Management at Happy Enterprise - Case Study Example

OVERALL REFLECTIVE REPORT ON HAPPY ENTERPRISE Student Name Institution Date Introduction As a collaborative workshop, Happy Enterprise focuses mainly on entertainment, motivation and the social aspects of the well -being of individuals. The primary aim of the interactive workshop is to promote workplace happiness and positivity through the use of a new and efficient way of thinking. Following the realization that most professional spend most of their time within the workplace but cannot find close friends that give them happiness within the same environments, Happy Enterprise seeks to increase workplace productivity through the promotion of employee interaction. This course has helped me in realizing that the poor relationships that occur within the places of work can impact adversely on the employee, ultimately lowering organizational productivity (Woodsworth and Penniman, 2014). The existence of social barriers within the places of work creates a gap in the workplace, leading to anxiety and increased stress among the employees, hence reduction in productivity and organizational success. Happy Enterprise seeks to address the social barriers encountered today within workplaces. Discussion Business Startup From the coursework, I learned that the success of new businesses depends on the recognition and collaboration with the prospective business partners (Cardoso and Aalst, 2009). Of key significance in this first step of starting a business is the determination of the potential benefits from the partners and whether their activities relate with the business requirements. Since the main aim of the Happy Enterprise is to increase happiness, the key partners that we recognized for the business were motivational speakers, comedians, and educational speakers. Furthermore, in considering the potential partners for the business, we remembered to include the University of Portsmouth which help in provision of well -trained volunteer students to help in reaching out to the local communities. The Portsmouth City Council was also identified as a key partner because of its capability in creation of awareness among the locals about the existence of the enterprise. Operation In my opinion, the successful operation of an enterprise within any market setup requires the provision of high quality services to the consumers as well as the development of strategies of revenue generation. Since happiness is our core value at Happy Enterprise, we considered the use of professional and impromptu comedians in reaching the customers because they portray sense of humor. The other activities that we considered beneficial in selling the core value of the enterprise are social games, motivational and educational speeches, open conversations and refreshments. The primary reason why we decided to use the social games in reaching the target customers is to increase their understanding of each other and to use our cultural differences as strengths. Although all these activities were seen as important in promoting happiness among the customers. My main worry, however, was the strategy of obtaining the motivational speakers, especially from large corporations. However, after consultations with the other group members, we agreed to use the Trussell Trust Sponsors who helped us in obtaining the motivational speakers from the big enterprises. Resources I agree with Viardot (2011) that the resources are important in the successful operation of any business. The author further argues that resource management in any enterprise follows the principle of Threshold requirement which asserts that minimum amount of resources are required to start a business. The threshold, however, depends on the nature of the activities to be performed to produce a given product or service. The successful operation of a new business venture does not only depend on the initial capital but also on other resources to perform in the market. It is important to realize that the threshold is not constant and can increase suddenly due to economic crises that cause disruptions in the supply chains. Companies should have additional resources readily available to prevent chances of bankruptcy. Resources also help in building strong competitive advantage over the competitors within an industry, hence the need for companies to have enough resources for effective operations. In our case, one of the resources identified were the performers. We decided to source for the performers using the social media by defining our business and the activities we engage in before inviting both volunteer and non-volunteer performers who share the same value as ours. There was also the realization that the performers will need audio visual equipment to effectively perform and a decision had to be reached on whether to purchase or lease the equipment. After comparing the costs of leasing and buying new equipment, we decided to use the cost effective means of leasing during the early stages of the project. The nature of the project, which involved movement from one place to another required us also to think of transportation as another key element for the successful operation of the business. We recognized the need for transportation of the performers to the events as well as the staff. We realized that approaching Citroen on our own would result in purchasing the vans at higher prices, so we decided to use Trussell Sponsors again, to enable us buy the vans from Citroen at discounted prices. A close look at the various resources involved in the project opened us to the sources of funding for these resources. For instance, the non -volunteer performers need payment after performing, the purchase of the Citroen vans and performing equipment as well as the performing venues require money. We agreed that the best way to source for revenue for the project would be to make tickets for each event and sell them at affordable prices to those who wish to attend the events to help us pay for the venues and performers. The other finances would be gotten from the investors. However, we had to decide on financing and costs to help us make returns on the investments within a one and half year period after the start of the business. We, therefore, decided to increase the prices per ticket and sell food and drinks during the events organized to aid in income generation. Moreover, I have learnt that the successful operation of a business depends on the human resources since their attitude can either make or break an organization. I agree with Spinelli and Canovos (2000) that the best way through which employees in an organization can be motivated is by reminding them of their importance to the organization. We realized that the success of our business venture depended on the zeal of both the volunteers and the employees. Consequently, we decided that the employees would be engaged in decision making throughout the business to help them in having a sense of belonging and providing best quality services to the customers. Marketing We decided to develop a marketing strategy that will help us in reaching our potential customers both