1945) to examine the effectiveness of propaganda. Associate director sociologist Robert K. Merton set up focus groups at the Bureau of Applied Social Research in the USA prior to 1976. Psychologist and marketing expert Ernest Dichter coined the term “focus group” itself before his death in 1991.