in Portsmouth and Hampshire cities. During this exercise, I realized that understanding the value proposition comprehensively is important in providing an insight to the services we intend to provide to the customers and the solutions we intend to develop. In our case, the core benefit that we intend to bring to our customers is happiness within the community and the workplaces. We decided to focus on the things that make people unhappy in the society such as depression, loneliness, bullying, and career guidance and lift their spirits through the shows. We had to choose the different way of ensuring that our services reach the desired customers. Since the business mainly entails moving from one place of another, we saw this as providing a better opportunity to advertise. We also considered the social media as another important channel through which the company would reach its target audience. According to Nielsen (2013), a whopping 97% of the UK population has access to mobile phones meaning that they can easily access the internet. This kind of marketing is economical to the company since it is free. The other channels that we identified that would also help in effectively reaching the potential customers are the use of billboards, public transportation, word of mouth advertisements, the Portsmouth City Council and other business organizations. Customer Relations In analyzing the different components that make up a successful business, it occurred to me that the customer relations cannot be ignored in businesses. This is primarily because businesses cannot exist without the customers. Following my experience on these issues, I agree with Tinnsten (2014) that understanding what the clients need and how to meet these needs is important in the successful operation of the businesses. The author proposes organizational customer relationship management in enabling the different organizations effectively understand their customers. To meet the customer requirements, we decided that apart from paying the performers and the speakers for their services, they will also be allowed to impact socially on the community through a second free show. The volunteer are also expected to benefit by visiting different places and meeting new people. Consequently, the business will not only focus on making profits but on providing people with greater opportunities to be happy. Measurement During the discussions of the progress of the business, I realized that it is important to have a means of measuring our level of achievement of the core aim of the business which is to provide happiness. We decided to use surveys to test for the happiness of the customers at the beginning and at the end of each interactive session that will be prepared. We decided to provide the audience with double sided papers on entering the shows with faces indicating sad, unhappy, okay, happy and extremely happy. The customers will be asked to circle their level of happiness upon entry and when leaving. By doing this, we intend to get feedback from the customers to find out whether or not the performances in workshops conducted were beneficial to them in terms of giving them the happiness they wanted. This can also help us in improving the quality of performances in the future. We also intend to get the customers contacts to help us in following up if the happiness levels of the customers have increased or reduced after a six month period. Another way through which we intend to measure our performance in the market is the after sale privileges or services. We also decided to open up to the people who share the same values as ours and willing to join us. We opened up to the potential of after sales services in improving services through consumers’ views on the social media and emails. Customer Segmentation For a new business venture like ours, I learnt that targeting is an important consideration that should be made, but cannot be done without proper segmentation of the customers. Segmentation involves dividing the existing customers into distinct groups for easy and efficient targeting. In the case of Happy Enterprise, the customer segments that we identified for targeting included the business organizations, both high school and college students as well as the local communities within the Portsmouth City. Since we could not have any segmentations of the local community, we decided to provide an opportunity for any member of the community wishing to participate in the charity work as a volunteer to feel free to join us. Currently, our focus is mainly within the Portsmouth City, but we intend to increase our customer segments in Hampshire City in the future. Summary We acknowledge the role played by Trussell Trust in the promotion of the well- being of the communities where it operates. However, according to a research conducted by my group, we found out that the organization has failed in providing mechanisms to ensure the happiness and increased productivity of the local communities. Consequently, we felt the urge and the need to provide a sense of love and belonging, self -esteem and self –actualization to meet the needs of various individuals within the society. This requirement has led us to the invention of the Happy Enterprise, which is an entrepreneurial idea aimed at providing love and happiness to as many people as possible and increasing their productivity and their lives as well. References Cardoso, J., & Aalst, W. (2009). Handbook of research on business process modeling. Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference. Nielsen (2013). The Mobile Consumer. A Global Snapshot. Spinelli, M. A and Canavos, G. C. (2000). Investigating the Relationship between Employee Satisfaction and Guest Satisfaction. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly. Tinnsten, C. (2014). Implementing a System of Customer. Sweden: Umea Universitet. Viardot, E. (2011). The timeless principles of successful business strategy. Heidelberg: Springer. Woodsworth, A., & Penniman, W. D. (2014). Management and Leadership Innovations. Bradford: Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Personal Development Plan What are my development Objectives? Priority What activities do I need to undertake to achieve my objectives? What Support/Resources Do I Need to Achieve My Objectives Target date for achieving my objectives Actual date of achieving my objectives Be able to write a business plan without help Important Continuous practice Helping upcoming entrepreneurs in developing business plans Mentorship Referrals February, 2016 Increase knowledge in the area of business important Reading business books Money to buy books December, 2015 Gain experience in business practices such as strategic management through internships and volunteering Important Searching for internship opportunities and applying Networking through seminars and workshops. Sponsorships to attend workshops Mentorship Recommendations January, 2016 Take short courses such as project management to improve myself beneficial Enrolling for professional exams Spreading courses within the year Fees for enrolment Books February, 2016 Review Date Read More